Just Did Very Poorly On MCAT, need advice

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tradkeke

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Sorry if this thread comes of in a venting like fashion. I don't have many friends that are premed and understand.

Just got my MCAT scores back and I am very dissappointed in myself. I had an 11 point drop from FL2 to the real exam. Needless to say I am absolutely devastated. I have no idea how I'm going to tell my family or my girlfriend as they were all expecting me to do spectacular. I've accepted the hardest pill of all so far: I failed, it was my fault and only my fault, I've disappointed countless loved ones and have severely hurt my chances of ever becoming a doctor.

FL2: 511
Real MCAT: 500

Where do I go from here? I want to retake and kill the retake. I'm here (again) mainly to ask for advice, I have made it abundantly clear to myself I am not sure how to approach this exam. I immediately looked up after the nearest test date which is in January and I want to take it then. Then I thought it might not be wise and maybe I should wait until the end of the school year. What do you guys think? Last time I prepared poorly (as I found out after seeing how some people were doing on reddit) and I was not 100% on exam day which was my fault.

Even if I have to take it at the end of the year I will start now and slowly work my way through review books making anki cards and doing practice passages. The competitor in me wants to take it in January though.

Do I have a shot anymore? I know people retake all the time but when some schools average scores a 500 is going to be a b*tch. I have no problem at all philosophically with DO but for obvious opportunity reasons I would prefer MD. Is MD a possibility anymore?

Other than this I have a strong app. 1st pub, decent volunteering, shadowing, medical work. But the MCAT turned out to be a huge failure.

I need any advice anyone has.

I can personally continue. I'm wondering if it is worth continuing statistically.
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what is your GPA and do you have URM status?

I would strongly not recommend you apply this cycle or take it in January. I would sign up for a March or April test date and begin restudying in January full time (if you can clear your schedule).

Honestly, your biggest mistake was only taking two FLs. That's a huge mistake. The people who do well on this test take upwards of 7-8 as I'm sure you've found out through this forum.

Don't worry it's not the end of the world but you need to realize you can't mess it up again. Take the time to decompress and aim for applying next cycle. Since you practically can't take it again you might as well wait until the march or later test dates and make sure that you kill it. And I do mean kill it, so hard that you still have a good averaged score. I.e. 520 averages to a 510.

Just my brief opinion
 
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I just entered my Junior year. I took it at the end of sophomore year. I apologize for not being clear, I took more practice tests, I just f*cked up.

I took AAMC 1, 2, Sample, NS 1 2 3. I did all SB. What do you guys think I should aim for in wanted to get into low tier MD?

@Lannister @Welshman
 
Sorry to hear that. Take some time to be mad and vent and whatever you need to do. The important thing is to take the test when you are ready, please don't rush it! You will still have a chance if you do well on the retake, so you need to identify what went wrong and how you can improve. Good luck!
 
bananafish94 said:
Sorry to hear that. Take some time to be mad and vent and whatever you need to do. The important thing is to take the test when you are ready, please don't rush it! You will still have a chance if you do well on the retake, so you need to identify what went wrong and how you can improve. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the kind words. I don't feel rushed. I just want to channel all this emotion into something productive instead of sulking. I can't imagine doing anything else. I just want to claw myself back into contention for any seat. I know I messed up and I know how, now I just have to fix it. Since I'll be applying next year is it dumb to take it in January? I realize taking it later would give me more time but I *think* my schedule will be harder. On the other hand I'll have more science knowledge. I'm very torn. I just want to start chipping away at the work I have in front of me.
 
tradkeke said:
Thanks for all the kind words. I don't feel rushed. I just want to channel all this emotion into something productive instead of sulking. I can't imagine doing anything else. I just want to claw myself back into contention for any seat. I know I messed up and I know how, now I just have to fix it. Since I'll be applying next year is it dumb to take it in January? I realize taking it later would give me more time but I *think* my schedule will be harder. On the other hand I'll have more science knowledge. I'm very torn. I just want to start chipping away at the work I have in front of me.
Click to expand...

Every test I took was 503 or better
 
tradkeke said:
Thanks for all the kind words. I don't feel rushed. I just want to channel all this emotion into something productive instead of sulking. I can't imagine doing anything else. I just want to claw myself back into contention for any seat. I know I messed up and I know how, now I just have to fix it. Since I'll be applying next year is it dumb to take it in January? I realize taking it later would give me more time but I *think* my schedule will be harder. On the other hand I'll have more science knowledge. I'm very torn. I just want to start chipping away at the work I have in front of me.
Click to expand...
The nice thing about taking it in January is having Christmas break to use for studying. If you don't think you organized your studying very well, you might even be able to find a 4-6 week MCAT prep course to take during your preparation.
 
