How change the game and increase MCAT Score (asking)

[danceamber]

Hey guys!

So after studying for two months and rescheduling my exam, I realized that July isn't working for me. Up to this point, I have taken 8 Kaplan Practice tests and my best score is a 499. I have all of the Kaplan books, a few EK books, and some free NextStep Resources from the library. I have completed all of my content review and have been in the active practice stage for about 7 weeks. After a lot of contemplating, I decided to move my exam to January. I'm leaving for a two week internship and when I come back I am ready to kill it!!!! I am prepared to fully acknowledge that clearly what I have been doing hasn't been the best since I want to be way higher than what I am . My question is how to do this. Here is what I've been doing for the past 8 weeks. Any suggestions?

1. took Live Kaplan course in February but didn't start studying until May
2. Did 8-10 hour days with 10 minute breaks every hour to give my brain a break
3. Took essentially zero days off
4. Did end of chapter practice problems in Kaplan books, used Kaplan books for content review, some EK Chem and Phys practice
5. Did some passages but not as much since it's hard to find passages on the exact topics you planned to review that day. So the passages I did practice were random and were solely meant to help me get experience.

This time around, since I have 5 months until Jan, I am ready to change it all up and slay this thing, but I just need advice on how. I have been going so hard for so long but I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

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[db673]

how are you reviewing your exams? and be completely honest with yourself. If you are not reviewing your exams carefully for every question you got wrong and RIGHT then you are not fully utilizing the practice exams. If your exam is in January I would really try to drill the content for the next two-three months and get it down including amino acids and all formulas. Start exams and questions and review EVERYTHING until it makes sense. If you get something wrong involving fluids in motion then study the whole topic again. On top of that mark down why you get something wrong or right. Was it a guess? 50/50? Just a dumb mistake? Was the question too easy? See where your patterns are and if you are having trouble with comprehension or stamina. Also review scientific articles a few times a week to get use to seeing that type of format and make sense of it because the passages are very science heavy and are about interpreting data. READ READ READ!! Do this everyday! Read boring stuff, read fun stuff but READ! This is a test for people who can read and comprehend a passage either science or history so I would recommend doing that. Stop caring about how many hours you put into a day for sake of saying you put in 10 hours of studying everyday. Focus more on how much content are you mastering in a span of time. 4 hours of mastering acid base reactions in a day is better than 10 hours of just breezing through multiple chapters. Just focus on mastering content every day or week depending on your schedule and rid yourself of the idea you need to study several hours everyday. Not true. Remember you are smart, you can do this. but approach it the right way. Best of luck. Now go get a 528.

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

Like db said, you need to stop looking at how many hours you are spending and instead look at how you spend those hours. It sounds like the class you took didn't help you. The books you used didn't work for you. There are other threads where people using the same thing didn't do very well and there are some where people using the same thing did well. It comes down to matching your needs.

Before I started studying, I consulted my big sib and her friends, looked at their materials, read up at reddit and here, and then matched to my needs. My GPA is okay, certainly nothing to brag about, so this test means a lot to me. Here is what has worked really well. It's similar to what db suggested above.

I'm using TBR for chemistry, physics, and biology. They set their material up in four parts: content review (which includes maybe 20 questions), Phase 1 homework (25 questions), Phase 2 homework (25 questions), and a practice test (sometimes called Phase 3.)

I usually skim the reading and do the questions embedded within. I write out all of my work. After each question, I read their explanations and take notes next to where I did work on the question. I also keep a running chart of all equations, terminology, and examples I like. Before Phase 1, I look at that list and then start the set. When I finish it, I grade myself and try any question I missed a second time. Once I'm done doing that, I read their answer explanation to EVERY question, right or wrong. They are long answers, covering content and test strategy applied to that question. This is the biggest help of all. It's like db suggested above, where you thoroughly review every question.

On Phase 2, I set my timer and mark where I am after each passage. I mark any questions where I felt I took too long. When I'm done, I grade it and then question by question I evaluate if I spent too much time, made a careless error, missed a key point, or whatever I think I can improve on. I then one-by-one read each explanation taking notes like I did with Phase 1.

On the practice exam, which often have material from chapters besides the one they are associated with, I race through one time and choose answers based on instinct, never allowing myself to second guess anything. I mark questions I feel uneasy about, but don't reread them. Once I'm done, I only grade the questions I felt uneasy doing. I quickly read the explanation to each, not taking notes, and then try them again. I do them until I get 100% on those questions. It's usually about 10 questions out of all 59. After that, I go through EVERY phase 3 question like I did before.

