481 on AAMC practice exam after 3 months of prep?

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hopefulpsychiatrist

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My diagnostic MCAT was 478 in May of 2017.

I have studied over 6-8 hours per day for over 11 weeks.

I took a full length exam with NextStepPrep and scored a 495 last week, 7 days ago.

I took the second AAMC practice today (7 days later) and scored a 481.

I had my MCAT exam scheduled for July 28, 2017.

I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I don't know how to take this score. I don't know whether to give up and say this is not for me.

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I wouldn't give up. I would develop a significantly different study strategy though. DO NOT take your exam on 7/28. You're going to need to reschedule for September most likely. Scores that low suggest significant holes in content review. What resources are you using?
 
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I wouldn't give up. I would develop a significantly different study strategy though. DO NOT take your exam on 7/28. You're going to need to reschedule for September most likely. Scores that low suggest significant holes in content review. What resources are you using?

Kaplan
 
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My diagnostic MCAT was 478 in May of 2017.

I have studied over 6-8 hours per day for over 11 weeks.

I took a full length exam with NextStepPrep and scored a 495 last week, 7 days ago.

I took the second AAMC practice today (7 days later) and scored a 481.

I had my MCAT exam scheduled for July 28, 2017.

I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I don't know how to take this score. I don't know whether to give up and say this is not for me.
You're not ready. Do NOT take the exam!!!
 
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i dont know if i will ever be i may need a mental evaluation there is no way i studied 3 months to achieve the same score as my diagnostic
 
i dont know if i will ever be i may need a mental evaluation there is no way i studied 3 months to achieve the same score as my diagnostic

I wouldn't go as far to say that you need a mental evaluation. I'd bet that you're not efficiently studying, or in other words, your current study schedule is not working for you.
 
If all you used is Kaplan and nothing else, it's possible not to see great leaps. Try diversifying your study content and hitting up the mcat forums. You also need to address if you had a meltdown on test day. Don't rush it, a year studying for the mcat, working, and volunteering goes by real quick. Aim for the Jan tests..Just imagine that delta when you go >510 someday!


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i dont know if i will ever be i may need a mental evaluation there is no way i studied 3 months to achieve the same score as my diagnostic

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.
Keep you head up and keep working. If you want to become a physician, you are going to have to overcome obstacles. If this is something you really want, keep your eyes on the prize and reevaluate your study habits. I would cancel your upcoming exam, purchase additional MCAT material (TBR books, Kaplan...), and get cracking. Try to keep track of your mistakes --> write down why you got a question wrong and create a "google docs" page for this. Review your mistakes every Friday.... My list is currently at 40 pages... but I don't make any repeat mistakes because of it.

BELIEVE
 
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My diagnostic MCAT was 478 in May of 2017.

I have studied over 6-8 hours per day for over 11 weeks.

I took a full length exam with NextStepPrep and scored a 495 last week, 7 days ago.

I took the second AAMC practice today (7 days later) and scored a 481.

I had my MCAT exam scheduled for July 28, 2017.

I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I don't know how to take this score. I don't know whether to give up and say this is not for me.

Heres my two cents from someone who just took it and used kaplan and AAMC. AAMC is the best predictor. At first i used kaplan materials religiously because i figured i paid for it so it should work. It doesn't. The reason you probably went down THAT much is becasue you don't know how to take the test. Kaplan focuses way to much on content IMO and has very little graphs. If i were you i would buy all the AAMC materials and use those to study. If you find you dont know vocab and terms do some content review then dive into the AAMC materials. If i were you i would take the MCAT on the 28 but only void it do not grade it. This way you know just exactly what the real thing looks and feels like, but you aren't ready. Anything under 500 isnt good. Anything under 490 is really bad man like, really bad and those schools that average grades will basically kiss your chance at school goodbye because to even get to 500 youd have to get a 519. Getting a 519 is pretty hard to do. It sucks that you probably wont be able to apply this cycle depending on if youre md/do but it wont do you any favors to never get in either. Don't feel bad though everybody has some trouble with this test in one way or another. Give it time, study and work on the AAMC materials. youll be fine
 
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My diagnostic MCAT was 478 in May of 2017.

I have studied over 6-8 hours per day for over 11 weeks.

I took a full length exam with NextStepPrep and scored a 495 last week, 7 days ago.

I took the second AAMC practice today (7 days later) and scored a 481.

I had my MCAT exam scheduled for July 28, 2017.

I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I don't know how to take this score. I don't know whether to give up and say this is not for me.

Sorry about your woes OP. I think you should cancel the July 28 exam because you are not ready. Ideally, you should aim for 505+ to be very competitive for DO schools and 510+ to be competitive for MD schools.

