Gen chem down, Ochem to go

1. Gen chem ch 2
2. Gen chem ch 2 1st third
3. Ochem ch 2
4. Ochem ch 2 1st third
5. Bio ch 2
6. Bio ch 2 1st third
7. Physics ch 3
8. Physics ch 3 1st third

I got a quarter of the list done- does that count for anything? (Not in MCAT-land it doesn't.) But to be fair to myself, I got a solid 12 on the first third of gen chem ch 2.

 

I made no stupid mistakes, but I did falter on two questions that, in retrospect, were super easy. That means I'm getting better on slowing down and reading everything instead of skimming and assuming. And I'll take a smile for that.

I hate being behind, but at least it's for a good reason

I am four days behind at this point, thanks to family weekend activities, unemployment activities, and signing-up-for-a-new-job activities.

Pretty much my response when I learned WHERE and WHEN and FOR WHO I would be working.

Yes, excitedly, I have landed a temporary part-time job- I'm still working in clinical research, but this job is ten-thousand fold better. It pays crap and there are no benefits, but I sincerely could not be happier at this point. I was feeling pretty awful when I was let go, and I really I couldn't put my finger on why that was- I didn't want to do it anymore, and I was so happy not to be there. I think it boiled down to simply not having a job anymore- I hated that feeling of not working. So even though I get paid way less than even unemployment, have to pay health insurance out of my pocket, and I work unknown hours, I couldn't be happier.

Anyway, settling all that means that I'm four days behind. I need to do all this by wed night to be back on schedule:

1. Gen chem ch 2
2. Gen chem ch 2 1st third
3. Ochem ch 2
4. Ochem ch 2 1st third
5. Bio ch 2
6. Bio ch 2 1st third
7. Physics ch 3
8. Physics ch 3 1st third

Sheesh. And tomorrow is Halloween. Guess I'll be up late and up early.

Moving in the right direction

Yesterday I finished all the second 1/3 of the passages for each first chapter in TBR (except bio. At midnight it all looked like hieroglyphics) and I'm definitely moving in the right direction. I'm really pleased because this is the same material, so it's sticking, and even better, I can find the info in the recesses of my mind and apply it.

Chapter One (1st 1/3)          Chapter One (2nd 1/3)

 

Physics (6)                           Physics (8)

Gen Chem (9)                      Gen Chem (11)

Ochem (8)                            Ochem (10)

Bio (9)                                 TBD

And if I hadn't made stupid mistakes (like literally writing "B" when I'm staring at "C" as the right answer), then my score in all of these would be a point higher. And physics is getting better- I got a 10 on the 1st third of chapter 2. I did pretty darn well on ochem and gen chem 1001 questions, an 11 on the EK ch 1 In-Class exam, and only about 50% right on physics. That information is just not clicking with me, and I'm not sure why. I'm having trouble applying equations, theory, and deciphering the subtle text on what the problem is asking for. I need more practice there.

I am faltering on verbal, getting a 9/10 on those. That's what I got on both the tests back in the day, so I'm not making progress there. I do those right when I wake up, so maybe my brain hasn't kicked into gear yet.

This weekend is jam-packed with family activities, so I hope to finish bio, read ch 2 in gen chem, and do those 1st third. Tomorrow is supposed to be ochem ch 2 and the 1st third. Monday will be a wash, as I've got affiliate work, mandatory unemployment seminar, the gym, Jr's soccer, and THEN I can start studying.

I sincerely hope I don't run out of time before I can accomplish all I want to.

Progress on physics, reading, etc.

Maybe I'm really horrible at linear motion, as I did just fine on physics chapter two in TBR. Go figure. Curiously, I actually enjoyed this chapter and learned a lot from it. I read EK physics ch 2 also, just for more info, and it was incredibly sparse, yet the problems tested the same material as TBR.

I've re-read all the chapters I've read so far (ch 1 in all topics), and have done most of the first third of the passages. This week has been kind of a bust in regular studying, as I'm tying up loose ends before my health insurance goes bye-bye. (I had a bitter farewell to my coverage when I visited my doctor this week- everyone kept commenting on how much it will suck to lose such great insurance, as if I didn't already know.)

This weekend Jr is having a few friends stay over because apparently I don't have enough stress in my life. I hope they will entertain themselves and I can get more studying done. I should be only slightly behind by tomorrow, and hopefully no more daily interruptions, so I can be on track instead of continuously behind.

Where I'm at in scoring- about a solid 10 in each subject (okay, a 9 sometimes in phys), getting 11s and the occassionally 12 in bio.

