Postpone or not?? HELP

[TennisWalk]

Hello everyone, I need some advice plzzz

So about a month and a half ago i took my first FL (Kaplan FL1) and got a
498 (C/P:123, CARS:126, B/B: 125, P/S: 124)

Today i took NS FL1 and got a 506 (C/P:125, CARS:127, B/B: 127, P/S: 127)
(I've heard this is very inflated, so i'm worried this score means nothing.)

In this month and a half I haven't really done much because of school, I did about 10-15 full sections from EK101 books (CARS, B/B and P/S). I finished Kaplan about 2 months ago, the only book i didn't go over was the physics book (explains my low score there).

My exam is scheduled for May 19 and I want to score above a 510. My question is whether I should take it May 19 or take a gap year or postpone.

Thanks

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[gottabeMD17]

Are you planning to apply this year?

 

[TennisWalk]

Yes I am.

 

[gottabeMD17]

I think you should take a gap year. Even if the NS test is accurate you are still 4 points away from your minimum ideal score and you seem like you haven't put in too much study time since that attempt so it probably hasn't gone up. I completely understand why you haven't been able to study it sounds like you have other stressors in your life! So wait until things calm down a bit and you can take your time to study over the summer and get the score you deserve.

You only have one attempt at being a first-time applicant. After that your likelihood of getting in drops significantly. You want to have all your ducks in a row and give yourself the best shot at admission the first time around. In addition, it can cost thousands of dollars to apply. You don't want to spend that kind of money without putting yourself in the best possible position to get a return on your investment (admission to a med school). At the end of the day while it seems like it's a do or die situation, you have the rest of your life to be a physician. One year isn't going to change anything - if anything it will give you the chance to get that higher MCAT score, get some more experience on your resume, and stash away a little money for med school.

EDITED TO ADD: General rule of thumb you want to get your ideal score on at least one FL before going in to take it. Try a AAMC FL and see where you're at as that's the most accurate measure. If you're happy with where you score on it then take the real one but if not take a gap year and study some more

 

[TennisWalk]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!

 

[TennisWalk]

UPDATE: I just finished Kaplan FL2 and got a 499 (C/P:123, CARS:127, B/B: 125, P/S: 124).
everything stayed the same, except CARS went up by one. This is really depressing

 

[PopeKnope23]

UPDATE: I just finished Kaplan FL2 and got a 499 (C/P:123, CARS:127, B/B: 125, P/S: 124).
everything stayed the same, except CARS went up by one. This is really depressing

Don’t judge your readiness by Kaplan. It was good practice, but I would make a final decision on when to take the test based on AAMC FLs. I’m in a similar situation as you. Got a 498 on Kaplan 1 about one 1/2 months ago, then 498 on Princeton, then 505 on NextStep 1 last week. I test June 2, so this coming weekend I will take AAMC FL 1. If you do that and see you’re not hitting 508-510ish, then I’d reconsider.