MCATs - Study Groups

In undergrad, I didn't like studying in groups.  I didn't like studying with other people during the mandatory library hours that I had to do with one of my community service clubs, and I didn't like studying with classmates/friends for the same class.  Regarding the former, only four of us were really serious about studying, but the rest of the group was seriously distracting.  Regarding the latter, I never found particularly helpful even though we were good about going over concepts or pathways.  Probably because none of us at the time really knew how to run a study group.  Overall, I developed a pretty negative opinion of study groups.  There was a small group of people I could study with, another group of people who I would join for "studying" only to digress into "hanging out," and people who I would help or request help from.

During MCAT classes, the instructor really encouraged us to study in groups.  I think I gave an honest effort but after two or three attempts to actually participate in a study group, I (and everyone else) gave up.  The biggest issue was scheduling - everyone worked different hours on different days.  Some worked nights, some worked weekends, people went home for the weekend/holiday.  After some time, I also went away feeling, "well, that was pointless."  It's a little discouraging to bring up a possible subject for review, and then get shut down by a "Oh, you can just memorize that."  I could have been more proactive and asked people to explain it to me anyway, but.....meh.

Following our instructor's suggestions, we also tried to assign one another problems from Kaplan's quiz bank (Q-Bank).  Everyone would work on a different set of questions at home, and come back to explain the problem-solving process to the group the following session.  In theory, it's great because you learn best by being able to teach material to someone else or learning why you were wrong.  I also think it's good because different people explain things in a different way, and certain ways are easier for a person to pick up and remember than others.  Like how certain professors will integrate sexual innuendos and jokes into lecture in a way that's memorable and can easily be associated with the lecture material.  Students always remember a good joke.  In reality, though, it only works if everyone puts in the time to answer each problem.  By the third study group, it had devolved into an hour or two where we would look at the quiz questions on a computer screen, solve it on our own, and discuss only if someone did not understand the answer.  I think by then, we all felt that we would get more done studying alone.

There was also a girl who, although she was diligent about attending all of the our study sessions, would always say in an off-hand manner, "Man, you guys are way more serious about this than I am.  I'm not planning to take the test soon so I'm not as pressured to do all the homework."  Great.  Thanks for reminding us that there are bags under our eyes from sleep deprivation due to trying to work AND keep up in class.  Not cool.

Later on, I learned that study groups can be great IF you're with the right people who have the right mindset and energy.  One of my high school friends (also pre-med) came back for spring break from her two-year Master's program and we got together to study/hang out and during the two hours we were in the cafe, I got SO MUCH reviewing done.  She is also retaking her MCAT sometime this year, and had me teach her about subjects that I was already having trouble grasping/memorizing.  It was the week leading up to my first MCAT, and it helped.  To be honest, until that day, I had no idea why bimolecular and unimolecular reactions required different reaction conditions.  By the end of our study session I was frolicking down the foggy street.  I also felt brain-dead.  We covered a lot of material from physics, chemistry, organic chem, and bio.

At least now, I'm aware that it IS possible to have a good study group,

GurgleBlarghBloopBloop

That is the sound of drowning.

But I'm alive!  My memory is demolished.  Renal system?  Huh????

I actually took the MCAT twice.  Because I'm crazy.  I did fairly well the first time, but I also came out feeling destroyed.  My timing for Physical Sciences was bad, mainly through my own failure to regulate my own pacing, and yet I did much, much better than I thought.  I was happy with my Biological Sciences, but disappointed in the Verbal Reasoning considering that my practice scores up until then were within the range I wanted.  So I took it again, with the resolve to improve my pacing in Physical Sciences and improve my Verbal score.  I came out feeling even worse than the first time.  I didn't even like my essays.  Ugh.  I'll be over here in my corner of shame, feigning indifference.

In terms of study material (for the curious), I tearfully parted with a hard-earned $1,699 for the Kaplan MCAT course during a "special sale."  I think normally they are $1,999.  The Kaplan center near my university campus also regularly donated a full MCAT-prep course to local pre-med student organizations, which students can bid on starting at $1,000.  As an undergrad though, I didn't have $1,000 to throw around like that.  I also invested in the Examkrackers study guide, because everyone told me it was awesome, and received the Audio Osmosis lectures from a friend.  In the weeks preceding my second attempt, a friend gave me access to her Princeton Review MCAT account in exchange for my Kaplan account.

