Confidence boost/words of advice?

[NotYY4U]

I am fairly non-trad with pretty average cookie cutter EC's, a sGPA of 3.29 and cGPA of 3.59 (without the grade replacement, with grade replacement around sGPA 3.4 and cGPA of about 3.6+). All I am looking for next cycle is to be accepted by a DO school, an MD is a waste of my $$$.

My confidence has faltered though with my Kaplan MCAT full length tests. Despite studying hard, reading thoroughly each question and pacing myself, I have only managed a whopping 494 on my 3rd full length. I go over each test and review my mistakes, study the material I got wrong and this is still my result. I am switching to AAMC practice/full lengths next week and hoping these will be closer to the scores I need for a DO acceptance. Has anyone experienced my type of scenario and have any uplifting words?

Thanks everyone

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[radian313]

I am fairly non-trad with pretty average cookie cutter EC's, a sGPA of 3.29 and cGPA of 3.59 (without the grade replacement, with grade replacement around sGPA 3.4 and cGPA of about 3.6+). All I am looking for next cycle is to be accepted by a DO school, an MD is a waste of my $$$.

My confidence has faltered though with my Kaplan MCAT full length tests. Despite studying hard, reading thoroughly each question and pacing myself, I have only managed a whopping 494 on my 3rd full length. I go over each test and review my mistakes, study the material I got wrong and this is still my result. I am switching to AAMC practice/full lengths next week and hoping these will be closer to the scores I need for a DO acceptance. Has anyone experienced my type of scenario and have any uplifting words?

Thanks everyone

Yep been there man and done that. Its not a easy road, but you either find a way or an excuse.

Your score tells me there are severe content gaps. You may need to change up your books.

If you need words of advice search my recent post "need some motivation"

 

[JibsGuy52]

Don't be discouraged. Kaplan MCATs are a lot harder, imo. Practice with AAMC tests then post your scores here. I predict a 505 on those.

 

[deleted812153]

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Don't be discouraged, scrutinize your practice tests and find your weak spots. The Kaplan tests are also deflated and people generally do better in the real thing, I would put more stock in your score from the AAMC scored practice test. Just for an anecdote, I scored a 499 on my company practice test I took 5 days before my real test, actual score 90%<.

When is your actual test date?

 

[Promethean]

So, what you really need to understand is that, at its core, the MCAT is not just a test of knowledge, but ultimately a test of cognition. All of the sections are really verbal reasoning. Yes, you need a basis in the sciences covered to answer the questions accurately more often, but just learning how to take tests and most importantly, how to think like the question writer is so important. I took the test without ever having taken a physics course or an org chem course, relying only on what I could teach myself based on online study guides / resources over the course of the 2-3 months from when I registered until test day. That was unwise, but I still did quite well on that attempt because of great reading comprehension and figuring out how to understand what the question writer was really asking and not only why the right answer was right, but also why they threw in the particular distractors/wrong answers that they did.

I think that the AAMC practice tests are the very best tool for acquiring familiarity with how the MCAT question writers think. When you take them, and then review your wrong answers, don't just think about why the right answer was right. Also take time to think about why each wrong answer was wrong, and how you could change the question to make that answer correct. If you put an extra hour or two into each of your exam reviews to really delve into how the questions are written, it will really pay off in improvements in your score.

There are only so many topics being covered, and only so many ways they will approach each question. Once you start to appreciate metapatterns in how they approach each concept, you will quickly be able to recognize when the question is really asking about Le Chatelier's, or Bernoulli's principle, or whatever... and how to suss out the right answer more efficiently. This is a skill that will keep paying off later in other high stakes exams. If you treat figuring out how the test writer is thinking as a kind of mind game, you will find the whole process less stressful and more enjoyable. You can strategize to beat them at their own game, and that really works.

Also, like everyone else has said... Kaplan wants to sell you test prep. They want you to feel kinda dumb and like you really need their help. Like how bars have salty snacks so that you will be thirsty and want to drink more... Test prep companies sell you scary tests with deflated scores so that you will keep using their products. But the MCAT isn't written by Kaplan. Practice on the route that you actually have to run, and you will get a lot further, faster.