Physics

...will kill me on this test, I swear. I have read TBR and EK chapters 1 and 2, and still cannot get more than half the problems right. On EK I make simple mistakes or don't think it through enough. Rarely I truly didn't know the answer, which is the opposite on TBR passages. I barely know these, even after reading the solutions. It's really tough and it's kicking my ass.



Truer words have yet to be spoken.

Maybe I'm missing a gene for physics? I'm physics-deficient? I'm low on physic-assium? I am doing acceptable on every other topic except physics. And I'm a pretty logical person, so I'm truly at a loss as to why this is happening, why I am so clueless, why I cannot bridge the gap between theory and practice.

MCAT Day... what day is it?

Discipline, the ability to say no, and focus. Guess what I need way, WAY more of? (If you guessed money, you are also correct.)

It's difficult to study with a family. If you are headed to medical school and are childless, single, and out of debt, count your very, extremely lucky stars. For example, Halloween is on the horizon, so that means decorating inside and out, baking, shopping for a costume, candy, and more decorations, pumpkin carving, finding the carving supplies, cleaning up from carving, locating candles, school functions, volunteering at said functions, the list goes on. I spent nearly the entire weekend doing family stuff- stuff I wouldn't trade the world for, stuff that made my son incredibly happy, my family happy, and my heart happy.

But it made my studying sad.

And now I'm stressing out because I don't want to stop doing those things, yet I have to make time for studying. My worst habit is to think "I'll have time tomorrow", because that thought will never have an end- there is always a tomorrow to pile stuff onto.

MCAT Day 5

I've been going to the library for my studying, but I realized that I'm wasting too much time and non-existent gas money (the awesome library is 30 minutes away).

Awesome library pictured may not be representative of all awesome libraries.

So I'm trying out studying at home, or going to the nearby library with it's glorious and varied homeless population with the convenient and library-adjacent sidewalk residence. I have a feeling I'll be tweaking the studying details until I find what works best. That'll come in handy once it comes time to study for realz in med school- then I'll know what works for me already instead of discovering it for the first 2 months.

Yesterday was much better with the timing. I had 2.5 hours to read the ochem chapter, and with a timer, I got through it. Of course I didn't take detailed notes like I wanted, so I need to incorporate that. I put little post-it note flags on the pages I wanted to review, which I did this morning at 7am. Ugh, yes, I got up an hour earlier to go through my notes.

Haha, no I didn't, I just planned to. I did get up early, but I used that time to catch up on reading blogs, watching the news, and generally waking up, until Mechanic Jr also figured it'd be nice to get up early and sit with mom. Which I think was awesome. :-)

After dropping off Jr. at school, I was all set to get started until I received an email telling me that I needed my SS card for my new job. I just spent two hours scouring the house with nary a glimpse of it. Great. Two hours wasted and now I need to make a trip to the local SS office (and quiet this worrying in the back of mind as to where it could be- I rarely lose things of importance. I even have my very first driver's license.) Guess it'll be a late friday night- I'll just pretend the dark dining room is a club.

So today's To Do list includes:

• Take notes for a note sheet from OChem ch 1 (1 hour)
• Do 1st third of passages from OChem ch 1 (30 min)
• Review Gen Chem ch 1 1st third (30 min)
• Review prior verbal passages (30 min)
• Do 2 verbal passages (30 min)
• Lunch! Whoo-hoo!
• Read EK Bio ch 1 (2.5 hours)
• 1st third of TBR Bio passages (30 min)

And that will take me through 1.5 days of studying. I'd like to get caught up on my imposed schedule.

MCAT Day 4

I originally started out studying with the plan that I wouldn't time myself, that I'd learn the material first, then worry about timing. Both times I took the test before I didn't have probems with timing, so I don't anticipate a problem now.

But I think my goal of not only learning all I can, but mastering it too is causing me to fall severely behind. I only got through physics yesterday, not gen chem too. I'm going to have to incorporate some time limits, otherwise I'll still be studying physics three weeks after the exam is over.

I did get through all the phyiscs problems and the In-Class exam, but I did poorly, getting only about half right. I studied every nuance, every formula, every idea, and yet I still only got about half the problems right? Sheesh, I know phyiscs is my weak subject, but hell, that's awful! In looking at the answer key, they too test you on concepts they haven't introduced, like the 30-60-90 triangle. That's when I started getting really annoyed. I don't know about everyone else, but last time I took geometry I was in 10th grade. My physics teacher never used this triangle, so I was sorely lost on those questions. And I'm okay with not knowing stuff- hell, what I don't know would fill two stadiums and one ocean. But to create a quiz specifically with stuff never once mentioned in the aforementioned teaching chapter? That just sucks balls.

