Best study method for high-end (35-45) improvement?

[Pokonoko]

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Hi all - are there any high MCAT scorers that can recommend me a study regimen? I took the MCAT two years ago, and did 6 weeks of half assed studying with Kaplan, and ended up with a 35 0 (I am decent at cramming/standardized test-taking).

Two years later, I'm back for round 2 and I need to know what books or resources are appropriate for high-end improvement - it seems as if Kaplan books are intended for improving over 30, and that's about it. I also have the 1001 EK Question sets, but they state that you score over 10, the books are not for you (crap).

Any recommendations? I basically don't want to be pouring my time into some study method that may have very low returns, or may even prove to be detrimental to my score.

I have 100 days to study. Thanks in advance,

Poko

 

[ronaldo23]

Don't retake. If you aren't getting into schools with a 35, you have some glaring deficiency in your application that you need to address, like a bad GPA, no shadowing/clinical experience etc. Do an SMP, if that's the case, because getting a 40 as opposed to a 35 is not going to matter at all. The difference between a 35 and 40 can be as few as 6-8 questions. Plus statistically, there is a good chance you go down in score rather than up. Your MCAT is the last thing you need to be improving right now if you got a 35 first time.

 

[LostInStudy]

Don't retake. If you aren't getting into schools with a 35, you have some glaring deficiency in your application that you need to address, like a bad GPA, no shadowing/clinical experience etc. Do an SMP, if that's the case, because getting a 40 as opposed to a 35 is not going to matter at all. The difference between a 35 and 40 can be as few as 6-8 questions. Plus statistically, there is a good chance you go down in score rather than up. Your MCAT is the last thing you need to be improving right now if you got a 35 first time.

He could be either Canadian or applying MSTP, which would mean he'd have to retake.

-LIS

 

[SN2ed]

Don't retake. If you aren't getting into schools with a 35, you have some glaring deficiency in your application that you need to address, like a bad GPA, no shadowing/clinical experience etc. Do an SMP, if that's the case, because getting a 40 as opposed to a 35 is not going to matter at all. The difference between a 35 and 40 can be as few as 6-8 questions. Plus statistically, there is a good chance you go down in score rather than up. Your MCAT is the last thing you need to be improving right now if you got a 35 first time.

Pretty much agree with this. Unless your MCAT is unbalanced, your problems lie in the rest of your application. Retaking a 35 could easily set you up for a far worse situation than the one you're currently in.

 

[erskine]

Pretty much agree with this. Unless your MCAT is unbalanced, your problems lie in the rest of your application. Retaking a 35 could easily set you up for a far worse situation than the one you're currently in.

at what cutoff would you consider a retake necessary?

Say you ended up with a 30, but got a 8 in verbal and 12 in PS. Should you retake then?

What if you scored a 30, but your aamc test averages were all high 30s. Should you retake then?

I'm just trying to figure out all the possible scenarios since I might have to make this decision after i get my scores back...

 

[NYR56]

It really depends on your other stats as well. If you're an average candidate but got a 30 when you were scoring high 30s on the MCAT, I think you should retry it. Same for that 8 in verbal, if your practice tests were a few points higher and you don't have a whole lot going for you in other areas, it would probably make sense to redo it. If you have a high GPA and some unique experiences, it probably is less important. In the end, it's a highly individual thing, IMO. My GPA isn't that great so although I don't plan on retaking it, if I was surprised by my score I would have to think about it even if it may be considered a good score for most people.

 

[SN2ed]

erskine777: You should wait until you get your scores back before going over all possible combinations.

 

[Pokonoko]

Don't retake. If you aren't getting into schools with a 35, you have some glaring deficiency in your application that you need to address, like a bad GPA, no shadowing/clinical experience etc. Do an SMP, if that's the case, because getting a 40 as opposed to a 35 is not going to matter at all. The difference between a 35 and 40 can be as few as 6-8 questions. Plus statistically, there is a good chance you go down in score rather than up. Your MCAT is the last thing you need to be improving right now if you got a 35 first time.

I never applied, and based on what I'm seeing online, I believe I'm a competitive applicant. I'm retaking because, as I said, I dicked around the first time. I know I can get a higher score, and I have the time, energy, and patience - so why not? It's partly for med school applications, partly to prove to myself that I can be more disciplined this time around.

