Retake Approach for 28Q

[swineflu]

AAMC B/P/V
#3 10/10/10 =30
#4 10/8/7 = 25
#5 11/12/10 = 33
#7 10/10/11 = 31
#8 11/12/10 = 33
#9 12/12/10 = 34
#10 13/11/7 = 31
#11 11/11/6 = 28

Actual 12/9/7 Q = 28Q

..........Help? I need to retake on May 26th. I think I choked on my MCAT day.... My verbal was okay in the beginning but it started going down and stayed that way.................

The way I studied:

After seeing that my verbal score was okay on AAMC#3, I didn't even bother with my verbal prep. However, when I started noticing a dramatic downward trend in verbal 3 weeks before my MCAT day, I tried to rescue it by doing EK 101 but saw no improvements.

With the sciences I did the following:
1) Loosely followed SN2ed three months plan and finished all my TBR passages in physics and chemistry. I finished 1/3 of TBR bio and orgo.
2) I finished 1/2 of TPRH workbook. Read the entire TPRH book 3 times.
3) Read EK bio and finished all the 30 minute tests. Read EK orgo and EK physics for my weak areas.
4) Attempted at finishing EK 1001s...I finished 1/3 of physics 1001, 1/3 of chemistry, 1/3 of orgo, and all the discretes in Bio 1001.

After full lengths, I would mark the questions I got wrong and solve the problem before looking at the explanation/correct answer. I would get the question right 95% of the time this way. Then I would go back and read the explanation for the questions I got wrong and also the ones I got right. I also kept a log of things I got wrong. I identified my weak areas after full lengths and thoroughly review the topics. During my full length days, I saw a good upward trend in the sciences but I bombed the physical science on the real one.

I don't know what the heck happened. My scores went downhill after my glorious 34 on AAMC #9.

I studied 3-4 hours on weekdays and 8-10 hours on Saturday and 3-4 hours on Sunday. So I never got a MCAT-free day of the week. This went on for 3-4 months during school.

I am concerned about my verbal ability. The fact that I scored decently on some of the AAMC tests tells me that I can read ....at times. But my verbal score went downhill (from 10 to 6/7) and stayed that way. How should I prepare for this? I remember that all the passages on the real deal were much longer than the ones I encountered on AAMC tests. So I guess I need to work on reading faster....

Please give me advice on how to prepare for my retake. All the content review is pretty fresh....But I wasted all my AAMC tests. I will probably get GS FLs.

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[Mazdave]

No offense, OP, but it seems like your studying was decidedly halfhearted. The best advice I can give you is that if your dream is truly to go to medical school, then study for your retake like that dream depends on it, which it does. AAMC 3 is generally considered significantly easier than the current MCAT in its real form, and even if that weren't true, why settle for a 10 in verbal?

There are countless threads on how to improve verbal score, but I would probably say the first step is to practice a lot more, and do a quick search of SDN. Your BS score is fine so you don't need to review that as much (just keep it fresh), but for your retake I would do a lot more gen chem and physics practice as well in order to make sure you raise your PS score.

 

[swineflu]

No offense, OP, but it seems like your studying was decidedly halfhearted. The best advice I can give you is that if your dream is truly to go to medical school, then study for your retake like that dream depends on it, which it does. AAMC 3 is generally considered significantly easier than the current MCAT in its real form, and even if that weren't true, why settle for a 10 in verbal?

There are countless threads on how to improve verbal score, but I would probably say the first step is to practice a lot more, and do a quick search of SDN. Your BS score is fine so you don't need to review that as much (just keep it fresh), but for your retake I would do a lot more gen chem and physics practice as well in order to make sure you raise your PS score.

I wasn't settling for a 10 in verbal. I just didn't have enough time to get into verbal prep. I have heard from SDN that verbal scores are usually very consistent. I was doing okay on verbal until the last FLs. I only had 3 months before the MCAT so I decided to pour my energies into the sciences, which seemed to improve well.

I gave up my all for the MCAT. I quit all forms of distraction so I could focus on MCAT--No TV, alcohol, facebook, partying for my MCAT study days. I studied 3-4 hours during the week on my top of my school crap. I studied for the MCAT for 3-4 months. I gave everything for the MCAT prepraration. I think you are making your assumption based on my actual MCAT score.... that's not cool man

But look at my trends. I think my physical sciences have been fine. I scored 12s on three practice exams. Why are you making judgments about me based on only my actual score?

I am very determined to be a doctor.

