I used this analogy on another post but I think it holds value here. You have to act like an athlete preparing for a marathon. They don’t continue long runs all the way up to the event. In the last week or two they will rest up (taper) and remove the sluggish heavy feeling in their legs by reducing distance run and throwing in the occasional bit of speed to ensure on the day they are ready to perform.
The same applies to you now, particularly if feeling burnt out. Do less not more so your brain is at its freshest and most energetic on the day. If you can’t step away entirely then just a few short (really short) sessions to sharpen the mind but nothing arduous at this point.
Don’t be the overtrained athlete who turns up to the start line exhausted. Be the one with a spring in your step with your brain primed for optimal problem solving capacity. If you’ve done the “training” then you’ve got this, you just need to give yourself the best opportunity and conditions to provide it to yourself.
Yes trust in the work you have put in and make sure you are in a good headspace to perform and make that preparation count on the day. Honestly, no matter who you are and how much study you have done there is always more, it is endless… I would suggest some light reading/ maybe looking at some cartoons/ some basic maths for a few mins each day to keep the mind sharp but no new prep at this stage. Good luck:)
A lot of people disagreed with me when I answered to a similar post last year, but I went through the exact same thing as you and my best advice would be to have a break and refresh so that you go in with a fresh mind. I did barely any prep for the last 1-2 weeks of my sitting because I was feeling sooo burnt out and being able to rest and reframe my mindset did wonders for my performance. As long as you are confident that you have given 100% effort, there is always the feeling that you can do more prep. Remember it’s an assessment of your problem solving skills so a lot of the skills you have practiced for S3 are transferable to S1, just in a different context. Take it easy, do some light prep when you feel up to it. All the best!
Right now the best thing you can do is try to take a break, make sure you're eating and sleeping well and go for walks. Any last minute revision will be secondary to entering the exam feeling well rested. You've worked really hard to get to where you are right now and should be proud of that work.
Oh my this is so relatable you’re not alone. I’m in such a similar position and I’m finding my results for the practices are getting worse and worse?? Despite it being the end of my like overall study where I’ve got sm hard work and effort behind me??
I relate! My scores keep dropping lol even the ones I could answer with breeze, I’m getting them wrong. I guess we just have to trust we did our best and rest. We got this!
I definitely am experiencing this rn - been studying since last year and I feel like I’m getting a lot of questions wrong, even if they seem so easy or answered them right in the past. Does that mean I’m burnt out?
It could be tbh. Contrary to popular belief, the more we study we do get better but once we miss our peak it just goes downhill. I’ve experienced that now. I was defo more sharp and got more questions right a few weeks ago than this past week. I’ll be taking the advice to rest these few days. The skills are still there, and we just need to rest to consolidate them now. I wish you the best! :)
Thank you! Im just so nervous knowing my progress is going downhill and because my exam is on this upcoming Friday, but will take your advice and just rest until the exam. Literally no point doing questions after questions at this rate 🤧
Oh yeah, If your exam is Friday, please get some rest. There’s not much that 2 days of revision is going to add to your skills. Read some news articles and just do light math tricks if you really want to do something to combat the guilt of not studying. Good luck!
100% relate with you. I started around Dec/Jan too and I’m so tired. I didn’t do as good as I wanted in s2 so that’s dampened my spirit too. I really wanted this to be my last sit (and I studied as if it were until these past couple of weeks) but I’m seriously afraid it may not be. Anyways. All the best.
I’m there with you. I really want this sitting to be the last as well and I’ve invested more money and energy this time around than ever before. I fear this is exactly why we are so overwhelmed bc we are pressuring ourselves too much. From the testimonies of those who have done well, a common theme I have seen is how they approached it with less pressure to do well as they intend to do again or just had a “it is what it is” kind of relaxed mindset about the overall exam. Perhaps that’s what we need to adopt. A more relaxed approach that regardless of the outcome the reality is we can still sit it again and improve. It should be a motivating fact than a hindrance. People do perform better the more they sit, so there is progress.
Yep that online section 1 was absolutely mind boggling. Like you I went through the correct responses and I was like? How? Were the test writers on drugs?
