Last minute study tips to boost your score...

[mekol07]

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Hey, I'm taking the June 15th MCAT and I need to improve my Biology score a few points. Any tips on how to do this quickly? Reading books, practice tests, going over questions/answers, etc.???

Thanks.

 

[DocInProgress]

Hey, I'm taking the June 15th MCAT and I need to improve my Biology score a few points. Any tips on how to do this quickly? Reading books, practice tests, going over questions/answers, etc.???

Thanks.

PRAY

 

[mrmilad]

For A Miracle

 

[quintessence]

For A Miracle

if you know concepts - do questions/answers
if you don't know concepts - review + pray

good luck =)

 

[majik1213]

if you could, then it would have been done already, and the AAMC would've fixed that glitch

 

[spicedmanna]

Hey, I'm taking the June 15th MCAT and I need to improve my Biology score a few points. Any tips on how to do this quickly? Reading books, practice tests, going over questions/answers, etc.???

Thanks.

Here are some good tips:

Here is my list of advice for you:

1) The 7 days preceding your exam, do not study the material at all. If you have not learned the material at this point, you will not now. All you can is relax.
2) Drive to the test center beforehand (might not apply to you), so you are familiar with the area and not have to spend time in the morning trying to place (which can add stress).
3) Get into a sleep pattern the couple days before the exam. If the exam is at 8am, and you plan on getting up at 6am; wake up at 6am for a few days before the exam so your body can adjust properly and on exam day you'll feel more energetic and not tired.
4) Eat a nutritional and filling breakfast. Oatmeal is the best choice here (high fiber/protein/carbohydrates) with a piece of fruit to go along. I had a bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake for the morning.
5) For test day, bring a snack (Powerbar, Nutri-Grain bar, Kashi bars are all good choices) and a drink (I used a flavored Green Tea drink with not too much sugar to cause an insulin spike).
6) RELAX!!! Breathe deep and take your breaks, even if you feel you do not need them. I never used the full 10min each break, but I still took a break, went to the bathroom each time (even if I didn't have to, but beats having to go during the exam), and had some of the green tea drink.
7) Be confident! Walk into the exam knowing you are going to set the curve and aim for a 45.
8) The night before, eat a high carbohydrate meal (i.e. pasta), watch a movie, then go to bed early.

I want to emphasize relaxation. Do NOT study any more. Relax, do something fun. You've already done the preparation, now go to the test relaxed, refreshed, and ready. That's the best way right now to get your game on!

 

[majik1213]

Here are some good tips:



I want to emphasize relaxation. Do NOT study any more. Relax, do something fun. You've already done the preparation, now go to the test relaxed, refreshed, and ready. That's the best way right now to get your game on!

I'd have to disagree. I just had a major breakthrough in VR (+3 points from a 7 to a personal best, 10) because I employed the strategy of refraining from 2nd guessing. This change has tremendously boosted my chances of getting into medical school. So, stop studying 7 days before IF you are doing well, but if you realize that, like me, you won't get in with your current scores, then you better crack that damn book open until about 2 days before.

 

[spicedmanna]

I'd have to disagree. I just had a major breakthrough in VR (+3 points from a 7 to a personal best, 10) because I employed the strategy of refraining from 2nd guessing. This change has tremendously boosted my chances of getting into medical school. So, stop studying 7 days before IF you are doing well, but if you realize that, like me, you won't get in with your current scores, then you better crack that damn book open until about 2 days before.

Well, for every suggestion there is an anecdotal example to the contrary. The best and most general advice I can give is to tune into your own unique situation and do what feels right to your whole body.

However, I would note that you were attempting to improve VR, which could be quite different than trying to improve BS, which is dependent on outside knowledge. You can't really learn applications of new concepts in less than a week's time, and even reviewing material can be low yield; it may even be counter-effective. Mostly, folks are a little too geared up and feeling scared about the exam, which can very much impact their performance toward the negative. Suffering from a lack of rest and becoming an adrenal hamburger isn't how I'd like to approach a very important test. If I were to do one thing over again for my own test experience, I'd have stopped studying for physics and done what I needed to do to feel more relaxed and refreshed; it probably would have made a difference.

Basically, my personal opinion is that if you aren't ready and prepared for the MCAT, then it may be worth waiting on it until you are ready and fully prepared. There's no point in taking unnecessary risks, especially for a test of this magnitude. Of course, you might say that you can always count on luck, but it won't always be in your favor. Luck favors those who do the work necessary to do well. Anyway, of course, one needs to consider the other factors that could impact timing of when you should take the test, such as when one plans on applying to medical school. This is a personal decision and all pertinent factors should be considered.

 

[J ROD]

Pay someone off at the AAMC.

 

[MystA RavE]

Pay someone off at the AAMC.

Have any numbers? 😀

 

[ilovelucy]

I am taking the test Friday an as of a week and a half ago I was not getting my desired score in PS (3 points away from it). I knew all of the equations, felt comfortable with the concepts but was still missing a lot of questions. So, I tried these technique during my most hated anxiety ridden section:

I paused for a few seconds before each passage and took a deep breath.

I never did a passage right off the bat if the first two sentences
overwhelmed me (I just moved on to a passage I could tackle right away)

If a questions seemed like a gimme I made myself prove it with an equation or reasoning before clicking the answer (without doing this I was falling into a lot of traps)

And finally when I was finished (often with 3-5 minutes to go) I went back and checked some of the "guess" questions often changing a few answers which definitely bumped my score up.

All said, my score jumped 3 points, and I have been consistent ever since with my scores using this method. I am not promising a miracle, just suggesting that you to a look at how you are reacting to the biology section (are you rushing, getting tense, skipping questions) and see if that may help your score at all.

Good luck.

