Consistent scores well below 500, what should I do? Exam May 18th - Self studier, no prep class

[chico210]

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I began my studies in January with a NS exam and scored 490. I content reviewed, using Kaplan, and tested again a few weeks later only to score lower, a 487. It is now March 6th and I have just completed GS 1/2 length and although I felt okay with the material I was seeing, my score resulted in the same range, 493.

I'm self studying, without a prep class (lack of funds), and I work a pretty decent schedule that allows me to study [Thursday/Friday 4-9 PM and Saturday/Sunday 8-230 PM, Mon-Wednesday off]. I really do want to do well and knock this out one time but with my scores looking so bad, it is not looking to promising at this point.

Any advice for my study plan/methods from here up until May 18th? (Looking for strategies and how to prioritize which high yield topics I should know - although I know 'everything' is the common answer)

1/3 NS1: CP (123) CARS (121) BP (121) PS (125) / 490

2/7 NS2: CP (120) CARS (124) BP (122) PS (121) / 487

3/6 GS1/2length: CP (124) CARS (121) BP (125) PS (123) / 493

 

[DoctorCrush]

I began my studies in January with a NS exam and scored 490. I content reviewed, using Kaplan, and tested again a few weeks later only to score lower, a 487. It is now March 6th and I have just completed GS 1/2 length and although I felt okay with the material I was seeing, my score resulted in the same range, 493.

I'm self studying, without a prep class (lack of funds), and I work a pretty decent schedule that allows me to study [Thursday/Friday 4-9 PM and Saturday/Sunday 8-230 PM, Mon-Wednesday off]. I really do want to do well and knock this out one time but with my scores looking so bad, it is not looking to promising at this point.

Any advice for my study plan/methods from here up until May 18th? (Looking for strategies and how to prioritize which high yield topics I should know - although I know 'everything' is the common answer)

1/3 NS1: CP (123) CARS (121) BP (121) PS (125) / 490

2/7 NS2: CP (120) CARS (124) BP (122) PS (121) / 487

3/6 GS1/2length: CP (124) CARS (121) BP (125) PS (123) / 493

Have you started AAMC question pack yet? If you did, how are you doing on those?? I'm just starting back again studying for the mcat and my scores are little higher than yours when it comes to practice, but I noticed that I'm doing significantly better on the actual AAMC problems than Kaplan, NS etc.

 

[chico210]

Have you started AAMC question pack yet? If you did, how are you doing on those?? I'm just starting back again studying for the mcat and my scores are little higher than yours when it comes to practice, but I noticed that I'm doing significantly better on the actual AAMC problems than Kaplan, NS etc.

I have not. I was under the impression that I should save those until the end. Should I go ahead and start using the AAMC material even though the exam is about 12 weeks out?

 

[fldoctorgirl]

If you look at this link, you can see consistently that people score much worse on practice exams (especially TPR) than the real exam. Of course, I'm not saying you should fully disregard practice exams, but I think just continuing to do as much practice as possible from as many different sources as possible will prepare you best. Don't focus too much on the scores the practice tests are giving you.

Also, I'm taking the May 18th exam too......so we are suffering together, friend 🙂

 

[wysdoc]

I began my studies in January with a NS exam and scored 490. I content reviewed, using Kaplan, and tested again a few weeks later only to score lower, a 487. It is now March 6th and I have just completed GS 1/2 length and although I felt okay with the material I was seeing, my score resulted in the same range, 493.

I'm self studying, without a prep class (lack of funds), and I work a pretty decent schedule that allows me to study [Thursday/Friday 4-9 PM and Saturday/Sunday 8-230 PM, Mon-Wednesday off]. I really do want to do well and knock this out one time but with my scores looking so bad, it is not looking to promising at this point.

Any advice for my study plan/methods from here up until May 18th? (Looking for strategies and how to prioritize which high yield topics I should know - although I know 'everything' is the common answer)

1/3 NS1: CP (123) CARS (121) BP (121) PS (125) / 490

2/7 NS2: CP (120) CARS (124) BP (122) PS (121) / 487

3/6 GS1/2length: CP (124) CARS (121) BP (125) PS (123) / 493

Start taking the practice exams, timed. Take one on a weekend day and then spend the next week going over in detail the questions you missed to see why. You will get more out of this than endless content review. It takes hard work!

 

[chico210]

If you look at this link, you can see consistently that people score much worse on practice exams (especially TPR) than the real exam. Of course, I'm not saying you should fully disregard practice exams, but I think just continuing to do as much practice as possible from as many different sources as possible will prepare you best. Don't focus too much on the scores the practice tests are giving you.

Also, I'm taking the May 18th exam too......so we are suffering together, friend 🙂

Lol thanks for that! What are you currently doing for practice?

 

[chico210]

Start taking the practice exams, timed. Take one on a weekend day and then spend the next week going over in detail the questions you missed to see why. You will get more out of this than endless content review. It takes hard work!

Okay will do! I think I'm going to go ahead and start using the AAMC question packs first so I don't run out of practice exams to practice for the real thing.

 

[byrdhouse]

Don't focus on content review. You need to focus on applying what you have learned in your pre-reqs to MCAT style questions. Take practice exams and review EVERY question. Go over each one you got wrong and why. Go over each one you got right and why. Do practice problems and practice exams.

