I need advice from someone who passed the MCAT?

[unrulytreasure]

I did not take biochemistry but I self taught biochemistry and spent more time on it, it was not hard at all to me it was very similiar to organic.

I studied 3 months with Kaplan I only did the comphrension questions at the end of each chapter and I would always get a majority of them wrong. I would go back over them and try my best to understand it. But immediately after I read every day I would do a set of Kaplans questions at the end of the chapter and miss a majority of them and it always frustrated me. My full length diagnostic exam was a 482 after 3 months of studying my score was 478. I then switched to examkrackers and condensed the content to three weeks I like EK more because they introduced the information in a way that I had learned it in class. I read two chapters a day along with their passage questions, I supplemented for khan academy at times, I did 5-6 passages a day, I also did AAMC practice material every day for hours, 10+ hours a day. The last two weeks before my exam I did nothing but AAMC section banks which I was getting 50-60% accuracy in. I take my MCAT exam and receive a 485.

What did I do wrong? I am about to re study for 4 months. Please give any advice if you passed the exam.

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[BusinessAndMedicine]

What was your verbal score?

 

[ReapPremed]

I got ~515 on the MCAT.

I recommend you cancel your January MCAT if you do not see a SIGNIFICANT improvement in your score by then. Wait until you're nailing the practice exams to retake. I practiced for roughly 4 hours per night, 4 days per week over 4 months using Kaplan and PR. For another 2 months I bought every practice test I could. I took full lengths on Saturdays, and sometimes broke up a full-length into a section or two per night on weekdays. My best advice is that the MCAT is not a test of your knowledge. The AAMC wants you to apply snippets of info you learned in your prereqs to answer very particular kinds of questions. You want to become good at sitting down for that 7 hour period, figuring out exactly what each question is asking you to find (its all there in the passage!), and narrowing it to either A, or A or B at worst.

I did not take biochemistry but I self taught biochemistry and spent more time on it, it was not hard at all to me it was very similiar to organic.

I did not take it either. I took twice as long to go over the material in Kaplan and PR. Did you do that, or did you buy a biochemistry textbook and read it from to back? The test-prep companies are told exactly what the content will be, remember, so stick to that.

I did use the Amino Acids Quiz, by NextGen Edu-Chem, at lunch. I also committed glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and gluconeogenesis to memory.

I studied 3 months with Kaplan I only did the comphrension questions at the end of each chapter and I would always get a majority of them wrong. I would go back over them and try my best to understand it. But immediately after I read every day I would do a set of Kaplans questions at the end of the chapter and miss a majority of them and it always frustrated me ... I then switched to examkrackers and condensed the content to three weeks I like EK more because they introduced the information in a way that I had learned it in class. I read two chapters a day along with their passage questions, I supplemented for khan academy at times, I did 5-6 passages a day.

Just because you're studying for 10 hours a day doesn't mean its making it all into your brain. You burned out. Relax a bit. Study for 2-4 hours per night, revisit the material later in the week, and then take the test. Spacing out your learning over time is going to improve retention. I tried to space out subjects so I wasn't doing all my physics, or all my chem, consecutively.

My full length diagnostic exam was a 482 after 3 months of studying my score was 478 ... I also did AAMC practice material every day for hours, 10+ hours a day. The last two weeks before my exam I did nothing but AAMC section banks which I was getting 50-60% accuracy in. I take my MCAT exam and receive a 485.

Did you only ever take two full-length tests? The MCAT is a test of endurance. You really need get used to sitting in front of that computer for 7 hours and finishing the exam. You can't get tired, and you need to let your mind rest and wander during those 10 minute breaks only. Practice as often as you can in the days leading up to the test so its like you've done it before.

If you score that poorly a month before your exam you should cancel it. Good luck.

 

[Dr. Hopeamine]

I can confidently say that what is going to make a massive difference for you is actually taking full-length exams and REVIEWING THEM. Everytime. I cranked out content for several months, but I didn't see any score improvement until I started spending 8+ hours reviewing the exams. I now know that the best answer to improving an MCAT score is taking the test as many times as possible (I took it once a week for 10 weeks), and then spending the next several days reviewing the crap out of it. Don't be discouraged. Plenty of people write piss-poor scores and eventually get into medical school. Keep working hard at it.

