UGH.. Frustrating MCAT studying

[BullsOnParade MD]

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Hey guys,

I'm taking the MCAT on August 15. I've been studying 5 times a week for about 8 hours a day since mid June. I took the Kaplan class my diagnostic was a 15 (6/4/5) and since then I've taken Kaplan FLs 1-4. Respectively, I've made small improvements on each FL up until the last one. 17 (5/6/6) 21(6/8/7) 26(8/10/8) 24(8/8/8). In terms of mastery, I have a good intuitive understanding of all the material. Because every single time I go through my mistakes 98% of them were mental lapses, and stuff that I knew! "WTF was I thinking" seems to be the recurring phrase every time I go through my FL's. You know it's one thing to make mistakes and say oh geez I had no idea what that was V.S. WTF.... I knew that.

So having said that, besides more practice, could anyone offer some tips/advice on how to get through this slump? Because let me tell y'all, it sucks...

Thanks guys!

 

[Shipley231]

Hey guys,

I'm taking the MCAT on August 15. I've been studying 5 times a week for about 8 hours a day since mid June. I took the Kaplan class my diagnostic was a 15 (6/4/5) and since then I've taken Kaplan FLs 1-4. Respectively, I've made small improvements on each FL up until the last one. 17 (5/6/6) 21(6/8/7) 26(8/10/8) 24(8/8/8). In terms of mastery, I have a good intuitive understanding of all the material. Because every single time I go through my mistakes 98% of them were mental lapses, and stuff that I knew! "WTF was I thinking" seems to be the recurring phrase every time I go through my FL's. You know it's one thing to make mistakes and say oh geez I had no idea what that was V.S. WTF.... I knew that.

So having said that, besides more practice, could anyone offer some tips/advice on how to get through this slump? Because let me tell y'all, it sucks...

Thanks guys!

I would say to try to take an AAMC exam to see where you really stand. Many people don't do as well on Kaplan exams because of their difference in passage/question styles.

 

[HCHopeful]

If they're all "WTF was I thinking" errors, then you simply need to be more aware. Trying sitting up straight with two feet on the ground. Don't allow your head to slump and rest on your hand or anything. Also, continuously iterate to yourself that you are making these stupid mistakes, so you need to be sure the answer you choose the first time is correct. I've noticed as my content review progresses that I hate going against my gut feeling, but when I do, it's generally right. It's a very fine line to walk.

Your verbal seems to have improved, but that 10 could be an outlier. I'm not saying it is, but it could be. Do some practice passages to see where you stand. I like to read a paragraph, close my eyes and summarize that paragraph, and then move on to the next. This prevents the "glazing" over that can happen when reading such exciting (hah!) passages. This has upped my verbal from 30/40 average to a 32/40 average. Those two questions could be the difference between an 11 and a 10.

I agree with Shipley about taking an AAMC. I've taken one Kaplan, and it was much harder than the only AAMC I've taken (FL #3) and the Princeton Review one. You may be sitting a little higher than you previously thought. Besides, AAMC FL's are the best indicator as most agree that your AAMC average will be +/- 2 of your actual test date score.

Good luck!

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

I would say to try to take an AAMC exam to see where you really stand. Many people don't do as well on Kaplan exams because of their difference in passage/question styles.

Hmmm. Dang, that's totally against my off-based assumption. I just though that AAMC exams would be innately more difficult since it's essentially the real deal. But I'll definitely take an AAMC exam in within the next few days. Thank you for your input! It really is truly appreciated.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Hey guys,

I'm taking the MCAT on August 15. I've been studying 5 times a week for about 8 hours a day since mid June. I took the Kaplan class my diagnostic was a 15 (6/4/5) and since then I've taken Kaplan FLs 1-4. Respectively, I've made small improvements on each FL up until the last one. 17 (5/6/6) 21(6/8/7) 26(8/10/8) 24(8/8/8). In terms of mastery, I have a good intuitive understanding of all the material. Because every single time I go through my mistakes 98% of them were mental lapses, and stuff that I knew! "WTF was I thinking" seems to be the recurring phrase every time I go through my FL's. You know it's one thing to make mistakes and say oh geez I had no idea what that was V.S. WTF.... I knew that.