Keep a notebook of mistakes you have made and review this notebook frequently. Write the questions you missed and what the concepts are. These will give you a focused path on what to review, since these will highlight what you don't know. You can always redo the question packs from AAMC. You can also do the full lengths a second and third time, although these scores will be inflated. I would do the full lengths you have already done again, untimed, and get to each answer with confidence (not guess or memory of the answer). But the first time you take a full length, do it timed and in testing conditions

 

[chico210]

Don't focus on content review. You need to focus on applying what you have learned in your pre-reqs to MCAT style questions. Take practice exams and review EVERY question. Go over each one you got wrong and why. Go over each one you got right and why. Do practice problems and practice exams.

Keep a notebook of mistakes you have made and review this notebook frequently. Write the questions you missed and what the concepts are. These will give you a focused path on what to review, since these will highlight what you don't know. You can always redo the question packs from AAMC. You can also do the full lengths a second and third time, although these scores will be inflated. I would do the full lengths you have already done again, untimed, and get to each answer with confidence (not guess or memory of the answer). But the first time you take a full length, do it timed and in testing conditions

I like the idea of doing FL's I've already done untimed. I'm going to try that this weekend.

 

[DoctorCrush]

What I'm doing is starting with AAMC question pack and doing one passage from each section every single day. After that I start content review of one topic and one chapter only per day. I then supplement that with Khan passages, again, one from each section. Every week or so I would do one FL, timed, MCAT style and review it the very next day if possible.

I feel like having a healthy mix of content review and starting practice as early as you can will be crucial for this test. This is going to be my second time taking it so I have a better grasp as to how to approach it now. The first time around I didn't prepare properly and allow life and work to get in the way. But this time around I feel more confident.

also, while I review or read for content, I make Anki cards as I go along.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Lol thanks for that! What are you currently doing for practice?

I'm following a study plan from someone on here that fits my style of studying. I have the TPR box set and I'm currently still doing my first round of content review. This involves reading chapters (I try to do at least one chapter per day) and then taking notes on that chapter. I have a schedule for that that should take me until mid-April. I am planning on making flashcards for key concepts/formulas from my notes afterwards. By then, I will be done with school and I will take 2-3 FL's per week and review at least one set of flashcards per day.

 

[DameJulie]

I have taken 4 Kaplan FLs and consistently scored between 494-497. Is something I am doing wrong? The increased confidence isn't well-reflected on the scores. The section scores are pretty balanced (i.e. 124 across all sections).

I am frustrated and am afraid to start another FL until I find substantially what's wrong. My Kaplan MCAT class was over last month so I am now on my own.

 

[Coltuna]

I have taken 4 Kaplan FLs and consistently scored between 494-497. Is something I am doing wrong? The increased confidence isn't well-reflected on the scores. The section scores are pretty balanced (i.e. 124 across all sections).

I am frustrated and am afraid to start another FL until I find substantially what's wrong. My Kaplan MCAT class was over last month so I am now on my own.

Kaplan exams are TERRIBLE predictors of your score. Their CARS is trash and other sections are too content heavy. Don't get discouraged. I've posted this a few times in other forums but I started studying for my exam last year using a Kaplan prep course. I took the first Kaplan FL, scored a 497, and was so discouraged that I stopped studying. Took the 1st NextStep exam a year later after ONLY going over Psych/Soc and scored a 504.

 

[DameJulie]

Kaplan exams are TERRIBLE predictors of your score. Their CARS is trash and other sections are too content heavy. Don't get discouraged. I've posted this a few times in other forums but I started studying for my exam last year using a Kaplan prep course. I took the first Kaplan FL, scored a 497, and was so discouraged that I stopped studying. Took the 1st NextStep exam a year later after ONLY going over Psych/Soc and scored a 504.

I also have access to TPR FLs. Would you recommend to prioritize drilling with TPR FLs?

I'm also concerned on spending more than I need to on other FLs when I haven't taken full advantage of Kaplan and TPR FLs.

 

[Coltuna]

I also have access to TPR FLs. Would you recommend to prioritize drilling with TPR FLs?

I'm also concerned on spending more than I need to on other FLs when I haven't taken full advantage of Kaplan and TPR FLs.

I would not recommend TPR either. EK, NextStep, AAMC, or Altius are the only ones I would recommend based on my experience and what I've seen on here.

 

[NarutoMD]

Kaplan exams are TERRIBLE predictors of your score. Their CARS is trash and other sections are too content heavy. Don't get discouraged. I've posted this a few times in other forums but I started studying for my exam last year using a Kaplan prep course. I took the first Kaplan FL, scored a 497, and was so discouraged that I stopped studying. Took the 1st NextStep exam a year later after ONLY going over Psych/Soc and scored a 504.

The truth is all practice tests other than those from the AAMCs are poor predictors. Even the AAMC practice scores are not that great of a predictor as well. The point of taking practice tests is to gauge where you are in terms of content and more importantly, to work on your strategies for each section. Each section of the test requires a different strategy and you need to figure out which strategy works for you. By working through practice tests, you will, hopefully, see a trend as to where you need help the most and what types of questions you get right or wrong. That way, you work on fixing those mistakes. One thing I have noticed is that most people who use the same strategy for each section really struggle with timing. So you need to figure out what you need to change so that you finish each section on time with minimal mistakes- that means making sure you get all the easy questions right. This can only happen if you have the timing down.