Sorry to hear you underperformed OP. Here are some general guidelines on what to do:

1. Take some time off. Do anything else but the MCAT. I recommend resuming studying only in January if not later. You don't want to burn out.

2. Be confident when you take practice tests and real exam. Be 100% focused and maintain energy throughout the exam. Often times, you'll encounter hard passages and hard questions. Do not be startled. Trust that you have studied properly, and approach each passage and each question with 100% focus and absolute confidence. Confidence is vital to doing well on the exam.

3. Focus on the quality of practice. This means do a lot of practice tests rather than content review, and read and analyze every single question when you review. Justify and defend your correct answers thoroughly (you need to see why you are right and cannot attribute anything to lucky guess). Understand where you made a mistake and prepare accordingly. I recommend using 7Sage Blind Review for post-test analysis. It will take a long time initially but the long-term returns are huge.

It is definitely possible to excel on the MCAT. You just need to be confident, focused and thorough. Understand that the most difficult amd abstract passages can be translated into simple concepts learned. Reasoning and application are key skills to master to excel in the exam.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. They really do mean a lot. I'll put off studying for now I just have such motivation to attack the exam now, but I'm aware burnout is possible. Could I do LIGHT content review or using that LSAT review method for now? Just when I have time like 5 hours per week? I just feel so helpless doing nothing about such an awful score.

Obviously my goal should be as high as I can get, but what is a good goal to then be competitive for DO schools? MD schools? State of residence is MI. If anyone has insight.

Thanks for all the help everyone.
@Lawper @bananafish94 @DrHart

@DrHart for my degree I have to do a co-op (kind of like internships) over the summer. It would be 40 hours per week. Would you still recommend summer studying?
 
wysdoc said:
The nice thing about taking it in January is having Christmas break to use for studying. If you don't think you organized your studying very well, you might even be able to find a 4-6 week MCAT prep course to take during your preparation.
Click to expand...

I wish I could. I can barely afford to take the test again, maybe I'll look into lower cost tutoring. I think that could help.
 
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Welshman said:
what is your GPA and do you have URM status?

I would strongly not recommend you apply this cycle or take it in January. I would sign up for a March or April test date and begin restudying in January full time (if you can clear your schedule).

Honestly, your biggest mistake was only taking two FLs. That's a huge mistake. The people who do well on this test take upwards of 7-8 as I'm sure you've found out through this forum.

Don't worry it's not the end of the world but you need to realize you can't mess it up again. Take the time to decompress and aim for applying next cycle. Since you practically can't take it again you might as well wait until the march or later test dates and make sure that you kill it. And I do mean kill it, so hard that you still have a good averaged score. I.e. 520 averages to a 510.

Just my brief opinion
Click to expand...

~3.7 GPA, normal premed stuff, president of club, FD EMT, 1st author, about 150 hours volunteering each clinical and non clinical. I'm brown but not URM.
 
Lawper said:
Aim for 513+ for US MD and 505+ for US DO.
Click to expand...

Thank you for giving me some sort of point of reference. I'm hoping I can do much butter next time. I felt good after my 511 FL but I think during the exam I just fully went on auto pilot. I remember walking out and not remembering a single passage.
 
I would highly advise taking it summer after junior year and applying at the end of your senior year.

Initially I was allergic to this idea too, but so much personal growth occurs during these years you don't want to rush through it. Enjoy life.

"My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it to be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than it should be glittering and unsteady. I wish it to be sound and sweet, not to diet and bleeding."
 
tradkeke said:
Sorry if this thread comes of in a venting like fashion. I don't have many friends that are premed and understand.

Just got my MCAT scores back and I am very dissappointed in myself. I had an 11 point drop from FL2 to the real exam. Needless to say I am absolutely devastated. I have no idea how I'm going to tell my family or my girlfriend as they were all expecting me to do spectacular. I've accepted the hardest pill of all so far: I failed, it was my fault and only my fault, I've disappointed countless loved ones and have severely hurt my chances of ever becoming a doctor.

FL2: 511
Real MCAT: 500

Where do I go from here? I want to retake and kill the retake. I'm here (again) mainly to ask for advice, I have made it abundantly clear to myself I am not sure how to approach this exam. I immediately looked up after the nearest test date which is in January and I want to take it then. Then I thought it might not be wise and maybe I should wait until the end of the school year. What do you guys think? Last time I prepared poorly (as I found out after seeing how some people were doing on reddit) and I was not 100% on exam day which was my fault.

Even if I have to take it at the end of the year I will start now and slowly work my way through review books making anki cards and doing practice passages. The competitor in me wants to take it in January though.

Do I have a shot anymore? I know people retake all the time but when some schools average scores a 500 is going to be a b*tch. I have no problem at all philosophically with DO but for obvious opportunity reasons I would prefer MD. Is MD a possibility anymore?

