Discouraging practice score

[b05010445]

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I am a re-taker, I took it 2 years ago and got a 26R, honestly I didn't take it seriously enough and my undergraduate career is pretty weak in chemistry. I am in a Medical Masters program now.
I've been studying for the MCAT 5 hours a day every week day, I have been breaking 10 on verbal and bio for the past 3 weeks, but physics seems to be my weakness. Mostly of out math difficulties and timing. I've been getting 33 and 32's, a couple 30's in the past 3 weeks. Then I got a 28 today (8-10-10) on Kaplan full length 2.
I emailed my program director for some encouragement or wisdom, and she just told me to reschedule the test for January, which I don't want to do (I am currently scheduled for August 23rd). I just don't know how if studying all summer isin't good enough, studying between 2 classes and research would work any better....

 

[Temperature101]

I am a re-taker, I took it 2 years ago and got a 26R, honestly I didn't take it seriously enough and my undergraduate career is pretty weak in chemistry. I am in a Medical Masters program now.
I've been studying for the MCAT 5 hours a day every week day, I have been breaking 10 on verbal and bio for the past 3 weeks, but physics seems to be my weakness. Mostly of out math difficulties and timing. I've been getting 33 and 32's, a couple 30's in the past 3 weeks. Then I got a 28 today (8-10-10) on Kaplan full length 2.
I emailed my program director for some encouragement or wisdom, and she just told me to reschedule the test for January (I am currently scheduled for 8/23). I just don't know how if studying all summer isin't good enough, studying between 2 classes and research would work any better....

That 28 migh be a fluke. You should take another practice test. Anyway, if you are applying this cycle, January is way too late.

 

[b05010445]

That 28 migh be a fluke. You should take another practice test. Anyway, if you are applying this cycle, January is way too late.

I am applying next June.
But I'm not a very good multi-tasker so I'm not confident in my abilities to study to my fullest for the MCAT during school.

 

[Temperature101]

I am applying next June.
But I'm not a very good multi-tasker so I'm not confident in my abilities to study to my fullest for the MCAT during school.

If you are applying next cycle, you have plenty time to get a good score since your score is in the 30s now.

 

[ES2]

That 28 migh be a fluke. You should take another practice test. Anyway, if you are applying this cycle, January is way too late.

I'd say January is fine, April is late, and June would be extremely late. Why don't you just take it anyways, and just plan on retaking it in January. You might do better than you think you will.

 

[b05010445]

Im hoping I will be able to perform on the 23rd I really don't want to have to push it back.
I think maybe do physics/chem content review for an hour a day beyond my normal practice testing and full length reviewing?

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

What score are you hoping to get? A 33 isn't a bad score by any means. And when are you taking the exam? If it's next week you might have problems. If it's October you've got more than enough time.

Also, the Kaplan exams aren't as predictive as the AAMC exams. My scores were all over the place with Kaplan FLs. On FL1 I got a 28, on FL2 I got a 36, on FL3 I got a 35, and on FL4 I got a 33. That was coming from AAMC 3-7 with a 33 average. Then when I went back to AAMCs my average on 8-10 was 37.

My advice: Take more practice tests and then worry if things aren't looking up. January is far away. Unless you've only been studying for a month or so, pushing back that far puts you at a high risk of burnout unless you cut back on the amount of time per day that you study.

edit: Just saw your post that said you're taking on 8/23. That means you have to make a decision on whether or not to delay by Thursday, which obviously means you can't take many more practice tests; maybe 2 if you push it. It's a tough call man. It sounds like this 28 was a fluke though and that your average is in the low 30s. Is that good enough for you or are you hoping for something higher?

 

[b05010445]

What score are you hoping to get? A 33 isn't a bad score by any means. And when are you taking the exam? If it's next week you might have problems. If it's October you've got more than enough time.

Also, the Kaplan exams aren't as predictive as the AAMC exams. My scores were all over the place with Kaplan FLs. On FL1 I got a 28, on FL2 I got a 36, on FL3 I got a 35, and on FL4 I got a 33. That was coming from AAMC 3-7 with a 33 average. Then when I went back to AAMCs my average on 8-10 was 37.

My advice: Take more practice tests and then worry if things aren't looking up. January is far away. Unless you've only been studying for a month or so, pushing back that far puts you at a high risk of burnout unless you cut back on the amount of time per day that you study.

I'm scheduled for August 23rd, that's when I want to take it. I BY NO MEANS want to reschedule or re-take in January. a 32/33 would be fine for me. I just seem to have a bit of a stumbling block today (also a mediocre grade Friday, but that's probably because I got sick half way through the exam). I have been studying since mid/late May. I haven't taken the pre-med courses in at least 3 years I think, so it's been a lot of re-learning.
I'm glad to hear someone else's Kaplan was all over the place. I'll take an AAMC next in a couple days and hope it was a fluke.

 

[argama]

Sorry to intrude, but for someone who has been studying all summer, my test date is on the 23rd, but I'm heavily thinking of moving it January. The reason is because I don't feel ready and my test scores are like 29/30/31. Additionally, I have been doing more practice passages and keep on making mistakes. My self-assessment ranges for General Bio and General Chem are 78% and 75% respectively. T_______T

Does anyone have any recommendations/game plan on how to keep up with MCAT materials during the semester till January? I finished content review obviously with some very weak areas. I also have more than enough materials to last for a long time.

My goal is a 34+ although a 33 is good too. I'm just really afraid of forgetting everything throughout the semester.

Thanks!

 

[whoknows87]

take it and you can be the judge of how you actually do , if you think you broke your target score submit the test to be scored , if not then by all means void the test and retake the only difference between taking it aug 23rd and Jan comes down to you giving chem+physics more time either way you wont be be able to apply until June, taking your time isn't a bad thing, it's to your advantage , take a few more Fl's and see if you are doing much better and good luck

 

[FarMD2012]

As a retaker myself, the practice test scores may become less indicative if you took them before. You might very well remember the answers and give yourself a 1-2 point boost and a sense of false confidence. I took the AAMC tests 2 years ago and I still remember some of the questions, which might have given me a 1-2 point boost. I took the real thing two years ago and got the exact same score as you did, and I gotta tell you one thing: compare your practice test score AVERAGE to your practice test score average this time around. If there is at least >3-4 point difference then you are golden. (Keep in mind of the inflated score)

So I say if your new average > last average by a significant amount, take it. If not, reschedule. Remember, your test day performance will also affect your score. While its statistics most people score +/- 2 points around their AAMC average, outliers may exist.