January 2008 MCAT Central

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DrJD

DrJD

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Hey all! Anyone start studying now for the January 2008 test? Seems weird that its only 6 months away... What are all of you doing to study?

Best of luck!
 
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he says "umc" on the video. maybe university of mississippi medical school? i don't know. it's just cute!
s.
 
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kudos on that video, good to wake up to...gonna do an aamc today, good luck to all the others taking one today too hope we all get a little confidence boost

also, im not taking aamc 9 today but from what i have heard about the last bs passages being messed up or whatever is it not worth taking?
:luck:
 
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are any of you gonna take kaplan 10 and 11? i know people say not to take them. i took 10 yesterday night and got kicked in my non-existant balls. horrible.
 
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really? i was considering skipping kaplan 9 todayand taking 10 and 11, people say not to? anyone? also aamc 9 is messed up? oh man that was the last one i was going to take before the real thing!
 
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well if you take 10, let me know how it goes for you. if you look at the curves/grading scale from kaplan, 10 and 11 have the hardest curves, and 9 has those nice lenient curves. nice confidence booster imo.
 
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i dunno about 9. havent taken it yet. i like medium level questions. haha i get the easy ones wrong. >.<
 
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sorry i meant for kaplan 10 and 11. if the curve is tougher, are the passages at least shorter/aamc-like?

so essentially i have kaplan 9,10,11 and aamc 3,9,10 left. i was planning on doing two of the kaplans and the 3 aamcs leading up to the test. which kaplan should be left out?
 
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i dont think the passages are any shorter. the questions are worded badly, and are very ambigious. also kaplan's grammar sucks, they use "then" instead of "than." haha for a well-known testing company, you would at least expect them to get the difference between those two words.
 
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ok i dont think it's worth demoralizing myself over two really bad tests a week before the real thing (i searched SDN and people tend to not be into it). i'm going to forgo kaplan 10 and 11 and instead study today, take kaplan 9 tomorrow, aamc 3 on saturday, travel to DC in preparation for my test on sunday, aamc 10 on monday, aamc 9 on wednesday, then the real thing on friday :/
 
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kaplan 10 + 11 are bad... you kinda need some outside knowledge or a real in-depth understanding of the passage to answer some of the question. Most are all right, but a few passages are just plain mean. Real confidence demoralizer.. I got a 25 🙁

Also, there is nothing wrong with aamc 9. there was a previous post about how difficult aamc 8 is but I don't think that there is anything wrong with that one either. these too are actually your best indicative tests and aamc 10 will be the most representative. The thing with aamc 10 is that I was told the scaling is a little off. I forget if it boost ur score or lowers it, maybe others can input on that. well good luck everyong, I think id b taking aamc 8 today.
 
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streetlight said:
ok i dont think it's worth demoralizing myself over two really bad tests a week before the real thing (i searched SDN and people tend to not be into it). i'm going to forgo kaplan 10 and 11 and instead study today, take kaplan 9 tomorrow, aamc 3 on saturday, travel to DC in preparation for my test on sunday, aamc 10 on monday, aamc 9 on wednesday, then the real thing on friday :/
Click to expand...

yo, I thought you weren't taking it in jan
If you are, let me say something... there is never ever a guarantee of even a 36. Most people's scores on this thread can get anywhere between a 30 and a 40... perhaps the few who consistently score 40 can actually predict their scores. Take it if you feel confident that you know your material. Forget about scores/numbers (especially since you've been doing well on practice tests) since you have been scoring 90%ile on them. It doesn't get better than that... and if it does, it's luck/confidence/other extraneous factors.

When I took the August MCAT, I studied ... but I never had mastery of the material. I would always hope that certain types of questions would not be asked .... or "if it's on the test.. I'll somehow figure it out." Be prepared. My practice scores were high sometimes... but on the real deal, I got new stuff, my confidence shattered, and my score wasn't good. Right now, I'm going in there thinking, "They can throw any PS question at me... I know what to do." OChem is anotehr matter... but it's not worth it to wait in my case. All I'm saying it... your scores are fine.. but will you be able to replicate them on test day? Do you know your material?
 
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AAMC 8:

Ps:12, Vr:13, Bs:11 (36)

yess, highest VR score yet (only 4 wrong!)...still felt like it could've been a 10 though..so yeah..weird. Anyways, pretty siked. Thought I did better in the bio section.

Bozz, you're practice scores seem to be pretty high, I'm suprised you are a retaker. What was your first score if you don't mind me asking? How do your practice scores now compare with those before your first test?
 