Other than this I have a strong app. 1st pub, decent volunteering, shadowing, medical work. But the MCAT turned out to be a huge failure.

I need any advice anyone has.

I can personally continue. I'm wondering if it is worth continuing statistically.
Click to expand...
tradkeke said:
Sorry if this thread comes of in a venting like fashion. I don't have many friends that are premed and understand.

Just got my MCAT scores back and I am very dissappointed in myself. I had an 11 point drop from FL2 to the real exam. Needless to say I am absolutely devastated. I have no idea how I'm going to tell my family or my girlfriend as they were all expecting me to do spectacular. I've accepted the hardest pill of all so far: I failed, it was my fault and only my fault, I've disappointed countless loved ones and have severely hurt my chances of ever becoming a doctor.

FL2: 511
Real MCAT: 500

Where do I go from here? I want to retake and kill the retake. I'm here (again) mainly to ask for advice, I have made it abundantly clear to myself I am not sure how to approach this exam. I immediately looked up after the nearest test date which is in January and I want to take it then. Then I thought it might not be wise and maybe I should wait until the end of the school year. What do you guys think? Last time I prepared poorly (as I found out after seeing how some people were doing on reddit) and I was not 100% on exam day which was my fault.

Even if I have to take it at the end of the year I will start now and slowly work my way through review books making anki cards and doing practice passages. The competitor in me wants to take it in January though.

Do I have a shot anymore? I know people retake all the time but when some schools average scores a 500 is going to be a b*tch. I have no problem at all philosophically with DO but for obvious opportunity reasons I would prefer MD. Is MD a possibility anymore?

Other than this I have a strong app. 1st pub, decent volunteering, shadowing, medical work. But the MCAT turned out to be a huge failure.

I need any advice anyone has.

I can personally continue. I'm wondering if it is worth continuing statistically.
Click to expand...

Competitor or not, you need to recognize your score is reflective of either poor prep, foundational knowledge, mental prep, or some combination therein. Analyze how you can be at your very best in each of those component pieces, and prepare yourself accordingly. If you do so, you should come up with a realistic timetable for re-take. If 500 turns out to be an aberrantly low score, all to the better. If not, you still, and depending on your app details, may have reasonable action with DO schools just as you are.
 
@cossackdoc Really? A 500 is competitive for DO? I'm confident I can do better. How much better I don't know. But it would be nice if even only a small increase would make be DO competitive. My prep was poor in all areas honestly, but I think what really did me in was my test day mindset. I don't I was ready mentally. I wasn't 100% on my timing and I wasn't 100% confident. I was told "No one is ever ready for the MCAT" so I brushed those feelings off and it did me in. Deserving very much so. Thank you for the response.

To all my other friends, @Lawper @Welshman @wysdoc @DrHart

This is going to sound like I'm combating all of you but I promise I'm not. I know it is generally wise to take it over summer and taking now would put me at risk for burnout. Here is my scenario: next semester I will be starting another project (just found our today I got the grant, so a silver lining to this dreary day) and my class schedule is more strenuous. Over the summer I will be on "co-op" and working full time (lab-ish stuff). So from my naive viewpoint I figured those would be less than ideal times. This semester however, I am usually done with my school work, volunteering, and studying around 3 PM 2 days per week, 1 PM one day per week, and about 5:30 PM 2 days per week. With one weekend day where I do nothing. Would it still be irresponsible to at least attempt to prepare for a Jan test date? I feel that is when I could personally be the most ready. Or I could study for it after I graduate, but the downside to that is very removed from pre-reqs (just finished them) and 2 gap years.

What do you guys think? Again I am 100% willing to do whatever it takes even if it means gap years, but from my view point that is just what I saw.

Also another silver lining, while I exhausted almost all AAMC material FL 3 is supposed to come out later this year. Just something that made this awful day a little better.
 
I'm in my second gap year. Took the MCAT once in April of JR year and did okay. Studied differently over the summer after graduation and retook it in the Fall. This was about 2-3 years after my prereqs. I bumped my score by 6 points.
Also, the amount of time you separate in between tests, the better. If you take it again right away, schools will see that and probably average your scores. If you put a year or two in between tests, it looks better if you improve (at least in my biased opinion).

If I had it to do all over again, I would have not taken it during undergrad. I would have waited till graduation and the gap year to take it. Some people can balance 15 credits and 4-5 hours a day of MCAT prep for 3-5 months. If you have the option to take a gap year (or two), I recommend it. Use the opportunity to, among other productive things, retake and kill the MCAT. Just my 2c, good luck friend.
 
