Anyone recently switching to August?

[BushBaby]

I am really considering taking the august exam......

I feel like I am not ready and I don't want to rush into this being my third time. I feel like I don't know enough...so maybe I should wait for august?

I also just had a death in the family so I just feel like I have a lot on my plate....what to do?

If I wait until August I can space out my study hours and just take it easy until exam day instead of rushing/cramming like I am doing right now. (I am not cramming but I feel like I am in a rush/bind).

I already registered and I guess I lost out on half the money which really sucks. I can start my applications with you guys but then I just have to wait until August to see my scores...which sorta sucks but if I do really well in august, then it won't matter that I took the exam later because it's better to get a better score and apply a little later, than get a terrible score and apply earlier.

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[Blessed]

I am in the same predicament. I think that I am going to take it in August because I don't feel fully prepared. I want to take the test feeling confident and right now I don't feel that way. This is my first time taking the MCAT and I want to get a decent score.

I feel the same way you do. It's better to apply later with a good score than to apply earlier with a lousy score. No matter what anybody else say you have to do what's best for you. Good luck!

 

[ucdbiochem]

Hi Bushbaby and Blessed,
I'm on the same boat also. I'll be taking the mcat this august.
will you guys apply med schools this year also?

 

[BushBaby]

I feel like taking it in August but I don't want to postpone this torture any longer...

I think I will still study like I am taking it in April...then a week before the exam, I will make my decision. I really WANT to get it OVER with. I don't want to spend my summer worrying about this. I really don't.

 

[javanomad]

As much as one might like to postpone the event. You really can't.

I have taken about 5 tests like the MCAT. Every time I felt "I didn't know enough". But after taking those testsI discovered that studying more would have been of little help.

Tests like the MCAT test reasoning not just facts. Unfortunately the only way to prepare is to know the basic science. THEN practice in a format close to the real test.

Granted you might get a bit more practice switching to August. Really no amount of studying will prepare you for Verbal. Or for that matter the oddball Genetics questions they are sure to throw in this revision. So in reality NO amount of prep will completely prepare you for any MCAT.

With that being said the posts here seem to indicate a lack of confidence rather than preparation. I myself had a brief panic when I was really getting NOWHERE with my verbal prep. The verbal tests I was using were too hard and making me over guess on the really hard 50/50 questions. This in turn almost taught me to start over guessing the easy passages by looking for the "trick" in every question.

In the end I just when back to using AAMC practice items and practice tests. My confidence in my preparation soared as I realized

1) I knew my stuff all I had to do was work on the retrieval
2) I discovered that I was learning the "tricks" of the test

An example of a "trick" would be MCAT's use of an EXTREMELY COMPLEX science passage followed by only a few basic science questions. Another would be MCAT's effort to confuse an organic problem by adding on 2 rings to a basic functional group like an amine so the "big rings molecule" will still be evaluated as an amine.

Basically all I'm saying is concentrate on your confidence preparation and get ready for the 26th. There really is very little more you can do in 4 months that can't be done in 3 weeks.

Good Luck

 

[MeowMix]

Like they say, is it lack of confidence or lack of knowledge?

I have to think that I TRULY do not know enough, since it's been years since organic and I cannot remember anything other than ortho, meta, para. I have had to guess at every organic reaction question on the practice tests. So for me, I think more time really would help.

I am taking the "don't have enough time to study, let's see how we feel on April 26 at 7 a.m." approach to my decision.

 

[thirdangel]

Hey Bush Baby!

I am doing the exact same thing... I am also taking it for the third (and last) time. I was hoping to take it this month, but I don't feel as if I prepared enough because of all the other things going on around me. I am going to postpone it. I know that when I take it again I have to feel prepared so that I know that I really did my best.

Anyways, good luck with your decision!

 

[Steinway]

Java - you wouldn't happen to be referring to EK 101 Verbal would you? b/c if you are, I think we're in similar situations..and I'll take your advice....

g'luck with your decision bushbaby...and while I agree w/Java that it's mainly a thinking test and we'll never feel "100% ready", one's score is surely to be higher when they have a lot of confidence...

 

[stillpremed]

bushbaby -
i hope things work out for you with the mcats and family matters.
if you feel rushed and something not right inside then it could be best to delay it... but like some others said, it could be more of a mind thing than anything else these next couple of weeks.
take care

 

[chapinsita]

I know what you mean bush baby. I keep thinking, if only the test was in June, I could do so much better. Or Aug. With school and work and research and volunteering now, I have little time to prepare. I'm scoring in the mid 20's and I know if I could only do about a month or 2 of hardcore studying, my scores would increase by a lot. Waiting 3 months is def worth even just a 3 point increase. I registered already too though and those $85 lost are really hurting my wallet.

