Increase MCAT Score???

[deleted895568]

Currently studying for retake from 6/28 499 (126/122/127/124)

I have began content review with Kahn plus uworld and Kahn academy question. Using mcat self prep to give guidance.

I need to know what else I can be doing to increase my score to 510+, 514 is my goal but 510+ realistic.

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[premed8080]

If you haven't already, buy the AAMC official practice materials (at a minimum, the official exams and the question banks, but I recommend it all). Also, there's a bunch of study schedules/guides on Reddit and the internet. I read over a bunch of them before planning out my study plan and I highly recommend you do the same to familiarize yourself with the resources available and get an idea of the timeframe you'll need to achieve your goal.

I liked the Kaplan review set for content review, the books are very thorough IMO. To improve CARS, start doing practice passages every day. Jack Westin sends out a free passage each day: MCAT CARS Practice Exams. P/S is an easy section to boost your score in if you learn the material - look up the premed95 anki deck, the 300 page P/S review guide on the r/mcat subreddit.

Other than those materials, all I can recommend is practice practice practice, and ALWAYS try to fill in the gaps in your knowledge (print out the MCAT topic sheet from AAMC and check things off as you go over them, then periodically go back and see what you struggle with). The r/mcat subreddit is an absolute godsend when you're doing practice since most AAMC practice exam answers are discussed there.

You can do this! Good luck, and feel free to PM if you need more help!

 

[CoitusInterruptus]

If you haven't already, buy the AAMC official practice materials (at a minimum, the official exams and the question banks, but I recommend it all). Also, there's a bunch of study schedules/guides on Reddit and the internet. I read over a bunch of them before planning out my study plan and I highly recommend you do the same to familiarize yourself with the resources available and get an idea of the timeframe you'll need to achieve your goal.

I liked the Kaplan review set for content review, the books are very thorough IMO. To improve CARS, start doing practice passages every day. Jack Westin sends out a free passage each day: MCAT CARS Practice Exams. P/S is an easy section to boost your score in if you learn the material - look up the premed95 anki deck, the 300 page P/S review guide on the r/mcat subreddit.

Other than those materials, all I can recommend is practice practice practice, and ALWAYS try to fill in the gaps in your knowledge (print out the MCAT topic sheet from AAMC and check things off as you go over them, then periodically go back and see what you struggle with). The r/mcat subreddit is an absolute godsend when you're doing practice since most AAMC practice exam answers are discussed there.

You can do this! Good luck, and feel free to PM if you need more help!

This guy sounds like a 520+ tutor. Love it

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

Hey, I scored in the 95th-%ile on the MCAT, the things that helped me are pretty well outlined by Premed8080 above.

Make sure you don't study for more than 5 months, you'll start to forget early information by then.
Don't take the AAMC full lengths until about 1.5 mo's out and take those really seriously.
Get access to as many full-length practice tests as possible, I took 12 + 3 AAMC's and credit much of my success to that.
Get the test bank from AAMC and work those towards the end of your studying.
I really didn't like Khan academy resources, they were way too general for the material. I only used them if I found a very specific topic I needed help with, if he had the video. Don't watch all of them, way too many.
For self study, I used the Kap books, they were good but I didn't use any others so I can't compare.
I studied a total of 350-ish hours over 4 months (almost exactly) so make sure you study enough.

 

[anniekat2025]

UWorld made a huge difference for me. I also think it is important that you do 5-10 practice tests.

How did you study for your first MCAT?

 

[deleted895568]

UWorld made a huge difference for me. I also think it is important that you do 5-10 practice tests.

How did you study for your first MCAT?

I started a new job as a CNA so that extremely stressful plus graduating college so that was extremely stressful. I essentially had about 1.5 months to study, about 4 days a week. I took one full length used partial uworld.

 

[anniekat2025]

I started a new job as a CNA so that extremely stressful plus graduating college so that was extremely stressful. I essentially had about 1.5 months to study, about 4 days a week. I took one full length used partial uworld.

I definitely recommend doing more than 1 practice test. It is important that you review your tests thoroughly; there's lots of good info on how to do that here on SDN and on reddit. You definitely want to do all 3 AAMC practice tests as well as 2-7 practice tests from other companies.

How are your reading skills?

 

[landy1130]

@Elephant456 I went from a 500->507->517 so I think I have a decent perspective on improving your score. I basically agree with the advice from posters above in terms of resources, but I think I received a couple crucial pieces of advice that really helped me.

1. The MCAT is not a luck test or a figure it out on test day test, it's a combo of having a huge breath of knowledge and good/great critical thinking skills. Don't take the test because you feel stressed to apply (like I did), take it when you are scoring the that 510+ score you aspire (consistently).

2. Figure out why you are getting questions wrong and questions right. I went over every question pack, practice test, etc. after I finished and split questions into four categories.

- Right, correct reasoning
- Right, wrong reasoning (basically guessed right)
-Wrong, correct reasoning, (chose wrong even though I knew the facts)
-Wrong, wrong reasoning

This really helped me identify what I needed to study more for facts/context vs. what I needed to study for better understand/reasoning. I felt like I maxed my efficiency by using this strategy because I had a plan of attack on what I needed to learn.

Finally, when your score begins to creep up you will notice a distinct difference in how you are approaching questions. When I was scoring in the 505 range I was educated guessing a lot/wracking my brain for information, but when I was scoring in the 512+ range you feel a lot more methodical and confident because you have the context/practice.