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bozz said:
yo, I thought you weren't taking it in jan
If you are, let me say something... there is never ever a guarantee of even a 36. Most people's scores on this thread can get anywhere between a 30 and a 40... perhaps the few who consistently score 40 can actually predict their scores. Take it if you feel confident that you know your material. Forget about scores/numbers (especially since you've been doing well on practice tests) since you have been scoring 90%ile on them. It doesn't get better than that... and if it does, it's luck/confidence/other extraneous factors.

When I took the August MCAT, I studied ... but I never had mastery of the material. I would always hope that certain types of questions would not be asked .... or "if it's on the test.. I'll somehow figure it out." Be prepared. My practice scores were high sometimes... but on the real deal, I got new stuff, my confidence shattered, and my score wasn't good. Right now, I'm going in there thinking, "They can throw any PS question at me... I know what to do." OChem is anotehr matter... but it's not worth it to wait in my case. All I'm saying it... your scores are fine.. but will you be able to replicate them on test day? Do you know your material?
Click to expand...

haha i am posting in the january mcat thread arent i? i prepared in hopes of taking it in sept but i chickened out early on. i got a bit of studying done over the summer, but the bulk of it done from finals on til now. physics has always been my thing - ive TA'd the class here at MIT and think im ready for things they can throw at me. chem/orgo depend on the wording of the question sometimes for me. and the bio i feel always depends on the question and not much with how much i know. it's really not a super amount of material for bio i guess. i'll take it in a week, see how i do, and hopefully won't have to retake. if i do, it's not a big deal cuz i have a while to prepare for a second. but i'm counting on this one.

thanks for your advice. instead of taking tests today i'm gonna go through kaplans high yield problem solving guide to see just a large array of TYPES of questions and make sure i can do them.

right now my big weaknesses are:
physics: mirrors/lenses and fluid mechanics to a lesser extent
chem: redox and partial pressure problems. shouldn't be too hard to get
orgo: eh. we'll see how much i can make work on the tests, i haven't been doing too badly so far. but i need to memorize the IR/NMR things. all i know is O-H and C=O lol
bio: im sure theres always something more i can understand, but embryology is the toughest for me.
 
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AAMC 6 - 10's across the board, i would really like to get over this hump I feel like I am always so close but the stuff i just studied i do well and mess up stuff i was doing well on before
 
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hey everyone,

i have been taking a practice test just about everyday for the last week... Today during AAMC 9, by the time i got to the bio section, i could not concentrate for the life of me. I tried closing my eyes for 30 seconds to regain focus, but that only helped for the next passage. After that, even a brief rest was useless. My score was okay, but I definitely guessed a lot. I'm not sure if "scanning" the passage was even worth the time because I ended up just clicking reasonable-sounding answers for practically every passage based question. Does anyone have any tips on how to regain focus during a section?

Also--do the AAMC tests seem short with only 7 passages and 3 short sets of discretes? Is this how the real exam will be set up? (the trend i've noticed is 2 psgs, discretes, 2-3 psgs, discretes, 3-2 psgs, discretes.
 
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hopefulpremed said:
hey everyone,

i have been taking a practice test just about everyday for the last week... Today during AAMC 9, by the time i got to the bio section, i could not concentrate for the life of me. I tried closing my eyes for 30 seconds to regain focus, but that only helped for the next passage. After that, even a brief rest was useless. My score was okay, but I definitely guessed a lot. I'm not sure if "scanning" the passage was even worth the time because I ended up just clicking reasonable-sounding answers for practically every passage based question. Does anyone have any tips on how to regain focus during a section?

Also--do the AAMC tests seem short with only 7 passages and 3 short sets of discretes? Is this how the real exam will be set up? (the trend i've noticed is 2 psgs, discretes, 2-3 psgs, discretes, 3-2 psgs, discretes.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you are just getting tired... Taking a full practice test every day is a lot for ANYONE to handle. I think you'll find that if you give yourself a break you will have a much easier time focusing. Try taking a practice test every other day and see if that helps. Ideally two days in between. All the best!

PS.
Definitely take at least a couple days off before the actual test, especially since you now know that you get fatigued and will lose focus if you take practice tests up until the day before....
 
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well i take the exam in the morning and am usually done by 1pm (i dont do the writing.) i go home for lunch and end up bumming around/half-ass reviewing the exam. and i make it a point to get my 8 hrs of sleep. i wonder if it's what i'm eating during the 10 minute breaks?
 