I have a test today for my class, so I'll be spending a few hours preparing for that instead of reviewing gen chem and doing verbal passages. I'm also going to be starting a part-time job soon, so even less time for studying. And when I get home at 8pm each night, the very last thing my family wants me to do is put my nose in a book instead of pointing it at them and you know, acting like a wife and mother.

I hate getting up early. :::grumble grumble::: the sacrifices I'm going to have to make :::grumble grumble:::.  Maybe I can eliminate eating, seeing as I hate doing that anyway since we're broke...

MCAT day 3

Yesterday:
Re-read most of TBR gen chem ch 1
Re-examined most of the chapter problems
Check!

Today:
Read EK physics ch 1
Read EK gen chem ch 1
Do every third 1001 problem in both phys and gen chem ch 1
Two verbal passages

I'm getting a bit annoyed at myself for my physics troubles, as TBR and both EK questions are tripping me up. I didn't recognize the 3-4-5 triangle, I didn't know this formula, or that geometric shortcut, etc. I'm not sure if its because my physics teacher (who I had for all three quarters) was inept in teaching, if we didn't learn what is being tested on the MCAT, or if I'm an idiot. It's probably all three, leaning towards the third one.

So I'm going a bit remedial today and kracking my Examkrackers books. Hell, if that doesn't work, I'll really go elementary and hit up Kaplan. I had a 7 in the PS section both times I took the test, it damn well better be a 10 this time.

Registration headaches

I totally forgot today was the first day of registration for the MCAT. Thankfully I logged onto SDN and saw all these threads about people waiting an eternity to register, so I joined them in both patience and panic. Interestingly, the last two times I took the test, I just simply logged in, registered, cried while entering my credit card number, and then proceeded to forget about the MCAT until about 2 weeks prior.

I wound up waiting about an hour, with both my computer and phone trying to log in. I was kicked off the phone twice, three times on the computer, to include getting to log in once and then getting kicked off. It was annoying. (What kind of IT people are working at AAMC? Shouldn't they be prepared for an onslaught of users since they only open up ONE registration time for a whole glut of test dates?)

But I am finally registered for the January 26 test, and besides being sick from paying out $270 of my unemployment money, I am not fully nervous yet. Guess that's what happens when you've done this twice before.

Now that I've lost most of the day to my ex-job, a research study, commuting, doing homework for my class, and being unfocused while waiting to register, I have nearly no time to study for that very expensive test. Sheesh.

MCAT Day 1 (again.)

I (re)read TBR physics chapter one, made a nice note sheet, understood all theories, aced all the chapter problems, and was feeling good until I proceeded to miss nearly every single question in passages 1, 4, and 7. (I didn't even attempt 10, as I was beyond frustrated at that point.)

The problem lies in the fact that TBR gives a chapter of translational motion review, but gives problems including rotational motion theory, kinetic/potential energy, etc. I've decided to focus on EK physics for now, and round back on TBR physics when I've gotten through EK. Either that, or I'll find the nearest clock tower and take up residence with Quasimodo.

I'm pretty sure I'm the one on the right. Hopefully.

I did 3 verbal passages, doing pretty well on those. Estimating my score, I would have had a 10-11 on the section; that's what I had before- should I be happy I didn't regress, or upset I didn't improve?

Tomorrow will be TBR gen chem ch 1, tying up loose ends at my ex-job, trying to get into a research study for some moolah, and attending class. Oh and the Jim too. I need to fit in the gen chem passages tomorrow as well, so maybe I should get used to late nights again.

Or maybe not.

MCAT Schedule

So I was following the 4-month schedule, and now I'm going off the 3-month one. I had too many things going on at once in the past couple weeks, so I couldn't concentrate. Leaving a career is a lot more complicated than quitting a job- I still have to secure health insurance at the end of the month, get a new life insurance plan, a new bank account if my unemployment direct deposit doesn't qualify in keeping my free account, get all doctors appointments scheduled before losing Premium Health Insurance, etc. I also had family unexpectedly in town for a week, so the 3-month plan it is.

It's starting next thursday, but I will be reading ahead of time.

Which is better?

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about our futures. Her career path was quite a bit different than mine, in that she was given a job in college as an undergrad, and then stayed on when she graduated. She was literally passed from that position into another one, like a baseball player being traded, and that's the same position she's been in ever since (not even a single promotion in over a decade. Pay attention kiddies- it's a good thing to climb the ladder and push yourself. The plan on complacency fails miserably when you're let go.) Needless to say, she's having a mid-life crisis about "what she wants to be when she grows up" now that she's unemployed. After discussing how I discovered that medicine was my goal, she said, "well you've got it easy- at least you know what you want to do with your life."