It takes several hours to do this, but it sounds like you are willing to put in the time. I think this method only works with TBR, because I've found explanations in other resources to be too skimpy. If you are using other materials, you'll need to do what db suggested above, and that is to go back to content review for questions you missed.

What I found was that as I went through each chapter, I got faster and faster at doing this. I took the unscored AAMC exam a while ago and used the reddit score conversion chart. I did not do very well. Looking back at that exam, if I did it knowing what I know now about how to attack questions, I am sure I would be 4 points higher in the C/P and B/B and 2 points higher in P/S. I'm using TPR and KA for P/S and it's going well. For P/S, it's much more content based, so I take notes on each passage I do as well as reviewing the questions.

Start over from scratch. Spend your time wisely. It's summer, so you can get a lot done.

 

[DPTinthemaking15]

OP, here is my advice. UWorld. I have plunged through NS resources, TBR, EK, Kaplan, and that cursed 300 page P/S document.

This past week I have tackled UWorld, and I am in love. Seriously, a lot of their passages are difficult, but it teaches you key information. For instance, I assumed my knowledge of hormones were medical school ready (I kid, I kid), but they taught me I have a lot to learn. On their website they offer a 15 day free trial, but a lot of instagram “stars” and websites have a 90 day free trial that you can sign up for.

Anyways, I easily spend 10 minutes on a single question to fully understand everything in the passage, and It has helped me tremendously. Also, if you are looking to purchase another class there is a group called “The MCAT Disciples.” They are a new MCAT course that start at $599, and they seem legit. I haven’t taken their course, but they have a video online that breaks down a biology passage, and it helped me a lot. I am mostly against all courses except for NS and these guys, because they seem to mean well. Here is the link to their video:

Good luck and I can’t wait to hear what your score is! Oh! And like @PlsLetMeIn21 said, TBR is clutch for passage based practice. If you could combine TBR and UWorld, you would become an MCAT machine.

 

[danceamber]

how are you reviewing your exams? and be completely honest with yourself. If you are not reviewing your exams carefully for every question you got wrong and RIGHT then you are not fully utilizing the practice exams. If your exam is in January I would really try to drill the content for the next two-three months and get it down including amino acids and all formulas. Start exams and questions and review EVERYTHING until it makes sense. If you get something wrong involving fluids in motion then study the whole topic again. On top of that mark down why you get something wrong or right. Was it a guess? 50/50? Just a dumb mistake? Was the question too easy? See where your patterns are and if you are having trouble with comprehension or stamina. Also review scientific articles a few times a week to get use to seeing that type of format and make sense of it because the passages are very science heavy and are about interpreting data. READ READ READ!! Do this everyday! Read boring stuff, read fun stuff but READ! This is a test for people who can read and comprehend a passage either science or history so I would recommend doing that. Stop caring about how many hours you put into a day for sake of saying you put in 10 hours of studying everyday. Focus more on how much content are you mastering in a span of time. 4 hours of mastering acid base reactions in a day is better than 10 hours of just breezing through multiple chapters. Just focus on mastering content every day or week depending on your schedule and rid yourself of the idea you need to study several hours everyday. Not true. Remember you are smart, you can do this. but approach it the right way. Best of luck. Now go get a 528.

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! yeah so I got ham on exam review. I make an excel sheet separated by section and also take hand written notes. I read all the passages again and go through each question carefully. I go through the content that I missed as I'm reviewing my exam and read and then do practice problems on that topic and then go back to exam reviewing. It takes me anywhere from 7-10 days to completely review my exam ebecause I study what I missed as I go. And I think you're so right. I was obsessed with not doing anything less than an 8 hour day and that was probably just going through the motions of it. But I really did study the whole time, so I'm sure I'm still missing stuff. When you say get more practice reading, do you just pick any science passages to read?

 

[danceamber]

Like db said, you need to stop looking at how many hours you are spending and instead look at how you spend those hours. It sounds like the class you took didn't help you. The books you used didn't work for you. There are other threads where people using the same thing didn't do very well and there are some where people using the same thing did well. It comes down to matching your needs.

Before I started studying, I consulted my big sib and her friends, looked at their materials, read up at reddit and here, and then matched to my needs. My GPA is okay, certainly nothing to brag about, so this test means a lot to me. Here is what has worked really well. It's similar to what db suggested above.

I'm using TBR for chemistry, physics, and biology. They set their material up in four parts: content review (which includes maybe 20 questions), Phase 1 homework (25 questions), Phase 2 homework (25 questions), and a practice test (sometimes called Phase 3.)

