discouraged by practice test scores; MCAT 2015

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neuropanic

neuropanic

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Hi all,
I am planning on taking the April 2015 MCAT and therefore only have about 1.5 months left. I have been preparing since early January, am enrolled in a Kaplan course. I've only taken 2 full lengths as of yet, I know this isn't the best indicator for my score but regardless I have improved only a few points from my diagnostic and am no where near my goal score.
I am incredibly discouraged and I don't know what else to do. I am keeping up with the Kaplan course as best as I can in order to get my content review in while trying to make sure I actually understand the material before moving on. Apparently I am not retaining it however as reflected in my scores. Does anyone have advice OTHER than review your tests and see what you got wrong? I review my tests to see what I got wrong but I don't feel like that is helping me because clearly I didn't understand it in the first place.
Furthermore, I would LOVE to practice more instead of strictly doing content review but as the AAMC has provided minimal resources for the 2015 exam I am not sure where else to get practice because I have done much of the practice provided by Kaplan and the AAMC took off all of the old practice tests.
Should I just keep taking more full lengths? (there aren't many available at this point, only about 7 more from Kaplan and the AAMC has still not released their Practice Test

Any help would be great and sorry for the lengthy post.
 
mlowe1 said:
clearly I didn't understand it in the first place.
...Furthermore, I would LOVE to practice more instead of strictly doing content review
Click to expand...

It's not content review if you never understood it to begin with. I don't know much but I would highly suggest not taking it in April and instead focus your time on learning the material.
 
My actual mcat was 7 points higher than my first practice test (which I took about 1 month before the real test)--let the stress help you focus. I searched "mcat filled in outline" to get just the most important information and I studied about 8-10 hours a day will 3 practice tests per week. I'm not sure if the new mcat has a filled I outline like that, but if there is, it might be worth printing out and studying from
 
My problem is that I think I know the material until I get to the practice questions and don't know how to answer them. Thus, I don't know what I don't know. My question is, how did others improve their section scores? More content review - going back and reviewing again what I got wrong? Or practicing within the context of passages (that seems to be more challenging for me)? Did you find that practicing more helped your score or no?
 
What did you score on your kaplan full length? I've heard different things about the relative difficulty of their practice tests.
 
I got a 494 on my most recent FL; 123 Chem/phys, 126 CARS, 123 Bio, 123 Psych. Considering my goal was a 507-508, not doing so hot at all. I don't think that kaplans psych/ soc were very good - I took a Princeton review FL and got a 127 on psych/soc while my others were around the same.
 
Don't stress. I was in a very similar position as you. Take the nextstep 1/2 length diagnostic and see if you get a higher score. I bet you will.
 
How are those scores even predictive of anything at this point? They already have data for their models?
 
caffeinemia said:
How are those scores even predictive of anything at this point? They already have data for their models?
Click to expand...
Yes, on page 13 (pdf link) there's a hypothetical new scale based on percentiles. In addition to new content a big part of the new exam was to "redistribute" the scores to be more normally distributed. Based on the current ideology of 30+ is good footing for applying allopathic, the corresponding percentile (~80th %ile) is a 507 on the new exam. Another way to consider it is a 30 is a 10 in each section - 508 is the equivalent of '10' in each section as the new sections are still only a 15-point spread.
 
Yes, both AAMC and other prep companies have predicted a middle score of 500 (and what they said ^^)
 
Know ALL the information like the back of your hand, don't even attempt a practice test until you get down the information. Memorize formulas and do practice problems in the sections you're not sure about. Don't just re-read your kaplan study books and assume you know things - test the knowledge. Regurgitate it from memory (without cheating). Usually people do bad on practice tests because they just don't know the material.

I had a sheet of printer paper and made a comprehensive formula of EVERY single formula I needed for the MCAT. I made them all fit on one sheet of paper, front and back (tiny handwriting). When I took my test I could recreate that formula sheet entirely from memory - you should be able to too.
 