I don't think it's wise for you to take the MCAT so soon after your first try, but it sounds like your schedule is pretty full. I would highly recommend you consider that second gap year. I know it sucks to feel like you have to wait even longer to finish up an already long process, but I am so glad I waited until my gap year to take my MCAT. I was able to fully focus on studying and also work on some other activities to strengthen my application.

Did something happen during your MCAT? An 11 point drop is very unusual. Otherwise, next time, try not to spend too long agonizing over your choices or trying to get everything perfectly right. This was a problem I had too during my real MCAT, which resulted in me falling behind on my timing until I managed to snap myself out of it. Remember the MCAT is very hard, for everyone! You will not feel confident at all about most of the answers you choose. Stick to your timing and only go back and change answers if you're confident you misinterpreted something.
 
tradkeke said:
@cossackdoc Really? A 500 is competitive for DO? I'm confident I can do better. How much better I don't know. But it would be nice if even only a small increase would make be DO competitive. My prep was poor in all areas honestly, but I think what really did me in was my test day mindset. I don't I was ready mentally. I wasn't 100% on my timing and I wasn't 100% confident. I was told "No one is ever ready for the MCAT" so I brushed those feelings off and it did me in. Deserving very much so. Thank you for the response.

To all my other friends, @Lawper @Welshman @wysdoc @DrHart

This is going to sound like I'm combating all of you but I promise I'm not. I know it is generally wise to take it over summer and taking now would put me at risk for burnout. Here is my scenario: next semester I will be starting another project (just found our today I got the grant, so a silver lining to this dreary day) and my class schedule is more strenuous. Over the summer I will be on "co-op" and working full time (lab-ish stuff). So from my naive viewpoint I figured those would be less than ideal times. This semester however, I am usually done with my school work, volunteering, and studying around 3 PM 2 days per week, 1 PM one day per week, and about 5:30 PM 2 days per week. With one weekend day where I do nothing. Would it still be irresponsible to at least attempt to prepare for a Jan test date? I feel that is when I could personally be the most ready. Or I could study for it after I graduate, but the downside to that is very removed from pre-reqs (just finished them) and 2 gap years.

What do you guys think? Again I am 100% willing to do whatever it takes even if it means gap years, but from my view point that is just what I saw.

Also another silver lining, while I exhausted almost all AAMC material FL 3 is supposed to come out later this year. Just something that made this awful day a little better.
Click to expand...

I honestly believe the MCAT should be studied as if it were a full time job, since doing practice passages/taking practice tests and reviewing them thoroughly will take a lot of time and energy. You don't want to combine MCAT studying with a busy schedule, since you will burn out quickly. Try to find a couple of months of light/free schedule and dedicate that time entirely to MCAT prep. You really need to do significantly better on the retake to be competitive for medical schools. Two weak scores are worse than one.
 
If your problem was that you got nervous or choked, then retaking ASAP can make sense. Just have to stay refreshed on the materials for a couple months and then be in a better mental state this time.

If the issue was truly not knowing the material, then you need to wait until you can study for a few hours on a daily basis for a couple months.

A drop from 85th percentile to 50th percentile occurring between AAMC FL2 and test day makes me think the former is more likely what happened?
 
efle said:
If your problem was that you got nervous or choked, then retaking ASAP can make sense. Just have to stay refreshed on the materials for a couple months and then be in a better mental state this time.

If the issue was truly not knowing the material, then you need to wait until you can study for a few hours on a daily basis for a couple months.

A drop from 85th percentile to 50th percentile occurring between AAMC FL2 and test day makes me think the former is more likely what happened?
Click to expand...

I think this is why I want to retake so soon. I just keep telling myself that I pretty much took the MCAT (AAMC 1 and 2) and I DID better. I think I choked. hard.

I know a lot of the material, but not all the minute details. I figured I could go back over the review books, learn psych/socio a lot better and then take again in January after dedicating my Christmas break to FLs.

Based on my FL performance I'm confident I CAN do better (around my FL score, but hopefully higher after applying @Lawper LSAT method he linked and going over things again) but my worry is that say I get a 511, with such a **** first score is 511 good enough? When Lawper said "513+ for US MD" is that like you have a shot in the dark or that I would be competitive? Same with 505+ for DO? I think I get can there and if I'm not there then I won't take it until I am. I understand another bad score is the death penalty and won't take it unless I know I can score that high.

Overall is that an okay study plan for someone who choked on test day? Without cutting out any hobbies like working out, volunteering, or grades I can dedicate a decent portion of time (at least 15 hours per win MINIMUM) to content review for the next ~10 weeks. Maybe a FL or 2 on a weekend just to get my mind right while practicing the blind review. Then over Christmas break hit FLs hard.

The reason I say my content review was poor is because my P/S was awful and there were chem problems I didn't know. B/B my content was fine I just had trouble test day and it ended up being my best section (128) but I TANKED P/S.

