One month out from test and still not improving

[dermdill]

Hello everyone!

Just looking for some advice here...

I have been studying for the MCAT since January. I started with the blueprint self pace review but found that I was not retaining the information so I tried content reviewing with Anki which I think helped. My diagnostic score was a 488. The highest I have gotten on a FL over the past 5 months was a 497 however the last test I took last week I went back to a 488. I take my test next month and I am looking for advice on ways I can improve that maybe I haven't thought to do yet. I am not looking to get a great score or anything, honestly, I am just trying to get over the 500 hump. I am at the point where I have been studying for long that I definitely do not want to cancel my test this June. I definitely think my issue is content (obviously) and I have trouble relating the passages in the sections to questions being asked.

Again, just wondering if anyone has any advice as I do not have any pre-med or even medical peers or family to talk to about with this

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[dermdill]

*485 diagnostic

 

[eteshoe]

Are you just doing content review or doing practice problems as well over the last 5 months? A month out you should be doing just practice problems interspersed with practice exams - ideally AAMC material only. Practice problems give you a way of seeing how concepts will be tested. Doing tons of problems gives you the ability to see the patterns and answer correctly more often.

 

[deleted1169403]

am looking for advice on ways I can improve that maybe I haven't thought to do yet.

What is your studying process like currently?

 

[dermdill]

Are you just doing content review or doing practice problems as well over the last 5 months? A month out you should be doing just practice problems interspersed with practice exams - ideally AAMC material only. Practice problems give you a way of seeing how concepts will be tested. Doing tons of problems gives you the ability to see the patterns and answer correctly more often.

I have been doing the offical aamc qbanks but not too too much of it just because I would always do so bad that I figured I should focus on the content. Do you think I should do more qbanks and really look at how I got whatever I get wrong?

 

[dermdill]

What is your studying process like currently?

I spend 4/5 hours doing anki mostly. I do some qbanks here and there but because I always do somewhat bad on them, I figured I should do more content with the anki but I am starting to think I need to ease up on the anki.

 

[eteshoe]

I spend 4/5 hours doing anki mostly. I do some qbanks here and there but because I always do somewhat bad on them, I figured I should do more content with the anki but I am starting to think I need to ease up on the anki.

You should be doing mostly qbanks at this point. Limit Anki to 1-2 hrs rest of your time should be on practice problems. Doesn't matter if you suck - better to be trash on the qbank than the real deal. Your performance will improve over time too

 

[karaya]

Anik is great for reinforcing concepts, but it is not a substitute for learning or applying them. Yours is a common pitfall. Students do poorly on the practice problems, so they retreat to an easier space, whether that's flashcards or Kaplan books. But being uncomfortable in practice is the only way to identify your content gaps. You should be reviewing (or re-learning the concepts for) all your guesses and wrong answers.

 

[dermdill]

What is your studying process like currently?

I have been doing the offical aamc qbanks but not too too much of it just because I would always do so bad that I figured I should focus on the content. I am thinking I should just focus on qbanks now though