I am in the same boat as well. Kaplan practice tests are really difficult and wordy. If you haven't already, AAMC has one practice test for the 2015 version. I took it and although it doesn't give you a score, I felt the questions were more easily decipherable, and my percent of correct answers was higher than Kaplan.
I would try to get down basic principles that pop up a lot (amino acids, select organic reactions, viruses, theories of learning and development). Mnemonics are your best friend for memorizing things like amino acids and sequences of development.
 
When I was studying for the MCAT the only material that was anywhere near predictive of my actual MCAT was the AAMC tests, and the problem now is there is only one AAMC test out for the new one. And apparently that one doesn't even give you a score.
 
Continuing studying hardcore, but if the scores don't improve by a given point, say about 2 weeks from the test, it is not worth it to take the test. You only want to take it when you are well within your accepted range (as it could drop a couple of points on test day). If that means delay the application to next year, then delay.
 
BeachBaby said:
Don't stress. I was in a very similar position as you. Take the nextstep 1/2 length diagnostic and see if you get a higher score. I bet you will.
Click to expand...

But doesn't that just imply that nextstep tests are easier, and isn't indicative of whether or not you'll do better on the real MCAT? I got a 507 on my nextstep diagnostic (only test I've taken) w/o content review and that isn't too reassuring to me. I mean getting a good score is good on the ego, but if it isn't true for the real deal...not so much.
 
mlowe1 said:
My problem is that I think I know the material until I get to the practice questions and don't know how to answer them. Thus, I don't know what I don't know. My question is, how did others improve their section scores? More content review - going back and reviewing again what I got wrong? Or practicing within the context of passages (that seems to be more challenging for me)? Did you find that practicing more helped your score or no?
Click to expand...
It sounds like you are lacking in your understanding of some fundamental concepts, more so than you are in your test-taking abilities. In other words, perhaps it's not the MCAT that's the problem? It's hard to say what to do in a situation like this, because presumably you have already taken the classes. I would just try and identify your weak spots (e.g. physics--kinematics), and work on understanding the material.
Good luck
 
If you're not hitting your target score, drop. Do NOT take the MCAT without adequate preparation. It is a hard test and a bad MCAT score will make getting into medical school substantially more challenging.

The other possibility is to take it to get a feel for what the exam is like and void the score. Given the paucity of good practice material for 2015, this may be a good strategy
 
Word of advice: do NOT take the MCAT until you are fully ready to. And yes, practice makes perfect.



mlowe1 said:
Hi all,
I am planning on taking the April 2015 MCAT and therefore only have about 1.5 months left. I have been preparing since early January, am enrolled in a Kaplan course. I've only taken 2 full lengths as of yet, I know this isn't the best indicator for my score but regardless I have improved only a few points from my diagnostic and am no where near my goal score.
I am incredibly discouraged and I don't know what else to do. I am keeping up with the Kaplan course as best as I can in order to get my content review in while trying to make sure I actually understand the material before moving on. Apparently I am not retaining it however as reflected in my scores. Does anyone have advice OTHER than review your tests and see what you got wrong? I review my tests to see what I got wrong but I don't feel like that is helping me because clearly I didn't understand it in the first place.
Furthermore, I would LOVE to practice more instead of strictly doing content review but as the AAMC has provided minimal resources for the 2015 exam I am not sure where else to get practice because I have done much of the practice provided by Kaplan and the AAMC took off all of the old practice tests.
Should I just keep taking more full lengths? (there aren't many available at this point, only about 7 more from Kaplan and the AAMC has still not released their Practice Test

Any help would be great and sorry for the lengthy post.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. By now, my MCAT is actually a week away.. However, because of the lack of materials, there's no way of knowing if I'm hitting my goal. Fortunately for my mental state, it has been established (on other forums and by my Kaplan mentor) that Kaplan's scale is more than likely way off. I've taken the AAMC sample test and it was better than the Kaplan tests. However, my Kaplan scores have also improved. Everyone else taking the exam is at the same disadvantage as I am of having only a single, unscored exam from the gracious test-makers.