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Just thought I would make one these things:

Kap Diag: ___PS:7__ VR:10 __BS: 11 (28)
Kap FL 8: ___PS:11 __VR:8__ BS:14 (33)
AAMC 5 : ___PS:12__ VR:10 __BS:11 (33)
Kap FL4: ____PS:8 __VR:10 __BS:14 (32) *gave up on PS boo-hoo
AAMC 6: ____Ps:12 __Vr:10__ Bs:12 (34)
Kap FL5: ____PS:12__ VR:11 __BS:14 (37)
AAMC 4: ____Ps:12__ Vr:10__ Bs:14 (36)
AAMC 8: ____Ps:12__ Vr:13__ Bs:11 (36)
*13 in VR just delightful...BS was hard, though. AAMC BS is not being as cool to me as kaplan's "10 wrong, scaled score=14" policy.

Tonight I think I might actually go over the writing sample 😱
 
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Signing in with the January 25thers. I'm a retaker of the Aug 20th nightmare. Trying to figure out for the life of me why I seemed to get reamed by Kaplan's tests and fair well on the AAMC(which although I took 6 months ago the questions I get wrong show no correlation, in fact I second guess myself because I think I remember something).

K5R (12/8/12)
K7R (didn't want to know/10/11)

AAMC 3CBT (12/11/13)
AAMC 4R (35 not sure of bdown)
AAMC 6R (12/10/12)
AAMC 10CBT (12/12/15)

Cheers
 
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I'm seriously thinking about putting off taking the Jan 26 MCAT. I took TPR last semester and have read all the material, did most practice problems. On practice exams however, I've been getting:

TPR 1 : 19
TPR 2 : 19
TPR 3 : 20
TPR 4 : 19
AAMC 9 : 30 ?!?!
AAMC 10 : 22

in that order. I don't feel prepared, but that might be my nerves talking. Should I get a refund and take it in April instead? :T It's a week away and I'm so stressed out.. I dont know what to do. Any advice?
 
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Is AAMC CBT 5 represents the real thing?
I found it to be way easier than other tests.
I got 14 on physical science 😕 and i know i m not that good
 
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DocWalken said:
AAMC 8:

Ps:12, Vr:13, Bs:11 (36)

yess, highest VR score yet (only 4 wrong!)...still felt like it could've been a 10 though..so yeah..weird. Anyways, pretty siked. Thought I did better in the bio section.

Bozz, you're practice scores seem to be pretty high, I'm suprised you are a retaker. What was your first score if you don't mind me asking? How do your practice scores now compare with those before your first test?
Click to expand...

congrats... awesome verbal score... I ended up with a 29Q (10, 9, 10) when I took it in august. I don't think I had ever gotten under a 11 in the sciences before.. so it was weird... but then again, not so weird... keep reading

My Kaplan practice tests went as high as 37 (only once though)... everything else was around 33ish
AAMCs.. I'd keep getting 8s on Verbal... which dragged my score down.. so low 30s there... my highest was AAMC 9, which was a 33. The Kaplan curve gave me a false sense of security. I felt like I could have pulled off a 32-33... but if you really think about it...

the difference between a 29 and a 32 CAN be 3 questions... the difference between a 33 and a 36 CAN be 3 questions... depending on your luck.
For example, on AAMC 8 this time I was 1 question away from a 14 PS, 11 VR, and 11 BS

that 1 question in each section can make all the difference
 
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Wow I find it hard to believe that you scored a 29..I mean that's not a bad score, but your practices have been a lot higher. Do you feel more confident this time (better practice scores, etc)?

I definitely agree about the whole one question making all the difference thing. I think part of taking the test is finding a balance between analyzing to death each question you're not certain of and just having the confidence to move on.
 
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bozz said:
congrats... awesome verbal score... I ended up with a 29Q (10, 9, 10) when I took it in august. I don't think I had ever gotten under a 11 in the sciences before.. so it was weird... but then again, not so weird... keep reading

My Kaplan practice tests went as high as 37 (only once though)... everything else was around 33ish
AAMCs.. I'd keep getting 8s on Verbal... which dragged my score down.. so low 30s there... my highest was AAMC 9, which was a 33. The Kaplan curve gave me a false sense of security. I felt like I could have pulled off a 32-33... but if you really think about it...

the difference between a 29 and a 32 CAN be 3 questions... the difference between a 33 and a 36 CAN be 3 questions... depending on your luck.
For example, on AAMC 8 this time I was 1 question away from a 14 PS, 11 VR, and 11 BS

that 1 question in each section can make all the difference
Click to expand...

