Should I Be Concerned?

[SnakeDaddy]

Hello all, I am a Pre-med Junior at a University in mid Nebraska, I am just gearing up to take my MCAT exam on June 2nd of this year. I will be in a full load of classes begging this next week (full load only being a minimal 12 hours to try and make room for MCAT study time) along with working at my local hospital part-time. I do decently well in school with a 3.75 GPA after taking the tough classes like Biochem, Organic, Physics, ect. The reason I am posting this is due to the results of the first FL AAMC practice exam I have taken (The exam I took was the newest 3rd edition AAMC practice exam by the way). My target goal for the MCAT is roughly a 508-510 so I can attend my local med-school or even perhaps a DO school located elsewhere. Anyway the results of the practice exam that i took showed to be less than impressive with an overall of 497. The worst section for me was the CARS section with only a 121 to show for my score. Everyone I read about say how they got at least a 500+ on their practice exams and this has me concerned. I have also yet to take a psych/soc class (will be in an MCAT based Psycho-sociology course this semester) so my score in this section was also lacking with only a 123. I am worried that my score is going to be difficult to increase to the extent I want in to in 5 months. What is your opinion on this?

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[AspiringDoc169]

You have plenty of time to improve. Honestly, I wished you hadn't taken the AAMC practice test yet. You still have 5 months and it would be best to wait until the last month or so to do any AAMC related materials. Practice questions are great however.

To answer your question, I wouldn't be too worried as of right now since you still have 5 months. Learn from your mistakes. The "curving" on the AAMC exams are very tough, especially CARS, so don't be too frustrated about that. Just try to figure out what your mistakes are. Hope that helps.

 

[SnakeDaddy]

You have plenty of time to improve. Honestly, I wished you hadn't taken the AAMC practice test yet. You still have 5 months and it would be best to wait until the last month or so to do any AAMC related materials. Practice questions are great however.

To answer your question, I wouldn't be too worried as of right now since you still have 5 months. Learn from your mistakes. The "curving" on the AAMC exams are very tough, especially CARS, so don't be too frustrated about that. Just try to figure out what your mistakes are. Hope that helps.

I took the aamc exam as my pre-med advisor told me to in order to understand what I need to focus on for studying. I’m just nervous because though I have 5 months is it unheard of for someone to increase their score by 10 points within a 5 month time frame? Or is this doable?

 

[vernhart]

I took the aamc exam as my pre-med advisor told me to in order to understand what I need to focus on for studying. I’m just nervous because though I have 5 months is it unheard of for someone to increase their score by 10 points within a 5 month time frame? Or is this doable?

There's your problem...A diagnostic test, while still somewhat controversial, is used so that you don't waste some valuable test like AAMC just "figuring out what you need to study." Just about any prep company's test should be able to give you an idea of where to start, but they can't tell you nearly as well as AAMC where you stand at the end of your prep and what needs to be focused on for the last two weeks or so.

What's done is done, though, and there are other AAMC materials-you should use them all by the time your prep is over. Save the big ones for toward the end, but not so late that nothing can be done (Personally, I don't see the point in taking it one week before your test as many do because all that can do is cause anxiety and leave you with a sense of hopelessness; I like 2-3 weeks out so that you can fully review it and fix what needs fixed; Q-banks and the like can be used in the last few weeks to still give you AAMC material w/o the futile panic attack).

I went from 498->517 in 4 months (w/ only 2 of that being really devoted studying). It most certainly can be done, but I must warn you that starting with a CARS of 121, you are going to have an uphill battle. That of all sections is a skill that has either been developed over your lifetime or not. Not to say you can't improve it, but it will be a fight for every point and you will likely hit a ceiling at some point (just hope you are committing some cardinal sin that can be fixed: poor time management, for example).

You will learn in this journey that there is no point worrying. What will happen, will happen. Your job is to do everything you can to set your self up for success and let the chips fall where they may. No one can predict whether it will happen for you, but if you are asking if it is possible the answer is yes.

 

[SnakeDaddy]

There's your problem...A diagnostic test, while still somewhat controversial, is used so that you don't waste some valuable test like AAMC just "figuring out what you need to study." Just about any prep company's test should be able to give you an idea of where to start, but they can't tell you nearly as well as AAMC where you stand at the end of your prep and what needs to be focused on for the last two weeks or so.

I went from 498->517 in 4 months (w/ only 2 of that being really devoted studying). It most certainly can be done, but I must warn you that starting with a CARS of 121, you are going to have an uphill battle. That of all sections is a skill that has either been developed over your lifetime or not. Not to say you can't improve it, but it will be a fight for every point and you will likely hit a ceiling at some point.

First off well done with the 517 score. I agree with you in that I should’ve waited to take the AAMC test but to late now unfortunately :/ . The CARS of 121 is quite scary for me as I have always struggled with English in school. This meaning that I all round kinda suck at English rather than it being a singular problem like time management. This will definitely be the hardest section for me. I have read to try the 101 EK passage book and so acouple passages everyday, any thoughts on this or how else I could improve?

 

[vernhart]

First off well done with the 517 score. I agree with you in that I should’ve waited to take the AAMC test but to late now unfortunately :/ . The CARS of 121 is quite scary for me as I have always struggled with English in school. This meaning that I all round kinda suck at English rather than it being a singular problem like time management. This will definitely be the hardest section for me. I have read to try the 101 EK passage book and so acouple passages everyday, any thoughts on this or how else I could improve?

Most definitely do this starting now. Also Princeton Review Hyperlearning is good practice (I think it's even better than 101). Closer to the test you can use AAMC Q-pack cars. Review each passage thoroughly (do not stop until you understand the passage fully and why exactly you missed each question). Best of luck!

