Overcoming anxiety

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Tre Cool

Senior Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
101
Reaction score
0
Regarding the MCAT, I was doing extremely well on all the Kaplan and AAMC exams before I took the real thing in August last year. I'm talking lowest score (just one time) 31 to highest score (one time) of 37. My average score was a 34. I wasn't even too worried the week before. I tried to take things easy. But the night before I was a mess. I got very little sleep and I think that ruined me the next day. It's SO UNFAIR because I know I can do well on that exam.

Here's my dilemma:

1st MCAT - Aug. 2001 - 23 (not the right time for me to take it...on lots of meds)
2nd MCAT - Aug. 2004 - 27 (again, I thought I'd do great but I didn't)

Take the MCAT once more August 2005 or wait until April 2006? August 2005 would delay my application right? Can I take the exam August 2005 without noting it on my AMCAS app?

So 3 things:

How do I overcome test anxiety? In my case it seems like relaxing too much didn't help. Do I keep taking tests that last week?

I know this may sound silly but when I took all the practice tests, I had ample desk space and I took it in a little cubicle in the library with no other distractions around. Should I try to gather up a group of people to sit near me when I take a practice test and try to take it on a classroom chair/desk (those foldable desks)?

Is there any hope for me?

Members don't see this ad.
 
As far as your test anxiety goes, I would just say "do it!" I know it sounds rather easy and cliche but just remember this is your fate at stake. You have to get over the anxiety and devote your effort to the fact that you can and will do this.

Here are a couple links-

http://wc.pima.edu/~carem/TESTTIPS.html

http://www.studygs.net/tstprp8.htm



medgirl? said:
Regarding the MCAT, I was doing extremely well on all the Kaplan and AAMC exams before I took the real thing in August last year. I'm talking lowest score (just one time) 31 to highest score (one time) of 37. My average score was a 34. I wasn't even too worried the week before. I tried to take things easy. But the night before I was a mess. I got very little sleep and I think that ruined me the next day. It's SO UNFAIR because I know I can do well on that exam.

Here's my dilemma:

1st MCAT - Aug. 2001 - 23 (not the right time for me to take it...on lots of meds)
2nd MCAT - Aug. 2004 - 27 (again, I thought I'd do great but I didn't)

Take the MCAT once more August 2005 or wait until April 2006? August 2005 would delay my application right? Can I take the exam August 2005 without noting it on my AMCAS app?

So 3 things:

How do I overcome test anxiety? In my case it seems like relaxing too much didn't help. Do I keep taking tests that last week?

I know this may sound silly but when I took all the practice tests, I had ample desk space and I took it in a little cubicle in the library with no other distractions around. Should I try to gather up a group of people to sit near me when I take a practice test and try to take it on a classroom chair/desk (those foldable desks)?

Is there any hope for me?
 
medgirl? said:
Regarding the MCAT, I was doing extremely well on all the Kaplan and AAMC exams before I took the real thing in August last year. I'm talking lowest score (just one time) 31 to highest score (one time) of 37. My average score was a 34. I wasn't even too worried the week before. I tried to take things easy. But the night before I was a mess. I got very little sleep and I think that ruined me the next day. It's SO UNFAIR because I know I can do well on that exam.

Here's my dilemma:

1st MCAT - Aug. 2001 - 23 (not the right time for me to take it...on lots of meds)
2nd MCAT - Aug. 2004 - 27 (again, I thought I'd do great but I didn't)

Take the MCAT once more August 2005 or wait until April 2006? August 2005 would delay my application right? Can I take the exam August 2005 without noting it on my AMCAS app?

So 3 things:

How do I overcome test anxiety? In my case it seems like relaxing too much didn't help. Do I keep taking tests that last week?

I know this may sound silly but when I took all the practice tests, I had ample desk space and I took it in a little cubicle in the library with no other distractions around. Should I try to gather up a group of people to sit near me when I take a practice test and try to take it on a classroom chair/desk (those foldable desks)?

Is there any hope for me?

Why don't you apply to med school this year?

Why do you keep taking the MCAT every couple of years?

