Feeling Like I Don't Know Anything

[TexasSurgeon]

The title is a slight exaggeration, but while reviewing, I feel like I seriously don't know a bunch of stuff. Has anyone felt like this, and how did you close the gaps? My MCAT is about 3 months away. Would I have enough time?

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[goft20]

Take a FL to truly gauge your knowledge and understanding of the subjects.

 

[Uafl112]

yea, thats normal. You should have all gaps closed in those 3 months by studying consistently

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Take a FL to truly gauge your knowledge and understanding of the subjects.

Wouldn't a FL be only certain topics though? They can't test it all right?
I should add I'm using SN2's schedule

 

[TexasSurgeon]

yea, thats normal. You should have all gaps closed in those 3 months by studying consistently

I'm reading the BR Orgo chapter on NMR and my mind is blank. It's like this with other subjects as well and it's freaking me out a bit.

 

[goft20]

Wouldn't a FL be only certain topics though? They can't test it all right?
I should add I'm using SN2's schedule

If you spent sufficient time studying and have taken all your prerequisite and have gotten at least b's then trust me you know your stuff. Now is the time to start doing a multitude of practice passages and fls.


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[DoctorInASaree]

NMR: http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/Spectrpy/nmr/nmr1.htm

I think minor setbacks while putting in lots of hours and solving many passages per day is expected. Who doesn't get bummed out when they forget a key fact or miss an easy question? There's no way your mind is completely blank vis-a-vis a particular chapter. I don't know about you, but I consider Orgo to be one of the tougher subjects (perhaps this is just a personal bias).

Three months is a lot of time to cover the continent that is the MCAT. Think of it this way: everyday you're touring a new city, or village or mountainous region. No tourist covers all the key spots in a country in one week let alone one day. Take in the sights one day at a time. On some occasions you will forget the luscious green pastures or the beautiful Cathedral with oak doors and petunias outside. Fret not, for you can look back later (SN2ed's review day!).

If that doesn't help you maybe this will (from what I gleaned of your avatar!)

P.S. - If you're like me and are not comfortable with your knowledge base I think that taking a FL is rather pointless. We'll get there in about a month and half

 

[pharmolu]

I feel as though its normal. You have 3 months; pace yourself, make flashcards and you should be fine

However, if you want to know what areas you are weak on, try the self assessment package from the AAMC. each of the 4 subjects take 2-3 hours to complete however. As a note, I think SN2ed recommends that you review ALL content, even if you think you are good at it, to make sure nothing slips through the holes.

 

[jebelali]

Yup. I feel you. 8 weeks out today (August 2nd) and I am "done" with my review of biology (1 month since), Gen Chem (2.5 weeks), Orgo (1.5 weeks) and I feel like they are all gone. I am not sure i remember any details from biology (I didn't follow SN2ed due to lack of BR materials and shipping issues). I am not sure how I am gonna tackle passages because I feel that I haven't retained. MUST. PERSIST!

 

[theparty]

oh god yes - my content review was 2+ months (non-trad). had you asked me 2 months ago the difference between a ketone and aldehyde, or a single physics equation, i wouldn't have been able to tell ish.

 

[BigEinstein]

I know that feeling but I believe with time the content gaps will close. I always feel sad when I do bad on passages I spent hours studying for smh

 

[deleted388502]

I'm reading the BR Orgo chapter on NMR and my mind is blank. It's like this with other subjects as well and it's freaking me out a bit.

I felt this way with NMR as well. Stick with it. Your mind probably feels black with it because if you're using TBR, I think it's a bit dense in TBR. Check out the resources for NMR on the web, maybe consult old ochem notes, and just keep working at it! TBR info is very dense, but I think it provides more information to give you conceptual understanding. When you attack the passages for that section, I think you'll find you know a lot more than you think you do if you keep a clear head and use logical reasoning to extract information from the passages.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Thanks guys for all the pointers. I'll take everyone's advice, and it's good to see that I'm not alone on this haha. We'll get there!

 

[Leah4sci]

Good news and bad.
Good first - 3 months is enough time to learn and master most of what you require for the MCAT
bad news - you will never truly learn EVERYTHING. I tutor for the MCAT and am still caught by surprise every now and then.
However, I suspect that you're shooting for a score in the 30's and not a 45, so that's ok.
Keep doing what you do, take breaks to stay fresh, walk away when you feel frustrated, then get right back to it.
As for the practice test only testing some concepts - yes that's true but it still helps you stay on track, get a feel for the test, and uncover weak areas that you didn't (or did) know you have.

You mentioned NMR being a sore spot. Here's the thing, don't study NMR the way you learned in orgo. Learn to look for tricks and patters. Try to turn the graph into a puzzle and recognize the ball-park area for functional group numbers.
Here is my take on NMR via YouTube series H-NMR YouTube Video Series

 

[Gauss44]

Remember that the point is to LEARN. Where you end up is most important.

Keep your head up. Stay confident or regain confidence. Open up EK and get a tutor to reduce time studying and cheer you on if possible.

 

[theparty]

also, if a lot of this is new to you in the sense that you don't really remember any of it from your undergrad / didn't do exceptional in those classes, i highly suggest the books from the sn2ed's plan (EK bio + TBR physics/chem/orgo) & chad's videos ( http://www.coursesaver.com/videos/MCAT/ ) for the physics/chem/orgo/bio + kahn academy ( https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat ) for the bio organ systems. having personally used these materials after basically starting from scratch, i've been able to get 30+ on every AAMC thus far with minimal practice problems - i personally suggest content mastery over practice passages; only after you've realized you don't know the concepts as well as you should do the practice passages really help you get better at them, otherwise you're doing practice passages for material you already know and don't really need to practice.

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Take a FL to truly gauge your knowledge and understanding of the subjects.

Took a FL, AAMC #3; made a 24 (7/8/9) on it so I think there's room for improvement for sure...

 

[CW 2010]

It's not too bad! Don't get discouraged and keep studying.

 

[Uafl112]

Took a FL, AAMC #3; made a 24 (7/8/9) on it so I think there's room for improvement for sure...

Just be glad your verbal started off strong. It sucks to be stuck with a low verbal. Sciences can be brought up rather easily

 

[canadianofpeace]

as someone who went from a 6 on my first FL (content complete) to an 11 on my third one using Chads videos on PS, consider them!

 

[TexasSurgeon]

Just be glad your verbal started off strong. It sucks to be stuck with a low verbal. Sciences can be brought up rather easily

Thanks for the support guys! Just gotta keep pushing I guess
Really? I didn't think it too strong!