Decided to push back MCAT -- Advice Please Please Please!!

[sweaters1234]

I was supposed to take my MCAT this Friday (1/18) but now I have decided against it. I scored 513 (128/127/129/129) on FL1, 515 (128/129/130/128) on Sample, 514 (129/128/130/127) on FL2 and 510 (128/127/128/127) on FL3. I'm not quite sure what happened with the 3rd full length, since the others were in a similar range. I'm feeling pretty down right now and a little lost. I have completed all the AAMC material, so I don't know what I'm going to use to keep studying for the next two months. I haven't reviewed the 3rd exam or even looked at what I got wrong, so I guess taking that again will be somewhat indicative of what my score is. I am currently planning on taking the exam March 29. Does anyone have advice on how to reuse AAMC stuff or what other resources I should use to improve my score, I want to get a 515+. I feel like I know the content, but clearly my scores are saying otherwise. I'm just not sure what to study anymore. I also am not great at CARS and I just don't know how to improve that. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[Lawpy]

Good news is your scores are pretty good and you have room to improve. The sad news is you have used the AAMC material and redoing them won't help since you'll remember the answers/passages, which defeats the purpose. That said, you can still try to get as much value from AAMC material by reviewing your answers actively and understanding really well what the AAMC test writers are thinking. The 7Sage Blind Review is a great approach to actively reviewing your answers and improving your test taking skills.

In the meantime, you can practice from 3rd party tests that are pretty realistic such as NextStep and ExamKrackers practice tests. Also consider using ExamKrackers 101 Passages for additional practice. For CARS, NS 108 and Princeton Review are pretty good resources, but your CARS score is already good. Improving CARS further really requires you to nail down the author's main idea solidly and honing your test taking skills, but there are also reports of people scoring 131+ in practice but ending up with 128-129 on real deal. Not wanting to discourage you but just wanted to let you know that a 127-129 is a good CARS score that you can be happy.

EDIT: While redoing AAMC practice tests is not recommended, it's okay and often suggested to redo the AAMC Section Bank passages and really understand the reasoning behind AAMC correct answers since AAMC reasoning is essential to know to do well on test day.

Also found good reviews about UWorld so consider looking into it for additional practice.

 

[deleted931910]

Tbh I think you could probably get a 515+ on your exam if you took it this friday. You have scores consistently within that range and people tend to perform better on test day (barring anxiety issues). I scored similarly on my AAMC FLs before my MCAT and ended up with a 519.

Of course, taking more time to study won't hurt though there's always a risk of burnout. Use your best judgement and good luck!

 

[jarednogeek]

510 is a good score. I got FL1 - 516 FL 2 510 - real deal 513. I'd just take it if I were you.

 

[Peter Pan.]

Just take the exam. You've used all the best resources and 3rd party resources as good as some are, aren't the best. You can get a good score with those FL performances. You may not be able to get 515+. But you can still get a solid score of 512+. Rescheduling the exam doesn't guarantee a higher score.

If you do take it later do all AAMC material again closer to test day. You won't remember everything and you need to get back into AAMC logic before the MCAT.

 

[JowellHollyBuddy33]

I got a 509 on the real thing... I’m not even remotely sad about it. 510 is only low on Internet forums.