You can still add in an August MCAT after you submit your applications this summer.
 
i do plan on applying this year. but my chances aren't too good of getting an interview because my verbal was pretty low. it was my PS and BS that pulled me up to a 27. but i will still try with this score.

can you help clarify this for me:

August 2005 would delay my application right? Can I take the exam August 2005 without noting it on my AMCAS app?

if it won't delay my application if i don't mention it on AMCAS (if that's allowable), is it a good idea to take it this August (not next April)?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
medgirl? said:
i do plan on applying this year. but my chances aren't too good of getting an interview because my verbal was pretty low. it was my PS and BS that pulled me up to a 27. but i will still try with this score.

can you help clarify this for me:

August 2005 would delay my application right? Can I take the exam August 2005 without noting it on my AMCAS app?

if it won't delay my application if i don't mention it on AMCAS (if that's allowable), is it a good idea to take it this August (not next April)?



With a 27 There is still a shot at a med school if your GPA is very very strong and your letters of recommendation/extracurriculars are good, and personal statement is good.

If you let us know your GPA and other info, we may be able to assist you more in what your best route may be.
 
According to my AMCAS undergrad record:
BCPM: 2.95
AO: 3.43
Total: 3.23

I'm doing a postbac (all hard science classes except one) now...don't have grades from this semester but got a 3.925 last semester.

i think my letters should be decent. my personal statement i think is good. ECs i've been working on and they'll only improve this next year. in college, shadowed a doc and helped patient care assistants and nurses one summer. did outreach for an AIDS organization. post-college: Big Sister to a 7 year old girl. Now: shadowing a doc and volunteering at a local hospital (entertain children and help allay their and their parents concerns).

other things in college: wrote for the newspaper, orientation counselor and student advisor to a group of 10 incoming freshmen, choreographer for dance group, biopsych and social psych research

other things post-college: worked in a research lab for a year and a half. one paper is published (3rd author) and another in the works.

major health issues were the problem in college. what do you suggest i add during this glide year?
 
I took Kaplan and freaked out on FL 4. We're talking serious panic attack, chest pains and all. I decided to forego taking FL 5 and instead to review concepts I needed to brush up on, like Biology. Doing this helped shore up any lingering doubts about details, and it helped build my confidence as test day approached. The Friday before, I took the day off from work, woke up at a reasonable hour (not too late, so as not to screw up my sleep schedule), and reviewed with the Kaplan Foundation Reviews, which are large pdf files that recapitulate the salient points. I also went over the Physics/Gen Chem flashcards, which I had pared down in the previous weeks to only those that were still giving me trouble. Here again, this built my confidence. I didn't talk to anybody who was taking the test the week before, or on the day of, and I walked into the test feeling psychologically and physically prepared for it. Who the hell knows if I did well, but I know that factors other than sheer stupidity were not at play. PM me if you need more details, but I feel that you'll do well if you study lightly until the eleventh hour. Good luck! :luck: Hopefully this tactic was a good one for me as well :)
 
thanks for the advice. i just can't understand at all what happened to me. i was feeling confident about the test and everything and then wah-la! i get screwed over. maybe during the practice tests i keep thinking "oh this is just a practice" and then for the real thing i'm thinking "crap, this is the real deal." i think i got more comfortable as i was doing PS and BS because it was material i know and that's why those scores are decent. verbal has always been tough for me (i don't know why). maybe i should really just pound out verbal passages, one after another. which one is harder? PR or Kaplan? i took all the FL Kaplan and all the AAMC and did so well. maybe that's not enough for me. i need to prove to myself that i can do amazing on the toughest practice MCAT out there, and then i should be ok on the verbal for the real thing hopefully. anyone know of what the toughest practice MCAT there is? thanks.
 
i also didn't talk to anyone studying before the MCAT. i reviewed the flashcards and other notes or problems here and there the week beforehand. i relaxed. i guess that's just not right for me. it's really hard to figure out what went wrong.

i hope you did well chicagomel. good luck to you.
 
