I'm Still Fighting

9 days...

I'm feeling a little bit better today, but not tremendously so.  I just completed another practice MCAT exam.  This time I scored a more respectable 28 (9, 10, 9).  Since I now have two AAMC practice exams under my belt, I now have a better understanding of where my deficiencies lie.  Hopefully I have enough time to continue this, albeit short, upward swing.  Hell... if I can improve by three points each exam that would surely be something to write about now wouldn't it!

This exam wants to beat me.  But I'm a fighter.  I will fight to the bitter end.  It will not beat me.

"One of the most difficult things everyone has to learn is that for your entire life you must keep fighting and adjusting if you hope to survive.  No matter who you are or what your position is you must keep fighting for whatever it is you desire to achieve."

                                                                     -George Allen

Am I an Idiot?

I have been humbled.  After all this hard work and studying, I received a much lower score on my practice MCAT than I thought possible.  For those interested, I got a 25.  The breakdown was 8,9,8.  This is so disappointing.  I am completely devastated.  I feel like I have wasted a ton of time and money.  Has this all been in vain?  I contemplated not even writing this update because I am so ashamed of myself.  But I suppose I need to be honest about everything, both good and bad.  So there it is.

I've come to grips now with the fact that I'm not going to score in the mid-thirties as I had hoped.  But c'mon!  I'm a smart guy, or so I'd like to think.  I guess this is something else entirely.  I just expected a better score considering the number of hours I've put into studying.  I am in the process of reviewing what I missed.  Hopefully by extensively reviewing everything, I will see some improvement.  Realistically, from the trends I have seen from others, this is more or less where I will end up.

I've got to figure out a way to increase this score at least a little to have any sort of a chance...  Beer may be in order for this evening...

Sick and Sick of Studying

18 Days...

Being sick sucks.  I had the flu this past week and it really affected my ability to study.  I guess there really isn't a good time to be sick though is there?  I mean would I have rather been sick during my MCAT?  Or during finals week?  How about during an interview for medical school?  I guess it could be worse.  It still sucks though.

My real question is how is it that when I get sick, I operate at about 20% of my original capacity whereas my wife operates at 80% when she is sick?  Can someone explain this to me?  Am I a wuss or is she superhuman?  Maybe both.  It seems like I should be able to derive a formula for this... hmmm....

My MCAT study schedule needs to be "customized" a bit more... In other words there is no way I will be able to finish all of these horrid books (and I use the word horrid with all my love).  I figure I'm strongest in the biological section.  I will spend the rest of this week going over just physics and general chemistry.  After that I will call my review officially done.  The next phase of this process will then begin.  I will start taking the AAMC practice exams and study from those.  I plan on doing one every other day.  Maybe every third day depending on how well or poorly I am doing.

I look forward to an update soon saying that I'm kicking the practice exam's butt...

A Happy Father's Day

26 Days...

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.  I was fortunate in that I only had to referee a few tussles instead of the several all out wars that tend to erupt in our little dwelling.  The little demons were really putting forth extra effort with being patient with each other because they know that fighting  amongst themselves aggravates me.  Sweet devils.  They got me several gifts... no tie... Wooo!  For dinner we went to Babes which was delicious and gross at the same time.  The food was awesome.  Because they give never-ending side dishes, the amount of food consumed by my 6'6" frame was disgusting.  However, my affectionately called "bacon pouch" that resides around my midsection seemed to relish the gluttony.  Good Day.

Now that Father's Day has passed, everything is back to normal.  The boys are at it like they need to make up for lost time.  Fists flying.  Nice.  Well it was good while it lasted.  It's also time to get back to studying.  Hydrocarbons are on the menu today in case you're interested.  It seems like something pretty basic that I should already have a good handle on, but we shall see.  Since it seems to be a frequent topic on the MCAT, I hope I'm able to crush this section.  Starbucks awaits... only this time, I will be able to block out any and all over-the-hill white rapping, Starbucks loiterers with my new headphones that block out all sound except the soothing tunes I choose.  Thanks Dear for the excellent gift!

28 Days...

I really wish I had a smart phone.  For some reason, the phone I have does not take video.  I also didn't bring my laptop with me to Starbucks.  It's really a shame.  I would love to have posted a video of the guy that was hanging out there (of course I would first need to figure out how to post videos - if anyone knows how, please let me know).  This guy was white, in his mid forties, and was obviously jamming to some gangster rap as he played on his laptop.  He was loudly "singing," and I use the term extremely loosely, directly behind me while throwing in all the profanity that accompanied the piece.  Oh what I would have given to be able to upload the craziness.  It would have gone VIRAL!