 

[MedicalDoge]

Definitely possible, and I concur with the previous posts about taking AAMC too early. Everyone performs so differently on every diagnostic. For example, I was trash at the Kaplan tests (never got above a 504), but then got higher on the AAMC tests I saved for last, but then scored even higher than the AAMC predicted on the real MCAT . On the other hand, my girlfriend killed the Kaplan tests, sucked at the AAMC practice tests, and scored in the middle of them on the real thing lol! So honestly, just do your best and focus on your weaknesses. Indeed, CARS is also my nemesis (129,124,129,130), but I am still getting invited to interview at a couple of very notable schools in the top 25. So, as long as you get CARS up to a certain point (I would say 124 should be the lowest you'd want to shoot for), it does not rule you out as long as the other sections are good.

Hope this helps! 5 months is PLENTY of time to get you up 10 points, or more!

 

[SnakeDaddy]

Definitely possible, and I concur with the previous posts about taking AAMC too early. Everyone performs so differently on every diagnostic. For example, I was trash at the Kaplan tests (never got above a 504), but then got higher on the AAMC tests I saved for last, but then scored even higher than the AAMC predicted on the real MCAT . On the other hand, my girlfriend killed the Kaplan tests, sucked at the AAMC practice tests, and scored in the middle of them on the real thing lol! So honestly, just do your best and focus on your weaknesses. Indeed, CARS is also my nemesis (129,124,129,130), but I am still getting invited to interview at a couple of very notable schools in the top 25. So, as long as you get CARS up to a certain point (I would say 124 should be the lowest you'd want to shoot for), it does not rule you out as long as the other sections are good.

Hope this helps! 5 months is PLENTY of time to get you up 10 points, or more!

Thanks for the reply man! Yeah that damn CARS section will be the death of me but I would hope I could at least raise it to a 125 after 5 months of preparation. That is great to hear that it is possible to raise 10 points and it also may help that a few classes I will be taking this semester are tested on the MCAT. For example I have never taken a Psych/Soc class but I am in an MCAT based Psycho-sociology class starting next week, which I think should help boost my score in that section (was around 124 which I suppose isn't bad for never learning it before!). I am also enrolled to take a Genetics course which I heard will be helpful though I did not really come across much in my practice exam.

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

Hi @SnakeDaddy -

I'm a bit late to this conversation, but thought it'd be useful to share some tips about CARS. Improving on CARS is doable, although it's a long and hard grind. There are lots of resources on SDN & elsewhere on the internet about how to approach CARS, and I'd definitely urge you to explore them, but here are two techniques that I've found to be particularly useful:

1. When reviewing practice materials, make sure you understand both why the correct answer is incorrect and why each of the incorrect answers is incorrect. This holds true even for questions that you get right. As you keep doing this, you will start seeing patterns in the incorrect answer choices -- they're more systematic and predictable than you might think at first glance.
2. Don't just focus on why you got a question wrong, but also rehearse how to get it right. (That is, where do you go in the passage? What information do you look for? How do you apply it? How do you avoid incorrect answers?)

Also, just as a word of encouragement, don't let your initial score get you down. The MCAT isn't one of those tests where you just walk in and get a good score, no matter how smart you are or how well you've done in your coursework. The MCAT is all about applying your knowledge, which means that you need to do two things: (1) develop a broad and interconnected knowledge base suitable for being tested on about 11 semesters' worth of material at a time and (2) learn how to take the MCAT -- that is, how the MCAT will ask you to apply that knowledge in new contexts. Both of these tasks take time and thoughtful review/studying. Hang in there, work hard and work smart, and you got this!

 

[SnakeDaddy]

Hi @SnakeDaddy -

I'm a bit late to this conversation, but thought it'd be useful to share some tips about CARS. Improving on CARS is doable, although it's a long and hard grind. There are lots of resources on SDN & elsewhere on the internet about how to approach CARS, and I'd definitely urge you to explore them, but here are two techniques that I've found to be particularly useful:

1. When reviewing practice materials, make sure you understand both why the correct answer is incorrect and why each of the incorrect answers is incorrect. This holds true even for questions that you get right. As you keep doing this, you will start seeing patterns in the incorrect answer choices -- they're more systematic and predictable than you might think at first glance.
2. Don't just focus on why you got a question wrong, but also rehearse how to get it right. (That is, where do you go in the passage? What information do you look for? How do you apply it? How do you avoid incorrect answers?)

Also, just as a word of encouragement, don't let your initial score get you down. The MCAT isn't one of those tests where you just walk in and get a good score, no matter how smart you are or how well you've done in your coursework. The MCAT is all about applying your knowledge, which means that you need to do two things: (1) develop a broad and interconnected knowledge base suitable for being tested on about 11 semesters' worth of material at a time and (2) learn how to take the MCAT -- that is, how the MCAT will ask you to apply that knowledge in new contexts. Both of these tasks take time and thoughtful review/studying. Hang in there, work hard and work smart, and you got this!

Thank you for the reply man, I appreciate the tips too. I find the MCAT interesting in the sense that it seems very important to not only know the info, but that a heavy percentage of the test is made so much easier if your just used to what the MCAT usually asks about! I just want to get accepted somewhere rather it be DO or MD. I would think that with a 3.75 and good extracurriculars (worked at a hospital since age 16 totaling about 4000 patient hours, doing Blood brain barrier surgery based research in rats and other lab research work all 3 years of college, scribeing as a volunteer at a help clinic for about 150 hours working with various local doctors, and shadowing at a urgent care clinic for about 60 hours amongst a few minor volunteer related or other medical experiences like working blood drives and shadowing med students) that the MCAT is my main obstacle. Realistically I assume that around a 505 or so is needed to get in at least somewhere?