People with 40 + MCAT

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BritIndian

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Hello all!

I want to ask all those people who got 40+ on the MCAT, which books and prep materials they used and found most effective!

Thanks
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BritIndian said:
I'm not asking how they studied, how much they studied

ONLY WHAT MATERIAL THEY USED.
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Maybe do a little work instead of asking everyone to present information to you the way you'd like it formatted.
 
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i think that most probably utilized some form of divine intervention, inherent genius, or luck.

most likely a mixture of the above
 
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BritIndian said:
I'm not asking how they studied, how much they studied

ONLY WHAT MATERIAL THEY USED.
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The material they used likely has very very little to do with the fact they scored a 40+. The things you don't want to hear are definitely more important. That being said, not many people can get a 40, and I sincerely doubt that anything you read on this forum will make you be able to if you wouldn't have in the first place.

CodeBlu said:
I know a bloke... (yes I said bloke), got accepted to Harvard with a 28S... and a 3.6 GPA.... NO RESEARCH!!!!

I was a little envious.
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Pics or it didn't happen.
 
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Hey you guys

The Caps lock musta made it seem like I'm shouting, My bad.

I just wanted to emphasize the point.

My bad again, sorry for seeming angry
 
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Chops369 said:
The material they used likely has very very little to do with the fact they scored a 40+. The things you don't want to hear are definitely more important. That being said, not many people can get a 40, and I sincerely doubt that anything you read on this forum will make you be able to if you wouldn't have in the first place.


Pics or it didn't happen.
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Hello Chops369
Well Of course, either you can or you can't make a 40 +.

If you can does that mean that you will have the intrinsic knowledge, format, pattern, thorough practice and plethora of facts (required for the test of course) in your mind without reading or preparing from a set of books? I'm not looking for an easy way of doing something, only the right way. That's why I made this thread. Of course I knew there was going to be some off topic comments on this thread, but my main purpose was to accumulate the right tools to work with.

Maybe you've given the SAT and know that the Princeton Review book is very different from the Kaplan book. From experience you would know which one is direct, and which one is superfluous. The point is , you'd be able to guide someone in choosing the right book to go to school with so they wouldn't waste time in analyzing and buying a multitude of references. Precisely in the same manner, I'm trying to understand which set of books is the best.
 
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It's not all that hard. You just need to anally rape all your prereq courses - taking biochem, genetics, and other advanced courses helps a poopload (mainly biochem). Depending on how much raping you did earlier, you will need to study more before the actual tests. Take all the AAMC tests under testing conditions right before the real deal. Then get a little bit lucky on the exam. Getting a 40+ means you can only answer 5-10 questions wrong on the entire exam. For the studying portion, I used ExamKrackers Audio Osmosis (listened to whole thing), Kaplan MCAT Premier book (read the whole thing), and all the AAMCs. End result: 42O (did not practice writing at all and had not written an essay in like 1.5 years).

You can study your way to about a 34-36, past that most of it is luck.
 
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the 30+ forum CLEARLY states the materials AND methods used. lol.

hope the emphasis got through! :p

Where along are you? How are you doing on ur practices?
 
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I'm a sophomore now, and I still have a long way to go,
Just wanted to make sure I'm on track, I haven't even taken Orgo yet
So no Practice tests.

Thanks
 
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Considering how 0.4% of all test takers had a score of 40 or above I think you'll find it very difficult to attain that score, let alone find someone who scored a 40+ and can give you advice on what to read.
 
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CodeBlu said:
I know a bloke... (yes I said bloke), got accepted to Harvard with a 28S... and a 3.6 GPA.... NO RESEARCH!!!!

I was a little envious.
Click to expand...

any of the following related:

-urm
-multiple nature/science/cell pubs
-gave a 1 million endowment
-"favors"
???
 
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CGE0 What about you? Are you in medical school? Or have you just applied?
Have you given the MCAT and all of those other reqs?
 
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Tapepsi said:
Considering how 0.4% of all test takers had a score of 40 or above I think you'll find it very difficult to attain that score, let alone find someone who scored a 40+ and can give you advice on what to read.
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That is around 300 people you know.

I hope some of them are reading this right now. I'm not gonna be a pessimist and just not try finding out.

Also we don't know each other, so I'm not sure how you can extrapolate if the test will be hard or easy for me. For most people it is hard but I've seen even the worst students bounce back and get great scores on exams.
Thanks
 
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BritIndian said:
That is around 300 people you know.

I hope some of them are reading this right now. I'm not gonna be a pessimist and just not try finding out.

