Doctors and future doctors vol MCAT

[paliplaya2010]

Ok, so im a pretty smart guy and have a pretty good gpa at a pretty prestigious school id say. im sitting at 3.85 and i play football. Im about to be a junior, im doing research this summer and just started studying for the mcat a couple days ago. I plan on taking it in February. Holy crap, i am so unmotivated to study for this thing. I read and i lose focus so fast. Ive always been bad at taking these kind of tests, even the sat. i hate words so much, every passage i see i give up. i had the same problem in chem and physics when i had word problems i just skim them and look for numbers. whats the trick to these things. People who just got through all this any advice? I plan on volunteering some after football season and doing an abroad volunteer internship next summer in a 3rd world country. ANything else yall would recommend. 

 

[paliplaya2010]

no advice?

 

[typerpinoy]

Sounds like you need study tips in general not specific to medicine or the mcat. Wish I could offer some advice but I'm so far removed from it and the test has changed a lot since I took it 7 years ago.

 

[dr fonclbrics]

I wish there was some easy way to study for the MCATs, but unfortunately you just gotta grind through it. Best advice I can give is to spend 3 or 4 hours a day (preferably in the morning) without any distractions. That means: don't take your computer, phone, iPod, etc. For me, personally, I made sure I went to the library because I just wasn't as productive at home. The Examkrackers books are what I would recommend. Set up a schedule for yourself and make sure you keep up with it. Don't make the mistake of pushing stuff to the next day or else you'll be screwed because chances are everything will pile up until the end. And try to do as many practice questions/sections/tests as possible.

If you're having THAT much trouble focusing, you should sign up for a MCAT course (i.e. Princeton Review or Kaplan). This test is more of a mental thing more than anything else. Just hold yourself accountable to getting a certain amount of work done everyday and you'll be fine.

As far as the volunteering stuff goes, that's great, but you should understand that your GPA and MCAT are gonna be THE most important aspects of your application. So, no matter what kind of volunteer work you do, it's gonna be pretty pointless if you get <30 on the MCAT.

With your GPA, you've already won half the battle. Just remind yourself that a couple months of studying will complete the other half of your application.


CLIFF NOTES: Man up and get used to words. Because you're gonna have deal with them for the rest of your life if you choose to stay on the medical path (often times, they'll be of the variety you can't even pronounce). Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[paliplaya2010]

Originally Posted by TypeRPinoY

Sounds like you need study tips in general not specific to medicine or the mcat. Wish I could offer some advice but I'm so far removed from it and the test has changed a lot since I took it 7 years ago.

i dont have trouble studying just the motivation isnt there for some reason, im pushing it back. i know im starting early so thats why my brain thinks it can be lazy.

 

[utvol23]

lol I'm with type R I thini took the MCAT in 2002. Probably changed a lot over the yrs but take a course like princeton review and take as many practice tests and do as many ?s as possible

 

[wizards23]

not pertaining specifically to the MCAT but to any goal in general...

Get a calendar that you use to cross of or X (red marker works good) the days you completed your 3-4 hours of study or practice tests. Once you get going you will not want to "break the chain" of Xs.

On a day you feel like not studying, just look at the calendar. You can then think to yourself "I did 10 days in a row. I'm not going to break the chain for 1 day."

I think it was originally from Jerry Seinfeld. When he didn't feel like writing for the show he would look at his calendar for motivation.

It almost forces you to take one day at a time.

Build your chain!