When I got home from work last night, there was a box at my front door from Kaplan, containing my MCAT study books – standard issue for everyone who takes the prep class. I was anxious to open it, and peruse the contents, but since I was heading into the city to spend the night at my sister’s, I threw the box into the trunk of my car, and left for Manhattan. Once we got to Karen’s apartment, we ate dinner, chatted, and about midnight, after a long, stressful (test-taking) day, I decided to open the box and see what exactly I was getting for my $1349. By the 4th phonebook sized study manual, my life had flashed before my eyes and I was seconds away from a full-fledged panic attack. At the bottom of the box, beneath 6 GIANT, onion-skin paper study guides, a 200+ page manual on how to TAKE the MCAT, and a packet filled with hundreds of flash cards was a letter from Kaplan. The first sentence simply read: “Do not be overwhelmed by the volume of material.”

These people at Kaplan have a sick, twisted sense of humor. Next thing you know, they’re going to tell me to “relax.”