frustrated with my own stupidity and laziness

[qtpie055]

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hey. so i'm taking the august mcat and using the Kaplan course. Is anyone else feeling really down and frustrated with studying? I'm sitting here, taking Kaplan's Physics II and Gen Chem II Topical tests...failing miserably....and don't feel like I have the energy to do better. is anyone feeling like this? or is it just me? Oh how i hate the PS section.

 

[Fresh]

hey. so i'm taking the august mcat and using the Kaplan course. Is anyone else feeling really down and frustrated with studying? I'm sitting here, taking Kaplan's Physics II and Gen Chem II Topical tests...failing miserably....and don't feel like I have the energy to do better. is anyone feeling like this? or is it just me? Oh how i hate the PS section.

I think your first problem is using the Kaplan materials. I used them and thought I was making progress... all for nothing. My scores on the real MCAT were way lower then what I was doing in the course. Use other materials.

 

[Arsenic]

its supposed to be hard, everyone has those moments. good luck.

 

[Medikit]

I was consistently pissed off at myself until I finally started making some studying progress in March. I think the MCAT can be pretty overwhelming. As long as you study for an hour every day there is no reason to get down on yourself.

 

[freesolo]

an hour every day is way too little for the august mcat especially with the load of crap kaplan gives you, im spending like 7 hours a day, and making horrible scores on everything, i just hope sometime before the august mcat my scores finally go up =/.

 

[Iceageheatwave]

an hour every day is way too little for the august mcat especially with the load of crap kaplan gives you, im spending like 7 hours a day, and making horrible scores on everything, i just hope sometime before the august mcat my scores finally go up =/.

careful there. i hope 7 hours wont exhaust you in a few weeks. Im doing about 4 hours a day. Some days i feel tired after 2 hours and others i can go through the four and feel like time just flew by. Just be careful that you dont burn yourself out

 

[qtpie055]

yea. when you guys say "study" for 4 hrs...do u mean doing the Kaplan hw or an additional of 4 hrs of studying outside of kaplan hw? b/c that's A LOT. I think by working during the day in the lab and studying afterwards...i'm just exhausted. I'm just at a slump right now with the PS science section.....and Kaplan makes their exams extra hard for this section as I heard. boooo

 

[freesolo]

how do you get done with kaplans stuff iceage? I try to do some subject tests here and there, and then all there topicals and that takes forever, and than the reading assignment for the next session! im getting behind on this stuff somehow its more lik 5 and half hours theres always my brain drifting off for 1.5 hours =D

 

[ernieraisin]

Don't worry about Kaplan topicals. They make them especially difficult for a reason. Put yourself in their shoes. You would want your students to master the hard topics so that when the real MCAT exam date comes around, you will feel like you can conquer anything they throw at you. I, too, had a rough time grasping many of the concepts in Kaplan's chemistry and physics's topical exams. On their practice MCATs, I only scored an 11 once (one more worng answer and I was down to 10) but mostly, I scored a 9. On the real MCAT (April 2005), I managed to pull off an 11 in physical science.
So, my point in this long reply is...Just keep tackling those questions. Don't let Kaplan get you down. Also, realize that in many of these passages, the answers are in the passages if you read them carefully enough. Pretend that you are a detective and try to solve the riddle.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[Iceageheatwave]

how do you get done with kaplans stuff iceage? I try to do some subject tests here and there, and then all there topicals and that takes forever, and than the reading assignment for the next session! im getting behind on this stuff somehow its more lik 5 and half hours theres always my brain drifting off for 1.5 hours =D

Ah, i wasnt talking about kaplan but more like studying in general. Im using EK and spending about 2 hours reading the lecture and doing the questions/exams. Sometimes i make notecards and sometimes ill read through the tpr stuff to get some additional review. Whatever you are using, just make sure you dont kill yourself.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

I too am getting frustrated because I feel that I am not making any progress with the Kaplan materials. Then I started to print them out and read over the explainations of the ones I got wrong.

There is method to their madness but getting upset is the worse thing you can do. Keep at it. Study for a few hours and take a break.

