Can't seem to get P/C and B/B scores up?

[mega_tron]

Hey All,
Stressed out premed over here. Got my MCAT scores (2nd attempt) back a couple weeks ago and....let's just say they were not what I was expecting. I've been in denial about it because I thought that I was done with MCAT forever, but based on my scores, I need to try again.

Time 1: P/C: 124, CARS: 125, B/B: 124, P/S: 128 (501)
Time 2: P/C: 124, CARS: 126, B/B: 124, P/S 130 (504)

The first time, I had taken a prep course but did most of my real studying during winter break (about 5 weeks). I got through all the content, but didn't have as much time for practice as I should have. The second time, I prepped for three months. I studied about 20hr/week for the first 2 months and about 8 hr/day during the last month. I did quite a bit more practice that time-got through AAMC + some Princeton material.

Clearly, my main problem is the science sections! I don't know how I did not move up with the amount of time I put into practice and content review. I was scoring about 126 for science practice sections. I did have an incident on test day where my exam froze twice (during B/B) but I didn't feel like it affected me that much. I'm wondering if I just have a poor science foundation and need to do more in depth content review or if I just need to do a TON of practice.

I would like to move at least 3 pts in the science sections and maybe a point or 2 in CARS. Any thoughts on the amount of time it would take to do that or what I need to do? I just don't know what to focus on... I wish I could say there are specific areas I struggle in but I feel like I'm just subpar in all the science topics. I do not know if it is a content or test taking problem...

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[theonlytycrane]

You probably need to bolster your science foundations + improve your approach, so a little bit of both.

Did you work through and understand all of the AAMC question pack and section bank problems?

 

[mega_tron]

You probably need to bolster your science foundations + improve your approach, so a little bit of both.

Did you work through and understand all of the AAMC question pack and section bank problems?

How would you recommend working on my science foundations? I went through Kaplan prep books and took notes/made flashcards for things I needed to memorize, but that wasn't enough. I worked through all the AAMC material and struggled on some of it, but I reviewed the content for q's that I missed.

 

[theonlytycrane]

How would you recommend working on my science foundations? I went through Kaplan prep books and took notes/made flashcards for things I needed to memorize, but that wasn't enough. I worked through all the AAMC material and struggled on some of it, but I reviewed the content for q's that I missed.

The best way is to keep doing practice problems and passages, identifying concepts that you aren't strong on, and studying those topics more after you review the passages.

Princeton has a science workbook with nothing but passages which will probably be good to work through. Also, I would suggest redoing the section banks.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

I'm wondering if I just have a poor science foundation and need to do more in depth content review or if I just need to do a TON of practice.

I want to offer a preemptive "sorry to be so harsh" before responding. In all likelihood, both of the suggestions you proposed will not improve your score. You already studied twice for this exam, so there is a high probability that you have enough content knowledge at your disposal to do well. Besides, doing passages helps review content, often in a more permanent way than memorizing material from a book or flashcards. So reading more text and making flashcards will not generate the improvement you seek in the sciences.

Doing a ton of practice questions is not the answer either. There is a high likelihood that you will simply reemphasize your current techniques which will result in getting the same type of questions right and same type of questions wrong. A HUGE mistake many students make is that they feel repetition and exposure will result in improvement. This quite often is not the case. I would strongly recommend you go back to the AAMC Official MCAT guide and look at page 72. Read the descriptions of the four skill categories until it is emblazoned in your mind. There are certain question types that are more challenging than others. Your study plan had you ready for Skill 1 and semi-ready for Skill 2, but Skills 3 and 4 do not get developed through reading, memorizing, and repetition. I am biased perhaps, because I work for a company that emphasizes Skills 3 and 4 more than 1 and 2. But you will find that the people who are use and love our materials welcome the challenge of developing Skill 3 and they generally get some of the best scores. So I am completely convinced the biggest thing a student can do to improve is to develop Skill 3.

...took notes/made flashcards for things I needed to memorize, but that wasn't enough. I worked through all the AAMC material and struggled on some of it, but I reviewed the content for q's that I missed.

This is a great sentence. You realize now, in retrospect, that memorization and flashcards did not lead to the result you wanted. Many people try this approach, because it worked in school, with similar results. The absolute most important thing you can do while preparing for the MCAT is to thoroughly read answer explanations to EVERY question (right or wrong) and come up with multiple ways to get the right answer. Too many people read an explanation and then tell themselves "I know that" and then immediately move on to the next question. It's not about what you know, it's about what you can apply. How can I answer a question using different information? You need to use materials with passages and questions that have THOROUGH explanations as your main resource this time around.

I would like to move at least 3 pts in the science sections and maybe a point or 2 in CARS. Any thoughts on the amount of time it would take to do that or what I need to do? I just don't know what to focus on... I wish I could say there are specific areas I struggle in but I feel like I'm just subpar in all the science topics. I do not know if it is a content or test taking problem...

It is most likely a test taking problem. The actual content on the MCAT is not that hard (assuming you've done reasonably well in school on those subjects). What separates 510s and above from the rest is how they use that information. You should not worry about the amount of time you need to spend this next preparation period, but rather, the passages you intend to finish. Make sure you do at least three passages on each topic in the MCAT Guide. Contrary to what some people at SDN say, not all materials are equal. Like cars, food, clothes, and so on, every product is different. The various materials from each of the companies are actually quite different when it comes to what question types they emphasize and how they suggest you answer questions. After you look at page 72 of the MCAT Guide and then look at the sample questions for each skill type, shop for the preparation materials that will help you the most with the skill that troubles you.

 

[mega_tron]

I can almost guarantee that the advice of fixing your science foundation is 100% accurate. As someone who jumped like 8-9 points from first practice test to the real thing, what I changed mostly was my foundation. I am a geologist so by no means a bcpm expert, nor did I ever really understand any passage through and through on the mcat but knowing the topic the passage was from inside out helped me answer pretty much every question about it, without really knowing wtf that specific passage was about; if you have time, go back and redo that content review thoroughly, use anki, read it over and over and then restart practice tests.

Thanks for the advice! I am a nontrad major, so I think that I could probably benefit from a thorough review of the sciences. I'll go over it all again but really hone in on my weak areas with content and practice passages. Hopefully I will see results when I get back into practice exams.