#saltips

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In case you need the reminder:

These are not the only people you'll ever love. There will be more. So many more. If you're moving, your favorite coffeeshop is all of them. Your favorite books will come with you and your best friends will always text you that they're thinking of you, even if it's been a while. By the time they visit, you'll be a local, taking them to meet the flowers and smell the coffee and tell them stories of all the love you've discovered while you've been away.

The new love can't wait to meet you and the old love can't wait to see you again.

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How I'm Studying for the MCAT (as a broke college student)

I can't tell you how many emails I've gotten advertising MCAT study materials for the low price of my entire left kidney, HOWEVER, I'm determined to spend the least amount of money as humanly possible to take this test. So, I bestow upon you, my low-no-cost studying resources I'm using to make the ~$400 registration fee the only thing I spend.

Jack Westin (Free!)

Jack Westin is a daily thing for me. They have daily passages aligning with AAMC guidelines including BIOCHEM, BIOLOGY, and CARS.

It'll have you check your answers and also track how you're performing overall, over time, and compared to others taking the same daily assessments. I personally track my performance on a Google Sheet to catalogue trends and weak spots too. There are also free seminars for learning the application process, trying to secure a top score, etc. Very very useful!!

Khan Academy (Free!)

The Khan Academy MCAT collection is made in collaboration with the AAMC. All of the topics are organized by test section, then they go in depth with units and overall review for the test. There are videos, articles, and little practice tests and quizzes to check your mastery over a subject.

This is extremely helpful to refresh topics, learn ones you might not have gone in depth with before, and make sure you're at the top of your game before you test. I combine this with the daily questions so I know where exactly my weak points are with AAMC style questions.

Full-length tests from AAMC (see below)

Okay so this is the first one with a catch. The Official AAMC Practice Tests are the best tool out of these options, as they're official and also graded, so they'll give you an actual practice test score with official MCAT scoring. The first graded exam is free, as well as one completely ungraded exam.

However, if you want to take more than those two, which is my personal plan to maximize my readiness and prepare for that full 8-hour experience, you have to purchase the rest of the practice tests for $35.

Anki (Free!)

I do Anki daily! Same as Jack Westin passages.

Anki is a very popular flashcard app based on the study techniques of spaced repetition! It's on mobile as well as PC for easy access. There are a ton of free decks to download and import to your own account.

Right now, I'm using a deck made by another wonderful creator called Ortho528. Some other popular MCAT Prep Anki Decks are Jack Sparrow and MilesDown. These creators put in a ton of work for their benefit, then generously shared their work with the masses.

All of this being said, happy studying and best of luck on your test! You've got this!

Disclaimer: This is my personal list of resources I use. Feel free to add more or ask questions if you have them! :)

~ grace :)

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Real Ways I Get Myself Motivated

(aka when I really really really don't feel like doing work and i'm immune to a lot of the normal ones, so this is what I cooked up)

also isn't little luffy so cute??? love him so much

1. "Luffy Would be Disappointed."

This one is actually a cheat code for me in like every aspect. Let's be real: we all have a dream. What else is a goal? Luffy works tirelessly for his dream to be the King of Pirates, for Nami's map, for Sanji's All Blue... how would he feel if we didn't give it our all? He'd be so disappointed!

This goes for everything. I don't feel like studying? I'm not fighting for my dream. I don't feel like running or being active despite knowing its a goal of mine? I'm not trying to improve to get my goal in reach. How can I be worthy of being Luffy's friend? By trying by best to get better in pursuit of my dream.

This can go for any character, really. Especially one who seems motivated even in the most daunting situations. Would they want to be friends with you? Or would they be disappointed at your lack of drive for your passions?

would you go with your dream into the very fires of Mordor? prove it.

2. "ANYTHING is better than a zero."

Literally anything. It beats nearly every excuse.

"Oh, I didn't study enough, I shouldn't go." Go. Get a 20/100. It's better than a 0.

"I really don't feel like doing my homework." Start it. Get a 1/10. It's better than a 0.

"The deadline is in 5 minutes and I haven't even started ye--" Do some. Get a terrible grade. Email the professor about it to see if you can have a second chance. Even if you don't get it, it's still better than a 0.

3. "What's my WHY?"

No, this isn't why I don't feel like doing it. This is WHY am I doing it at all?? It's hard. It can be so incredibly hard. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming. The important part is: WHY ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING? To help people? To help the Earth? To explore other planets? To understand more about the mysteries of the universe or decode the writing systems of ancient civilizations?? To step into history through centuries' old stories and see the human soul refracted in poetry??

There is a reason you chose this. Every small effort is a something supporting that reason.

Your "why" can be in the past, in the present, in the future, physical or abstract or something else entirely. But ultimately it is yours and yours only.

Define it and fight for it. You're the only one who can.