Feeling unprepared

[messy dandy]

Greetings. I am here to seek advice from some of you. I am a rising senior who's planned to take the August 14th MCAT. However, I feel very unprepared because I haven't done much practice questions and tests (Although I know that my weak point is the verbal). The only one I have done is the free 3r. According to my schedule, I still need about 3 weeks to finish reviewing the material--which means I don't have time (if at all) to practice.

Should I reschedule the MCAT to Sept., or even next year? I can spare to take a year off. But would the adcoms hold this delay against me? What are the cons of this decision?

Thanks a bunch all!

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[jochi1543]

I think practice is definitely beneficial. While I got a score I was satisfied with despite only doing 2 full AAMC practice tests, I do wish that I had done more. The only one who can gauge how ready you are is yourself. How did you score on 3R? Maybe right now is a good time to take another practice test. If you score is within 2 or so points of your desired (and achievable) score range, then you are probably going to be fine. Otherwise, moving to September is not a bad idea, IF you are happy with applying next year. From my experience with others' posts, taking your MCAT in September makes things very late and really diminishes your chances of admission. So if you want to take it in September, but still plan to apply for 08 matriculation, it's best only if you have a high GPA.

Even if you are planning on applying next year, I wouldn't postpone the MCAT until NEXT year - you will forget a lot of the stuff you've learned this summer. I suggest focusing and taking it this August/September to get it over with, even if you decide on applying for 09 matriculation instead.

 

[apoptos]

Greetings. I am here to seek advice from some of you. I am a rising senior who's planned to take the August 14th MCAT. However, I feel very unprepared because I haven't done much practice questions and tests (Although I know that my weak point is the verbal). The only one I have done is the free 3r. According to my schedule, I still need about 3 weeks to finish reviewing the material--which means I don't have time (if at all) to practice.

Should I reschedule the MCAT to Sept., or even next year? I can spare to take a year off. But would the adcoms hold this delay against me? What are the cons of this decision?

Thanks a bunch all!

If it makes you feel any better, I'm taking on Aug. 20 and haven't taken any CBTs yet. Are you using the EK schedule? What's your schedule like? If you're strong in the sciences (and it sounds like you are) I'll bet you could slate enough VR practice to be ok.

 

[joshtturaider]

My advice would be the following: If you are unprepared don't take the test. I do agree with the earlier post about deciding whether you are prepared if you are within 2 points of your desirable score. Also keep this in my on CBT 3, I scored a 25. This was my first time to take a CBT MCAT. I have taken the written version twice. My timing was horrible and I was not used to the format. However, the very next one I took, CBT 4, I scored a 32. Some people are even saying that this is the hardest one. So definitely take a couple more.

Back to my original advice. I took the MCAT last August and was not fully prepared. I did not get the score I wanted, but I applied anyway. I got an interview and did not get accepted, partly because of my low MCAT score. So now I am taking off a year still, and I am having to take the test again and redo the entire application process. If I would have just waited a year, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble and money, and I would still be in the same position I am in now.

 

[jochi1543]

Back to my original advice. I took the MCAT last August and was not fully prepared. I did not get the score I wanted, but I applied anyway. I got an interview and did not get accepted, partly because of my low MCAT score. So now I am taking off a year still, and I am having to take the test again and redo the entire application process. If I would have just waited a year, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble and money, and I would still be in the same position I am in now.

Yes, I studied for the MCAT last year and planned on taking it in August...I felt totally unprepared and pulled out of the thing literally like a week prior to the test date. Best decision ever! I think I was already better prepared like 2 months out from the April 12 test. On the contrary, for the last week before my April test, I didn't know what to do with myself anymore - I felt like I had learned everything I possibly could. I got a 32, and in retrospect, I think that VERY low 20s would have been a distinct possibility last August, had I gone ahead and taken the test then.

 

[messy dandy]

Thanks to all who have replied. Oh, FYI, I scored a 24 on the 3R before I started studying. Since then, I have been following the 10-week EK home study schedule WITHOUT the 1001 workbooks--a bad move because I didn't buy the workbooks until 3 weeks into studying.

What's worse, I am lagging behind the lectures, which makes it hard for me do the practice questions on time. So all this time I have been focusing on the learning part, and not the practicing portion. But what I have found out from various posts in SDN is that practice is almost the only way to achieve high scores.

So yea...that's why I feel unprepared. I am also a non-native, which makes verbal passages to be quite a challenge. So.... I think having a little more time would help?

The downside of postponing....just like what some of you have said, I might forget the stuff I learn over this summer. And I will be under pressure most of the time between now and then.

I hope this reveals more about my current situation. Thanks!