 

[SN2ed]

I never applied, and based on what I'm seeing online, I believe I'm a competitive applicant. I'm retaking because, as I said, I dicked around the first time. I know I can get a higher score, and I have the time, energy, and patience - so why not? It's partly for med school applications, partly to prove to myself that I can be more disciplined this time around.

Because retaking a 35 that's not expired and doing the same or worse can severely hurt your application. You have to do significantly better (+3) to demonstrate that it was worth retaking the MCAT. Not to mention the fact that it's a waste of time and money.

 

[Pokonoko]

Because retaking a 35 that's not expired and doing the same or worse can severely hurt your application. You have to do significantly better (+3) to demonstrate that it was worth retaking the MCAT. Not to mention the fact that it's a waste of time and money.

I believe I can do +3 better; otherwise I wouldn't be asking about it. I literally got lazy and conceded points. For example, I didn't feel like studying orgo at all, so I took the 1-2 point hit in bio. Physical sciences aren't my strength, but aren't my weakness either - I knew I needed to review certain topics, but didn't have time near the end. I studied verbal by using kaplan's crappy verbal system and taking only about 6 practice runs totalling about...oh, 15 hours' worth of work, which yielded me a 10, one that I feel has much potential for improvement.

In any case, this is a personal choice and a goal of mine, so I'd appreciate real answers to my question - not "don't retake, potential drop in score, permutation, rabble."

(I understand everyone's suggestions were made in goodwill, and though I disagree with your POVs, I still appreciate the gesture)

 

[sml5t]

I believe I can do +3 better; otherwise I wouldn't be asking about it. I literally got lazy and conceded points. For example, I didn't feel like studying orgo at all, so I took the 1-2 point hit in bio. Physical sciences aren't my strength, but aren't my weakness either - I knew I needed to review certain topics, but didn't have time near the end. I studied verbal by using kaplan's crappy verbal system and taking only about 6 practice runs totalling about...oh, 15 hours' worth of work, which yielded me a 10, one that I feel has much potential for improvement.

In any case, this is a personal choice and a goal of mine, so I'd appreciate real answers to my question - not "don't retake, potential drop in score, permutation, rabble."

(I understand everyone's suggestions were made in goodwill, and though I disagree with your POVs, I still appreciate the gesture)

I'm with the others in saying you don't need to retake. But, being a man of great pride I know where you're coming from. It seems like you know exactly what you need to do, though. Study orgo, review those topics that you know you need to review, and don't get lazy/concede points. Once you do that, just do practice problems, especially verbal since you think that it has potential for improvement, since 50% of doing well standardized testing is just getting used to and being familiar with the question style.. I recommend EK1001/EK101.

 

[Segovia]

I'm all for you retaking the MCAT to prove yourself. I think the real issue here is how this will look to an ADCOM. After all, your goal is to get into medical school right?

Let's say you are sitting on the admin committee, and you have to choose between 2 applicants: The first applicant spent 3 months gunning to eek out a couple of extra points on the MCAT. He was successful in raising his score. The second applicant has a MCAT score roughly equivalent to the initial score of applicant 1, but spent the same three months volunteering in an oncology ward and working a full-time job.

I'll let you choose who should be admitted.

 

[Pokonoko]

I'm all for you retaking the MCAT to prove yourself. I think the real issue here is how this will look to an ADCOM. After all, your goal is to get into medical school right?

Let's say you are sitting on the admin committee, and you have to choose between 2 applicants: The first applicant spent 3 months gunning to eek out a couple of extra points on the MCAT. He was successful in raising his score. The second applicant has a MCAT score roughly equivalent to the initial score of applicant 1, but spent the same three months volunteering in an oncology ward and working a full-time job.

I'll let you choose who should be admitted.

I'm currently working a full-time medical research job. I have volunteered 100 hours in the emergency department to date, but perhaps I'll look into joining oncology. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Segovia]

I'm currently working a full-time medical research job. I have volunteered 100 hours in the emergency department to date, but perhaps I'll look into joining oncology. Thanks for the tip.

Well, then I just hate you😀

If you really want good advice, look into Vishada's study habits. He explains what he did to get a killer score.

