Nothing compares to studying for an eight-hour long exam. Nothing. Not finals, not interviews, not essays. Literally nothing. But you have to do it to follow your dream of being a doctor. The MCAT is just part of the process. It sucks, but it just is.

I knew I wanted to be a doctor ever since I took my first Intro Bio class in 9th grade. For some reason, nothing else really made sense for me except science at that point. And not math or chemistry-related science. Just pure molecular, tangible, physiological science. I knew then that I wanted, no needed, to be a doctor.

Next step: college. I came into Emory knowing that I wanted to be a doctor. When I visited Emory and they raved about their pre-med programs, I knew it would just fit. And it did. Well, it does. I don't regret coming to Emory, and I honestly couldn't see myself anywhere else.

Working up to the MCAT was no easy feat. Sure, I loved Bio and Chem wasn't too bad. But Orgo? No walk in the park. Physics will never be easy for me, no matter how many times I do the same type of questions. And thank god for human physiology, which I took right before the MCAT, that covered just about everything anatomical on the Biology related questions on the MCAT. Would highly recommend.

Now, what we've all been waiting for. The dreaded MCAT. I found it helpful to organize yourself with a class, either self-taught or twice a week. I personally did the Kaplan in-person, twice a week, regimented class. Sure, the in-person lectures weren't the most in-depth or best way of relearning the material, but it forced me to crack open the books and start studying seriously.

Speaking of serious. This is big. Not to freak you out or anything, but it is. And you have to treat it that way. That means your social life will probably be nonexistent and you won't be able to go out and unwind after a long night of studying. Yes, that translates into a few months of total sobriety.

What worked for me was limiting my social life pretty substantially, not going out, and waking up at around 7 a.m. (and a month before the test around 6 a.m.). It sounds insane, and it probably is. But, honestly, being on a schedule is the only way you can feasibly study all of the information the MCAT organizes into one test. And it's not just the information you have to study. In fact, I would say it's more about learning the test-taking strategies rather than learning details about each subject.

Once you have a foundational level of the subjects, you can get by with the questions that are based on pure memorization. But, a lot of the questions are reasoning or require critical thinking skills. It really boils down to staying on your schedule, eating right (veggies, meat, healthy grains), and sleeping at least 7 hours. It'll be hard, and it doesn't really get easier, but at least you'll become used to the personalized routine you made for yourself.

It's important to be fully trained to get up early, staying attentive for the whole seven and a half hours (studying or taking practice exams), and eating and sleeping right, especially a month out. The test starts at 8 a.m., so you should get there by 7:30 a.m., and when you do, you can start basically immediately as the test is all computerized. Practice tests are seriously key. They are what helped me bring my score up over 10 points. I'm not exaggerating when I say I did a practice test every other day for two weeks before the real thing, and the testing environment when I took it didn't phase me at all. That way I could totally focus on the testing strategies and the content of the test, and not be intimidated by the test's format in the slightest.

I know what it feels like to panic that you have been living for your MCAT. It truly consumes your life. Trust me, I've been there. But pushing so hard, and putting so much effort that leads up to taking the real thing is that much more rewarding when you're done. It's something every pre-med student does if they're serious about medical school. I did it. My dad did it before me. So many more did it before both of us, and you can do it too.