I'm not going to make any decisions now as I'm still recovering from the news, but just trying to lay all my thoughts out there so I can say I made the most informed decision.
 
Lawper said:
I honestly believe the MCAT should be studied as if it were a full time job, since doing practice passages/taking practice tests and reviewing them thoroughly will take a lot of time and energy. You don't want to combine MCAT studying with a busy schedule, since you will burn out quickly. Try to find a couple of months of light/free schedule and dedicate that time entirely to MCAT prep. You really need to do significantly better on the retake to be competitive for medical schools. Two weak scores are worse than one.
Click to expand...

My last semester senior year I only have 2 classes scheduled. I *THINK* I might be able to take only 2 classes next semester if I wanted to. Would it look bad if I was "part-time" in school to study for the MCAT? It would give me huge gaps in my schedule. Like 5 days off a week but I worry how that would look.

I think the main reason I'm so eager to take it is just because I feel like since I did how I wanted to on the FL I just messed up test day. I'm really not trying to be a cock I just feel like I put in all this work and came so far from my first FLs and waiting will send it all down the drain. I spent my whole summer studying for this one day and I feel as if I just messed up on that day.

I know you're very busy and I really appreciate how much time you're dedicating to some random dude on the internet. Thank you
 
tradkeke said:
My last semester senior year I only have 2 classes scheduled. I *THINK* I might be able to take only 2 classes next semester if I wanted to. Would it look bad if I was "part-time" in school to study for the MCAT? It would give me huge gaps in my schedule. Like 5 days off a week but I worry how that would look.

I think the main reason I'm so eager to take it is just because I feel like since I did how I wanted to on the FL I just messed up test day. I'm really not trying to be a cock I just feel like I put in all this work and came so far from my first FLs and waiting will send it all down the drain. I spent my whole summer studying for this one day and I feel as if I just messed up on that day.

I know you're very busy and I really appreciate how much time you're dedicating to some random dude on the internet. Thank you
Click to expand...

I think it's fine to drop down to part time during your last semester. I did that to save money. Just be aware that if you depend on merit aid, you might lose some of that if you drop to part time.
 
Lannister said:
I think it's fine to drop down to part time during your last semester. I did that to save money. Just be aware that if you depend on merit aid, you might lose some of that if you drop to part time.
Click to expand...

How would it look if I did it during a different semester? Like spring junior year. Or what if I just took the minimum full time (12 credits)?
 
plasticdiscoball said:
I don't think it's wise for you to take the MCAT so soon after your first try, but it sounds like your schedule is pretty full. I would highly recommend you consider that second gap year. I know it sucks to feel like you have to wait even longer to finish up an already long process, but I am so glad I waited until my gap year to take my MCAT. I was able to fully focus on studying and also work on some other activities to strengthen my application.

Did something happen during your MCAT? An 11 point drop is very unusual. Otherwise, next time, try not to spend too long agonizing over your choices or trying to get everything perfectly right. This was a problem I had too during my real MCAT, which resulted in me falling behind on my timing until I managed to snap myself out of it. Remember the MCAT is very hard, for everyone! You will not feel confident at all about most of the answers you choose. Stick to your timing and only go back and change answers if you're confident you misinterpreted something.
Click to expand...

I would usually cut it close on timing and told myself "on the real MCAT, you have to just pick a choice and move on" but I think I did that TOO much and ended up not fully digesting passages. On practice tests I would commonly be reviewing questions as the time ran out where as on the MCAT I had WAY too much extra time but not enough to fully digest enough material to make the scores any better.

I feel if I can shore up my content review and get my timing down solid I would be ready to get a much better score (similar to my practice test). I planned on using the EK books and the reddit KA P/S notes. And based on some off hand calculations I think I can finish all of those quite comfortably within the semester. I have extra time now and I won't in the future. That's why my opinion so far has been to see if you guys thought it was feasible.

I support myself so I don't think I'll ever be able to just take time off of everything to study but now I feel like I have a good chunk of time. I can study for at least a couple hours per day up until after Christmas break when I'll start my new classes and my research project which will take up a good amount of time.

I'm curious as if to the reason the consensus is that it's a bad idea is because I'm unable to improve or because I'll get burnt out. Because I'm confident the reason for such as huge 11 point drop was because of my test day performance which I can correct with practice. I think I can also get some more content knowledge particularly is P/S in this time as well which will lead to a better score. As I said, I will NOT take it again if I'm not ready. But I WOULD be worried if the reason people were advising against it is because of burn out.
 
Lawper said:
Aim for 513+ for US MD and 505+ for US DO.
Click to expand...