Also we don't know each other, so I'm not sure how you can extrapolate if the test will be hard or easy for me. For most people it is hard but I've seen even the worst students bounce back and get great scores on exams.
Thanks
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I don't think it's pessimistic to aim for something "lower". I mean, even a 34 is a wonderful score, and that's 6 below what you're asking. I was aiming for 35, but you'll have a better idea of your target when you start taking AAMC practice tests. I set a realistic reach score based on my practices. Still, if 40 is your goal then have at it. Study your butt off, and hope for kind passages :xf: (I got one bio passage that tanked me).
 
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BritIndian said:
That is around 300 people you know.

I hope some of them are reading this right now. I'm not gonna be a pessimist and just not try finding out.

Also we don't know each other, so I'm not sure how you can extrapolate if the test will be hard or easy for me. For most people it is hard but I've seen even the worst students bounce back and get great scores on exams.
Thanks
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I was in no way telling you that you will not attain an MCAT score of 40+, nor was I saying that the test would be difficult for you. It is definitely important to aim for the stars and do the best you possibly can.

What I am trying to tell you is that it will be difficult to find people who have received that score (which was your original question). As someone previously mentioned, there is some luck involved with reaching such a stellar number.

Also, I will repeat what others have said that the 30+ thread will be very helpful in determining what materials worked for others vs. what didn't.

So I wish you the best and I hope that you will be one of the 300 people who receive a 40+ score.

Good luck. :thumbup:
 
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I hope you guys might have guessed from my username that I'm an international student.

That's pretty much why I'm aiming high. I've heard it's a daunting task for F-1 Visa students to get into med school , and that's why I want to aim high and do well. I know that 35 is a fantastic score, the thing is , A very small number of international students get into Med School in the USA, and to be anywhere close to the competition, the MCAT scores have to be phenomenal.

It's just because of this that I wanted to accumulate some data on the people who have actually scored a 40+.

I understand that everyone who has contributed to this thread is indeed a wellwisher, and a realist. But I have no option but to go the extra mile. Also in aiming high, there is no loss, since if not the target, then atleast as close as you can get could be a good enough measure , right?

I appreciate you guys looking out for me :)

Thanks Tapepsi and Vandy Premed
 
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You can't really aim for a 40+. Unless you are just an MCAT stud to the max (yeah I said to the max), in which it honestly won't really matter what study materials you use, then you can only really aim for somewhere around 35+. A 40+ is an awesome score and you have to be damn good to get it, but the difference between high 30s and a 40 is really just things that are outside of your control, stuff like... luck or getting passages on topics that you happen to be good at, etc. The difference between a 30 and 35 is significant, but between a 35 and 40? Not so much.

And that's really just how it is, because of how the test is scaled, the difference between a 35 and 40 can really just be a matter of a handful of questions. In some cases it's unfair that you have to aim so high to get noticed as an international student when there really is not a significant difference between those scores, but on the other hand, US MD programs are supposed to be for US citizens and permanent residents.
 
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Moving to MCAT Discussions.

My opinion may change once I've taken the MCAT, but I really don't buy the whole "you can't ever expect to get a 40 or above on the MCAT because it comes down to luck and a few questions" thing. There are people that are crazy smart and test well, as if you actually learn and master the material you are supposed to be responsible for on the test, there won't be any factor of getting passages that play to/against your strengths. That said, most people either won't or can't actually study/retain all the information covered, and even the ones who do score around or above 40 agree that it's not a realistic goal. I think for certain people, it's a realistic goal, if still incredibly high.
 
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gettheleadout said:
Moving to MCAT Discussions.

My opinion may change once I've taken the MCAT, but I really don't buy the whole "you can't ever expect to get a 40 or above on the MCAT because it comes down to luck and a few questions" thing. There are people that are crazy smart and test well, as if you actually learn and master the material you are supposed to be responsible for on the test, there won't be any factor of getting passages that play to/against your strengths. That said, most people either won't or can't actually study/retain all the information covered, and even the ones who do score around or above 40 agree that it's not a realistic goal. I think for certain people, it's a realistic goal, if still incredibly high.
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I agree getthelead.
That's why I started this thread!
 