So having said that, besides more practice, could anyone offer some tips/advice on how to get through this slump? Because let me tell y'all, it sucks...

Thanks guys!

Is this a problem with comprehending the question, answer, passage, or all of them?

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

If they're all "WTF was I thinking" errors, then you simply need to be more aware. Trying sitting up straight with two feet on the ground. Don't allow your head to slump and rest on your hand or anything. Also, continuously iterate to yourself that you are making these stupid mistakes, so you need to be sure the answer you choose the first time is correct. I've noticed as my content review progresses that I hate going against my gut feeling, but when I do, it's generally right. It's a very fine line to walk.

Your verbal seems to have improved, but that 10 could be an outlier. I'm not saying it is, but it could be. Do some practice passages to see where you stand. I like to read a paragraph, close my eyes and summarize that paragraph, and then move on to the next. This prevents the "glazing" over that can happen when reading such exciting (hah!) passages. This has upped my verbal from 30/40 average to a 32/40 average. Those two questions could be the difference between an 11 and a 10.

I agree with Shipley about taking an AAMC. I've taken one Kaplan, and it was much harder than the only AAMC I've taken (FL #3) and the Princeton Review one. You may be sitting a little higher than you previously thought. Besides, AAMC FL's are the best indicator as most agree that your AAMC average will be +/- 2 of your actual test date score.

Good luck!

I mean granted I could always improve on content mastery, and I'm sure that'll also yield improvements, but for the most part these darn mental lapses are killing me! And I definitely empathize with the uneasiness going against my gut feeling. But hey I guess that's just something I need to proactive try to improve on between now and August 15.

And the verbal let me tell you... You know one those passages that's just so dense and convoluted about the feelings of feelings in a feeling, yeah talk about glazing over. But I'll definitely utilize and practice the summarize in the end strategy, because I realized that I tend to do that but not on purpose. If that makes sense?

But hey thanks for the advice I really and truly appreciate it. I just really needed to express my frustrations and vent a little. I'm in a social fraternity and one of the few in the sciences. Ha.. So ya'll can imagine how little my peers understand about what's going on, nonetheless advice about this dreaded MCAT. Seriously though, thank you!

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

Is this a problem with comprehending the question, answer, passage, or all of them?

Yeah I would say it's a little bit of everything. The verbiage and density of the passages coupled with the time constraints is something I still need to get comfortable with. I'm getting there, but still could use a lot more work. So in that aspect, yes. Passage comprehension and getting to the "what's the point of this" still needs a lot of improvement because when I'm reviewing it without any time constraints it magically becomes 150x easier.

In terms of question and answer comprehension, I also need to just slow down and think through it. Jumping to conclusions too early is a problem. I remember specifically a bio passage that said singled celled bacteria blah blah blah nucleus. And I irresponsibly jumped to the conclusion that it was a prokaryote, missing 5/7. Or when it says "all except x" is the answer. I mean that's just something I need to sit down and work on.

So yeah, passage comprehension is definitely something I can work on. Q&A stuff is just slowing down and not making dumb costly mistakes.

 

[angus2193]

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[IslandStyle808]

Yeah I would say it's a little bit of everything. The verbiage and density of the passages coupled with the time constraints is something I still need to get comfortable with. I'm getting there, but still could use a lot more work. So in that aspect, yes. Passage comprehension and getting to the "what's the point of this" still needs a lot of improvement because when I'm reviewing it without any time constraints it magically becomes 150x easier.

