Second time MCAT. Unsure of score. Should I delay or go for it?

[Saf1]

The first time I took my MCAT was last year, but combined with a 28 and applying in like August my application was pretty much a waste. No interviews.

Now I'm set to take the MCAT this Friday, but because of my new job and adjusting to that I've had to make my studying really compacted. I made improvements rapidly, but I don't know if it's enough.

When I took my first MCAT I never averaged more than a 27 on my practice tests. I came out feeling unsure, but then I came out of the test with a 28. I felt better, but still sad.

Now I took my tests in this order
Practice Test 8 4/11/2012 - 28
Practice Test 9 4/9/2012 - 26
Practice Test 5 3/29/2012 - 23
Practice Test 3 3/14/2012 - 23

The latest one's breakdown was 9-10-9

My goal is to get a 30, but I don't feel completely comfortable going into the test unless I'm averaging above where I want to be at. At the same time if I delay my test then my score will come back around June and I do not want to apply late.

I'm in a real dilemma :/

My question comes down to should I delay my test until early May. The extra weeks would definitely do wonders for my score, but it'd hurt my application. At the same time if I stick as is I would be taking a risk, and having a second MCAT that's not up to par does not look good. Also, do people tend to score higher when they actually take the exam versus taking the practice exams?

I should point out I don't mind burning the $240 for cancelling the exam past the deadline. My score is what's most important to me.

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[Picchu127]

The first time I took my MCAT was last year, but combined with a 28 and applying in like August my application was pretty much a waste. No interviews.

Now I'm set to take the MCAT this Friday, but because of my new job and adjusting to that I've had to make my studying really compacted. I made improvements rapidly, but I don't know if it's enough.

When I took my first MCAT I never averaged more than a 27 on my practice tests. I came out feeling unsure, but then I came out of the test with a 28. I felt better, but still sad.

Now I took my tests in this order
Practice Test 8 4/11/2012 - 28
Practice Test 9 4/9/2012 - 26
Practice Test 5 3/29/2012 - 23
Practice Test 3 3/14/2012 - 23

The latest one's breakdown was 9-10-9

My goal is to get a 30, but I don't feel completely comfortable going into the test unless I'm averaging above where I want to be at. At the same time if I delay my test then my score will come back around June and I do not want to apply late.

I'm in a real dilemma :/

My question comes down to should I delay my test until early May. The extra weeks would definitely do wonders for my score, but it'd hurt my application. At the same time if I stick as is I would be taking a risk, and having a second MCAT that's not up to par does not look good. Also, do people tend to score higher when they actually take the exam versus taking the practice exams?

I should point out I don't mind burning the $240 for cancelling the exam past the deadline. My score is what's most important to me.

BOTTOM LINE: do NOT take the test if you arent ready. Since youve already taken it once, you had better get a 30+ for the exam. Since you havent hit that on a practice exam yet, I wouldnt take it.

That's it

 

[littlegreen88]

Hey! Im in the same boat as you, retaking the exam in a month. When is your exam?? How long have you been studying/how/which practice tests are you taking!?

 

[Saf1]

This Friday, and now I'm pretty sure I'll push it off. I started studying around late February, but I was didn't get serious until March, and that's a lot of material to cover in one month even though I've taken it before.

I like my progress but I don't feel comfortable with the risk.

 

[littlegreen88]

Can you get a date for end of May?? Maybe early June. That way you are still ok for the application cycle but have more time. There is no need to rush it. Have you done content review this time around or just doing practice exams? If you have done content review which books did you use? I would really suggest the princeton for physical sciences if that is your weak area. I'm a huge believer in the content review for the sciences, many people swear by practicing exams BUT i think it has to be a balance with more focus on the material. (there are always practice quizzes and such at the end of the chapters). Do you have the EK1001 books? They are a great self esteem booster and good way to focus on your weaknesses.

How is your verbal score, judging from the 10 on your practice exam, you are ahead of the game and I think the sciences are the easiest to improve on. Don't be so disheartened! It really ISNT a huge difference between a 28 and a 30 so you are really close. I bet you can score a 33 if you make yourself an intense schedule for 1 month. the key is to keep at it every day. I think taking practice exams is not the greatest way to do well. I think learning how to take exams and learning material is the best way. They practice scores just demorolize. So as hard as you can do not think about the score, think about how to learn as much as you can so statistically you are at an advantage!!

 

[Saf1]

Can you get a date for end of May?? Maybe early June. That way you are still ok for the application cycle but have more time. There is no need to rush it. Have you done content review this time around or just doing practice exams? If you have done content review which books did you use? I would really suggest the princeton for physical sciences if that is your weak area. I'm a huge believer in the content review for the sciences, many people swear by practicing exams BUT i think it has to be a balance with more focus on the material. (there are always practice quizzes and such at the end of the chapters). Do you have the EK1001 books? They are a great self esteem booster and good way to focus on your weaknesses.

How is your verbal score, judging from the 10 on your practice exam, you are ahead of the game and I think the sciences are the easiest to improve on. Don't be so disheartened! It really ISNT a huge difference between a 28 and a 30 so you are really close. I bet you can score a 33 if you make yourself an intense schedule for 1 month. the key is to keep at it every day. I think taking practice exams is not the greatest way to do well. I think learning how to take exams and learning material is the best way. They practice scores just demorolize. So as hard as you can do not think about the score, think about how to learn as much as you can so statistically you are at an advantage!!

