Helping me figure what went wrong

[Big Tall Doctor]

I guess the primary purpose of this post is to vent and possibly receive some insight. I prepared for my MCAT ,in January, using the Kaplan self paced study (around 3 months of 3-4 hours per day). During the last month I elected to do 2 full length Kaplan tests and scored 503 and 505. After hearing on this site that the FL for kaplan and aamc had significant differences, I decided to work in 2 FL aamc practice tests. The results were certainly uplifting as I was close to my goal of 510+ with a 509 and 511. I certainly felt some test anxiety come test day, but I am generally a pretty relaxed guy. While I felt there were certainly some hard sections, I was not prepared to see that my MCAT score was a 501. I mean 501?!? that was almost as bad as my Kaplan diagnostic. Thankfully, I had the foresight to arranged a future test date in May, but my spirit is still shocked. I feel that I should have used more resources than strictly Kaplan, but I am afraid of a lack of study structure that it may bring. I am sorry if this seems like a lot, but I really want to pursue medicine and with my gpa, a highish mcat is the only option. Thank you for your time reading this.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Lawpy]

Were the only practice tests you did the two Kaplan FL and 2 AAMC FL? Have you done any other practice tests? Did you use the AAMC Question Packs, Section Bank etc. already? Did you use UWorld?

The score drop could be because of test day anxiety. Or it could be you got unlucky with a test that focused on your weak areas. Or maybe it's bad luck.

The key to doing well is to do a lot of practice from as many sources as you can get your hands on under strict timed conditions and thoroughly review your answers. The 7Sage Blind Review is a good method for actively reviewing your answers.

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

Were the only practice tests you did the two Kaplan FL and 2 AAMC FL? Have you done any other practice tests? Did you use the AAMC Question Packs, Section Bank etc. already? Did you use UWorld?

The score drop could be because of test day anxiety. Or it could be you got unlucky with a test that focused on your weak areas. Or maybe it's bad luck.

The key to doing well is to do a lot of practice from as many sources as you can get your hands on under strict timed conditions and thoroughly review your answers. The 7Sage Blind Review is a good method for actively reviewing your answers.

Thank you for your quick response! I had done multiple of the Kaplan section tests, as well as actively reviewed each test with usually a day of content review that I was weak on. I think next time around I will utilize more of the aamc resources, and I saw there are plenty of self paced guides on this forum. It defiantly might have just been me

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

You answered your own question, so next time will go better. Before I started my studies, I read as many posts here and at reddit and spoke to as many people who had taken the MCAT as I could, to get an idea of what would work best for me. Your situation has been typed by many posters before you, so don't feel bad. There are plenty examples of people who focused on the seven book set and then faceplanted compared to how they felt they were going to do.

It will go better next time for you. You already said the most important change you can make and that is to incorporate AAMC into the mix. This is a must because you have to know how they test. There are plenty of good materials available. Someone mentioned UWorld. They get good feedback, although I personally didn't find them to be as helpful as others. I am a big fan of TBR for the sciences and TPR w/ EK for CARS and P/S.

Whatever you use will help you get ready for AAMC practice materials will get you ready for the MCAT. Good luck!