Hi guys...need some advice...

AAMC AVG
PS 11
VR 8
BS 11
30

7/30 MCAT
PS 10
VR 5-wtf :(
BS 12
27O

I'm shocked and severely depressed. I've never even scored that low in VR on a practice test before (what's funny is that I actually didn't even think it was that bad) :( I guess I will be withdrawing my app...plan to retake in January. Is there any point in rescoring? Probably not right, since it's computerized...

I already used EK/TPR verbal as well as the aamc tests....should I get the berkeley review verbal? I heard kaplan verbal isn't that good. Any advice would be appreciated....

bump.....please....anyone :(

Hey, sorry to hear that you are discouraged by the score, but chin up! A 27 is still a great score for DO school (if you are interested in that route) because the average is ~24-26.
One good thing to notice about your score break down is that you have remained pretty consistent with PS and BS, so you know exactly what area of the test to target, which I think is half the battle. Have you tried breaking down the questions that you missed and the correct answers provided? This might help you see a pattern in what types of questions you are missing (inferring, overall concept, etc). I really liked the advice from the EK on Verbal about visualizing the writer of the passage and using this intuition to make some conclusions about the passage/questions. I know that you said that you've tried EK, but maybe try this technique again. Also, I'm not a fan of the EK practce verbal passages (they really seemed to confuse me more than anything..which then makes me nervous), but I liked TPR for practice. Kaplan has some decent practice tests (part of the class material, but maybe you could get the workbook from a friend?). Hope this helps and please feel free to PM me if anything I mentioned needs clarification! All the best, and don't forget how hard you've worked to get to this point. Don't let a silly test define who you are or what kind of doctor you will be!!

Take a breather. Since your test isn't a scantron, I don't see how rescoring your test would be a likely way to fix your score.

What I would like for you to do, right off the bat, is sleep on this. I know it sounds dumb, but you need to collect you thoughts. Wake up in the morning, and come back to this thread and answer any of the questions. You can peek ahead, but don't commit to anything until you've relaxed. I understand what you're feeling, but you need to clear your mind for a bit.









Re-evaluate what you've done. Where exactly did you go wrong in verbal? Scoring a 5 implies that you may not have been testing verbal properly at all. If you can simply improve to a 10, that's all you need. Your other sections are fine. Simply doing practice tests won't help you do better. It's not so much practicing passages as practicing the strategy behind them, since you have a 5. Why did you get a 5? Do you remember? Bad day? Difficulties? You need to pinpoint your problem so we can find a solution.



Use these sources:
Archaelogy
Wall Street Journal
Sci Am
Economist
New York times
Any other online magazine.

Find an article, and simply map it or whatever strategy you do. Map the first 7 or 8 paragraphs.

After that, give the article to your friend and have him ask you who/what/when/where/why, purpose, scope, etc, all the things that your strategy of choice has. This will help you understand exactly what you do/do not remember. Being able to map will let you organize your thoughts.

Eventually, you want to be able to answer the questions with LIMITED assistance from the map. The map is an organizational tool. It is there to help you, not to guide you. You should be able to answer the questions at least from your head. Do this at least once a week for now if possible, and see how you like it.

I know how you feel. My MCATs have always been lower than my averages.
On the day of the test I choke and I get SOOO nervous. It hurts me everywhere. I guess look bad do you think it was bad nerves? Were you sweating? couldnt sleep night before? loud heart beat? too excited?

It was probably just bad luck. If you did well on all ur practice tests I wouldn't stress too much. A 27 is not a bad score and I know people who get in with that off of a really long wait list the month med school starts. I would apply a few places just for fun and you never know. :) good luck with a stressful year...

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. Compass-I'll take your advice and sleep on it. I feel numb as it is. BUT-would it be safe to say that I should probably withdraw my AMCAS? Just wanted an opinion from someone else before I do so. Thanks.

I am sorry to hear that man. I am currently in a similar position, and am afraid to take the test. Were you worried about your VR before you took it? Did nerves play a role?

Just stay optimistic right now and keep working hard. Take it in. It happened. But move on and KNOW you will make sure that you do better next time.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. Compass-I'll take your advice and sleep on it. I feel numb as it is. BUT-would it be safe to say that I should probably withdraw my AMCAS? Just wanted an opinion from someone else before I do so. Thanks.

I would withdraw from this application cycle. It is unlikely any school will give you serious consideration with that verbal score. It's unfortunate, too, because your other sections are solid. Your AAMC verbal avg was low going into the test, so it's a weakness that you need to work on. Where do you struggle? timing? comprehension? It's important to isolate your weakness so we know where to begin fixing this.

OP i sent you a private message...

Whether you choose to withdraw is your personal decision. I am not an adviser, and I don't know the rest of your stats. Are you willing to do DO, Carib MD? If so, you might consider applying to those and then put in a few state-side MD schools, and your state schools.

I would still apply DO if I were you. Schools will raise eyebrows about your verbal section score BUT if you have a solid gpa and extracurrics I can't really see you not getting accepted to any DO schools. If DO would be alright with you I really think you should give it a shot and apply.