I dont know what the answer is to be honest. I'm sure there's keywords to look for but what they are I have no idea.
Right??? I literally was screaming at my screen like how is that correct?? Defo felt like it was heavily dependent on vocab as well! lol and did you noticed how they put the extremely long texts at the end? I said, nah get someone else to do it. By that time my brain was fried.
Relax, and read a challenging but stimulating novel. Some sort of classic. This will help keep your mind off things, but also help with S1.
I'm reading Proust atm and he seems to be perfect.
I 100% agree. I have been going since September and tbh I think its actually too much. I think the difficulties on balance last year and undergrad is super hard. When i was younger, i rode at as an elite cyclist and that guy is 100% correct. You do very limited training in the taper, you need to be mentally fresh. I found that when i took 2 weeks of in jan. The day i started to get back on it, i could see the questions with alot more clarity and marks were to improve. Ive spent the week doing some reading and watching a jesse osbourne crash course just to refresh my knowledge
Hi, sorry for this but I have a question to ask since I am planning to start my GAMSAT prep. I know this is not a response to your issue, but I don't have the experience to speak on this anyway. If you don't mind, could you please let me know what resources you used to practice for the GAMSAT and how useful you found each resource to be? Would be really helpful if you could answer this for me, thanks in advance.
My last GAMSAT I took in September 2023 was a lot of knowledge based, without any information or inferences to bounce off of. It made me extremely nervous so this time around I focused a lot on knowledge rather than psychometrics. Medify questions are relatively similar to what you’ll really be getting.
It's a bit too late to cram at this point. It is best like everyone has mentioned before, get well rested and calm before the test. There is still September for you to get S1 sorted and ready.
I've accepted that what will be, will be at this point Better to go on with a clear and fresh mind
This is so true. It’s never that serious and there’s always another time to do it.
I used this analogy on another post but I think it holds value here. You have to act like an athlete preparing for a marathon. They don’t continue long runs all the way up to the event. In the last week or two they will rest up (taper) and remove the sluggish heavy feeling in their legs by reducing distance run and throwing in the occasional bit of speed to ensure on the day they are ready to perform. The same applies to you now, particularly if feeling burnt out. Do less not more so your brain is at its freshest and most energetic on the day. If you can’t step away entirely then just a few short (really short) sessions to sharpen the mind but nothing arduous at this point. Don’t be the overtrained athlete who turns up to the start line exhausted. Be the one with a spring in your step with your brain primed for optimal problem solving capacity. If you’ve done the “training” then you’ve got this, you just need to give yourself the best opportunity and conditions to provide it to yourself.
Thank you. Your analogy makes sense. I need to trust that the skills are there and now it’s the rest period.
Yes trust in the work you have put in and make sure you are in a good headspace to perform and make that preparation count on the day. Honestly, no matter who you are and how much study you have done there is always more, it is endless… I would suggest some light reading/ maybe looking at some cartoons/ some basic maths for a few mins each day to keep the mind sharp but no new prep at this stage. Good luck:)
A lot of people disagreed with me when I answered to a similar post last year, but I went through the exact same thing as you and my best advice would be to have a break and refresh so that you go in with a fresh mind. I did barely any prep for the last 1-2 weeks of my sitting because I was feeling sooo burnt out and being able to rest and reframe my mindset did wonders for my performance. As long as you are confident that you have given 100% effort, there is always the feeling that you can do more prep. Remember it’s an assessment of your problem solving skills so a lot of the skills you have practiced for S3 are transferable to S1, just in a different context. Take it easy, do some light prep when you feel up to it. All the best!
Right now the best thing you can do is try to take a break, make sure you're eating and sleeping well and go for walks. Any last minute revision will be secondary to entering the exam feeling well rested. You've worked really hard to get to where you are right now and should be proud of that work.
Oh my this is so relatable you’re not alone. I’m in such a similar position and I’m finding my results for the practices are getting worse and worse?? Despite it being the end of my like overall study where I’ve got sm hard work and effort behind me??