I usually skim the reading and do the questions embedded within. I write out all of my work. After each question, I read their explanations and take notes next to where I did work on the question. I also keep a running chart of all equations, terminology, and examples I like. Before Phase 1, I look at that list and then start the set. When I finish it, I grade myself and try any question I missed a second time. Once I'm done doing that, I read their answer explanation to EVERY question, right or wrong. They are long answers, covering content and test strategy applied to that question. This is the biggest help of all. It's like db suggested above, where you thoroughly review every question.

On Phase 2, I set my timer and mark where I am after each passage. I mark any questions where I felt I took too long. When I'm done, I grade it and then question by question I evaluate if I spent too much time, made a careless error, missed a key point, or whatever I think I can improve on. I then one-by-one read each explanation taking notes like I did with Phase 1.

On the practice exam, which often have material from chapters besides the one they are associated with, I race through one time and choose answers based on instinct, never allowing myself to second guess anything. I mark questions I feel uneasy about, but don't reread them. Once I'm done, I only grade the questions I felt uneasy doing. I quickly read the explanation to each, not taking notes, and then try them again. I do them until I get 100% on those questions. It's usually about 10 questions out of all 59. After that, I go through EVERY phase 3 question like I did before.

It takes several hours to do this, but it sounds like you are willing to put in the time. I think this method only works with TBR, because I've found explanations in other resources to be too skimpy. If you are using other materials, you'll need to do what db suggested above, and that is to go back to content review for questions you missed.

What I found was that as I went through each chapter, I got faster and faster at doing this. I took the unscored AAMC exam a while ago and used the reddit score conversion chart. I did not do very well. Looking back at that exam, if I did it knowing what I know now about how to attack questions, I am sure I would be 4 points higher in the C/P and B/B and 2 points higher in P/S. I'm using TPR and KA for P/S and it's going well. For P/S, it's much more content based, so I take notes on each passage I do as well as reviewing the questions.

Start over from scratch. Spend your time wisely. It's summer, so you can get a lot done.

Thanks so much for your response! You guys are amazing! That's an amazing plan! I was actually supposed to do the TBR course but it was too exense and I got financial aid for Kaplan so I did that one. I think the course would have helped if I hadn't started so long ago. You know? I was taking it on the weekends during the semester, so the techniques they taught me were sort of out the window now! And yes, I really don't care about what I have to give up or how I have to get there, just wanted an outside perspective because I know for sure that I have to change the change the game. Thanks again! you're going to kill it!

 

[danceamber]

OP, here is my advice. UWorld. I have plunged through NS resources, TBR, EK, Kaplan, and that cursed 300 page P/S document.

This past week I have tackled UWorld, and I am in love. Seriously, a lot of their passages are difficult, but it teaches you key information. For instance, I assumed my knowledge of hormones were medical school ready (I kid, I kid), but they taught me I have a lot to learn. On their website they offer a 15 day free trial, but a lot of instagram “stars” and websites have a 90 day free trial that you can sign up for.

Anyways, I easily spend 10 minutes on a single question to fully understand everything in the passage, and It has helped me tremendously. Also, if you are looking to purchase another class there is a group called “The MCAT Disciples.” They are a new MCAT course that start at $599, and they seem legit. I haven’t taken their course, but they have a video online that breaks down a biology passage, and it helped me a lot. I am mostly against all courses except for NS and these guys, because they seem to mean well. Here is the link to their video:

Good luck and I can’t wait to hear what your score is! Oh! And like @PlsLetMeIn21 said, TBR is clutch for passage based practice. If you could combine TBR and UWorld, you would become an MCAT machine.

OMG I have heard about UWorld! I heard they are the absolute BEST!!! Yeah I'm DEF planning on doing that young 15 day trial! Yeah i'm realizing, that I love the in-depth nature of Kaplan, but I'm def planning on using more TPR, NextStep, and now even UWorld actual practice passages. Thanks !!!

 

[DPTinthemaking15]

OMG I have heard about UWorld! I heard they are the absolute BEST!!! Yeah I'm DEF planning on doing that young 15 day trial! Yeah i'm realizing, that I love the in-depth nature of Kaplan, but I'm def planning on using more TPR, NextStep, and now even UWorld actual practice passages. Thanks !!!

Yes! Hey, because I hate people spending money on this Pre-med journey I found this link UWorld

Make sure it is a legit site first, because I done a quick search on SDN, because I remember seeing this a while back. Good luck!!!

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

Thanks so much for your response! You guys are amazing! That's an amazing plan! I was actually supposed to do the TBR course but it was too exense and I got financial aid for Kaplan so I did that one. I think the course would have helped if I hadn't started so long ago. You know? I was taking it on the weekends during the semester, so the techniques they taught me were sort of out the window now! And yes, I really don't care about what I have to give up or how I have to get there, just wanted an outside perspective because I know for sure that I have to change the change the game. Thanks again! you're going to kill it!