I completed all of the Kaplan online material, which includes Kaplan's online tests, all the old MCAT tests provided by the American Association of Medical Colleges, the QBank questions, and their little review quizzes.  The course is about 4 months during the winter, because we took a one-month break for the Holiday season.  I think between October and January, I spent a good chunk of time re-learning all the material from undergrad and the remaining time focusing on pacing.

I think Examkrackers is great for people who just want a concise summary of key facts in the week or two leading up to the test, or for people who are trying to ease back into science after years of being in the Real World.  I can't attest to the quality of the Princeton Review instructors, but the set-up for their online system is. The.  Absolutely.  Worst.  Thing.  Ever.  Anytime you finish a quiz and want to take another quiz, you have to reload the home page and then click through 3-4 drop-down menu's again to select another quiz.  Also, there have been times when I completed a full practice test, only to find it didn't save ANY of my results.  The quality of the practice material is not as insane compared to Kaplan, but still challenging.  Overall I am definitely glad I went with Kaplan.

I'm easing back into blogging now, and also trying to gear up to re-write my personal statement for the application this June.  I feel like I didn't leave myself enough time, and yet I was oh-so-determined to retake the test.  As a reward to myself, I splurged on an Xbox.  Unfortunately, having that around the house means I haven't been drawing like I said I would.

And now, a picture of an emu from Sunday's wine-tasting excursion:

In a Nutshell

I'm not reaaaallly sure where the last couple weeks went....I think I burnt myself out during the first month and a half of class, so I had to sit back and gather my sanity.  I definitely have figured out that I struggle with content more, as opposed to test-taking strategies...so starting now I will need to knuckle down and torture myself diligently review flashcards.  I've also been using Examkrackers books to review content I am unsure about and found that it saves me time and frustration.  Kaplan books have the tendency to give analogies that I think are stupid, or the books provide a really long-winded and over-detailed explanation for concepts that really DON'T need that much detail.  

My physical therapy is progressing pretty well, albeit conservatively per doctor's orders.  The final two ranges of motion that I will need to work on are the external rotation at the elbow and abduction.  Strength training is progressing smoothly, and the exercises they have given me will also be helpful once I begin doing my own strength training after rehabilitation is complete.  Most of my strength building exercises seem to focus around using the muscles behind my scapula (rhomboid major muscle?) correctly and NOT using the trapezius muscle to compensate, which seems to place unwanted tension on the shoulders.  Consequently, my upper back between the shoulder blades are pretty sore today =/  

Last night was supposed to be my last night of fun-time before I re-engage hermit-mode to study.  My night ended with a bang.....several bangs, in fact: 

pewpewpew!

I dunno if there's a stigma against doctors (and pre-meds) wielding firearms as a hobby but I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as shooting is done legally in a safe space and as long as all participants abide by the rules for safety.  I would trust a doctor to handle a loaded gun safely as opposed to some random person, although I would still prefer to stand behind the doctor....just in case.  After using a few of the rental guns the shooting range had, I can definitely understand why some dudes get super excited over guns: it was pretty exhilarating on a very primal level.  I can also appreciate how much damage a gun can do, and how much skill/practice it requires to shoot well when the target isn't just a piece of paper with a giant orange dot in the middle.  Holding a gun is also no joke - pistols look small sitting in a glass case but some are surprisingly heavy.  

The beginner's course I took (required for all newbies) included a nomenclature and safety class.  The class had a bunch of girls, and collectively we learned that any idiot can load and shoot a gun (that same day at work, I learned that not everyone knows what a PDF is *facepalm*).  We started off range-time with a Ruger MKIII which was pretty easy to handle, upgraded to what was probably an older model of the M4 rifle and ended the night with one of the smaller Sig Sauer 9mm pistols that could fit in my tiny Asian-girl hands.  I had the most fun and the best shots with the 9mm.  The only downside was that since it was a rental gun, it gets a lot of use so the casing would eject straight at my face instead of off to the side.  

Overall it was a fun night.  I wish I could get this much excitement out of reviewing physics X_X 

Productive

I finally forced myself to study for the MCATs.  I have classes in October, so right now I am reviewing my Examkrackers books.  I really like this book.  It has good (colored!!) illustrations and me what concepts I should understand and what is not quite important enough to memorize.

I also have Audio Osmosis, which accompanies each book chapter.  I've heard the guys that voice the lecture are funny in a nerdy way.



My shoulder has been feeling less stiff and sore today...which is partly the reason why I made myself study.  The only exception is on occasion, I will move or turn and the motion will pull on something in my shoulder, which makes me twitch.  It doesn't really hurt, but it isn't pleasant either.