okay, before i jump

[suckermc]

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i am new to sdn but have been reading the posts obsessively but have not found the answer to this question. id like some advice.

now before i get the posts from some saying im not smart enough to do this...this is not what i am asking. i applaud those that did well...and i am alittle scared to post because i have read some harsh , reall y harsh statements (particullary to mustangsally and justr) but here goes.

i have to retake the mcat. (surprise) what got me, and i can't believe this is happening, but i went from a 26-29 on practice exams and CHOKED like arod in the post season with a 19.

yes, my testing situation sucked (whose didn't?)and i started late because i had a watch that beeped. i actually got taken out of the room. my mistake. somehow i let that get to me, and all thru the test i kep thinking about PS. how i effed that up. i couldnt concentrate at all.NOTHING that i practiced held up.


now i want to give up reading that post from that guy who told m.sally she was too stupid cuz she "couldn't break 20..." but i honestly feel that i know my stuff. i should have been more confident, but that whole ordeal with the watch effed me up. my question:

how do i get over this? for those that retake, how did you get over what you didbefore? i can't sleep.
how do i study now? i already took a review course. do i take another one? i was thinking of studying on my own and taking a review course in january while im taking biochem.
for those that re took and did well, what did you do differently? how did you ascertain what you did wrong the first time?
how the hell do you keep yr focus when you feel like you are effin up a section?
in short: what can i do differently?

thanks guys.

 

[Fermata]

Study for it again next year.

Make sure to set up practice test situations so this won't happen to you again.

The most important thing is for you to keep faith in yourself.

 

[suckermc]

Study for it again next year.

Make sure to set up practice test situations so this won't happen to you again.

The most important thing is for you to keep faith in yourself.

thank you. i've lost some faith but what you said helps.

 

[efex101]

Do not listen to anyone that is trying to bring you down..if you were scoring in the twenties with the practice exams then you *can* do this with the real deal. Just focus and never let something get to you...you may find yourself that on the next exam you might miss answering X amount of questions well...guess bubble something in and then let it GO. Start your next section and do your best for that is truly all you can do, the rest is out of your hands.

 

[hrtrs]

i am new to sdn but have been reading the posts obsessively but have not found the answer to this question. id like some advice.

now before i get the posts from some saying im not smart enough to do this...this is not what i am asking. i applaud those that did well...and i am alittle scared to post because i have read some harsh , reall y harsh statements (particullary to mustangsally and justr) but here goes.

i have to retake the mcat. (surprise) what got me, and i can't believe this is happening, but i went from a 26-29 on practice exams and CHOKED like arod in the post season with a 19.

yes, my testing situation sucked (whose didn't?)and i started late because i had a watch that beeped. i actually got taken out of the room. my mistake. somehow i let that get to me, and all thru the test i kep thinking about PS. how i effed that up. i couldnt concentrate at all.NOTHING that i practiced held up.


now i want to give up reading that post from that guy who told m.sally she was too stupid cuz she "couldn't break 20..." but i honestly feel that i know my stuff. i should have been more confident, but that whole ordeal with the watch effed me up. my question:

how do i get over this? for those that retake, how did you get over what you didbefore? i can't sleep.
how do i study now? i already took a review course. do i take another one? i was thinking of studying on my own and taking a review course in january while im taking biochem.
for those that re took and did well, what did you do differently? how did you ascertain what you did wrong the first time?
how the hell do you keep yr focus when you feel like you are effin up a section?
in short: what can i do differently?

thanks guys.

Hi suckermc,
There are many of us out there like you. We don't post on SDN preventing others from posting degrading comments. We have what it takes for the MCAT but need a support network. That's why we are teaming up on a yahoo support group to provide tutoring, support, friendship, and guidance for the upcoming April MCAT. We would love to have you on our team!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MCATSupport/

 

[speedyIs]

I think confidence is the most important factor to do well on MCAT.
I remember myself, after thinking that I screwed up PS really badly, cancelling the test and walking home crying in April. 🙁 I felt like my life was over and felt like a total loser because I actually took a semester off from school to study for MCAT. I got various comments, some nice and some harsh... Well, we should learn to listen to only those comments that help us get back on our feet, because getting discouraged is the last thing you want to do.