Sorry for quoting this twice, but when you say those do you mean those are the "you have a chance" scores or "you would be competitive" scores?
 
tradkeke said:
Sorry for quoting this twice, but when you say those do you mean those are the "you have a chance" scores or "you would be competitive" scores?
Click to expand...

You have a chance for US DO schools currently, but generally, you want to improve your chances of getting accepted into medical school. So those score targets are what you would be competitive.
 
I would like to chime in and say don't give up. Personally, I had the opposite thing happen to me.

I took FL2 very close to my MCAT date and got a 506 and I was really upset because I was aiming for much higher. I felt it was much more difficult than FL 1 and seemed to play to a lot of my weaknesses. I ended up doing much better on the real MCAT a few days later, but my main point is - you did great on a FL I believed was pretty difficult so I know you have the potential to do well.

What you will benefit from the most in my opinion after reading your posts is to take a ton of practice tests during your next study period. You mentioned that you had timing issues and didn't fully digest passages. This is what practice tests can help you with. You start to get into a rhythm and it really helps for test day. I took about 7-8 practice tests. You should do even more than that. If I had more time, and was more motivated (life happened when I was trying to focus on studying) I would have taken many more. I also did not review some of the tests afterward but this is an essential step if you want to do well.

Relax and take this time you are not studying to add quality EC's to your application, and then go hard on practice tests and you will be just fine.
 
tradkeke said:
Sorry if this thread comes of in a venting like fashion. I don't have many friends that are premed and understand.

Just got my MCAT scores back and I am very dissappointed in myself. I had an 11 point drop from FL2 to the real exam. Needless to say I am absolutely devastated. I have no idea how I'm going to tell my family or my girlfriend as they were all expecting me to do spectacular. I've accepted the hardest pill of all so far: I failed, it was my fault and only my fault, I've disappointed countless loved ones and have severely hurt my chances of ever becoming a doctor.

FL2: 511
Real MCAT: 500

Where do I go from here? I want to retake and kill the retake. I'm here (again) mainly to ask for advice, I have made it abundantly clear to myself I am not sure how to approach this exam. I immediately looked up after the nearest test date which is in January and I want to take it then. Then I thought it might not be wise and maybe I should wait until the end of the school year. What do you guys think? Last time I prepared poorly (as I found out after seeing how some people were doing on reddit) and I was not 100% on exam day which was my fault.

Even if I have to take it at the end of the year I will start now and slowly work my way through review books making anki cards and doing practice passages. The competitor in me wants to take it in January though.

Do I have a shot anymore? I know people retake all the time but when some schools average scores a 500 is going to be a b*tch. I have no problem at all philosophically with DO but for obvious opportunity reasons I would prefer MD. Is MD a possibility anymore?

Other than this I have a strong app. 1st pub, decent volunteering, shadowing, medical work. But the MCAT turned out to be a huge failure.

I need any advice anyone has.

I can personally continue. I'm wondering if it is worth continuing statistically.
Click to expand...

The best advice I can give is don't lose hope. Things will work out, maybe not on the timeline you had expected but they will work out if you just keep working at it. On the bright side, you can use this as a learning experience and a testament to your own personal perseverance. The first time I took the MCAT I scored lower than you did. I improved by 8 points by self-studying, taking relevant courses, and then I used like gold standard because it was affordable. Also focus on the other aspects of your application (i.e. extracurricular, volunteering , shadowing, clinical experience). All of these things will help you strengthen the application so that you will be a shoe-in once you get the score you need. I retook the MCAT myself after having a disappointing score. After 1 interview last year, I have 3 already this year so don't lose hope and just remember that it will all work out in the end, whether it's sooner or later. I'm assuming you're hoping for this cycle though so find schools with high GPA/low MCAT like UA-COM Tuscon or FSU-COM.
 
OP you obviously want to take the test in January, despite just about everyone telling you not to do it. So go ahead and try it again, but remember another very low score and the hole you are in might be too deep to get out of. Better to figure out why you scored so low. I know you think you know but I'm not sure you do. If it really was a choke situation maybe you should work on that with people from your academic counseling office.
 
candbgirl said:
OP you obviously want to take the test in January, despite just about everyone telling you not to do it. So go ahead and try it again, but remember another very low score and the hole you are in might be too deep to get out of. Better to figure out why you scored so low. I know you think you know but I'm not sure you do. If it really was a choke situation maybe you should work on that with people from your academic counseling office.
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I agree here.

“Two bad MCAT scores are a lot more problematic than one.”

If you receive a similar or lower score upon retaking the MCAT in January, should you do that, you will be in a very deep hole as far as USMD is concerned.

I’m not really a naysayer against you taking it in January, but, if you do, you should damn sure be ready to nail it. If you aren’t, cancelling or voiding needs to happen.
 
