So I scored a 492 on my Diagnostic....

[Ichigo]

With not much content review. My break down was

123: Cars
126: Psych/Soc
121: Biol/Biochem
122:Chem/Phys

So how cooked am I and how you do you suggest that I study. I plan on reviewing my errors from the exam and making anki cards out of them and fleshing out the concepts that I am clouded on. Timing was not much of an issue for me, I had approximately like 30 minutes to spend on each of the sections too. Cars didn't seem that terrifying but the fact that I got a 123 is not encouraging.

To further contextualize my goals, I am hoping for a 520+ but would be very happy with anything north of 515 with my exam date on August 2nd.

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[AJS59]

With not much content review. My break down was

123: Cars
126: Psych/Soc
121: Biol/Biochem
122:Chem/Phys

So how cooked am I and how you do you suggest that I study. I plan on reviewing my errors from the exam and making anki cards out of them and fleshing out the concepts that I am clouded on. Timing was not much of an issue for me, I had approximately like 30 minutes to spend on each of the sections too. Cars didn't seem that terrifying but the fact that I got a 123 is not encouraging.

To further contextualize my goals, I am hoping for a 520+ but would be very happy with anything north of 515 with my exam date on August 2nd.

Thanks!

Given that you haven't done much content review yet, this isn't a bad place to start. You have plenty of time between now and August to raise that score up as long as you given enough dedicated time every week

 

[Ichigo]

Given that you haven't done much content review yet, this isn't a bad place to start. You have plenty of time between now and August to raise that score up as long as you given enough dedicated time every week

I have a quick question, is a month of content review enough before diving into full on aamc prep and uwhirl. I plan on tackling my content review with uwhirl content and third party exams to get into the groove of the exam.

 

[AJS59]

I have a quick question, is a month of content review enough before diving into full on aamc prep and uwhirl. I plan on tackling my content review with uwhirl content and third party exams to get into the groove of the exam.

Depends on how much time you're able to throw at that month and how efficient you are at diagnosing your deficiencies.

 

[eteshoe]

It's a diagnostic so score is expected. One month content review is plenty (I tend to have my mentees do 2-4 wks). Content review tends to be passive so go ahead and start tackling practice questions early - those will truly highlight deficiencies. Last month should be spent hammering AAMC material especially their full length exams.

 

[Ichigo]

It's a diagnostic so score is expected. One month content review is plenty (I tend to have my mentees do 2-4 wks). Content review tends to be passive so go ahead and start tackling practice questions early - those will truly highlight deficiencies. Last month should be spent hammering AAMC material especially their full length exams.

I appreciate your input. Is it feasible in my time frame to get my desired score of 515+ or even 520+? The fact that I didn't get anything above a 127 is a little scary but I do hear that BP exams are on the more difficult side.

Also, its taking me a lot of time to review through my mistakes on the diagnostic lol, got through a section in about 3hrs.....

 

[AJS59]

I appreciate your input. Is it feasible in my time frame to get my desired score of 515+ or even 520+? The fact that I didn't get anything above a 127 is a little scary but I do hear that BP exams are on the more difficult side.

Also, its taking me a lot of time to review through my mistakes on the diagnostic lol, got through a section in about 3hrs.....

You have a lot of time ahead of you. If you're content review is solid, you should be able to get to at least 510, and then from there its a matter of test taking

 

[eteshoe]

I appreciate your input. Is it feasible in my time frame to get my desired score of 515+ or even 520+? The fact that I didn't get anything above a 127 is a little scary but I do hear that BP exams are on the more difficult side.

Also, its taking me a lot of time to review through my mistakes on the diagnostic lol, got through a section in about 3hrs.....

Without more details about your standardized exam tendencies I can say broadly that those scores are not beyond the possibility given your timeline. But it'll take a lot of work.

