This site is where I come to when I need energy and feel weak. Long time ago I posted that I am now 33 and in Nursing xool with an altimate goal to med xool. Then I thought of taking nursing classes as well as prerequisites for MCAT. Some good people here advised me to focus on my undergrad. Thanks for the advice I started the Nursing program and this Dec I finish my third semesters with two more semesters to finish my BSN. It has not been easy.I have been having B’s and A’s. It breaks my heart when I make a B. To make it worse this semester I have almost made all B’s and one A. U can imagine how down I am as it makes me feel like very dump.I still have a desire to go on and a plan on how I will continue till I take MCATs.
My other worry is that I am such a slow reader to the point that every exam I take I use up my allocated time but finish my exam. I would like to hear from those who have taken MCAT be4 or those that have an idea how MCAT and slow reading might go for a person like me.What about these B’s I am making now any advice???Worried woman.
Don’t get offended, this is for your own benefit -
Get into the habit of writing syntactically and grammatically proper English. Writing skills are very important if you plan on going to med school - hence the writing sample section on the MCAT.
Thanks. I do not take that as an offence. It is a habit of writing without reading again what is written. Thanks.
I have two points.
- Don’t talk yourself out of applying to medical school due to GPA. Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt - were probably factors in my deciding NOT to apply to medical school 30 years ago
The GPA is not the whole story.
- I WOULD work on reading speed. You might be sure to have a complete exam from an opthalmologist to see if visual factors are contributing to your reading speed (difficulty coordinating eye movements can decrease reading speed and is correctable with eye exercises). Also, there are approaches to increase reading speed. Consulting a learning specialist would be great if available to you. A long time ago I did a self-study “rapid reading made easy” course that dramatically increased my reading speed (with comprehension) and it was an investment of my time that I feel helped me academically ever since. There are some fairly lengthy reading passages on the MCAT’s so that could impact you there. You also will want to use strategies such as scanning for first/last sentence of paragraphs to “map the passage” as to where the info you need is located. Kaplan review has some strategies there that can be of help.
Kate
- Kate429 Said:
I could really benefit from something like this.
Well, did a little research for you. THe book I read is no longer out there, but concentrated on visual training using text in very narrow bits, and gradually widening the text so with practice your eyes could take in a whole line at once.
Looks like “Speed Reading for Dummies” has a number of similar visual training strategies to increase the speed of one’s reading
Also, you might check out what you can find on “Renshaw technique”. Here is a link from the American Psych. Association. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/03/enemy .aspx
(if you are a Heinlein fan, you’ll recognize the man’s name - yes, he’s real). I think one could devise one’s own “flash” system for increasing speed of taking in text.
Kate
edited to add: PS - no warrenty implied. Just thought I’d steer towards other possible resources