I know everything for MCAT. Still can't get good score

[EMT313]

Ok so I have been studying for MCAT for about 6 months now. I know the information pretty much inside and out. I just can't seem to bring it all together into a good score. Highest I have gotten on each section (in different test unfortunately) is PS: 8, VR: 10 Bio: 10. but I have never gotten a 28 overall. I know I am capable of a 30 or better, when I review my exams I know 90% of the answers I got wrong and cant explain why I got them wrong.

My MCAT is in 7 days Can anyone give me some tips on test taking strategy? Or how to raise my score?

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[flyingwarthog]

how do you know that you know all the information inside and out?

 

[EMT313]

I guess I don't know it 110% but I know enough to get a 30. Like I said going over my exams I know the majority of the problems I get wrong. I think my problem is in test taking. Any tips of overall test taking that you think might help?

 

[flyingwarthog]

either you know the information or you don't.

 

[gettheleadout]

Moving to general MCAT.

Don't take the exam if your practice scores aren't near your target.

 

[DrknoSDN]

I review my exams I know 90% of the answers I got wrong and cant explain why I got them wrong.

What do you mean by you can't explain why you got them wrong? There is a difference between knowing the answer in hindsight and knowing it outright.

Maybe you are just looking at the answer choices and saying "Thats obvious, I knew that..."
If that is the case you just need to do a ton more practice problems because it is your recall that is causing problems. Understanding concepts is not the same as being able to decipher how to solve it during the exam.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I agree with DrknoSDN on this one. Do you look at the wrong answer choices and know why there wrong? If you can't figure it out, post-analysis, this means you need to learn you material better.

Getting those high scores are not about knowing the content alone, but also developing the skills to get to the right/best answer. This means know where to focus on the paragraph. Knowing when to look back at the paragraph. Knowing how to deduce the wrong answer as well as coming to the right/best one.

When I do my post-game analysis, I don't just put down (in my notebook) the right answer from the studybook or AAMC practice exam, I also put down where my logic went wrong. If I read the question wrong, I would note it as such. If I read a word incorrectly, I would note that as such. If I remembered a concept incorrectly, I note this also. It is more tedious than what you think post-game analysis should be.

 

[EMT313]

Moving to general MCAT.

Don't take the exam if your practice scores aren't near your target.

What is the reason behind not taking it again if my practices are not near my target? My plan was to take the one I have scheduled in 7 days then take it again in 1.5 months. It is too late to get my money back and in 1.5 months is the last chance I have to take it before my fall classes begin.

 

[Uafl112]

maybe you have trouble connecting the concepts you know with the new information they give you in the passages? Practice usually takes care of that.

If you scored a 10 in bio and vr and an 8 in PS, you can do it again. you might be freaking yourself out. You need to relax and figure out why you're getting these questions wrong

 

[EMT313]

I think my problem is with recall. What i mean by I can't explain why I got it wrong is that when I look over an exam, I can reason out the correct answer without looking at the explanation most times.

 

[gettheleadout]

What is the reason behind not taking it again if my practices are not near my target? My plan was to take the one I have scheduled in 7 days then take it again in 1.5 months. It is too late to get my money back and in 1.5 months is the last chance I have to take it before my fall classes begin.

Because you're unlikely to score where you want? Because schools will see all scores?

 

[Uafl112]

I think my problem is with recall. What i mean by I can't explain why I got it wrong is that when I look over an exam, I can reason out the correct answer without looking at the explanation most times.

Does that mean that the right answer is already highlighted or the timer is just off?

 

[Happy_Puppy5000]

Try and do as many practice passage/question that you have at your disposal over the next several days before your test. Also thoroughly go over those questions. Do not just look at the answers and say, oh that was just a stupid mistake. Instead, really try to figure the answers out on your own. Since it is too later for you to reschedule you may take the test and void and them really practice over the next several months, until you are consistently over 30+. Best of luck.

 

[DrknoSDN]

What is the reason behind not taking it again if my practices are not near my target? My plan was to take the one I have scheduled in 7 days then take it again in 1.5 months. It is too late to get my money back and in 1.5 months is the last chance I have to take it before my fall classes begin.

Yes, I strongly agree with gettheleadout.

Do not take the exam with the intentions of retaking it. You would do much much better to report a single good score to the schools you want to apply to. Getting a low score will hurt your chances.

I.e. A 27 followed by a 33 does not look the same as reporting a single 33.

 

[Jepstein30]

You can absolutely know everything on the MCAT and not score well.. because the MCAT isn't content driven. #1 mistake people make.

Did you do practice passages? How did you review them?

When you say you know the answer, do you mean you comprehend why its right after reading the answer key? Because that's not knowing the answer at all.

Because you're unlikely to score where you want? Because schools will see all scores?

And not only that, but schools have policies about how they view multiple scores. Some schools take the average so a poor score will significantly hurt you.