Scared of the MCAT

[altaydu]

I am going to be 27. I graduated with a 3.8 in Biochem & Molecular Biology from college 2 years ago, however feel like I've not retained anything that I learned.

I've previously published 2 papers when working as an intern conducting basic research one in nature communications, I now work full time working with neuromuscular disease patients in clinical trials full time in the office every single day at a state medical school.

I've gone through personal loss of loved ones from disease and legal hardships to which I have miraculously overcome at every step of the turn.

However now,I do not feel motivated (multifactorial reasons: COVID, working full-time, family strife) or as disciplined as I once was when I was in college. Where I would spend all my free time in professor office hours, tutoring, TA sessions, lab, empty class rooms.

I have all the books Kaplan books (2020), anki decks from reddit, and tons of other resources. I just feel like I can't start studying or I feel like there is some psychological barrier for me to start.I have the books right in front of me on my desk and they are now collecting dust.

I am just genuinely scared. I am horrible with standardized testing.

Has anyone else who is on the older side ever experienced this? If so how did you personally overcome these challenges with studying for the MCAT while working full time (50-60 hours a week), family burdens, and now with COVID.

Thanks,
A.

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[KnightDoc]

I am going to be 27. I graduated with a 3.8 in Biochem & Molecular Biology from college 2 years ago, however feel like I've not retained anything that I learned.

I've previously published 2 papers when working as an intern conducting basic research one in nature communications, I now work full time working with neuromuscular disease patients in clinical trials full time in the office every single day at a state medical school.

I've gone through personal loss of loved ones from disease and legal hardships to which I have miraculously overcome at every step of the turn.

However now,I do not feel motivated (multifactorial reasons: COVID, working full-time, family strife) or as disciplined as I once was when I was in college. Where I would spend all my free time in professor office hours, tutoring, TA sessions, lab, empty class rooms.

I have all the books Kaplan books (2020), anki decks from reddit, and tons of other resources. I just feel like I can't start studying or I feel like there is some psychological barrier for me to start.I have the books right in front of me on my desk and they are now collecting dust.

I am just genuinely scared. I am horrible with standardized testing.

Has anyone else who is on the older side ever experienced this? If so how did you personally overcome these challenges with studying for the MCAT while working full time (50-60 hours a week), family burdens, and now with COVID.

Thanks,
A.

Why do you feel pressure to do this? Most of us are scared of the MCAT, which is absolutely, by a lot, the most difficult standardized test any of us will have taken up to that point in our lives. I can't speak to med school exams since I am not there yet!

If you are not motivated, just say no. You won't do well, and you'll make yourself miserable. Same with the whole med school application thing. If you are not driven and are not highly motivated, you are much more likely to find yourself in the unsuccessful 57% than the successful 43%. It's not like anything else you have done to this point in you life.

If you are not ready, find something else to do, or just keep doing what you are doing. If you have the "calling," you'll find the motivation in time. If not, that's okay too. I'd imagine med school would totally suck for someone unmotivated and not as disciplined as in college, especially the pre-clinical years.

You're not even really on the older side yet, since plenty of people do this in their 30s, and even beyond. Seriously try not to feel pressured by others' expectations for you. Good luck!!!

 

[lumya]

Pre-COVID w/ commuting I was working 10 hour days, then going to night classes, then studying for the MCAT at night. It was really rough and there were days I just wanted to quit.

The only advice I can give you is to just get started. Motivation always comes and goes, but discipline was what really helped me chip through it all. I would set goals like X number of questions or Y number of pages read per day, per week, per month. When I got closer to test day, I took practice tests every single Saturday for 2 months leading up to it. Did I want to do any of it? No, but I set metrics and kept myself accountable, even if it was for very minor tasks like finishing 20 Anki cards per day. There's a lot of "alternative" studying techniques I used too, like listening to YouTube lectures while driving, doing random flashcards while I wait in line for the groceries - there's time you can squeeze out.

But take care of yourself. I chose volunteer positions that simultaneously earned me hours and were activities I genuinely enjoyed. When I was really not feeling a physics study day (my worst subject), I would swap it out for psych or CARS. You're more capable than you think, but know the difference between discomfort and pain.

