490 on second FL (4 weeks into content review)

[Gcuvier]

Hi,

So I sit for the exam mid-June and have been performing poorly on the FLs I've taken: 56% on AAMC SAMPLE and 490 on Kaplan FL #1. Before I gather advice, I should inform you all that I have NOT completed content review (not even halfway through the books, it seems to be taking forever) AND I ended up guessing on some questions (due to lack of knowledge + time). Should I postpone? I'm aiming for at least a 515 (hoping for a 520) and i don't know if 9 weeks of more content review is necessarily going to give me the boost I need. Please advice. Thanks.

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[inkblot19]

Well... I think you should try to do the practice full lengths ONLY when you are good with content review. Once you get to the passages, it’s very little content and more about understand how to approach the question and analyzing. So what I highly recommend is...1. Postpone the date of your exam - studying under so much pressure will only make it worse. Try late August! It will give you MUCH more time to review! 2. I highly recommend pairing whatever books you are using with Khan Academy, they really dive deep into the details of things and I think this helps when trying to answer questions because you know more than the Mcat is testing for. 3. Practice discrete questions every time you do a section. Finished enzyme kinetics? Do 20 questions on enzyme kinetics. Finish reading about kinematics? Do 20 questions on that. Find them online. Make sure you know how to do them so you have a solid foundation. 4. Do a CARS passage EVERY DAY before starting the sciences. I recommend this because by the time you take the mcat you would’ve completed at least (6-10 sections of CARS ALONE) so I highly recommend this.

Please don’t use AAMC content until one month before the exam. When using AAMC content - ANALYZE ANALYZE ANALYZE LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

Trying using KA for P/S - I hear the 300 page doc is really helpful. Make notes while you study. Take breaks. Don’t drain yourself of energy. Be excited!!! Train your brain to love studying for this exam. This will help your overall performance and confidence. Good luck!!! And let me know if you need anything else

 

[Gcuvier]

Well... I think you should try to do the practice full lengths ONLY when you are good with content review. Once you get to the passages, it’s very little content and more about understand how to approach the question and analyzing. So what I highly recommend is...1. Postpone the date of your exam - studying under so much pressure will only make it worse. Try late August! It will give you MUCH more time to review! 2. I highly recommend pairing whatever books you are using with Khan Academy, they really dive deep into the details of things and I think this helps when trying to answer questions because you know more than the Mcat is testing for. 3. Practice discrete questions every time you do a section. Finished enzyme kinetics? Do 20 questions on enzyme kinetics. Finish reading about kinematics? Do 20 questions on that. Find them online. Make sure you know how to do them so you have a solid foundation. 4. Do a CARS passage EVERY DAY before starting the sciences. I recommend this because by the time you take the mcat you would’ve completed at least (6-10 sections of CARS ALONE) so I highly recommend this.

Please don’t use AAMC content until one month before the exam. When using AAMC content - ANALYZE ANALYZE ANALYZE LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

Trying using KA for P/S - I hear the 300 page doc is really helpful. Make notes while you study. Take breaks. Don’t drain yourself of energy. Be excited!!! Train your brain to love studying for this exam. This will help your overall performance and confidence. Good luck!!! And let me know if you need anything else

Let’s say I’m stuck on a topic or detail, should I spend time on it until I’ve mastered it or should I make note and move on? That’s what’s been taking a lot of time for me: the details. Thanks for your advice.

 

[inkblot19]

So if you are having trouble with a topic, I would highly suggest watch khan academy OR AK lectures (they tend to be more in depth but superrrrr helpful). Just sit back, relax and watch the video. If you are still having trouble - I say skip it and come back. Sometimes learning other topics can help put things into perspective and make some difficult topics just click haha.

I’ve heard from many people that the MCAT is a lot of process of elimination so those details could score you some questions here and there and will DEFINITELY help you achieve the 520 you are aiming for!!! Again, let me know if you have anymore questions!!!

[edit] alsooo another thing to mention. Kaplan FLs are veryyy deflated so don’t worry about the score on Kaplan FLs because I’ve heard they are much harder than AAMC. But try not doing FLs until you are at least 80-90 percent done with content (and this should only be if you are pressed on time)

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

If you are a 490 on a test now and hoping to get to 515 in nine weeks, you have to do passages and you need to thoroughly review every question to master not only the concepts, but more importantly the test reasoning. I'd strongly suggest you get the TBR chemistry and physics books and spend three weeks pounding their passages. Pay attention every trick they offer and how they eliminate wrong answers. When that becomes muscle memory, then move on to other subjects, then do AAMC SBs, and only then go back to FLs. You have to build from the ground up and taking FLs before mastering test taking logic is detrimental.

 

[Gcuvier]

If you are a 490 on a test now and hoping to get to 515 in nine weeks, you have to do passages and you need to thoroughly review every question to master not only the concepts, but more importantly the test reasoning. I'd strongly suggest you get the TBR chemistry and physics books and spend three weeks pounding their passages. Pay attention every trick they offer and how they eliminate wrong answers. When that becomes muscle memory, then move on to other subjects, then do AAMC SBs, and only then go back to FLs. You have to build from the ground up and taking FLs before mastering test taking logic is detrimental.

So you’re saying it’s possible?