Isoval said:
cancelling or voiding needs to happen
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+1 to this OP, if you feel nervous or rushed again, void. With a 3.7 GPA, ORM, and typical ECs you really need this second score to be 510+. (I say typical because while a first authored paper is rare, the schools that care a lot about that will not be on your list).
 
Isoval said:
I agree here.

“Two bad MCAT scores are a lot more problematic than one.”

If you receive a similar or lower score upon retaking the MCAT in January, should you do that, you will be in a very deep hole as far as USMD is concerned.

I’m not really a naysayer against you taking it in January, but, if you do, you should damn sure be ready to nail it. If you aren’t, cancelling or voiding needs to happen.
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efle said:
+1 to this OP, if you feel nervous or rushed again, void. With a 3.7 GPA, ORM, and typical ECs you really need this second score to be 510+. (I say typical because while a first authored paper is rare, the schools that care a lot about that will not be on your list).
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I will not score it unless my AAMC FL3 is 515 or better. I know this seems like a dumb goal since I scored so low but I think with my other practice being a 511 and more time to get better I can achieve it. If I'm not there I won't score it. I made a very dumb mistake, I do not plan on making another one. I'll take gap years if I have to, no problem. But if I have a chance to not take them and apply normally I prefer that. I'm just wanting to take it in January because I truly think I will be prepared. I'm taking biochem (to be 100% clear I already took this and did fine but it didn't transfer) and psych this semester along with a medical chemistry class, all of which I think will in some way help with studying. All of my other classes are bio courses but I don't think the carry over will be as strong but still useful.

I realize I have to kill this next time and I fully plan to. Whether that's in January or in 2 years. I plan on doing everything better this time and improving myself dramatically. As much as this score sucks I think it's the kick in the pants I needed to realize it is a very real possibility I'll be one of those in the 60% that doesn't make it if I don't make dramatic changes.

On a different note, do you guys think EK will cover enough content. I bounced around too much from book to book last time and want to just stick to one program and do it right and do it ALL. Last time I found myself just youtubing videos on a lot of things.

I'm just very worried that even with a much better score like 515+ I'll still only have a 507.5 average. Which is low for USMD. Do they truly average them or is that just a saying?
 
I think a 511 still makes it worth applying! I wouldn't abandon all hope unless you hit 515 or anything like that.

Schools are told to average by AAMC, but in reality, I do not think someone will view a 506/507 pair of scores the same as a 500/513 pair of scores. The latter situation is a better one to be in, in my opinion.
 
efle said:
I think a 511 still makes it worth applying! I wouldn't abandon all hope unless you hit 515 or anything like that.

Schools are told to average by AAMC, but in reality, I do not think someone will view a 506/507 pair of scores the same as a 500/513 pair of scores. The latter situation is a better one to be in, in my opinion.
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I hope so. I'm over my depression phase and on to the phase where I just want to use this as a learning tool. I think I'm very lucky to be from MI where most state schools (Except the coveted University of Michigan) have very reasonable score averages for in state residents.

I've been on SDN for awhile and I always hated when people would disagree with very wise people like Lawper (or someone of the like such as goro, gyngyn, LizzyM, faha etc) but I realize I have to a lot better and I want to take it in January because I truly feel that is when I can be most ready.

I'm still going to take a little bit to think about it, but I feel like it's the right choice for me. However, I will obviously weigh the opinions of others in this thread very highyl as they are much wiser and more experienced than me. But from my point of view, I don't see the harm in studying and if I'm not where I want to be then simply voiding it. Obviously I would waste my time but if nothing else suffers except for how much time I spend watching shi**y horror movies with my roommates I don't see the harm.
 
@hiei @Blakeb_212

Truly thank you for the words of encouragement. It's stories like those that really make me feel better about seeing that other people have been in similar situations or that I did some things correct. Thank you!
 
tradkeke said:
I'll put off studying for now I just have such motivation to attack the exam now, but I'm aware burnout is possible.
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I'll take a somewhat contrary position: if you have energy now, use it! You can't even sign up for next year's tests yet, so don't worry about whethery you'll be retaking in January or sometime later. In fact, don't even think about timing for a few days. Just follow your instinct to turn your frustration into something productive. Write up a bunch of ANKI cards and learn how to use ANKI really well. Choose one or two topics that you felt you messed up on on the actual test and drill into them. Go back to one of your FLs and really analyze it. Pull up the official topic list and start working through it. Just because you have some energy to burn off now doesn't mean you have to commit to going all out every day for the next four months. You might well find that a few days of digging in gets you past being mad at yourself, and you can take a break then.

My test day did not go well at all and I really should have voided. Still, I couldn't sit still when I got home so I took advantage of my nervous energy to enter all of my coursework into AMCAS - all nine transcripts! lol. It was semi-mindless, and very productive. Why not? I had plenty of time to catch up on sleep afterward.

