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- Aug 19, 2004
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This time last year I was REALLY bummed. In fact, I pretty well knew inside my scores were not going to turn up like I wanted and I felt deflated going into the Fall semester. When I received my scores they were right on par with what I expected leaving the test center on test day.
But, after regaining my desire to fight, I decided to try harder and to be smarter with how I studied. Last night when I pulled my score I was jumping up and down,...I had a 6 point increase and raised my near illiterate writing sample up one letter (still poor, but improved.)
I now have a MCAT score that is competitive at over 1/2 the MD schools out there.
Here are the differences from last year and some recommendations:
1) I put in 207 hours into preparing (I started preparing on April 29th for the August MCAT) compared to only 80 hours last year
2) Although I flirted with taking a prep course, I opted instead to really use the Kaplan Review guide. Last year I tried reading the textbooks but there is just too much you will spend time on not specific to the MCAT. If you have had the material in the past, the Kaplan review book is tremendous and will help you understand what you need to review further with texts.
3) This time I took the practice tests under test day conditions. This is hard to do and takes more self discipline that most people understand, but it is very valuable. Last year I would take a section and give myself a day or two before taking another section. The mental toughness required to take the MCAT over a 6-7 hour period should not be underestimated.
4) I tried but was not able to locate someone else preparing. Although I did not have this, I think having a study buddy would be a big help.
Good luck
But, after regaining my desire to fight, I decided to try harder and to be smarter with how I studied. Last night when I pulled my score I was jumping up and down,...I had a 6 point increase and raised my near illiterate writing sample up one letter (still poor, but improved.)
I now have a MCAT score that is competitive at over 1/2 the MD schools out there.
Here are the differences from last year and some recommendations:
1) I put in 207 hours into preparing (I started preparing on April 29th for the August MCAT) compared to only 80 hours last year
2) Although I flirted with taking a prep course, I opted instead to really use the Kaplan Review guide. Last year I tried reading the textbooks but there is just too much you will spend time on not specific to the MCAT. If you have had the material in the past, the Kaplan review book is tremendous and will help you understand what you need to review further with texts.
3) This time I took the practice tests under test day conditions. This is hard to do and takes more self discipline that most people understand, but it is very valuable. Last year I would take a section and give myself a day or two before taking another section. The mental toughness required to take the MCAT over a 6-7 hour period should not be underestimated.
4) I tried but was not able to locate someone else preparing. Although I did not have this, I think having a study buddy would be a big help.
Good luck
