1 week left until the MCAT

[anatomyyay]

My scores have consistently been around 127/123-125(super low, I know)/127/124-125. For those who were able to increase their scores on the CARS and Psych/Soc sections, what do you recommend for the remainder of time that I have left? I've found that the outlines that I write at the end don't really help me and I find myself going back and re-reading a bunch of sentences... which I know is NOT a good method.

Also, would using Khanacademy/practicing like a crazy person using the psych/soc SB be the best plan of action for this next week?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! (Hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend!)

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[AnotherLawyer]

The only thing you can do for CARS one week out is get yourself in a good mental state. Commit to moving through the passages as you've practiced and not getting hung up on any particularly challenging questions or passages you come across.

P/S, on the other hand, is the easiest topic to make big short term improvements. I would go through every AAMC P/S question and make anki cards for all the terms you don't know. Then review the anki deck constantly. Also, get the KA 100 page notes and review that several times, making anki cards for unfamiliar stuff. Cram like you've never crammed before for P/S and you will certainly pick up a few more points.

Good luck!

 

[NextStepTutor_3]

For CARS, it could be worth spending some time reviewing why the outlines you've been making haven't been helpful. Of course, you don't want to drastically change your strategy a week before the exam, but if you're spending time making these outlines/taking notes and not finding them useful, you don't want to continue doing exactly that either.

I recommend going back to the last FL you took and just reviewing the 3-4 passages that you had the most trouble on (so this won't take up a ton of your time). (Alternatively, you could work through a few new passages and then analyze those.) Compare what you actually wrote down with what actually ended up being important to answer the questions. Did you write down too many small details as opposed to information about the author's tone and opinion? Did you write down things from paragraphs that were never asked about? etc. Once you have a better understanding of any patterns, you can use them to modify what you write down in the future.

Also, note that you typically aren't supposed to remember everything about the passage after reading it once. It's very normal to have to return to the passage and do some re-reading to answer questions, especially detail-based questions and questions that reference a particular paragraph/sentence/quote. For this reason, if you read the passage with the goal of never having to return to it, you'll spend extra time reading while still having to go back. This can cause timing issues, but they can be fixed by reading slightly more briskly and not worrying about understanding every word or sentence while you read.

Good luck

 

[anatomyyay]

The only thing you can do for CARS one week out is get yourself in a good mental state. Commit to moving through the passages as you've practiced and not getting hung up on any particularly challenging questions or passages you come across.

P/S, on the other hand, is the easiest topic to make big short term improvements. I would go through every AAMC P/S question and make anki cards for all the terms you don't know. Then review the anki deck constantly. Also, get the KA 100 page notes and review that several times, making anki cards for unfamiliar stuff. Cram like you've never crammed before for P/S and you will certainly pick up a few more points.

Good luck!

For CARS, it could be worth spending some time reviewing why the outlines you've been making haven't been helpful. Of course, you don't want to drastically change your strategy a week before the exam, but if you're spending time making these outlines/taking notes and not finding them useful, you don't want to continue doing exactly that either.

I recommend going back to the last FL you took and just reviewing the 3-4 passages that you had the most trouble on (so this won't take up a ton of your time). (Alternatively, you could work through a few new passages and then analyze those.) Compare what you actually wrote down with what actually ended up being important to answer the questions. Did you write down too many small details as opposed to information about the author's tone and opinion? Did you write down things from paragraphs that were never asked about? etc. Once you have a better understanding of any patterns, you can use them to modify what you write down in the future.

Also, note that you typically aren't supposed to remember everything about the passage after reading it once. It's very normal to have to return to the passage and do some re-reading to answer questions, especially detail-based questions and questions that reference a particular paragraph/sentence/quote. For this reason, if you read the passage with the goal of never having to return to it, you'll spend extra time reading while still having to go back. This can cause timing issues, but they can be fixed by reading slightly more briskly and not worrying about understanding every word or sentence while you read.

Good luck

Thank you both! Will try all of that. Getting so nervous!

 

[Lardy Boy]

Cram as many practice tests


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