Wow, now I'm scared to death. My highest was AAMC 9 (and Kaplan FL4, which were 35s, but as you said Kaplan is BS)...

I'm going to start focusing on percent correct on Kaplan...

I know every single concept in the Kaplan book, but of course, there are topics that I prefer and ones I do not prefer. On the Kaplan topicals as well as subject tests for physics, I get about 60-70% correct, and the section tests.... yeah, those are my weakest.
 
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well.. I don't represent the general trend... I'm a nervous testtaker... so think of my as an anomaly... but then again not really.. it's reasonable to score + or - 3 points from what your normally do... most people do.

all I can say is not panicking takes you a long way... I am more confident this time.. mainly because this isn't the first time someone's put the MCAT gun to my head. I feel a lot more confident.

On test day, even for simple arithmetic problems... that you'd otherwise take seconds to solve... I kept checking my answers.. over and over... since "every" point matters.. and since it's such a shame to lose easy points.. as a result, I couldn't look over harder problems. What I've improved on the most, which has helped in PS is... to reduce math errors... I'm confident in myself. If you want to do it right, do it right the first time. Never mark a "math" problem... don't think "hey I'll get back to it later." Finish it in ONE go.

I don't know if you realize it now... but when you're sitting in front of the computer and think... OMG my whole life depends on this test, you will get nervous.. and paranoid.. and start checking your answers like crazy. Try to avoid that. Prepare beforehand.
 
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What is your goal? If you are going for a 25-26, then you should be okay. If you are shooting for 35-36, then you probably should hold off. Keep in mind, however, that most April test dates are probably full by now. I would take it either way (who knows, you may get a 30).
 
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People talking about the whole Kaplan curve thing confuses me because my AAMC and Kaplan scores match up exactly and I don't know what that predicts at all. The AAMC tests are way easier (on the PS, at the very least) so they have more stringent curves, right?
 
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pky463 said:
People talking about the whole Kaplan curve thing confuses me because my AAMC and Kaplan scores match up exactly and I don't know what that predicts at all. The AAMC tests are way easier (on the PS, at the very least) so they have more stringent curves, right?
Click to expand...

this must be true. i consistently get about 10-15% worse on my PS sections for Kaplan and the curve always makes it a 11, 12, or 13. I have found that ALL of the Kaplan material is significantly more difficult than the AAMC stuff. Particularly the section and topical tests are much more obscure.

I think what we all need to realize is that it is a curved test. Everyone takes the (essentially) same test so what is hard for one is likely hard for all. Even if it feels like we bombed it the curve will probably do the same thing it has done every time you have taken a test. Sometimes I feel like I got killed by a PS section and the curve always takes you back. So keep telling yourself that during the breaks on the 25th/26th.
 
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Took AAMC 8 today.

PS-12 VR-9 BS-12 (33)

I was actually very happy to see this score. Considering this test was harder than the others I've taken I am very happy with myself. Also, I was only one question behind a 10 on verbal which would have given me my ideal (and realistic) breakdown for test day.

I thought bio was actually quite easy.. I had more difficulty with the physics if anything. Some really tough passages there imo.
 
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BloodySurgeon said:
Took AAMC 8 today.

PS-12 VR-9 BS-12 (33)

I was actually very happy to see this score. Considering this test was harder than the others I've taken I am very happy with myself. Also, I was only one question behind a 10 on verbal which would have given me my ideal (and realistic) breakdown for test day.

I thought bio was actually quite easy.. I had more difficulty with the physics if anything. Some really tough passages there imo.
Click to expand...

I took this today too... I got a 29 PS-9 VR-10 BS-10. I missed a PS 10 by two questions today.. and I think I found 3 that were stupid mistakes resulting from misreading the question/options. I was pleased with verbal and a bit disappointed with BS. I'm still trying to be optimistic that I can bring up my PS- I have a date with optics tonight!

Sub-1 week...

-BP
 
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BassPlease said:
I took this today too... I got a 29 PS-9 VR-10 BS-10. I missed a PS 10 by two questions today.. and I think I found 3 that were stupid mistakes resulting from misreading the question/options. I was pleased with verbal and a bit disappointed with BS. I'm still trying to be optimistic that I can bring up my PS- I have a date with optics tonight!

Sub-1 week...