Getting to the 80-85th percentile takes a decent amount of work. Once you try to break 90th percentile and beyond it really comes down to how much reps you've put in and how quickly your pattern recognition kicks in on tests. Realistically this means basically doing all or almost all of UWorld, doing almost all AAMC material, and reinforcing knowledge via spaced repetition (e.g. Anki). The difference between a 518 and a 524 is not typically knowledge base - it's being able to recognize concepts inside and out and having great test taking instinct - which honestly takes a ton of reps.

I did well on my MCAT (~96th/97th percentile) but still scored a bit lower than practice tests predicted (100th percentile) but ultimately it didn't really affect my chances at almost every school I applied. Also I think I got the equivalent of a 485 on my diagnostic lol so it's possible if you put your mind to the task.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Why are you taking in August? That's too late for this cycle anyway (I mean, you can still apply, but you'll be on the bottom of the pile which isn't good odds for acceptance).

Here's what you do- take this year, scribe or something, and spend all your free time studying for the MCAT. You're basically teaching yourself everything. Use Anki so you don't forget as you go along.

Good luck. It's not impossible, but you're gonna have to absolutely bust your @#$ for many months if you want to climb that much.

 

[shikshack]

Without more details about your standardized exam tendencies I can say broadly that those scores are not beyond the possibility given your timeline. But it'll take a lot of work.

Getting to the 80-85th percentile takes a decent amount of work. Once you try to break 90th percentile and beyond it really comes down to how much reps you've put in and how quickly your pattern recognition kicks in on tests. Realistically this means basically doing all or almost all of UWorld, doing almost all AAMC material, and reinforcing knowledge via spaced repetition (e.g. Anki). The difference between a 518 and a 524 is not typically knowledge base - it's being able to recognize concepts inside and out and having great test taking instinct - which honestly takes a ton of reps.

I did well on my MCAT (~96th/97th percentile) but still scored a bit lower than practice tests predicted (100th percentile) but ultimately it didn't really affect my chances at almost every school I applied. Also I think I got the equivalent of a 485 on my diagnostic lol so it's possible if you put your mind to the task.

How long was your preparation time from diagnostic to exam date?

 

[Ichigo]

Why are you taking in August? That's too late for this cycle anyway (I mean, you can still apply, but you'll be on the bottom of the pile which isn't good odds for acceptance).

Here's what you do- take this year, scribe or something, and spend all your free time studying for the MCAT. You're basically teaching yourself everything. Use Anki so you don't forget as you go along.

Good luck. It's not impossible, but you're gonna have to absolutely bust your @#$ for many months if you want to climb that much.

I am not applying this cycle. I'm applying next cycle lol

 

[Hollow Knight]

I am not applying this cycle. I'm applying next cycle lol

Ah. you got this.
Use anki though. If you study for more than a few months you'll forget the stuff you learned initially. Maybe use little note sheets for formulas/approaches for stuff like physics that is less flashcard-friendly.

For biochemistry, if you have the money, check out Sketchy MCAT (or sketchy medicine has biochem stuff now). I think if I could go back and do it that way it would help. It's probably insanely expensive though.

 

[eteshoe]

How long was your preparation time from diagnostic to exam date?

Since I was still working full-time , I studied on and off for like 6-7 months I think? Ramped up the last 3 months which absolutely sucked lol.

 

[ByThe+C]

(IMO) Content review paired with Anking deck, Miledown or JS for the basic sciences and Aidan's P/S deck. Take third party exams every week under strict exam conditions and thoroughly review results. After 3 weeks or a month of doing this, start UPlanet and do a short question set then review your answers immediately, systematically deconstructing, understanding, classifying your errors and redoing the problem to get the right answer. Keep reviewing your anki deck and make your own deck based on the UPlanet questions you get wrong. Redo all of UPlanet except for CARS and P/S until you are >80% for each section. Once you are getting 515+ on third party exams and you are 1-2 months away from your exam, switch to AAMC qpacks, SBs and exams, making sure to carefully review all questions to understand AAMC question logic. Continue practicing taking FLs in strict exam conditions to develop the stamina to do well in the exam. Once you are scoring in your goal range, schedule your exam.