So what did I do different on August MCAT? One thing!!! I believed myself and finished the test!!! I felt like I screwed up PS again, but I tried to calm myself to concentrate on other sections. I felt like I screwed up every section, but I kept going even though I cried silently during breaks. 😳

Confidence is very very important because MCAT is not a knowledge test. You have to trust your skills to answer each question. Compared to the real test, some people say that the practice exams are easier, some say they are harder. I think they are prettty accurate on average. If you were scoring 26-29, you surely have skills to do well on MCAT. I think you just need faith in yourself. One good way to build confidence is studying more... do many practice tests to make you feel like you know the MCAT.

Good luck!!!

 

[mustangsally65]

Welcome to SDN!

First of all, let me say that people who bash other people on here have their own insecurities and are just trying to feel bigger and better at someone else's expense. These posters are not worth your time to read their posts, much less the fear you have about being called out yourself. Just let it roll off your back, that's what I do. If you want to be a doctor then nothing will stop you from reaching your goal, as long as you don't let anything stop you.

You can do better. Everyone has the potential to improve. Practice tests are usually pretty indicative of your performance on the real thing. You had a bad day, got stressed out, and couldn't focus. It happens to the best of us. It sucks that you have to wait until April to prove your true abilities, but maybe that time will be good for you, becuase if you can build up confidence in yourself then you will feel much better about having to retake. And when you get your scores, you will be vindicated and never again think about anonymous posters on SDN who have to get their ego boosts by telling other people they aren't good enough.

In the end, what matters is that you are a good person who wants to go into medicine to make a difference in other peoples' lives. People who belittle us on SDN don't fit that description, and you just have to feel a bit of sadness that they can't know the happiness people like us get from the simple act of helping others.

I wish you the best of luck, and I believe in you. You can do it!

 

[chicklett1]

After taking the Kaplan course, I took the MCAT in April and choked (as in about 5 points lower than practice exams). So, for August, I bought the 1001 questions Examkrackers books and did every single problem before retaking. There was a significant improvement. I still don't have my dream score, but it'll do.

You can absolutely do the same thing! It is so hard not to feel completely disillusioned, but you just have to pull it together and get back to work. I found that until I got the Examkrackers books, I didn't know where to even start with my restudying, but having the problems in front on me gave me a goal. I started with page 1 of my worst subject, and vowed to do 100 problems each day, going back to the ones that I got wrong and reworking them. Then I circled all of the ones I had trouble with, and in the last few weeks before the MCAT retake, I did them again.

Good luck! BTW, you can buy the Examkrackers books for really cheap on walmart.com. And I also bought the Examkrackers Audio Osmosis CDs, but I didn't find them helpful at all.

 

[suckermc]

After taking the Kaplan course, I took the MCAT in April and choked (as in about 5 points lower than practice exams). So, for August, I bought the 1001 questions Examkrackers books and did every single problem before retaking. There was a significant improvement. I still don't have my dream score, but it'll do.

You can absolutely do the same thing! It is so hard not to feel completely disillusioned, but you just have to pull it together and get back to work. I found that until I got the Examkrackers books, I didn't know where to even start with my restudying, but having the problems in front on me gave me a goal. I started with page 1 of my worst subject, and vowed to do 100 problems each day, going back to the ones that I got wrong and reworking them. Then I circled all of the ones I had trouble with, and in the last few weeks before the MCAT retake, I did them again.

Good luck! BTW, you can buy the Examkrackers books for really cheap on walmart.com. And I also bought the Examkrackers Audio Osmosis CDs, but I didn't find them helpful at all.

guys, you effin rock. you have no idea. reading your posts helped me get out of bed this morning. im gonna take all yr suggestions....give myelf a few more days to recoup, and go at it. i used ek half -arsed, im going to take them seriously. ..... i thank you so much, future docs for taking the time out for speaking to me. thank you.

 

[Arsenic]

guys, you effin rock. you have no idea. reading your posts helped me get out of bed this morning. im gonna take all yr suggestions....give myelf a few more days to recoup, and go at it. i used ek half -arsed, im going to take them seriously. ..... i thank you so much, future docs for taking the time out for speaking to me. thank you.

i'm glad you found it helpful, stay positive!

