Proof that a retake does work!! April05-Aug05

[Turquoisey]

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I took my mcat in april 05 got a 26. i was so upset. Then, bought some examkrackers books (1001) and just got a 29. just the act of being more comfortable was key!

 

[medhacker]

just the act of being more comfortable was key!

Can you elaborate what do you mean by more comfortable?

 

[aung]

posted earlier on the other mcat scores thread but here goes:

23M in april 05: 8/6/9/M breakdown (P/V/B/W)

29P in august 05: 11/8/10/P (P/V/B/W)

just stayed persistent, took a lot of practice tests from every company that provides them and came up with strategies that i was more comfortable with for each section.

 

[strawberryfield]

I went from 25Q (V-9, P-7, B-9) in April 04 to 29Q (V-9, P-9, B-11) in Aug 05...
since April I have...
graduated college, taken a lot more biology classes and became more dedicated to my goal.
Positive thinking helps, and the experience of having taken it helps too.

 

[TeaLeef]

I took the April and August exam. I'm happy that my physics and bio scores increased, but I'm disappointed that my verbal score decreased. ::sigh:: Overall, I'm relieved that I don't have to take this exam again.

To those of you who didn't get your "ideal" score, try again! I know that it's easier said than done, but to stay sane, I reminded myself that sometimes it's the journey that matters the most. Best of luck to all.

 

[JHU Texan]

Apr '05 - 28Q - 8P 10V 10B
Aug '05 - 34P - 12P 12V 10B

I'm a little disappointed about bio not going up, but extremely happy about the rest. Some advice for people re-taking it in April:

1) Spend at least 30 hours a week (preferably as much as possible above this) on the MCAT. This includes: going over material, taking practice exams, and then going over the exams thoroughly. I know its much harder to do this for the April exam, but try to take a lighter course load/cut back on extracurriculars to get in the necessary time. You have plenty of time till the exam, so plan ahead. Try to start studying early so you can space out the practice exams.

2) Do plenty of practice exams. For April, I took 5 practice exams (all AAMC), but for the August exam I took 15 (all the AAMC exams, 6 Kaplan exams, 2 princeton review, and 1 EK). Also, when I did take them, I always started between 8 and 9am, taking every single break and spending the exact amount of time on each section as required (i.e. 100 minutes on physical, etc). All of that practice might seem excessive, but its probably the reason why my verbal went up 2 points, and it certainly didn't hurt my physical science score. I was a bit surprised by my score because my average on the practice exams was a 31, with a range between 30 and 33.

3) Just be comfortable. Yeah, I know its easier said than done, but the difference in your thinking is crucial. What really threw me off the first time around was getting a late start--the proctors at the site were really disorganized, and we didn't start the exam till almost 10am, and didn't get out till 6:30. In August, I was much more relaxed. Even though conditions were less than perfect--church bells kept going off every half hour and they lasted for a couple of minutes each time, I was still able to stay focused.

 

[dsprague12]

April '03 - 29S - 9 PS, 10 VR, 10 BS
August '05 - 32Q - 11 PS, 11 VR, 10 BS

Wish my BS had hit an 11 too - would have been much more rewarding.

 

[LaDoctorFutura]

Apr05: 24Q: 7P 7V 10B
Aug05: 29Q: 10P 9V 10B

I bought Examkrackers and got to krackin'! I promise, they work...if you're willing to spend the time going over the info. I took 5 AAMC practice tests, that ranged from 28-30...so i reached my average!

I'm very happy with my score! a 5 point increase makes me giddy! Congrats to all of my fellow retakers who will never have to take the MCAT again! 👍 👍 👍

Words of Inspiration:
If you aren't happy with your score, don't fret. With my 24Q, i had 4 interviews. Just make sure your app is stellar and a good assessment of why your MCAT doesn't reflect the rest of the app. And try and try again.
Good Luck!

 

[musiclink213]

April 05- 23P, 7 PS, 7 VR, 9 BS
August 05- 29O, 7 PS, 11 VR, 11 BS

Very excited with the 6 point increase. I am not going to complain. It's just the 7 in PS that bothers me.

 

[USArmyDoc]

April 05- 23P, 7 PS, 7 VR, 9 BS
August 05- 29O, 7 PS, 11 VR, 11 BS

Very excited with the 6 point increase. I am not going to complain. It's just the 7 in PS that bothers me.

YAYYYYY!!! 🙂

 

[PBandJ]

Apr '05 - 28Q - 8P 10V 10B
Aug '05 - 34P - 12P 12V 10B

I'm a little disappointed about bio not going up, but extremely happy about the rest. Some advice for people re-taking it in April:

1) Spend at least 30 hours a week (preferably as much as possible above this) on the MCAT. This includes: going over material, taking practice exams, and then going over the exams thoroughly. I know its much harder to do this for the April exam, but try to take a lighter course load/cut back on extracurriculars to get in the necessary time. You have plenty of time till the exam, so plan ahead. Try to start studying early so you can space out the practice exams.