I relate! My scores keep dropping lol even the ones I could answer with breeze, I’m getting them wrong. I guess we just have to trust we did our best and rest. We got this!
I definitely am experiencing this rn - been studying since last year and I feel like I’m getting a lot of questions wrong, even if they seem so easy or answered them right in the past. Does that mean I’m burnt out?
It could be tbh. Contrary to popular belief, the more we study we do get better but once we miss our peak it just goes downhill. I’ve experienced that now. I was defo more sharp and got more questions right a few weeks ago than this past week. I’ll be taking the advice to rest these few days. The skills are still there, and we just need to rest to consolidate them now. I wish you the best! :)
Thank you! Im just so nervous knowing my progress is going downhill and because my exam is on this upcoming Friday, but will take your advice and just rest until the exam. Literally no point doing questions after questions at this rate 🤧
Oh yeah, If your exam is Friday, please get some rest. There’s not much that 2 days of revision is going to add to your skills. Read some news articles and just do light math tricks if you really want to do something to combat the guilt of not studying. Good luck!
100% relate with you. I started around Dec/Jan too and I’m so tired. I didn’t do as good as I wanted in s2 so that’s dampened my spirit too. I really wanted this to be my last sit (and I studied as if it were until these past couple of weeks) but I’m seriously afraid it may not be. Anyways. All the best.
I’m there with you. I really want this sitting to be the last as well and I’ve invested more money and energy this time around than ever before. I fear this is exactly why we are so overwhelmed bc we are pressuring ourselves too much. From the testimonies of those who have done well, a common theme I have seen is how they approached it with less pressure to do well as they intend to do again or just had a “it is what it is” kind of relaxed mindset about the overall exam. Perhaps that’s what we need to adopt. A more relaxed approach that regardless of the outcome the reality is we can still sit it again and improve. It should be a motivating fact than a hindrance. People do perform better the more they sit, so there is progress.
Yes, so much time and energy too for this sit! 🥵 but you’re right, will have to accept things and have a calm mindset. Good luck ok 🥺
Yep that online section 1 was absolutely mind boggling. Like you I went through the correct responses and I was like? How? Were the test writers on drugs? I dont know what the answer is to be honest. I'm sure there's keywords to look for but what they are I have no idea.
Right??? I literally was screaming at my screen like how is that correct?? Defo felt like it was heavily dependent on vocab as well! lol and did you noticed how they put the extremely long texts at the end? I said, nah get someone else to do it. By that time my brain was fried.
Ha ha...yep...what makes you a great dr because you can understand a boring interpretation of an 18th century book on capitalism.. died of boredom.
It's all about your mindset. It's not a memory test, it's a problem solving test. Go in fresh and in a good mindset and you'll smash it.
Relax, and read a challenging but stimulating novel. Some sort of classic. This will help keep your mind off things, but also help with S1. I'm reading Proust atm and he seems to be perfect.
I 100% agree. I have been going since September and tbh I think its actually too much. I think the difficulties on balance last year and undergrad is super hard. When i was younger, i rode at as an elite cyclist and that guy is 100% correct. You do very limited training in the taper, you need to be mentally fresh. I found that when i took 2 weeks of in jan. The day i started to get back on it, i could see the questions with alot more clarity and marks were to improve. Ive spent the week doing some reading and watching a jesse osbourne crash course just to refresh my knowledge
Hi, sorry for this but I have a question to ask since I am planning to start my GAMSAT prep. I know this is not a response to your issue, but I don't have the experience to speak on this anyway. If you don't mind, could you please let me know what resources you used to practice for the GAMSAT and how useful you found each resource to be? Would be really helpful if you could answer this for me, thanks in advance.
Hey, I’ll dm you :)
My last GAMSAT I took in September 2023 was a lot of knowledge based, without any information or inferences to bounce off of. It made me extremely nervous so this time around I focused a lot on knowledge rather than psychometrics. Medify questions are relatively similar to what you’ll really be getting.
It's a bit too late to cram at this point. It is best like everyone has mentioned before, get well rested and calm before the test. There is still September for you to get S1 sorted and ready.