 

[NotYY4U]

Thanks for the advice everyone, I was a bit worried posting here that you may say to change my career path! My test is May 13th so I'm about 35 days out right now. I agree, there is so much more than just content review to this thing, you could know a subject inside and out and still get questions related to it wrong due to reading comprehension.

I have also heard Kap is heavily deflated compared to AAMC so I'm switching to AAMC resources next week after taking one more Kap test.

I'm hearing all this other cocky a-holes around me in my prep class saying "I'm getting 510+ and not even studying blah blah..." and whether it's bull$hit or not, it's kinda killing my confidence.

 

[Peach Newport]

Don't be discouraged, scrutinize your practice tests and find your weak spots. The Kaplan tests are also deflated and people generally do better in the real thing, I would put more stock in your score from the AAMC scored practice test. Just for an anecdote, I scored a 499 on my company practice test I took 5 days before my real test, actual score 90%<.

When is your actual test date?

Put it this way:

After taking 30+ practice tests, I was scoring 40-41 on the Kaplan tests. I was scoring 32-33 on the AAMC tests. My final score was a 34.

 

[Gourd]

When is your test date? I recommend saving AAMC material for the final stretch as they are the most representative. I recommend doing Next Step Practice exams before the AAMC test if you have time before your actual MCAT. I found the Next Step exams to be pretty representative in relation to Kaplan and Princeton exams. Best of luck.


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[kamchatka]

I am fairly non-trad with pretty average cookie cutter EC's, a sGPA of 3.29 and cGPA of 3.59 (without the grade replacement, with grade replacement around sGPA 3.4 and cGPA of about 3.6+). All I am looking for next cycle is to be accepted by a DO school, an MD is a waste of my $$$.

My confidence has faltered though with my Kaplan MCAT full length tests. Despite studying hard, reading thoroughly each question and pacing myself, I have only managed a whopping 494 on my 3rd full length. I go over each test and review my mistakes, study the material I got wrong and this is still my result. I am switching to AAMC practice/full lengths next week and hoping these will be closer to the scores I need for a DO acceptance. Has anyone experienced my type of scenario and have any uplifting words?

Thanks everyone

My only advise would be that you shouldn't take the Kaplan practice tests too seriously. I had a similar experience where my practice test scores were around 494, and they actually DECREASED as i continued taking them. I felt great about the content I was learning though, and had trouble believing I was posting those test scores. When I actually took the test, which was only about a week after my final practice test, I scored in the 85th percentile. While its nice to have practice, take pride in the things you are learning and don't rely too much on what your statistics say about you. If I focused too much on stats, I wouldn't have received an acceptance this cycle. Your stats don't define you, and schools are looking for more than simply stats.

 

[SunnyDO]

Keep your eyes on the prize homie. You got time. Take a deep breath - Keep your mind right, study hard, and stay organized. You got this.

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

1) Save the AAMC tests and Qbanks (you're not ready to take the test).
2) Ditch Kaplan for ExamKrackers
3) Only take the MCAT until you're averaging a 503 at a minimum for DO schools, 509 for MD schools.

Edit: Kaplan is NOT deflated. Be very careful of selection bias here on SDN. Kaplan words questions and passages differently from the actual MCAT, so you might actually score LOWER than your average. Hence why I recommended ExamKrackers.

 

[NotYY4U]

Thanks everyone. At this point I pushed my test back to June 30th. I really only want to take this son of a bitch one time in my life and I know that getting my score August 1st will not hurt me for Osteo schools. I'm going to stop analyzing about which practice tests are harder/easier and actually just do a heavy content review for another 2 weeks or so before hitting more full lengths. I'm 2 1/2 months out and confident that I can do this now.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks everyone. At this point I pushed my test back to June 30th. I really only want to take this son of a bitch one time in my life and I know that getting my score August 1st will not hurt me for Osteo schools. I'm going to stop analyzing about which practice tests are harder/easier and actually just do a heavy content review for another 2 weeks or so before hitting more full lengths. I'm 2 1/2 months out and confident that I can do this now.

