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WHAT TO DO THE DAY BEFORE THE MCAT

You are probably too stressed or busy to read excessive wording in this blog if it is the day before the mcat. So, we are going to bullet point some things for you.

  • You should be ready to wake up at 5am if your exam is at 8am
  • Take liquid melatonin 2 hours before (if you have trouble sleeping) and dim lights, shut blinds, lower brightness
  • LAY IN BED BY 6PM & try to sleep by 8pm
  • Ask someone to wake you up and drive you to the center in the morning (someone motivating, kind, nice, and supportive)
  • Do 1-3 Passages in CARS and 1 Passage for every other section in morning
  • Review Kaplan Quicksheets In Morning & Night
  • Review General Test Notes In Morning & Night
  • Last Few Practice Scores Should Be OVER 505 (factor in tiredness & distractions) 
  • Retaking is not the best option. It is better to void or cancel the exam if practice scores are consistently below 500. Medical schools do not see voided or rescheduled exams.
  • Know how to get to the testing center, parking, and ask to sit in the room or go in the center 
  • Once in the center: Figure out how hot or cold it is on average, Find how far the bathroom is and how long it would take to go there (check they have toilet paper, towels, etc.. sometimes they don't so bring your own), Find out where the storage lockers are
  • Pack a bag of food and other things(make it bland, low cal, and consistent to your diet in the past few weeks. Most people get distracted by sugar so it is not a good option. If you drink caffeine, bring caffeine)
  • Don't plan to bring your practice notes into the center. 
  • You are done with content review, just relax today :). What will help you the most (by far) is sleep, not review
  • Stress is never your friend. You can get rid of it by accepting any outcome from the mcat. Understand you did what you could and that whatever score you get is OKAY. The best way to get did of nerves is to be OKAY with ANY OUTCOME but still believe you deserve and can get a high score due to your effort.
  • Wear pants without pockets (saves time going in & out of center for bathroom breaks)
  • Wear long sleeve crew (if you take your jacket off in the center the testing people walk in and disturb you in order to take it away)
  • SMILE ALL DAY, relax, do something fun for a bit, but honestly if you like to study before exams and don't feel like burning out you can totally do so until 8pm (just less hardcore)
  • Be super super nice to the testing center people, they can help increase or decrease your nerves
  • Take a jog, spend the day at the gym, get a massage (if you cant afford one there are free 1 day passes to gyms that offer a free waterbed massage)
  • Call mommy & daddy (or your loved one) and get some confidence instilled from them
  • Send yourself flowers or a gift the day of (sometimes our job as an mcat tutor)
  • Eat ~2,000 cal of complex carbs (not sugar) before 4pm and drink 1 gall of water before 3pm
  • Limit sugar (prevents sleep) to 10g and eating too much after 4pm (bathroom issues)
  • Don't watch dramatic shows or movies the day before
  • Don't do risky things the day before
  • Don't drink caffeine the day before
  • Don't stalk mcat prep forums the night before to scare yourself
  • DONT TAKE BENEDRYL OR NIGHT TIME SLEEP AID BEFORE (will make your REM short, oversleep, drowsy during test)
  • DONT THINK ABOUT PLANS AFTER THE MCAT (it is a distraction)
  • DONT TAKE A FL THE DAY BEFORE THE MCAT (burnout)

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf00jDNif3o&w=640&h=480]


YOU ARE SMART, YOU DESERVE A GOOD SCORE, YOU WILL DO YOUR BEST TOMORROW. THIS IS JUST A TEST AND WHATEVER HAPPENS IS OKAY BECAUSE YOU STUDIED AS BEST AS YOU COULD.

TRUTH: YOU WILL GET TO HELP PATIENTS NO MATTER WHAT THIS TEST DECIDES

-Axilogy MCAT Tutor