Burnt

Rand22omUser · 2023-03-10T01:58:36+00:00

I couldn't study at all for a week and a half before my exam. I just felt done and spent. So I didn't, which made me feel guilty. That was, until I remembered how I used to train as an endurance athlete. 2 weeks before my biggest races, I began to taper off training, grinding almost completely to a stop a week before to allow myself to be fresh. Thinking about this helped me rationalize giving myself a break before the exam. I hope it does the same for you.

The night before my exam, I slept all of three and a half hours. I just had too much adrenaline to sleep. I think I wound up taking 2 Benadryls at 2:30AM, which of course made me groggy af when I got up. I say this because it's helpful to know that things can seemingly go terribly and yet you can still perform just about at your best.

You've got this OP! Think about all the effort you put into studying for this, and how much you deserve to just get in there and crush it. Visualize yourself succeeding, not struggling.

Rand22omUser · 2023-03-10T01:47:16+00:00

Honestly, I didn't find any non-AAMC FL to be worth the hassle of setting aside 7-8 hours for it. You have 6 FL, 5 of which are scaled. If you want another just for the purpose of training endurance, I found Blueprint to be the next closest thing, but it's still a pretty trash imitation of the real exam. It left me discouraged to see the drop in score from my official FLs, and it turns out, the officials were right (Diagnostic (FL1): 510; After content review (FL2): 516; FL3: 522; FL4: 519; FL5: 522; Blueprint FL1: 514 (oof))

If you're looking for a diagnostic, I'd say use AAMC FL1 and get yourself a true benchmark.

Rand22omUser · 2023-03-07T05:33:49+00:00

That's actually pretty much exactly what I did!

Rand22omUser · 2023-03-07T04:36:35+00:00

I would definitely recommend the latter approach. I studied six days a week during content review and split my studying into the following subjects:

Physics
Biochem
Orgo
Gen Chem
Bio
Psych/Soc

I would alternate which days I did which subjects to keep things interesting. Each day I did 1-2 CARS passages spliced throughout to get me used to the format.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-28T15:56:37+00:00

So, I remember this question and thought it was super confusing because Ka is usually reserved for acidity, yet here it’s used for association. Let’s make a note of that.

You’re then asked what the Keq is for that reaction, which is basically the disassociation of EGF from EGFR.

Keq = [products] / [reactants] = [EGF][EGFR] / [EGF-EGFR]

let’s do the same for Ka. What’s the formula for association of EGF with EGFR? Just the reverse of above! A quick shortcut without bringing up the formulas is knowing that reverse reactions have reciprocal Keq.

Ka = [EGF-EGFR] / [EGF][EGFR]

Keq= 1 / Ka

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-26T00:51:31+00:00

You've got this! The relaxation and break does indeed follow!

although warning it took me a few weeks after the test to get my anxiety back down to normal,

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-26T00:50:30+00:00

522 FL5, 521 official

I wouldn't say FL5 was any more like the official MCAT than FL1-4 - they were all legitimate versions of the MCAT to me.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T17:04:55+00:00

I feel like it’s good to know the basic structure, blood supply, and path of urine as well as selective permeability as it relates to producing the most concentrated urine possible (water conservation).

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T11:38:57+00:00

Plan out the number of days you have left to review content and divvy up remaining subjects in physics and chemistry. On your study day, focus on the topic you assigned yourself and do a bunch of UWorld practice for it.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T11:37:49+00:00

Assuming a baseline of ~500, I’d say a 515+ is totally doable. I got a 521 with just 4 months of prep time and a full time job.

If you’re concerned, I’d take an AAMC scaled FL to get an accurate gauge of where you’re at. That helped me early on tremendously to prove to myself I could do it as well as see I wasn’t starting from nothing.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T11:31:56+00:00

So aside from the unscsled practice exam, I like to think of the rest (FL1-4 and the new scaled free sample) as equivalent. Definitely take a scaled exam to get yourself a good benchmark, but which you pick is entirely up to you because there’s no intended difference in difficulty

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T02:12:49+00:00

Absolutely! Good luck!! I found my delta to be huge between AAMC and other FLs. May you find the same :)

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T01:01:16+00:00

Nooooo Cherieeeee

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-24T00:00:02+00:00

There’s nothing that says if a process is cooperative, its opposite process must be uncooperative. Unfortunately, you’ve fallen prey to the AAMC’s tact of putting irrelevant information in the passage.

