MCAT: Debrief

I've been writing this post since Friday after the test, but I haven't been feeling it since. My brain has been off since Friday and I haven't been able to concentrate for long periods of time. Any tests, important dates, and homework that has been scheduled after the test date has been filed in the "irrelevant" box. I now need to dig in that box to find out what I need. I think I have a test this week and homework due tomorrow.

Immediate Thoughts
I didn't the urge to immediately go out and sign up for another test as soon as I was done to make up for the crappy performance so I guess that's a good sign. I understood what they were asking for each questions. Whether I got it right is another story. I felt the same feeling like when I took my first couple practice tests. I certainly couldn't recall some of the facts that I should have but I made my educated guesses. From my past performance, it sounds I'll get around 50 percentile.
I'll probably end up taking the test again.


Mental Preparation
Know what's up: Tips that will help you prepare mentally if you're going to take the test. Take at least 3 of the AAMC practice tests. They are exactly like the real thing and it will help you prepare for it. Since I took mostly all of them, taking the real test was just like going through the motions. I knew which screens were coming up and in turn I could concentrate on the facts. Get comfortable with the format so it won't catch you off guard.

Stamina: The practice test will help with stamina. Be prepared to be in there 5 hours. Know when breaks are coming up and use the breaks. I took a low sugar cranberry drink with me and took a couple sips every break. I also brought some almonds and crunched on some half way through. The brain uses a lot of energy when it's being used. Feed it.

Knowledge Preparation
After taking the test, I highly suggest knowing the following if you want to do well.
Chemistry:
Rates, how to calculate
pH (logs man, logs!)
Trends on the periodic table (electronegativity, atomic size, how orbitals are filled s, p, d, f)
Balance Equations

physics:
The formulas. Yes, there are a lot.

Organic Chemistry:
Identify functional groups
Know the NMR(doublets, triplets, etc), IR spectra(ranges of functional groups)
Reactions. Carboxylic acid and NaAlH4 makes what?

Verbal Reasoning:
Read like hell. It's mostly about timed reading. Read fast and understand what you're reading.

Biology:
Prokaryote vs eukaryote
Heart and kidney (I'm going to repeat this. Know the heart and kidney inside out)
Genetics
Vocab terms

MCAT: Five Stages of Grief

When enduring any traumatic experience, one can always refer to Elizabeth Kubler Ross' grief cycle. I'm pretty sure I went through this cycle a couple times during my studies leading up to the end of this week.

Denial - I signed up for this test in early March. That's plenty of time to study. There was always more time so might as well do something else like focus on the classes I am taking this semester. I may not be studying for the MCAT, but at least I'm not a lazy ass doing nothing. I'm still being productive. That counts for something right?

Anger - Early April rolls around. Wait, what happened to March? It was just here like a second ago. Crap, better get studying . I continue to do the practice tests. I do terrible. I'm pissed, frustrated, and don't know what to do. I freak out and decide that I need a new strategy. Screw reading the sections on Physics, just memorize the hell out of the formulas. Big mistake here. I haven't taken Physics since 2003 and most of those ideas had escaped me. I didn't realize it until last week and this will probably hurt me on the test.

Depression - Week before test. I take two full length tests (~5 hours each) 3 days apart. My scores are going down. I'm burnt out. I can't think straight. Anything I try to digest in my mind gets spit up again. I feel like a zombie walking around all the time and can't find the energy to study. Time is running out and I can't even get it together. I'm going to fail this thing and I'm going to fail at life.

Bargaining - I'm freaking out man. I'm totally unprepared for this thing and it is coming up fast. Okay. Calm down, it's only a test. I can retake it right? Hell yeah I can. Sure it'll cost me $225 but that's the cost of business. One of the bad habits I picked up during my working years is, if you have a problem, throw money at it. For this case, it kinda works.

Acceptance - After the mini-crisis and gorging on green chile cheese fries, I've come to accept what's going to happen in a couple days. I completed most of the tasks on the victory agenda. I should have read through the prep books a little more thoroughly, and I didn't do practice test 10, but that's okay. I'll go over some more stuff with the time I have left at a leisurely pace so I can actually understand it and go watch a movie the night before.


At this point I would direct you to the book I've written in order to capitalize on my experience. You know the saying: no pain, no gain.

Scribbles of a Madman

I have two old lab notebooks that I've cannibalized to write my notes in. I have pages and pages of this mad writing. Mostly number crunching and trying to remember what the formulas are, these notebooks are like a chronicle of my descent back into an undergraduate hell. The practice test I've taken lately have been more like what I've been fearing. It's like a standardized test for Physics 1&2, Chemistry 1&2, Organic Chemistry 1&2, Biology 1&2, and a Verbal section all rolled into one. There are only so many formulas, rules, and facts that one can memorize much less recall and apply appropriately at a time.

My mind has started to become numb and desensitized to the new formulas I've been trying to cram in. Yes, I once knew how to calculate the force on a particle between a capacitor but that knowledge has atrophied during my time as a security analyst/code monkey(also from drinking). I didn't care about the mechanisms that drove a chemical reaction, I only cared about the mechanisms that caused a buffer overflow. While re-learning all these facts do come easier the second time through, it is still a time consuming process. I didn't realize how much I had covered as an undergrad.

Time -5 days til the MCAT. I'm tired, I'm burnt out, I'm starting not to care. I just want to get this over with.

You Are What You Eat

This may sound hokey, but I'm doing it anyway. I have 11 days til the MCAT and I'm going to try to modify my diet to include foods that will help me think better. Did some searching and decided to include these into my daily diet:
1. Eggs
2. Blueberries
3. Oatmeal
4. Avocados
5. Almonds

Also, thanks Mollie for the suggestion about the PB&J and gatorade for the hydration during the test. Will try it the next time I take a practice test.

If anyone else has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

MCAT Study Update

A quick update.

I feel like Sisyphus.

I have this burden that is somehow attached to me called the MCAT. I have to get it on top of this hill, but I never seem to get there. Studying and cramming formulas into mind gives me confidence. I start recalling these formulas from classes, some of which I literally took 8 years ago, and it makes me feel good. "Hot damn. I can do this," I say to myself.
I take a practice test and that shatters my confidence. Almost no improvement. I have no choice but to keep studying. This emotional roller coaster ride is not very fun for the psyche. I feel a bit drained.

Let me give you some stats.
Test March 4 : 84/144 = 58% percentile: 23-28
Test March 19: 86/144 = 60% percentile: 23-28
Test April 2 : 86/144 = 60% percentile: 23-28
Test April 6 : 94/144 = 65% percentile: 50-56

Note, that last one is a fluke. The boost in score was only from the reading and not from any other section. The technical sections did not deviate from the previous tests. The reading passages weren't that hard and I was totally on top of it that day.
I find it interesting how getting 8 more questions right boosts my ranking up so much. I guess it really does come down to answering 5 or 6 more questions more correctly gives you that extra advantage. It's hopefully something I can use to my advantage. My goal is 75 percentile or better.
Edit: I have 16 days