495 MCAT Need Help Raising

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CanadaMoose

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I recieved a 495 mcat a couple of months ago. I have done all aamc materials and uworld. Right now I'm re-reading the kaplan books and planning to redo uworld. Any tips or materials suggestions? Its frustrating to figure out how to raise my score after using all materials and I desperately need help...please...

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I recieved a 495 mcat a couple of months ago. I have done all aamc materials and uworld. Right now I'm re-reading the kaplan books and planning to redo uworld. Any tips or materials suggestions? Its frustrating to figure out how to raise my score after using all materials and I desperately need help...please...

What is your AAMC full length scores on the practice exams ? when did you do the AAMC tests, before the MCAT or after ?

How many months have you spent reviewing the Kaplan materials ? Full time or part time preparation?

When do you plan on writing your MCAT ?

DO or MD applicant ?

Is the rest of your application strong ?
 
My AAMC full length scores were 504 on average. I did the AAMC tests the month prior to the MCAT. I have been reviewing kaplan part time but once I redo the content, I'll do practice full time. I plan on writing my mcat early next cycle maybe Jan or March and I'll be applying DO. I believe the rest of my application is strong other than my mcat.
 
How have you been studying? A 495 usually means that your issue is with the content itself so you should consider essentially restarting your studying from the top with different study strategies.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors
 
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How have you been studying? A 495 usually means that your issue is with the content itself so you should consider essentially restarting your studying from the top with different study strategies.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors
Yeah, I'm re-reading the kaplan books and using jacksparrow's anki deck. Do you recommend I redo uworld after? Any tips for CARS?
 
It's cumbersome, but the AAMC content outline (google "AAMC what's on the MCAT") and look for the 128-page PDF that they post on their website can be another helpful source to gauge your mastery of the content -- it can be a useful exercise to go through it, rate your confidence on every bullet point, and then specifically study points you feel weaker about using Kaplan or whatever other content resources you have. This can help break you out of that dynamic where you just kinda go along with whatever's in the book -- instead, you want to get more active w/ the material. As you review, try to go beyond passive familiarity. A good litmus test is whether you could explain the material to someone else. Also, as you re-review content, try to focus on core principles -- not all facts are equally important.

Keep doing representative FL exams and review the AAMC materials carefully. Like..inside and out. Not just whether you got an AAMC question right or wrong, but try to understand why the right choice is right and all the other choices are wrong, try to practice the workflow of solving a question successfully (for example, where do you need to go for information, how do you use passage info, how do you set up and solve the equations if there are any, etc.). If you got a question wrong, why? What can you do to avoid getting that question, or a similar one, wrong in the future? Often the answer is "know something better," but it also often will involve adjusting your thought processes, etc.

These are just some ideas I mention based on my experiences w/ other people, but overall the idea is not just to do more of the same, but find a way to approach content review and practice materials differently from what you did the first time around. Good luck!!
 
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It's cumbersome, but the AAMC content outline (google "AAMC what's on the MCAT") and look for the 128-page PDF that they post on their website can be another helpful source to gauge your mastery of the content -- it can be a useful exercise to go through it, rate your confidence on every bullet point, and then specifically study points you feel weaker about using Kaplan or whatever other content resources you have. This can help break you out of that dynamic where you just kinda go along with whatever's in the book -- instead, you want to get more active w/ the material. As you review, try to go beyond passive familiarity. A good litmus test is whether you could explain the material to someone else. Also, as you re-review content, try to focus on core principles -- not all facts are equally important.

Keep doing representative FL exams and review the AAMC materials carefully. Like..inside and out. Not just whether you got an AAMC question right or wrong, but try to understand why the right choice is right and all the other choices are wrong, try to practice the workflow of solving a question successfully (for example, where do you need to go for information, how do you use passage info, how do you set up and solve the equations if there are any, etc.). If you got a question wrong, why? What can you do to avoid getting that question, or a similar one, wrong in the future? Often the answer is "know something better," but it also often will involve adjusting your thought processes, etc.

These are just some ideas I mention based on my experiences w/ other people, but overall the idea is not just to do more of the same, but find a way to approach content review and practice materials differently from what you did the first time around. Good luck!!
wow that's super helpful! Thanks so much!
 
Those are pretty much the same resources that most students used in their studies, so I'm not sure how doing the same thing will lead to a different result. So, perhaps change up how you take in the information (i.e. use spaced repetition/ANKI, memory palace) or how the information is delivered (i.e. text vs. videos). Good luck!
 
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