Now, she knows all about my goal of med school (I try to not refer to it as a dream- that's intangible and imaginary) and she's very familiar with the effort I've put out. So I was pretty surprised she thought that the "hard" part was over- finding out what I wanted to do.

This isn't a straight line that goes from "Deciding career - Working to career - Achieving career". I've spent just about five years since deciding to go back to school, full of countless hours of taking classes, volunteering, studying, and applying to schools, complete with the dizzying highs and crushing lows in between (once I cried for a day straight with my last rejection on my first application cycle). I even added up the money once- not even counting my original degrees, I've spent close to 10 grand achieving this goal, and I'm not accepted yet. Yet, apparently the hard part is over for me- I made a decision!

Why do I find this so irritating? Because I feel like it's belittling the hard work that actually goes into achieving a goal. She's never had to work for something- it's been handed to her, and here she is, telling me the difficult part is picking a career, and its all downhill from here.

I know that for some people, discovering what they want to do with their life is difficult- maybe they love math but hate school, love teaching but hate the administrative red tape, or love stripping but hate attention, I don't know. But don't act like once you know what you want, that it's just given to you, or *poof* you get it like a wish. I guess that's the problem with handing your kids everything- they value nothing.

MCAT center testing breaks

Either due to scheduling or my insane love of routine, I happened to take the MCAT twice on the same day, a year apart (when I was scheduling my second test I figured it was ok the first time, so why not?) This year I'll be taking it in January, the first test without the writing portion, and the first test with the optional new section. Is that a good thing? To be the guinea pig test?

Anyway, waiting for the test dates to be announced, I got to thinking about the last time I took it and how I probably scarred a poor 16 year old girl for life. You get 10 minute breaks in between your sections where you can go to the bathroom, get a snack, cry in the hallway, etc. 10 minutes may sound like a long time, but it really isn't. What they don't tell you is that you are treated like a prisoner each time you enter AND leave the room- you're fingerprinted and your ID is scrutinized like you're a Hispanic in Maricopa county. Once you finish a section on the computer, the clock starts ticking. When you leave the testing room, you have to use this time to exchange any scratch paper, pencils, headphones, earphones, megaphones, etc, and you have to get fingerprinted.

10 min: Sweet, time to go to the bathroom. :::get in back of line of other people waiting to leave.:::

9 min: Finally, my turn. Hi, can I get a new pencil and booklet when I return to go back in? Oh, you need the old ones? Let me go back...

7.5 min: Pencil, booklet, and ID, here you go. And fingerprint. Why is it taking so long to read? It's a dang fingerprint, not the Magna Carta! Done, off to the bathroom.

7 min: Which has a CLOSED sign on it. Someone is cleaning it right now? And it's a single bathroom? Really?? Hi, I was hoping to use the restroom during our 10 minute break... Oh, you're almost finished? Great. Ok, I'll grab a quick bite to eat.

5 min: Now I have heartburn from eating a Kashi bar and Mountain Dew in 90 seconds. And the damn bathroom is still closed?! Hi there, sorry to be a pest, but I only have 5 minutes left, can I get in there? Just a minute? Ok... I'll wait one minute...

4 min: :::poking head into restroom::: Um, excuse me, I have to get back to the test- can you let me use the bathroom real quick? Really? No? You have to clean the sink first? Well since I have three and half minutes left, I'm just going to pee while you clean the sink over there. :::starts unzipping jeans while employee runs out horrified, nearly knocking over her bucket:::

2 min: :::get back in line to get back in::: Why do all these people wait until the last minute to return?! Why doesn't the digital fingerprinter work right? Who is in charge here?! Heads should roll for this!! ARRRGGGGGH!

20 seconds remaining: Ok, headphones on, pencils, paper, thinking about biology and ochem, biology and ochem, biology and ochem... What?! It started already?! I thought I had 10 more seconds! AGGHHH!!

Thankfully, every other break went much smoother. I had a whole 5 minutes to relax on those breaks.

To the nasty guy on the treadmill next to me-

Even though those loud headphones make you feel like you're in your own little world, we can still smell your farts. Knock it off.

'Friends' related to life

Does anyone remember that episode of Friends where Rachel is trying to share her good news of being made Assistant Buyer and everyone else also has awesome news, so her good news kind of falls through the cracks?