Even with a scholarship, courses are too much. A live instruction course with tutoring might be worth it. Definitely not an online course though. There are so many online resources that paying for an online class seemed foolish. That money could be better used on materials.

You are ready to change and make big improvements. Shred hundreds of passages and be ready to own it. We are both going to kill this thing.

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

Hey guys!

So after studying for two months and rescheduling my exam, I realized that July isn't working for me. Up to this point, I have taken 8 Kaplan Practice tests and my best score is a 499. I have all of the Kaplan books, a few EK books, and some free NextStep Resources from the library. I have completed all of my content review and have been in the active practice stage for about 7 weeks. After a lot of contemplating, I decided to move my exam to January. I'm leaving for a two week internship and when I come back I am ready to kill it!!!! I am prepared to fully acknowledge that clearly what I have been doing hasn't been the best since I want to be way higher than what I am . My question is how to do this. Here is what I've been doing for the past 8 weeks. Any suggestions?

1. took Live Kaplan course in February but didn't start studying until May
2. Did 8-10 hour days with 10 minute breaks every hour to give my brain a break
3. Took essentially zero days off
4. Did end of chapter practice problems in Kaplan books, used Kaplan books for content review, some EK Chem and Phys practice
5. Did some passages but not as much since it's hard to find passages on the exact topics you planned to review that day. So the passages I did practice were random and were solely meant to help me get experience.

This time around, since I have 5 months until Jan, I am ready to change it all up and slay this thing, but I just need advice on how. I have been going so hard for so long but I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

All you need are the Khan Academy MCAT Videos (FREE), the books you already have to supplement Khan, the AAMC material, and 4-6 Next Step exams. I went from a 501 the first time I took the MCAT where I had paid for a course to a 515 doing solo studying with the materials I just mentioned

 

[PrincetonReviewPreMed]

Hey guys!

So after studying for two months and rescheduling my exam, I realized that July isn't working for me. Up to this point, I have taken 8 Kaplan Practice tests and my best score is a 499. I have all of the Kaplan books, a few EK books, and some free NextStep Resources from the library. I have completed all of my content review and have been in the active practice stage for about 7 weeks. After a lot of contemplating, I decided to move my exam to January. I'm leaving for a two week internship and when I come back I am ready to kill it!!!! I am prepared to fully acknowledge that clearly what I have been doing hasn't been the best since I want to be way higher than what I am . My question is how to do this. Here is what I've been doing for the past 8 weeks. Any suggestions?

1. took Live Kaplan course in February but didn't start studying until May
2. Did 8-10 hour days with 10 minute breaks every hour to give my brain a break
3. Took essentially zero days off
4. Did end of chapter practice problems in Kaplan books, used Kaplan books for content review, some EK Chem and Phys practice
5. Did some passages but not as much since it's hard to find passages on the exact topics you planned to review that day. So the passages I did practice were random and were solely meant to help me get experience.

This time around, since I have 5 months until Jan, I am ready to change it all up and slay this thing, but I just need advice on how. I have been going so hard for so long but I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

Hi!

One thing that stands out to me about your practice strategy is that it might he heavy on memorizing and reading books and a bit light on doing practice questions. Back when I studied for the MCAT I spent most of my time doing questions so I could get use to how they are asked on the real test. No matter what resource you use, you need to make sure you have a supply of hundreds of practice questions in each subject. Take your time on these and try to learn the method. You can then use practice tests to get your pacing correct.

I look at MCAT studying as being a bit like going to the gym. Each time you study you should set a goal and try to master a few new things. You might not feel like you're making a lot of progress in any single study session, but night-after-night you'll start to see improvement. I worked a summer internship while I was studying for the MCAT. I only studied in the evenings and weekends and ended up doing very well. It's not how much you study, but instead, how efficiently you study.

One other thing I'll add from what you've said is that it's very important to keep your life balance while you're trying to do the MCAT. You can't realistically study effectively for 8-10 hours per day (in my opinion) and keep your drive and focus, even if you're taking breaks on the hour. If I were studying this rigorously it would really start to be a drag. Instead you need to have a balance that still includes friends, family, and activities that you enjoy. This is the kind balance skillset that you'll need in medical school, residency, and your career, so it's good to start working on that now.

I hope that helps and good luck!

David
======================

David Savage, MD, PhD

Instructor and Master Trainer
Princeton Review
Internal Medicine Resident
Cleveland Clinic