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40+ generally does correspond to a depth of knowledge beyond the MCAT prep curriculum, really exceptional intelligence, and a bit of luck. Even though all of the learning goals assayed in the exam are within the curriculum, there's a point of view where with difficult questions are possible with an ideal MCAT prep, but much easier if you have a deep understanding. Although biochemistry isn't on the exam per se, or deep molecular genetics, there are concerns of those disciplines that highlight and condition understanding of the core knowledge that give a person a much better sense of the test writers' intentions for the difficult questions on the exam. Reactions among carboxylic derivatives is an important part of organic, but if you've had biochem, for example, you understand why the MCAT loves to test on it. Reading journal articles to train your mind to snap into comprehension is good. You might look into pleasure reading really old edition of Stryer's Biochemistry, the old editions are much shorter and inexpensive, and Linus Pauling's General Chemistry. Those are two of the best works I can think of for training the mind to a deeper scientific conception without too much trouble and a lot of enjoyment.
 
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35+ is a realistic goal for anyone doing well with the SN2ed study plan, I don't think 40+ is a realistic goal for anyone who isn't brilliant or extremely dedicated. People who end up with 40+ have mastered the content on a very deep level and literally understand everything there is to know about the MCAT. Don't expect a 40+ unless you're taking AAMCs under timed conditions and averaging above 40. Its not impossible, just really difficult to do because of the way MCAT is formatted.
 
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OP, 40+ is a good goal, but I think everyone here is just trying to make sure you keep in mind that it is not a realistic goal. Obviously your goal should be to get every question right, just understand that it is not going to happen.

People always say on here that a 40+ is possible, as long as you're an excellent test taker, have thorough understanding of your basic sciences, and study extremely hard for the mcat in the months prior to taking it. The thing to understand is that this describes almost everyone who makes above a 34 on the mcat. The mcat is an exam that intelligent, well studied individuals take and end up doing poorly on.

Just because you can make in the top 99.9% on your SAT, or be the top in your class at your university doesn't mean that you'll be that high on the mcat.
 
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Donald Juan said:
OP, 40+ is a good goal, but I think everyone here is just trying to make sure you keep in mind that it is not a realistic goal. Obviously your goal should be to get every question right, just understand that it is not going to happen.

People always say on here that a 40+ is possible, as long as you're an excellent test taker, have thorough understanding of your basic sciences, and study extremely hard for the mcat in the months prior to taking it. The thing to understand is that this describes almost everyone who makes above a 34 on the mcat. The mcat is an exam that intelligent, well studied individuals take and end up doing poorly on.

Just because you can make in the top 99.9% on your SAT, or be the top in your class at your university doesn't mean that you'll be that high on the mcat.
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I thank everyone for the insight

But again, we are digressing from the topic. I'm not asking if you think I can or can't or other people can or can't. We're really not here to discuss this.

I just asked for the prep material they used. Simple.
 
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1. Check the previously existing sticky
2. Go through each page and find every user that had a score of 40+
3. Obtain whatever information you were looking for
4. ????
5. Profit
 
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A friend of mine did all of his "studying" purely off of just taking all of the previously administered mcat tests from e-mcat.com and doing those. He pulled a 35 the first time, was unsatisfied, retook and got a 40. Then again, he's a very smart guy, so don't expect to do the same from that.
 
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BritIndian said:
I thank everyone for the insight

But again, we are digressing from the topic. I'm not asking if you think I can or can't or other people can or can't. We're really not here to discuss this.

I just asked for the prep material they used. Simple.
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You really didn't need to create a new thread for this on the off chance the handful of users that got 40+ will see it and respond and post their materials for the 2nd or further time. Just go look in the 30+ MCAT Study Habits thread like everyone has said, people list their materials in there, and don't read their schedule notes if you're not interested in that.

/thread
 
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BritIndian said:
I thank everyone for the insight

But again, we are digressing from the topic. I'm not asking if you think I can or can't or other people can or can't. We're really not here to discuss this.

I just asked for the prep material they used. Simple.
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Ok, there are plenty of topics on the pros/cons of the various review material (PR, BR, EK, Kaplan, nova). I'll spoil the mystery: there is no review material that will give you some secret key to getting a 40+. Your best chance is to use them all if you really want a 40+.
 
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Fair warning, I too am digressing from the topic...

Just a side note, but one of the major factors in determining whether a person scores a 40+ is simply the brain they were born with. Many of us, even with endless studying and practice test taking, will peak at a number below this. There's no shame in this, as scoring a 40+ puts you in the top 0.5% of MCAT takers. This is not the top 0.5% of all people, but the top 0.5% of those who take the MCAT. While some medical school hopefuls are decidedly dumb, I would think that the average intelligence of those who take the MCAT is a few notches higher than the public in general, and only 5 out of 1000 of these smart test takers score 40+.

That being said, I hope your study time is productive and you reach your personal potential.
 
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