Now imagine that same scenario, except that everyone else actually has really shitty news while you alone have good news. It sucks- I felt like an ass feeling happy for myself while everyone else was having problems. There are lots of headaches and troubles for Mr. Mechanic, my best friend just got dumped out of the blue, and Mechanic Jr. lost his favorite coat (isn't it funny what constitutes a crisis depending on the age?!)

Me and the Mr. are in desperate need of some good fortune.

MCAT study materials review

Just for reference, here are the acronyms I use for different study materials:

• EK = Exam Krackers
• TBR = The Berkeley Review
• TPR = The Princeton Review
• 1001 = The EK series of '1001 Questions' books

I also have all the Kaplan books, as I took Kaplan many moons ago.

So which ones do I like? Well, that depends on your skill level. This is how I'd rank them according to 'explanation vs. your knowledge' of the subject:

Kaplan << TPR <= EK <<<<<<<< TBR

still in college-------------------------------------master of material





When I was studying for the test the first time, I had graduated college 10 years prior. And I didn't even have the full year of physics- I was a quarter short. In fact, the last time I had taken a physics class was 12 years prior to opening any review book. Needless to say, all the material was Greek to me. (Or was it latin? I forget my dead languages.)

So Kaplan worked very well for me for my first go-through. I think it goes more slowly and more elementary than the other books I've used. But I think because it is so basic, it doesn't really lend itself to a score higher than 11 or so. It also doesn't have a lot of in-book passages, just basic questions. The online questions are also discreets*, so you don't get a lot of "MCAT" practice, just practice of your knowledge. If you did fairly poorly in your undergrad science classes, and/or didn't learn the material, start here.

*Discreets are questions on the MCAT that aren't associated with a passage- there are about a third of these, compared to two-thirds of the passage problems. Hell, maybe there's even only a quarter of these, hence the need for *passage* practice.

But if you're one of the lucky ones who actually did study and learn the sciences (*cough gunner cough*) then I'd suggest either TPR or EK. These assume you know a lot of the basic principles behind the science, and it builds on top of the knowledge without explaining it. For example, I was reading about aromaticity this weekend and wanted more review, so I had to go back to my textbook since it wasn't explained in depth. EK has lots of discreet practice problems (1001 to be exact) as well as mini practice MCAT exams at the end of each chapter. I haven't taken the online TPR class, so I can't comment on their online material, but I like their books.

Finally, if you're sitting pretty with a strong grasp of the material, spend most of your of time on TBR. These books are *hard*. I got all As in my physics classes, but nearly bombed the first chapter's problems. These books will definitely ensure you understand the material, and these give you tons of true-to-life MCAT passage examples. I plan on spending at least half my time with these books. They also sell online practice MCATs- I may be getting some of those as well.

Finally, don't blow off the verbal section. EK has the best practice for these, 101 Verbal Passages. This section apparently is pretty important to schools, so learn the tricks for reading the passages and how to parse down the correct answer. It isn't just reading and picking out the right answer- the MCAT questions are way more irritating.

Bottom line, you need to chose a set of review books that is at your level- if you are shaky in the material, TBR will make you feel like an idiot and you'll quit (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything. ahem.) If you are a PhD in electrical engineering, Kaplan will give you a false sense of security (and probably a god-complex too.) All of these can be expensive, but they'll be worth it. Just don't go borrow the 2008 version of Barron's at the library- you'll be sorely disappointed with your score.

MCAT update

I'm going to try and update more frequently now that I am getting more chunks of time to study.

This weekend I managed to get through EK ch1 in both bio and ochem, doing all the problems in the chapter, plus the bio In-Class exam for the chapter. I also did a huge number of the 1001 questions for ochem, but not for bio. Why not bio you ask? For some reason, my bio 1001 book does not seem to follow the material in the chapter (in spite of it having the same chapter title), so after doing two passages, I was tired of feeling like a failure because I didn't know something that would be presented in a later chapter. So I've decided to keep the 1001 bio passages until after I've completed the whole book.

I did pretty fantastic on the ch1 bio test (would've been a 12 if that's all the BS section tested- just ch.1 of bio- wouldn't that be awesome?!) and okay on the ochem (a 10). It was easy to study on saturday night because Mechanic Jr was off at a sleepover. Sunday was another story- let's just say it was much, MUCH slower.

Today I am reading TBR ch 1 ochem while I ride the bike, making sure that the info is sticking.

I have another week of work left, so my day-long studying won't begin until at least wednesday next week, so I'm trying to keep up little bits of reading and testing here and there. I still have actual schoolwork to do for my night chem class, so I'm pretty full up on "things to do" until I'm free from my job.

But after scoring a 9 on the BS section (twice!) I'm very, very pleased at my retention at this point.

Onward and forward.