 

[ilovelucy]

Oh and just one more thing... despite what some people state on here, it is my opinion that studying up until two days before is just fine. Hasn't anyone crammed before a test before? It works. I am not saying to review all the material, but if studying keeps your anxiety down and/or you still have a topic that you feel uncomfortable with there is nothing wrong with a little brushing up. Who knows, you might earn an extra point which may make all the difference.

Just make sure you aren't studying until midnight the night before. 😉

 

[spicedmanna]

Oh and just one more thing... despite what some people state on here, it is my opinion that studying up until two days before is just fine. Hasn't anyone crammed before a test before? It works. I am not saying to review all the material, but if studying keeps your anxiety down and/or you still have a topic that you feel uncomfortable with there is nothing wrong with a little brushing up. Who knows, you might earn an extra point which may make all the difference.

Just make sure you aren't studying until midnight the night before. 😉

I confess that I think that different things will work for different people. I think the key is to feel well-rested and ready for the exam, how ever it is you do that. If doing some reviewing a few days before the exam honestly helps you feel more relaxed and ready, or if working on strategy helps you, then I guess it makes sense. However, whatever you do, just make sure you don't over do it and end up adding more stress and anxiety, or tiring yourself out.

Good luck, everyone!

May the force be with you...

 

[Kaydubz]

I've pulled complete all-nighters for almost every single one of my semester final exams in my college career (i'm entering senior year), and it's worked fairly well since I'm used to it by now. I was used to studying until an hour before the exam, and even arranging my sleep schedule so I wake up at like 3 PM the day before an exam so I could stay up more easily. So in other words, I'm like a lot of other college students.

Not planning on using that strategy for the mcat, though I will be studying up to the day before the exam. 🙂

 

[HristosKaran]

Oh and just one more thing... despite what some people state on here, it is my opinion that studying up until two days before is just fine. Hasn't anyone crammed before a test before? It works. I am not saying to review all the material, but if studying keeps your anxiety down and/or you still have a topic that you feel uncomfortable with there is nothing wrong with a little brushing up. Who knows, you might earn an extra point which may make all the difference.

Just make sure you aren't studying until midnight the night before. 😉

Umm..cramming the day before the MCAT is not going to help you out on a critical thinking test. That is unless you are still learning content, and this late in the game you should be only reviewing at best..

 

[Phoenix.]

I've pulled complete all-nighters for almost every single one of my semester final exams in my college career (i'm entering senior year), and it's worked fairly well since I'm used to it by now. I was used to studying until an hour before the exam, and even arranging my sleep schedule so I wake up at like 3 PM the day before an exam so I could stay up more easily. So in other words, I'm like a lot of other college students.

Not planning on using that strategy for the mcat, though I will be studying up to the day before the exam. 🙂

Kaydubz: I was just like you, an A student used to staying up the night before cramming, but when I was studying for the New York bar exam, I stayed up all night the night before reviewing, and due to the added stress of the exam, the four hours straight of multiple choice, and my lack of sleep, to my ultimate HORROR I found myself inexplicably waking up DURING the exam itself. I had fallen asleep! This was years ago, and I don't remember how long I was asleep for or even when I fell asleep, but let me tell you, it wasn't pretty and it's not worth it to stay up the night before studying, even if you think it might help. You need your rest and concentration for an exam like this.

Even if you decide not to stay up all night, but to, say, just study until 6pm or 8pm the night before, you may find that you're so worked up that you then can't fall asleep. Same result. Know what I mean?

I'm taking it this Friday and my plan is to continue reviewing formulas and such all day tomorrow, and taking all of Thursday off (although I may take a quick look at my formula sheet in the afternoon), and certainly not looking at anything MCAT related on Friday before my 1:30pm test. I actually specifically picked the 1:30pm time so that just in case I've got a case of nerves the night before and can't sleep, hopefully I can sleep in in the morning.

Luck to all!

 

[Kaydubz]

Kaydubz: I was just like you, an A student used to staying up the night before cramming, but when I was studying for the New York bar exam, I stayed up all night the night before reviewing, and due to the added stress of the exam, the four hours straight of multiple choice, and my lack of sleep, to my ultimate HORROR I found myself inexplicably waking up DURING the exam itself. I had fallen asleep! This was years ago, and I don't remember how long I was asleep for or even when I fell asleep, but let me tell you, it wasn't pretty and it's not worth it to stay up the night before studying, even if you think it might help. You need your rest and concentration for an exam like this.

Even if you decide not to stay up all night, but to, say, just study until 6pm or 8pm the night before, you may find that you're so worked up that you then can't fall asleep. Same result. Know what I mean?

I'm taking it this Friday and my plan is to continue reviewing formulas and such all day tomorrow, and taking all of Thursday off (although I may take a quick look at my formula sheet in the afternoon), and certainly not looking at anything MCAT related on Friday before my 1:30pm test. I actually specifically picked the 1:30pm time so that just in case I've got a case of nerves the night before and can't sleep, hopefully I can sleep in in the morning.

Luck to all!

Mmm yeah maybe I'll modify that to the second day before the mcat. But as for falling asleep, I've had that problem many a time. Being excited for the next day has led me to get 3 hours of sleep before trips to Six Flags and all day hiking trips. Luckily, those were fun things. I somehow doubt that the mcat is going to be as fun as roller coasters or mountains. I'm registered for the 12 noon exam fortunately, so I've got a little leeway.

So for anyone sick of studying for the mcats, you should try typing "practice bar exam" into google and reading some of those questions like I just did...heh. Imagine all the hard verbal passages from the past 20 mcats put together in one verbal section and then make all the questions open to interpretation. Did you end up passing that exam phoenix? 🙂

Oh, and while we're talking about law...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/03/national/a101833D13.DTL&feed=rss.news
dingus.