My studying is progressing nicely.  I again got a 10 on verbal.  Today's 10 was a little more disappointing because I missed several questions due to misreading them.  I guess next time I will ensure that I get those pesky double negative questions a more thorough reading.  I also spent time going over physics.  I am now officially finished with the first physics book in the Berkeley
Review series.  Wooo! Sweet.  Score.  It really feels like I accomplished something.  When studying for the MCAT, there are so few times, at least so far, where I feel like I'm actually making progress.  I have to make sure to delight in the small victories that come along.

This really is an extremely tedious process.  I have to just take it one step at a time though and hope it all pays off.  Inch by inch life's a cinch.  Yard by yard, life is hard.

Let the Countdown Begin

29 days...

I at least found something I'm good at as far as MCAT prep.  I've been getting so thoroughly discouraged with these Berkeley Review books.  However, I just breezed through the Stereochemistry chapter of the Organic Chemistry review book.  Woooo!  How awesome is it that I just crushed it.  I certainly needed that small shot of confidence.  Hopefully my MCAT will have several questions about stereochemistry on the exam.  But since they are psychic as well as sadistic (that's the word on the street anyway) I'm sure they will be maniacally laughing as they feed me a bunch of WTF kinda passages.

Another bright note is that I'm still solid on the verbal section.  I took another EK 101 verbal exam yesterday and scored a 10.  Nearly an 11.  And it's funny.  The questions that I struggled with are the ones I missed.  Hopefully on the real exam, I improve my intuitive reasoning and guessing (which will prove important for organic/biochemistry questions).  I would really like to get my verbal up to a consistent 12.  With all the reading I've done, and the fact that I'm majoring in a social science, I really should be scoring higher than I am currently.  Oh well... I'll take another practice test maybe tomorrow and see how that goes.  Until next time America.

One More Month

One month.  One month till the big day.  It's really sneaking up like a freight train.  I have so much more material to cover in preparation for the exam.  It's daunting.  It may not be possible to adequately cover everything.  I may just have to be okay with that.  What else is there to do?  I'm not going to postpone my test.  I have to know that I have done a ton of passages.  I know the MCAT will try to get me out of my comfort zone.  Fortunately that doesn't really rattle me.  I mean, how much worse could it possibly be compared to the Berkeley Review passages?  Some of those are really nutty.

30 days.  I need to be done with content review in 2 weeks so I can take a bunch of the practice MCAT exams.  Wow.  I'm already burnt out.  My kids are tired of me studying all the time.  I never see my wife.  This is mentally and emotionally draining.  The hardest part of my day is opening a review book.  I put it off as long as possible to just give my brain a break.  I don't know how many people feel this way, but I feel like my brain is completely full.  It's like training for a marathon.  I keep building up my endurance in preparation for the big day, but I feel like I'm ready to drop.  I need someone to hand me a cup of Gatorade before I pass out.

Ok.  I guess I've put it off long enough... back to General Chemistry I suppose...

Customizing my Study Plan

I've found that I will not be able to follow my previous MCAT study plan as laid out.  There just is insufficient time to do everything in that manner.  I have revised the plan to better fit my schedule.  I will be rotating between physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry.  Each day I will read a section (chapter) and do the passages in the Berkeley Review (TBR) book.  I think the Exam Kracker questions are fairly elementary but will be a nice review once I have completed my content review.  So I will save those for later.

I will squeeze in verbal every few days or so.  Instead of doing a couple verbal passages each day, I will do a whole one hour exam so I can get my pacing down.  I'm feeling more and more comfortable with the verbal section and hope I score well on it during game time.  

I'm also not really worried about the writing section.  Heck, this is the last year there will even be one so who really cares right?  I will peruse the writing book I purchased - don't wanna waste my money after all!  But I'm in no real hurry to do so.  Being that I'm a psychology major, I have written many essays and feel fairly comfortable with my writing ability.

What about biology?  Well funny you should ask.  I'm reading it before bedtime.  It's quite soothing and an enjoyable read.  I don't really know why everyone on Student Doctor Network bags so hard on TBR's biology section.  I agree that it may be overkill for what is necessary on the MCAT, but I enjoy biology in general and feel I have and am getting a better grasp of the concept by the day.  I will work in the biology passages as time permits.  All in all, it's a less intense schedule for sure, but all the relevant material will be covered without the pressure of making sure I'm sticking to "the schedule".  I've been doing this for a few days now and I already feel like I'm accomplishing more.  Confidence is key.  Anyone who knows me tells me that I certainly don't lack for it, but this studying is sure putting it to the test.

