Maxed Out?

[navho77]

I'm taking the MCAT on June 20th. As of now, I've completed the AAMC practice tests 5, 7, 8, and 10, with an average of 37 (36-38). I'm getting 12-14 on PS, 11-13 on V, and 12-14 on BS, all pretty consistently. With less than 3 weeks left, would you say I can still improve my scores? I'm not displeased with my performance at the moment, but I'd obviously like to get the highest score I can.

I have AAMC 4, 9, and 11 left, which I am saving for towards the end of my studying and am planning on just slogging through as many problems as I can from TPRH Verbal and Science workbooks. Would people say that's the appropriate route to improvement rather than just maintenance? I guess my goal at the end of the day would be at least 12 on each section, but higher would certainly be better.

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[DocMC]

I'm taking the MCAT on June 20th. As of now, I've completed the AAMC practice tests 5, 7, 8, and 10, with an average of 37 (36-38). I'm getting 12-14 on PS, 11-13 on V, and 12-14 on BS, all pretty consistently. With less than 3 weeks left, would you say I can still improve my scores? I'm not displeased with my performance at the moment, but I'd obviously like to get the highest score I can.

I have AAMC 4, 9, and 11 left, which I am saving for towards the end of my studying and am planning on just slogging through as many problems as I can from TPRH Verbal and Science workbooks. Would people say that's the appropriate route to improvement rather than just maintenance? I guess my goal at the end of the day would be at least 12 on each section, but higher would certainly be better.

I'd be scared to wait any longer if I was scoring that high. I'd write tomorrow and just get the 36

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

I'm taking the MCAT on June 20th. As of now, I've completed the AAMC practice tests 5, 7, 8, and 10, with an average of 37 (36-38). I'm getting 12-14 on PS, 11-13 on V, and 12-14 on BS, all pretty consistently. With less than 3 weeks left, would you say I can still improve my scores? I'm not displeased with my performance at the moment, but I'd obviously like to get the highest score I can.

I have AAMC 4, 9, and 11 left, which I am saving for towards the end of my studying and am planning on just slogging through as many problems as I can from TPRH Verbal and Science workbooks. Would people say that's the appropriate route to improvement rather than just maintenance? I guess my goal at the end of the day would be at least 12 on each section, but higher would certainly be better.

I would say that, if youre scoring that high consistently, clearly your content knowledge is rock solid. That means your work needs to be on identifying and correcting the little mistakes BEFORE the score report. I, for example, realized I was rushing the algebra on conversion problems, so I resolved to do them a second time from the beginning. Paying attention to little things like that got me from an average of 37's on the last AAMC's to a 40 on the real thing. A 37 is still a sick score, and don't go in expecting to get a 40, but if you know not just your content weaknesses but also your problem-solving weaknesses, you could improve (also, at that level, 3 wrong answers can cost you 3 points. At a certain level, it's a lucky pick that makes the difference)

 

[survivordo]

Any way you can move your date up? I would be afraid you will burn out, you seem to be peaking a bit early. Regardless, you are on track to get a great score. Just keep doing passages and practice questions to keep your skills up.

Survivor DO

 

[navho77]

I just took AAMC 11 because everyone was saying the Bio was so much harder, yet more representative of the real thing, and I couldn't help but check it out (I actually thought the Bio was easier than other AAMC's, especially 9). I scored a 39 (14/11/14).

I did worse than I thought on verbal, largely due to stupid, passage recall errors, that I'd like to think I wouldn't make on the real thing. I finished the verbal with not much time to spare, however, which really worries me.

Would people say AAMC 11 verbal is representative? That might be kind of a useless question, since the consensus seems to be that verbal is always just a major crap shoot, but it's unsettling that my score is still at the low part of my usual range with two weeks to go.

 

[docksan]

I just took AAMC 11 because everyone was saying the Bio was so much harder, yet more representative of the real thing, and I couldn't help but check it out (I actually thought the Bio was easier than other AAMC's, especially 9). I scored a 39 (14/11/14).

I did worse than I thought on verbal, largely due to stupid, passage recall errors, that I'd like to think I wouldn't make on the real thing. I finished the verbal with not much time to spare, however, which really worries me.

Would people say AAMC 11 verbal is representative? That might be kind of a useless question, since the consensus seems to be that verbal is always just a major crap shoot, but it's unsettling that my score is still at the low part of my usual range with two weeks to go.

I would, yes. I've taken the real thing twice now and verbal was definitely more like 10 & 11.

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[navho77]

I have work to do, then. I got 11 on both 10 and 11 and 12-13 on all the others. It would suck to have to retake just because of one section...

Also, docksan, would you say PS and BS were representative as well on 10 and 11?

 

[docksan]

More calculation heavy on PS, but yes. BS? Heck no.

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[navho77]

More calculation heavy on PS, but yes. BS? Heck no.

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BS was harder/different/both?

 

[docksan]

It wasn't harder, it was just much more detailed and required more critical thinking and reasoning.

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[catzzz88]

I have work to do, then. I got 11 on both 10 and 11 and 12-13 on all the others. It would suck to have to retake just because of one section...

Also, docksan, would you say PS and BS were representative as well on 10 and 11?

Hello navho77! I just wanted to add that, as a safeguard, you should be prepared to get nervous/lose focus and concentration on the real thing. If verbal is your weak point and you know it, it can lead to even more anxiety.

I think that the key is to have a game plan. If you notice yourself panicking, you should have a specific way to deal with it. I don't mean panicking as in having a panic attack or your heart racing wildly, I mean that it can be easy to begin to lose focus and then get a bit anxious about time or something, which feeds into the difficulty and makes it worse. My verbal average was a 12 before my first real test (11-14), but I totally panicked during the real thing and got a 9 (for the first time ever). The second time around, I was ready for a "panic" and had a plan for closing my eyes and saying ABC's song to help my brain refocus. I think that my preparation beforehand made me feel confident and prepared and I didn't even need to sing ABC's for my re-take.

All I am saying is that some people who do well in verbal underestimate how much of a mind game the MCAT can be. Even if you never need to use it in the real thing, have it in your toolkit because it won't hurt.

You have great scores so far, so this is really more of a safeguard, but I wish you the best of luck! Keep us updated!

Best,
C

 

[Laureatebarrel]

Your scores are solid. I would say that from now to your test date, spread out your remaining AAMC tests so they can be as a conditioning type. For the remaining time keep reviewing your weak subjects that you identified from your previous tests.

 

[navho77]

Thanks to all for the advice. No matter what I do, it seems I can't avoiding missing 4-5 questions per verbal section. It's really frustrating me now...every time I think I've identified a weak area from one test, I keep getting screwed by something different on the next test. This is really starting to make me worried, since I don't have much time or many materials left to improve and if I've reached this maximum under non-test conditions, nerves/adrenaline could really end up hurting me on the real thing. Your story really scares me in particular, catzzz88.

Again, I know verbal tends to vary from test to test and between people, but does anyone who scored 12+ on the real thing have any specific advice on how to ensure maximal performance?

I really just want to be done with this test after the first time...I really can't afford to pay $270 again just to take this one test, plus all the additional time commitments that would entail.

 

[docksan]

Go through the exam krackers book for verbal. It helps a lot.

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