MCAT anxiety: two tricks to use adrenaline to your advantage

MCAT test anxiety
By Carl S.

You know the feeling: an uneasiness in your stomach, a shakiness in your stride, and a growing sense of doom as you approach your test center. You may even be worried that the nerves will cause you to freak out and ruin your chances of a good score.

These feelings are normal and don’t have to ruin your test day performance! If anything, fighting the jitters will only harm your performance. In fact, science shows that if used properly, the adrenaline can help you perform better. 

Here are two free, easy, and scientifically proven ways to use that adrenaline in your favor to perform better.

How to use adrenaline to your advantage

In a famous Harvard study investigating stress and performance (Brooks, 2014), researchers wanted to investigate whether stress could be used to improve performance on a difficult math test. After creating a sense of pressure before the exam, participants were split into three groups and told to do different things: 1) “Try to remain calm,” 2) “Try to get excited,” or 3) “Please wait a few minutes.” 

What did the researchers find? 

The participants who were told to get excited performed significantly better than those who were told something else. This same effect was replicated in a karaoke singing study and a public speaking study, although singing/speaking during the exam is not a good idea. In any case, the science is clear: embracing adrenaline will help you do better. You’re going to feel the adrenaline whether you like it or not, so you should use it to your advantage. 

And how do you do that? 

Reframe your nerves as excitement. You’ve made it far enough to even consider taking the MCAT. Go in with your head held high, ready to take on the challenge of becoming a doctor. 

How to regain energy via adrenaline

You’re five hours into the MCAT and your brain is fried. Your nerves are gone and so is your energy, but you still have another 1.5-hour section left. Now what?

Monks have studied the mind for centuries, passing down knowledge on human emotions and their relationship to the body. To master these emotions, they preach things like quiet meditation, controlled breathing, and fasting. These are seemingly mundane and useless practices, but science is slowly revealing their utility. One easy practice from these monks that you can use on test day is controlled breathing.

According to Russo et. al 2017, not only do the jitters cause fast breathing, but fast breathing can also cause the jitters. The mind influences the body, and the body influences the mind.

What does this mean?

When you need that extra energy boost for the 7-hour monster that is the MCAT, you can induce adrenaline release through fast, short breathing. Just don’t overdo it and freak out your fellow exam takers. With the adrenaline rush, your energy levels will return and you’ll be able to resume the exam with the same level of excitement that you started with.

With that, you’re ready to harness the power of adrenaline and summon it when needed. Go in excited and crush the MCAT. 

Carl is a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tokyo to engineer tools for brain imaging. Before moving abroad, he majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry at the University of Houston, receiving distinction for his research accomplishments and graduating with a 4.0 GPA.

Comments

topicTopics
academics study skills medical school admissions MCAT SAT college admissions expository writing strategy English MD/PhD admissions writing LSAT physics GMAT GRE chemistry graduate admissions academic advice biology math law school admissions ACT interview prep language learning test anxiety personal statements premed career advice MBA admissions AP exams homework help test prep creative writing MD study schedules Common Application computer science mathematics summer activities history secondary applications philosophy organic chemistry research economics supplements 1L grammar statistics & probability PSAT admissions coaching dental admissions psychology law legal studies ESL reading comprehension CARS PhD admissions SSAT covid-19 logic games calculus engineering USMLE medical school mentorship Latin Spanish parents AMCAS admissions advice biochemistry case coaching verbal reasoning DAT English literature STEM excel political science skills French Linguistics MBA coursework Tutoring Approaches academic integrity astrophysics chinese classics dental school gap year genetics letters of recommendation mechanical engineering units Anki DO Social Advocacy algebra art history artificial intelligence business careers cell biology data science diversity statement first generation student freewriting geometry graphing kinematics linear algebra mental health presentations quantitative reasoning study abroad tech industry technical interviews time management work and activities 2L AAMC DMD IB exams ISEE MD/PhD programs MMI Sentence Correction adjusting to college algorithms amino acids analysis essay athletics business skills cold emails executive function fellowships finance functions genomics information sessions international students internships logic networking office hours poetry pre-dental proofs resume revising scholarships science social sciences software engineering trigonometry writer's block 3L Academic Interest EMT FlexMed Fourier Series Greek Health Professional Shortage Area Italian JD/MBA admissions Lagrange multipliers London MD vs PhD Montessori National Health Service Corps Pythagorean Theorem Python Shakespeare Step 2 TMDSAS Taylor Series Truss Analysis Zoom acids and bases active learning architecture argumentative writing art art and design schools art portfolios bacteriology bibliographies biomedicine brain teaser burnout campus visits cantonese capacitors capital markets central limit theorem centrifugal force chem/phys chemical engineering chess chromatography class participation climate change clinical experience community service constitutional law consulting cover letters curriculum dementia demonstrated interest dimensional analysis distance learning econometrics electric engineering electricity and magnetism embryology entropy escape velocity evolution extracurriculars fundraising harmonics health policy history of medicine history of science hybrid vehicles hydrophobic effect ideal gas law immunology induction infinite institutional actions integrated reasoning intermolecular forces intern investing investment banking lab reports letter of continued interest linear maps mandarin chinese matrices