-BP
Click to expand...

bassplease, you need to go out IMMEDIATELY after taking the test considering you turned 21 and havent gone out for it yet (i think it was you who posted that at least...too lazy to search).

really i'm excited for all the drunken posts late friday/saturday night when everyone gets back!
 
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fattymangox03 said:
I'm seriously thinking about putting off taking the Jan 26 MCAT. I took TPR last semester and have read all the material, did most practice problems. On practice exams however, I've been getting:

TPR 1 : 19
TPR 2 : 19
TPR 3 : 20
TPR 4 : 19
AAMC 9 : 30 ?!?!
AAMC 10 : 22

in that order. I don't feel prepared, but that might be my nerves talking. Should I get a refund and take it in April instead? :T It's a week away and I'm so stressed out.. I dont know what to do. Any advice?
Click to expand...

maybe a late response, but i heard TPR are hard as hell, and that AAMC 10 is pretty hard too. considering you've taken the hard practice exams, try some of the easier ones and see how you do! i'm not sure if you can get a refund at this point so might as well take it?
 
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Boo, I took AAMC 8 too, 8BS 10V 7PS 🙁

Oh well, at least I can console myself with the fact that I did it with only 3 hours of sleep (long long day..sigh)

Tomorrow, fresh and early...7!
 
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i am so burned out. i took TPR #8 today and after I found out I got an 8 on PS, I just quit. What do you guys do when you feel so burned out? I kinda wanna take a break for my guilty conscience kick in.
 
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streetlight said:
bassplease, you need to go out IMMEDIATELY after taking the test considering you turned 21 and havent gone out for it yet (i think it was you who posted that at least...too lazy to search).

really i'm excited for all the drunken posts late friday/saturday night when everyone gets back!
Click to expand...

Haha... that wasn't me, I wish!!! It sucks... I actually have a 12-hour mandatory EMT class on Saturday... so I'm driving 3 hours up to school immediately after my exam. I'm not sure if there is going to be excessive drinking Friday but my roommate left me a loving message a few weeks ago saying that she purchased 2 bottles of champagne for me to double fist on Saturday 😎 :hardy:.

-BP
 
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BassPlease said:
Haha... that wasn't me, I wish!!! It sucks... I actually have a 12-hour mandatory EMT class on Saturday... so I'm driving 3 hours up to school immediately after my exam. I'm not sure if there is going to be excessive drinking Friday but my roommate left me a loving message a few weeks ago saying that she purchased 2 bottles of champagne for me to double fist on Saturday 😎 :hardy:.

-BP
Click to expand...

wow that sounds mostly horrendous. if anyone wants to join festivities in dc, nyc, or boston, i will be hitting up all three that following weekend!
 
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Hello all!

I just took the PS section from what I believe is KP FL #2 and I got a 15! YES!! I got a 13 on one of the AAMC Verbals, but otherwise this is the highest scaled score I've gotten! Really excited, I feel like I am going to peak right at the right time... Hopefully...

I am still finding the hardest thing knowing what to study between now and next week... try and just review flash cards and do as many practice questions as I can... Anyways, keep up the good work everyone!
 
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Maybe we should all do an online review over AIM or something, just to make sure we know everything (just a quick recitation of major concepts in PS, etc.).

Anyone up for it?
 
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robocop1998 said:
i am so burned out. i took TPR #8 today and after I found out I got an 8 on PS, I just quit. What do you guys do when you feel so burned out? I kinda wanna take a break for my guilty conscience kick in.
Click to expand...


Take a day off. Read, exercise, watch a movie. It's now going to kill you. I'm a big fan of this tactic once in a while. It really helps to make you more enthuastic and get you focused if you've got a few days to go still. The exam will only freak you out as much as you let it.
 
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robocop1998 said:
i am so burned out. i took TPR #8 today and after I found out I got an 8 on PS, I just quit. What do you guys do when you feel so burned out? I kinda wanna take a break for my guilty conscience kick in.
Click to expand...


Take a day off. Read, exercise, watch a movie. It's not going to kill you. I'm a big fan of this tactic once in a while. It really helps to make you more enthuastic and get you focused if you've got a few days to go still. The exam will only freak you out as much as you let it.
 
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ahmedqman said:
Maybe we should all do an online review over AIM or something, just to make sure we know everything (just a quick recitation of major concepts in PS, etc.).

Anyone up for it?
Click to expand...

I'm up for anything... especially if it involves someone helping me break down optics!

-BP
 
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i'm up for it too! tomorrow though, not tonight. possibly in the afternoon/early evening?
 
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