One week left, Advise?

[nunezyan]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hello everyone,

I'm going to take my MCATs next week (July 27th) and I can surely say that I will not be doing well. Why? Because I've taken many FLs (AAMC and Kaplan) and I don't score well enough (<25). I have been going over MCAT material since October so I know it well but whenever it comes to the exam I make so many mistakes (reading question wrong, changing answers, doing math wrong, skipping important information, etc) that I end up with a disappointing score. I've tried several times to fix these errors but I still somehow end up making them. I guess that's what bad standardized test taking skills are...

Anyway, can I get some advise on what to do to help get over my test taking issues or what I should focus on for the last week?

Any kind of advise will be great.

Thank you!

 

[gtbROX]

If I were in your position I would look into canceling the MCAT test because one week is not enough time to get you to a 30 minimum. Retakes look bad to med schools unless your score is significantly improved.

If you're in your 3rd/4th year, consider taking a premedical postbacc (many have rigorous programs dedicated towards preparing your for the mcat, and their avg scores are rather high) or dedicate 6+ months to studying for the mcat again (3+ months for reviewing all the material, enough time for covering all the material at least 2x and the remainder of the time doing practice tests (AAMC and GS ones preferrably) and practice passages (EK/PR/BR). This will be time-consuming, but it could help you a lot.

If you're 1st/2nd year, finish your premed general bio classes (biochem/mol. bio/genetics), ochem, physics, gchem, and maybe some relevant upperdivs (cell bio, virology, adv. biochem/mol. bio, physio) and then take time (3+months) to review MCAT science material and do practice problems/tests.

I know you said that you have bad test-taking skills, but a lot of times, it's not just the lack thereof that makes students do bad on tests. Not understanding the material thoroughly can also contribute. For the MCAT, the best (and IMO minimum) test taking skill you need is POE (process of elimination). Many times you're confronted with 4 answer choices that all look wrong or 2 answer choices that look wrong and 2 you don't comprehend at all. In these cases, knowledge of what is ABSOLUTELY NOT POSSIBLE lets you POE wisely and make educated guesses, and this knowledge only comes from taking time to properly review your materials.

You also mentioned that you misread questions. Whenever this happened to me it was always because I was not as familiar with the topic/concept that the question was addressing. In this case, you really need to understand the topic and the possible complications that the MCAT questions can present to you regarding it. Most review books like EK and PR bring these problematic topics up a lot.

Anyways, I hope you'll read my post and at least consider it. If not, I still wish you the best of luck.

 

[nunezyan]

If I were in your position I would look into canceling the MCAT test because one week is not enough time to get you to a 30 minimum. Retakes look bad to med schools unless your score is significantly improved.

If you're in your 3rd/4th year, consider taking a premedical postbacc (many have rigorous programs dedicated towards preparing your for the mcat, and their avg scores are rather high) or dedicate 6+ months to studying for the mcat again (3+ months for reviewing all the material, enough time for covering all the material at least 2x and the remainder of the time doing practice tests (AAMC and GS ones preferrably) and practice passages (EK/PR/BR). This will be time-consuming, but it could help you a lot.

If you're 1st/2nd year, finish your premed general bio classes (biochem/mol. bio/genetics), ochem, physics, gchem, and maybe some relevant upperdivs (cell bio, virology, adv. biochem/mol. bio, physio) and then take time (3+months) to review MCAT science material and do practice problems/tests.

I know you said that you have bad test-taking skills, but a lot of times, it's not just the lack thereof that makes students do bad on tests. Not understanding the material thoroughly can also contribute. For the MCAT, the best (and IMO minimum) test taking skill you need is POE (process of elimination). Many times you're confronted with 4 answer choices that all look wrong or 2 answer choices that look wrong and 2 you don't comprehend at all. In these cases, knowledge of what is ABSOLUTELY NOT POSSIBLE lets you POE wisely and make educated guesses, and this knowledge only comes from taking time to properly review your materials.

You also mentioned that you misread questions. Whenever this happened to me it was always because I was not as familiar with the topic/concept that the question was addressing. In this case, you really need to understand the topic and the possible complications that the MCAT questions can present to you regarding it. Most review books like EK and PR bring these problematic topics up a lot.

Anyways, I hope you'll read my post and at least consider it. If not, I still wish you the best of luck.

Hi!

Thanks for the reply. I'll definitely consider your advise. I don't want to take the exam if I feel I'm not ready for it and I know I won't do well.

 

[shaboobly]

Hi!

