Has anyone tried to study for the MCAT...

[UserNameNeeded]

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by themselves (no prep courses) and done poorly on the MCAT (poorly relatively defined as below 30)?

It's getting so close to the test, I think I might cave in and take a prep course just because I'm worried doing it all myself might backfire in the end because I'm not taking the MCAT again. It's a one shot deal and I want to do everything possible not to blow it (and get less than a 30).

 

[fpr85]

Lots of people in this forum have received <30, I don't think they'd consider it as "poor", perhaps average, maybe even decent, but far from poor.

 

[trypto82]

I studied for the MCAT without a prep course, but obviously did poorly (scored <30)

 

[fpr85]

You're an insult, a disgrace! Get your "poor student" ass out of here and never return!!!

I studied for the MCAT without a prep course, but obviously did poorly (scored <30)

 

[UserNameNeeded]

LOL. Hey, now...I'm defining that at 30 just so someone would theoretically still be eligible to get into certain schools. I know 30+ isn't a guarantee or anything, but just for the sake of being relatively "safe."

And that's not even an important-- I just want to know if anyone regrets taking the MCAT without taking a prep course first because they didn't score as well as they wanted.

 

[bigdan]

User-

I got the EK books and did my own thing. I reasoned that I could use the 1K elsewhere and that I determined how well I did - not the company that told me that they controlled how well I did. If I did do poorly, I could always go back and test prep. But what would I do if I test prepped it and still did poorly?

I finished just below your target 30, with a 29 (11, 9, 9 split). Applied to 17 schools, 16 interview invites, 8 interviews attended, 8 acceptances, 2 scholarships offered, 0 regrets on my end.

Good luck.

dc

 

[UserNameNeeded]

Yay, Dan! That gives me hope. I love hearing success stories.

 

[Archimedes]

I was utterly stupid. I took a course, but I never studied for it and never looked at the materials before taking the test. I had too much work on my plate that summer.

So the following summer, I studied for it directly from my text books, again not looking at any of the review material. I figured, if i know the material, it should be enough. So i went over old school notes.

I got a 24.

If you have the money and time, invest in a course. If you don't think you'll pull thru, seriously just postpone your plans for med school for a year and do it the right way.