I did not have any issues with timing on the real thing or in practice, so in case it helps, I'll share my technique: before each section started, I wrote a little table in the corner of the scratch paper with Q10 -- 80 min, Q20 -- 65 min, Q30 -- 50 min (etc.), meaning "When I get to Question 10, I should have about 80 minutes left in the section." Then for each passage, I also subtracted one minute per question from the time on the clock when I started that passage and wrote down that time plus two minutes, aiming to finish the passage by then. Between those two brackets, I always stayed on track and finished each section right on time. I never went back to review, but that's just me - I always work each question in order with no looking back to immerse myself as fully as I can in that passage for those 7-10 minutes, then move on. So maybe try something similar to keep track of time during your practice FLs and see how it works for you.

You got this! It's not possible to do better than your best, so just keep putting your best foot forward one day at a time. Let us know how it turns out!
 
Good luck, OP - lots of good advice on here from many different perspectives. If you are wondering about test prep, I found The Berkeley Review to be the most helpful for content and targeted practice problems. If I had to choose only one set, I'd go with those.
 
jazzmetal said:
I'll take a somewhat contrary position: if you have energy now, use it! You can't even sign up for next year's tests yet, so don't worry about whethery you'll be retaking in January or sometime later. In fact, don't even think about timing for a few days. Just follow your instinct to turn your frustration into something productive. Write up a bunch of ANKI cards and learn how to use ANKI really well. Choose one or two topics that you felt you messed up on on the actual test and drill into them. Go back to one of your FLs and really analyze it. Pull up the official topic list and start working through it. Just because you have some energy to burn off now doesn't mean you have to commit to going all out every day for the next four months. You might well find that a few days of digging in gets you past being mad at yourself, and you can take a break then.

My test day did not go well at all and I really should have voided. Still, I couldn't sit still when I got home so I took advantage of my nervous energy to enter all of my coursework into AMCAS - all nine transcripts! lol. It was semi-mindless, and very productive. Why not? I had plenty of time to catch up on sleep afterward.

I did not have any issues with timing on the real thing or in practice, so in case it helps, I'll share my technique: before each section started, I wrote a little table in the corner of the scratch paper with Q10 -- 80 min, Q20 -- 65 min, Q30 -- 50 min (etc.), meaning "When I get to Question 10, I should have about 80 minutes left in the section." Then for each passage, I also subtracted one minute per question from the time on the clock when I started that passage and wrote down that time plus two minutes, aiming to finish the passage by then. Between those two brackets, I always stayed on track and finished each section right on time. I never went back to review, but that's just me - I always work each question in order with no looking back to immerse myself as fully as I can in that passage for those 7-10 minutes, then move on. So maybe try something similar to keep track of time during your practice FLs and see how it works for you.

You got this! It's not possible to do better than your best, so just keep putting your best foot forward one day at a time. Let us know how it turns out!
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Thank you very much for the great advice!! I use Anki often and am VERY familiar with it I just didn't utilize it for the MCAT because I'm an idiot. I think I'm going to start doing a lot of P/S one for prep (it was my worst section) and I have a psych class so it's productive for both regardless of when I take it. Also thank you for the tip on timing!
 
DBC03 said:
Good luck, OP - lots of good advice on here from many different perspectives. If you are wondering about test prep, I found The Berkeley Review to be the most helpful for content and targeted practice problems. If I had to choose only one set, I'd go with those.
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The new or old? I have the old which have tons of passages I didn't utilize but I was going to use EK just because they are new. Would EK content and OLD TBR for content be okay? Or are the old TBR books fine?
 
tradkeke said:
The new or old? I have the old which have tons of passages I didn't utilize but I was going to use EK just because they are new. Would EK content and OLD TBR for content be okay? Or are the old TBR books fine?
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I think the EK Verbal book is really good. I used older (2012ish) TBR books for the sciences. They really nailed the bio content, covering things other students considered "low yield" but were definitely on my exam. The only issue is you might learn more specific organic reactions than necessary. But what really sets the Berkeley books apart is the practice, so do 3-5 passages from each chapter as you cover it, and throw in 1-3 passages each day from previously covered passages (for example, if I was in physics chapter 4, I'd do 3-5 passages from that chapter and 1-3 from chapter 3). I did use a combination of books for psych/soc, but khan academy was perfect for those subjects if you don't feel like buying multiple books. You should be fine with just EK and Berkeley.
 
tradkeke said:
515 glow up. Thank you to everyone for the advice, couldn't have done it without you guys.

Hopefully now I'll get interest from schools 😕
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Excellent job dude! You can definitely apply to a lot of MD schools for sure. @Goro and @Faha can help you create a good school list.

Good luck! :clap:
 
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