Plus your BS section is REALLY GOOD...it could help offset the low VR section score. Overall a 27 is a competitive score for the top DO schools.

Seriously give it a shot...if it doesn't work out then you have another year to work on your verbal skills and get even stronger in the sciences.

You could try to take another MCAT fast. If not withdraw, come back next year.

Once again, I really appreciate all the responses. I finally peeled myself off the couch last night, cried myself to sleep, woke up, logged back into THx to make sure it wasn't a nightmare and that I really did get that abysmal score, went to school, ignored a billion texts/phone calls from friends about my score and here I am now.

hat you've done. Where exactly did you go wrong in verbal? Scoring a 5 implies that you may not have been testing verbal properly at all. If you can simply improve to a 10, that's all you need. Your other sections are fine. Simply doing practice tests won't help you do better. It's not so much practicing passages as practicing the strategy behind them, since you have a 5. Why did you get a 5? Do you remember? Bad day? Difficulties? You need to pinpoint your problem so we can find a solution.

Thanks, Compass. But that's exactly my problem...I don't know where I went wrong...that day went pretty well for me. I wasn't nervous at all, in fact, I was really confident. I felt good throughout the exam (except after the BS section...I thought I totally bombed it, even though it was always my best section).

I know how you feel. My MCATs have always been lower than my averages.
On the day of the test I choke and I get SOOO nervous. It hurts me everywhere. I guess look bad do you think it was bad nerves? Were you sweating? couldnt sleep night before? loud heart beat? too excited?

It was probably just bad luck. If you did well on all ur practice tests I wouldn't stress too much. A 27 is not a bad score and I know people who get in with that off of a really long wait list the month med school starts. I would apply a few places just for fun and you never know. :) good luck with a stressful year...

None of the above! I wasn't sweating at all...I was cool, calm, and collected...and confident. I told myself I was going to kill this thing. I looked at everyone around me, and most people were breathing loud, looking real nervous and frustrated and I thought to myself they should chill because I certainly was NOT feeling nervous. I didn't even feel nervous when the first PS passage popped up...it was like okay, cool, a chem passage. I agree, it was bad luck, a fluke, but damn, why did it have to be on the real deal.

I am sorry to hear that man. I am currently in a similar position, and am afraid to take the test. Were you worried about your VR before you took it? Did nerves play a role?

Just stay optimistic right now and keep working hard. Take it in. It happened. But move on and KNOW you will make sure that you do better next time.

Thanks man...I was a bit worried because my avg was kinda low for verbal...but it wasn't like OH MY GOD I AM GOING TO FAIL VERBAL...it was like yeah I'm not THAT great at it, but I'm going to concentrate hard and do my best.

I would withdraw from this application cycle. It is unlikely any school will give you serious consideration with that verbal score. It's unfortunate, too, because your other sections are solid. Your AAMC verbal avg was low going into the test, so it's a weakness that you need to work on. Where do you struggle? timing? comprehension? It's important to isolate your weakness so we know where to begin fixing this.

Yeah, I agree. I'm not going to add more schools though...I'm just going to let it continue (I'm complete at several schools)...I guess I'll just wait for the rejections to come, at least I'll have the experience of applying. Plus it was free (FAP), ha ha. I read pretty fast (but make sure I don't read too fast) and so I finish the section on time...I give myself about 3 minutes to read the passage and 5 to answer the questions, and then I move on. It's hard for me to find out my weaknesses because I don't really know what they are. Also, English is not my second language...how embarassing.

Whether you choose to withdraw is your personal decision. I am not an adviser, and I don't know the rest of your stats. Are you willing to do DO, Carib MD? If so, you might consider applying to those and then put in a few state-side MD schools, and your state schools.

I don't want to go to DO school, or the Caribbean...I'm going to try and retry for allopathic schools. Man...I have a 3.90 GPA, 3.85 BCPM GPA, LOTS of ECs, president of the pre-health club at my school, lots of clinical experience (I'm an EMT), I have teaching experience, I did 1 year of research in biochemistry, 1 year of research in chem, I'm a double major, in honors program, won awards, have solid LORs....I had everything going for me and then this happened, right when I'm waist deep in the process. How do things like this happen. Doesn't feel real.

I would still apply DO if I were you. Schools will raise eyebrows about your verbal section score BUT if you have a solid gpa and extracurrics I can't really see you not getting accepted to any DO schools. If DO would be alright with you I really think you should give it a shot and apply.

Plus your BS section is REALLY GOOD...it could help offset the low VR section score. Overall a 27 is a competitive score for the top DO schools.

Seriously give it a shot...if it doesn't work out then you have another year to work on your verbal skills and get even stronger in the sciences.

Thanks a lot, I'm happy about my BS score especially since I thought I got a 6 lol I really thought I flunked it. I don't want to go to a DO school, I have my heart set on allopathic medicine.

You could try to take another MCAT fast. If not withdraw, come back next year.