 

[Mazdave]

I wasn't settling for a 10 in verbal. I just didn't have enough time to get into verbal prep. I have heard from SDN that verbal scores are usually very consistent. I was doing okay on verbal until the last FLs. I only had 3 months before the MCAT so I decided to pour my energies into the sciences, which seemed to improve well.

I gave up my all for the MCAT. I quit all forms of distraction so I could focus on MCAT--No TV, alcohol, facebook, partying for my MCAT study days. I studied 3-4 hours during the week on my top of my school crap. I studied for the MCAT for 3-4 months. I gave everything for the MCAT prepraration. I think you are making your assumption based on my actual MCAT score.... that's not cool man

But look at my trends. I think my physical sciences have been fine. I scored 12s on three practice exams. Why are you making judgments about me based on only my actual score?

I am very determined to be a doctor.

Let me rephrase: You put in an impressive amount of time studying. However, it seems as though your return per hour of studying was not high, and you spent a lot of time reading compared to time doing problems, which might have been a more efficient use of your time.

What I meant was that even if you thought that your Verbal would stay consistent why would you conclude that a 10 on AAMC 3 was fine and you didn't need to bother with prep. If you ran out of time for it, that's not the same thing, but that's also not what you said in your original post.

And unfortunately, the best way to judge how well you'll do on the MCAT is to look at your actual score. If you went from getting 12s to getting a 9 on the real thing, then you had issues with test anxiety, timing, gaps in content knowledge, or some combination of those. The best solution is to make sure you know your stuff as much as possible so you can recall it quickly and be confident that you know it.

If you want advice for this time, do every problem you can get your hands on. Close whatever knowledge gaps you have in PS. Practice verbal as much as you can. The good news is that if you can improve your verbal to a 9 or 10 and get your actual PS up to the level of your practice then you'd be looking at a very solid score. Also, give yourself a day off every now and then...burnout is not your friend. Good luck.

 

[swineflu]

Thanks for your advice. Well, you are right. I didn't get to finish all my prep materials. What else should I do differently for my retake? I feel like the way I have been studying is not working out for me.

 

[plzNOCarribbean]

Swine flu I feel you the same thing happened to me. I am looking for new verbal material to go over. I used most of the EK book and TPR, have you (or anyone else for that matter) tried Kaplan verbal books or the TBR verbal books and found them helpful? if you have, could you please the link to it.

I will also prep for a retake, but I don't know if I should schedule it for may 26th or June 16? If I schedule it for may, that will be a roughly over a week and a half after I have to move.

 

[Silverfalcon]

Since you are a retake with a 7 on Verbal for the first time around, I would do the best I can, and judge whether you want to proceed or not. If you get at least 9 on the real MCAT, you should be able to get in somewhere.

If you score 7 again though, that would be a red flag.

But with all means, do what you feel is right. SDN advices are here, but if you are going to apply this summer, then do the best you can and maybe relax. Relaxing helps for Verbal for some people.

 

[swineflu]

Swine flu I feel you the same thing happened to me. I am looking for new verbal material to go over. I used most of the EK book and TPR, have you (or anyone else for that matter) tried Kaplan verbal books or the TBR verbal books and found them helpful? if you have, could you please the link to it.

I will also prep for a retake, but I don't know if I should schedule it for may 26th or June 16? If I schedule it for may, that will be a roughly over a week and a half after I have to move.

Were you also getting 10s on your practice tests? Well, the real MCAT passages were much, much longer............Man, it's unfortunate we have to retake. I haven't looked into Kaplan/TBR verbal. I still have EK101 to finish. Then, I am going to order GS FLs. I am probably going to retake all my AAMCs to see if I have improved, especially on verbal.

Question: I remember you were working through EK101 and saw some improvements. So EK101 didn't help you much on the real deal? (sorry i know it's hard to talk about it. But i am on the same boat as you)

Well. It's life. Are you also applying this summer? I was also debating between May 26th and June 16th but I figured I would go for the May exam....because last thing I wanted to do was apply late with mediocre MCAT scores... But should I push it? YOu think the additional 3 weeks will make a difference?

The thing is I still pretty much burnt out from MCAT... I never got a good winter break/thanksgiving because I was studying......Right after the MCAT I had to catch up with school stuff... Now I won't get my spring break/the first few weeks of summer. I feel already exhausted. I don't know if I have the strength to continue studying.......

