Too much studying?

[emericana]

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Hey. I am a relative non trad.

I graduated 2 years ago (dec 08) with a mol bio degree... and have had to work in the family business since graduation due to financial things occurring with the fam at the time.

needless to say, until recently i have not even looked at science. i felt my mind change and me get "dumber" as time progressed after graduation.

My undergrad gpa was not fantastic. it was a 3.1. I was INCREDIBLY immature until my junior year or so when I picked things up.

I want to be a podiatrist so my gpa is ok for Pod school.

My parents have been kind enough to financially support me for the last 2 months. I wanted to devote 4 months of full time studying for the MCAT to review stuff I took ages ago etc etc.

I am also taking Kaplan.

Just sat down to do the first full length Kaplan full length test and I froze and died. I couldnt do it. Got incredibly nervous, sweating, etc. To say I had anxiety is an understatement. Needless to say, halfway through the test I quit it. I probably would have gotten a 10 or soemthing cumulative if I kept going .

I have been previously been trying to study 10 hours a day. I have been pretty strung out throughout this period obviously. Could being so strung out from studying and reviewing notes on a regular basis for so long be what is doing this to me? Should I be studying for 6 hours a day instead of 10? Cut back on the coffee?

I am horrified because my test in Jan 29th and at this rate to say I am going to bomb it is an understatement.

Should I just start taking two full lengths/week (since hte kap course includes all of the FL?)?

Part of the problem is also that the freaking kap class is going so slow that we have not even reviewed all of the material yet on the test and we are starting full lenghths.

 

[NickNaylor]

You have four months to study. Studying for 10 hours a day given that time frame is ludicrous. Depending on what you do and your study habits, I really don't see why you should need to study for more than 5 or 6 hours a week. I don't know about you, but I can't work that long at a time without getting anxious and losing focus. If you ARE going to study for that long, be sure you take decent breaks regularly. Take 15 or 30 minutes and walk, watch some TV, or anything to get your mind away from MCAT stuff for a bit.

I think taking two FLs before you've done at least some studying is a waste. Don't get me wrong, you should definitely be taking them if, for no other reason, just to get used to the test and the time required. I would try and save as many of those as you can for when you've actually got a good chunk of studying under your belt, though.

As far as going slow in the course, cover more material if you need to. You don't HAVE to use their structure and pace if you don't want to. You've got all the materials, so use them. Maybe come up with a study syllabus that coincides with the Kaplan syllabus but covers more material. I don't know how you could do that, but with some thought and planning it should be possible.

Good luck.

 

[emericana]

You have four months to study. Studying for 10 hours a day given that time frame is ludicrous. Depending on what you do and your study habits, I really don't see why you should need to study for more than 5 or 6 hours a week. I don't know about you, but I can't work that long at a time without getting anxious and losing focus. If you ARE going to study for that long, be sure you take decent breaks regularly. Take 15 or 30 minutes and walk, watch some TV, or anything to get your mind away from MCAT stuff for a bit.

I think taking two FLs before you've done at least some studying is a waste. Don't get me wrong, you should definitely be taking them if, for no other reason, just to get used to the test and the time required. I would try and save as many of those as you can for when you've actually got a good chunk of studying under your belt, though.

As far as going slow in the course, cover more material if you need to. You don't HAVE to use their structure and pace if you don't want to. You've got all the materials, so use them. Maybe come up with a study syllabus that coincides with the Kaplan syllabus but covers more material. I don't know how you could do that, but with some thought and planning it should be possible.

Good luck.

I think my orig post was too long. essentially i am taking the exam on jan 29th. i have been studying for the past 2 months but apparently not the right stuff.

i am going to try to redo my study schedule to not make me so strung out and maybe cut back a little bit on the caffiene.

 

[SN2ed]

As a good general rule, if you think you're burned out, then you're way past that point. The person that's burned out is usually the last person to realize it.