Advice for the last few days leading up to the MCAT?

[alexlearning]

Hi gang. I'm feeling pretty confident in my diag scores (I took PR) and I would love to cram more to feel even more prepared but I also don't want to burn out. Any suggestions on how to handle the next couple days? Would you do more passages or ease off? Just review formulas and the few things to memorize? Do nothing and be totally zen and relax?

Cheers,
Alex so ready to be done

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[rgporter]

Relax, you've done what you can for now. Make sure you get good nights sleep leading up to (and especially) the day before the MCAT.

 

[alexlearning]

Thanks rgporter - I kinda figured as much but there's always the little nagging voice saying that I should review more because there's a chance that one question will require the one formula I forgot to look over...

Anyway - cheers!

 

[Haybrant]

make sure you sleep fine the night before; there was some frat party next door the night before my mcat so i woke up in the middle of the night and couldnt fall back asleep. I tried everything but it didnt work. I hear taking a shot or two before sleeping is a good idea; i'd recommend grey goose--only the best the night before the mcat

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

make sure you sleep fine the night before; there was some frat party next door the night before my mcat so i woke up in the middle of the night and couldnt fall back asleep. I tried everything but it didnt work. I hear taking a shot or two before sleeping is a good idea; i'd recommend grey goose--only the best the night before the mcat

If you want to study more, I would suggest not trying to cram new information. Look over the stuff you know well, and reinforce that knowledge. I also found taking practice tests to be the most helpful in the final week. Because, chances are, you will not be able to cram enough new knowledge to make a big difference. Getting as familiar as possible with test format, question types, and thinking in the "MCAT style" can definitely be a huge bonus...and that stuff only comes with practice.

Also, try to relax on Friday. I think I reviewed for maybe an hour or two, but for the most part just chill out with friends, etc. I would also suggest eating well all week (by this I mean healthy meals...and no skipping emals to study...it will catch up with you), and start trying to go to bed around 10 or 11 now. If you are accustomed to 1-2 am bedtime, trying to break that on Friday night will be incredibly difficult if you haven't conditioned yourself for the days before.

 

[tgerwuds]

When in doubt, guess! C or B usually works!

 

[wends]

do practice exams! real aamc ones! i found the aamc mcat verbal section much harder than the kaplan ones...hence my drop in VR!

 

[UseUrHeadFred]

I urge you to seriously cut down on study time from now until Thursday night. Do yoga or something.

Thursday night, go over the simple equations for maybe two hours.

Sleep Friday night, eat breakfast Saturday morning.

 

[BisMuOxo]

Any suggestions on how to handle the next couple days?

Do not do anything. Relax, watch TV, but most importantly, DO NOT think about the MCAT. You don't really think that practicing at this point is going to improve your score? You might as well be rested and relaxed on Saturday.

 

[docjolly]

When in doubt, guess! C or B usually works!

Good advice

My Kaplan teachers stated that, statistically speaking, answer Choice B is the most used answer on the MCAT....So, he said that when in doubt, choose B

 

[SlopinMunkyDude]

I'm going to offer you a different perspective than some of these other people.

I was actually relaxed when I studied for the MCAT. It was when I wasn't doing anything that I started to think about it. I'm actually a big fan of routines. I study in the same place, usually at the same time. I eat/drink the same things when I study. So for me, quitting cold turkey right before the MCAT would have been dumb.

My advice: If you have the Kaplan flashcards, go over those. Just quiz yourself over them. It's not stressful, and if you're not sure on somethng, flip through your book and take notes on that whole subsection and understand why you didn't know that answer. This really solified things for me, and I scored about 3 points higher than my practice test average on test day.

What else? If you're planning on drinking coffee before the MCAT and you're not a regular joe drinker, you may want to think twice before you just jump in and start drinking. It might give you the jitters, it might make your mind race, and it might keep you up at night. Start drinking at the very latest now if you think you may have a problem clearing the cobwebs on test day.

Also, on the rest thing, make sure you get sleep the night before the night before (i.e. two days before your exam). A lot of people are just going to have problems falling asleep the night before. Make sure that it won't drastically affect you if that's what happens to you by building a "sleep reserve" throughout the week.

 

[ambrosia]

go to cedar point or something

 

[Freakingzooming]

do things that don't require a lotta thinking, like watch seinfield, take a walk, take a bath, and just unwind. just relax and stay positive, you'll do fine.

Oh and avoid listening to any catchy songs, i had the Aqua-barbie girl song playing through my head throughout the whole MCAT verbal. Really annoying.

Day of MCAT- just keep yourself paced, I started to feel whoozy after the first hour. Bring gatorade and try not to drink any caffeine cuz you'll get the low sometime in between the test.

 

[DGhiker]

I say keep reviewing through Thursday then take it easy on Friday. Make sure your breakfast includes protein and complex carbohydrates on Saturday (eggs and whole wheat toast are good). You don't want to have a sugar crash between PS and VR!!

Good luck!!!!!

 

[EvoDevo]

Drink heavily.

 

[hamhamfan]

Hi gang. I'm feeling pretty confident in my diag scores (I took PR) and I would love to cram more to feel even more prepared but I also don't want to burn out. Any suggestions on how to handle the next couple days? Would you do more passages or ease off? Just review formulas and the few things to memorize? Do nothing and be totally zen and relax?

Cheers,
Alex so ready to be done

My advice is to not study intensely the next few days. In fact, maybe take them off. You should have done enough studying by now to get the scores you want. Hopefully you have already done all the practice exams you can get your hands on. I had way too much stress the couple of days leading to the MCAT... they really weren't that productive because I was constantly rushing through while I was practicing or studying.

suggested plan:
now-Thurs: light studying and practice. 8 hours max
Friday: work yourself exhaused at the gym to make sure you will fall asleep that night

 

[bonez318ti]

suggested plan:
now-Thurs: light studying and practice. 8 hours max

wow.. thats light??
i dont think ive exceeded 8 hours/day since i started studying for the MCAT.. even during the past few weeks (ie: crunchtime), ive probably only averaged 4 or 5 hrs/day

but i agree. light studying and then take friday to do something that doesnt require thinking. i think im going to the beach

 

[kahoo99]

i took it in april and i had felt pretty prepared, i did fine, and i started to take a 7R on thursday but decided i was ready. reviewed some flashcards instead, and had some friends over for dinner on friday night. good luck

 

[the other Dr.]

Don't eat out this week, especially Mexican food. Even restaurants you think you trust. If you get something you're not used to, it could make for a miserable day for you and a funny story for the people taking the test with you.

 

[alexlearning]

Thanks gang for all your advice. I'm going to do a few passages per day to keep the duder's mind limber and take Friday off.

I'll let you know how it went!
Cheers,
Alex