Why is it important to take it easy the day before your test?

[auburnO5]

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I plan on doing this because everyone says to do it, but why?

I often hear the metaphor used "would a marathon runner run 20 miles the day before a race?" but a "test" seems a little different.

 

[Red Five]

I plan on doing this because everyone says to do it, but why?

I often hear the metaphor used "would a marathon runner run 20 miles the day before a race?" but a "test" seems a little different.

I say do what works for you. If doing nothing will make you jittery and more nervous the day before, who cares what "everyone else" will do. If reviewing a little will help you calm down and boost your confidence then do that. By now you should have taken enough exams to know what works for you and what doesn't.

 

[lrkoehle]

Yeah, you have to do what works for you. The biggest thing is that you obviously do not want to exhaust yourself staying up late studying the night before an 8 hour exam like Step-I, but I don't see how studying some during the day could be a bad thing. Knowing myself, I will probably do some light studying in the morning, but try to get to bed by like 9:30 so I can get a full night's sleep. I plan on trying to keep a list of things I struggle with, so I may just give those things one more go at it the day before the exam to try to make them stick and then call it a day. I dunno. It'd be great to hear what people who took the exam did, and how they felt it impacted them.

 

[shan564]

I think I'll just try to make a couple of runs through the FA "rapid review" section and then go watch a movie or something.

 

[jatt12]

lol, i remember back old days when i took mcats, i saw some student who were going to take step1 were molesting FA like crazy at prometric . People like these make me nervous when i see them at prometric.

 

[Robot Skeleton]

I didn't. I crammed some of the stuff that required pure memorization like lysosomal storage diseases, etc. I can't remember if it helped, but I think it's a good strategy. I'm not particularly prone to freaking out though, so you've gotta do what you can handle.

 

[SteinUmStein]

I didn't. I crammed some of the stuff that required pure memorization like lysosomal storage diseases, etc. I can't remember if it helped, but I think it's a good strategy. I'm not particularly prone to freaking out though, so you've gotta do what you can handle.

Yeah, I'm with you there, I'll probably look over some last-minute crammable stuff the day before. I think it's a do no harm thing when you hear not to study the day before, if you're the type that freaks out before tests you're better off not hyperventilating and having a mental breakdown the day before or not being able to sleep and walking into an 8 hour test exhausted than the marginal gain (if any) you get from studying. If you're that kind of person, don't study the day before. I can't imagine it earning you more than a point or two higher at most. I'll end up studying because I'll feel guilty otherwise...

 

[CatFactorial]

Do acid or shrooms.

 

[RedSoxSuck]

.

 

[ArcGurren]

I took it easy because at that point there was no way in hell I would be able to learn more or retain more with that extra day of studying. I didn't veg out and watch a movie though, I basically spent the day relaxing, and near the end of the day flipped through a couple of flash cards last minute and slept nice and early around 9 pm. Good times.

 

[SteinUmStein]

I took it easy because at that point there was no way in hell I would be able to learn more or retain more with that extra day of studying. I didn't veg out and watch a movie though, I basically spent the day relaxing, and near the end of the day flipped through a couple of flash cards last minute and slept nice and early around 9 pm. Good times.

That sounds nice, actually sounds great at this point. I think some light reading and flipping through flashcards on the couch would be preferable to me rather than just turning my brain off completely. I need that stuff on the tip of my tongue... 😛

 

[quique2]

I did a bit of both. I felt like not reviewing made me more anxious, so I did review some final must-knows and some of my more difficult topics/diseases (esp. crammable stuff). I did some of my marked questions as well. This actually helped me relax, because it kept me busy and made me feel like I was being productive. Seriously though I don't think it helped at all. Also, a large part of my day was spent just playing video games trying to make the day end as quickly as possible. Personally, both the light reviewing/questions/etc. and the video games helped me feel better, but I understand how reviewing might make some people stressed. Like RedFive says, each to his own. I think a good part of doing well in school/standardized tests is knowing yourself and what works for you.

 

[Phloston]

I did a bit of both. I felt like not reviewing made me more anxious, so I did review some final must-knows and some of my more difficult topics/diseases (esp. crammable stuff). I did some of my marked questions as well. This actually helped me relax, because it kept me busy and made me feel like I was being productive.

That actually sounds fairly smart. I would reckon that perhaps going over marked questions (if you haven't done that already) + reviewing the lists of crammable info (e.g. AD vs AR diseases, rate-limiting enzymes, etc.) is solid, but not to make the day completely unproductive nor an actual intense study day.

One of my relatives is currently a third-year med student at HMS. He said he spent the day before in hyper-mode going through the entirety of FA (because he hadn't felt totally prepared [as if any of us would]). He also said that he was freaking out and got only about 5 hours of sleep the night before, and he did not do as well as he had wanted (he never told me his score, so that's open for interpretation). Hopefully a lesson learned.

When I take the Step at the end of the year, I'll probably take QuiQue2's advice.

 

[lonelyT]

.

 

[Robot Skeleton]

My pharmacology professor said we should use the day before the test to review anti-microbials.

I did that too and it was helpful. I went through several drug sections actually, and it definitely helped me nail down a couple extra questions on the test.

 

[djack240]

I did that too and it was helpful. I went through several drug sections actually, and it definitely helped me nail down a couple extra questions on the test.

I agree. Just took the test today and reviewing micro, cardio, and autonomic pharm drugs really helped!

 

[kaleerkalut]

I agree. Just took the test today and reviewing micro, cardio, and autonomic pharm drugs really helped!

Post your experience please! Thanks 🙂