Going to set an MCAT record tmrw. Ask Me Aything

[dr.phoot]

- mcat is tomorrow at 8
- haven't studied a thing (I think I just did like 2 verbal practices back in Feb.)
- I'm applying August '17 but will retake in October
- I anticipate I will not break out of the 470s....
- was thinking of skipping but that $300 made me change my mind



People that took it more than once, what went wrong the first time?

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[Cranjis McBasketball]

- mcat is tomorrow at 8
- haven't studied a thing (I think I just did like 2 verbal practices back in Feb.)
- I'm applying August '17 but will retake in October
- I anticipate I will not break out of the 470s....
- was thinking of skipping but that $300 made me change my mind



People that took it more than once, what went wrong the first time?

Timing is gonna be the hardest thing to manage if you havent studied. Youre ballsy haha I cant imagine taking it without studying just for kicks and giggs

 

[738177]

I only took it once but i have friends that took it multiple times, couldn't do well in the Verbal, and ended up in Caribbean med schools.
It's really just the nerves that gets you the first time. For me, i was only able to sleep for an hour the night before.
Try your best and everything else will fall into place.

 

[dr.phoot]

Timing is gonna be the hardest thing to manage if you havent studied. Youre ballsy haha I cant imagine taking it without studying just for kicks and giggs

I planned and had everything in place to get a solid 3 months of studying but life happened. It's too late to cancel and get a refund so I said I'll just go through for the experience and maybe write about it in my p/s

I only took it once but i have friends that took it multiple times, couldn't do well in the Verbal, and ended up in Caribbean med schools.
It's really just the nerves that gets you the first time. For me, i was only able to sleep for an hour the night before.
Try your best and everything else will fall into place.

lol... and will still graduate to be called doctors regardless.

Thanks for the tip. I'll do my best and learn from this!

 

[Racer543]

Why don't you just void the test after taking it? Wouldn't want a really low MCAT score on your records.

 

[Podstar]

Take an AAMC FL today and see what you score. Not to be frank, but you do not need to score exceptionally high to get in to pod school, so you may be able to wing it and score well enough. I did not study much at all, just took two practice tests and reviewed them. I did score just above 500 on both though.

Edit: I only took one of the two practice tests timed and I finished all sections with several minutes left aside from C/P where i had 2.5 minutes.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

+1 for Voiding, Dr.Phoot.

Take it for the experience but void. Those passages with the timer are pretty stressful. You can prepare well next time and take it on the last date (Sept) for this year and you will be fine for the next year's class.

 

[plant based]

I would either write it and void or not write it at all tbh

Even though you don't need a high mcat to get into pod school, you should still try your very best

I attribute the majority of my scholarships to my higher than average mcat

 

[dr.phoot]

Thanks guys. I'm starting to lean towards the crowd saying to void.

On the other hand I'll also like to know how I did.

For the individuals that commented a stellar MCAT isn't needed for podiatry school, my gpas isn't strong (think a few shades below 2.7). I have a better grad GPA though but a good MCAT score is still needed.

 

[dr.phoot]

+1 for Voiding, Dr.Phoot.

Take it for the experience but void. Those passages with the timer are pretty stressful. You can prepare well next time and take it on the last date (Sept) for this year and you will be fine for the next year's class.

I thought it runs a all the way to October then they stop and resume in January?

I was aiming for my retake to fall on October or January the latest. I have to pay off some debt to a school before they release a transcript anyway so that will give me time to pay it off and send my mcat score along with that transcript.

I'll have to look into this so I don't screw myself up. Thanks.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

I thought it runs a all the way to October then they stop and resume in January?

I was aiming for my retake to fall on October or January the latest. I have to pay off some debt to a school before they release a transcript anyway so that will give me time to pay it off and send my mcat score along with that transcript.

I'll have to look into this so I don't screw myself up. Thanks.

Every year it's different. For this year, the last exam is on Sept 9th. It should start again after the 2nd week in January. And, if you're interested knowing then NYCPM Jan class deadline is the end of Dec.

U.S. MCAT Testing Calendar and Score Release Dates

 

[deleted585480]

I would go ahead and take it but void. (unless you finish the test and think you did well). You need to have at least taken one practice test to see how the test works. Additionally, like someone mentioned most scholarships are given out based on how well you did on your MCAT. you could save thousands if you do good on the test.

good luck.

 

[doublefault]

I wish you godspeed my good sir

 

[TimmyTurner]

give it your best shot and if at all in doubt, void. TBH... based on application crisis you might as well keep it and throw an app in now if you're ready to start in the Fall. But if you haven't practiced at all, then very unlikely you'll pull an even halfway decent score.

I studied for 6 months while working full time. Life happens but we also have to make it happen.

