Re-Cap of Biology I

Hey everyone!

First of all, let me apologize again for those annoying fire alarms today!  My plan is to run that last portion of Biology I again (from page 162 to the end) starting at around 5:30 on Thursday.  We'll likely start Physics II right on time, or maybe a couple minutes late -- so if you aren't coming for Biology I, don't be late!

Also, the mnemonic I was trying to remember for the TCA cycle is "Please, can I keep selling sex for money, officer?"  For pyruvate (remember it gets converted to acetyl CoA to enter the TCA cycle), citrate, isocitrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, succinyl CoA, succinate, fumarate, malate, oxaloacetate. 

Congratulations on finishing Unit I of the MCAT class!  This email starts with your homework and helpful hints, but make sure to read the second part where I talk about motivation, procrastination, and what your psychological approach to the MCAT should be.

Your Required Homework before Physics II is as follows:

• Physics Review Notes, Chapters 4 and 6-9
• Thermodynamics Online Workshop & Quiz
• Magnetism Online Workshop & Quiz
• DC & AC Circuits Online Workshop & Quiz

For those of you who would like some additional physics review before class, I recommend the following:

• Physics Foundation Review Unit 2

To reinforce what we have covered in Biology I, complete the following:

• Biology Subject Tests 1, 2, & 3
• Generalized Eukaryotic Cell Test 1
• Reproductive System & Development Test 1
• Microbiology Test 1

All of these items are available on your syllabus through www.kaptest.com.

Helpful Hints:

• The MCAT does NOT require you to memorize the enzymes and intermediates of cellular respiration.  Rather you must understand the “big picture” of cellular respiration as a process by which energy in storage is converted, chemically, into usable energy.  Remember that the energy in the bonds in glucose is turned into energy in the high-energy electrons in the reduced form of two “carrier” molecules – NADH and FADH₂ – which are later oxidized at the beginning of the electron transport chain.  This energy is used to create a proton gradient, and the potential energy of that gradient is used to phosphorylate ADP; in other words, to create ATP.
• We are now one-third of the way through our content review portion of the course, a perfect time to check your progress through the homework assignments.  Keeping up with the homework is the ONLY way that you will be prepared for your Test Day.  If you are behind, don’t panic!  And don’t procrastinate.  You CAN get this done – and for more motivation, please make sure to read the bottom part of this email.
• Having completed the first unit of the Kaplan MCAT course, you ought to be fairly comfortable with our Passage Mapping Strategy.  Continue to rely on passage mapping even as we now turn our attention to our Stop, Think, Predict, Match Question Strategy.

The Psychological Approach to the MCAT:

When I went all “Motivational Speaker” on you in MSCT I, the purpose was to help ensure that each one of you approach the task of preparing for the MCAT with a healthy frame of mind.  In addition to discussing the perils of procrastination, we also touched on the virtues of repetition.  Mastery of a skill requires repetition.  Thus, while you may have bought into the concept of positive thinking for now, if the message is not revisited there is the risk that it will be forgotten as time passes.  In other words, to be effectively brainwashed into the cult of positive thinking, you have to revisit the ideas we discussed in MSCT I a few times.  So, let’s revisit them:

Which comes first:  motivation or production?  Procrastinators tell themselves “I don't feel like it.  I’m not in the mood.”  The problem with this line of thought is that you may never be in the mood.  For example, is anyone ever really in the mood to clean the bathroom or take out the trash?  Or, for that matter, to read five chapters about Physics?  Of course we’re not!  You have to prime the pump by getting started whether you feel like it or not, for once you begin to accomplish something, then that will motivate you to continue to do even more.  In other words, the sequence of events regarding action and motivation is “action à motivation à more action.”  The more you do, the more you’ll feel like doing, but the key is that you start doing something first!

