A closer look: Testing Times

Drugs, discipline and dexterity are a few of the components some
students find indispensable as they prepare for upcoming graduate
school entrance exams.

With some exams only days away, students use personalized
methods to cope with the increasing levels of stress and
pressure.

“I don’t sleep. … I take a lot of
ephedrine-containing supplements and caffeine pills to keep me
going,” said Jack Sandalisaz, who graduated last quarter with
degrees in sociology and public policy. He said he also sometimes
takes Adderall or Ritalin to help him concentrate.

Sandalisaz took the Dental Aptitude Test two weeks ago and is
now focusing on studying for the GRE in May and the LSAT in
June.

Rather than studying at Powell Library, like many students do,
Sandalisaz views it as his one place to socialize and
affectionately refers to it as “Club Powell.” He
chooses to get most of his studying done in the seclusion of the
Biomedical Library stacks instead.

Going to the gym is one break Sandalisaz takes from studying
because he said it gives him a way to relieve built-up anger and
stress, as well as time to zone out.

But his motives are not purely therapeutic; he treats working
out as a way to himself for the arduous practice tests.

“After any diagnostic test I am super tired, so I go to
the gym to build stamina,” he said.

With two exams to prepare for, Sandalisaz studies six to seven
hours a day, seven days a week, even though this interferes with
his Jewish religious beliefs to reserve Saturday as the
Sabbath.

“I study on Saturday because I have to. I can’t
observe my religion,” he said.

Third-year microbiology student Sungchan Song has also made
sacrifices during his time of preparation for this Saturday’s
MCAT.

Starting in November, Song began attending preparatory classes
on top of a full class load, and he did not go home for spring
break in order to attend review classes eight hours a day.

“The whole process is a sacrifice that requires a lot of
dedication,” Song said.

He also notes that studying for the MCAT takes a
“different breed” because of the amount of material to
cover and extreme competition between students.

“Everyone is too competitive, but with the difficulty
there is to get into medical school, how can it not be?” he
said.

Some competitiveness is inescapable with the large number of
students seeking limited spots in top medical schools, but Song
chooses to make the most of the crowd by occasionally studying with
others preparing for the MCAT. Group studying helps him relieve
some of the personal pressure and alienation that build up after
hours of solo studying.

“I feel kind of a bond because we hold each other
accountable and understand each other’s suffering. Other
people don’t fully understand what we are going
through,” he said.

Despite the innumerable hours of studying, Song is still
apprehensive about his level of preparation.

“Some days I feel really confident, and others I
don’t feel ready at all,” he said.

Fourth-year physiological science student Shabnam Hafiz recalls
the stress of studying for her first MCAT exam last year, which is
why she has taken a different approach in preparing for her second
sitting for the exam.

“(Last year) I studied 12 hours a day and had no social
life,” she said. “I went in to the test way too
stressed out, and it negatively affected my results.”

Hafiz makes sleep a top priority this time around. She has
adjusted her sleeping patterns by going to bed early and being
ready to study at 8 a.m. everyday, since that is the time when the
MCAT will be administered.

“Sleep is one of the most important things you can give
yourself for preparing,” she said.

Since careful time management is required to be both mentally
and physically ready for the entrance exam, Hafiz added that she
thinks it is definitely necessary to have passion and
self-motivation to commit to preparation.

The amount of time students allow themselves to prepare for a
graduate school entrance exam influences the study strategy they
adopt. With more time to ready themselves, some students develop
creative studying strategies.

Ganesh Harinath, a fourth-year English student, does not plan on
taking the LSAT until next fall, but he has already been thinking
about the exam for over a year.

“I took a field test that was offered last year, and
recently I have been doing exercises to improve my IQ, which will
help on all areas of the test,” he said.

Harinath makes a point of doing tasks that will help change his
overall cognitive thinking patterns.

For example, he regularly performs tasks with his opposite hand,
writes cursive backwards instead of just doodling, takes a
different route when walking to a destination, and plays chess.

“I have been doing things to increase my thinking skills,
which will help me in all areas of life. If it helps me on the
LSAT, then that is all the better,” he said.

Despite their individually unique preparation methods, students
gearing up for graduate school entrance exams share a common goal
for success that rationalizes their temporary sacrifices and
anxiety.

“The payoff overall will come when I look back while I am
doing something that I love and know that it was all worth
it,” Song said.