How should I revamp my MCAT strategy?

[Virginia12]

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I took the MCAT in August and got a 28Q. I spent two and a half months studying. I used the Exam Krackers books and read them all cover to cover then went back and summarized the lessons. I took five of the AAMC practice tests and this is what I got:

AAMC 3: 32
AAMC 7: 31
AAMC 11: 34
AAMC 10 37
AAMC 9: 37

All of the tests were taken under standard time conditions. I feel very confident in my knowledge of the sciences and I believe these scores reflect that. I have no idea what went wrong, but was wondering if anyone had advice on what I could do differently. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[aSagacious]

Moving to 'MCAT discussions' forum.

 

[StoicJosher]

Probably belongs in the MCAT discussions, but better test taking strategy? Are you a good/bad test takers? Nervousness? Or was it just one bad test? Just try to understand what went wrong on D-Day.

 

[Taranis]

What was your score breakdown? Did you bomb one section or were you a couple points lower in every section? Going from a 37 to a 28 is a huge drop, and obviously something was dramatically different on the day of your test (As the AAMCs are generally representative of the actual test).

 

[medceg]

What was your score breakdown?.

👍

Tell us your score components; it will be a lot easier to figure out what went wrong.

 

[vin5cent0]

Just retake it, sounds like you had a bad day. With those averages, the likelihood of you not scoring over a 31-32 should be pretty slim imo.

 

[Virginia12]

Thank you all for the fast responses. The score components were:

AAMC 3: PS: 11 VR: 10 BS: 11
AAMC 7: PS: 10 VR: 10 BS: 11
AAMC 11: PS: 12 VR: 11 BS: 11
AAMC 10: PS: 14 VR: 10 BS: 13
AAMC 9: PS: 15 VR: 10 BS: 12

MCAT: PS: 10 VR: 09 BS: 09

 

[ridethecliche]

Thank you all for the fast responses. The score components were:

AAMC 3: PS: 11 VR: 10 BS: 11
AAMC 7: PS: 10 VR: 10 BS: 11
AAMC 11: PS: 12 VR: 11 BS: 11
AAMC 10: PS: 14 VR: 10 BS: 13
AAMC 9: PS: 15 VR: 10 BS: 12

MCAT: PS: 10 VR: 09 BS: 09

Nerves.

Take more practice exams and do more practice passages.

If that wasn't it, then you might have been hit with a test that just didn't play to your strengths at all. That happens sometimes.

 

[Swagster]

Sounds like you got overconfident from the AAMC exams and your actual test was different. That happens often.

IMO you need to take more practice tests and get them from places other than just AAMC. I felt like BR tests were closest to my actual MCAT, but on a different day AAMC exams would have been closer to the real thing. If you take exams from two or three different sources, you'll be ready for a wider variety of MCATs.

 

[whitesmilesmile]

Nerves.

Take more practice exams and do more practice passages.

If that wasn't it, then you might have been hit with a test that just didn't play to your strengths at all. That happens sometimes.

anyway, more practice is necessary.

 

[Morsetlis]

Sounds like you don't perform well under real testing conditions. It's probably not a problem with your knowledge base.