Now realistically speaking, something went seriously wrong here. There are two essential things needed to excel on the MCAT: preparation and confidence. Regardless of how much and how long you study, you need to be confident when answering questions on practice tests and on the real deal. Choose the least wrong answer and when you are confused by the passage, blame it on the passage author for being confusing, not yourself. You need to approach the MCAT with a confident and 100% focused mindset, and understand that the most difficult concepts and passages can be translated readily into simple concepts learned from content review. This is not easy and requires a lot of active studying practice. You need to do a lot of passages on a daily basis and understand your thought processes to right and wrong answers, and you should be able to justify and defend your answers.

Cancel the test and spend few weeks clearing your mind. Shadow and volunteer to reiterate your reasons why you want to pursue medicine. Once you are ready, approach the MCAT preparation with a confident and determined mindset, and focus on improving yourself on a daily basis. You'll do well in the long term.
 
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Was the diagnostic AAMC official? If not, that's what is going on, you cannot put any trust at all into prep company materials right now. The AAMC official material is the only reliable/accurate benchmark of where you stand. Unless something went terribly wrong during that practice test (illness or exhaustion or something) you need to cancel your July test date and completely change up your studying.
 
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You need to take the exam in 2018. Something is wrong with the way you are studying. Figure out your learning style. Can you afford a tutor?

Go over the exam and write down the content you didn't know and study that. Do the AAMC SB a million times.
 
Cancel or void exam. What's your GPA in school? Are you really a good student?
Also, try other materials to prepare MCAT. 481 is absolutely not normal and is a dead end.
 
Yea don't take it right now. This is a marathon, not a sprint. I know it can be disappointing to not be able to apply for this cycle but it's far better to take the mcat when you're ready and apply with your best app.

Confidence is the key man. The mcat will demoralize you. I'm sorry you're facing such an alarming setback, but it IS a setbck, doesn't have to be the end.

One of my doctors actually took the mcat four times and eventually got into his state MD. He's super successful now. He says the game changer for him was taking one of the official review classes. Some people just learn best in that rigid and planned environment. Maybe it could work for you, because reviewing on your own clearly hasn't helped you like you would have wanted.

Good luck to you man. You can still achieve your goal! You just have to have the guts to approach it a different way. You can do this.
 
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Gotta go back to the drawing board in terms of studying, but as for your emotions you have to really ask yourself how badly you want to become a physician.

I do have to say that with proper and efficient studying, you can definitely earn yourself a score that will get you into medical school. Knowing the test and being able to extrapolate information from the passages/graphs is just as important as knowing the content. Reevaluate things, but I side with everyone that you probably would need to delay the MCAT.
 
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Kaplan was the worst resource I ever used for the MCAT. Please switch ASAP. Highly recommend Berkley Review if you can afford it, or Exam Krackers, or even Princeton Review if you are more strapped for cash.
 
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Kaplan was the worst resource I ever used for the MCAT. Please switch ASAP. Highly recommend Berkley Review if you can afford it, or Exam Krackers, or even Princeton Review if you are more strapped for cash.

Agreed I had one Kaplan book and found it to be utterly lacking in kind of "higher concept" materials, more rote memorization. I used TPR, but these other sources are excellent too
 
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Kaplan was the worst resource I ever used for the MCAT. Please switch ASAP. Highly recommend Berkley Review if you can afford it, or Exam Krackers, or even Princeton Review if you are more strapped for cash.

I disagree. Kaplan was a great resource for me (but I did the weekend class, with an instructor). I went from a 13 diagnostic to a 34. I think there are 2 issues with Kaplan that while present, are easy to avoid.

1) they give you a lot of resources and it's easy to not take advantage of the right ones. If you're serious and dedicated, and listen to your feedback religiously, you'll get the most of it.

2) their practice tests are too easy. This is why they also provide several (10-20) full length AAMC tests and tell you to take them! I was getting 40-42 on my Kaplans and 30-33 on my AAMCs. That being said, their practice tests are excellent test prep.
 
Kaplan was the worst resource I ever used for the MCAT. Please switch ASAP. Highly recommend Berkley Review if you can afford it, or Exam Krackers, or even Princeton Review if you are more strapped for cash.

Is this the correct website to buy new Berkley Review materials?

The Berkeley Review--Home Study Materials

I ask because this website is terribly formatted; the web's equivalent of a downtown dilapidated building.
 
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My diagnostic MCAT was 478 in May of 2017.

I have studied over 6-8 hours per day for over 11 weeks.

