Went from 56% to 88% Percentile on MCAT Ask me anytime!

[orangeblue]

Dear SDN folks,
MCAT was big part of my mid-twenties, following me around like a black cloud on the Things to Do for the past 8 years. I studied actively close to 3 years, and spend $$ signing up and voiding/cancelling test many times with immense anxiety.

May 2014 : 27 MCAT ( 57% Percentile)
Sept 2015: 512 New Mcat (88% Percentile)

I am here to support and share my experiences. SDN has done great things and I want to give back! Especially for people who are/have procrastinated, or feel anxious or afraid. Please ask me anything.

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[kingdomheart]

What do you think went wrong the first time, and how did you prepare differently?

 

[orangeblue]

I took the old test the first time. I worked hard for it. This test made me realize that sometimes in life, you can't compulseively prepare for everything. Before taking the test and scoring it, I thought that 27 or 28 would make me feel totally awful. When I got the score - after hours of hard work - I just accepted it. AMCAS doesnt' give you access to your test and answers so it's very hard to say what happened.

I took the new test for 2nd time around so hard to compare them both. I took the 2nd test with some difficulty - didn't know what would happen, how I'd do, what would be the outcome.

 

[Kpw101]

What practice exams did you take the 2nd time around and what were your scores?

 

[genericscreenname]

Congrats! Just found out today I had a similar improvement to you. Felt like exorcising a demon out of me. I studied on and off for 3 years and life kept getting in the way. Made me question my intelligence after my first score and hit some really low times. But we're finally done!

 

[kingdomheart]

Also what materials did you use to study?

 

[orangeblue]

What practice exams did you take the 2nd time around and what were your scores?

I had planned to take 10-15 FL tests for the new exam. But in the end I only had time for the one AAMC (the new AAMC # 2 wasn't out yet) and took 3 or 4 Next Step tests. I did some Princeton Review for practice section questions on Pyschology/Sociology.

 

[orangeblue]

Also what materials did you use to study?

I self studied, using TBR (old books), used Khan Academy passages and wikipedia. I also tried to read science journals

 

[deleted647690]

Dear SDN folks,
MCAT was big part of my mid-twenties, following me around like a black cloud on the Things to Do for the past 8 years. I studied actively close to 3 years, and spend $$ signing up and voiding/cancelling test many times with immense anxiety.

May 2014 : 27 MCAT ( 57% Percentile)
Sept 2015: 512 New Mcat (88% Percentile)

I am here to support and share my experiences. SDN has done great things and I want to give back! Especially for people who are/have procrastinated, or feel anxious or afraid. Please ask me anything.

You studied actively for 3 years?! How did you retain information over all of that time? I ask because I have been studying this whole summer for a September 10th date, but things went way too slow and I'm not ready. I still have content review left; I got stuck on so many topics. I will have to try and study during school this upcoming semester now, but I worry that I won't retain information for a test date in January (maybe even next summer if things don't go well with managing classes, MCAT studying, and extracurricular activities). That's nowhere near 3 years though..how did you do it?

 

[orangeblue]

You studied actively for 3 years?! How did you retain information over all of that time?

Let me explain this clearly. Here's how it went:
I took the Kaplan course in 2008 summer
I studied and took and voided the August 2010 MCAT.
I started studying May 2013 - for a late summer 2013date. Then didn't do it.
I started again in Sept/Oct 2013 for Jan date. Then voided/cancelled the test date.
I started again in Jan 2014 and then seriously took the May 2014 test.
I started again in May 2015 and took the Sept 2015 test. after delaying from August 2015.

 

[orangeblue]

@acetylmandarin
I don't suggest anyone to study for 3 years.I only mentioned it to give hope to others who may also be in a similar place and feel that their goal is so far away and achievable. I don't think that it's reasonable to expect yourself to remember the content..

I would advise to start on practice problems asap alongside / as you review the content. If you have taken all the pre-reqs that you already have the content down mostly . Doing and reviewing practice problems is REVIEWING content.

 

[rolliespring]

Congrats on the improvement! I was pretty similar. I got a 24 (43 percentile) on my first mcat and a 511 (86 percentile) on my second mcat last month.

I took my first mcat literally on the last day of the pre-2015 version's administration. I rushed it to avoid the new mcat and paid the price! Glad we were both able to improve, however.