Goro said:
Word of advice: do NOT take the MCAT until you are fully ready to. And yes, practice makes perfect.
Click to expand...

However, does anyone (normal) actually feel ready to take the MCAT? I've talked to many of my friends who have been accepted to med schools, therefore done well on the MCAT, and they've all said, you'll never feel ready. It's not the same as studying weeks for a test or a final and then feeling like you've mastered everything. Yes maybe if I studied non-stop for a year I would have mastered every concept on the AAMC outlines. However, that is not feasible and I'm already approaching burnout having studied for 4.5 months. Furthermore, if I had an actual scored AAMC test like in the past I could I guess gauge how ready I am. But alas.
 
mlowe1 said:
However, does anyone (normal) actually feel ready to take the MCAT? I've talked to many of my friends who have been accepted to med schools, therefore done well on the MCAT, and they've all said, you'll never feel ready. It's not the same as studying weeks for a test or a final and then feeling like you've mastered everything. Yes maybe if I studied non-stop for a year I would have mastered every concept on the AAMC outlines. However, that is not feasible and I'm already approaching burnout having studied for 4.5 months. Furthermore, if I had an actual scored AAMC test like in the past I could I guess gauge how ready I am. But alas.
Click to expand...

I felt ready once I was consistently hitting my target scores in practice exams.
 
What helped me was not looking at the mcat like a big cluster$&@$ of all the science I know. Instead I systematically reviewed each thing being tested. When I started hitting top 5-10% mcat scores was when I could see a question and know exactly what part of what subject they are testing and how that part worked. You'll see the same stuff over and over and over on practice tests. Once I "got it" my score increased like 5 points very quickly but it took months of dedicated study to "get it".

Be dedicated and systematic. reviewing TQs is massively high yield but you need a basis of knowledge to allow gaps to be filled in. If it just seems like a foreign language to you go back and review that part. Don't try to regularily tackle the mcat all at once until close to the test. Most people even med students don't retain info after only seeing it once. You want to go over stuff a few times, get it solid then use TQs to find gaps (see I said that twice and now you'll remember 🙂

Being discouraged will hurt you. Attack the test and stay aggressively learning. If you are reading and in the back of your mind feeling sorry for yourself or blaming others you won't learn what your eyes are looking at.

Keep in mind this is probably the toughest undergrad academic test the world has to offer. You are competing at a high level, Almost anyone taking the mcat is quite smart compared to the average and likely so are you. Medicine can be both an excellent nourishing environment and discouraging because of this sometimes but know that if you are at this point you are probably real bright and some point that will shine.
 
When one is doing poorly on diagnostics, hasn't prepared for a decent time period, is ill, or has some life events going on, then one is not ready. I see too many posts here from people who make really bad choices and take a high stakes, career defining exam when they're well, not ready!



However, does anyone (normal) actually feel ready to take the MCAT? I've talked to many of my friends who have been accepted to med schools, therefore done well on the MCAT, and they've all said, you'll never feel ready. It's not the same as studying weeks for a test or a final and then feeling like you've mastered everything. Yes maybe if I studied non-stop for a year I would have mastered every concept on the AAMC outlines. However, that is not feasible and I'm already approaching burnout having studied for 4.5 months. Furthermore, if I had an actual scored AAMC test like in the past I could I guess gauge how ready I am. But alas.[/QUOTE]
 
mlowe1 said:
Yes but like I have said, there are no reliable practice exams available to us.
Click to expand...
Just go for it. If you get to the end and feel super bad about it you can void it and do it again
If you get to the end and feel ok (not great, I think it's impossible to feel great) submit it and hope for the best
 
I'm also taking Kaplan and based on some discussions I've had, they are purposefully making the practice exams harder due to the fact that no one knows what to expect from this new exam. I talked with someone who took both a Kaplan and then the AAMC full length and they said the actual AAMC one was much easier. Do your best on the Kaplan ones but I wouldn't put too much stock into their scores as an actual indicator. I'd say take them MCAT when you feel like you've done enough content review.
 