I took a full length exam with NextStepPrep and scored a 495 last week, 7 days ago.

I took the second AAMC practice today (7 days later) and scored a 481.

I had my MCAT exam scheduled for July 28, 2017.

I am overwhelmed with emotions right now. I don't know how to take this score. I don't know whether to give up and say this is not for me.

At that score, it sounds like you have both a fundamental lack of content knowledge and don't understand how to approach the questions as they're written for the mcat.

I was the same way. 3 months of studying and I got a 500. This was after using EK, which is a fine series of books, but doesn't work well if you have a bad understanding of the general concepts like I did.

I bought an older copy of TBR and used EK's psych book. In 1 month of studying and doing tons of TBR questions, my second attempt was a 511 (I keep writing 509 on here, not sure why). 100% attribute the increase to both TBR's deep dive into content, as well as familiarizing me with mcat style questions. I would really highly recommend it. As everyone else said, do not take the mcat now, you need to start from the ground up.
 
I disagree. Kaplan was a great resource for me (but I did the weekend class, with an instructor). I went from a 13 diagnostic to a 34. I think there are 2 issues with Kaplan that while present, are easy to avoid.

1) they give you a lot of resources and it's easy to not take advantage of the right ones. If you're serious and dedicated, and listen to your feedback religiously, you'll get the most of it.

2) their practice tests are too easy. This is why they also provide several (10-20) full length AAMC tests and tell you to take them! I was getting 40-42 on my Kaplans and 30-33 on my AAMCs. That being said, their practice tests are excellent test prep.

I bet anyone who succeeded with Kaplan could pull off the same or even better score with the resources mentioned in my first post. If you are a good test taker and have a good foundation, Kaplan will work. It doesn't help for those who have deficits that cannot be resolved by a general review (this includes verbal skills also). Hence why it never worked for me.

The problem I had with Kaplan, and yes I also took their course long ago, was that it never simulated the language of the exam. The Berkley Review and ExamKrakers did a far better job of this than Kaplan ever did (depending on the subject though). I was never a good test taker to begin with and probably never will ever master the MCAT, but I saw the most improvement with The Berkley Review and Princeton Review, when I combined both resources.
 
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Kaplan was the worst resource I ever used for the MCAT. Please switch ASAP. Highly recommend Berkley Review if you can afford it, or Exam Krackers, or even Princeton Review if you are more strapped for cash.
yup...kaplan was terrible. Totally different from the real exam. Kaplan was shorter in terms of passage-length and much easier to read. It tests you on memorization, which is basically non-existent on the MCAT. Worst $$$ spent.
 
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yeah i regret kaplan too. especially the in person course. Thanks mom for paying for it but what a waste of money and time jeez
 
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yup...kaplan was terrible. Totally different from the real exam. Kaplan was shorter in terms of passage-length and much easier to read. It tests you on memorization, which is basically non-existent on the MCAT. Worst $$$ spent.
I agree I thought the books were ok for content but not by any means for anything else and again the books were ok I found several topics that were missing from the books too
 
Which prep materials do you guys highly recommend then? Berkley Review and Princeton Review?

Yes, I liked both. However, I took only the old MCAT, so I don't know if it applies to you. TBRs Ochem, Chem, and Phys books were awesome. For TPR, I like their hyperlearning verbal and workout books were good (used their book for Biology since the TBR book was too dense, but it shouldn't be the case for this MCAT).
 
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Which prep materials do you guys highly recommend then? Berkley Review and Princeton Review?

Only used TPR but really liked them. Their psych/soc book wasn't great IMO, but physics and Chems were excellent
 
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Time to do the DAT

You're not helping.


OP I would start by maybe going to see a learning specialist, there may be something going on that you don't know about. A 478 diagnostic is low even for a diagnostic and to me signals a test taking issue on top of content/knowledge base issues. You can do it, just take things slow and figure out how to maximize your potential. Med schools aren't going anywhere and will reward you for being patient.
 
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That score seems low to be a review issue. May be test anxiety or just lack of concepts in general. How did the prereqs go for you OP?
 
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How many full length's have you taken? Are you reviewing them? I don't mean spending a few hours looking at the ones you got wrong. I mean spending 8-18 hours looking over every single answer and evaluating what made your answer right or wrong, and then going through every single answer and determining what made the other one's wrong or right. As for feeling deflated and defeated, I encourage you to watch this video.
 
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Background, I'm pretty much a B student. I have never have done well with standardized test, not even the ACT or SAT.
 
