- I did take the practice exams under simulated conditions but I never began them early - my actual test was at 7:30 am and it was out of town, so I stayed in a hotel but felt good about the test. I never began my practice exams until the afternoons. I was nervous about the time and just general nerves but felt positive afterwards like I knew the material. I was so wrong!
- The very first FL I did before I did any studying at all but to get a baseline was the AAMC FL 1 and I scored 498, then I did four PR practice tests and my final two were the AAMC FL 2 and AAMC FL 3 and I scored 517 and 518 so my scores continued to increase.
-The scores above are in order and I did continue to improve each time.
- I did do some AAMC question banks
- On the real test it was 125, 123, 125, 125 with CARS being my lowest (and during the practice tests CARS was consistently my lowest but I did get 126 and 127)
More Info: I am a biochemistry major and have a 3.9 gpa and have done physician shadowing, research work, volunteer hours, etc. but I do understand that none of that will help me with such a horrible MCAT score. Thank you for any advice.
Thanks for the information. Of all the "mistakes" someone can make in simulating MCAT conditions, I think adjusting the start time is the most benign issue. It's a big deal when people take unauthorized breaks or look up stuff while taking their practice tests, but it sounds like you didn't do that. I don't think the afternoon practice tests explain your score drop, unless you are so unaccustomed to an early wakeup time that you couldn't concentrate for a 7:30AM start (happens to some people if their sleep schedule is off).
I had a big MCAT score drop too. Still did fine, but it was several points lower than my FL average, and enough of a dive that I had to completely adjust my school list. I found that, while my AAMC FLs were very high, my actual AAMC question bank percentage wasn't great. There was a discrepancy there, and looking back, I think I just wasn't very comfortable with the structure of the test and questions, despite having taken 5 practice exams. I should have focused less on content review and more on working through the question bank. People who had higher practice Q averages seemed to "game" the test better, felt more comfortable with the structure/questions under the extreme stress of the real exam, and ended up getting very high scores on the day. I don't know if you can relate to this at all, but if you can, maybe there's some room for adjustment there.
My recommendation is to get through the entire question bank before you retake, and do a thorough review of every question you get wrong. AAMC material is the gold standard, so complete as much of it as possible. I think there's another AAMC FL out there now (we only had 3 when I applied), so take #4 after you've gotten through the practice questions and see how you do.
P/S is your easiest section to improve, because so much of that section is terminology recognition/association. You might download an MCAT Anki deck or make flashcards and ensure you've memorized a lot of the common concepts cold. It will buy you some easy points next time.
CARS is going to be more difficult - that's the hardest score to move for most of us, and the normal butterflies we experience during the real exam make it harder to concentrate on the passages. Keep reading, keep practicing, keep doing passages. That's all you can do. You may never be a 130+ CARS scorer, but you don't have to be. If you can get a 125+, you should be OK.
Have you ever had issues with testing anxiety before? If you have, or you think you might be heading in that direction, I recommend professional evaluation from a therapist or physician before you retake. It happens to so many students, no shame in it at all, but ensure you're in a good mental space for your retake.
It sounds like there were probably several little factors going on that led to a a flukey bad performance on one bad day. I'm sorry. It's a huge bummer, I know. A 499 is so disappointing, especially when you were doing so well on FLs, but I have confidence that you will do better next time. And know that a 499 doesn't necessarily shut you out from medicine. It's best to get above a 500, but DO is possible with a 499 - happens every year for applicants with strong applications otherwise. Know that there is a pathway to medicine for you, even with your current score - and more pathways will open up after your retake.