 

[JimKimSlim]

Has anyone else who is on the older side ever experienced this? If so how did you personally overcome these challenges with studying for the MCAT while working full time (50-60 hours a week), family burdens, and now with COVID.

When I was prepping for the MCAT, I was in college for the first half and working 40+ hours/week the latter half. I basically treated studying for the MCAT as an intense work-out. No matter how lazy I felt, I always did my Anki review + studied = 2 hours every week day (from 9 PM - 11 PM). On Saturdays, I did practice FL's, practice problems, or did more content review for 8 hours. On Sundays, I took the day off, went to church, and spent time with my friends/family. I did this routine for 16-20 weeks straight and got the score I wanted.

You have got to find a way to motivate yourself to commit to studying for the MCAT for 4-5 months. Just like work-outs, it will seem annoying, and you may wanna give up one day, but if you pull through you'll end up in a better place - read my motto.

GL!

 

[FluffyCat1212]

I work full-time, was taking classes, and was volunteering when I took mine. The best advice I can give is to take it one day at a time. I struggle with focus and low frustration tolerance sometimes, so the pomodoro method was a lifesaver. It also may help to take an MCAT diagnostic. This is to see where you're at and to get a better idea of what you're up against. I was terrified of the MCAT, but taking a diagnostic took the mystery out of it and made it ever so slightly less scary.

This is also a funky one, but mindfulness meditation may help a lot. There's some research suggesting that it can improve focus and help us to "keep going" despite stress and difficult emotions. Used this while studying for the MCAT and it helped a lot.

It also may help to make a schedule. Studyschedule.org is a great resource for this.

Take a deep breath. It can be done. You've already done so many incredible things, and I have no doubt that you can do this.

And some good news: An uphill battle for many people taking the MCAT is navigating the passages. Since you have a background with research publications (and I'm sure reading lots of papers in the progress), you probably have already built up this skill.

 

[may3]

I am going to be 27. I graduated with a 3.8 in Biochem & Molecular Biology from college 2 years ago, however feel like I've not retained anything that I learned.

I've previously published 2 papers when working as an intern conducting basic research one in nature communications, I now work full time working with neuromuscular disease patients in clinical trials full time in the office every single day at a state medical school.

I've gone through personal loss of loved ones from disease and legal hardships to which I have miraculously overcome at every step of the turn.

However now,I do not feel motivated (multifactorial reasons: COVID, working full-time, family strife) or as disciplined as I once was when I was in college. Where I would spend all my free time in professor office hours, tutoring, TA sessions, lab, empty class rooms.

I have all the books Kaplan books (2020), anki decks from reddit, and tons of other resources. I just feel like I can't start studying or I feel like there is some psychological barrier for me to start.I have the books right in front of me on my desk and they are now collecting dust.

I am just genuinely scared. I am horrible with standardized testing.

Has anyone else who is on the older side ever experienced this? If so how did you personally overcome these challenges with studying for the MCAT while working full time (50-60 hours a week), family burdens, and now with COVID.

Thanks,
A.

Hey! I have a really short attention span and have always been a big time procrastinator, and was working a 40-hour a week job when I started studying. One thing you can do is actually schedule an exam so that you have a timeline, and then start off light and with something you like. I started off with anki cards for psych/soc because psychology wasn't as hard for me as chemistry and physics. My biggest savior was the free khan academy videos and The MCAT Podcast (it's wherever you listen to podcasts, I used spotify) because it's passive - all I had to do was watch/listen to them instead of trying and failing to read book chapters. And then as it got closer, motivation (stress) kicked my studying up into high gear and I'd take notes on the videos, used my books as supplements rather than the main source of my learning, and took practice exams. My first practice exam was the NS/Blueprint half-length diagnostic and I took it when I'd barely started studying - I scored a 505 which was positive reinforcement for me and let me know that I could do so much better if I studied, so that helped a lot. I think I only took four more practice exams after that and did quite well.
The MCAT is a scary thing for sure, but the worst doctors you have ever encountered have done it, so you can do it too! Oh and make sure you take at least the last few practice exams mimicking what the actual environment will be. Start it at the time you signed up for, no using your phone during breaks, don't eat snacks when your breaks are over, etc. Good luck!