 

[QofQuimica]

OP and anyone else here who plans to re-take in April: I just wanted to let you know that we have a Study Questions subforum here on SDN to help students like you who are studying for the MCAT. You should feel free to browse the explanations threads and post questions in the question threads. All questions will be answered by people who are either grad students in that field, have scored highly on the MCAT themselves, and/or are MCAT test prep instructors. No honest questions are ever too "stupid" for the subforum, and since other students are not permitted to respond to your questions, I can promise you that you will not ever have to worry about receiving any negative comments there. 😉

I would just like to leave you with this thought: if medicine is your dream, and you can't see yourself doing anything else, don't let one setback, or even a few setbacks, cause you to give up. Yeah, the MCAT is important, but it isn't the only thing that matters in the whole application process. If you didn't do well on the MCAT this time, try to understand where you went wrong, and resolve to do better in April. And definitely DON'T listen to people who sap your confidence and feeling of self-worth. You don't need to be a genius to be a doctor. But you do need to work hard to make the dream happen for yourself. 😍 and to you all.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Listen. I know that the shock of some of our scores is still there. I was scoring 30 on my practice tests (AAMC) and received a 22. I may know what went wrong but I will never know for sure.

What I do know is that THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW. It is done. The test is over. The scores are in and reported. By just going through "maybe it was this, or maybe it was that, or what if I..." we are spending valuable energy on something that cannot be changed.

I am about to take this test for the 4th, probably final, time. The shock of it all has worn off and now it is time to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

Forget what you did to study for the August test. START FRESH. Brand new.

Either get new books, re-sign up for your test prep course, pull out the AO CDs and start from disk 1.

Stop the pity party and loo ahead. We have 6 months to prepare. 2 hours/day. 6 days a week= 12 hours/week. 4 weeks per month=48 hours per month. 6 months to go=288 hours to study. MINIMUM.

Now.

Lets dust ourselves off.

And remember. Rocky lost to Mr. T in the first fight but then kicked his ass in the next one.

That is all.

 

[suckermc]

Listen. I know that the shock of some of our scores is still there. I was scoring 30 on my practice tests (AAMC) and received a 22. I may know what went wrong but I will never know for sure.

What I do know is that THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW. It is done. The test is over. The scores are in and reported. By just going through "maybe it was this, or maybe it was that, or what if I..." we are spending valuable energy on something that cannot be changed.

I am about to take this test for the 4th, probably final, time. The shock of it all has worn off and now it is time to roll up my sleeves and get to work.

Forget what you did to study for the August test. START FRESH. Brand new.

Either get new books, re-sign up for your test prep course, pull out the AO CDs and start from disk 1.

Stop the pity party and loo ahead. We have 6 months to prepare. 2 hours/day. 6 days a week= 12 hours/week. 4 weeks per month=48 hours per month. 6 months to go=288 hours to study. MINIMUM.

Now.

Lets dust ourselves off.

And remember. Rocky lost to Mr. T in the first fight but then kicked his ass in the next one.

That is all.

thanks for the arse whooping. like my mom would say :stop crying. but like i've heard someone say on sdn, figuring out what you could do differently is key. so i think spending a little time figuring how you studied or what you didn't do or nerves, whatever, is good.

but i agree with you. i'm going to forget about august, thank god i didn't apply this year, and get back to work, starting today.

thanks rocky. 🙂

 

[mintendo]

First thing you can do is give the haters the finger...

My question is how relaxed were you when you took the practice tests? When i was taking the MCAT in august I realized that I was waaaayy to relaxed during my practice tests. For example, if I were doing a AAMC test and I miss couple of questions in a roll or if I can't understand a passage, I think to myself "big deal, it's just practice test". On the real test, every question I missed (or thought I missed) I kept on thinking about them until the entire test was over. So you can guess how exhausted and burnt out I was when the day ended. Did this happen to you?? If so, try taking every practice test as if it were the real thing.

Also get a watch that doesn't beep 😉 . I have a Timex Triathlon watch and it works pretty nicely.

 

[rohitkedia07]

you got to pick yourself up
go watch all the Rocky movies to get your spirits up, (this actaully works for me)
then get all your old books out, make a study schedule until april 22 and follow it

its that simple
just put the august mcat thing out of your head.

hope this helps man,

pm for anything further

--rohit

 

[suckermc]

you got to pick yourself up
go watch all the Rocky movies to get your spirits up, (this actaully works for me)
then get all your old books out, make a study schedule until april 22 and follow it

its that simple
just put the august mcat thing out of your head.

hope this helps man,

pm for anything further

--rohit

dude you guys are right. as per the other post (previous) i was too relaxed on the tests. i didn't stress missing a question. that's a good point. i didn't think of it that way...

i am taking a full length saturday after band practice, see what i need to do. i sat down and made a schedule which i am going to follow to the t. and i think ill go rent some rocky movies. lol.

thanks again, b-boys and girls...