Should I push back my mcat exam?

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M

mitrieD

My Mcat exam date is the 22nd of January. I started studying in late September 2015. I took three EK Mcat practice exams so far and got 51%, 53%, and 50% (more difficult than the first two) respectively. I took the last EK exam a week ago (Dec 26th).

I think a ~50% on EK exams are closer to a 490 on the actual Mcat. Which is not good enough. As I review my exams I notice that my biggest weakness is my critical thinking skills, which I have no idea how to improve. I seem to struggle with having the right logic expected from me from the test writers.

I can use any advice, please.

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Practice MCAT scores are a good barometer for your score on the actual test...usually within a few points or so. If you're scoring around a 490 on the EK practice, then it follows that your actual score is going to be a few points around that. Take your MCAT when your practice scores are where you want them to be.
 
I've always read that EK practice tests are a lot more difficult than the actual MCAT. Have you taken tests from any other companies? Are you studying with EK material or with books from a different company?
 
I've always read that EK practice tests are a lot more difficult than the actual MCAT. Have you taken tests from any other companies? Are you studying with EK material or with books from a different company?

I studied with EK + TPR psych soc + Kaplan biochem

Next week I'll be either taking the AAMC practice exam or Next Step exam
 
A score around ~490 indicates you don't know the content well enough. You need to master the content BEFORE you think critically. If you're weak on content, I'd highly suggest not using EK. EK is meant for people who either pick things up quick or had a solid science foundation through their prereq courses. Is there a specific section you're struggling with the most?

Take the AAMC FL to gauge where you really are. It was the closest thing to the MCAT (except for CARS which was MUCH harder on the real deal for me).

I agree about dropping EK. I started studying with it and it was just paragraph after paragraph of descriptions of important terms, but it didn't do much to help me master the material. I recommend Kaplan. I also think that EK tests are not as good of a representation of the real deal as AAMC (obviously) -- it would be much better if we knew one of your AAMC FL scores.

Others might disagree, I do think that if you're getting a 490 on the EK tests that you might be close to where you need to be for podiatry school. Here's my advice: continue studying using an AAMC FL score to guide your time allocation on which sections to focus on. Take it tomorrow or as soon as possible. With the AAMC score, use the spreadsheet below to gauge what your actual score might be. Insert your score into the formulas if it isn't working. These were very accurate for me. If your minimum predicted score exceeds 497, stick with the January 22 test date. Be sure to take the entire FL exam in one sitting like you would the real test; definitely don't take each section at a different time.

 
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Is it a good prediction that the ~50%'s I've been getting on the EK exams are close to 490 on the real Mcat or a 500?
 
Is it a good prediction that the ~50%'s I've been getting on the EK exams are close to 490 on the real Mcat or a 500?

From what I remember some of the EK tests are more difficult than the real MCAT, but I don't know how well they can be used to predict your score. I don't think there is an established comparison that can accurately gauge how you'll perform based on EK scores. The EK tests are not a great example of what you'll run in to on test day, that's why we use the AAMC FLs for score prediction as they are much more similar to the actual test.

Go take the AAMC full length and post your scores, then we will be able to truly help you with whether you should delay your test date.

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Alright so what I'm going to do is cancel my exam :)cryi: there goes $300) and keep checking for open April seats in my state since they're already filled up. I'm not going to take a chance and get a mediocre score a second time.

I don't know if I should study with EK again or a different source. EK seems to have all of the information I need. Very rarely have I ever come across content in an exam that wasn't included in EK (except for psych/soc- which I use TPR and Khan Academy for, and Biochem with Kaplan).
 
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