I add the EK AO to my regiment and study after work for a couple of hours during the week. On the weekend I really hit it hard.

Imagine if you are getting super hard questions while studying and you review them and get them right and then walk into the test with the confidence you need to ace it.

Remember the green dot

 

[DoctaJay]

Yeah, I really was getting depressed because I felt like I was way behind. I was still on Kaplan's G.Chem 1, and then were teacher Biology 2. I had to reevaluate my strategy. One of my Kaplan teachers (who's currently in UAB med school), said that all the people he knows who did well hardly came to class or read the review books. They just stayed inside the Kaplan center and took topical, subject, and AAMC tests. So thats my strategy. I'm going to read the review chapters, but I'm not going to do the questions in the back, since they aren't MCAT style. Then I'm going to go through the online course, so it came give me some strategy tips. Then I'm going to do ALL the topical, subject, and AAMC tests they assigned (this will give me the repetition).

Trust me, you will get depressed if you try to keep up with what Kaplan is doing. Develop your own schedule and stick with that. Thats the only way I didn't get an ulcer 🙂

 

[mustangsally65]

Yeah, I get tired of studying for hours every day. But this is my third time, so I have to get it right this time, as I'm applying for the second time this year. I wish I hadn't had classes and a job when I took it the first two times, because now that I'm not doing a single thing and just studying, I think I'm learning a lot more.

Don't give up, because one day you will click on the THx and be very pleased, and all the studying will have been worth it. Hopefully it will be sometime in mid October for most of us!

 

[CopticFezz]

I spend so much time studying and i cut back on doing the reading in kaplan(way to much) and focusing more on practice problems. I think its best to learn by doing practice problems... but I’m definitely getting bummed out. Hopefully its all worth it at the end. Good luck to everyone and stay focused!!! 🙂

 

[frany584]

It can definitely get overwhelming sometimes. Right now i'm reading and outlining the Kaplan books (its what helps me remember), and reviewing my notes any chance i get. i also plan on doing plenty of practice problems after i finish reviewing because that definitely helps! study hard and good luck everyone!

 

[AggieJohn]

hey. so i'm taking the august mcat and using the Kaplan course. Is anyone else feeling really down and frustrated with studying? I'm sitting here, taking Kaplan's Physics II and Gen Chem II Topical tests...failing miserably....and don't feel like I have the energy to do better. is anyone feeling like this? or is it just me? Oh how i hate the PS section.

qt, I'm sure you'll do great! If you're frustrated, then you're on the right track.

Just keep at it and I bet you'll get that score you want! Best of luck!

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Don't do the topical tests until you've mastered the basics. The topical tests are very difficult, but they really do test if you know your stuff. If you find the practice tests too difficult, you probably need to put in the time to learn the underlying science. After you got the basic science down pat, try to figure out what concepts the questions are testing you. The MCAT is all about understanding concepts, not details.

Also, after you take each practice test, go back over all the answers, even the ones you got right. Spend at least an hour for each practice test, and probably a couple hours for each full-length. It worked for me.

 

[amzoo]

Hey,

don't let it get you down. I too am taking Kaplan and it's really challenging doing those tests, the explanations don't seem to make things clear either. Mainly just keep at it and don't get upset. I know it's frustrating, but when you take your full length you can see where your real weaknesses lie.

 

[SpeedRacer]

hey. so i'm taking the august mcat and using the Kaplan course. Is anyone else feeling really down and frustrated with studying? I'm sitting here, taking Kaplan's Physics II and Gen Chem II Topical tests...failing miserably....and don't feel like I have the energy to do better. is anyone feeling like this? or is it just me? Oh how i hate the PS section.

if your schedule isn't working, then STOP now and make a new one. you need to go about this in an organized fashion. freaking out and bouncing from one topical test to another expecting instant results will get you nowhere. i fell behind in my kaplan class and realized i didn't care - i was just using them for their materials. i didn't even really pay attention in class. the important thing is though to go over all the chapters in the books. throw away the lesson class book if you want.