 

[swineflu]

Since you are a retake with a 7 on Verbal for the first time around, I would do the best I can, and judge whether you want to proceed or not. If you get at least 9 on the real MCAT, you should be able to get in somewhere.

If you score 7 again though, that would be a red flag.

But with all means, do what you feel is right. SDN advices are here, but if you are going to apply this summer, then do the best you can and maybe relax. Relaxing helps for Verbal for some people.

Thanks Silverfalcon. Yeah I am mainly going to focus on verbal for now (I have senior thesis to finish by april). After my defense, I am going to immerse myself in MCAT mode--which should give me like 2 months..............Or should I reschedule......?

DO you think getting three more weeks for MCAT prep will make a difference? Should I push my exam to June 16?

 

[SN2ed]

However, when I started noticing a dramatic downward trend in verbal 3 weeks before my MCAT day, I tried to rescue it by doing EK 101 but saw no improvements.

You burned out. Verbal is like an MCAT canary, once that goes down and consistently stays low, you're burned out.

 

[swineflu]

You burned out. Verbal is like an MCAT canary, once that goes down and consistently stays low, you're burned out.

Then what's the remedy for burnout? lol Should I not do MCAT stuff for a while? I mean I feel still exhausted from the MCAT day. I never got a good break after MCAT. How can I get my 10 back on verbal?

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

During my full length days, I saw a good upward trend in the sciences but I bombed the physical science on the real one.

I am concerned about my verbal ability. The fact that I scored decently on some of the AAMC tests tells me that I can read ....at times.

Those two parts of your response sent up red flags to me.

1) An upward trend followed by such a huge drop on the real exam indicates something caught you by surprise. You may have prepared for the information on the MCAT (knew your equations and concepts), but somehow you weren't ready for the switcharoo they real test threw at you. Doing well on the MCAT is about thinking on your feet and recognizing the basic science behind seemingly unfamiliar scenarios. The little bit of math on the MCAT can often be solved quickly by conceptualization and POE. You may have been prepared for the PS topics but were you prepared for the PS exam?

2) Maybe I'm reading too much into it (pun intended), but your comment about your good scores telling you that you can read shows a perspective about the verbal section that might be part of your problem. The test is not about reading. It's not about reading comprehension either. It's about reasoning and arguing. It's about figuring out why the author said what they said, not about understanding what they said. You have to get into a mindset that you are getting into the author's head and figuring out what makes them tick. This starts by getting the main idea and then extrapolating that idea to what the author thinks about everything in life based on their main idea. Also keep in mind that the person who writes the questions is often not the author of the passage, but someone interpreting the passage.

I agree 100% with SN2ed's synopsis that you are burned out on verbal. Give it a rest for a while and attack it from a different angle once your batteries are recharged.

Good luck!

 

[mzblue]

just to add to the post above mine, try to figure out the various viewpoints/arguments in the passage and keep track of them. Also read actively. Hope it helps

 

[ilovemcat]

Those two parts of your response sent up red flags to me.

1) An upward trend followed by such a huge drop on the real exam indicates something caught you by surprise. You may have prepared for the information on the MCAT (knew your equations and concepts), but somehow you weren't ready for the switcharoo they real test threw at you. Doing well on the MCAT is about thinking on your feet and recognizing the basic science behind seemingly unfamiliar scenarios. The little bit of math on the MCAT can often be solved quickly by conceptualization and POE. You may have been prepared for the PS topics but were you prepared for the PS exam?

2) Maybe I'm reading too much into it (pun intended), but your comment about your good scores telling you that you can read shows a perspective about the verbal section that might be part of your problem. The test is not about reading. It's not about reading comprehension either. It's about reasoning and arguing. It's about figuring out why the author said what they said, not about understanding what they said. You have to get into a mindset that you are getting into the author's head and figuring out what makes them tick. This starts by getting the main idea and then extrapolating that idea to what the author thinks about everything in life based on their main idea. Also keep in mind that the person who writes the questions is often not the author of the passage, but someone interpreting the passage.

I agree 100% with SN2ed's synopsis that you are burned out on verbal. Give it a rest for a while and attack it from a different angle once your batteries are recharged.

Good luck!

I always love your posts man, lol. They've been a great motivation.

 

[kitanai]

Yeah! I feel you guys! (I am also part of the V7 club). Anyways, I am taking my exam on May 26! And this is my third time taking the exam: My 1st score was: P10 V7 B11 28N; 2nd take was: P13 V7 B12 32P.. I am hoping at least we can all score well for Verbal! Goodluck guys!