In terms of question and answer comprehension, I also need to just slow down and think through it. Jumping to conclusions too early is a problem. I remember specifically a bio passage that said singled celled bacteria blah blah blah nucleus. And I irresponsibly jumped to the conclusion that it was a prokaryote, missing 5/7. Or when it says "all except x" is the answer. I mean that's just something I need to sit down and work on.

So yeah, passage comprehension is definitely something I can work on. Q&A stuff is just slowing down and not making dumb costly mistakes.

I had a feeling it was all of the above. This helps. Here are some tips that have helped me with with the "dumb" error phenomenon.

Passage
1) Highlight key words - This helps you focus on the important stuff when reading and it helps when looking back at the passage.
2) Visualize what you are read- What is the reaction going on in the passage? Is it exothermic? Is it endothermic? When visualizing this reaction, imagine the particles moving faster when heat is added (if it is endothermic). If the reaction is exothermic, imagine the particles wanting to stick back together in its original form before the reaction (more heat means the reaction want to go backward, Le Chatelier's principle).
3) Tie the passage information to what you know - As you read about the passage try to think of what familiar concepts apply to the passage. Lets say there are two pendulum that are hitting against each other. I could think of various concepts such as centripcal motion and gravity, momentum, potential and kinetic energy etc. By tying it into what is familiar, you avoid the shock and anxiety of seeing an unfamiliar concept.
4) Just get a general idea of the passage- You won't be able to comprehend everything in the passage just be able to know the main idea and know where to find the details.

Questions
1) Make note of key words- Things like except, not, etc. can lead one to the wrong answer if not taken into account.
2) Visualize what you are reading - Just like with the passage imagine the scenario in your head. For example, let say Drug x blocks the acetylcholine receptor, what is the result of the parasympathetic neuron? Visualize the drug blocking that Y shaped receptor in your mind's eye.
3) Draw out the question if you are still stumped- Sometimes I use quick figures to understand a convoluted question.

Answers
1) Read all answer choices - sometime you see the right answer at choice A, but keep looking to make sure if that is the best answer. This serves as a double check to see if your first pick is really the best answer and the other choices are the worst.
2) Reread the answer choices-I don't do this often, but with the wordy questions and answers, I double check to make sure I read it properly. This has saved me most of the time.


You can try variations of what I suggested, but really make sure you only do what works best for you. I just gave a whole bunch of things so you have plenty of things to try out. However, it took me a good deal of time to master these techniques and know when to use them. I am not sure how quickly you can master them, but see if it helps in this short time frame.

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

I had a feeling it was all of the above. This helps. Here are some tips that have helped me with with the "dumb" error phenomenon.

Passage
1) Highlight key words - This helps you focus on the important stuff when reading and it helps when looking back at the passage.
2) Visualize what you are read- What is the reaction going on in the passage? Is it exothermic? Is it endothermic? When visualizing this reaction, imagine the particles moving faster when heat is added (if it is endothermic). If the reaction is exothermic, imagine the particles wanting to stick back together in its original form before the reaction (more heat means the reaction want to go backward, Le Chatelier's principle).
3) Tie the passage information to what you know - As you read about the passage try to think of what familiar concepts apply to the passage. Lets say there are two pendulum that are hitting against each other. I could think of various concepts such as centripcal motion and gravity, momentum, potential and kinetic energy etc. By tying it into what is familiar, you avoid the shock and anxiety of seeing an unfamiliar concept.
4) Just get a general idea of the passage- You won't be able to comprehend everything in the passage just be able to know the main idea and know where to find the details.

Questions
1) Make note of key words- Things like except, not, etc. can lead one to the wrong answer if not taken into account.
2) Visualize what you are reading - Just like with the passage imagine the scenario in your head. For example, let say Drug x blocks the acetylcholine receptor, what is the result of the parasympathetic neuron? Visualize the drug blocking that Y shaped receptor in your mind's eye.
3) Draw out the question if you are still stumped- Sometimes I use quick figures to understand a convoluted question.

