Advise for retaking the MCAT

[MMF84]

So I took the MCAT last year and did absolutely terrible, I got a 487. I’ll be retaking it in May and I’m a little worried about how to study effectively. I have been taking Next Step Full lengths every Saturday for the last few weeks and today I took the AAMC. I did alright but my concern is that I took the AAMC FL 1 twice last year while prepping and I worry that I might be subconsciously remembering the answers, which could be inflating my score. Has anyone felt like that happened? I don’t want to put too much faith in the score if it isn’t a great indicator.

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[QuickSort2340]

So I took the MCAT last year and did absolutely terrible, I got a 487. I’ll be retaking it in May and I’m a little worried about how to study effectively. I have been taking Next Step Full lengths every Saturday for the last few weeks and today I took the AAMC. I did alright but my concern is that I took the AAMC FL 1 twice last year while prepping and I worry that I might be subconsciously remembering the answers, which could be inflating my score. Has anyone felt like that happened? I don’t want to put too much faith in the score if it isn’t a great indicator.

I haven’t taken the MCAT yet, but I’ve generally done well on standardized tests and can offer the following general advice:

1. The MCAT is content heavy, which means that you need to build a solid foundation in your knowledge of the core subjects. Without that foundation, you’re going to have a tough time solving the problems. So, make sure to do heavy content review, especially if you previously scored a 487 as this indicates significant content gaps.
2. The MCAT is a reasoning test, which means content review is necessary but insufficient. Having strong reasoning skills is essential. The only way to build reasoning skills is to practice. Once you’ve done your content review, you need to work problems — a lot of them. Go over every single problem you attempt and make sure you understand the reasoning behind the correct choice as well as why the other choices were wrong. If you find any content gaps as you do this, fill them by reviewing the appropriate materials.


I will say that you need to be exposing yourself to new problems — retaking old exams to make sure you understand the questions and know the content cold is fine, but you need to be exposing yourself to new problems to apply your knowledge and reasoning skills. Try the other AAMC FL tests, work through the AAMC question packs, and try to find high quality third party materials (I’m not an expert on this, so I hope someone else will chime in with recommendations).

I hope this helps, even if it is a bit of the blind leading the blind!

 

[Lawpy]

So I took the MCAT last year and did absolutely terrible, I got a 487. I’ll be retaking it in May and I’m a little worried about how to study effectively. I have been taking Next Step Full lengths every Saturday for the last few weeks and today I took the AAMC. I did alright but my concern is that I took the AAMC FL 1 twice last year while prepping and I worry that I might be subconsciously remembering the answers, which could be inflating my score. Has anyone felt like that happened? I don’t want to put too much faith in the score if it isn’t a great indicator.

I wouldn't place much focus on AAMC FL 1 score as you took it in the past. Just review your answers thoroughly and actively to make sure you understand the AAMC reasoning.

The AAMC FLs that you haven't taken at all in the past are better indicators.

 

[Pillar Prep]

Hello MMF84, Sean Studies has worked with a lot of MCAT Retakers that have this same concern. This is one of the many hurdles that MCAT Retakers have to face. You're on to something. AAMC FL#1 cannot necessarily be a representative or predictive score because you might remember some of the questions/answers. Although the AAMC FL can be useful predictors but they are also great learning activities - they make you aware of the content and strategies you need to improve on but also show you what you are doing correct. When reviewing a FL that you have already completed it is extremely important to know why the correct answer option is correct and why the incorrect answer options are incorrect. If you are taking an AAMC FL and find that you remember a question or answer option, flag it and intentionally mark it wrong if you cannot, on the spot, explain why the correct answer is correct.

Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions.

If there are any AAMC FLs that you have not taken yet, be sure to save those for the weeks leading up to your exam. Those will still be representative/ relatively predictive of your score.

Good luck!

 

[Dhooy7]

Hello MMF84, Sean Studies has worked with a lot of MCAT Retakers that have this same concern. This is one of the many hurdles that MCAT Retakers have to face. You're on to something. AAMC FL#1 cannot necessarily be a representative or predictive score because you might remember some of the questions/answers. Although the AAMC FL can be useful predictors but they are also great learning activities - they make you aware of the content and strategies you need to improve on but also show you what you are doing correct. When reviewing a FL that you have already completed it is extremely important to know why the correct answer option is correct and why the incorrect answer options are incorrect. If you are taking an AAMC FL and find that you remember a question or answer option, flag it and intentionally mark it wrong if you cannot, on the spot, explain why the correct answer is correct.

Hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions.

If there are any AAMC FLs that you have not taken yet, be sure to save those for the weeks leading up to your exam. Those will still be representative/ relatively predictive of your score.

Good luck!

I would be interested in learning more. I applied this cycle but planning on retaking.

 

[Ad2b]

I'm retaking it soon. For all the naysayers that say content review isn't key, I would say it is whether you do that straight from the books (making note cards like I did or using Anki) or do passages and / or full length exams and add to those note cards or Anki whatever you got wrong;

or in my case, I add to note cards if something new or I draw it out if something like a graph interpretation from kinetics or something.

For instance, I already had something for RDRP but something new was learned when I got the question RIGHT on an EK passage... so, onto the notecard it went.

On another passage, I did not really know how to do a note card for the wrong answer, so I drew it out.

I have 2500+ note cards, a personal hand masseuse , and 8 x 11" sketch book where I also have many drawings (eye, ear, graphs, AA's, pathways, orgo mechanisms, etc)

 

[TheAverageDoctor]

1: Don't worry about having to retake it. There are tons of circumstances surrounding this test that may cause you to perform worse than you would have in optimal conditions (illness day of the test, test taking anxiety, etc.). If something like this happened, try to fix it for next time.

2: Don't put too much stock in practice tests. You'd be surprised how many people I know who scored low on a practice test then turned around and scored 80th percentile and above on the next practice test or even the real thing. Scores change over time. Use the practice tests more as a guide to your weaknesses and where to focus next.

3: Evaluate the study plan you used. Did you take too long? Too little time? How many hours per day? Did you lose concentration most days? Did you use a prep course? Prep book? How many questions did you do? Would you go back and add to your notes or get a wrong answer and move on? How many times did you go over the material? You're actually in a good position to analyze your first try and plan better the next time. If you can answer these questions for me I can give some suggestions on how to do things differently.