Advice on MCAT Scheduling/Timing

[nontradpremed2024]

Hello! I'm a nontraditional student prepping for the MCAT. My goal score is 520, and I'm trying to decide if I should take the exam April 5th or May 3rd.

• May 3rd would be more comfortable--I feel a little overwhelmed right now. I have 1523 Uglobe Qs left, and 1154 AAMC Qs to do still. I also keep discovering content gaps as I practice--my content review wasn't very thorough, and I switched to practice when my schedule said to even though I wasn't done with content.
• My most recent data is from the unscored AAMC, which was estimated around a 516 or 517 (see breakdown below). A medical resident recently told me that his score and his wife's score both jumped about 5 points on the actual exam, and he advised me to just go for it sooner rather than later. Is that still common today, or is that outdated advice?
• Taking the exam sooner would allow me to devote more time to my application and PS as well as gaining more clinical experience. Thoughts/advice weighing that against MCAT score?
• I've been feeling fairly good about CARS and BB, but I've been feeling panicky on the CP section and have been struggling with pacing for that section. Tips?

Data/previous scores on various practice exams:

• 12/16/24: AAMC FL5: 511 (125/132/128/126) prior to reviewing most of the P/S content
• 1/4/25: Altius Exam 1: 507 (126/125/128/128)
• 1/17/25: Altius Exam 2: N/A (129/85%*/128/128) *note that the 85% for CARS refers to percent correct from AAMC section bank vol. 1 set of Qs--I did not find Altius CARS at all helpful, so I skip that section when using their FLs and just do a timed set of AAMC Qbank Qs instead.
• 1/22: Altius Exam 3 (126/92%/130/127)
• 2/8: Altius Exam 4 (127/92%/129/128)
• 2/15: Altius Exam 5: (127/129/129/127)
• 2/22: AAMC unscored estimate: 516 (127/131/129/129) Actual numbers correct: 197 (44/49/51/53)

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[nuggetatheart]

are you studying part time or full time? If full time you have plenty of time until April given your current practice scores. If part time, be realistic about the number of practice problems/exams you can complete vs the amount of time you can give each day/week. In the end though, it’s not about finishing all the practice problems as it is about getting your AAMC full length scores to a consistent and comfortable number in your goal range. You seem to be making great progress but it’s hard to say because most of your practice exams are third party. If you’re not there yet, it’s okay to give yourself time. Also, have you already registered and do you know for sure that you could get a slot in either date?

Whether someone’s actual score goes up vs their practice is pretty individual. If you have test anxiety you might have the opposite problem. Otherwise it is totally possible to do better, but never a guarantee because the content that shows up on your exam/how difficult it is for you personally is kinda of luck of the draw. Personally I scored +3 more on the actual than my highest practice exam and did well. I never felt completely ready with all the content but my practice exams scores were very consistent.

In the end, either timeline is fine. Either way, if you don’t score well, you have time to retake and still apply this cycle. If you choose to take the exam in May, I recommend you start writing your primary before then in parallel, maybe as a “break” in between MCAT studying.

I remember being in a similar position last year, feel free to reach out if you have more questions. Good luck!

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

1523 Uglobe Qs left, and 1154 AAMC Qs

You don't have to finish UWorld. Do a manageable amount of UWorld questions each day and focus on reviewing its content and the mistakes you make. AAMC questions are far more critical as they help you understand the AAMC style.

Shoot for a May testing date if you don't feel ready for an early April test. Jumping 5 points is NOT common. My last FL was 517 and that's what I ended up scoring. I think your final 3 AAMC FL exams are the most representative of how you'll do on the real thing. How much clinical experience do you have (perhaps you should post a WAMC post too)?

 

[nontradpremed2024]

are you studying part time or full time? If full time you have plenty of time until April given your current practice scores. If part time, be realistic about the number of practice problems/exams you can complete vs the amount of time you can give each day/week. In the end though, it’s not about finishing all the practice problems as it is about getting your AAMC full length scores to a consistent and comfortable number in your goal range. You seem to be making great progress but it’s hard to say because most of your practice exams are third party. If you’re not there yet, it’s okay to give yourself time. Also, have you already registered and do you know for sure that you could get a slot in either date?

Whether someone’s actual score goes up vs their practice is pretty individual. If you have test anxiety you might have the opposite problem. Otherwise it is totally possible to do better, but never a guarantee because the content that shows up on your exam/how difficult it is for you personally is kinda of luck of the draw. Personally I scored +3 more on the actual than my highest practice exam and did well. I never felt completely ready with all the content but my practice exams scores were very consistent.

In the end, either timeline is fine. Either way, if you don’t score well, you have time to retake and still apply this cycle. If you choose to take the exam in May, I recommend you start writing your primary before then in parallel, maybe as a “break” in between MCAT studying.

I remember being in a similar position last year, feel free to reach out if you have more questions. Good luck!

Thank you for the advice! I'm studying nearly full-time right now, but still have a day at the clinic, have been taking Sundays off, and have some additional coaching commitments.

FL 1 yesterday was a 518 (129/131/128/130), so that was heartening! It's interesting how much a score depends on what particular questions the exam asks. Last time I took one, my BB was a pt higher and CP was 2 pts lower. It really does seem like a little bit of it comes down to luck on exam day.

Thanks again for the advice! I'm going to keep plugging away at it and make a decision as I get closer. Hopefully I can stick with the April date, even if that means not finishing uworld/available resources!

 

[nontradpremed2024]

You don't have to finish UWorld. Do a manageable amount of UWorld questions each day and focus on reviewing its content and the mistakes you make. AAMC questions are far more critical as they help you understand the AAMC style.

Shoot for a May testing date if you don't feel ready for an early April test. Jumping 5 points is NOT common. My last FL was 517 and that's what I ended up scoring. I think your final 3 AAMC FL exams are the most representative of how you'll do on the real thing. How much clinical experience do you have (perhaps you should post a WAMC post too)?

Thanks! Last FL was a 518, so I'm moving in the direction of my goal score. The score alone certainly won't get me in, but I'd like to have a solid score that won't be the reason I don't get in if possible!

My GPA is 3.99, I have a master's degree in a humanities area, and I've taught for 8 years (mostly high school biology and middle school science). Clinical hours are on the low side (around 100 hrs volunteering as an MA at a community health clinic over the past half year). Other volunteer work from over the years will take a while to tally up--will need to do that soon. I'd like to get a clinical job that pays as soon as I finish the MCAT! I'm running low on funds because I'm not working full-time right now, and more clinical experience seems important anyway.

As a nontraditional applicant, do you think it's appropriate also to include volunteer work and ECs from college, or just from my time post-graduation?

 

[hommefatale]

Hi! others have offered great insight - but my too cents is never be worried about content review being not thorough enough. no human can memorize everything within a kaplan book, and the MCAT is (IMO) NOT a contest based exam. if you take another practice exam and you score above a 515 then your issue is not content! not knowing minute UGlobe details isn't important at all, focus on test strategies and making sure you don't have any major score drops between now and your exam.