 

[rufflev]

Here's what I did to succeed on the MCAT:

1. I enrolled in a preparatory course to keep me accountable for content in a timely manner - my schedule was 1 month content - 1 month content review/practice passages/2 practice exams - 1 month of practice exams (1-2 a week, totaling to 6), then the week before my exam I went over content solely. (Note that I did 2-3 CARS passages for 6 days a week, throughout my entire schedule.)
2. From my prep-course, I discovered nifty tricks and trends that the tutors shared with us regarding how MCAT questions are "structured." (Keep in mind that the MCAT is not really true science, but rather pseudoscience due to oversimplification of many things.)
3. Quality over quantity - I would first go over the high yield content that is on the MCAT and then, if time permits, go back and fill in the smaller, lower yield, details.
4. Review both the correct and incorrect answers when taking practice passages. You'll eventually find a trend in the questions that you're missing, whether it be specific subtopics or CARs-related questions. From there, you can address your weak point(s).
5. Save AAMC material, specifically FLs for the month approaching your exam. At this point, if your score isn't near what you're target is then, I'd recommend postponing your MCAT.

Honestly, there's too much information to learn for the MCAT and you have to realize that. Looking at the bigger picture and how things intertwine/are related (especially in the biological sciences section) help you build the intuition and understanding needed to take an educated guess and whatnot.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I did nothing but AAMC section banks which I was getting 50-60% accuracy in.

This alone tells me that you have serious content deficits. The Q banks, at least I felt, were easier than the real thing and were more straightforward and the fact that you were only getting around 50-60% right a week or two before the real thing tells me you don't understand the material as well as you should. Is English your second language?

 

[unrulytreasure]

This alone tells me that you have serious content deficits. The Q banks, at least I felt, were easier than the real thing and were more straightforward and the fact that you were only getting around 50-60% right a week or two before the real thing tells me you don't understand the material as well as you should. Is English your second language?

No English is not my second language.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

No English is not my second language.

Ok, I am also going to suggest that you work on your reading comprehension as the MCAT tests that skill very heavily. It may be a matter of you just not understanding what the questions are actually asking (it's one of the MCAT "tricks", getting you to answer the question you think they asked instead of the one they actually did)

 

[DoctorDOWell]

As a non-traditional student who hadn't been in the intro level basic sciences for 10 years (physics, chemistry- organic or inorganic, biology, biochemistry, sociology or psychology), the MCAT was my biggest fear to tackling because... well I fudging knew I never wanted to be a physicist or chemist, so I once I was through those classes- it was like: hell yes never again.

fast forward ten years and when reacquainting myself with those basic sciences in the context of the mcat, i found success with the kaplan online prep system. money well spent for me... it met in the evenings 6-9pm tuesday and thursdays and went over the course of like 11 weeks i wanna say [and they have several other meeting schedules, that just worked well with my full-time work schedule].

i'd look into their (or any) system that holds you accountable to testing and addressing your weaknesses. i absolutely did all the practice problems on the AAMC website (which were all included because i bought the ~$2000 kaplan prep class) and i even had access to all the full length prior exams. once you have the gist of the content, focus on the full-length practice passages until your eyes bleed 🙂

as i'm sure i'm echoing (or if you've researched your options even a little bit): the mcat has a unique way to present the basic science material so as to make you feel like you're literally without the proper number of chromosomes. once you learn the way they present their underhanded sneakiness, your score will surely boost friend. practice practice practice and it will click

 

[DoctorDOWell]

... also i thought khan was helpful for a different explanation of a concept i wouldn't grasp from my kaplan books / online examples-- but it was so in depth a lot of times, i felt it was excessive- like opening a physics textbook trying to place into context an mcat calibur physic question was gross overkill. enough to make you scream, i found

and youtube was invaluable for finding other cool, smart people helping other people understand seemingly nebulous concepts, from literally every topic covered on the mcat.

 

[TroutTrout]

Do you have test anxiety OP?

 

[Shalom4853]

Hi,

For one, and many here may disagree, there's an optimal amount of time to study for the exam. One month may be too short, 4 months, imho is too long. The stuff you studied at the beginning of your 4 months may be forgotten within 2 months. I know for me, the stuff I studied four months ago is foggy now. Ask around, maybe ask an advisor what their opinion is but I think 4 months may be too long. Maybe you're different and it takes you a lot of grilling and memorization but after you really hammer it in, its in permanently. And if that's the case then that's great and do what you think is best. I think the ideal amount is 6-8 weeks but hopefully others will have some input.

