Help me get 9's...please

[Just Joshin]

I don't really know what to do. My verbal score is a consistent 11 or 12. My PS and BS are 7's. I've taken many practice tests, reviewed the concepts, done practice problems, everything. I don't know what's holding me back from an 8 or a 9 or if there's time to bring it up. I'm testing on June 13th. Any helpful advice?

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[rocuronium]

Keep doing practice problems, but more importantly, know WHY you are getting each question wrong. I don't know if you are doing this, but review EVERY question that you do. Know why you got it right or why you got it wrong. Then review the sections that material came from.

Keep doing what you are doing, and make sure to keep your confidence up.

Good luck!

 

[mterp45]

I don't really know what to do. My verbal score is a consistent 11 or 12. My PS and BS are 7's. I've taken many practice tests, reviewed the concepts, done practice problems, everything. I don't know what's holding me back from an 8 or a 9 or if there's time to bring it up. I'm testing on June 13th. Any helpful advice?

Aren't you the same guy who started a thread about your addiction to the solution's tab? well, I don't think there is anything elseto be said about where your problem lies.

 

[Just Joshin]

Uh, what does the solutions tab have to do with anything? I turn it on, answer the question and then check the solution to learn from my mistake. I fail to see how that's relevant since I don't change my answers.

Gleek, thank you for your advice. Any other HELPFUL tips would be appreciated. Please leave out the irrelevant snippiness. I'm honestly asking for help.

 

[mterp45]

Uh, what does the solutions tab have to do with anything? I turn it on, answer the question and then check the solution to learn from my mistake. I fail to see how that's relevant since I don't change my answers.

Gleek, thank you for your advice. Any other HELPFUL tips would be appreciated. Please leave out the irrelevant snippiness. I'm honestly asking for help.

BE YOUR OWN SOLUTION MANUAL. when you get things wrong in the sciences don't be so quick to pull up the tab, go in the book read the relevant section and do the problem again and again until you get the answer right. It is easy to read a solution and say you would have gotten it right or that it was just a silly mistake but most time that silly mistake which may be something as small as forgetting a negative sign maybe a lack of conceptual understanding.

This is what I did to improve on the sciences:

1) Take the test
2) I did every question I got wrong without looking at the solution until I could get the answer right.
3) retook the test and only after the retake would I allow myself to use the solutions and this was to figure not why I got questions right, but why every other question was wrong.

It took me two days for this process. I took about 35 practice tests and this this for evry single one.The solution tab addiction is your problem.

 

[wizenedone]

BE YOUR OWN SOLUTION MANUAL. when you get things wrong in the sciences don't be so quick to pull up the tab, go in the book read the relevant section and do the problem again and again until you get the answer right. It is easy to read a solution and say you would have gotten it right or that it was just a silly mistake but most time that silly mistake which may be something as small as forgetting a negative sign maybe a lack of conceptual understanding.

This is what I did to improve on the sciences:

1) Take the test
2) I did every question I got wrong without looking at the solution until I could get the answer right.
3) retook the test and only after the retake would I allow myself to use the solutions and this was to figure not why I got questions right, but why every other question was wrong.

It took me two days for this process. I took about 35 practice tests and this this for evry single one.The solution tab addiction is your problem.

35 practice tests? which ones? I didn't know 35 practice tests existed. Only ones I know of are AAMC's and Kaplan.

 

[mterp45]

35 practice tests? which ones? I didn't know 35 practice tests existed. Only ones I know of are AAMC's and Kaplan.

lol yep I took TPR, KAPLAN, GOLD Standards and AAMCs and I still have about 5 left.

 

[The South Face]

Have you taken all the pre-req classes?

 

[Cp22kjer]

BE YOUR OWN SOLUTION MANUAL. when you get things wrong in the sciences don't be so quick to pull up the tab, go in the book read the relevant section and do the problem again and again until you get the answer right. It is easy to read a solution and say you would have gotten it right or that it was just a silly mistake but most time that silly mistake which may be something as small as forgetting a negative sign maybe a lack of conceptual understanding.