:scared: I'm too scared. lol. That was just scary...feeling good during a section, then bombing it so bad (worse than my average)...I'm just going to get rejected, retake in January, and be super early for next cycle I guess.

So, I plan on reading a lot, whenever I can, as much as I can, and practice mapping the passage and understanding it/the author. I'm going to read the economist, WSJ and other stuff Compass suggested. Since I already used EK 101 and TPR verbal, I'm going to get TBR verbal workbook and maybe the older version of EK 101 for the extra passages (since it has 9 per test) and maybe retake the tests themselves to build my endurance. I'm a bit hesitant to use the Kaplan VR that I have (I have the full lengths) since everyone says to stay away from Kaplan VR but would it really hurt? If not, then all I have to work with is the TBR VR workbook and TBR VR from TBR CBTs (if I purchase them). Sorry for the long post/rant.

OP...try Exam Krackers method. My score went from mediocre single digits to 4+ point improvement with their method on my retake. And this was 3 years ago when verbal was 60 questions in 85 minutes, requiring lots of stamina from someone who has never been a reading comprehension type of person. Learn their method, do it over and over again. Learn how to rule out wrong answer choices, that is 90% of the battle. Best of Luck.

now ...why exactly is your heart set on allopathic medicine?

tell us.

now ...why exactly is your heart set on allopathic medicine?

tell us.

It just is, it's where my interests lie, I always wanted to be a physician. I'm not interested in Osteopathic medicine-not saying there's anything wrong with it, because there isn't anything wrong with it-it's just not what I'm interested in.

Hi everyone
I'm in the same situation as G1SG2 and need some advice.
This was my second time taking the mcat and i got a 26... first time i got a 24. I was extremely disappointed because i was getting around 30 on my practices.

April MCAT:
6 PS
8 VR
10 BS
N WS
Overall: 24N

July MCAT:
9 PS
7 VR
10 BS
O WS
Overall: 26O

Practice AAMC (average):
11 PS
9 VR
10 BS
Overall: 30

My GPA is extremely low (3.1 overall, 2.9 science) and i was really banking on my mcat to be above a 30 at least... but that didnt happen.
Now i'm not sure if i should bother applying this year. I was going to try to apply to DO schools, but now im not even sure my scores would get me into one of those.
I have lots of clinical experience, double majored, been doing research, have strong letter of recs... but i dont know how much that will help me.
Please let me know what you guys think
Thanks

Hi everyone
I'm in the same situation as G1SG2 and need some advice.
This was my second time taking the mcat and i got a 26... first time i got a 24. I was extremely disappointed because i was getting around 30 on my practices.

April MCAT:
6 PS
8 VR
10 BS
N WS
Overall: 24N

July MCAT:
9 PS
7 VR
10 BS
O WS
Overall: 26O

Practice AAMC (average):
11 PS
9 VR
10 BS
Overall: 30

My GPA is extremely low (3.1 overall, 2.9 science) and i was really banking on my mcat to be above a 30 at least... but that didnt happen.
Now i'm not sure if i should bother applying this year. I was going to try to apply to DO schools, but now im not even sure my scores would get me into one of those.
I have lots of clinical experience, double majored, been doing research, have strong letter of recs... but i dont know how much that will help me.
Please let me know what you guys think
Thanks


:hijacked:

ha, jk. I can't give you advice for verbal because apparently I suck at it, but I've always done well on the science sections so maybe I can help you there. For PS, the berkeley review helped me the most, I used both the Physics and GChem books. For bio, I used the TPR Hyperlearning book for content review, and used the science workbook. Figure out what your problem is-content review? Or application of content review to the passages. On second thought, your AAMC averages for PS and BS are pretty close to mine...do you just get nervous when you're taking the real deal? Don't be nervous...I was really confident during those sections and told myself I was killing every passage, and was super alert. Good luck, I know this sucks man, but maybe 3rd time's a charm? We just have to keep going at it.

:hijacked:

ha, jk. I can't give you advice for verbal because apparently I suck at it, but I've always done well on the science sections so maybe I can help you there. For PS, the berkeley review helped me the most, I used both the Physics and GChem books. For bio, I used the TPR Hyperlearning book for content review, and used the science workbook. Figure out what your problem is-content review? Or application of content review to the passages. On second thought, your AAMC averages for PS and BS are pretty close to mine...do you just get nervous when you're taking the real deal? Don't be nervous...I was really confident during those sections and told myself I was killing every passage, and was super alert. Good luck, I know this sucks man, but maybe 3rd time's a charm? We just have to keep going at it.

Oh man, i did exactly the same thing as you recommended for the sciences... went through berkeley review g chem and physics, did the entire science workbook from princeton review- twice- and did examkrackers for verbal. I really dont know what went wrong... it might be i'm just not able to apply the content to the passages, but during the test i felt confident, especially since i was taking it a second time, i was familiar with the format and everything. My verbal timing was off a little, because i was rushed during the last passage, and i guess that explains the 7.
I'm really dreading taking it a third time... but i guess that may be my only option. :(