 

[inkblot19]

So you’re saying it’s possible?

It will be difficult. 520 is 98th percentile. you MUST want it so bad. And you’re gonna have to work your *** off, but yeah I think anything is possible if you set your mind to it and have that motivation

I do recommend giving yourself a little more time to study. Just because you don’t want to risk having to retake it when you aren’t prepared. When there are four weeks left, if you haven’t started scoring 508+ and really want to go MD, I would postpone.

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

Hi,

So I sit for the exam mid-June and have been performing poorly on the FLs I've taken: 56% on AAMC SAMPLE and 490 on Kaplan FL #1. Before I gather advice, I should inform you all that I have NOT completed content review (not even halfway through the books, it seems to be taking forever) AND I ended up guessing on some questions (due to lack of knowledge + time). Should I postpone? I'm aiming for at least a 515 (hoping for a 520) and i don't know if 9 weeks of more content review is necessarily going to give me the boost I need. Please advice. Thanks.

Did you take prerecs 10 years ago? If the answer is no.
Then STOP doing content review... Every minute you do "content review" is a minute of lost time and thus a lower score.

 

[inkblot19]

Did you take prerecs 10 years ago? If the answer is no.
Then STOP doing content review... Every minute you do "content review" is a minute of lost time and thus a lower score.

Generally speaking though, anything below 500 (especially on AAMC material) indicates a lack of foundation in concepts.

 

[Shotapp]

Generally speaking though, anything below 500 (especially on AAMC material) indicates a lack of foundation in concepts.

I think what @TheRealCookieMonster is getting at is that reading about the concepts/content in books is inefficient and a waste of time. On the other hand, practicing applying the concepts on practice problems/passages and thoroughly review them is efficient/more productive use of time. And he is right.

 

[Gcuvier]

Did you take prerecs 10 years ago? If the answer is no.
Then STOP doing content review... Every minute you do "content review" is a minute of lost time and thus a lower score.

It’s been about 2 years since I took my last gen chem class and I’ll be finishing up my last prereq this semester (biochem) Would focusing on high yield topics be more effective than going through the entire books word for word?

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

It’s been about 2 years since I took my last gen chem class and I’ll be finishing up my last prereq this semester (biochem) Would focusing on high yield topics be more effective than going through the entire books word for word?

2 years is nothing. Biochem is high yield from what I understand. Also personally biochem gave me mastery in several subject areas at the same time.

Please see this:
"High yield" will NOT get you a 520.

To be totally honest it sounds like you need to reschedule your test. You're not ready for the test and content (knowledge) has nothing to do with it.

 

[Gcuvier]

2 years is nothing. Biochem is high yield from what I understand. Also personally biochem gave me mastery in several subject areas at the same time.

Please see this:
"High yield" will NOT get you a 520.

To be totally honest it sounds like you need to reschedule your test. You're not ready for the test and content (knowledge) has nothing to do with it.

So what needs to be done? Should I follow the advice you gave earlier on practice or?

Edit: I will reschedule (probably for the end of September) which will give me two whole months of practice + brushing up on weak topics. But as of now, I’ll continue content review and going through the books until I’ve gone through them at least twice. That’s my plan as of right now.

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

So what needs to be done? Should I follow the advice you gave earlier on practice or?

The advice is the same. Sorry if it was confusing. You're not ready for the test (515+ at least). My advice stands about practice, but your not even ready for the study stage imo. I would reschedule when you've figured what you're doing.
It's sounds like you don't really have a solid strategy or understand how you want to approach the test in general, you may have just jumped in too soon. The MCAT is all about understanding yourself.
Have you read a few guides on how to go about studying for a 520? Have you checked out the AAMC guide on the test? Do you know what your goals are for time per question? What are your strengths and weaknesses in test taking? What subjects have you already had excellent exposure to? Which have you had none? How are planning to address these differences?

 

[Gcuvier]

The advice is the same. Sorry if it was confusing. You're not ready for the test (515+ at least). My advice stands about practice, but your not even ready for the study stage imo. I would reschedule when you've figured what you're doing.
It's sounds like you don't really have a solid strategy or understand how you want to approach the test in general, you may have just jumped in too soon. The MCAT is all about understanding yourself.
Have you read a few guides on how to go about studying for a 520? Have you checked out the AAMC guide on the test? Do you know what your goals are for time per question? What are your strengths and weaknesses in test taking? What subjects have you already had excellent exposure to? Which have you had none? How are planning to address these differences?

Thank you, I appreciate your help. Although I did have a plan, content review is what’s been taking forever and thereby hindering my progress. I guess my question should have been more regarding getting through content review quicker. I guess it’s due to the fact that I’ve been approaching content review as if the MCAT were a series of long essays for each topic, focusing on the details and not moving on until I’ve completely grasped/memorized them. Ideally, my plan was to take the MCAT right after finishing biochem so that I wouldn’t have to restudy it later. Nevertheless, I think will postpone as I’d like to take the time to fully digest and completely understand everything I encounter in those books before I take the MCAT.

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

Of course. The best way to get through content review quicker is to not do it. Until you’re trying to figure out why you got a question wrong it’s best to do no reviewing. It’s counter intuitive, but it is the best way to study for this test.
Wish you all the best. Good luck