Answers
1) Read all answer choices - sometime you see the right answer at choice A, but keep looking to make sure if that is the best answer. This serves as a double check to see if your first pick is really the best answer and the other choices are the worst.
2) Reread the answer choices-I don't do this often, but with the wordy questions and answers, I double check to make sure I read it properly. This has saved me most of the time.


You can try variations of what I suggested, but really make sure you only do what works best for you. I just gave a whole bunch of things so you have plenty of things to try out. However, it took me a good deal of time to master these techniques and know when to use them. I am not sure how quickly you can master them, but see if it helps in this short time frame.

Oh wow. Thanks for putting some time into making your advice pretty thorough! I'll definitely start highlighting keywords. Silly as it sounds, I never really considered highlighting in the past. And believe it or not I already do pretty much everything you suggested minus the highlighting... Haha. Yeah crazy I know. But hey thanks for your input! Hopefully I'll see a significant improvement once I get more practice and repetitions to get over this dumb mistake phenomenon.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Oh wow. Thanks for putting some time into making your advice pretty thorough! I'll definitely start highlighting keywords. Silly as it sounds, I never really considered highlighting in the past. And believe it or not I already do pretty much everything you suggested minus the highlighting... Haha. Yeah crazy I know. But hey thanks for your input! Hopefully I'll see a significant improvement once I get more practice and repetitions to get over this dumb mistake phenomenon.

Sure. There is not much more you can do after a certain point when it comes to silly errors. You just have to develop a mentality where you think to yourself, "did I really pick the right answer?" Then you reread the choice/or question to see if it is correct. You will start catching those mistakes more and more when you start saying to yourself "is this the really the right answer?" more and more often.

 

[smpbound]

My advice...you need to take a break. Studying 8 hrs a day 5 times a week is a lot to bear.

Do no studying for 1-2 days; recharge your batteries. Then resume your studying.

 

[swolebrah]

Kaplan tests are higher difficulty, I took the old non cbt Kaplan 1-4 so far and they really challenged me . However they were good diagnostic studying tools . I just finished part of the official MCAT guide in book passages and they felt so much easier and over all had a huge increase in score /passage and was finishing them quicker.

Keep your head up man, only these mistakes are what going to make you better and stronger . It's easy to stay in the comfort zone and just do easy tests or over study our good areas. Just keep practicing man .

Take a one day break as well

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

Studying for the MCAT has given me a crazy Post-It note habit. Whenever I do a passage or take a test, I review my answers and write down why I got the questions wrong that I did, but I don't just write content things. I write things like "What is this question actually asking you" and "Beware of questions that have EXCEPT and NOT," and, once, in a fit of hating myself, I wrote, "USE THE F***ING TABLE. THAT IS WHAT IT'S THERE FOR." Now I can go back and look at all my Post-It notes and see the common themes of why I'm messing up.

How good/practiced are you at eliminating answers right away? That way you have less to work with right off the bat, less to keep straight in your head at one time.

Haha. Funny that you mention post-it notes, because I have made mental notes in a very similar fashion to what you just mentioned. Perhaps a few more curse words... Okay a whole lot more. Haha. But I'll certainly give that a shot! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[BullsOnParade MD]

Kaplan tests are higher difficulty, I took the old non cbt Kaplan 1-4 so far and they really challenged me . However they were good diagnostic studying tools . I just finished part of the official MCAT guide in book passages and they felt so much easier and over all had a huge increase in score /passage and was finishing them quicker.

Keep your head up man, only these mistakes are what going to make you better and stronger . It's easy to stay in the comfort zone and just do easy tests or over study our good areas. Just keep practicing man .

Take a one day break as well

That's what the general consensus have been about Kaplan FL's. They're either more difficult or just eerily worded. I'll definitely try out an AAMC exam to see the difference for myself. And thank you sir! Don't complain and just work is my underlying motto for studying this freaking MCAT, but I just needed to get my whining out of the way you know. Haha. Thanks for taking time to give a suggestion good sir, I really do appreciate it.