Pushing back MCAT advice

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Foreverworthless said:
This is likely the dumbest question you'll ever read, but when do you know that you're ready? This is my retake after scoring 515 and 510 and around 80-90 on practice exams but then scoring 500 on the real thing.
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Address the reason for the discrepancy before you repeat the mistake.
Multiple weak scores are far more harmful than a single bad score.
 
Foreverworthless said:
This is likely the dumbest question you'll ever read, but when do you know that you're ready? This is my retake after scoring 515 and 510 and around 80-90 on practice exams but then scoring 500 on the real thing.
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Were those scores on the AAMC practice exams or other exams?
 
Foreverworthless said:
Those were the AAMC ones
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Hmm, I'm surprised to see such a discrepancy. Did you take those under simulated MCAT conditions? i.e. scheduled breaks, no facebook/twitter/social media, etc.
Did you have significant anxiety on test day?
 
Foreverworthless said:
I did under times and stimulated conditions :/

I have significant anxiety on the regular, it didn't help that I had it on test day. But I didn't feel that the exam had gone badly... It so frustrating and sad that it happened and that schools will see the score and just assume that I'm reckless or that I'm not smart enough to do this... do you have any suggestions, particularly on getting a feel (I guess on test day) whether to void or not other than if anxiety kicks in?

Sorry I just vented so much 🙁
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Have you gotten treatment for your anxiety? If not, I would recommend seeking treatment prior to re-taking the MCAT. Since it sounds like you were scoring well on multiple practice exams, it's possible that your anxiety prevented you from doing well on the exam.
 
Nucleophile1 said:
Have you gotten treatment for your anxiety? If not, I would recommend seeking treatment prior to re-taking the MCAT. Since it sounds like you were scoring well on multiple practice exams, it's possible that your anxiety prevented you from doing well on the exam.
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Can I PM you?
 
Well, to be honest OP, you have a condition that impedes your ability to deal with high stakes, career deciding exams, and we're addicted to these in med school. Yet, you have apparently done nothing about it. This raises judgment issues.

Test taking anxiety is fixable; go to your schools counseling center for help.

Foreverworthless said:
I did under times and stimulated conditions :/

I have significant anxiety on the regular, it didn't help that I had it on test day. But I didn't feel that the exam had gone badly... It so frustrating and sad that it happened and that schools will see the score and just assume that I'm reckless or that I'm not smart enough to do this... do you have any suggestions, particularly on getting a feel (I guess on test day) whether to void or not other than if anxiety kicks in?

Sorry I just vented so much 🙁
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Foreverworthless said:
I have not not done anything about it: I have been on medications for about a year and unfortunately I'm in a bad living/ abusive situation which doesn't help but has forced me to stop getting treatment.... so basically I'm just living off of the remaining medication I have.
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Then do NOT retake until you are 100% stable and teady. Anything else and you will.never be a doctor.
 
... I guess that's it for me with respect to medicine. I've been in this abusive situation for over 15 years. And it doesn't stop unless I'm away at school. Thanks for the advice though.
 
Foreverworthless said:
... I guess that's it for me with respect to medicine. I've been in this abusive situation for over 15 years. And it doesn't stop unless I'm away at school. Thanks for the advice though.
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It breaks my heart to hear you talk like this. Medical school will not change your situation, only YOU will change it. Focus on healthier mental habits now, whether it be you speaking to someone or readjusting your medication/being compliant because your underlying issues will not just prevent you from doing well on the MCAT but also will hinder you in medical school, residency and beyond.

Please seek assistance from a loved one/authority figure because you need to focus on you first.
 
Omg idk why No one else does this. Use the marking function if you have test anxiety so you know if you should void!! It's like half the reason it exists!

In your practice: mark every single question that you are not 1000% confident on. Don't be afraid to bruise your ego. If you are sure about the answer but don't know what one of the choices is, still mark it. For me I was marking anywhere from 15 to 30 questions depending on the company of the FL.

Review and memorize thoroughly every single marked question. It should take at least 5-6 hours to just get through a review of a FL exam. Probably a full day to hammer the contents you're weak on from a FL.

