Advice from a 523 (130/131/131/131) scorer

[capenn16]

Someone just PMed me asking me about this, and I wrote basically a novel... so I thought I'd share in case it's useful. The advice assumes that you've finished your content review phase and are moving forward into the second half of your studies:

I work full time (non-traditional applicant), so I could only put in 2-3 hours per night during weeknights. If you can put in more than this, that's awesome, but if not it's okay. You have to be realistic with yourself, you know?

So, I'm going to assume you've done a lot of content review at this point. I think my biggest piece of advice is to just dive into practicing. Every weeknight I did around 50 practice questions, either from Kaplan's qBank, or from the AAMC materials. After doing the questions, I would review them thoroughly. I kept a notebook with bullet points for each question I missed. Afterward, I would review my notes and try to figure out what my larger weaknesses were, then watch Khan Academy and read Kaplan materials to fill in those gaps. Then on Saturdays I would take a full length exam, and review the full thing that evening. Sundays were my rest day. This was sacred and pretty much immovable throughout my four months of studying.

In my last month of prep, I made use of the individual scored section exams that Kaplan offers (I'm assuming PR has something similar). I never really studied CARS specifically - I found my scores improved the more I practiced. Anyway, my week would look something like this:

• Monday: targeted review based on full length from Saturday
• Tuesday: CP section exam / section review
• Wednesday: PS section exam / section review
• Thursday: BB section exam / section review
• Friday: targeted review based on my mistakes on M, T and W
• Saturday: full length and review mistakes

This is the general gist. There were also weeks where instead of doing section exams, I did the AAMC section banks and question packs. I think the main takeaway here is to thoroughly review all of your mistakes. It's painful, but it's the best way to learn.

Finally, save your AAMC materials for last. I took the OG, followed by FL 1, then the unscored, and finally FL 2 five days before the actual test date. You'll probably be very encouraged by your score jump between your prep course and the actual materials.

Also, the MCAT sub-Reddit was pretty helpful. There are some good resources there, as well as people willing to answer your questions. I'd avoid reading it right before your exam, as well as until after scores are released though. The mass hysteria is real, and I got swept up in it... it was a rough month waiting for the score release.

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[Saigon]

good to see someone else also splits up parts of full length exams. I think doing that is invaluable. congrats on the score. your dedication and hard work paid off!

 

[capenn16]

good to see someone else also splits up parts of full length exams. I think doing that is invaluable. congrats on the score. your dedication and hard work paid off!

Thanks! I think with working full time, this was the only way to fit in more practice exams. So yes - definitely invaluable😀

 

[OchemOficionado]

Thanks for this. I'm working full-time and at this point it seems impossible to get through all the material. I'm going to try your approach!

 

[capenn16]

Thanks for this. I'm working full-time and at this point it seems impossible to get through all the material. I'm going to try your approach!

Happy to help another non-trad. Let me know how it goes! And good luck!

 

[Ad2b]

Also, the MCAT sub-Reddit was pretty helpful. I'd avoid reading it right before your exam, as well as until after scores are released though. The mass hysteria is real, and I got swept up in it... it was a rough month waiting for the score release.

With everything you said and highlighted the most important thing, to me, for everyone. STAY off SDN AND reddit the week before your exam. The neuroticism is real, frenetic and easy to get swept into the "OMGOMGOGMOGM I DON'T KNOW A THING" when some random person asks some really obscure, detailed question on some micron located in the quark of a glia cell 😉

 

[theonlytycrane]

With everything you said and highlighted the most important thing, to me, for everyone. STAY off SDN AND reddit the week before your exam. The neuroticism is real, frenetic and easy to get swept into the "OMGOMGOGMOGM I DON'T KNOW A THING" when some random person asks some really obscure, detailed question on some micron located in the quark of a glia cell 😉

^ that was actually a question on my B/B section.

 

[MedHopeful20134]

Okay, so you dedicated 4 months to do all the practice exams, after you had already completed the content review. Is this right?

 

[capenn16]

Okay, so you dedicated 4 months to do all the practice exams, after you had already completed the content review. Is this right?

Actually, I dedicated 6 weeks to content review, and then for the remainder of the time I did practice exams and targeted review based on feedback from the exams. I had 4 months total study time.

EDIT: I also had the benefit of having the holiday break toward the end of my study time. During that two week period I was able to do 4 practice exams, which helped a lot.

 

[andelJ94]

Someone just PMed me asking me about this, and I wrote basically a novel... so I thought I'd share in case it's useful. The advice assumes that you've finished your content review phase and are moving forward into the second half of your studies:

I work full time (non-traditional applicant), so I could only put in 2-3 hours per night during weeknights. If you can put in more than this, that's awesome, but if not it's okay. You have to be realistic with yourself, you know?

So, I'm going to assume you've done a lot of content review at this point. I think my biggest piece of advice is to just dive into practicing. Every weeknight I did around 50 practice questions, either from Kaplan's qBank, or from the AAMC materials. After doing the questions, I would review them thoroughly. I kept a notebook with bullet points for each question I missed. Afterward, I would review my notes and try to figure out what my larger weaknesses were, then watch Khan Academy and read Kaplan materials to fill in those gaps. Then on Saturdays I would take a full length exam, and review the full thing that evening. Sundays were my rest day. This was sacred and pretty much immovable throughout my four months of studying.

In my last month of prep, I made use of the individual scored section exams that Kaplan offers (I'm assuming PR has something similar). I never really studied CARS specifically - I found my scores improved the more I practiced. Anyway, my week would look something like this:

• Monday: targeted review based on full length from Saturday
• Tuesday: CP section exam / section review
• Wednesday: PS section exam / section review
• Thursday: BB section exam / section review
• Friday: targeted review based on my mistakes on M, T and W
• Saturday: full length and review mistakes

This is the general gist. There were also weeks where instead of doing section exams, I did the AAMC section banks and question packs. I think the main takeaway here is to thoroughly review all of your mistakes. It's painful, but it's the best way to learn.

Finally, save your AAMC materials for last. I took the OG, followed by FL 1, then the unscored, and finally FL 2 five days before the actual test date. You'll probably be very encouraged by your score jump between your prep course and the actual materials.

Also, the MCAT sub-Reddit was pretty helpful. There are some good resources there, as well as people willing to answer your questions. I'd avoid reading it right before your exam, as well as until after scores are released though. The mass hysteria is real, and I got swept up in it... it was a rough month waiting for the score release.

how would you say your initial content knowledge levels were? I cam in with some big gaps in my bio and o chem knowledge. Do you think this would still work for me as a general gameplan?

 

[hsampy]

Every weeknight I did around 50 practice questions, either from Kaplan's qBank, or from the AAMC materials.

Hello! Thank you for sharing. What are your thoughts on the Kaplan QBank? Would you recommend? And did you access through the self-paced course or purchase separate?

Talking with Kaplan, it seems the only bank accessible outside of a review course is a passage bank (~1K questions) for $300, while access to the full Qbank is only accessible with the course for close to $2K. Is it worth the money or did you utilize the smaller passage bank?

Thanks.