Advice Needed: Feeling Lost After AAMC FL1

[ellierae]

Hi, thanks for being here!

Here's the short story: I've been prepping with Kaplan resources for about 2 months with a goal MCAT test date of September 28th. This month is my third month of prep which means 3 AAMC FL's leading up to the exam. Well, I just took my first a few days ago and received under 500. I actually thought I would do much better but definitely needed the reality check. To be fair, I went into it not feeling entirely confident on all content and I've only taken a couple other Kaplan FL's (the shortened versions) with similar scores so it's no surprise. I also tend to study content without enough practice to reinforce my knowledge and learn the critical thinking so vital to the MCAT. Still, some content gaps remain and I need TONS more practice so I've decided not to test until 2021.

Where do I go from a score so low? I know the next steps I take in prepping are SO critical to how I will ultimately do. I feel overwhelmed by the amount of resources available to me, as funny as that sounds. I love my Kaplan resources but I also have all of the AAMC resources as well as other options like Anki (only used a little in past month), UWorld (I would need to purchase), Khan Academy, misc. resources from friends/tip sheets, and also the option of perhaps a 1 on 1 tutor or someone who can give specific insight on my study habits (if necessary). I just want to make sure that the resources and methods of study I use will get me the score I want! I think I've wasted time revising my study method too often.

- What did you study with that you felt led to your great score?
- How do you review your FL exams in a way that helps you do better each successive time?
- How do you intertwine content and practice so you aren't doing too much or little of either?

If you are interested in my MCAT journey or more details, please ask! I am happy to share but didn't want to make my post even longer. I desperately need advice and recommendations from somewhere besides my own head!

~Ellie

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[GoPenguinsGo]

1) We need to know your subsection scores to give you the best advice possible.
2) Do the AAMC Bio Qpacks as these are a very good introduction to approaching easier passages
3) The CARS Qpacks (do #2 first, then #1 as #1's first half is notoriously difficult)
4) Do the Section Bank. Its the single most valuable tool in approaching high level research passages presented to you by the MCAT and helps you get comfortable reading and interpreting those.
5) "I just want make sure that the resouces and methods of study I use will get me the score I want." And what score is that exactly? A 500? 505? 510?? We need to know these things!

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Was in a similar position last summer. There is little to nothing that you can do that would adequately get you a decent score in this time frame. Cut your loses and take it in January if you don’t have classes or next summer.

Realistically you need to start over in studying. While this doesn’t mean that this studying has gone to waste it clearly has not been effective enough.Sub 500 is usually an indication of lack of content. Focusing on content review with Anki would likely improve your scores. I suggest using JackSparrow deck and making sure to do the reviews regularly. Couple this with uworld and you should see improvements. I highly recommend using Altius full lengths and I suggest using all of them.

 

[KnightDoc]

Was in a similar position last summer. There is little to nothing that you can do that would adequately get you a decent score in this time frame. Cut your loses and take it in January if you don’t have classes or next summer.

Realistically you need to start over in studying. While this doesn’t mean that this studying has gone to waste it clearly has not been effective enough.Sub 500 is usually an indication of lack of content. Focusing on content review with Anki would likely improve your scores. I suggest using JackSparrow deck and making sure to do the reviews regularly. Couple this with uworld and you should see improvements. I highly recommend using Altius full lengths and I suggest using all of them.

This^^^^^. You're not applying now, correct? If not, this is a no-brainer. You are nowhere near ready and physically cannot get there in two weeks. The good news is that you can get a full refund for cancellations this year due to COVID, so cancelling will not cost you $320.

Regroup, curate the best advice here that works for you, and give yourself another 4+ months to prepare. Depending on your GPA and the types of schools you are targeting, figure out what a realistic target score is for you, and under no circumstances take the test until you are within striking distance of that score on your AAMC FLs. DO NOT TAKE any more AAMC FLs now. If you do, they will be less useful as a barometer of where you are when you reuse them later.

 

[Sky138]

I’d consider taking more third party practice exams to rule out the possibility that your endurance isn’t up to snuff. If your score doesn’t go up somewhat significantly in 4 exams ish, cancel your exam and take a break before renewing your studies

 

[GreenDuck12]

- What did you study with that you felt led to your great score?
For me, recognizing that my approach was not working and pushing the test back was huge. Having the time to reflect on what did and did not go well really helped me figure out the right approach for me. In almost all cases, folks spend too much time on content and not enough time on practice. This was true for me as well.

- How do you review your FL exams in a way that helps you do better each successive time?
3rd party FL exams I looked for content areas that were weaker: amino acids/proteins, water, electrochemical cells, etc. The purpose of 3rd party exams is to identify content gaps and solidify test taking strategies.

For AAMC FL exams, I would review every question. If I got the question wrong, or got the question right but for the wrong reason, I would go back and thoroughly review that concept. I would also turn it into a flash card. I would review each of those cards twice per day till test day. I would easily spend 2-3 days reviewing each FL exam.

- How do you intertwine content and practice so you aren't doing too much or little of either?
The trick is to recognize that you will never be done with content review. You’ll always need to go back to the books or find a video to review or relearn a concept. The challenge is starting to practice with the knowledge base you have to find out what areas truly need work. For me, this meant being 75% through the TBR books before starting FL exams.

 

[TehTeddy]

I would hold off on the remaining AAMC stuff you have until you're closer to your new exam date, to have new official content available. Good call to postpone.