 

[AnkleGuy]

Dude, just take your first one in October. Taking the Mcat is seriously exhausting and a whole day endeavor. If you get a horrible score you'll look back and regret that exhausting day and see it as a waste. You won't get a good score without any practice exams because you'll have no muscle memory on timing whatsoever. The Mcat has a lot of tricks you have to learn too. It's not a simple mind dump like a general biology exam.

Plus if you take it the second time you'll feel more pressure because you'll be paranoid that you'll bomb again even when you prepared way better for the second time. You'll second guess yourself. There'll be a ton of open seats in Pod still in October-November.

 

[ill be a doc soon]

Definitely void it and then take an AAMC practice test to see how you do, if you really wanted to know where you're at scorewise.

 

[ksucpm21]

I learned the hard way that you WILL bomb the MCAT if you don't study. Haha sorry.

 

[GypsyHummus]

You can get a 490 on the thing as long as you answer every question and don't fall asleep.

I say go for it. Fortune favors the brave.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

You can get a 490 on the thing as long as you answer every question and don't fall asleep.

I say go for it. Fortune favors the brave.

I agree with this, however with his GPAs (according to Dr. Phoot) he will need a higher MCAT than 490

 

[dr.phoot]

U-P-D-A-T-E:

I couldn't sleep last night. I was just tossing and turning. My eyes would close, 5 mins later I'll remember what's coming and then I'm wide awake again; considered just skipping the test a few times but I pushed myself to go.

So, I got to the test late (1st sign!). Over the phone I thought the guy said be there by 7:45--since the exam is at 8--but he rather said be there 45 mins early, so I should have been there at 7:15!!

I went through all the usual testing procedures, put your things away, Yada Yada yada. I was handed scrap paper and I was like "whaat!!???" I thought everything was electronic and calculations should be done in your head since it's very basic numbers? (2nd sign!). So I took my seat, sat at the computer, began the test and.....








....... pitch black. I see nothing but darkness. Dear reader, I was dozing off!! No way, right? I attempted to read the first line in the passage: word 1, word 2, and....








...... pitch black. Back to the darkness again. Once more I was dozing off. This can't be real, I thought. I tried reading a question then going back to the passage. I read word 1 of the question sentence, word 2, and.....









... back to the darkness. So I went for plan B - click random answers until I finished the entire section!

Well, I'm done w/ the biochem and physics. I knew I would bomb that anyway so who cares? Give me my true love - the verbal section! I started verbal and I couldn't even read one word of the passage before I was dozing off again! I applied plan B again and just randomly selected any answer without even bothering to read the question!

I took the midway break. Went to the bathroom, I said I'll come back and just smash this 2nd half of the exam and well... once again I had to use my good friend plan B because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Whenever I tried to read, it was darkness, darkness, and just darkness. Altogether I must have read like 10 words on that entire test today!


Finally the moment you've all be waiting for:

So we've come to the end of the road and a serious choice has to be made. I'm angry at myself. My mind flashes to my parents. My mind flashes to exams in undergrad when I had walked in, wrote just my name, and left (because I didn't study a darn thing!). And at this point, I'm at a loss for words. I see an image of Dexter Morgan SK (last message I read on here before bed). And I know there's really only just one option -- with all the might I have in my right index finger, I click the mouse to void the whole exam!

The take away here:

this is beyond stupidity, or "life got in the way, so I didn't study", "or blah blah blah". The real root of this whole thing is whether I truly want to be a podiatrist or any kind of medical doctor at all! If the answer to that question is yes, I'll have good news to report to y'all in September. If not, expect something similar when I retake the test in September.

I'm planning to vacate this forum for a bit to do some serious soul searching. I'm not a genius by any means but I'm also not an idiot. My real issue here is that I'm just not putting in the time. Which leads to the question why? If I really wanted this, wouldn't I make time for it?

tl; dr --

- OP slept during the mcat
- didn't bother reading the questions, or passages, he just clicked random answers
- finally in the ended he voided the whole thing
- OP's now taking a break from this forum to do soul searching and try to really study for the September retake

Farewell podiatry section!

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

You definitely DO want to. You've contributed to the threads and have shared great insight and have expressed your hopefulness at matriculation. So you definitely do want to become a podiatrist. Its just if you're willing to walk through the trenches. Thats what you're going to have to determine. However, I can tell you that if you're not willing to dig through the trenches to become a podiatrist, you will eventually have to dig through the trenches at another job to keep your job and make decent money. Nobody escapes the trench digging. Its just if you're willing to dig through during your 20's and early 30's in school or if you're willing to dig through them during your 30s and 40s at a job.

For me, Im willing to go through the crap right now for 7-10 years to have a secure, well paying, prestigious job for the 20-30 years afterward.

