I had a crushing moment when I took my aamc FL2 and got a 495, and with my exam 4 days away I decided i'm going to take my exam for the experience then void it cause it's way to far from my previous score, and I want a good shot at MD. I definitely wasn't taking this seriously enough, but it's okay. I was planning on taking it slow and taking the exam again in late july/ early august more prepared and aiming for a 515+. Is it feasible considering i'm more aware of my improvement areas? I'll be taking a gap year, but i'll probably pick up scribing and some more shadowing hours before I apply because I can always add more to my app, but how do gap years look to adcoms? I am 1 year younger than most seniors (20). Well this is my plan, and I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions on it.
Voiding MCAT, next plan advice?
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Voiding is recommended but out of curiosity, what were your previous scores (give a rough approximation/range if needed)?
Also taking a gap year is fine for adcoms/schools. It's better to apply once with the strongest possible application
Also taking a gap year is fine for adcoms/schools. It's better to apply once with the strongest possible application
They weren't that good but they were far apart so I thought I'd see some improvement. I took a kaplan diagonstic and got 495, then I didn't manage to study alot becuase of finals, but I took the aamc fl 1 a couple days after classes ended and got a 499. After 2 weeks of studying ~6 hours a day I took the NS FL1 and got a 506. Then I slacked and ended up with my sad aamc FL 2 score.
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I’d void on test day, take a few days to recharge and revamp the studying to focus especially on repairing the weaknesses. I’d take more NS or any other third party tests and aim to score ~507+. After you heavily analyzed your answers and reasoning in practice FLs and are scoring in the range, i’d take the remaining AAMC FL. Also work on AAMC Question Packs and Section Bank and heavily analyze your reasoning so that you understand how test writers think.
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Sounds like you need to go back to the drawing board. Take some time away, reassess your time line, and then start your MCAT studies anew.
The only two scores to give any credence to are AAMC 1 and AAMC 2. Neither of those scores are where you want to be, so you're going to need to figure out why you came up short. Studying more content cannot hurt, but you need to master the test itself, which can only be done by practicing with passages and questions. Set weekly study goals for how many passages you wish to finish and which areas to emphasize in a given week.
Redo all of the AAMC qpacks and section banks once you are ready. Really take time to go over each question when you're reviewing. The problem with AAMC questions is that their explanations are poor, so take advantage of the SDN Q and A forum. It's amazingly helpful.
Good luck! You can do this!
The only two scores to give any credence to are AAMC 1 and AAMC 2. Neither of those scores are where you want to be, so you're going to need to figure out why you came up short. Studying more content cannot hurt, but you need to master the test itself, which can only be done by practicing with passages and questions. Set weekly study goals for how many passages you wish to finish and which areas to emphasize in a given week.
Redo all of the AAMC qpacks and section banks once you are ready. Really take time to go over each question when you're reviewing. The problem with AAMC questions is that their explanations are poor, so take advantage of the SDN Q and A forum. It's amazingly helpful.
Good luck! You can do this!
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I had the Kaplan book set and did all of my studying in a 5 week period. For the first 3 weeks, during content review, I followed this schedule here: Kaplan 1-Month MCAT Study Plan. After those 3 weeks, I took 2 practice tests a week until test day. I ended up making a 510. I did the 3 weeks of intensive content review over Christmas break; yes, I even studied on Christmas; and I did the next 2 weeks during my first couple weeks of classes. My recommendation would be to not draw out your studying too long. Take a month or 2 and devote every bit of your time to the MCAT. Don't work, don't shadow, don't do anything else that is going to prevent you from spending 8 hours a day working on the MCAT. It is also very important that you take the practice tests properly. Mark every question you are unsure about, and for every question you got wrong and every question you missed, go back and review all content contained in it. Also consider if it was a strategy problem that caused you to miss it.
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I am a biology major, so I have basically kept re learning the biology stuff every semester. I was 2 semesters out from physics and 4 from gen chem which gave me the most trouble. I finished up organic 2 right before I started studying. I did not take biochem; I just taught myself on the biochem study day. I was like 2 semesters out from my social sciences, but I basically had to re learn those anyways.
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