How to proceed after terrible MCAT practice scores but overall very strong app?

[doctorwannabe1234]

URM (black female) -NY resident
GPA: 3.4 science and 3.7 cumulative
Post bacc GPA: 3.8
Research: 1000 hours, 1 publication
Volunteering: 50 hours clinical, 300 non-clinical
Clinical paid experience: 2000 hours
Leadership: 80 hours
Strong LORs

No improvement in score from FL1 to FL2. Test on 7/29. I feel so depressed.
June 10: FL 1- 493 Today: 487. I used Kaplan and anki for the majority of the time with little practice. I got uworld 2 months ago and have been consistently doing problems as well as section bank problems. I did review the first FL to see what I got wrong and my scores on problems were improving through uworld so I thought. What should I do now?
I still have more uworld, half the section bank and 2 more FLs and that’s it. I’m scared to exhaust everything.
My app is really strong but I’m embarrassed because my fam and friends know I am applying this year but now I can’t because of my MCAT. My primary is all set but I haven’t submitted. I’m URM and disadvantaged but I feel as if I can’t get over this hump. I know it’s getting too late in the cycle to reschedule so I’m not sure what I should do.

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[Lawpy]

Did you already submit your AMCAS?

Edit: ok i saw you didn’t. I’d urge you to wait a cycle and revamp your strategy

 

[gyngyn]

Do not take this high-stakes test until you are confident of a score consistent with success.
Do not submit an application until you know where you are likely to be well received. This means knowing your own MCAT score as well as the range of acceptable scores at schools to which you plan to apply.
A weak score remains visible forever.

 

[KnightDoc]

Do not take this high-stakes test until you are confident of a score consistent with success.
Do not submit an application until you know where you are likely to be well received. This means knowing your own MCAT score as well as the range of acceptable scores at schools to which you plan to apply.
A weak score remains visible forever.

This^^^^^. What you tell your friends and family really does not matter. Under no circumstances should you sit for the exam if you are not ready, and you are NOT ready to take the test in 2 weeks. Cancel while you still can, so that it does not count as one of your lifetime attempts, and so that you can recover whatever money might be refundable this late.

AA female will definitely help you in the process, but will not fix a sub 500 MCAT, which signals to the schools a high risk of not making it through pre-clinical training. DO NOT APPLY THIS CYCLE, because you will be applying next cycle regardless, and you will be far better off as a first time applicant with a decent MCAT score than as a reapplicant with an improved score after a terrible one.

As @Lawpy suggested, you need time to totally revamp your strategy, and then to implement the fix. This will take months, not days or weeks. You will not be prepared to take the exam until next January at the earliest, and should try to shoot for that, to give yourself time for a retake, if necessary, before applying EARLY next May. It would be shame to squander your unlimited potential, as reflected by the rest of your application, due to a desire to not disappoint others by rushing a test you are clearly not ready for, and then an application. Good luck!!

 

[doctorwannabe1234]

Did you already submit your AMCAS?

Edit: ok i saw you didn’t. I’d urge you to wait a cycle and revamp your strategy

This^^^^^. What you tell your friends and family really does not matter. Under no circumstances should you sit for the exam if you are not ready, and you are NOT ready to take the test in 2 weeks. Cancel while you still can, so that it does not count as one of your lifetime attempts, and so that you can recover whatever money might be refundable this late.

AA female will definitely help you in the process, but will not fix a sub 500 MCAT, which signals to the schools a high risk of not making it through pre-clinical training. DO NOT APPLY THIS CYCLE, because you will be applying next cycle regardless, and you will be far better off as a first time applicant with a decent MCAT score than as a reapplicant with an improved score after a terrible one.

As @Lawpy suggested, you need time to totally revamp your strategy, and then to implement the fix. This will take months, not days or weeks. You will not be prepared to take the exam until next January at the earliest, and should try to shoot for that, to give yourself time for a retake, if necessary, before applying EARLY next May. It would be shame to squander your unlimited potential, as reflected by the rest of your application, due to a desire to not disappoint others by rushing a test you are clearly not ready for, and then an application. Good luck!!

Thanks I’m okay with waiting. It’s just that no one in my family understands this process and it’s not going to make sense that I can’t “pass this test” since I’ve excelled through college. Like they know my test and always ask about it so I’m super embarrassed. Also, can I use the same resources that I’ve been using? How can I improve if I’ve seen some of the practice questions already?

