The Med School Pulse

It’s one of those days. I am exhausted. My body hurts because I’m so tired. My brain is full. I can’t concentrate and my to-do list is decidedly too long to even contemplate.

With the full schedule of a pre-med student (taking classes, volunteering, studying for the MCAT , working, shadowing and applying to medical school), I have a lot of experience “powering through” and “playing through the pain.” I have made it through the toughness of finals week with mono and the absurdity of finishing a half marathon on a broken foot.  But, there are just some days where …

March Madness has past and dare I say brackets are busted everywhere! As a college basketball fan this is the most exciting time of year for the sport.  With all the fun on TV, remember there is still an MCAT to study for!  The March Madness tournament with all its hoopla and competition really has some key lessons that students can pull away.

• Preparation is Key – Think about the players taking those free throws. They practice over and over and over for that. A free throw is just that “free”. The MCAT has “free” easy points to take. Know

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Spring Break: that time of year again when we pasty northern folks get a week free from classes and flock to warm locations like Florida, Mexico and California, all in the hopes of warming up and making it through the last few weeks of winter. Even if you’re not traveling from the frozen tundra, you can still enjoy a week of fun and sun away from, at least, the lecture hall. For those of you who are studying for spring MCAT dates, this week may seem like a perfect time to get away from your MCAT studies and take …

So, when you begin to prep for the MCAT, it’s very exciting. You have tons of resources! You make an ambitious study schedule! You are excited to tackle the content, master the strategies and conquer the MCAT!

Fast forward to approximately three to six weeks later. You’re exhausted. You’re overwhelmed. You start fantasizing about life post-MCAT and all you can think about is how great it would be to have a regular sleeping/showering schedule. In case you need them, here are some very useful resources about how to structure your study time and how important sleeping and exercising…

It’s that time of year again- when people daydream of valentines, candy hearts, roses and romantic gestures. While you, intrepid pre-med student, are preoccupied with daydreams about physics equations, the intricacies of mitosis vs. meiosis and the trends on the periodic table. As the commercials say, “every kiss begins with Kay” and you begin to wonder which K? Ksp? Keq? Temperature in Kelvin? As February 14^th rolls around, you think- How can I possibly have time for a hot date on Valentine’s Day? Surely I must spend this day of romance alone and wallowing in MCAT-studying induced self-pity.

That’s …

Following up on last week’s entry on Study Schedules, I want to continue the focus and narrow in on what “study blocks” are and how to best implement them.  Many of you were asking what a typical day in the week would look like. Remember, the focus of re-thinking your MCAT studying is to build consistency over to aid in preventing burnout and producing a happier you!

The first question that many students ask is how long they should be studying for.  Right away many say “9, 10 hours? All day even?” I am here to tell you that is …

In part one of “MCAT Re-booted”  I want to cover what is going to make the ideal MCAT study schedule. The AAMC recommends on average 300 total hours to study for the MCAT.  They also have a “Creating a Study Plan” listed on their web-page. With all of this information out there and the rumors that run rampant in the pre-med community on “secrets” of MCAT studying, where does a student go to get the real answer? Well right here of course!

Now how long is 300 hours in reality? You could easily break that into 10 …

Following up on last week’s post 2013 MCAT Success Part 1, I mentioned or challenged you all to be HAPPY while studying for your MCAT.  Dare I say, I have already gotten feedback from people asking me, “Patrick, seriously?”. Yes, I am totally serious in talking about this. I myself was once a Kaplan student, and to be honest the Kaplan MCAT course really opened my eyes on how studying can be part of your everyday life, but not something that utterly consumes it.

I am sure many of you have been there before. During the week you have …

Psychology Today by Ray Williams, there are many reasons that people start to not follow through with their original resolution and I want to focus on a couple points specifically from that article that might help put you on track for MCAT success in 2013!

• Focus on one solution rather than several.  – Don’t go out and just say I am going to study 3 hours every day on each of the sections of the MCAT.  If you began with that routine you would be at 9 hours a day of just MCAT studying! Remember those other things

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