2) Do plenty of practice exams. For April, I took 5 practice exams (all AAMC), but for the August exam I took 15 (all the AAMC exams, 6 Kaplan exams, 2 princeton review, and 1 EK). Also, when I did take them, I always started between 8 and 9am, taking every single break and spending the exact amount of time on each section as required (i.e. 100 minutes on physical, etc). All of that practice might seem excessive, but its probably the reason why my verbal went up 2 points, and it certainly didn't hurt my physical science score. I was a bit surprised by my score because my average on the practice exams was a 31, with a range between 30 and 33.

3) Just be comfortable. Yeah, I know its easier said than done, but the difference in your thinking is crucial. What really threw me off the first time around was getting a late start--the proctors at the site were really disorganized, and we didn't start the exam till almost 10am, and didn't get out till 6:30. In August, I was much more relaxed. Even though conditions were less than perfect--church bells kept going off every half hour and they lasted for a couple of minutes each time, I was still able to stay focused.

I took kaplan this summer and felt really prepared for the exam, but ended up with a 25P. i even did the same thing you did (with starting the practice exams at the right time and taking every break and what not), but i'm convinced i just didn't do enough practice exams. i'm very disappointed and really want to do what it takes to get this above 30. i'm planning to get the AAMC exams and take the kaplan course again. when do suggest scheduling the practice exams (e.g. once every other week up to test date, after some hard core studying of course)?

 

[CoffeeCat]

Let's make this useful for others by organizing it! Post in "For those that improved..."

Thanks

 

[chanx314]

got a 30 N on the april 05 test,

got 11-VR, 12-PS, 13-BS, 36 Q on the august test so happy all that hard work paid off.

 

[JustR]

got a 30 N on the april 05 test,

got 11-VR, 12-PS, 13-BS, 36 Q on the august test so happy all that hard work paid off.

wow!! You all people are really smart than I am
and I only got 20N, oh No I can't believe it
for so worse or more.

 

[JHU Texan]

I took kaplan this summer and felt really prepared for the exam, but ended up with a 25P. i even did the same thing you did (with starting the practice exams at the right time and taking every break and what not), but i'm convinced i just didn't do enough practice exams. i'm very disappointed and really want to do what it takes to get this above 30. i'm planning to get the AAMC exams and take the kaplan course again. when do suggest scheduling the practice exams (e.g. once every other week up to test date, after some hard core studying of course)?

I didn't start studying till after I got my scores from the April exam--around mid-June. Since I was on a condensed schedule, I ended up taking two exams a week, spacing them out 3-4 days in between each exam. If you're going to end up taking more than 10 exams (or less), try to take at least one a week, preferably on Saturday mornings. Schedule them IN ADVANCE, and do not skip them for any reason. I took one of my exams even though I was hung over from the previous night, and while my score was in my low range(30), it still helped give me the confidence that I could have a decent score even if random stuff happened like getting sick, terrible testing conditions, etc.

I recommend EK to get a decent overall look at everything, but definitely supplement it with notes from class/textbooks/other prep courses. If you're having trouble remembering details, find an old copy of a Kaplan/PR workbook, or get some of the EK 1001 questions series (I only used the series for Chemistry and verbal, so I'm not sure how the rest are) and finish the entire book.

 

[cici3]

I took the MCAT in April 2004, and August 2004 and both times made a 24, with Princeton Review. Then I bought all of the Examkrackers books and went up to a 29! Examkrackers books work miracles.

 

[Turkeyman]

I took my mcat in april 05 got a 26. i was so upset. Then, bought some examkrackers books (1001) and just got a 29. just the act of being more comfortable was key!

I like your name because it sounds like mine 😀.
Oh, and good job!

 

[neuroboy]

😱 Ok. I guess my jump is a little bigger than usual. I thought of retaking the test because I couldn't stay awake during my first MCAT.

1st: V8, P9, WS M, B11
this time: V12, P13, WSP, B11

 

[hasha]

Apr05: 26M: 8P 9V 8B
Aug05: 29Q: 10P 11V 13B

I studied from both Examkrackers books and Kaplan books. I spent more time with the Kaplan books the second time around. I also did many, many practice tests (AAMC and Kaplan). I also did as much of the material Kaplan gave on their website (for those of you signed up for the Kaplan course) as I could. I made sure to review every assignment and practice test to make sure I understood my mistakes. For the August MCAT, I was very determinted because of my low score on the April MCAT, so I spent about 25-30 hours per week on my own studying (this doesn't include the hours I spent at the Kaplan class).