Retaking the MCAT, how to study?

[supsh17]

Hey guys, so I just took the MCAT in January. I got a 501. Really not what I wanted (my ultimate goal is a ~508). I knew what I was getting based on my AAMC FL, but I didnt give myself enough time to practice or didnt do so efficiently i think. I didnt void cause I heard schools see if you void and could be skeptical when you do. My CARS was low, but I underestimated the time I needed to practice that v. other sections. Psych was great (128), Bio/Phys were about 126 each.

Im planning a retake in June, so any tips on how I should study? And is it a long shot to hope to improve by 6-7 pts in these next few months? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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[ChemCrazy]

I would pick one MCAT prep company and plan out how you would cover all the content review in one month, while leaving about 90 minutes a day to CARS. That one is just constant, consistent practice. A few forums give a plethora of different CARS techniques. Then take a full length to see where you are. Review weak spots with two companies to reinforce it. One full length every few 5 days or so with in-depth reviews in between.

But it also depends, for a 7 point increase, I would recommend either waiting a few weeks and then spending 8 hours a day for 2 months or starting now and spreading it out. Depends what time of person you are. I, personally, preferred not to have to come back and keep reviewing the same topics over months, so I compacted it, but treated it like a full-time job.

I get my score tomorrow. If I blew it and you want to, we can come up with a study schedule together!

 

[calbwhit]

I'm with you guys!! I find out tomorrow as well but I feel like I didn't get the score I wanted. I'm already planning a retake. I'm thinking about taking a Kaplan course from may 29th to July 11th and retaking the exam July 22nd. I'm hoping it won't be necessary though.


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[ChemCrazy]

I'm with you guys!! I find out tomorrow as well but I feel like I didn't get the score I wanted. I'm already planning a retake. I'm thinking about taking a Kaplan course from may 29th to July 11th and retaking the exam July 22nd. I'm hoping it won't be necessary though.


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Honest question: What made you decide that a Kaplan course would be worth it? No matter my score, I can't justify $1500+ and there not even be a private tutor. I'm sure between the 3 of us, we can keep each other motivated.

 

[calbwhit]

That's a good question and definitely something I'm still trying to answer myself. I just feel like an issue I had when studying the past 4 months was not having something/someone to hold me accountable. This led to skipping days and not being honest with myself about what I knew and what I actually didn't know. I get 50% off a Kaplan course through my honor society. Otherwise it wouldn't even be an option for me.

 

[ChemCrazy]

I got my score back and got a 506 (130,123,125,128), so I am honestly consider taking it again because of the CARS. But if I have accountability and work 6-8 weeks, I'd aim for a 510-512 this time. So I can definitely be a study buddy and think of how to increase this score with you.

My CARS was low, but I underestimated the time I needed to practice that v. other sections. Psych was great (128), Bio/Phys were about 126 each.

@calbwhit Did you decide if you're retaking?

 

[sebrena7]

I also just got my score back today and I'm definitely planning on retaking it! I was trying to follow a study schedule over winter break but it didn't work out well, does anyone want to make one together?

Also I usually do well on psych/soc (~128) for practice exams, but somehow that was my weakest section on the real exam. Any advice on how to study? I took the TPR review course and read through the material in their review books.

 

[calbwhit]

I am definitely retaking!

 

[ChemCrazy]

@sebrena7
TPR was the way to go. I think there were only 4ish terms I didn't recognize and that's what I used. So despite my 128, I don't think the content review was our problem. We can discuss this in messages in case @supsh17 is tired of us on his thread. And we can make a schedule! I only have the motivation for an 8 week schedule, so let me know.

And oh man, I didn't think retakes were common until now.

 

[autumn0408]

I got my score back and got a 506 (130,123,125,128), so I am honestly consider taking it again because of the CARS. But if I have accountability and work 6-8 weeks, I'd aim for a 510-512 this time. So I can definitely be a study buddy and think of how to increase this score with you.


@calbwhit Did you decide if you're retaking?

I got 507 for 1/28 score. I'm retaking the test on 4/22 and am wondering what kinds of CARS resources you're planning to use since I pretty much used all of mine.

 

[5words]

I got 507 for 1/28 score. I'm retaking the test on 4/22 and am wondering what kinds of CARS resources you're planning to use since I pretty much used all of mine.

Ts ... GS .. old TBR (although the Q style is a bit different)..

 

[ChemCrazy]

I got 507 for 1/28 score. I'm retaking the test on 4/22 and am wondering what kinds of CARS resources you're planning to use since I pretty much used all of mine.

If I decide to really retake then- EK, AAMC Section Bank, Khan Academy, and consider the newspaper strategy.
http://leah4sci.com/newspaper-strategy-for-increasing-your-mcat-verbal-reasoning-score/

 

[supsh17]

@calbwhit I didnt even consider the Kaplan course, but here's why. I used their review books for content review and I'd say they were thorough and helpful. But i attended a free practice test from them and I just feel like AAMC tests so much differently. Kaplan doesnt do as much application or makes it overly complicated. Just my own opinion, but if it helps you, then you should take the course. Its also just so expensive which is no good for me.

