Wednesday, April 11, 2007

The 5 stages of stress

I was sitting here thinking, because I have nothing better to do, about my days studying for the MCAT and the degree to which I almost soiled my elephant boxers (oh yes, I am that classy). I noticed that my stress was inversely proportional to the time until the exam....this sentence shows that my studying has paid off!! As the MCAT came closer my stress got progressively worse. My road to insanity came in stages:


Stage 1: You come to the realization that you know absolutely nothing. The past 4 years of class is just one big hazy blur of hungover mayhem. As you determine that you can no longer procrastinate and put off studying you throw up a little in your mouth. Time to bust out the text books that have been nicely propping up your beer pong table and put together a half ass study schedule that you will be redoing 317 times in the next 2 months or so because you can't stick to it. Better put on a pot of coffee.


Stage 2: You are moving into the realm of freaking out. The clock is ticking and you can feel it. Your eyes are bloodshot and you have drank all the coffee and soda (it's soda, not pop douche bags) in the apartment. Your tired of studying and and make frequent trips to the kitchen just to forget what the hell you went there for. Panic and fatigue are setting in and you have just redone your schedule....again.




Stage 3: You just smashed the piss out of the clock in your room in the hopes that it will buy you more time. You have thought of shoving this pencil in your eye and just ending it all numerous times. After grading the practice exam that you took, you spend some time curled up in the corner crying like a 2 year old. Once you stop crying you run to the store for some Sleep-B-Gone caffine pills because you have come to the conclusion that coffee is for pussies. You still don't know jack shit, but if you beef up the studying you'll be okay.


Stage 4: Fuck!!








Stage 5: You have gone completely retarded. You no longer even know who you are or what you're doing. You now stare blankly at the text book in front of you with dried tears and snot all over your face. You have just read the same sentence 23 times and still don't know what the shit it said. You havn't slept or showered in a week and your diet consists of hot pockets and jelly beans. The world becomes a gloomy place and you feel like punching anyone that smiles at you right in the kisser. You daydream about how you could possibly burn down the testing center and get away with it. You flush your study schedule down the toilet because numbers no longer have meaning to you. When your roomate asks if everything is okay, your eye twitches uncontrollably.


At this point you are ready to take the MCAT.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Taking the "scared shitless" out of the MCAT

Obsessing over the MCAT is natural and for some of us it is a daily ritual like stuffing your face with twinkies....err, uhh, is that just me. Anywho, when I went into the MCAT I thought that this exam would bend me over and spank me like the dirty little $210 whore that it is. But, as scary as the MCAT may seem, it can be conquered. And no, it doesn't require reading 17 different prep books cover to cover and going through a billion questions. This exam can be intimidating, especially with the stigma of being the mother asskicker end of the world doctor destructor type of exam. However, contrary to popular belief, you can do very well if you know how to approach it.

The exam can be broken down a bit and looked at from different angles. First, there is the verbal section. All you need to know for this section is your abc's and how to read. This section just tests your comprehension of those ridiculous paragraphs. Practice makes perfect for this section. When you test yourself on verbal for the first time, you most likely won't do as well as you want to, but don't fret my firend. It just takes a little time to get used to the retarded format they use. After doing a few handfuls of practice passages you'll get the hang of it and not long after that it will become second nature. By then you will know what to pay attention to in a passage.

The physical sciences is the dreaded section by many. The pricks who come up with the questions for the MCAT don't expect you to remember all these little details that you once learned 3 years ago and retained for about 6 hours until you were finished with the exam for that section. In fact, you don't even need to know that many equations either. Many students who havn't taken the MCAT before will sit there and try to memorize every equation in the book. Those people would probably be better off taking that paper and rollin' a doobie. Chances are that the equations you need for the exam you already know. As for mathematical calculations, there are very few and they are fairly simple. Most questions involving equations only ask about the relationships of variables (i.e. directly or indirectly proportional). Even in this section, probably about 65% of the answers are in the passage.

The biological sciences section can be reasoned through also. From my experience most of the questions concerning biology were in the area of physiology. If you want to do good in the biology on the exam know the human body. Just read the few chapters on physiology in your prep book. As for organic chem, well....sell that book for beer money. It is the smallest portion of the exam (about 30% of that section). You just need to know the basics of organic and you'll be good to go.

My personal favorite is the writing section. Pay no attention to anyone who tells you that you need a good writing score. I have personal knowledge from a friend on the admissions committee of a medical school (no I will not tell you which one you little brown nosers), that no one gives a shit how you do on the writing. Even despite the fact no one cares, it isn't very hard to do well on the writing section. If you took bullshit 101 in college which I'm sure everyone has, then you will do fine. You could probably write on the fact that Paris Hilton has been around the block so many times that she has developed her own strain of STD. As long as it was written in halfway decient English you will do well.

For the benefit and mental well-being of all pre-meds I have made up a helpful little guide for the MCAT which I call the:

MCAT Psychosis Prevention Program

Step 1- give yourself enough time to study, but don't start 6 months before the exam that you forget everything you learned at the beginning. I'd say about 2 months should do it.

Step 2- manage the time that you give yourself. For example, do one chapter or 2 hours a day. This way you won't get overwhelmed.

Step 3 - plan to be done with content about 2 weeks before the exam. This will give you time to take a few practice exams and touch up on a couple rusty areas. Don't freak out if you do bad or forget some stuff, besides on test day you would be suprised how much info comes flowing back.

Step 4- stop clenching your buttcheeks so hard!! Relax, all the info is in your head and you know how to do it. Be positive and confident. Plus, you can always take it again if something terrible happens for whatever reason.

Step 5- once you are finished with the exam go striaght to the nearest bar and start slammin' beers! You've just taken the biggest exam of your life thus far and that would drive anyone to drink. But really, it's an accomplishment in itself just to study and to take it, so live it up and use it as an excuse for your friends to buy you drinks! Cheers!!

Monday, April 9, 2007

One for all and all for medicine

It's official! Medcial school is the hardest school to get into ever in the history of the universe. There's nothing like knowing all that you want to do in life is wear that white coat and all you need to do is beat out 95% of the best students in the country to do it. It's a feeling that makes you want to heave that three day old pizza you ate for breakfast. But fear not my anxious ones....it is completely possible. There is yet a hope for all of those who decided not to be an anti-social hermit in college who spends every saturday night beefing up on their free radical reaction pathways for an exam two weeks away. I'm sure by now many of you have explored the....excuse me while I be politically correct...."non-traditional"....way of getting into medical school. The real fact is that there is no "traditional" way of getting into medical school these days. All of us pre-meds, aka geeks, are in the same boat, striving for the same thing....that shining, fresh, crisp piece of culminating reward commonly referred to as (cue inspirational music)....the acceptance letter.

Join me in my journey on the road to medical school. I've been through alot on that road thus far and have learned a ton of things. Therefore, instead of keeping all this super fantastic information to myself, I decided to give back to my community of fellow super-caffinated, strung-out, and most likely insane bunch of medical hopefuls. Feel free to hit me with questions, comments, or whatever else that ten pound heap of neuropathways can poop out (a gold star if you make me laugh). I'll share the good and the ugly sides of this trek and try to help as much as I can for the rest of you. That being said....happy studying and a merry nervous breakdown to all!!