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LOW mcat TWICE!!
- Thread starter Junella
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Junella,
First, and probably the hardest piece of advise is to stay positive. You mentioned that you studied 10x as hard the second time -- that's great, but did you practice taking the tests -- practice, practice, practice, practice. I know of people that literally took hundreds of practice tests. My thought is that you know the material but that maybe you are not comfortable with the test. You can know the material inside and out, but if you were not comfortable taking the test this can drastically affect your score. Studies have repeatedly shown that one of the best ways to increase scores on tests such as the MCAT is to take as many of them as you can (and of course study). Once again, STAY POSITIVE! One other thought that comes to mind is test anxiety. Do you score well on practice tests and then do significantly worse on the real deal. Just an idea.
andrew
First, and probably the hardest piece of advise is to stay positive. You mentioned that you studied 10x as hard the second time -- that's great, but did you practice taking the tests -- practice, practice, practice, practice. I know of people that literally took hundreds of practice tests. My thought is that you know the material but that maybe you are not comfortable with the test. You can know the material inside and out, but if you were not comfortable taking the test this can drastically affect your score. Studies have repeatedly shown that one of the best ways to increase scores on tests such as the MCAT is to take as many of them as you can (and of course study). Once again, STAY POSITIVE! One other thought that comes to mind is test anxiety. Do you score well on practice tests and then do significantly worse on the real deal. Just an idea.
andrew
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Maybe its your studying habits. The first time I took the MCAT, I didn't even study or prepared for it and got 6-V, 8-P, 7-B. But then I did a VERY INTENSIVE studying for one whole month, I got a 8-V, 10-P, 9-B. I felt like I should of done much better if I had someone to study with.. I studied by myself which is extremely boring... but then I am the only I know of that wants to become a doctor.. my other friends are in dental and pharmacy school... My best advice would be to find someone and study LONG and HARD>>> AND TAKE THE PRACTICE TESTS!!! They REALLY help...
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Well, right now you are a definite rejection because of your scores...but not forever
Basically, what even pulled up your score to 19 was the verbal part, since your science scores were very weak. There is hope however, and lots of it. The firt thing I would encourage you to do is to look at your knowledge realistically. It is a natural human tendency to "dance around" things we feel bad about. You need to look at yourself realistically as an applicant:
1) Are you simply a poor test taker? If so, you should have already been aware of it in college, because people do not suddenly become poor test takers, after 4 years of college.
2) Is it perhaps just "freaking out" because of the length of the exam or thinking that "so much is at stake"...? If this is the case, then doing practice tests until you retch at the simple sight of another one may be the answer. It is just like "desensitizing" yourself.
3)You mention you went to an Ivy league University. What was your major? It is hard to conceive that if you majored in one of the sciences, an Ivy league school left you so ill prepared to take the MCAT. Whereas, if you major was, let's say Political Sciences, then it would be more understandeable (although I would expect your verbal score to be higher, in this case). In this case, I would take a few more advanced science classes before retrying the MCAT (which you are going to have to do).
4)Is English your first language? If not, that may be the area that needs improvement.
5)Are you going into medicine having a "knack" for science, or science was always hard for you, but you want to get into medicine because of other reasons such as: desire to help others, prestige, money, family wishes, don't know what else to do and don't want to be a trader...etc. If science was always a stumbling block along the way, then LOTS of science put together (such as on the MCAT) is not going to be easy. If this is the case, I think a recosnidering of career plans would be in order.
6)Try to find someone to quiz you on subjects that appear on the MCAT. Sometimes we really do not know something that we seem to think we do. When someone asks you about it, your gaps in knowledge can be made apparent and then you can focus your efforts on these areas. One of the time honored traditions in med school are study groups, as you will find out, so if your problem is in not been a good evaluator of your own knowledge, try to prepare for the next MCAT with a couple of other people (not exclusively, of course) but your study groupd can meet once or twice a week.
7) If test taking gives you hyperventilation and panic attacks, seek professional help. If this is your case, it is really tough trying to score well on a test while you are concentrating on your heart beat going ape. Since med school will be an unending marathon of tests (aaaaaargh), better take care of the problem now.
Don't despair and again, don't make excuses for yourself, no matter how hard it hurts. It is only by assessing your strengths and weakness objectively that you will be able to overcome this hurdle. If you take the MCAT again and do well, there is no reason why you should not get an acceptance somewhere (at this point, your chances for a top tier school are gone, but not your chances of getting into less prestigious programs).
Good luck and let us know how it is going for you!
Basically, what even pulled up your score to 19 was the verbal part, since your science scores were very weak. There is hope however, and lots of it. The firt thing I would encourage you to do is to look at your knowledge realistically. It is a natural human tendency to "dance around" things we feel bad about. You need to look at yourself realistically as an applicant:
1) Are you simply a poor test taker? If so, you should have already been aware of it in college, because people do not suddenly become poor test takers, after 4 years of college.
2) Is it perhaps just "freaking out" because of the length of the exam or thinking that "so much is at stake"...? If this is the case, then doing practice tests until you retch at the simple sight of another one may be the answer. It is just like "desensitizing" yourself.
3)You mention you went to an Ivy league University. What was your major? It is hard to conceive that if you majored in one of the sciences, an Ivy league school left you so ill prepared to take the MCAT. Whereas, if you major was, let's say Political Sciences, then it would be more understandeable (although I would expect your verbal score to be higher, in this case). In this case, I would take a few more advanced science classes before retrying the MCAT (which you are going to have to do).
4)Is English your first language? If not, that may be the area that needs improvement.
5)Are you going into medicine having a "knack" for science, or science was always hard for you, but you want to get into medicine because of other reasons such as: desire to help others, prestige, money, family wishes, don't know what else to do and don't want to be a trader...etc. If science was always a stumbling block along the way, then LOTS of science put together (such as on the MCAT) is not going to be easy. If this is the case, I think a recosnidering of career plans would be in order.
6)Try to find someone to quiz you on subjects that appear on the MCAT. Sometimes we really do not know something that we seem to think we do. When someone asks you about it, your gaps in knowledge can be made apparent and then you can focus your efforts on these areas. One of the time honored traditions in med school are study groups, as you will find out, so if your problem is in not been a good evaluator of your own knowledge, try to prepare for the next MCAT with a couple of other people (not exclusively, of course) but your study groupd can meet once or twice a week.
7) If test taking gives you hyperventilation and panic attacks, seek professional help. If this is your case, it is really tough trying to score well on a test while you are concentrating on your heart beat going ape. Since med school will be an unending marathon of tests (aaaaaargh), better take care of the problem now.
Don't despair and again, don't make excuses for yourself, no matter how hard it hurts. It is only by assessing your strengths and weakness objectively that you will be able to overcome this hurdle. If you take the MCAT again and do well, there is no reason why you should not get an acceptance somewhere (at this point, your chances for a top tier school are gone, but not your chances of getting into less prestigious programs).
Good luck and let us know how it is going for you!
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study hard and take it again...though it is possible to get in a D.O. school with a 19. West Virginia School of osteopathic medicine only averages about 21, so there has to be 19's. i got in nova with a 24. i took the test 4Xs: 15, 20, 24, and 23...so don't give up!
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Go to a Sylvan learning center or similar place and discuss your predicament. Or find someone who has taught Kaplan and is willing to just hash out your options for an hour. Taking a prep course may help you quite a bit -- and like everyone else says, PRACTICE!!!!
