510 on FL1 4 weeks out, is this a good plan to improve to 520+?

[SleepingPillow]

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Hello,

Took AAMC FL1 yesterday and got 510 (127/126/128/129). Took 3 Kaplan FLs and the sample before this. I still have around much of the Qpacks, SBs, FL2-3 to do, along with NS1 and Altius1. Anyone with experience of having improving 10+ points in the last month and mind sharing some advice? (I know people have done it, but I'm scaring myself because many people seem to get 515+ on FL1 before their 520+'s). I'm planning on doing the above practice and keep doing Anki.

Thanks!!

 

[TwoHighways]

Section banks and Qpacks will help a lot. Be sure to thoroughly review anything you miss. I envy your psych score

 

[SleepingPillow]

Section banks and Qpacks will help a lot. Be sure to thoroughly review anything you miss. I envy your psych score

Haha thanks!! It was actually my lowest score when I started (CARs was my highest, how ironic) but KA and Kaplan helped a lot since

 

[TwoHighways]

Just keep drilling questions and passages. I've used nothing but AAMC material and Khan. The section banks were a beatdown (I was so discouraged by my percentages that I took a day off to blow off stress), but I went over them and why I got them wrong and tried to reinforce content I was lacking (more of my section bank misses were from a lack of content, not a lack of analyzing information correctly). Now the Qpacks seem pretty easy. I'm thinking about resetting the section banks and going back through them if I have time, but I really need to focus on maintaining what I do know, memorizing a few physics formulas, getting through the rest of the qpack questions, and shoring up some psych/soc content deficiencies. I test August 2nd. It's getting real!

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Unlikely to improve 10 points in just four weeks, especially those 10 points (510 to 520). To give it your best shot do and review SB and Uworld

 

[DrDumbDrum]

I feel like simply running through the question packs, section banks, and other full-length tests will help you improve. Getting a 510 means you know the content pretty well, so now it's a matter of knowing the test (if that makes sense).

 

[SleepingPillow]

Just keep drilling questions and passages. I've used nothing but AAMC material and Khan. The section banks were a beatdown (I was so discouraged by my percentages that I took a day off to blow off stress), but I went over them and why I got them wrong and tried to reinforce content I was lacking (more of my section bank misses were from a lack of content, not a lack of analyzing information correctly). Now the Qpacks seem pretty easy. I'm thinking about resetting the section banks and going back through them if I have time, but I really need to focus on maintaining what I do know, memorizing a few physics formulas, getting through the rest of the qpack questions, and shoring up some psych/soc content deficiencies. I test August 2nd. It's getting real!

Good luck!! I definitely plan on redoing SBs for C/P and B/B once 'Im through with them

I feel like simply running through the question packs, section banks, and other full-length tests will help you improve. Getting a 510 means you know the content pretty well, so now it's a matter of knowing the test (if that makes sense).

Yep! Haven't corrected FL1 yet, but glanced at C/P real quick and missed a few questions where the answers were in the passage -_- definitely have to be more careful on using the skim and answer strategy. Could've easily been a 128 C/P if I just read one more sentence on a question lol

Unlikely to improve 10 points in just four weeks, especially those 10 points (510 to 520). To give it your best shot do and review SB and Uworld

I'll ignore the "unlikely" part of your response and just focus on "give it your best shot"- that I can do!

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Good luck!! I definitely plan on redoing SBs for C/P and B/B once 'Im through with them



Yep! Haven't corrected FL1 yet, but glanced at C/P real quick and missed a few questions where the answers were in the passage -_- definitely have to be more careful on using the skim and answer strategy. Could've easily been a 128 C/P if I just read one more sentence on a question lol



I'll ignore the "unlikely" part of your response and just focus on "give it your best shot"- that I can do!

Just trying to set realistic expectations, I know when I was studying for the MCAT when I didn't hit a lofty goal (especially because you still have FL2-3 to do) I set I felt really bad about my preparation and myself, which contributed to some burnout. For the record I think you can easily get >515, but that jump to 520+ is a really elite level. I wish you lots of success regardless!

 

[AMCASTuesdays]

Hello,

Took AAMC FL1 yesterday and got 510 (127/126/128/129). Took 3 Kaplan FLs and the sample before this. I still have around much of the Qpacks, SBs, FL2-3 to do, along with NS1 and Altius1. Anyone with experience of having improving 10+ points in the last month and mind sharing some advice? (I know people have done it, but I'm scaring myself because many people seem to get 515+ on FL1 before their 520+'s). I'm planning on doing the above practice and keep doing Anki.

Thanks!!

You’re definitely going to jump points before the test. Think 3-6. I think in a month, jumping 10 points isn’t impossible, it’s just going to be really hard. Spend some time going through the section banks and then try the next AAMC FL. You might find that you jump quite a bit on that one because the tests you’ve been taking until now (primarily Kaplan) are not completely representative of the real deal. Focus on improvements leading into AAMC FL2.

I would say not to kill yourself after the second AAMC FL, you dont want to get fatigued from that point (Just make sure you’re maintaining whatever you’ve been doing up until that point). As a forward though, in general a 521 is statistically less probable so don’t go too nuts over it.

 

[907914]

Just trying to set realistic expectations, I know when I was studying for the MCAT when I didn't hit a lofty goal (especially because you still have FL2-3 to do) I set I felt really bad about my preparation and myself, which contributed to some burnout. For the record I think you can easily get >515, but that jump to 520+ is a really elite level. I wish you lots of success regardless!

Gonna have to agree here. After a month, I went from 510 to 516 from AAMC FL 1 to FL2. Took me 3 months from FL1 to get to 520+ on the real deal.

Don’t anticipate a 520+, but be happy with anything >513

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

I agree with the majority that 510 to 520 is in the area of the bell curve where you can't lightly make the jump. But given your score, I do believe there are some improvements that can be made. C/P is your best area to improve. That's a section where you could jump 3 to 4 points. Section banks and TBR book passages are game changers. There is nothing even close to those that will push your score up. For CARS, I have no idea as my score reflects. You can raise P/S a point, maybe 2, by drilling the 300 reddit doc. B/B can be upped by reading journal articles and doing everything the AAMC has released for that section. Pushing to a 515 might be a more realistic goal.