Bummer on the taxes…don’t overdo it and burn yourself out, Gabe. You aren’t going to learn that much between now and Saturday, but you CAN make yourself too tired to perform well between now and then if you try to do too much.
Taxes are never fun, Gabe, but just think about it. Once you start medical school, you probably won’t have to pay any taxes for awhile.
As to the MCAT. . . . don’t study too much this week. The most important thing now is to TRY and relax and let your mind absorb and organize what you have learned. At the very least, take Thursday and Friday away from your books, and try to have some fun and get some rest!
Good luck to all the MCAT-takers this weekend! 
I am disappointed in my recent AAMC practice score. I received a 24 from a 27 on kaplan the other day. I am getting very jittery now. 
I totally understand where you are coming from, my score keeps going down. I believe that I am starting to stress out so last night I didn’t do anything MCAT related. However tonight I plan on doing yet another Physics review.
Good Luck
Alana
Please don’t take any more practice tests, Gabe. Seriously. It’s time to let yourself chill a little and get mentally ready for the real test. You will almost certainly not learn anything that will matter in the next few days, but you CAN burn yourself out by not giving yourself some down time. You need to have some faith in yourself that all of these months of preparation and hard work will come through for you. I know that you are a talented person with many things on your plate, so please listen to my advice and give yourself permission to rest for a few days. Put away the books, and spend some time with your family, watch some movies, etc. Oh, and don’t beat yourself up over one bad practice test.
My last full length was worse than the previous ones…I think it’s becasue I overdid it…
I’m still looking at my notes etc, but I’m not cramming anything what I haven’t learned so far.
Relax and try to do your best on Saturday!!!
You guys, CUT IT OUT. Listen to Q and listen to me. From a knowledge standpoint, you are as prepared as you will ever be. You have practiced all you need to practice. You know a whole lot. Your preparation now needs to be on a completely different plane. You need to get some sleep, get some exercise, do some things that you enjoy and that engage the playful side of your brain.
NO MORE STUDYING. Go to work, go to class, take a walk, go to a movie, go to an art museum. Fercrissake stop with the studying already. Start planning your victory party!
Mary
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You guys, CUT IT OUT. Listen to Q and listen to me. From a knowledge standpoint, you are as prepared as you will ever be. You have practiced all you need to practice. You know a whole lot. Your preparation now needs to be on a completely different plane. You need to get some sleep, get some exercise, do some things that you enjoy and that engage the playful side of your brain.
NO MORE STUDYING. Go to work, go to class, take a walk, go to a movie, go to an art museum. Fercrissake stop with the studying already. Start planning your victory party!
Mary
But… but… there are still about 60 hours between now and the MCAT, so I can take about 10 practice exams, round the clock, allowing for one hour cat naps in between!
I agree with you… I feel about as ready as I’m going to get. I’m doing my physics homework and making a feeble effort to prepare for a physics midterm on Tuesday, still rolling through my flashcards to keep my mind sharp, and otherwise trying to get a decent amount of sleep. Yesterday I went downtown and checked out the test site; they wouldn’t let me into the building but that was good enough. I recommend to everyone that they check out the test site if feasible; it’s one less unknown to deal with on test day.
I also recommend doing a silent little happy dance in your chair while waiting for tests to be passed out. Happy people think better, and you’ll cheer up everyone in your corner of the room.
There’s a lot of administrative fiddle-faddle on test day, and I sincerely think it helps your score to spend that time cheering up yourself and the people around you rather than getting more stressed.
I wish the test was tomorrow! I hate waiting. It makes me feel bad and anxious…I don’t want to study any more; but I get this horrible feeling that if I did maybe I’d learn this one more thing and maybe score better…
And another thing…I came back home today…and there are three surprises waiting for me…a flower basket from friends of mine with ‘good luck’ note for Saturday, a ‘good luck’ card from my husbands relatives + a box with cute pijamas from my in-laws…so I could get some good sleep before…And do you know what I did? instead of being happy that all those people care, I burst in tears…that if something goes wrong not only I will be disappointed but all of them too…
I hate MCAT and everything about it!!!
I am also anxious about not doing well. My brother called me up and invited for a pre-MCAT get rid of anxiety dinner on him. I am probably going to take him up on it.
I never want to deal with this test again,.
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I hate MCAT and everything about it!!!
No, no, no, Kasia. You want to think of the MCAT as your KEY to a new life – the entree to your chosen career. Look at it as your best opportunity and embrace it as the thing that will let you be equal with any US-born, Ivy-educated, son-of-a-doctor, Rhodes-scholar, NIH-scientist… well, you get the idea.
I know some folks like to refer to the MCAT as “The beast” or some similar ferocious-sounding thing, making it sound like a great monster that blocks your path… but I preferred to think, “I OWN the MCAT. The MCAT is what will help me get in. It’s my chance.” No matter where you went to school, no matter what your educational background or experience, you take the same test as everyone else and you have prepared just as well as anyone. So you can do just as well as anyone and this makes the MCAT the great equalizer.
Think of striding into the test center with triumphant music playing in your head and people cheering as you take your seat. Welcome this opportunity. So many people never get to the MCAT because, for whatever reason, they faltered on the way. You all, on the other hand, have persevered and earned the right to glory in this day.