MrChance2 said:
What helped me was not looking at the mcat like a big cluster$&@$ of all the science I know. Instead I systematically reviewed each thing being tested. When I started hitting top 5-10% mcat scores was when I could see a question and know exactly what part of what subject they are testing and how that part worked. You'll see the same stuff over and over and over on practice tests. Once I "got it" my score increased like 5 points very quickly but it took months of dedicated study to "get it".

Be dedicated and systematic. reviewing TQs is massively high yield but you need a basis of knowledge to allow gaps to be filled in. If it just seems like a foreign language to you go back and review that part. Don't try to regularily tackle the mcat all at once until close to the test. Most people even med students don't retain info after only seeing it once. You want to go over stuff a few times, get it solid then use TQs to find gaps (see I said that twice and now you'll remember 🙂

Being discouraged will hurt you. Attack the test and stay aggressively learning. If you are reading and in the back of your mind feeling sorry for yourself or blaming others you won't learn what your eyes are looking at.

Keep in mind this is probably the toughest undergrad academic test the world has to offer. You are competing at a high level, Almost anyone taking the mcat is quite smart compared to the average and likely so are you. Medicine can be both an excellent nourishing environment and discouraging because of this sometimes but know that if you are at this point you are probably real bright and some point that will shine.
Click to expand...

What are TQs?
 
mlowe1 said:
However, does anyone (normal) actually feel ready to take the MCAT? I've talked to many of my friends who have been accepted to med schools, therefore done well on the MCAT, and they've all said, you'll never feel ready.

Furthermore, if I had an actual scored AAMC test like in the past I could I guess gauge how ready I am. But alas.
Click to expand...
I felt ready, even aside from my practice exam scores. The morning of, I set some time aside to simply review my flashcards (I've always been the sort to review until the last possible second because I used to cram a lot and not feel prepared.) I got through a bunch and just felt myself go..."this is pointless, I know all of this stuff, I don't need to review anymore."

In the absence of practice exams demonstrating that you can hit your goal, and not feeling ready...I wouldn't take it. But that's just me, and I had to rock the MCAT because it's all I had going for me. :shrug:
 
ridethecliche said:
Yeah, but anyone can say that!
Click to expand...
People tend to believe those who are most recently in their own shoes.
Nobody takes advice from old guys. 1st graders are more likely to believe 2nd graders than 8th!
 
Cyberdyne 101 said:
Not true. As evidenced by this thread, ppl will have to be reminded to take it when they feel ready.
Click to expand...
I would like to note that I feel much more ready now than I did when I initially posted this (which was over a month ago).
gyngyn said:
People tend to believe those who are most recently in their own shoes.
Nobody takes advice from old guys. 1st graders are more likely to believe 2nd graders than 8th!
Click to expand...
I would have loved all of your advice back when I posted this as I was having a slight panic attack. It would have been / still is appreciated !!
 
I don't even want to know what the scoring scale is. It's like make belief to me.

I hope none of my younger friends ask me for advice...
 
mlowe1 said:
I would like to note that I feel much more ready now than I did when I initially posted this (which was over a month ago).

I would have loved all of your advice back when I posted this as I was having a slight panic attack. It would have been / still is appreciated !!
Click to expand...
May the Force be with you!
 
As pre-meds, we are like slices of bread. The MCAT is a toaster that sears us permanently with its score, and some of us are more delicious pieces of toast than others. However, once a piece of bread has been toasted, you can't undo it. The best way to avoid this is by preparing in advance so that you can pop up and emerge from the toaster hot and perfectly done.
 