 

[Podstar]

U-P-D-A-T-E:

I couldn't sleep last night. I was just tossing and turning. My eyes would close, 5 mins later I'll remember what's coming and then I'm wide awake again; considered just skipping the test a few times but I pushed myself to go.

So, I got to the test late (1st sign!). Over the phone I thought the guy said be there by 7:45--since the exam is at 8--but he rather said be there 45 mins early, so I should have been there at 7:15!!

I went through all the usual testing procedures, put your things away, Yada Yada yada. I was handed scrap paper and I was like "whaat!!???" I thought everything was electronic and calculations should be done in your head since it's very basic numbers? (2nd sign!). So I took my seat, sat at the computer, began the test and.....








....... pitch black. I see nothing but darkness. Dear reader, I was dozing off!! No way, right? I attempted to read the first line in the passage: word 1, word 2, and....








...... pitch black. Back to the darkness again. Once more I was dozing off. This can't be real, I thought. I tried reading a question then going back to the passage. I read word 1 of the question sentence, word 2, and.....









... back to the darkness. So I went for plan B - click random answers until I finished the entire section!

Well, I'm done w/ the biochem and physics. I knew I would bomb that anyway so who cares? Give me my true love - the verbal section! I started verbal and I couldn't even read one word of the passage before I was dozing off again! I applied plan B again and just randomly selected any answer without even bothering to read the question!

I took the midway break. Went to the bathroom, I said I'll come back and just smash this 2nd half of the exam and well... once again I had to use my good friend plan B because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Whenever I tried to read, it was darkness, darkness, and just darkness. Altogether I must have read like 10 words on that entire test today!


Finally the moment you've all be waiting for:

So we've come to the end of the road and a serious choice has to be made. I'm angry at myself. My mind flashes to my parents. My mind flashes to exams in undergrad when I had walked in, wrote just my name, and left (because I didn't study a darn thing!). And at this point, I'm at a loss for words. I see an image of Dexter Morgan SK (last message I read on here before bed). And I know there's really only just one option -- with all the might I have in my right index finger, I click the mouse to void the whole exam!

The take away here:

this is beyond stupidity, or "life got in the way, so I didn't study", "or blah blah blah". The real root of this whole thing is whether I truly want to be a podiatrist or any kind of medical doctor at all! If the answer to that question is yes, I'll have good news to report to y'all in September. If not, expect something similar when I retake the test in September.

I'm planning to vacate this forum for a bit to do some serious soul searching. I'm not a genius by any means but I'm also not an idiot. My real issue here is that I'm just not putting in the time. Which leads to the question why? If I really wanted this, wouldn't I make time for it?

tl; dr --

- OP slept during the mcat
- didn't bother reading the questions, or passages, he just clicked random answers
- finally in the ended he voided the whole thing
- OP's now taking a break from this forum to do soul searching and try to really study for the September retake

Farewell podiatry section!

Good luck OP. Regardless, come back and let us know how it is going/goes.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Kudos for trying without studying and voiding. When you take it again the next time you will be prepared. You just have to plan a schedule, get the resources, and hit the library as if this was your full-time job. When you learn new facts, learn from your mistakes, and when you see progress, you will want to study harder and will be more focused. In either case, take some time off and start stronger. You have time so plan accordingly, but when you do start studying, it's important to stay focused.

This is how I would study and take it again if I have to:

-Plan to study for at least 2-3 months, every day, 6-8 hours, 3-4 verbal passages a day, 1 day off per week
-Buy AAMC bundle (about $240), do all the questions (but no Full length), including Qpacks, section bank ques, guide questions
-After each question, write in a book anything important related to it, something you didn't know, a formula, anything to come back to.
-Do AAMC FL 1, review, take notes, etc
-Start working on your weak areas from content review through any source you have, possibly TPR or Kaplan or Berkely
-Take the untimed AAMC FL, follow the note taking etc, work on weak areas again
-Do a final review on weak areas from aamc notes and the books, youtube, etc
-1 week before actual exam, take AAMC FL 2, review
-Do not study day before exam
-You can go over the Kaplan Quick sheets if you want, but memorizing the formulas will help
-If your score is not improving or is not where you want them to be then buy more FLs (either from NS or EK, don't do Kaplan or TPR FL).
-Try your best sleeping 6-8 hours day before
-Do your best on test day.


If you follow what I wrote here, there should be no reason for you to not get close to 500 or above.

Good luck!

 

[Weirdy]

You got what it takes man.
This one experience pretty much took away your manhood but it does that to everyone. Did that to me thrice.
Biggest issue I had was stamina. I wasn't awake enough to even pay attention to the nuances of the question or reading and not understanding a thing. Exactly as you described it.
Push for super focused blocks of 45 min.
Consider mini-naps with the time you have left over after sections.
Use practice problems to study as you go instead of reviewing material first (passively reading through a text book of each subject).