 

[BushBaby]

Thanks all for your input. I am still torn. I am trying to convince myself to still give April a shot. I am trying to be confident but then I guess I am getting cold feet about the whole thing. Two weeks ago, I was all gong-ho and do or die about the mcat, now I feel like it has already defeated me.
I guess it's because I spent too much taking those hard ass TPR exams A-D that it lowered my confidence level.
I will kick some ass this next three weeks and see where I land.
I hope to God that I land somewhere good. I am just flying on some fake high right now...and I am afraid to crash in some terrible way.

I do enjoy SDN because you guys shed a ray of light on everything for me. Confidence is definitely key and I plan to do crazy studying the following weeks. Not "studying" actually, but just going over questions (mcat style) to reinforce concepts.

Lord help us all.
Thanks

 

[Blessed]

Bushbaby, I am still torn also. Although I may lack confidence right now, I also lack the knowledge. I am taking TPR but I haven't been putting in as much outside class time as I need to. I have a lot on my plate right now. I am taking 15 hours (8 postbacc with two labs and 7 that applies to my MPH), and I have a child among the other million things that I have to do.

I had a long talk with my boyfriend last night and he suggested that I study my butt off for the next three weeks and take the test in April. He feels that even if I don't score what I need to it will still be a great learning experience for me. I can also still take it in August.

Realistically speaking, I don't know how much extra time I will have this summer as opposed to now. I am only taking 11 hours this summer but two of the classes have labs.

What's a girl to do? All I can do is do my best to prepare and take the darn thing. If I've done my part then I will be satisfied with my score.

 

[DrLady]

BB,
I had already told you why I decided not to take the April MCAT. But to others: I recently ( about 2 weeks ago) changed my mind and decided to take the August MCAT. I felt that I was neglecting my classes and my research as I was also taking the independent research so I needed to be at the lab a lot more and here I was, not going to lab except for once a week and not doing any extra studying for the classes. On top of that, I was becoming extremely overwhelmed with the anxiety over mcat and my classes. And after lot of thinking and talking with my friends, I realized that I neeeed more time to not only grasp some concepts in the sciences but also need more time to do some practice passages! I was in the same position as you guys: I was thinking that I will study for the april mcat and see if I score well in the practice tests and if I don't improve and if I dont feel ready until the day before April 26th, I won't take it. However, my best friend put me back to my senses! She told me that one cannot go into MCAT thinking that if u dont feel ready then the august mcat is always there. You see, you not only burn out..really bad if u decide not to take the april, but you HAVE to go into a test thinking, " This is it! I am going to take this test and I am going to prepare well for this. No options about if I dont feel ready then take the aug". I was going into this april thinking like this, and I quickly realized that with this attitude, i wasn't giving 100% focus and my brains were almost fried with this undecisiveness and overload of stress.

After I made the decision of taking the August Test, I went through a major guilt period. I kept on feeling that I made a bad decision and I should have registered, I should have studied till the last day, but u know after coming back to classes, and seeing that i have about 4 midterms in 2 weeks before the MCAT, i just knew that it was a good decision. I think I would not only have skipped some of my mcat studying for the classes, but i wouldn't have been able to give my 100% to my classes either.

I hope this post doesn't come out in a pessimistic tone, but all I am saying is that go into this test with allll the confidence..go thinking you are going to OVERCOME THIS B!tch of a test! I remember one of my friends telling me, " Don't let the MCAT control you....YOU control the MCAT!" I know I will need to say this to myself in the summer..but i just thought that you guys..go kick some major ass if you are taking the april one!!! Decide quickly whether u are taking it..because if ur mind is wavering in deciding, then you won't be able to put your 100% focus in preparation.


Good Luck!!!

-DL

 

[stillpremed]

well said Dr. Lady
I will take into account what you said and stalk, force, control the Mcat
Good luck to yall

 

[solid snake]

I've been thinking about taking the Aug. MCAT's instead of the one in April. I don't know, but I think it's lack of confidence and knowledge has to do with it. Like DL said, don't take the attitude that if you don't do well in April, you can take it again in Aug. I had the same attitude.

I'm taking the 2nd half of O-chem and Physics right now and was hoping to take the april mcat right after, but my physics class is so slow that we only have 3 class periods left until the end of the semester and we still haven't gone over some of the stuff I need to know for the mcat (light, optics, nuclear decay stuff, ...) I was trying to learn the stuff on my own, but it did no good. I've been taking full length's and my scores are not too hot (low 20's) and I was taking AAMC 4R and didn't feel confident that I did well.

But, I hope during the summer, I will have more time to study and learn physics material and reinforce concepts that I haven't gone over in lecture. So what has been said has been true. IT'S ALL ABOUT CONFIDENCE. Good luck to you all sitting for the April MCAT's