Need honest advice abt rescheduling maybe

[arin1331]

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Hello everyone. I need some advice on how I should go about rescheduling my exam (if at all but I really think I should). I’ve been studying since mid January. I was supposed to test on April 26th but my scores weren’t good (like barely 500, so obvs pushed it back). I have my exam scheduled for June 28th. However, life has been kicking my ass. I worked for a week and went on a week long vacation with my original time off for the 4/26 exam. I was okay with this because I needed a break. EXCEPT, the last shift I worked someone hit my car in the hospital parking lot AND AS SOON AS I CAME BACK FROM VACATION(!!) my dog got attacked badly. I’m emotional about it too because he could’ve died I’m so glad he didn’t. So between vet bills and the deductible I need to work more. Except I can’t right now because for the next 2 weeks my dog needs constant supervision so I’m only working my normal schedule (weekends). So how it is looking is the last 2 weeks I worked/vacation, these next 2 weeks will be studying looking after my dog, and once he’s healed I will be working for 2 weeks straight (1k deductible).

Currently I’ve kept with anki, JW, read all Kaplan books, reviewing with naman barya videos on YouTube, and Uworld. I obvs did practice exams but chilled out since I needed more content review. Honestly if you don’t count weekends or the two weeks I’m working it’ll be about 20ish days. That’s not enough imo. My goal score is obvs as high as it can be but I want at least a 510 (my gpa is 3.78, so maybe that can compensate some but higher the better.

The problem is the test dates are coming to an end. I was thinking of scheduling August 16th or August 22nd. My birthday is August 20th, is it better to do it before or after? But even then what if my scores aren’t better? Am I doomed for September or January 2026?? I KNOW I can do this. My entire thesis was on how intelligence is malleable but I am struggling. Please give me advice. Maybe not super mean advice but honest advice. This is the first time I’m taking the MCAT fwiw too.

 

[PolarIceLongLastingFlavor]

I’m assuming you’re not applying this year, and it seems you’re working and not in school. With that being said, I would postpone until next year. Don’t even reschedule yet, keep studying and strengthening your content review. Build up that foundation, focus on really understanding that material. Your inability to crack 510 isn’t coming from test taking deficiencies, you have content gaps. Just start again when you are financially ready and take your time to really learn the content, take a practice FL after you’re gone through your content review then decide when to schedule your mcat

 

[The OTC]

Honestly, I would wait until you are in a more stable position, mentally and emotionally, before rescheduling. If you aren’t applying this cycle, do not rush it.

Keep up with anki and jw practice questions to retain some of your material. When you are in a better spot, reschedule and establish a new game plan.

don’t feel rushed. Each attempt of the MCAT is expensive and draining. Taking it once and doing well whether that is august or next year will be a huge win.

 

[arin1331]

I just took an AAMC FL but my score has remained really bad (491) for three months. Albeit I did take a kaplan test and got a 501, so i thought I was going in the right direction (inflated). 25% done on uworld, have alot of the SB's left. But ive been studying since Jan and my score has came up alot from the diagnostic but clearly not good for DO or MD schools. In college I did excellent just listening (3.8gpa). I have all the extracurriculars, its just this test. Considering my learning style is verbal im wondering if it would be worth it to invest in a prep course or pay for tutoring? I am studying full time right now, working weekends, but I can work alot for a few weeks to get a good bit of money to pay for it.

what i've done so far:
read kaplan books with small notes in margin (waste of time tbh but I do reference them)
anki JS and pankow + my own from UW and tests
Naman baraya youtube videos (gold)
began UW then got the 491 at the end of march, so then I went back to content review for a good 2 months, then began UW again about 1.5 months ago, tested today and got a 491 again lmfao its not funny but im upset that ive wasted 3 months-ish
I have taken some days off and a vacation but remained pretty consistent

I'm getting burnt out and discouraged. Only thing keeping me going is that drs that i work with say it isn't this way med school is, but im questioning if im cut out for this or if theyre being accurate or just nice. I dont want to give up because ive wanted this as a kid. So im looking for advice on these topics

1. how to avoid burnout/discouragement

2. should I invest in tutoring/prep course? if so which one

3. general tips please. CARS and psych is my best sections (but still bad lol) with bio and cp being the worst

thanks in advance

 

[arin1331]

Honestly, I would wait until you are in a more stable position, mentally and emotionally, before rescheduling. If you aren’t applying this cycle, do not rush it.

Keep up with anki and jw practice questions to retain some of your material. When you are in a better spot, reschedule and establish a new game plan.

don’t feel rushed. Each attempt of the MCAT is expensive and draining. Taking it once and doing well whether that is august or next year will be a huge win.

sorry I didnt see this sooner. thanks for your encouragement since I just posted again abt no improvement lol

 

[arin1331]

I’m assuming you’re not applying this year, and it seems you’re working and not in school. With that being said, I would postpone until next year. Don’t even reschedule yet, keep studying and strengthening your content review. Build up that foundation, focus on really understanding that material. Your inability to crack 510 isn’t coming from test taking deficiencies, you have content gaps. Just start again when you are financially ready and take your time to really learn the content, take a practice FL after you’re gone through your content review then decide when to schedule your m\

thanks for your advice, sorry I didnt see it earlier. I just posted again because I had no improvement lol.

 

[chilly_md]

I'm getting burnt out and discouraged. Only thing keeping me going is that drs that i work with say it isn't this way med school is, but im questioning if im cut out for this or if theyre being accurate or just nice. I dont want to give up because ive wanted this as a kid. So im looking for advice on these topics

1. how to avoid burnout/discouragement

2. should I invest in tutoring/prep course? if so which one

3. general tips please. CARS and psych is my best sections (but still bad lol) with bio and cp being the worst

thanks in advance

These are all questions that come up often for those preparing for the MCAT. It would be best to utilize the SDN search feature and switch it from Everything to "This Forum" to find some existing, detailed threads regarding those topics.