I guess we all make the same mistakes! I also took my first exam on Jan 2015 and got a 26. I improved to a 515 two months ago. Congrats to all of us!

 

[StretchDoe]

Congrats on the improvement! I was pretty similar. I got a 24 (43 percentile) on my first mcat and a 511 (86 percentile) on my second mcat last month.

I took my first mcat literally on the last day of the pre-2015 version's administration. I rushed it to avoid the new mcat and paid the price! Glad we were both able to improve, however.

I guess we all make the same mistakes! I also took my first exam on Jan 2015 and got a 26. I improved to a 515 two months ago. Congrats to all of us!

How'd you guys jump so much?

 

[χmaverickχ]

Did you use Anki or anything similar to help you actively relearn and retain information?

 

[rolliespring]

How'd you guys jump so much?

For me it was a combination of rushing and bad luck. I came out feeling like crap for both exams. The only difference I really remember before going in my 2nd test was I was expecting the exam to be harder than the practice AAMCs. VR/CARS was my weakest section so I worked really hard on that after my 1st MCAT. I focused more on test taking skills for my 2nd MCAT after realizing the actual exam requires more critical thinking and not just a solid foundation of content. The only content I studied then were biochem and PS because it was new material. I relied only on doing passages and practice exams for CP, BB and CARS. It really comes down to knowing what you're good at and what you should actually be focusing on. Don't waste too much time on studying "easy" material that you already knew. Work on things you're not good at.

 

[StretchDoe]

For me it was a combination of rushing and bad luck. I came out feeling like crap for both exams. The only difference I really remember before going in my 2nd test was I was expecting the exam to be harder than the practice AAMCs. VR/CARS was my weakest section so I worked really hard on that after my 1st MCAT. I focused more on test taking skills for my 2nd MCAT after realizing the actual exam requires more critical thinking and not just a solid foundation of content. The only content I studied then were biochem and PS because it was new material. I relied only on doing passages and practice exams for CP, BB and CARS. It really comes down to knowing what you're good at and what you should actually be focusing on. Don't waste too much time on studying "easy" material that you already knew. Work on things you're not good at.

Thanks. I'm going to start just doing passages like a mad man very soon. What passages did you do? As for as exams I plan on doing the ek, ns and aamc ones.

 

[rolliespring]

Thanks. I'm going to start just doing passages like a mad man very soon. What passages did you do? As for as exams I plan on doing the ek, ns and aamc ones.

Pretty much what everyone on sdn uses. In addition to all AAMC stuff I used EK and TPRH for CARS, BR and TPRH for the sciences. The Khan Psych notes from reddit were really nice I used that and only AAMC material for PS. I actually never did FLs from other test prep companies. I only used AAMC FLs but I was on a tight schedule (I did all the old FLs for my 1st MCAT though). You should do as many FLs as possible. I also made AAMC passages into mini tests to simulate the actual MCAT. For example I'd take 4-5 passages from each science section and 3-4 from CARS to make a mini test. I do them like the actual MCAT (timed, taking breaks, using earplugs etc.) and grade myself afterwards.

Good luck on your test!

 

[deleted585480]

Talk about getting a black cloud out from over you. I wouldn't let something like a test bother me for that long. I appreciate the determination, but there's more to life.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Dear SDN folks,
MCAT was big part of my mid-twenties, following me around like a black cloud on the Things to Do for the past 8 years. I studied actively close to 3 years, and spend $$ signing up and voiding/cancelling test many times with immense anxiety.

Here's how it went:
I took the Kaplan course in 2008 summer
I studied and took and voided the August 2010 MCAT.
I started studying May 2013 - for a late summer 2013 date. Then didn't do it.
I started again in Sept/Oct 2013 for Jan date. Then voided/cancelled the test date.
I started again in Jan 2014 and then seriously took the May 2014 test.

May 2014 : 27 MCAT ( 57% Percentile)

I started again in May 2015 and took the Sept 2015 test. after delaying from August 2015.

I self studied, using TBR (old books), used Khan Academy passages and wikipedia. I also tried to read science journals.

Sept 2015: 512 New Mcat (88% Percentile)

I am here to support and share my experiences. SDN has done great things and I want to give back! Especially for people who are/have procrastinated, or feel anxious or afraid. Please ask me anything.

