MCAT

[IceDoctor]

Happy Holidays everyone!!

I would like to ask anyone out there what is the best choice for MCAT preparation. The next time I will take the MCAT, it will be my third time. The previous two I havent done so hot as I have scored 24 and a 23. I am trying to shoot for a score above a 26 to go along with my GPA of 3.49. There are a lot of courses out there and some say it's not worth it. Plus, how did ya'll prepare for the MCATs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[goldenjims]

IceDoctor,

What have you used in the past? There are some great resources out there that I used the 3rd time a took it. I first scored a 20, then a 22, and my 3rd time after using lots of resources, bumped it up to a 26. 26 is def. not the "bomb" score but it is getting me in this year. I have already heard from some schools. Let me know and I would be glad to point you in the direction that I went.

 

[Bama]

Goldenjims,
What did you do to improve your mcat from a 22 to a 26? I appreciate your assistance

 

[goldenjims]

This will sound wierd, but hear me out. My worst section was the VR. ON the first I scored a 6, and on the second I scored a 5. On BS and PS, I was OK on both. So, here is what I did. I did every VR, reading comprehension type test I could find. The one that helped me the best was practicing the VR and logic parts from GRE practice tests. Althought they were different, they tested the exact same concept, and I timed myself every time. I was getting my low scores because I didnt know how to read the passage correctly. There definitely is an art to it, and it has nothing to do with how much you can memorize like I was first doing. So, I must have done over 150 passages from the GRE test books. My score bumped up to an 8 and it helped me out big time. I was always ok on the other sections, just had problems with the VR. That goes for the other 2 sections as well. IT has nothing to do with how much you can remember from the passage, and everything to do with how you can apply the topic of the passage to the questions asked. Most times in the questions, over half of them have no regard to the passage, its just a question about the topic of the passage. I also took Kaplan, which if you ask me, the teaching part sucks. I can study on my own for $1K. All the practice materials, though, are great just to get you in the rythmn of taking that kind of test. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am certainly not a pro at the MCAT but I hope I can help you at least achieve a score where your application will be competitive. Good Luck and BELIEVE that you will do well!

 

[luckyduck]

I have told this story before, but I am happy to share it with you. I have taken the MCAT twice (April and August of 2001). My first score was a 21, while my second score was a 28! The first time I took it I was sick during the test, but I must also admit that I took the Kaplan course and felt like it did not really help at all. The second time I studied I used the Examkrackers home study books and the AAMC Exams 3 and 4. These helped me sooo much and were definitely worth the money (about $150 for the set). I also used the MCAT Audiolearn tapes and took notes from those and I used the Kaplan Organic book (not the one used in the course-got it online at kaptest.com). This combination as well as not stressing on test day seemed to work for me. Make sure also to realize that you must put the time into studying. I studied between 3 and 8 hours every day for 2.5 months. Good luck and let me know what happens!

 

[IceDoctor]

I have done a lot of practice exams and what not. I took the Kaplan course and I didn't find that helpful. I did all the tests and what not. Its as if I studied the wrong materials. The stuff on the actual MCAT seemed more basic than what I go on the Kaplan material. I really need a good MCAT score because my GPA is gonna be hurting. I will probably end up with a 3.45 GPA cumulative an a 3.1 Science GPA. I am going to take a year off and re-do some course work to increase the GPA. Currently, I am shadowing two DOs. One of the DOs is on the alumni board at PCOM (Philly) and basically I hear that is good to have one on the alumni board. Plus, I volunteer and help coach community/High School sports. I also hold down a job at a local hospital. Some say this is good and some say it's not. Right now, I am thinking the worst case scenario and going from there. So,in essence, I really need to score well on the MCAT. I basically take the Kaplan books and study 2 to 3 hours a day during the weekday for the MCAT and crank out about 5 to 7 hours on the weekend. I will take some advice on the verbal section as well.Thank you so much!! Happy Holidays!!

 

[CVPA]

There have been quite a few postings on SDN regarding MCAT advice, specifically VR. Try doing a search and you will be surprised how much helpful info is out there. Here is one of many links that I have found helpful. Good luck!!

<a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=002084" target="_blank">Verbal Reasoning Thread</a>

 

[jhug]

With a lot of clinical experience, a lower mcat score may be ok. For my VR section i bought a bunch of color gel pens and used each one for a topic-- example: one topic was comparing plato and socrates. for everything about plato i underlined in blue-- for all about socrates i used red. For similarities i used green and for differences i used brown. For each ? i had i could look for the color that applied to what it was asking. ie. similiarities between socrates and plato include all but the following...... The kisser with this is you have to get used to the time issue- other than that it is super effective!
My only advice is practice, practice, practice!! do as many "real life" tests as possible and go in with confidence. Best of luck to you!!

 

[goldenjims]

Amen to that! Right on! Again, believe that you will do well and go in thinking that you are going to finish the test, with time remaining. It helped me so much the last time I took it. Practicing for the VR also helped me in reading the BS and PS passages faster, which helped me get to the questions faster. Its all about practice and repitition, over and over and over and over. It pays off!

 

[CVPA]

jhug:

Very interesting approach. Are you allowed to use different colored pens during the MCAT or were you just referring to study techniques?

I pray that you are right about clinical experience and lower MCAT scores. We'll see. It helps, I'm sure, how much remains to be seen.

 

[outgolfing]

Sup y'all,
Well I only took the MCAT once and got a 25. Not the best in the world, but hopefully I would get in somewhere. I agree that repetition w/ determination is the best medicine. I'm new around here so hope to get to know some of the people.
always,

 

[AnnaB]

Relating to MCAT study time, can anyone tell me how they juggle studying hours everyday for the MCAT while still in school and working part time maybe??? I'll still be taking ORG Chem while working 30 hours a week....and am already trying to make a study schedule to stick to. How do you all do it??????

 

[jhug]

cvpa-- as far as i know it was fine to have so many gel pens- no one said anything to me I used it on the vr & the rest of the test as well- it is very effective on passages you aren't too familiar with! As far as time goes, i counted my OCHEM class study time as my MCAT study time for that topic. Then, it is early mornings and late nights for the rest. I did Kaplan and they give you great little study cards, so that is how i studied at work. I have two jobs and was going to school full time so I had to sit down and look at a printed out copy of my weekly schedule to find gaps where i could study-- between classes or jobs. You'll find it, the trick is making it effective!

 

[EMDrMoe]

Be careful about the gel pens. Some test sites are stricter than others. According to the test procedure, no highlighters, etc, are allowed. At our test center, though, we were allowed to have a drink in there so obviously they weren't very strict.

Good luck!

 

[jhug]

eeeeek! i'm glad it's over!!