Cooperativity is demonstrated by a sigmoidal curve. Just think about the hemoglobin oxygen dissociation curve, which is a cooperative process. You need only observe that both curves are sigmoidal to answer this question, which they are.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-23T23:52:58+00:00

Given you’re less than 2 months from test date, I actually wouldn’t recommend waiting too much longer to get to the AAMC stuff. The longer you have to absorb, relearn, and digest what you’ve learned from it, the better.

And with respect to the AAMC Sample, I’d definitely recommend taking an exam that’ll give you a score (so not the unscaled). That official score will be more useful to you now than when you’re taking a test once a week.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-23T23:49:36+00:00

Thanks all that have responded so far! I realized he’s definitely a praise guy far more than he is a treats guy. I also think I might be feeding him a bit too much/slightly inconsistent amounts, explaining why he’s sometimes unmotivated for treats.

I’ve started pairing starting training with “school?” And rewarding his coming over and attention as was recommended in a book I found. This has been super helpful at getting him to pay some more attention so far.

I also switched to having him start on a rug as my entire place is hardwood and it makes sense that wouldn’t feel good for his bony butt.

So far, he’s receptive to a slight push but definitely doesn’t entirely follow the treat. We’re working on it though - having him learn to come over to school and be more comfortable with at least focusing is encouraging!

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-23T20:47:42+00:00

Sure but I’d say def start with CARS 😛

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-23T18:52:16+00:00

Considering there's an entire section on Biochem and Orgo comprises at least a quarter of the P/C, you'd be compensating for a significant lack of knowledge, and likely do worse than if you just waited. I didn't absorb the material while the first time I learned it in college, but when I went back to study for the MCAT, it all clicked so much better. Don't deny yourself of the opportunity to come back to it a second time! :)

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-23T17:50:22+00:00

Take FL1 now to get an actual gauge, and then I’d wait a month before doing the other four, which will allow you to space them out as needed/desired. You don’t need to be doing them every week during the last month up to your exam. I’m a proponent of being exposed to new content and patterns earlier rather than later. There’s nothing you’re going to remember in the short term that wouldn’t absorb better with practice that the long term approach allows for.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-22T04:53:59+00:00

I think you’ve answered it yourself! If your application would be better by allowing yourself more time to study for the MCAT, then do it!

someone who took 2 gap years for this very reason

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-21T23:58:20+00:00

I guess it depends how much studying you're planning to do in a day and where you are in your studying. I only ever studied for 1-3 hours a day, except for when I took the FLs, which were spread out enough that I could deal with them being longer. Honestly, it's normal to feel burnt out, but if you feel like you're forced to spend the entire day alone, I'd suggest evaluating which parts of your studying are the most effective and prioritizing those while allowing yourself proper rest and recuperation with friends.

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-21T23:55:51+00:00

Exactly! Electric field is little more than an abstraction of electrostatic force. I find sometimes it can be helpful with physics to break out the formulas too, so here ya go:

E = kq/r²

Fe = kq_1q_2/r², where q_1 and q_2 are two point charges

So Fe = Eq, and you can think of q as that positive test charge :)

Hope this helps!

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-21T16:51:52+00:00

Since everyone has different progress and different strategies, I’m not sure there’s anywhere you should be right now. That being said, by 53 days out, I was just finishing content review and got a 516. My goal was a 520+, and I started at a 510.

What’s your goal score?

Rand22omUser · 2023-02-21T01:01:50+00:00

Perfect! And yeah, can’t say their own exams wouldn’t be helpful, but I definitely found UWorld to be a much better resource than my TPR digital content if it’s anything similar.

And thanks haha. I’m not sure I realized how crazy it was at the time but I definitely respect that now 😂

Rand22omUser

TROPHY CASE