I fused together three of your replies because your story (sequentially) is amazing and can be such a positive read for so many people. Test anxiety is the elephant in the room people never like to mention. But it is a silent killer that undermines confidence. You hit the nail on the head when you said "Doing and reviewing practice problems is REVIEWING content" in your reply to acetylmandarin. In fact, it is the best way to review content. Going over explanations for questions you actively thought about is huge in terms of genuine learning. The confidence you get helps to squelch some anxiety.

Another big help (and I apologize if this is tooting our horn here) is to look at things in a simple and easy-to-recall manner. This is both for memorizing information as well as problem solving. If you have a simple algorithm for getting right answers, no matter how anxious you may be, you will eventually calm down and rely on your training. Training with the right perspective and learning to think about weird questions is essential. I know some people complain about how hard our materials are, but THAT is training for anxiety and content.

I am so happy for you. You have been such an amazing asset to the SDN community, so it is absolutely wonderful to read how well you did. Now go become a great doctor!!!!

 

[Hospitalized]

What were your respective breakdowns for each test?

 

[CJhooper123]

I had planned to take 10-15 FL tests for the new exam. But in the end I only had time for the one AAMC (the new AAMC # 2 wasn't out yet) and took 3 or 4 Next Step tests. I did some Princeton Review for practice section questions on Pyschology/Sociology.

If you don't mind me asking... What were your practice scores for the Next Step tests?

 

[orangeblue]

@BerkReviewTeach I also want to add that while I initially paid $1800 for the Kaplan course at age 20 or so, I didn't get so much out of the fast-paced classroom session. It wasn't my style. At age 25-26, when I get serious about MCAT, I followed SN2's schedule and use TBR books which were really wonderful, INCLUDING for the new 2015 MCAT.

I took all the TBR passages timed (even though on paper, not on computer) and just appreciated having my own books to go through. Also, tackling through TBR gave me the confidence knowing that I had the best prep behind me. I'm a science teacher now, and I will say that the self-paced guidelines of going through passages gave me more content exposure in my knowledge that any college course.

 

[Chromatic543]

@BerkReviewTeach I also want to add that while I initially paid $1800 for the Kaplan course at age 20 or so, I didn't get so much out of the fast-paced classroom session. It wasn't my style. At age 25-26, when I get serious about MCAT, I followed SN2's schedule and use TBR books which were really wonderful, INCLUDING for the new 2015 MCAT.

I took all the TBR passages timed (even though on paper, not on computer) and just appreciated having my own books to go through. Also, tackling through TBR gave me the confidence knowing that I had the best prep behind me. I'm a science teacher now, and I will say that the self-paced guidelines of going through passages gave me more content exposure in my knowledge that any college course.

Hello orangeblue,

I sent you a message, but I'm not sure if you got it or not. I just wanted to get some advice from you.

Chromatic543

 

[orangeblue]

What were your respective breakdowns for each test?

128/127/129/128

 

[orangeblue]

Hello orangeblue,

I sent you a message, but I'm not sure if you got it or not. I just wanted to get some advice from you.

Chromatic543

I got it and tried several times and days to respond but somehow my computer wouldn't send private messages!

 

[Hospitalized]

128/127/129/128

And your first MCAT?

 

[JB50]

feelsgoodmane

 

[orangeblue]

And your first MCAT?

It was even 8/10/9

 

[Hospitalized]

It was even 8/10/9

Good to know. Thanks

 

[DaAlienist]

@BerkReviewTeach I also want to add that while I initially paid $1800 for the Kaplan course at age 20 or so, I didn't get so much out of the fast-paced classroom session. It wasn't my style. At age 25-26, when I get serious about MCAT, I followed SN2's schedule and use TBR books which were really wonderful, INCLUDING for the new 2015 MCAT.

I took all the TBR passages timed (even though on paper, not on computer) and just appreciated having my own books to go through. Also, tackling through TBR gave me the confidence knowing that I had the best prep behind me. I'm a science teacher now, and I will say that the self-paced guidelines of going through passages gave me more content exposure in my knowledge that any college course.

Way to go on the test!

Looking back, are there any MCAT resources you would have avoided? Were the AAMC materials very helpful aside from simulating the test? Can you actually learn/improve from them?

 

[orangeblue]

Hi,

yes, I will say that the aamc tests helped me see the type of questions and in fact even what content to study. some questions in practice test were similar to ones on actual exam, if I remember correctly