Sitting at a 29, and need help to form a study plan to reach 36+ by Sep 1st!

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leafs2012

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Hi Guys,

I was wondering if somebody could help me come up with an efficient study plan/tips that will allow me to increase my score to a 36+.

Ive done lots of practice tests (TPR 2-5, AAMC 3,4,5,7,10) so far as originally I was going to take the aug 12th exam, but my latest score was a 29 in AAMC 7 (PS/VR/BS: 10/8/11).

I read kaplan books for all my content, but what materials / method do you recommend for me to make this score increase over the next month, or at least to increase my score as much as possible. (I have all the BR books, TPR science /verbal workbook, EK 1001 series, access to kaplan online resources, access to TPR online resources, and can buy BR full lengths if need be)

This is my only commitment till then also!

Any help would be appreciated!

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I would use TPR Science workbook first. Then, go back and do TBR books. Make sure to review your passages thoroughly. Look at SN2ed's thread and the 30+ thread. Although, I have to be realistic with you, it is unlikely that you can reach THAT high of a score in that short a time period. If you do, it would be more luck than anything. 32-33 is a realistic goal and can be done if you work hard. Keep in mind, people do go down on their test. My last 3 practice tests were 35+. I got a 30 on the real thing...
 
Honestly, that type of gain probably is not possible unless your diagnostic is a 29. BUT you can still hope for getting lucky on the test
 
I think it will be possible if your verbal reasoning score is your highest right now (say around 11). Sciences are easier to improve than verbal in the short amount of time.

That being said, you will need to work really hard in the time you have to achieve your goal.

Good luck, work hard. It's not impossible but it will require diligence and effort on your part. :luck:

Edit: Just saw your verbal is your lowest. I still think you can get your overall score higher by practice though- as the others said, it might be a tough road to a 36+ but 33-34 range should be within your reach.
 
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Alright awesome thanks guys. For some reason I started decreasing as I hit 30/40 on about 4 straight tests (ek, tpr, and 1 aamc), but then decreased from there. Speed is my main problem here as I have trouble finishing all 7 passages and thats my main concern also since the actual mcat passages are longer. Speed is also a problem for me in the PS section as I end up guessing about 5-6 questions (like random guess) in either the last passage or discrete's.

Do you guys have any specific strategy on what I should do? I have reviewed all my content but should I go through all the books again from EK and do targeted passages from BR, or leave the reading and just do passages? Or just do practice tests, review, and repeat? Im doing 3 verbal passages daily at least from TPRH, and have 4 EK tests left.

I know 36+ will definitely be tough lol, but I'm gonna aim for that and either way as long as I know I gave it my all I'll be content with w.e my score is
 
I find that practice tests are what helped increase my score the most (I started out with around a 29 on my diagnostic in June and am now in 40+ range). Not the tests themselves per se, but seeing the mistakes I made on the test and learning not to make the same mistakes. Is there anyway you can get a hold of more tests? With the amount of time you have left, you definitely want to take a good number of tests to gauge your progress. Section tests and timed practices are great and all, but they don't give you the big picture. You have a lot of time until the test, so don't let anyone say this is an impossible feat. Just keep on practicing and be careful not to burn out.

Definitely make use of the Kaplan online resources. Quiz bank is really helpful--even more so than TPR hyperlearning books--since a) they are CBT b) you can tailor them to your needs. I personally hate TPR online resources and they're closing them for a week starting August 1...maybe to make their interface actually work on OSX. :mad:
 
I find that practice tests are what helped increase my score the most (I started out with around a 29 on my diagnostic in June and am now in 40+ range). Not the tests themselves per se, but seeing the mistakes I made on the test and learning not to make the same mistakes. Is there anyway you can get a hold of more tests? With the amount of time you have left, you definitely want to take a good number of tests to gauge your progress. Section tests and timed practices are great and all, but they don't give you the big picture. You have a lot of time until the test, so don't let anyone say this is an impossible feat. Just keep on practicing and be careful not to burn out.

Definitely make use of the Kaplan online resources. Quiz bank is really helpful--even more so than TPR hyperlearning books--since a) they are CBT b) you can tailor them to your needs. I personally hate TPR online resources and they're closing them for a week starting August 1...maybe to make their interface actually work on OSX. :mad:

Where did you hear that ?
 
I find that practice tests are what helped increase my score the most (I started out with around a 29 on my diagnostic in June and am now in 40+ range). Not the tests themselves per se, but seeing the mistakes I made on the test and learning not to make the same mistakes. Is there anyway you can get a hold of more tests? With the amount of time you have left, you definitely want to take a good number of tests to gauge your progress. Section tests and timed practices are great and all, but they don't give you the big picture. You have a lot of time until the test, so don't let anyone say this is an impossible feat. Just keep on practicing and be careful not to burn out.

Definitely make use of the Kaplan online resources. Quiz bank is really helpful--even more so than TPR hyperlearning books--since a) they are CBT b) you can tailor them to your needs. I personally hate TPR online resources and they're closing them for a week starting August 1...maybe to make their interface actually work on OSX. :mad:

That's going to screw up a lot of people. I highly doubt they will close online system for a week.
 
Hi Guys,

I was wondering if somebody could help me come up with an efficient study plan/tips that will allow me to increase my score to a 36+.

I read kaplan books for all my content, but what materials / method do you recommend for me to make this score increase over the next month, or at least to increase my score as much as possible. (I have all the BR books, TPR science /verbal workbook, EK 1001 series, access to kaplan online resources, access to TPR online resources, and can buy BR full lengths if need be)

It's all about doing passages and then going over each question afterwards in painstaking detail to see what you did well, what you could do better next time, and what you got wrong and have to improve. This is how you'll get faster at the exam. Post test processing is critical if you are going to improve as much as you are hoping.

You have all the materials you need. It's time to prioritize them based on your learning style. I'd recommend...
  • 1) passages over free-standing questions, because the exam is over 80% passage-based
    2) the materials with the best answer explanations from your perspective, because that is where you will be learning and improving
    3) the passages that mix several different topics into them, because that's MCAT realistic and will give you the best preparation

For BR materials, phase III passages fit the the third stipulation above better than phase II and phase I.
 
nope it's true...says on the online student center. smh.

They are not closing it. You can still access the tests and stuff but just cant save it so the only way to review your test is to either leave the browser open or print it out i guess. :thumbup:
 
AAMC had a similar thing saying it would be closed/not able to access for like 4 or 5 days, though was fine by the 2nd day, so maybe its something similar
 
Thanks guys for all the help! I like the idea of taking a lot of practice tests with thorough review because I find that its been helping me with increasing my score.

My plan is to take a FL 1 day, review it the night of / next day, and then take another full length the following day.

I did kaplan full length 3 on Saturday and hit 34 (13/9/12) but Kaplan's curve is inflated.

I'm planning to buy all 7 TBR full lengths, do you guys think this is worth it? Berkley Review Rep, do you think this is better or as good as doing the passages?

Also does anyone have solutions (like explanations with answers to AAMC 6R)?

Thanks again for your help everyone. Hope all you guys are smashing this exam.
 
^ taking FLs + reviewing without any break wears you down pretty quick. not saying its impossible but i did the same thing and stopped pretty quickly when i started hating life and my scores stopped getting better....you might want to leave at least day in between FLs

doing a lot of practice tests is obviously good..just make sure you dont burn out :)
 
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