MCAT Stress and Anxiety! WHAT TO DO?

Have MCAT stress or MCAT Anxiety? Let me begin by comforting you that you are all normal and it’s totally okay to feel this way. So don’t think you are some odd species incapable of doing anything like passing a test like MCAT, which most of the people not associated with it think that it’s just the same as other tests.

It can be totally agreed that MCAT is a brutal test, numerous students go through the same phases every year is a bitter scene to observe, and with the add-on changing policies by the authorities make it even worse. It can be said with absolute certainty that more students break down over the MCAT than they have with any other test. Every one of the MCAT students has, at some point, teared up over this test and cursed it to hell.

WHY IS MCAT A BIG HARD DEAL TO CHASE?

This question ponders in the head every time we collapse under the temporary regret of choosing a hard thing intentionally, but the reality is that unlike the other graduate exams that rely heavily on common sense and logic, the MCAT relies on knowing content and analyzing content and then APPLYING content. It’s not just a number of calculations of a scenario that we use the BODMAS rules and Alas! We got the answer. It is the ultimate amalgam of concepts, skills to analyze, prompt interpretation of the case, and immediate thinking skills that must work together and in proper synchrony to reach the correct answer. The MCAT relies on having paid attention in science class from first grade through college and then thinking creatively about science.

However, the cause of all the mental stress and the anxiety issues surrounding the MCAT roots from the thing I hear so frequently from students:

I studied so hard (and they do, this can’t be denied) why still can’t I get this?

The crescendo of emotions associated with MCAT for many students is that they take this test as an integral part of their self-worth. If they can’t do well on the MCAT, then they will never get into med school, then they will never become doctors, and they will have wasted all this time dreaming and hoping to serve the humanity, and as a totally unrelated pressure from families in certain cultures who consider failure as a curse to family’s self-respect which is absolutely a totally absurd thing to even assume but the reality is it exists.

Thing about the MCAT is that it is not just hard, but that it varies with the student.  Many students believe that if they study their butts off, they will ace the test and that, unfortunately, is not always true.  An analogy for this is, if I train really hard, I will one day be as fast as Usain Bolt…obviously, this is silly, I am a terrible runner no matter how much I train.  But like innate physical strength, mental capacity works similarly.  Not all students are built the same.  Every brain is different and what is hard for other people may not be hard for you and what is not hard for other people may be a huge challenge for you.

The real thing about the MCAT is that it is not just tough, but that it varies with the student.  Many students believe that if they study every line of their textbooks, they will ace the test and that, unfortunately, is not always true.  An analogy for this is, if I train really hard for something I am not good at, I will one day be a famous popstar as Michael Jackson…obviously, this is silly, I am a terrible singer no matter how much I train, it might take me years to pick up some good notes and start singing, but this doesn’t work in the making decision like choosing medical as a profession. So like innate physical strength, mental capacity works similarly.  Not all students are built the same.  Every brain is different and what is hard for other people may not be hard for you and what is not hard for other people may be a huge challenge for you. It where the choice part comes in, that every child should be made aware of all the opportunities out there and leave the ultimate discretion of the student as to what way he wants to choose.

10 THINGS TO DO TO COPE UP WITH MCAT STRESS AND GET BACK ON TRACK.

1. Stop perceiving MCAT to be the be-all and end-all of your medical career and status within society. You have somehow convinced yourself that if the MCAT doesn’t go well, your importance in society doesn’t get low.

2. Don’t measure your self-worth based on becoming a physician. If you become a doctor: you are “smart and successful.” If you don’t become a doctor: you are “dumb and a failure.” Don’t let medicine become a source of insecurity for you.

3. Preparing for the MCAT is exactly like training for a marathon.  You have to have the same kind of dedication and drive and endurance. If you don’t focus when you practice, you will not be able to focus when you race. 

4. Keep in track of all the minor and major distractions of your life and consider its impact on how it affects you and your learning strategy.

5. Give yourself the space to accept to make mistakes. The best way to deal with careless errors is to be realistic with them, make as many mistakes during your practice period but assure yourself NOT to make the same mistake on the Grand test day.

6. Try studying in a new environment, away from your everyday distractions, it’s scientifically proven that being somewhere different can change mental state.

7. Admit the fact, you will be taking your real test in a public facility and not in the comfort of your own home so when you take practice tests, you should feel equally uncomfortable. So, always take your practice tests in a new place.

8. The MCAT score is not a judgment of you.  So cut yourself some slack and allow yourself not a dream score but a dream range.  This is how your mind should approach to your thoughts

9. Take MCAT only when you are totally willing and familiar with the journey of the profession you choose to pursue. Your goal, as a taker of this cruel test, is to get into a med school and become a great doctor.  Who cares what your friends, peers, significant others, personal ego wants.

10. Friends and family who are not taking this test and/or never will usually do not understand the stress that you are going through and so can only give you stock answers (it is just a test, don’t worry, you must do it and all…), whereas a tutor will not only listen but help you fix your score. So, find yourself a good tutor who guides and comfort you throughout this tremendous journey of MCAT.

#Medical #Stress #Anxiety #MCAT