Feeling defeated...need some support!

[Ari1584]

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So i have been taking practice exams and have been going up slowly but surely...26, 27, 28, 29...and just when i am about to hit 30, i dropped back to a 26!! AND i went down from a 12 to an 8 in BS, which is my strongest subject since it was my major. I broke down crying bc i feel so defeated...just when i think things are getting better, something like this comes along. The only good thing about the exam is that i finally got a 10 in PS, which is what i have been primarly studying for. Not really sure what to think of this practice test...does this mean im getting worse and i probably wont be seeing a 30 any time soon? The test is on Sept 12. Is it normal to see fluctuation like this on a practice test?? ugh. only you guys understand!

 

[ziggydoc]

Well, did u switch the prep company for practice tests? Or are you just using one company's. And have you tried using the AAMC practice ones yet? if you have been improving till this one, I would not be too worried about it, especially if you hit the 10 on PS that was your main target. Also, it could just be a off day for you. Go over the BS and see what you did wrong, I doubt it was content stuff, probably just stupid mistakes and your weak topics that got the best of you. Besides, you got time to work on those mistakes, remember the reason why you are doing practice exams is to find out what your weaknesses are, and correct them. Also, don't look too much into the practice scores unless it is AAMC, since the other companies' scores tend to be a little off compared to the real thing.

 

[engineeredout]

Chill a little. It was a single practice exam. Do you know why they don't do statistical analysis with N = 1? Because it doesn't prove anything, thats why.

You hit a practice test where there was one difficult section, and it seems like you did better in the other ones. If you're scoring 10-12 in BS on four exams and then drop to an 8 on one of them, odds are you're going to do better than 8 on the real thing.

Look over the BS section. See if there is any particular topic that you didn't know well. If there was then review that topic. If not then figure out where you went wrong, whether you didn't understand the question and whether or not the passage itself was unintelligable.

A single poor score (8 isn't THAT bad anyway though, many people do worse) is not indicitive of how you're going to perform on the real exam. Especially since you have six weeks until your mcat.

No reason to cry about this, as frustrating as it can be. Laugh at the test company because you know you're smarter, go out and buy yourself a bottle of Captain Morgan, and take a day or two off to rest and clear your mind.

Remember: Embrace the Captain in You.

 

[capn jazz]

Just go over the answers and see if it was a topic you skimmed over in review, or just stupid mistakes. Learn the answers, and you won't mess up like that next time you see those kinds of problems or that content.

 

[sunsfan]

You need a hug. Here's one. 😍

 

[marspotter]

Hi. Ari1584,

I can absolutely understand what you are going through, as I seem to be in a similar situation as you are right now. I was scheduled to take the test on 8/15/08 and I thought I was on right schedule with contents and everything, but my practice tests score were no where I was expecting and I wound up rescheduling it to Sep 12. I was emotional wreck for few days, fluctuating from low to the bottom low that it almost seemed impossible to pull myself up again as I felt like I was at the edge.

After gaining a month from the previous test date and psychological self- boosting, I am in much better position. This is how I would look at. you have 7 weeks left. How about take a week off completely from the practice tests and just go over the contents once more, just to make sure that you have it more conceptually? Once you have went over the content, you could probably go back to the practice test and hopefully your scores are up. I can't tell you going through content review would drastically boost your scores up, however, it would loose your practice test tension. Also, knowing that you have went through once more would give you a little bit more of confidence, and we all know 'attitudes' can really affect the test.

Besides, it really was just one score, and I have heard not all tests are representative of the real MCAT. Maybe you happened to have a harder one than others that you may have taken.

Someone on SDN gave me a really nice and thoughtful advice once. The person told me that maybe MCAT is built such way that pre-meds who happen to be most likely very conscious and can be quite score-obsessives could learn that things don't necessarily work in order. You could work so hard, but may not get results as great as you hoped. It's all about how you process it and how you can continue on and quite possibly improve from the point. Like life in general, many aspects of MCAT is just full of drama. You could prepare so well, and would up getting sick. Your test center can just go insane on you. Things happen. You just gotta be able to recognize it and move on and improve from the point. Keep your head up!! and stay very strong!! Because we are going to rock on Sept 12!! 👍😀

or I could just spoon you.. whatever you want. 😉

 

[BlueElmo]

Here's a hug from me. [Gives a Big hug]. Just stay strong, I'm in a similar situation as you.😉

 

[HurricaneKatt]

That's as many clovers as it would let me put, but I wish you luck! 🙂