For the comprehension questions (you mentioned you'd get many of them wrong). Whether right or wrong, I used to read the explanation on why the correct answer was correct. The explanation will tell you why you were right, wrong or right for the wrong reason. If I got too many questions wrong, I would re-do that content review until I was getting the questions correctly only from my understanding of the material.

Try reading the books you have, entirely. Like read the entire book, for each book. For practice (other than practice exams) Khan academy has great practice problems.

 

[workaholic181]

I did not take biochemistry but I self taught biochemistry and spent more time on it, it was not hard at all to me it was very similiar to organic.

I studied 3 months with Kaplan I only did the comphrension questions at the end of each chapter and I would always get a majority of them wrong. I would go back over them and try my best to understand it. But immediately after I read every day I would do a set of Kaplans questions at the end of the chapter and miss a majority of them and it always frustrated me. My full length diagnostic exam was a 482 after 3 months of studying my score was 478. I then switched to examkrackers and condensed the content to three weeks I like EK more because they introduced the information in a way that I had learned it in class. I read two chapters a day along with their passage questions, I supplemented for khan academy at times, I did 5-6 passages a day, I also did AAMC practice material every day for hours, 10+ hours a day. The last two weeks before my exam I did nothing but AAMC section banks which I was getting 50-60% accuracy in. I take my MCAT exam and receive a 485.

What did I do wrong? I am about to re study for 4 months. Please give any advice if you passed the exam.

>90 percentile on the mcat. IMO, when someone scores as low as you did, that signifies a lack of critical reading and understanding the passages which ultimately this test is really about. I think official classes are the best remedy for this.

Just a setback op you can overcome this if you so choose.

 

[StudentDoctorNetwork?]

OP, based on your post, it sounds like you have a poor grasp of the English language. For example, you don't seem to know English tenses (e.g., "I take my MCAT exam and receive a 485.")

I'm not bringing this up to insult you. Rather, I'm saying that the MCAT is largely a critical reading test; it's not surprising that you've done poorly.

 

[unrulytreasure]

OP, based on your post, it sounds like you have a poor grasp of the English language. For example, you don't seem to know English tenses (e.g., "I take my MCAT exam and receive a 485.")

I'm not bringing this up to insult you. Rather, I'm saying that the MCAT is largely a critical reading test; it's not surprising that you've done poorly.

Just a typo your talking to someone who received a 100% in college English. And A+ in research courses which are writing based.

 

[Mad Jack]

Just a typo your talking to someone who received a 100% in college English. And A+ in research courses which are writing based.

The MCAT is a very nuanced test. Your writing has several errors which show you have some deficits in either attention to detail or English nuance. Getting an A in a research course or on an English exam are very different than being able to quickly formulate the meaning of and dissect the content of a passage. I had the score equivalent of a 517, but I started at a 512 before I even began reviewing material and I largely credit that to my lifelong love of reading heavy nonfiction material, as much of the MCAT can be inferred without prior knowledge of the material at hand if you understand test structure and the general foundations of the material you are dealing with.

Your score is concerning for not just that, however. It seems likely that you have some foundational knowledge issues, as it is simply too low to be unifactorial. Kaplan is garbage if you have base knowledge deficits, I would recommend TBR, as Kaplan is too garbled to really get a good handle of the material if you have existing deficits in regard to the material. Given that you are failing end of chapter tests immediately after reading the chapters, this says to me something is wrong with either your processing of the material or the material itself in regard to where your baseline is, so change the material, and if that doesn't work, it is likely it is a processing issue that is due to either poor study strategy (reading but not learning, passive passes at the material, a failure to try and understand why you got each question wrong and why they were structured the way they were) or an inherent lack of ability with regard to multiple choice testing (some people just don't have it, I knew one kid who studied day and night for a year and a half, worked harder than few I've ever seen, and never broke a 487).

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Just a typo your talking to someone who received a 100% in college English. And A+ in research courses which are writing based.

While that poster said it extremely rudely and like a tool, their point is correct unfortunately. Your post has errors in it that don't seem like typos, and they lead me to believe that you have an issue with synthesizing the passage info on the MCAT in addition to content issues. This isn't to bash you OP, but rather help you see your deficits to improve them.