Thanks for the reply. I'll definitely consider your advise. I don't want to take the exam if I feel I'm not ready for it and I know I won't do well.

you said you have been doing MCAT related stuff since october? as in october 2011? i don't think it's an issue with not knowing the stuff because that's a relatively long time to earn a really good score on the mcat.

you said you have a problem with second guessing yourself and changing your right answer to the wrong answer. i use to to this when i first started in every section, but for the sciences i realized i can use my scientific intiuition a lot of time time and eliminate choices which are not even likely to occur. and only change an answer if i mark a question and have info to back up my answer, whether it be the math or something out of the passage.

for verbal, i use to change my answers around while going through the questions, but this is counter-intuitive to change it to the wrong choice. i figured out the mark option and only use this to change answers if i have time remaining, if i don't then i leave it as the first choice i picked, but i can say poe really does work if you can decipher what the author is even talking about.

i think you should try taking the test without changing your answers and see how you perform. for all you know you could just be over analyzing every question.

 

[sdz7424]

gtbROX gave some great advice. Preparing for the mcat is no walk in the park, and many others have been in your position at some point during the course of their mcat studies - myself included.

Content review is a bit of a trial and error process. There are many ways to go about mastering the material, so you need to determine what does and doesn't work for you. Some people get by from just reading reading prep books; others prefer an on-site prep course; some swear by online videos from Wikipremed, Khan academy, and Chad. For a topic I'm weak in, I prefer to at first read through the section in my Kaplan book, then watch an online video about it, and then re-read the section to really solidify my understanding. It's all about trying out different approaches and structuring your studies to suit your personal preferences.

Keep in mind, most of the underlying principles of biology, organic chemistry, gen chemistry, and physics really do intertwine, which is how the mcat is going to test you. You need to know how to apply core physics concepts to passage(s) in the BS section, and vice versa. Try to view physics, gen/orgo chem, and bio as being one huge entity; when your reading/studying a gen chem concept, try to gauge at how it could apply or relate to topics in bio and physics.

Finally, don't read for detail (unless it helps you comprehend the material better and you have a LOT of time to prepare). Read to develop a general, overall understanding of topics and the general trends, conditions and/or laws of fundamental concepts, so that you're able to apply your knowledge to a situation you've never seen before. For example, if you know the trends and set of conditions for potential and kinetic energy, you'll be able to look past a convoluted, crazy (and heart attack-worthy) passage, which is really just testing your understanding of basic PE and KE trends.

Hopefully this helps! Try not to feel too discouraged, and know that you're not alone and there are so many others in the same position as you.

 

[nunezyan]

gtbROX gave some great advice. Preparing for the mcat is no walk in the park, and many others have been in your position at some point during the course of their mcat studies - myself included.

Content review is a bit of a trial and error process. There are many ways to go about mastering the material, so you need to determine what does and doesn't work for you. Some people get by from just reading reading prep books; others prefer an on-site prep course; some swear by online videos from Wikipremed, Khan academy, and Chad. For a topic I'm weak in, I prefer to at first read through the section in my Kaplan book, then watch an online video about it, and then re-read the section to really solidify my understanding. It's all about trying out different approaches and structuring your studies to suit your personal preferences.

Keep in mind, most of the underlying principles of biology, organic chemistry, gen chemistry, and physics really do intertwine, which is how the mcat is going to test you. You need to know how to apply core physics concepts to passage(s) in the BS section, and vice versa. Try to view physics, gen/orgo chem, and bio as being one huge entity; when your reading/studying a gen chem concept, try to gauge at how it could apply or relate to topics in bio and physics.

Finally, don't read for detail (unless it helps you comprehend the material better and you have a LOT of time to prepare). Read to develop a general, overall understanding of topics and the general trends, conditions and/or laws of fundamental concepts, so that you're able to apply your knowledge to a situation you've never seen before. For example, if you know the trends and set of conditions for potential and kinetic energy, you'll be able to look past a convoluted, crazy (and heart attack-worthy) passage, which is really just testing your understanding of basic PE and KE trends.

Hopefully this helps! Try not to feel too discouraged, and know that you're not alone and there are so many others in the same position as you.

you said you have been doing MCAT related stuff since october? as in october 2011? i don't think it's an issue with not knowing the stuff because that's a relatively long time to earn a really good score on the mcat.

you said you have a problem with second guessing yourself and changing your right answer to the wrong answer. i use to to this when i first started in every section, but for the sciences i realized i can use my scientific intiuition a lot of time time and eliminate choices which are not even likely to occur. and only change an answer if i mark a question and have info to back up my answer, whether it be the math or something out of the passage.

for verbal, i use to change my answers around while going through the questions, but this is counter-intuitive to change it to the wrong choice. i figured out the mark option and only use this to change answers if i have time remaining, if i don't then i leave it as the first choice i picked, but i can say poe really does work if you can decipher what the author is even talking about.

i think you should try taking the test without changing your answers and see how you perform. for all you know you could just be over analyzing every question.

Great advise! I'll make sure to keep it in mind and try it out 🙂

On a side note. I took an untimed practice exam to see how I would score and I was able to score a 30 🙂! I kept track of how long I was taking on each section and I seemed to have been going approximately 10 minutes over the set time limit. So I think timing is playing a major factor in my score. That's what I need to overcome by Thursday.

 

[gtbROX]

yeah and good luck! Definitely take time to try out all tips and advice given and focus on what helps you most.