Show Me the Money

During a break in MCAT studying, I noticed my financial aid had come in for college.  Well, now I'm signed up for the fall semester already!  Next semester I'm taking the following classes:

Psychology - Biological Basis of Behavior
Biology - The Biology of Cancer
Psychology - Lifespan Development
Behavioral and Social Sciences - End of Life Issues

I'm very excited.  Now it's time to order the necessary textbooks so I'm prepared.  Fun times.

Dancing formulae

Yesterday, while doing MCAT prep at my school library, I got a text informing me that I was to attend a "concert in the park" with fireworks afterwards.  Although I really wanted to take advantage of not being surrounded by a pack of wild animals (my kids), and instead focus on my content review, I acquiesced.  We saw the Old 97's and some cool fireworks.  It was also the twins first concert.  All in all, I'm glad I went. The music gave the formulae in my brain some rhythm with which to dance.

This schedule that I'm trying to follow is really intense.  I mean crazy intense.  I don't know why I have to do everything the hard way.  It would be sooooo much easier for me to take the three months and prepare for this exam like a normal person.  Instead, I want to push myself to the breaking point and beyond by trying to do all of this in double speed.  My initial thought process was that I have taken all the prerequisites within a very short period of time, so everything should be fresh; content review should be at a minimum.  Additionally, I wanted to be able to apply as soon as possible to theoretically increase my chances of acceptance.  Though I may have bitten off more than I can chew by attempting this.  If I had it to do over again, I would definitely take it a little more slowly.  Oh well... back to physics...

A Well Deserved Break

So Friday I took a well deserved break from my studies to enjoy some good friends, good beer, and some marginally good poker.  I invited some old friends and new over to my house and allowed them to take my money in a good old fashioned game of Texas hold-em.  I had just received my final grades for this semester and needed a break.  My final grades break down as follows:

Psychology Research Methods: A
Neurobiology: A
Health for Today: A
Physics II: A
Organic Chemistry II: B

Although I did not get the straight A's I was shooting for, I feel satisfied that I worked hard and did reasonably well.  Since finishing the semester I have been studying for my upcoming MCAT exam.  I have realized something very interesting about studying for this fabled exam.  It sucks.  Yeah that's right - I said it.  Studying for the MCAT is mind-numbingly boring.  I keep going over information I have already learned.  I need to know all this information much better than I knew it when I learned it though.  And the sheer volume of information required to be retained in my brain seems overwhelming at times.

The only way I am able to continue pushing through is to not think about that.  I just make small goals for myself like "I will finish reading X number of pages in this MCAT prep book."  Or "today I will go over every question I got wrong, as well all those I got correct in my practice exam."  That's really the only way I know how to study for this darned thing.  But now my break from school work is over.  Back to the books....

Now the Real Work Begins

The semester is over.  I just finished my last final exam, that being for Organic Chemistry 2.  I may finish with a "B" in that class depending on the results of that horrific test.  Now the real work begins.  Beginning Monday, I need to take a few days to rejuvenate my mental faculties, I will begin my quest to crush the MCAT, or at least not let it crush me.  This semester was trying in that I took more credit hours than I ever have before.  But I still have the possibility of getting straight A's in the 17 hours taken.  I will update the results when they come out, which I think is next week.

Since my diagnostic MCAT exam was not nearly up to where it needs to be, I will be working 8 hours everyday to give myself the best chance possible of succeeding.  My weakest area is physics, so of course  I will put off studying that as long as possible because let's be honest - physics sucks.  Biology is so much more kick ass than physics!  So I will start with biology and get to where I am a biology master as fast as possible.  Then, because physics is the bane of my existence, I will move on to general chemistry.  Hopefully, by then I will sufficiently be into MCAT study mode where I can focus on the beast.  I've read several posts on student doctor network that organic chemistry is too low yield to study for, and considering I just took two semesters of it, I plan on briefly reviewing that section last.

If anyone has any study tips, or things that worked well for them, please let me know.  I plan on taking a practice exam every week, probably on Saturday mornings since my MCAT is set for Saturday, July 14th at 8 am.  I also will make sure to go over every answer I got wrong, and even the ones I got correct to make sure that I have as solid a foundation as possible.  I will be self-studying as I do not want to shell out $1500 for an MCAT prep course.  Fortunately, my school library has many resources, and a friend is letting me borrow her books when she finishes with them next week.  Good luck to all those applying this cycle.  It's been a lot of hard work to get to this point, and we've only just begun!