Do at least 6 FL exams. Time conditions and everything. If you're like me and skipped general content review, shoot for upwards of 12 (I did almost 16 but didn't do any other type of studying except reviewing the stuff I got wrong/marked).

If you struggle with stamina, spend a day where u ignore ur scores and try to push thru 2 FLs in one day. It's over the top and that's the point. After getting thru that one day, I took a day off, and every FL after that didn't feel long at all. I got to the point where I was taking a FL every other day to every 2 days after this.

Do not sit for the real exam unless you consistently score well on AMCAS material: their 2 FLs, section banks (take them as fls), qbanks, etc. there's a spreadsheet that correlates conpanies full lengths to actual scores out there too.

On the real exam: Use your marking technique to objectively assess your performance!! I didn't even get a single hour of sleep the night before th exam, but was within my margins for how many questions I marked - 15 per section being extraordinarily conservative. So I knew I didn't have to void.

Hope this helps
 
Neuro25_ said:
It breaks my heart to hear you talk like this. Medical school will not change your situation, only YOU will change it. Focus on healthier mental habits now, whether it be you speaking to someone or readjusting your medication/being compliant because your underlying issues will not just prevent you from doing well on the MCAT but also will hinder you in medical school, residency and beyond.

Please seek assistance from a loved one/authority figure because you need to focus on you first.
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Thank you for the kind words.
 
Foreverworthless said:
My biggest problem is not being able to trust myself. I frequently am sure I know the answer and then change it because I think "I'm dumb so there's no way that I was right." How do you learn to trust yourself and your reasoning/instincts?
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Just trust your instincts. I would also take a FL with the answers available so you know if your "instincts" is correct. Maybe take up meditation? That helped me a lot.
 
Foreverworthless said:
My biggest problem is not being able to trust myself. I frequently am sure I know the answer and then change it because I think "I'm dumb so there's no way that I was right." How do you learn to trust yourself and your reasoning/instincts?
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When you identify a thinking error you work to correct it. That means integrating the fix into your approach to every question. Aka asking yourself if you're changing your answer "because you think your dumb" which honestly is a objectively ridiculous reason. There is no such thing as "I'm dumb so I'm wrong". There is only "I have a misunderstanding so I'm not sure". If you can't identify a misunderstanding/weakness than you are falling into the first category of thinking.

You need to be obsessed with choosing the objectively, indisputably best answer - one that can't be argued. And then move on.

How many FLs have you taken in simulated questions + reviewed going through why each answer choice is right/wrong?
 
Foreverworthless said:
... I guess that's it for me with respect to medicine. I've been in this abusive situation for over 15 years. And it doesn't stop unless I'm away at school. Thanks for the advice though.
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It sounds like right now is not the time to apply to medical school; I would suggest you resolve these terrible living conditions before you start applying so that you can be truly ready.
 
kb1900 said:
When you identify a thinking error you work to correct it. That means integrating the fix into your approach to every question. Aka asking yourself if you're changing your answer "because you think your dumb" which honestly is a objectively ridiculous reason. There is no such thing as "I'm dumb so I'm wrong". There is only "I have a misunderstanding so I'm not sure". If you can't identify a misunderstanding/weakness than you are falling into the first category of thinking.

You need to be obsessed with choosing the objectively, indisputably best answer - one that can't be argued. And then move on.

How many FLs have you taken in simulated questions + reviewed going through why each answer choice is right/wrong?
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This time around or last time?
 
tantacles said:
It sounds like right now is not the time to apply to medical school; I would suggest you resolve these terrible living conditions before you start applying so that you can be truly ready.
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Thank you, I really have to think about this.
 
880cylon said:
Just trust your instincts. I would also take a FL with the answers available so you know if your "instincts" is correct. Maybe take up meditation? That helped me a lot.
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As scientists we should rely on more than just gut instincts. Practice tests and assessments are key to planning out a study plan.
 
I think that your judgment is fine. On a scale of 1 to 10 I feel that getting yourself happy and in a better place is 10. You seem like an introspective and empathetic person and they make the best doctors Make sure that you are physically safe first then go from there. I feel like your MCAT specific issues pale in context


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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