 

[Lawpy]

Thanks I’m okay with waiting. It’s just that no one in my family understands this process and it’s not going to make sense that I can’t “pass this test” since I’ve excelled through college. Like they know my test and always ask about it so I’m super embarrassed. Also, can I use the same resources that I’ve been using? How can I improve if I’ve seen some of the practice questions already?

I’d suggest using 3rd party practice tests and leave some distance of at least 3 months before revisiting AAMC

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks I’m okay with waiting. It’s just that no one in my family understands this process and it’s not going to make sense that I can’t “pass this test” since I’ve excelled through college. Like they know my test and always ask about it so I’m super embarrassed. Also, can I use the same resources that I’ve been using? How can I improve if I’ve seen some of the practice questions already?

I know it sounds harsh, because it is, but it doesn't matter what your family understands. It is your life, and you will have to live with the consequences of bad decisions, so just try to block them out.

It's okay to be concerned, but it is way premature to freak out. As you have seen, the MCAT is unlike anything you have ever seen before. So, as they say in the investment world, past performance is no guarantee of future results. This is why schools require it -- it provides a uniform scale on which to measure all of us to determine preparation for the academic portion of medical school. In your case, decent grades are not providing an accurate signal of preparation for the academic demands of medical school.

Schools mostly chase scores above 510 for bragging rights. Yes, people scoring 520 are better prepared than people with 510s, but people with 510s are more than prepared to do well in med school. As you approach 500, not so much, which is why ~500 is a hard cutoff for a lot of schools. Scores between 500-510 are less than ideal for MD, but still signal high likelihood of academic success, and this is where being an AA with an otherwise impressive application will give you a boost.

To directly answer your question -- any prep material you have already been exposed to should be considered burned, since you will subconsciously remember enough to give yourself a false sense of confidence. Your foundation is lacking, and you need extensive content review before jumping back into practice questions or exams. Online, books, classes, YouTube, etc. Different things work for different people, but jumping into practice questions and trying to learn by going over wrong answers isn't working for you, so you need to try something else.

I did around 6-8 weeks of pure content review before looking at a single practice question, other than those at the end of book chapters. Some might find that too intense, but it worked for me. You need to find what works for you, but jumping into questions before you have mastered the material is pointless. Just don't rely on grades in UG, since, as you have seen, they do not translate to this exam.

 

[Goro]

Thanks I’m okay with waiting. It’s just that no one in my family understands this process and it’s not going to make sense that I can’t “pass this test” since I’ve excelled through college. Like they know my test and always ask about it so I’m super embarrassed. Also, can I use the same resources that I’ve been using? How can I improve if I’ve seen some of the practice questions already?

Ahhh, family.....doing thier best out of love and ignorance to destroy one's medical career.

Tell your family that you love them, but they're not applying to medical school, you are. And so, you'll take the exam on your time, not theirs.

 

[CoolBreezes]

Others have given you some good advice and I hope that you follow it to set yourself up for success.

No improvement in score from FL1 to FL2. Test on 7/29. I feel so depressed.
June 10: FL 1- 493 Today: 487. I used Kaplan and anki for the majority of the time with little practice. I got uworld 2 months ago and have been consistently doing problems as well as section bank problems. I did review the first FL to see what I got wrong and my scores on problems were improving through uworld so I thought. What should I do now?
I still have more uworld, half the section bank and 2 more FLs and that’s it. I’m scared to exhaust everything.

Reviewing your exams isn’t just about figuring out what you got wrong. The point is to figure out why you got something wrong - content gaps, faulty reasoning through the question, carelessness, etc. - and then doing work to not make the same errors. Doing this should result in your scores improving over time.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks I’m okay with waiting. It’s just that no one in my family understands this process and it’s not going to make sense that I can’t “pass this test” since I’ve excelled through college. Like they know my test and always ask about it so I’m super embarrassed. Also, can I use the same resources that I’ve been using? How can I improve if I’ve seen some of the practice questions already?

I do agree conceptually that people should reserve the AAMC practice exams to the last 2 months of your preparation. If you do decide to not take the test, however, I think you can walk away from those exams and not pick them up until 2 months prior to your exam date. It is unfortunate that we are limited to so few practices for the MCAT but you don't get much sympathy from the other health professions which only have one practice DAT, OAT, or PCAT (maybe two) at last check. And no one is rushing to get more than one practice PREview out to the public as far as I know.