Just Did Very Poorly On MCAT, need advice

[Goro]

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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!

I suggest:
Hofstra
Albert Einstein
Rochester
USC/Keck
Mayo
Dartmouth
U VM
Miami
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova or LUCOM, for different reasons
Your state school.

 

[tradkeke]

congratulations, how did you study differently?

Focused a lot on test taking skills and did a very thorough content review. I used the blind review method (until it began taking too long but if I had more time I would've always used it) like @Lawper mentioned. Went in with way more confidence. Not quite the jump I wanted (my AAMC FL 3 was 521) but sure beats the hell out of a 500 😉

 

[tradkeke]

I suggest:
Hofstra
Albert Einstein
Rochester
USC/Keck
Mayo
Dartmouth
U VM
Miami
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova or LUCOM, for different reasons
Your state school.

Thank you very much for the list, sir!

 

[tradkeke]

I suggest:
Hofstra
Albert Einstein
Rochester
USC/Keck
Mayo
Dartmouth
U VM
Miami
George Washington
Georgetown
SLU
Albany
Rochester
Rush
Rosy Franklin
NYMC
MCW
VCU
EVMS
Wake Forest
Netter
Jefferson
Temple
Drexel
Creighton
Tulane
Loyola
Uniformed Services University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Oakland-B
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova or LUCOM, for different reasons
Your state school.

Thank you very much for the list, sir!

 

[skeptastic]

Focused a lot on test taking skills and did a very thorough content review. I used the blind review method (until it began taking too long but if I had more time I would've always used it) like @Lawper mentioned. Went in with way more confidence. Not quite the jump I wanted (my AAMC FL 3 was 521) but sure beats the hell out of a 500 😉

Do you mind explaining what the blind review method is?

 

[PreMedMissteps]

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 😕

Awesome!!!

What did you do differently?

 

[tradkeke]

I think a big part of what I did differently was just starting with a solid base. Working up from there. I know test strategy and all that is super important and I think I knew a lot of that the first time (my critical thinking was usually my strong point and I would miss a lot of recall questions) but you really need the base of foundation.

 

[ineedhelpplse]

Something caused the drop. Either the practice tests were not reflective or, as I suspect, nerves had an effect. Do you think you were overly anxious the day of the exam? This is important because you'd have to tackle this anxiety before you retake.

The 500, accompanied by a good GPA, can get you a DO acceptance, but that isn't guaranteed at this point. A 500 MCAT without a retake makes MD near impossible. If you retake and clear 510 MD will be back in the realm of possibility, even likely. But today MD is off the table until you raise your MCAT.

Most important, you need to figure out what happened? Was the 500 score not abnormal, i.e. it was within the confidence interval (I doubt this), or was it an anomaly caused by something on test day. If its the latter, you must solve that problem. Were you gassy on exam day? Stressed? Hungry? Were your practice exams fake scores? I.e. did you take your practice tests the same way you'd take the real exam?

It would be amazing if he could retake and get idk maybe a 515

 

[mellie0]

It would be amazing if he could retake and get idk maybe a 515

You, sir, are hilarious

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Were you gassy on exam day?

No, but he’s now the bomb. 😀

 

[BBBallIsLife]

congrats op, that's an amazing story

I'm in a similar boat. Didn't do as well as I'd like, most likely leaning towards a retake. Can anyone give me some advice on how to schedule this? Basically, I'm in 18 credits this semester and have absolutely no time to study for MCAT during the semester, so my plan would be to get back at it after finals. In terms of scheduling the next test, should I wait till the last minute (wait till I feel prepared enough) or should I register for a set date before hand

 

[RedPanda55]

congrats op, that's an amazing story

I'm in a similar boat. Didn't do as well as I'd like, most likely leaning towards a retake. Can anyone give me some advice on how to schedule this? Basically, I'm in 18 credits this semester and have absolutely no time to study for MCAT during the semester, so my plan would be to get back at it after finals. In terms of scheduling the next test, should I wait till the last minute (wait till I feel prepared enough) or should I register for a set date before hand

If that's the case, I would take the summer to study for it. Don't recommended spending only 1 month go through it (3 would be ideal). I took it with only 1 month of studying and didn't exactly rock it. I was still fortunate enough to do well enough to get in but no chances at scholarships at all now.

 

[tradkeke]

congrats op, that's an amazing story

I'm in a similar boat. Didn't do as well as I'd like, most likely leaning towards a retake. Can anyone give me some advice on how to schedule this? Basically, I'm in 18 credits this semester and have absolutely no time to study for MCAT during the semester, so my plan would be to get back at it after finals. In terms of scheduling the next test, should I wait till the last minute (wait till I feel prepared enough) or should I register for a set date before hand

Biggest tip: Do NOT rush it. I know that sounds stupid coming from someone who retook 5 months later while in school but I knew my schedule was light enough (and MCAT related enough) that I could do a solid content review during the semester. Study over the summer, if you graduate early (in December) you could study after that.

 

[BBBallIsLife]

If that's the case, I would take the summer to study for it. Don't recommended spending only 1 month go through it (3 would be ideal). I took it with only 1 month of studying and didn't exactly rock it. I was still fortunate enough to do well enough to get in but no chances at scholarships at all now.

Biggest tip: Do NOT rush it. I know that sounds stupid coming from someone who retook 5 months later while in school but I knew my schedule was light enough (and MCAT related enough) that I could do a solid content review during the semester. Study over the summer, if you graduate early (in December) you could study after that.

thank you for both of your responses. However, I personally feel like I have a decent understanding of material and really only need to practice new test taking strategy and approaches. Plus, the main reason is that I don't want to wait too late in this upcoming cycle to apply. The earlier the better right?

 

[RedPanda55]

thank you for both of your responses. However, I personally feel like I have a decent understanding of material and really only need to practice new test taking strategy and approaches. Plus, the main reason is that I don't want to wait too late in this upcoming cycle to apply. The earlier the better right?

Well, I recommend you start studying now then! At least get some CARS passages in each day and do Soc/Psych reading since these are more so based on repetition and memorizing than comprehension and application.