Now that we understand you don’t need to wait to be in the mood to do something, let’s take it one step further and discuss why thinking positively is important.  When you think about a task that you have been avoiding, you may feel upset and choose to do something easier or less threatening.  This occurs because negative thoughts that make you feel guilty and overwhelmed pop into your mind.  For example, say you miss a few of the reading assignments and now you’re five chapters behind.  You might think “I have sooooo much to study!  I’m in real trouble now.”  The negative thought results in a negative feeling and to escape that negative feeling, you may do something fun like play a video game, watch TV, talk on AIM, loaf around on Facebook, etc...all the while waiting to get “into the mood” to study.  Rather than getting trapped into a negative thought cycle, flip it around and think: “Well, I don't have to catch-up on all my reading today.  The sooner I get started, the sooner I will catch-up.  Rather than worrying about all I have to do, I can think of what I need to do in the next hour.”

I would like to particularly highlight the last thought because breaking down a big project into small manageable pieces is a key step in overcoming procrastination.  I would advise setting modest and realistic goals (“I’ll go to the library and read for one hour”) instead of grandiose and perfectionist ones (“I’ll go to the library and read for 8 hours straight”).  The main benefit of doing a little at a time is that the temptation to procrastinate will be reduced as the task will become more doable and less imposing.  Furthermore, cramming everything in at once is usually not the best way to master difficult material.  Learning in short bursts is more efficient because during the breaks your mind will have an opportunity to digest the new ideas, thus with this approach you will learn with far less effort and stress.

Once you have started an assignment, it is important to give yourself credit instead of discounting your efforts.  For example, telling yourself “well, I should have read that chapter yesterday” or “well, I should have been able to do that faster” is not helpful nor does it provide any motivating incentive to continue (in general, “should” statements are unhelpful negative thoughts that tend to make one rebel against what they “should” be doing). Allow yourself to enjoy feelings of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment even if the result was not “perfect.” 

Finally, let’s talk about the perils of perfectionist thought.  Those with a healthy pursuit of excellence are motivated by enthusiasm, enjoy unconditional self-esteem, derive satisfaction from their efforts, are not afraid to fail because they realize no one can be successful all of the time, and are not afraid of appearing vulnerable and/or sharing their feelings openly.  In contrast, those plagued by perfectionist thoughts are motivated by the fear of failure, are driven to be number one (so no matter how much you have accomplished you are never satisfied), derive their self-esteem from the opinions of others, are terrified of failure, and think they must always appear to be strong and in control of their emotions less others think less of them. 

As you read through the differences between perfectionism and a healthy pursuit of excellence, did you notice that the primary difference between these two is the underlying thought processes?  People who procrastinate often have an unrealistic view of productive people by thinking that successful people always feel confident and easily achieve their goals without having to endure frustration, self-doubt, and failure.  If you think that life should be easy and that other people don’t have to struggle, you will conclude that something is “wrong” with you and give up when things get tough.  You will have such a low tolerance for frustration that any disappointment will become unbearable.  The actual truth is that highly productive people have a “coping model” of success:  they assume that there will be failures on the road to success.  The key is to persist through the obstacles and rise to the occasion with renewed determination. 

So don’t put the cart (motivation) before the horse (action).  Do not assume that those who have scored well on the MCAT did so without moments of frustration.  To overcome those weaknesses, repeat everything over and over and over and over and over and over…until you know it well enough that you could teach it to other people.  There is no ultra secret to preparing for the MCAT; mastery comes with repetition and practice.  Granted, repetition and practice is not exciting, but the power of positive thinking will help ensure that you succeed on the MCAT and become a great physician.

Brainwashed yet?

In all seriousness, use these ideas as a crisis prevention tool.  The next time you think to yourself “I cannot deal with this MCAT stuff right now,” or “I’m never going to understand this,” or “I’m so far behind…what’s the point of even trying anymore,” use these ideas as a tool to help your mind unwind itself out of the negativity.  Re-examine your own thoughts and realize that you're not supposed to feel confident yet -- that's why you're in this course and that's why you need to study in the first place!