mcat woes..help plz?!

[Cells4life]

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Hi there,
so i have my mcat scheduled on june 20th and this will be my first time taking it. I started studying a few days ago with the 3 month schedule. However, like most people i'm beginning to feel the negative pressure already ie: not enough time, already thinking about the retake, getting in my apps during prime time, etc. I feel really anxious when I do the practice passages and hence my grades reflect that. I've been excercising and doing meditation, but no big leaps being gained. I have a lot of books ie: kaplan, BR, EK and i'm trying to do all of them,but I tried to make a schedule and it seems kind of impossible to fit them ALL in. I don't know if thats an overkill, I mean i am trying to maximize practice. I guess, I just need some reassurance and if anyone has any tips or suggestions. Thanks..sry for the rant lol

 

[VictorAlpha]

i split the task of studying for the MCAT into two categories: timing and content. timing was just what it seemed and basically anything else besides understanding the material. Content was understanding the material (or more specificallly the questions and answers).

There is enough time during the exam to handle all the questions. If you are short on timing, it should default to a content issue. With enough repetition the questions will be straightforward...meaning... there should not be many times when the question requires extended mental deliberation. Verbal questions tended to be more difficult for me; but there are other people who undoubtedly understood that content so well they didn't even blink at verbal questions.

For the science sections, what the question is asking and the path to the answer should be apparent. If it is not, don't worry about it, just review answer keys and explanations until it is. Many times this means reviewing enough to understand an equation or the relationship between two variables. Once you go over that though, you've learned it and you're that much better prepared. As you do practice tests and practice section tests you should definitly notice patterns or "hot topics" emerge and re-emerge in the tests.

If you have nerves though, I would just keep throwing yourself into the material. I will share a moment of my own neuroticism. When I was studying and doing practice tests, if I got a good score on a practice test, I would almost not want to take another one because "what if I score badly? or What if that good score was just a fluke?" But I just forced myself to keep on practicing...one section at a time, one passage at a time, one question at a time. I even had this mental attitude during the test on test day! Work hard and it will pay off. Good Luck!

 

[StudyShy]

Hey, June 20ther! What you are feeling is totally normal. Hang in there and understand that preparing for the MCAT is more of a marathon than anything else. 🙂

 

[Temperature101]

Hi there,
so i have my mcat scheduled on june 20th and this will be my first time taking it. I started studying a few days ago with the 3 month schedule. However, like most people i'm beginning to feel the negative pressure already ie: not enough time, already thinking about the retake, getting in my apps during prime time, etc. I feel really anxious when I do the practice passages and hence my grades reflect that. I've been excercising and doing meditation, but no big leaps being gained. I have a lot of books ie: kaplan, BR, EK and i'm trying to do all of them,but I tried to make a schedule and it seems kind of impossible to fit them ALL in. I don't know if thats an overkill, I mean i am trying to maximize practice. I guess, I just need some reassurance and if anyone has any tips or suggestions. Thanks..sry for the rant lol

The mcat is a monster test. Even if you had 6 months to study for it, you would always think there is not enough time to do so many practice questions outhere. My suggestions to you is: If you are doing good in a particular topic (75%+ in TBR) don't bother to do more practice on it using another book. You wont be able to do all the practice questions in all these books even if you have a 6-month schedule. You should not be thinking about retaking if you have not taken the test In the first place. Buckle up... Study hard... Do your best and let the other stuff take care of themselves... Good luck!

 

[kj8210]

Dude I'm in the same boat as you and I'm also taking 22 credits. That wasn't my smartest decision but I needed to bring my GPA up and its a grind but like one of the previous posters said, its not a sprint, its a marathon. Focus on understanding key concepts, not memorizing every small little fact. You don't need 3 sets of review books. I am using EK because I feel it to have the most important information and concepts without the excessive back ground details. If you find a section particularly challenging I would say use EK then PR. Honestly I think doing practice questions and understanding the concepts they are testing is the best way to study. Yea it sucks that this test will decide your medical career but thats life and its just gonna get even harder from here. Pace yourself and understand, don't aimlessly memorize.

 

[Cells4life]

thanksss everybody..def needed some motivation...thank u all!

 

[Hemorrage]

Dude I'm in the same boat as you and I'm also taking 22 credits. That wasn't my smartest decision but I needed to bring my GPA up and its a grind but like one of the previous posters said, its not a sprint, its a marathon. Focus on understanding key concepts, not memorizing every small little fact. You don't need 3 sets of review books. I am using EK because I feel it to have the most important information and concepts without the excessive back ground details. If you find a section particularly challenging I would say use EK then PR. Honestly I think doing practice questions and understanding the concepts they are testing is the best way to study. Yea it sucks that this test will decide your medical career but thats life and its just gonna get even harder from here. Pace yourself and understand, don't aimlessly memorize.

I feel for you. Doing 21 credits myself and sometimes i honestly feel like im going to crash and burn trying to balance all of this at once.. hopefully we will all make it.