This is what I did to improve on the sciences:

1) Take the test
2) I did every question I got wrong without looking at the solution until I could get the answer right.
3) retook the test and only after the retake would I allow myself to use the solutions and this was to figure not why I got questions right, but why every other question was wrong.

It took me two days for this process. I took about 35 practice tests and this this for evry single one.The solution tab addiction is your problem.

You retook every test the following day? If so did you do this to ensure reasoning behind right answers? If you miss questions on the AAMC's I think you'll have to see the answers which means you would likely remember them the following day for round 2.

I guess I would like you to expand on your retaking process, apparently it worked with that score!

 

[mterp45]

You retook every test the following day? If so did you do this to ensure reasoning behind right answers? If you miss questions on the AAMC's I think you'll have to see the answers which means you would likely remember them the following day for round 2.

I guess I would like you to expand on your retaking process, apparently it worked with that score!

Ok the easy part was taking the test for the first time. On all the FL's I would mark down the question which I got wrong without reading the solutions. I would then redo those problems again and again often using my books and other resources until I came up with the right answer myself. When I retook the test I would do so untimed, and threat every single question like a brand new one and I would convince myself that there was a different way of getting that answer and I can guarantee there almost always is. This is where reasoning patterns, utilization of the passage and an understanding of concepts came into play. For the Bio section the reviewing consisted of figuring out not only why a particular question was right, but why every other answer was wrong. So I would go down from A-D for each question, use my resources, and figure out why they were wrong. The last aspect of the reatake was figuring out the pattern in AAMCs solution, passages, and testing style, How do they expect you to come to that answer? How they arrive at that answer? what type of reasoning is this? can that reasoning be characterized? what type of passage is this? etc.. etc... there is just so much to tell that it's often difficult to know where to begin.

 

[foodfood]

I'm taking the test June 13th, and when i got back from school/finals I took a practice test and scored below 30.. which was depressing. the next day i decided to split up each section, and in between i took a 1-2 hr break. and seriosuly, my scores went up 13PS, 12BS, 10VR. i'm not kidding...
i think you should just focus on one section, maybe not even time yourself b/c you can rack up 2-3 points by reading carefully, which I'm sure you've noticed. once you get confident, you will improve even more i'm sure. goodluck!

 

[RySerr21]

I'm taking the test June 13th, and when i got back from school/finals I took a practice test and scored below 30.. which was depressing. the next day i decided to split up each section, and in between i took a 1-2 hr break. and seriosuly, my scores went up 13PS, 12BS, 10VR. i'm not kidding...
i think you should just focus on one section, maybe not even time yourself b/c you can rack up 2-3 points by reading carefully, which I'm sure you've noticed. once you get confident, you will improve even more i'm sure. goodluck!

thats all good and gravy, but i dont understood how that does anything besides boost your confidence. if you can only score well taking each section 2 hours apart and untimed..... why do you think that will translate into a good score on the real deal? you should practice it under real conditions and then go back later and read it carefully IMO. and if you arent doing it back to back w/ a 10 min break, you should at least do it timed. if i had unlimited time to get the answers and read every passage slowly i would get a 35+ too.

 

[rocuronium]

you should practice it under real conditions and then go back later and read it carefully IMO. and if you arent doing it back to back w/ a 10 min break, you should at least do it timed. if i had unlimited time to get the answers and read every passage slowly i would get a 35+ too.

Exactly.


One of the major stresses of this exam is the time pressure. If you are not able to do well while under pressure, practicing under non-pressure conditions is not going to help you do better. On the real MCAT, you don't have the luxury of unlimited time.

 

[foodfood]

no, time is definately an issue. but it's more difficult to realize where you are missing points if you time yourself because regardless of time there will be questions that are tricky. iand if you're scoring below 10, i think diagnosing the problems you are having with the material/test format is more important.
f you can identify your flaw in logic, then when the time pressure sets in, you're already know how to approach the test. and after studying so long for this, i seriously think its 50% mental, if you can convince yourself you know it, then the answer comes to you.