 

[StarryNights]

I'd chop off all my hair and sport a crew cut for 2 years to get 35 MCAT

 

[erskine]

erskine777: You should wait until you get your scores back before going over all possible combinations.

argh...the week before the mcat went by in a flash. Now the week after the mcat, well, let's just say everyday feels like i'm starring in my own version of Groundhog Day.

Sorry to kind of hijack this thread, but what does the mcat score report have? Do they tell you which questions you got wrong? Are they guaranteed to come out by march 2nd, or is it possible that they could come out a week after?

 

[mediterranean]

I'd chop off all my hair and sport a crew cut for 2 years to get 35 MCAT

Heck, I would shave all my hair off.

 

[mediterranean]

argh...the week before the mcat went by in a flash. Now the week after the mcat, well, let's just say everyday feels like i'm starring in my own version of Groundhog Day.

Sorry to kind of hijack this thread, but what does the mcat score report have? Do they tell you which questions you got wrong? Are they guaranteed to come out by march 2nd, or is it possible that they could come out a week after?

It just says the score (total and breakdown) and what percentile you scored in. And you do have to wait until march 2nd. And it says after 5pm so it does come out at night (7 or 8). But I know how you feel. Good luck for all of us.

 

[Pokonoko]

Well, then I just hate you😀

If you really want good advice, look into Vishada's study habits. He explains what he did to get a killer score.

I can't seem to locate username Vishada - do you know what threads I should check?

 

[LostInStudy]

I can't seem to locate username Vishada - do you know what threads I should check?

It's here.

-LIS

 

[Pokonoko]

It's here.

-LIS

Just the kind of thing I was looking for. Thanks a bunch!

 

[paradyme]

I'm all for you retaking the MCAT to prove yourself. I think the real issue here is how this will look to an ADCOM. After all, your goal is to get into medical school right?

Let's say you are sitting on the admin committee, and you have to choose between 2 applicants: The first applicant spent 3 months gunning to eek out a couple of extra points on the MCAT. He was successful in raising his score. The second applicant has a MCAT score roughly equivalent to the initial score of applicant 1, but spent the same three months volunteering in an oncology ward and working a full-time job.

I'll let you choose who should be admitted.

I couldn't agree more with this statement. Is your goal to retake the MCAT to prove your a genius instead of just incredibly brilliant, or is your goal to get into medicine because your passionate about the career?

I strongly recommend putting your effort into other aspects of your application.

Your obviously very smart, but a retake will do you very little good here, and no matter how hard you study there is always a chance you could drop in score - every test is different and you can run into a few bad passages and all your hard work will be for nothing.

During my MCAT retake I had many Legit AAMC practice tests in which I scored high 30's. I couldn't have possibly studied harder - I knew every concept - come the real test I got a 35 - there is just too much variance in the high score ranges that there is no way you can dependably say you can get a consistent 38+. Again - one bad passage or a few bad guesses can be the difference between a 40 and a 35.

 

[Pokonoko]

I couldn't agree more with this statement. Is your goal to retake the MCAT to prove your a genius instead of just incredibly brilliant, or is your goal to get into medicine because your passionate about the career?

As I mentioned I'm a competitive applicant - however, I'm not nearly competitive enough for top-tier schools, due to my 3.65 GPA and slight lack of undergraduate research. Hence, I'd like a higher MCAT score to bolster my chances at a top 20 school. Other areas of application I'm not the best, but still well covered imo (wide variety of clinical exposure, good life experience, good extracurriculars consistent with my passions).

You're speaking from the assumption that I plateaued at 35, and that further studying won't guarantee a higher score for me. But as I mentioned before, when I took the test, I knew what parts I missed and there was no ambiguity in my weaknesses.

 

[Misc]

Go for it. 35 is easily beatable; if you know you can do better there's no reason not to do it. Forget all of these people pretending they know how admissions committees think; you think they would look unfavorably at a higher score?

 

[Segovia]

Go for it. 35 is easily beatable; if you know you can do better there's no reason not to do it. Forget all of these people pretending they know how admissions committees think; you think they would look unfavorably at a higher score?

The thing is nobody claimed to know what the admission committee thinks. I proposed a scenario in which the OP was sitting on the board and was faced with deciding between two similar applicants: one of which retook the MCAT after receiving an already stellar (~95th percentile) score, and the other who spent their time strengthening other aspects of their application, and specifically spent that time volunteering selflessly. I never said who the ADCOM should admit; I left it to the OP. It was totally a "what if" question, but it is pretty hard to deny the message.