Last but not least- go do your soul searching, but when you come back you have to discipline yourself.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Literally, you have to not fall asleep during the test to get a score acceptable enough for podiatry school. Especially with this applicant crisis.

 

[jelly-b]

Soul searching is important, but on the other hand, be careful not to do too much soul searching! I wasted a good 3 years not applying because I wanted to make sure medicine is right for me. In hindsight, I should have asked myself whether there are any other career paths I'd rather pursue instead of tackling such an abstract, open-ended question.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck OP, and I'd be interested in hearing how you're doing in a few months!

 

[ksucpm21]

Literally, you have to not fall asleep during the test to get a score acceptable enough for podiatry school. Especially with this applicant crisis.

This is kind of true/not true. The first time I took the test I basically slept-read through the third section and couldn't focus on the first section. That day ended up being my highest test score.

However, i think this was pure luck. The next time I took it I was wide awake, had caffeinated tea to keep me going and really pushed myself during the test and got several points lower. Haha that sucked.

 

[AnkleGuy]

Hey Dr.Phoot, what do you think distracted you the most from studying? I think those are the type of things you need to do some pondering on. There must be a couple of things that are possibly keeping you from being consistent on your studies, because pod school is pretty much non-stop studying with hardly any breaks for four years. There are those that want to be doctors and don't put the work in, and there are those that want to be doctors but DO put the work in. It's up to you man. This isn't the end but you need to pull a mental and philosophical 180 in the coming months if your decision is medicine. Hope it works out for you!

 

[ciderbun96]

Kudos for trying without studying and voiding. When you take it again the next time you will be prepared. You just have to plan a schedule, get the resources, and hit the library as if this was your full-time job. When you learn new facts, learn from your mistakes, and when you see progress, you will want to study harder and will be more focused. In either case, take some time off and start stronger. You have time so plan accordingly, but when you do start studying, it's important to stay focused.

This is how I would study and take it again if I have to:

-Plan to study for at least 2-3 months, every day, 6-8 hours, 3-4 verbal passages a day, 1 day off per week
-Buy AAMC bundle (about $240), do all the questions (but no Full length), including Qpacks, section bank ques, guide questions
-After each question, write in a book anything important related to it, something you didn't know, a formula, anything to come back to.
-Do AAMC FL 1, review, take notes, etc
-Start working on your weak areas from content review through any source you have, possibly TPR or Kaplan or Berkely
-Take the untimed AAMC FL, follow the note taking etc, work on weak areas again
-Do a final review on weak areas from aamc notes and the books, youtube, etc
-1 week before actual exam, take AAMC FL 2, review
-Do not study day before exam
-You can go over the Kaplan Quick sheets if you want, but memorizing the formulas will help
-If your score is not improving or is not where you want them to be then buy more FLs (either from NS or EK, don't do Kaplan or TPR FL).
-Try your best sleeping 6-8 hours day before
-Do your best on test day.


If you follow what I wrote here, there should be no reason for you to not get close to 500 or above.

Good luck!

Sorry to do a post-mortem on this thread but following this, what was your MCAT? I plan on following a similar method. I've trolled reddit and SDN on their MCAT threads but I was just curious what your MCAT was for pod.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Sorry to do a post-mortem on this thread but following this, what was your MCAT? I plan on following a similar method. I've trolled reddit and SDN on their MCAT threads but I was just curious what your MCAT was for pod.

497

Studied for 2 months.

 

[ciderbun96]

497

Studied for 2 months.

Had you taken biochem prior to the test?

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Had you taken biochem prior to the test?

Yup, but I was a non-trad so I took the mcat last year and took biochem in 2010. Mostly studied using Examkrackers and Berkeley review books along with the aamc questions.

When are you planning on taking it?

 

[ciderbun96]

Yup, but I was a non-trad so I took the mcat last year and took biochem in 2010. Mostly studied using Examkrackers and Berkeley review books along with the aamc questions.

When are you planning on taking it?

July 24th. Going to start May 14th. I have the Kaplan book set and am going to do this schedule minus the Physics content review as I'm taking Physics I over the summer.

Also, taking Biochem this semester.

)

 

[ciderbun96]

Also, I've been doing CARS practice quite a bit and am training myself to have more stamina in my reading so that should boost me up a few points.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

July 24th. Going to start May 14th. I have the Kaplan book set and am going to do this schedule minus the Physics content review as I'm taking Physics I over the summer.

Also, taking Biochem this semester.

)

Seems good. Try to review and do questions every day along with cars practice. Good luck!