Overcoming the MCAT Exam Jitters

The last thing that you want to do a few days or a few hours before a major exam, such as the MCAT, is to cram.  The worst thing that can happen is to get your confidence about the test depleted! Remember that while preparation is the key to a successful MCAT, your disposition as you approach the test is just as important.

Here are a few reminders to keep you from getting rid of those exam jitters:

• Be an Early Bird

Try to get a good night sleep.If you take your test early in the morning then make sure you get the 8 hours of sleep needed to face the MCAT marathon. This could mean adjusting your body to a new routine; thus you must start at least one week before the test by going to sleep a little bit earlier than your usual hour.

On the test day, wake up early so you will have enough time to get to the test center. Some candidates find it helpful to spend at least 30 minutes before the test to go through some notes and go into “testing mode.”

• Follow the MCAT Exam Diet

Do not try any new dishes on the night before the test. The only surprise you should get on that specific day is the one found in the test.

On test-day morning, eat a healthy breakfast. Avoid fats and protein. Steak should be your treat only for the night AFTER the MCAT test.  Greasy food tends to shoot up your insulin level making you feel sleepy during the day.  Sugar-packed snacks also cause a ‘sugar low’ that eventually makes you drowsy. A chocolate bar or other sweet highly caloric food could, however, be very useful during the 10-minute break just before the last section when you may be tired. The ‘sugar low’ will hit you only after you have completed the exam when you do not have to be awake!

• Be a Relaxed (M)CAT

Avoid last-minute cramming. On the morning of the exam, do not begin studying ad hoc. This only increases the feeling of desperation, and you will not learn a thing. In fact, noticing something you do not know or will not remember might reduce your confidence.  This will lead to panic, then to test anxiety, and eventually to lowering your score unnecessarily.

You may find it useful, on the night before the exam, to jot down a few ideas or facts that you wish to have fresh in your mind when you begin testing. Read through your list a couple of times when you get up in the morning and/or just before you take the exam, then put it away. This kind of memory reinforcement not only improves your performance on the test, it also improves your long-term memory of the material.

Make sure you answer all the questions!
You do not get penalized for incorrect
answers, so always choose something
even if you have to guess. If you run out
of time, pick a letter and use it to
answer all the remaining questions.