YOU OWN THE MCAT. Now go claim your prize.
Mary
Great post, Mary. And I agree with you.
I went on one interview where I was told the following:
"You are a very unusual applicant. Most of the time, women score lower on the MCAT than men. Southerners score lower on the MCAT than people from other regions of the country. And older students score much lower on the MCAT than younger students. You have every major demographic factor working against you except for not being URM. Yet you have the highest MCAT score I have ever seen."
Sure enough, I looked at the AAMC stats later, and the guy was right about every demographic he mentioned. The darndest thing about it is that no one told me ahead of time that a Southern, non-trad woman wasn’t supposed to do that well on the MCAT. 
Personally, I like to think of the MCAT as a puzzle, a game, a challenge. I love puzzles and games. Figuring out how to beat them is fun. Taking the MCAT with this kind of attitude is also fun, at least in comparison to viewing the MCAT as a burden and a source of pain. Attitude matters. Beat the MCAT and turn it into an asset for your app.
Good luck to everyone on Sat. I’m rooting for you all. And remember, no more studying. 
Thank you guys for your support!
I guess ‘I hate MCAT’ was too strong!!! But I won’t hide that I’m not too crazy about this test? Why? B/c I’ve done many practice tests and so far it looks like this may be the weakest point of my application!
But I’ll got there on Saturday with proper attitude, and I’ll do my best, and maybe I’ll even score my highest score ever, better than on any pracitce test before. I know I have to, because this is the door to my future!
Hi everyone! I’ve been away from the boards for a long time, but it was great meeting you all last summer, and I hope you have a great time at this year’s conference (sorry to be missing it).
That being said… I’m curious about how multiple MCATs are regarded for “non-trads” like us… do the schools expect an even greater improvement for a second sitting than they would for a recent grad, or are they holding us to similar standards?
My college pre-med advisors always told us not to sit unless we expected to get above a 30, but that’s not something I’ve been able to achieve - I scored a 26 last August, and my current AAMC practices are running about 27-29. With test-day-jitter deviation, that could result in a score decrease!
I know downward trends are bad, but I feel like I’m getting old (har har) and don’t want to postpone the exam until August or next April. I also don’t want to take my second shot if the adcoms are going to vilify me for a point drop, or insignificant improvement.
Sooo… Has anyone taken the MCAT twice, with little improvement (or even decrease), and had a positive experience with adcoms?
Oh yes - good luck to everyone tomorrow!
I am trying to psche myself up for the MCAT tomorrow. My wife put on “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky on the Radio and she is even driving in with me for moral support.
I studied harder than before and took practice tests under timed conditions and imporoved my score by 5 points in practice. I just have to get these butterflies out of my stomach.
I just got home from scoping out the test site. This is the best advice I can give anyone right now. If you have never been to the test site, check it out before you go. Figure out where you are going to park. HEck figure out your route. Test morning is NOT the time to figure this stuff out.
I planned my route, decided which parking deck I will park my car (I am taking it at NYU), I spoke with the guard at the building who showed me where the elevators were, what the procedure would be for tomorrow, explained to me that every floor has a bathroom, and that the ambient temperature was kind of like it was today, pretty comfortable. You would think that such trivial things are just that, trivial. But if you are in the middle of a test and yoiu REALLY have to go to the bathroom, time does not stop. Know where you will go or else you will waste valuable time trying to find the bathroom. Or you realize that the room is too hot or too cold and you are uncomfortable.
Just one more thing to say to all of my indren spirits unlocking the key to medical school admission tomorrow…
LET’S KICK SOME ASS
I took my last two practice full-lenghts at the place where I’m going to take the test tomorrow, so at least there shoudn’t be any surprises here .
I just picked up Cesar salad from Panera + I’m boiling eggs for my lunch sandwiches…(another reason why I can’t wait for this test to be over…finally I’ll be able to have something else than egg sandwiches and cesar salad for lunch on Saturday ).
Anyway!!!
Good Luck Guyz…
Good luck, everyone! Hope you kick butt.
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Hi everyone! I’ve been away from the boards for a long time, but it was great meeting you all last summer, and I hope you have a great time at this year’s conference (sorry to be missing it).
That being said… I’m curious about how multiple MCATs are regarded for “non-trads” like us… do the schools expect an even greater improvement for a second sitting than they would for a recent grad, or are they holding us to similar standards?
Oh yes - good luck to everyone tomorrow!
Hi there,
You are held to the same standards as a traditional applicant. That being said, you need to do your best on the MCAT. If you have prepared, figured out your problems, then your score should go up. If it does not go up, then it does not go up. In that case, do NOT take the test a third time without significant analysis and remediation.
Practice tests are just that, they are for practice. You go into that exam and you answer each question as it comes. You put your practice exams behind you and concentrate on the task at hand. By now, it’s over and you wait for your scores. It is the nature of the test that you cannot really predict how you will do. Some people who think that they aced the test, are disappointed and some who thought they did poorly, are nicely surprised. May you be in the nicely surprised group!
Natalie