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I've been using EK and I really like it. So far I'm doing Ok will stand alone questions but passage based questions I just don't know how to approach them whatsoever, I am completely lost I don't know what info needs to be extracted to answer the question. Everyone is saying improve on approaching the test but how do I develop that skill
 
I've been using EK and I really like it. So far I'm doing Ok will stand alone questions but passage based questions I just don't know how to approach them whatsoever, I am completely lost I don't know what info needs to be extracted to answer the question. Everyone is saying improve on approaching the test but how do I develop that skill

lol, sometimes passage-based questions (except those in CARS) are not really passage-based. They are really like stand-alone questions.
Or often you just need superficial understanding of passages.
After many practices, you should notice there's a pattern within passages and questions for you to find info. Just get used to that.
 
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I've been using EK and I really like it. So far I'm doing Ok will stand alone questions but passage based questions I just don't know how to approach them whatsoever, I am completely lost I don't know what info needs to be extracted to answer the question. Everyone is saying improve on approaching the test but how do I develop that skill

First step is figuring out what it is the question is actually getting at. Once you understand that it is easier.
 
Disclaimer; I didn't read through the entire thread.

DO NOT TAKE THE EXAM. You're not quite ready.

I took the Kaplan course myself. It was great for testing strategies but actually guided content review was awful. The instructors aren't really there for that and I get that. I found that I only did a few points better than my Kaplan practice exams and that seems about right with the trend of others I've known who've taken it.

That being said, I did awful on my MCAT (496). After this I took two or three days to wallow in self pity and doubt after that I went back to the drawing board. Re analyze your study schedule. Those practice exams you took you need to go back through each wrong answer understand why it's wrong and also mark trends in subjects you frequently did poor on. Then set reasonable weekly study goals. My failure was focusing too much on biochem and psychology as I had not taken these courses and neglected the stuff I thought I would do "ok" on. Find the holes plug them and keep it moving! I'll be retaking my MCAT in January if only to prove to myself that I can do better which I honestly believe I can. Save your money though and fix the problem don't do what I did and take it when you're not ready. You can't take back that stupid mistake haha


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Disclaimer; I didn't read through the entire thread.

DO NOT TAKE THE EXAM. You're not quite ready.

I took the Kaplan course myself. It was great for testing strategies but actually guided content review was awful. The instructors aren't really there for that and I get that. I found that I only did a few points better than my Kaplan practice exams and that seems about right with the trend of others I've known who've taken it.

That being said, I did awful on my MCAT (496). After this I took two or three days to wallow in self pity and doubt after that I went back to the drawing board. Re analyze your study schedule. Those practice exams you took you need to go back through each wrong answer understand why it's wrong and also mark trends in subjects you frequently did poor on. Then set reasonable weekly study goals. My failure was focusing too much on biochem and psychology as I had not taken these courses and neglected the stuff I thought I would do "ok" on. Find the holes plug them and keep it moving! I'll be retaking my MCAT in January if only to prove to myself that I can do better which I honestly believe I can. Save your money though and fix the problem don't do what I did and take it when you're not ready. You can't take back that stupid mistake haha


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If you don't mind me asking what we're you scoring in the Kaplan and aamc practice tests
 
If you don't mind me asking what we're you scoring in the Kaplan and aamc practice tests

I was scoring 493s and 494s. I got a false sense of confidence because other people on this forum said they were 5-10 points higher on the actual exam than their kaplan exams. My personal experience and those people that I physically know were actually fairly close to our practice exams but always just slightly higher. This is how Kaplan gets their "Higher Score Guarantee." I personally think the class was good overall but really isn't worth the price tag and could have covered what needed to be said in like 3-4 classes total.
 
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LOOK UP CHADS VIDEOS FOR ****ING CHEM AND OCHEM YOU WILL THANK ME GREATLY LATER. **** KAPLAN.
 
Kaplan is terrible. Highly recommend EK or TBR for books. Chad's Videos if you're a visual learner. Next Step & EK for practice exams, besides AAMC ones of course, which are your best resources.
 
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Kaplan is terrible. Highly recommend EK or TBR for books. Chad's Videos if you're a visual learner. Next Step & EK for practice exams, besides AAMC ones of course, which are your best resources.

I agree w/ this. I did my original review using the Kaplan 7 book series and score a 504 (126, 122, 127, 129) January 2017. I am retaking in September and decided to check out other books. My opinion of Kaplan has significantly changed since doing this. I highly recommend EK for chemistry/physics. I also highly recommend TBR for biology. These books definitely cover details that were left out in the Kaplan series. They also provide a lot more practice questions compared to the Kaplan books. Kaplan's best book is probably their psychology/sociology. I flashcarded every bolded term in the Kaplan PS book using quizlet and memorized everything.
 
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