I think this happens to most people, they go "oh shi#t this is the real thing". It has definitely happened to me, but I just concentrate on the material at hand. The main thing, I think to do is to focus on what you learned, and to be confident that what you have working on for the previous months will pay off. I really do not think doing 1000's of verbal passages just for practice (not taken seriously) is as valuable as doing 100 with 100% of your concentration. Its not about how tough the passage is and that you can conquer, its more important that you fully understand the information efficiently.



medgirl? said:
thanks for the advice. i just can't understand at all what happened to me. i was feeling confident about the test and everything and then wah-la! i get screwed over. maybe during the practice tests i keep thinking "oh this is just a practice" and then for the real thing i'm thinking "crap, this is the real deal." i think i got more comfortable as i was doing PS and BS because it was material i know and that's why those scores are decent. verbal has always been tough for me (i don't know why). maybe i should really just pound out verbal passages, one after another. which one is harder? PR or Kaplan? i took all the FL Kaplan and all the AAMC and did so well. maybe that's not enough for me. i need to prove to myself that i can do amazing on the toughest practice MCAT out there, and then i should be ok on the verbal for the real thing hopefully. anyone know of what the toughest practice MCAT there is? thanks.
 
Previous posts offered some valuable tips but I would like to approach the problem of test anxiety in a different manner. There are a variety of medical treatments that can help the individual overcome test anxiety. Two that appear to be useful include hypnosis and several medications.

A trained psychologist can place you under hypnosis and implant a tool that allows the individual to trigger a relaxation response using a simple stimulus such as lightly rubbing your face. The advantages of this technique include an ability to use it as often as needed, the lack of any drugs with potential side effects and the long lasting effect of the treatment. Most people only need to be hypnotised once for the tool to be created. The tool is accessable to the individual for several months up to two or three years. A repeat treatment is usually needed since the hypnotic suggestion fades out over a period of months to years.

A second approach to test anxiety involves the short term use of medication. This should only be done, of course, in consultation with a physician. Mild tranquilizers such as clonazepam can be used to sedate the anxiety while leaving the individual alert and able to reason clearly. Alprazolam may also be useful for test anxiety. The potential down side to the use of medication is side effects. These drugs should be tested by the individual prior to using them on an important exam such as the MCAT.

I know people who have successfully managed test and interview anxiety using both methods. All of them succeeded in achieving their goals which included obtaining advanced degrees where many examinations stood in their way, scoring well on the MCAT and delivering a solid performance on med school interviews.

Good luck with your application.
 
thank you all for your responses. i will definitely consider one of those techniques because i am one to get really nervous before the MCAT and interviews.
 
"Mild tranquilizers such as clonazepam can be used to sedate the anxiety while leaving the individual alert and able to reason clearly. Alprazolam may also be useful for test anxiety. The potential down side to the use of medication is side effects. These drugs should be tested by the individual prior to using them on an important exam such as the MCAT."

Clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril) seems like a horrible idea, indeed. The most common side effect is CNS depression, and half of everyone who takes it will experience drowsiness. Cost/benefit ratio is not ideal considering the situation (MCAT examination requiring alertness).

Alprazolam (Xanax) shares the above profile.

These two drugs relieve anxiety, but they are benzodiazepines (sleeping medications at heart).

I would suggest Ritalin or Adderall. Although they are not primarily used to combat anxiety (and may even cause it), an increased ability to focus + artificial interest in the exam may overwhelm your anxiety.

Just my opinion. No flaming. Your doctor has the final word always.
 
Be careful with medication. You could end really screwing yourself. I've seen this happen to several people, either from taking sleeping pills the night before or from taking stimulants during the test. It's actually surprising how people's performance can remain relatively constant across moderate differences in anxiety, well-restedness, and other factors. But one way to totally **** yourself is to be half asleep from a depressant.

You might want to try hypnotism or meditation. Personally, I've found that I don't perform much worse on multiple choice tests when I'm really sleepy. You can rally your faculties for the length of the test. Take a caffeine pill before section.

If you went through with taking the test, then wait until you see your scores. You may not have to worry about this again, at least with regard to the MCAT. If you do use sleeping pills, take something short-acting like Sonata or Ambien.
 
Top