Doug Underhill said:
However, once a piece of bread has been toasted, you can't undo it. The best way to avoid this is by preparing in advance so that you can pop up and emerge from the toaster hot and perfectly done.
Click to expand...
Love the smell of perfectly toasted pre-meds!
 
Doug Underhill said:
As pre-meds, we are like slices of bread. The MCAT is a toaster that sears us permanently with its score, and some of us are more delicious pieces of toast than others. However, once a piece of bread has been toasted, you can't undo it. The best way to avoid this is by preparing in advance so that you can pop up and emerge from the toaster hot and perfectly done.
Click to expand...

Well put.
 
I'm a burnt piece of rye with a lot of butter. No one will pick me over the golden-brown wheats but I sure taste good if they'd try me.

Too far?
 
bloodandguts said:
I'm a burnt piece of rye with a lot of butter. No one will pick me over the golden-brown wheats but I sure taste good if they'd try me.

Too far?
Click to expand...
This is where the concept of strained metaphor begins to kick in!
 
Hello Everyone, just wanted to say no need to panic if you get a low MCAT practice score! If you have received low practice scores like I did, it is easy to understand why you would freak out, and even consider pushing back your test date. If you've done enough studying, there is no need to do so. The highest practice score I received on The Princeton Review was a 504, with my last score being a 497 (I blame this on mental fatigue). I ended up with a 511 when all things were said and done. If you have a similar story (mental fatigue and lower than expected last score), my recommendation is to ease off the pedal for the last few days in order to regain mental focus. I hope my story can help ease your nerves! Just go in with a confident mindset, and you might end up doing better than you think 😉
 
Kaplan Instructor here: I promise you that there are almost no practice materials in existence that accurately simulate the real MCAT exam (outside of AAMC-published materials). Highest I ever received on a Kaplan exam was 508, highest two of my friends ever received was 508. Result? We each scored 515+. As a general rule, add at least 6 points to your score for Kaplan or TPR tests and that’s a decent estimate of your score that day.
 
Solyjohn said:
Hello Everyone, just wanted to say no need to panic if you get a low MCAT practice score! If you have received low practice scores like I did, it is easy to understand why you would freak out, and even consider pushing back your test date. If you've done enough studying, there is no need to do so. The highest practice score I received on The Princeton Review was a 504, with my last score being a 497 (I blame this on mental fatigue). I ended up with a 511 when all things were said and done. If you have a similar story (mental fatigue and lower than expected last score), my recommendation is to ease off the pedal for the last few days in order to regain mental focus. I hope my story can help ease your nerves! Just go in with a confident mindset, and you might end up doing better than you think 😉
Click to expand...
you do realize that OP posted this more than 2 years ago.
 
DJ Khaled's Pet Tiger said:
Kaplan Instructor here: I promise you that there are almost no practice materials in existence that accurately simulate the real MCAT exam (outside of AAMC-published materials). Highest I ever received on a Kaplan exam was 508, highest two of my friends ever received was 508. Result? We each scored 515+. As a general rule, add at least 6 points to your score for Kaplan or TPR tests and that’s a decent estimate of your score that day.
Click to expand...
Woah i wish!!! Highest on Kaplan was 507, got 506 in real one 🙁
 
ItsAMeMario007 said:
Woah i wish!!! Highest on Kaplan was 507, got 506 in real one 🙁
Click to expand...
There are always outliers! Sorry to hear this. Maybe you had a really great day on the practice exam and a really bad day on test day? When I say we scored 508, I mean we did so 3 times in a row.
 
DJ Khaled's Pet Tiger said:
There are always outliers! Sorry to hear this. Maybe you had a really great day on the practice exam and a really bad day on test day? When I say we scored 508, I mean we did so 3 times in a row.
Click to expand...
Yeah... all of (x3) my Kaplan scores were ranging between 505-507 (1 month within test day). Dont think I had a really bad test day, probs just didnt study enough overall. Have signed up to retake it next year in case I am not accepted this cycle.
 
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