Good plan my colleague, good plan. Good luck! You'll kill it.

 

[123456ers]

I just took the AAMC practice exam and scored a lot higher than I expected, and found it to be "easier" than expected too. The above poster is right, it really is more like a reading comprehension exam. If you can figure out what they are asking, the answer is usually pretty obvious.

I'd take the AAMC practice exam and see where you stand.. Its 35$ but really nice in that it also offers an explanation for each problem.

Just keep plugging away man. Focus on each day.

 

[NotYY4U]

You guys are great! Thanks so much. This journey has been long and filled with may setbacks, I just want to put it all to bed and smoke this MCAT and reach the next check point (Med School)

 

[NotYY4U]

So I made an error in calculating my sGPA for DO schools by including math courses. So now my sGPA is only 3.1!!! I think I am just going to hold off this cycle and retake 2 classes (although without grade replacement this will only bring me up to about a 3.25 sGPA if I pull off A's but will raise cGPA to 3.6).

I'm still taking the MCAT as planned at the end of June and hopefully smoke it so I can be done with that. In addition to retaking those classes I suppose I will just continue to work on strengthening my EC's and become the best applicant I can until next cycle. Who cares if I finish residency in my mid 30's right ?

What do you all think of this???

 

[NotYY4U]

Bump

Anyone!!!!?

 

[JustPlainBill]

Meh -- I got in with a 25P MCAT and a 3.0 overall and 3.2something (IIRC) science with prereqs from various community colleges and a degree that was almost 15 years old --- but it was a God thing -- door after door after door opened for me -- heck, I even had the associate dean for medical education tell me to my face that I shouldn't have been admitted and if it was up to him, I wouldn't have been --- I thought, "FYVM, I'll show you" -- later on he changed his mind and wound up being on my side ---

DO school is more about the whole package rather than just stats -- or at least that's what it used to be in 20005/2006 timeframe.

 

[hawthorn9797]

1) Save the AAMC tests and Qbanks (you're not ready to take the test).
2) Ditch Kaplan for ExamKrackers
3) Only take the MCAT until you're averaging a 503 at a minimum for DO schools, 509 for MD schools.

Edit: Kaplan is NOT deflated. Be very careful of selection bias here on SDN. Kaplan words questions and passages differently from the actual MCAT, so you might actually score LOWER than your average. Hence why I recommended ExamKrackers.

Disagree respectfully,

505+ for DO

515+ for MD

with the low GPAs

 

[hawthorn9797]

I am fairly non-trad with pretty average cookie cutter EC's, a sGPA of 3.29 and cGPA of 3.59 (without the grade replacement, with grade replacement around sGPA 3.4 and cGPA of about 3.6+). All I am looking for next cycle is to be accepted by a DO school, an MD is a waste of my $$$.

My confidence has faltered though with my Kaplan MCAT full length tests. Despite studying hard, reading thoroughly each question and pacing myself, I have only managed a whopping 494 on my 3rd full length. I go over each test and review my mistakes, study the material I got wrong and this is still my result. I am switching to AAMC practice/full lengths next week and hoping these will be closer to the scores I need for a DO acceptance. Has anyone experienced my type of scenario and have any uplifting words?

Thanks everyone

if it helps, I was scoring similar to you on Kaplan/ TPR, and ended up with a 505, (low psych, socio unfortunately)

I think the scores do indicate your problem solving ability at the given moment, but I don't think they accurately predict your score. use them to get better at taking the test, try not to focus so much on the score itself.

p.s: I wanted to throw my desktop out of my office window when my practice scores decreased, I know its a bad feeling, but someday you will look back and laugh at it.

 

[NotYY4U]

I've been going pretty hard with content review at this point and am feeling actually excited to take a FL in another week or 2 to see if I have improved. I am just trying to stay positive and keep my eye on the prize.