Taking MCAT Now or Waiting?

[LotusFX]

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So my MCAT date of September 10th soon approaches.
I have been scoring consistently 32 or 33 on KAPLAN practices exams (11-12 PS, 10-11 VR, 10-11 BS), but I was hoping to score in the mid 30s.

Thus, I'm unsure whether or not I want to take the test and have it count right now.

I'm going to take the test anyway since it'll be good practice, but I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to void the score.

I believe my weakness is in content, I have briefly reviewed all the topics using KAPLAN material (I'm still only half way through ochem). But I feel that my grasp of the material is far less than ideal. I kind of overloaded my summer and worked full time in a research lab, volunteered and studied for the MCAT for about two months. I think that if I had a month of two more to get a strong hold on the material a mid 30's would be very realistic.

Also another thing that worries me is the discrepancy between KAPLAN practice tests and the actual MCAT. My friend that took the KAPLAN course with me thought the actual MCAT was easier than the KAPLAN exams, but we'll see how his score pans out.

I'm going to take an AAMC before the test, so that should help me make a decision.

Long story short, do you think I should wait to take a scored MCAT?
I'm afraid of scoring under 30 or significantly lower than my practice exams and of course I'd prefer to get my target score on the first try, but it is better to get a decent score under your belt?
I'm also worried that if I do retake it, schools don't look favorably unless you score markedly better. How do schools respond to retakes? (Btw my first choice would be University of Minnesota TC since I'm in-state, but I would really like to go to a Cali school)

If I didn't get this one scored, I would study over winter break and would likely take it the next earliest test date. I'm planning on applying next cycle so there should be sufficient time.

Sorry for the long-winded post but this has been troubling me... 😕

 

[PingPongPro]

Take an AAMC FL test and then report back here.

Then, take another one a few days later and report back here.

Without taking a single aamc FL test, there is no way anyone can really help you. I recommend taking 2 because it is a much stronger indicator than just taking 1 test. It is lot less common to randomly fluke on 2 tests compared to 1.

 

[LotusFX]

Fair enough, although I don't really have enough have time to take two AAMCs...

 

[notbobtrustme]

Fair enough, although I don't really have enough have time to take two AAMCs...

you have 10 days. You can easily do 4 in a row, rest one day, do 4 more, then rest on the final day.

I started taking FLs on July 27th for the 8-12 exam and got all 11 in before the 12th and that was along with working full time. I would come home around 5:30/6pm, do a FL till around 11 and repeat the next day until I got all of them done. Going through my exams right now, I took one each day until August 1st then resumed on the 4th and finished up on the 9th.

 

[KindofBlue]

^Wow, certainly that is possible, but definitely not recommended for most..
I think taking about 2~3 days between FLs give you the best results. For recuperating, and content reviewing, reinforcing etc.

OP, in your case, make time to do the FLs. They are one of the best ways (if not the best) to prepare for the actual MCAT. A lot of people don't think highly of Kaplan FLs, so you HAVE to do the AAMC FLs, unless you want to get screwed over on the real deal.

 

[LotusFX]

Well I took my first AAMC tonight and did better than I thought I would, so that's a good sign.
I took AAMC 9 and got a 34 (PS-11 VR-11 BS-12).
I actually found the AAMC tests easier than the Kaplan FLs as my friend did, but was worried that the curve would be so harsh that my scaled scores would be lower, but it appears to be similar.
Also I'm optimistic since I took this exam after a long day of work (finishing at 1:30 in the morning and accidentally fell asleep during the BS) and was able to finish with 20 minutes extra in the PS and BS (although I'm not sure how helpful the extra time will be since my weakness is the content). Along with the fact that I went a week cold without time to study since I was volunteering with freshman orientation activities (which was probably a bad idea considering it was two weeks before my exam...).

I'm planning on taking another AAMC tomorrow and we'll see what else I do the rest of the week up until the exam (probably going to brush up on some concepts I'm weak on and try to practice practice practice VR).
Still not at my target score, but at least it's close and I'm not as afraid of bombing the test anymore 🙂

I'm also surprised since this is the first time ever I've had my BS as my highest scaled score ._.?

Edit: I wish I had taken AAMCs a lot sooner, they give you way more statistics and it's so much easier to review. Kaplan=Regret.

 

[paul411]

Definitely do AAMC 10 and 11 before the real thing (AAMC 11 at the very least).

 

[LotusFX]

A 32 (12/10/10) on AAMC 11.
I think I'll probably just have the test scored and hope for the best.

 

[kehlsh]

A 32 (12/10/10) on AAMC 11.
I think I'll probably just have the test scored and hope for the best.

I think you will do great! 32 is really good score!