You have a
solid GPA, a redeeming MCAT performance could take you really far!
Check out the MCAT resources here on SDN. Pay attention to folks who have made big gains on their retakes (
@Zenabi90 comes to mind). Study their approach. Read all the guidance from
@BerkReviewTeach about test-taking strategy.
...
Save the AAMC full-lengths for your last month or so.
Take one just before the last date to reschedule and if you're not within 5 points of your goal, postpone or reschedule. I believe in miracles but not with the MCAT. Make sure to save enough time to
get through all the AAMC material (Section banks, full lengths, question packs, etc).
Do the section banks twice even. They are your best guide to MCAT question logic, the mastery of which leads to *jumps* in score. Best of luck to you!!!
Thanks for the shoutout.
A cursory scan highlights a ~3.7/491 with no research experience and bad prep for your first take.
Quick advice:
1. GPA is fine, skip the SMP. I got in with a 3.12+1 semester of a 3.75 in a post-bacc program and a 517 (likely an anomaly, I won't inspire false hope), but I've seen plenty get in with lower GPAs than yours.
2. Aim for MCAT of 508+. Scores are getting higher every year as test-prep evolves with the new exam. We may be looking at 510 or 512 as the new minimum target score by the time you apply.
3. Flesh out the ECs to the point where your meaningful experiences are attention grabbing, touch your soul stories.
4. Make a unicorn of a personal statement. You have the time, USE IT WISELY.
5. No research is fine unless you want to go to a research heavy school or MD/PhD program.
For MCAT prep, here is the best advice I ever read:
1. Golden rule: If any part of the answer is even a little wrong, the whole damn thing is wrong. The test is black and white, not 50 shades of grey.
2. If you had a bad score, FORGET EVERYTHING you thought you knew about MCAT prep.
491 tells me that you have problems with both content AND approach. You will need to fix both before you take the test.
Content: TBR is the most thorough, hands down. I used this with the mentality: if even 75% of this sticks, that's more than 100% of what I need. Not necessarily true but that was my mindset and I ate up the material.
-Understand the value of subject rotation when studying
-Understand the value of health, life balance, and rest days
-Understand the value of the Pomodoro technique and how you best utilize it. For me, it's 50 on-10 off, which is incidentally the schedule many college classes follow as well.
-Hat Trick if you have problem with integration/lateral thinking
-FLASH CARDS FOR PSYCH/SOC: get good at Anki
-Understand the value of the SEARCH FUNCTION on SDN. 99.9% of all questions have been asked already, and answered multiple times. Search first, then ask.
2. Approach:
-Understand that CARS techniques aren't just for the CARS section. All the sections are now essentially CARS with knowledge themes. The theme for the CARS section is "eclectic"
-Build stamina by taking practice tests. The MCAT is a marathon, you need to train for it that way.
-Practice questions > all. And yes, you WILL be absolute **** at them. The worse you are at practice questions, the more you're gaining from them. I'm finding that this holds true even in med school.
And the age-old argument of content vs practice questions, my analogy:
Content review sets the foundation for the building that is your MCAT score. The stronger your content review, the better your foundation, the higher you can potentially build your tower to reach that score you want. HOWEVER, you still need time to build those floors that get you from 491 to whatever your target score is. I'd rather have a foundation rated for 510 and use clever engineering to get up to a 512, than to have a foundation rated for 528 but only have enough practice questions done to build up to the 505th floor. Balance is key, never shirk your practice questions.