if you're having problems with PS (it was my worst section too), then get at it now. just start at the beginning and if you know any chapters really well, just quickly read over them. for the ones you suck at, read through them, take notes, and repeat. i read some chapters 10 times over until they were drilled into my head. only then should you move onto the topical tests.

if you're having problems on more than one section, and you need to go all over all the chapters, don't panic. just say "i need to read all the chapters in 3 wks" and write down a schedule. i did it like this:

monday: bio ch. 1,2 phys ch. 1,2
tuesday: phys ch. 1,2 chem ch. 1,2
wednesday: chem ch. 1,2 orgo ch. 1,2
thursday: orgo ch. 1,2 bio ch. 3,4
firday: bio ch. 3,4 phys ch. 3,4
saturday: phys ch 3,4 chem ch. 3,4
you get the idea.

the reason i did it like this is because repeating/reviewing information within 24 hours of learning it increases memory (a tip from my yale law-bound friend). so, if you read 2 chapters of biology one day, start the next day by quickly reviewing them. if you fall behind, don't worry, change the schedule. and, if you need to cover more chapters in more time, then do so. cut out the ones you already know, and you'll be fine.

once you're done with the chapters, start doing topicals. find your weak points, go back to the chapters, see what you got wrong, etc. then move to the full lengths. you can't test yourself until you know the material first.

my PS section was horrid when i started, and i ended up with an 11. i know it's hard to go back to the chapters, but you need to know this stuff before you take those tests. if you want, go over the chapter, then do a topical, the move on.

sorry, this was long. i just remember being in that position and feeling really screwed...and like i was running out of time.

GOOD LUCK you can do this!

 

[BlinkyCat]

Hi Everyone,

July is heading this way, and I noticed that some people are still reviewing content and subject tests. From my own experience, I felt that my most important phase of studying was building endurance and practicing critical thinking. You should be very comfortable with content by now. Don't read chapters anymore unless you're still weak on it. I made that mistake where I spent too much time going over content. I got everydown cold only to find out it was only the beginning part of studying. My scores really jumped after I practiced full length tests. Leave yourself at least several weeks to get comfortable with sitting on your butt for 8 hours. Don't do subj. tests kaplan students! In my opinion, they're totally useless. I did like one or two of them and was glad i stopped and spent more times on topicals and full-lengths. 🙂 Ok, good luck! Remember to eat plenty of carbs because your brain uses glucose 🙂 ...(which mean no dieting or atkins during mcat studying 🙂 )

 

[45408]

Don't burn yourself out, guys. I started to do well when I started to relax. My highest Kaplan full-length score came after a whopping four hours of sleep that night. I fell asleep in the parking lot before going into the testing center. I was off in my own little world during that full-length, but I just blasted through it. So, don't get caught up in the importance of what you're doing, or you'll sink your own ship. If you're taking the test thinking "OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD, THIS TEST DETERMINES THE COURSE OF MY LIFE!!!" then you're probably going to screw it up.

Take the test thinking, "I know this ****." Because you do. The trick is to apply it to a passage in a timely fashion, and you've got it. Relax.

 

[hafido]

Hi, I am from the predent forum but though I would chime in. I just spoke to a fellow classmate yesterday at a JC in the bay area. He is appyling to medical school this year and is very smart and also very, very dedicated. Here is his method he used to study for the MCAT. Last October he started to study for the MCAT by taking one real exam per week and studying around 4-6 hours a week ouside of regular classes. He continued this until April or May (whenever the last MCAT was administered) of this year. He just received his scores back and scored a 36. I knew he would do well, but from what my friends have said, 36 is super well. BTW, I really doubt this guy is lying, he is 38, and has made a career change after being a novelist for several years and if you could see how the guy approaches school work you would not be suprised by his doing so well. His advice to me was to start early, and get comfortable with the test until you just know it inside out, get your hands on as many tests as possible, and review. Regardless, to the OP, you have to get over your slump. Maybe try clearing your head or mtivate yurself by studying with some people that are also applying to M-school.