The salient point is that medicine is an altruistic profession, and whether cliche or not, my interviewers were much more interested in my ability to connect with the suffering. I may not know what the adcom thinks, but I can sure as s*!t tell you that when I was in group interviews and an applicant started to pontificate about their achievements instead of focusing on who they wanted to help you could smell the BS a mile away.

Ultimately, I conceded to the OP anyway. He sounds like he is doing other things outside of studying, and genuinely is in it for something other than himself. It just becomes a little harder to "sell" his selflessness, when he has to account for time he spent grooming his numbers.

To be fair he never asked whether or not he should retake. He asked for a study plan. Study plan he got.

 

[joshinjosh]

The thing is nobody claimed to know what the admission committee thinks. I proposed a scenario in which the OP was sitting on the board and was faced with deciding between two similar applicants: one of which retook the MCAT after receiving an already stellar (~95th percentile) score, and the other who spent their time strengthening other aspects of their application, and specifically spent that time volunteering selflessly. I never said who the ADCOM should admit; I left it to the OP. It was totally a "what if" question, but it is pretty hard to deny the message.

The salient point is that medicine is an altruistic profession, and whether cliche or not, my interviewers were much more interested in my ability to connect with the suffering. I may not know what the adcom thinks, but I can sure as s*!t tell you that when I was in group interviews and an applicant started to pontificate about their achievements instead of focusing on who they wanted to help you could smell the BS a mile away.

Ultimately, I conceded to the OP anyway. He sounds like he is doing other things outside of studying, and genuinely is in it for something other than himself. It just becomes a little harder to "sell" his selflessness, when he has to account for time he spent grooming his numbers.

To be fair he never asked whether or not he should retake. He asked for a study plan. Study plan he got.

uh, so you are thinking you know what the adcoms thinks...

 

[Pokonoko]

The thing is nobody claimed to know what the admission committee thinks. I proposed a scenario in which the OP was sitting on the board and was faced with deciding between two similar applicants: one of which retook the MCAT after receiving an already stellar (~95th percentile) score, and the other who spent their time strengthening other aspects of their application, and specifically spent that time volunteering selflessly. I never said who the ADCOM should admit; I left it to the OP. It was totally a "what if" question, but it is pretty hard to deny the message.

I thought awhile about this, and I actually agree with you - there is a strong degree of irrationality in my decision to retake the MCAT. However, your know-it-all paternalistic attitude, one that I've observed quite a bit in the med school community, bothers me more than a little. I hate that you think your way is THE way, and that other routes are not only inconceivable, but irresponsible to society as well.

tread carefully with that altruistic statement. no matter what, there's something in it for you - otherwise, you wouldn't be doing it.

 

[LostInStudy]

Yea, I think we all need to realize that OP has been presented with the proper information and opinion about his score. He is choosing to proceed anyway at his own risk. It's his decision to make. The information and opinions were presented, it would be really stupid to keep arguing when OP has obviously made his decision.

-LIS

 

[Segovia]

I thought awhile about this, and I actually agree with you - there is a strong degree of irrationality in my decision to retake the MCAT. However, your know-it-all paternalistic attitude, one that I've observed quite a bit in the med school community, bothers me more than a little. I hate that you think your way is THE way, and that other routes are not only inconceivable, but irresponsible to society as well.

tread carefully with that altruistic statement. no matter what, there's something in it for you - otherwise, you wouldn't be doing it.

Dude, I said I conceded to your point of view. 😕

Good luck and I hope you find fulfillment in whatever you decide to do, and I hope the study guide provided helps you perfect your MCAT.

 

[Segovia]

uh, so you are thinking you know what the adcoms thinks...

I can only speak of where I got admitted. They told me what they thought, so I choose to believe them. I doubt they would lie to me and then admit me anyway

 

[PremedIowa]

Take 12 practice tests total, one every weekend for 12 weeks. Make it timed and in test-like conditions (ie not watching TV or listening to music). Go over the test afterward and know precisely why you got each question wrong. Over the week, study a couple hours a night on subject material and also do section tests or random questions. Your goal is to practice as you plan to play. When I went into the real thing, it was just like taking a practice test: totally comfortable and no stress.

That is how everyone should study for the MCAT, not just people looking for a high score.