CBTs and Strategy for Retaking the MCAT

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futuredr2kids

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I took the MCAT on 9/18/14. I am retaking in January but I took all of the AAMC and Princeton Review practice tests the first time around. I'm not sure what to study now.

I am planning on buying the Berkeley Review tests but I was told that the content is more detailed than the actual MCAT and won't as good of a reflection of where I actually stand in preparation for the test. Is that true? I need to keep a constant and accurate track of progress because I won't take the test if I don't feel I can break my last score of 31 (10/10/11).

I still remember a lot of the content and am studying from TBR and TPR passages right now. I'm at the difficult point of increasing from a 31 to 35-37 range so I am just not sure what strategy to follow.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

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Can I ask what your AAMC average was last time around?

I think Kaplan 1-5 FLs are decent. I'd retake all of the AAMCs and the self-assessments.

Good luck
 
Retaking a 31 shows questionable judgment. 31 is the national average for matriculants. If you drop two points(which is within the margin of error of 3 points), you're now sub-30, and MD schools hate sub-30s.

What was your AAMC average and how many AAMCs did you take? You're going to score higher if you retake them because you're going to remember some of the answers: it won't be representative of your real score. Take the "virgin" ones you've never used first.
 
Retaking a 31 shows questionable judgment. 31 is the national average for matriculants. If you drop two points(which is within the margin of error of 3 points), you're now sub-30, and MD schools hate sub-30s.

So, I really recognize the possibility of doing worse. Honestly, with my GPA, I need to do better than a 31 to have a fighting chance of getting in to an MD program. I was planning on seeing how I am doing up to two weeks before the MCAT and if I don't really improve, I would cancel the test. I am not in school anymore so I fortunately have the time to study without it costing me anything.

My average on the AAMCs was a 32.5. I had taken all of them.
 
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