The key to doing well on the MCAT is to study for it like a math test, not a traditional bio or chem test. In bio, it's normal to spend most of your time reading/highlighting/taking notes in the chapter, and doing review questions at the end to check your understanding. This won't fly for the mcat - I've yet to see any high (520+) scorers study this way. Instead, think about how you study for math. You basically just do a bunch of problems, looking back on particular sections of the chapter if you get things wrong, right? That's a far more effective approach. A lot of the mcat is simply knowing how to take the test.

Here's a good approach - spend 80% of your time doing practice problems and reviewing questions. Good resources are UWorld (the best), TPR hyperlearning workbooks (verbal available as free online pdf, science on ebay really cheap), and KA stuff. For psych/soc, also check out the ~90 pg KA document on reddit, which summarizes every video.

After reviewing, note what areas you need to review. Then do content review on the specific areas you got wrong in the practice questions. Nothing else. Don't get sidetracked by other topics in the Kaplan books, or shuffling through videos because they seem interesting. Just focus on targeted review of what questions you're getting wrong (or guessed correctly). Afterwards, put everything you just learned into ANKI. Everything you got wrong on practice questions, other than misreadings, should go on an anki card somehow. Keep them short - one or 2 facts per card, not lists. Review all the cards at the end of the day.

So the order goes Practice questions --> review --> targeted content review on mistakes --> make anki based on new stuff --> review all old anki cards. Finished for the day. Also add in a couple of CARS passages under timed conditions per day - you can shuffle other topics, but try to do a little cars everyday. At some point, add in 3rd party FLs. I haven't taken Kaplan, but from what I hear they focus on memorization excessively compared to the real deal. Nextstep, Examkrackers, and Altius are often recommended. If you have extra money, check out which of these is cheaper -they also offer free demo tests. I personally used Altius because they had a sale, but they all make great tests. Review FLs in the same order above. Once you're feeling solid, then move on to the AAMC stuff with ~1 month before your real exam. Good luck.

 

[foreverlearner02]

1) We need to know your subsection scores to give you the best advice possible.
2) Do the AAMC Bio Qpacks as these are a very good introduction to approaching easier passages
3) The CARS Qpacks (do #2 first, then #1 as #1's first half is notoriously difficult)
4) Do the Section Bank. Its the single most valuable tool in approaching high level research passages presented to you by the MCAT and helps you get comfortable reading and interpreting those.
5) "I just want make sure that the resouces and methods of study I use will get me the score I want." And what score is that exactly? A 500? 505? 510?? We need to know these things!

I second #3. I wish I had gotten this advice! I went from completing Uworld CARS to starting aamc qpack cars. I went from 80% on uworld cars to 44% qpack cars for my first 3 passages. Needless to say I went into panic mode. But I'm here to say DONT panic. It gets easier as you progress through the qpacks and the first few passages are - like this poster said- notoriously hard!

 

[lull]

Where do I go from a score so low? I know the next steps I take in prepping are SO critical to how I will ultimately do. I feel overwhelmed by the amount of resources available to me, as funny as that sounds

Most people see the biggest improvement from reviewing their full-lengths. Did you already take OG and unscored?

I just want to make sure that the resources and methods of study I use will get me the score I want! I think I've wasted time revising my study method too often.

At this point, you should stop separating content review and practice, you already took a full-length so you should continue doing practice problems to identify weak points and that will prompt what content you need to review

How do you review your full length?

Thoroughly review each and every question and every single answer. If a discrete question has 4 different answers, that's 4 different topics you need to review. Do this for the questions that you did correctly and incorrectly. Make a list of topics to review and review any topics related (e.g., if you got something wrong on circuits, don't just review circuits, but also review electric potential, electromagnetism, etc) don't skip or half-ass the convoluted questions with the mindset that it won't ever be tested again... if it takes you an hour to thoroughly understand one question so be it. Re-read the passages slowly and carefully, take your time, summarize in your head what that passage is saying, then address the questions. Then make anki, or quizlet, or some method of active recall and test yourself on the content every single day until it's second nature.

I just want to make sure that the resources and methods of study I use will get me the score I want! I think I've wasted time revising my study method too often.

It doesn't even matter what resources you use. You could spend thousands on resources, but it's not going to fix your study habits. You've only used anki a little, not enough practice problems, no active recall methods...try that first before you buy anything.

 

[Jeff0302]

I took the MCAT in early summer before I applied, submitted my primary in July and last secondary in early September, had my first interview in October and received my first offer in November. What is the rush for a test in September? What classes have you taken thus far, and as someone said above, what were your scores on the sections? Fully agree with saving any remaining AAMC tests for the end. I used Berkeley review books and watched videos to prepare, and took 12 practice exams. My first Next Step practice exam was a 505 and my actual MCAT score was a 521, but I put in around 400 hours of preparation for the MCAT during the spring semester and early summer. Slow down and do this right. The MCAT score is critical and sub 500 isn't going to cut it, but there is no reason to push to get the MCAT done so soon. I have friends who took an entire year after graduating to prepare for the MCAT and develop the essays for the primary and secondary applications. You need plenty of time for those too, which is another thing you can't rush. I wrote over 100 pages of essays for my secondaries and that was reusing quite a few questions for similar questions at another school. The worst thing you could possibly do is take the MCAT prematurely, even if that means grad school to get classes you need for the MCAT that you didn't get in undergrad. You have your whole life to work in medicine so if you are serious about it, a few months or even a couple extra years should not deter you.

 

[MyOdyssey]

OP. I suggest changing your username to something other than your actual name.