first practice test sadness

[umean2tellme]

Just finished a practice exam and didn't do all that well (got a 20). I mean i have bio and most of orgo to read so i wasn't shocked that i got low scores on that part, but I thought the parts i did prepare for (verbal, gen chem, and physics) were solid in my head. I took the practice and I feel like everything I reviewed went away completely. I am taking my exam Aug 9 and I feel like I'm probably going to fail miserably? Any advice on faster testing materials to look at or anything i should do to retain this info better?

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[axp107]

I felt like this too.. just keep at it man.. study a lot everyday. My scores went from a 23 -> 33 on practice tests .. so far.. even when I got the 23, I felt like I knew enough. Be confident! Why did you miss the questions that you missed so far? What was your score breakdown.

If you feel like you're still not doing that well.. realistically, it'd be better to take the MCAT later.. (if you can). Do your best.. and come 2-3 days before test, if you're getting low 20s still... don't take it. You'd be better off studying more and taking the MCAT later/next cycle.

Your goal for now is to get as much info down as possible within the next 2 weeks. Don't take practice tests if you don't know the material that well.. I'm no expert since I'm studying too.. but you have to absolutely have the content down.

 

[Nikki2002]

It's OK! You still have time to bring your score up!


The first thing you need to do is review all the questions that you missed...maybe you'll see some patterns emerging. Then you can work on fixing those weak areas. You have to learn from your mistakes!!


Force yourself to study the things you don't know--the things you can't stand--work on your weaknesses.

Spend all the time you can studying--good luck!

 

[axp107]

In general, a lot of people including me...

if they don't know something, they're like "that won't be on the test.. hopefully"... don't hope.. you have to know everything

 

[sehnsucht]

In general, a lot of people including me...

if they don't know something, they're like "that won't be on the test.. hopefully"... don't hope.. you have to know everything

same here but I am glad I fought that mentality. If you feel that something isn't clear to you, review it and make sure the concepts are hammered into your brain. If the topic does come out on the MCAT, you would have prepared for it properly - if it doesn't, no harm done.

I ended up having a lot of electrical type problems on my PS and I felt confident answering them because I practiced a bit on similar problems through Nova and my TPR materials. i ended up guessing on fewer questions that I had originally anticipated.

 

[ChePibe]

Don't let a single score get you down. Let it be a motivation that drives you harder to success. Besides most people score in the 20s the first practice. That is why you practice, practice, practice.
Hope this helps.

 

[MamadP]

my first diag i got a 4/5/6 (PS/VR/BS).

My practices went from 15-35ish. I got a 13/6/10 (PS/VR/BS) on the May 25th though, i guess verbal just screwed me over. But when i saw the "4" in PS the first time it just motivated me to study PS like crazy. Before i knew it my PS score sky rocketed...

Im retaking Aug 6th and this time my goal is a 14/12/14, dont let a low diag score lower your expectations....F*CK that!

 

[DiscoDoc]

It's your first practice test. I'd be a lot sadder if I got that on my last practice test, with 1 week to go...

 

[mrmilad]

No problem....

I went from a 25 on the first practice to a 34 on my last 2 in a matter of a month and a week. All it takes is practice and dedication, the confidence will follow once you do enough tests and get a good feel for them.

 

[littlealex]

Don't be discouraged. FOCUS, go back to the drawing board, figure out what kind of questions you're missing. To be completely honest with you, if you actually UNDERSTAND the science, you should be getting consistent 10s on the sciences at the very least. If you can't do that, you're not ready to take it yet.

 

[blahwhatever]

I also posted something like your post after my first full length Kaplan exam. I got a 20 on it as well. Exactly 25 days after, I took the second Kaplan full length exam and got a 29 on it! I still can't believe it. When I got a 20 on the first Kaplan most people who responded to my post were telling me that you don't really see your score jump till the second exam.

I'm taking mine August 20th, I'm just hoping I won't go downhill on the next one, because when I got a 20 I was pretty down for sometime too.

Anyway, focus really hard and review everything in like 2 days. Then take the second practice exam and see how you do on it. Good Luck!

 

[DrMT]

dont feel bad, i got a 15 on my first tpr diag and now im up to a 30 within a month or so of studying. it can be done. stick with it... or reschedule.

 

[CBG23]

I started out with a 20 as well, but got a 38 on the real thing; study hard and don't give up