Ideally I'm shooting for May 12 since my masters program starts around May 20th and I don't want my scores coming back later than June.

When I first studied I used Exam Krackers but was horrible at managing my time and so I only had time to skim Bio, but I finished everything else. I did like 5 practice tests and never did that great but ended up with the 28R on the real thing. This time around I've done all the EK books thoroughly, except for the In-Class Exams, and have done 4 FL exams the scores of which are in the first post.

Thanks for the encouraging words , it means a lot. Yeah I worked really hard to up my Verbal score which I'm incredibly happy with, but there are a lot of aspects to chem and ochem that intimidate me so much I almost blank at those passages on the exam :/. I'm confident about 1 month of extra prep though.

 

[littlegreen88]

That is when I am taking mine as well!! A month is a long time, a lot can happen (from posts here, most of the improvements occur in the last month).

My suggestion is this: You obviously know stuff, accept that you know the stuff!! What are you lacking in? Ochem? no problem. its only 20% of one section, chances are you can score 50% correct with not much studying at all. with that said its not a huge part.

My suggestion is get the EK1001 for orgo and gen chem. they are fun little problems to do and will brush you up on the content. Physics and Verbal are the hardest in my opinion, and if you are doing well in those then you are really ahead of the game. When you take the practice exams DISSECT them, spend about 6 hours writing out the practice exam and write out "i got this wrong because " then make a notecard/postit of topic! you wont make that mistake again. Remeber practice exams should ONLY be used for "holes" or common mistakes, not judgement of what you are going to get on exam day. who knows what topics you are going to get!! Which practice exams are you doing , AAMC?

This is also my retake and I did a lot worse than you the first time, my approach was all wrong. I feel a lot more confident now, because i know I put in a lot of work and I am seeing improvement. Just remember you put in the work and that when you practice passages and quizzes and learn material you are working your brain like a muscle. and it will pay off. I honestly think that confidence and attitute can literally make a two point difference. I also think you should aim for a 33, because i think its very possible to increase 5 points if you are reading, self analyzing, and doing practice passages.

 

[pfaction]

Saf1. Familiar name. Did you ever go to LL?

 

[Saf1]

That is when I am taking mine as well!! A month is a long time, a lot can happen (from posts here, most of the improvements occur in the last month).

My suggestion is this: You obviously know stuff, accept that you know the stuff!! What are you lacking in? Ochem? no problem. its only 20% of one section, chances are you can score 50% correct with not much studying at all. with that said its not a huge part.

My suggestion is get the EK1001 for orgo and gen chem. they are fun little problems to do and will brush you up on the content. Physics and Verbal are the hardest in my opinion, and if you are doing well in those then you are really ahead of the game. When you take the practice exams DISSECT them, spend about 6 hours writing out the practice exam and write out "i got this wrong because " then make a notecard/postit of topic! you wont make that mistake again. Remeber practice exams should ONLY be used for "holes" or common mistakes, not judgement of what you are going to get on exam day. who knows what topics you are going to get!! Which practice exams are you doing , AAMC?

This is also my retake and I did a lot worse than you the first time, my approach was all wrong. I feel a lot more confident now, because i know I put in a lot of work and I am seeing improvement. Just remember you put in the work and that when you practice passages and quizzes and learn material you are working your brain like a muscle. and it will pay off. I honestly think that confidence and attitute can literally make a two point difference. I also think you should aim for a 33, because i think its very possible to increase 5 points if you are reading, self analyzing, and doing practice passages.

Thanks man, that gives me a lot of hope

 

[Saf1]

Saf1. Familiar name. Did you ever go to LL?

Yep, I'm still very active there.

 

[littlegreen88]

Thanks man, that gives me a lot of hope

I'm a girl!!! But in any case, YOU GOT IT. I also suggest a study schedule. To put things in perspective, i scored a 6 on PS... yup a 6... erm. (if a 100 people were in a room who took the exam 85 of them did better)! I had no confidence and felt so defeated. But diving into the material I have scored as high as a 12 on my practice exams (nothing below 10 on AAMCs) this time around after extensiveeeee relearning of physics and general chem. If i can do it then anyone can. You have KEEP GOING!! Find the holes!! My bet is you are missing some material knowledge. Write out the main topics for gen chem for example- like "kinetics, solubility, etc" if you start getting anxiety when you are writing one of them out chances are its intimidating you, dive right into that chapter. MASTer it. I used to be terrified of electricity and magnetism LOL. It took me a solid week (5-6 hours per day) on ONE chapter. The point is i totally get it now. Im not worried about it anymore. You must do this, every topic that pops up on ur mcat you should be like YES! i know this one.
In any case, I totally feel your stress but please dont worry its totally normal! You will do better.

 

[Saf1]

You're so right, I need to have the confidence that I can master a subject and not just settle for knowing a little and hoping for the best.

 

[chemhead123]

You need to be average 2+ points higher than your goal score to be ready in my opinion. You want a 30, so if you haven't been scoring 32s you should wait. You haven't even reached your goal score yet, so why would you think of taking it?

Its highly unlikely you are going to do better than your average... wait don't take it. Especially since this is your second take on it. What happens if you get a 28? You are going to have to take it for a 3rd time or go DO...

Not a good idea IMO.