@ChemCrazy thanks for your input! and good job on the 506! I would've killed for that on my first try :-/ . But I definitely didnt practice as much as I needed to i think cause my content review took longer than I anticipated, and by the time I did practice, my exam was already coming up. That being said, i only took 1 full-length, so I KNOW that's one thing I did wrong. Def gonna take the advice and do one every week or two weeks. Prob gonna review content again for a week though first. And I'm using Khan Academy for CARS review. Not as hard as AAMC, but its helping me get the mindset/strategy down for how to approach passages.

I did realize my score was really unbalanced with that CARS, so hopefully working on that, and then the other sections should solve my problem...Hopefully! I'm more optimistic considering that a 125 on that one section could've raised my overall score.

I also found this! https://www.studentdoctor.net/3-month-mcat-study-schedule. It has a sample study schedule, thinking of modeling my own with it.

 

[supsh17]

@sebrena7
TPR was the way to go. I think there were only 4ish terms I didn't recognize and that's what I used. So despite my 128, I don't think the content review was our problem. We can discuss this in messages in case @supsh17 is tired of us on his thread. And we can make a schedule! I only have the motivation for an 8 week schedule, so let me know.

And oh man, I didn't think retakes were common until now.

Lol, you guys are welcome to keep discussing here. It helps to know what other people are doing and bounce off ideas. It's kind of crazy how many ppl retake...either to be more competitive or to improve weak sections. My state school wrote on their website that they anticipate applicants taking it more than once. That sure made me feel less bad about retaking it myself.

 

[broken_gymnast]

I used TBR for the science portion, TPR for Psych/Soc and EK for verbal. I also used this study schedule and kind of tailored it to my needs https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...m-sn2ed-mcatjelly-ek-tbr-tprh-kaplan.1127723/
The key is to do a little bit of verbal everyday, this study schedule does at least 3 passages per day. The most important thing about doing these questions is to see why you got an answer wrong and take notes of your reasoning as to why you picked a wrong answer. So.. think about how you think! I retook the MCAT 3 times (2 old 1 new version) and the last one I raised my score by about 25 percentile. Another weird advice: stay positive! It sounds so trivial but if you beat yourself up during the actual exam over one passage or question it can ruin the entire exam! Keep reminding yourself while you're studying that you are doing well, don't beat yourself up too much! Hope that helps!

 

[supsh17]

I used TBR for the science portion, TPR for Psych/Soc and EK for verbal. I also used this study schedule and kind of tailored it to my needs https://forums.studentdoctor.net/th...m-sn2ed-mcatjelly-ek-tbr-tprh-kaplan.1127723/
The key is to do a little bit of verbal everyday, this study schedule does at least 3 passages per day. The most important thing about doing these questions is to see why you got an answer wrong and take notes of your reasoning as to why you picked a wrong answer. So.. think about how you think! I retook the MCAT 3 times (2 old 1 new version) and the last one I raised my score by about 25 percentile. Another weird advice: stay positive! It sounds so trivial but if you beat yourself up during the actual exam over one passage or question it can ruin the entire exam! Keep reminding yourself while you're studying that you are doing well, don't beat yourself up too much! Hope that helps!

What were your scores on your MCAT attempts? (If you don't want to share that's perfectly okay too of course!) And did ur scores expire or did u retake it to improve? Thanks for sharing the schedule link! I'll definitely take a look!

 

[joe_1395]

Hey guys, so I just took the MCAT in January. I got a 501. Really not what I wanted (my ultimate goal is a ~508). I knew what I was getting based on my AAMC FL, but I didnt give myself enough time to practice or didnt do so efficiently i think. I didnt void cause I heard schools see if you void and could be skeptical when you do. My CARS was low, but I underestimated the time I needed to practice that v. other sections. Psych was great (128), Bio/Phys were about 126 each.

Im planning a retake in June, so any tips on how I should study? And is it a long shot to hope to improve by 6-7 pts in these next few months? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Moved my date to June as well. Let me know if you want to study together!

 

[joe_1395]

Hey guys, Moved my test date from March 31 to June 17. Let me know if any of you want to study together online.

 

[broken_gymnast]

What were your scores on your MCAT attempts? (If you don't want to share that's perfectly okay too of course!) And did ur scores expire or did u retake it to improve? Thanks for sharing the schedule link! I'll definitely take a look!

First was 25 then second was 26 I can't remember the exact break down but it wasn't any good lol The third was 509. I retook them to improve Hope that helps!

 

[supsh17]

First was 25 then second was 26 I can't remember the exact break down but it wasn't any good lol The third was 509. I retook them to improve Hope that helps!

Sounds like I'm in a similar place as you. My 501 is close to where u started out. But it's good to know that it is doable! I'm glad it worked out for you!!

 

[broken_gymnast]

Sounds like I'm in a similar place as you. My 501 is close to where u started out. But it's good to know that it is doable! I'm glad it worked out for you!!

Yeah it's definitely doable! Just keep your head up and don't get discouraged! I should also mention I was lucky enough to take time off of work for the last one to dedicate solely to studying for the MCAT. Even though I studied for about 5-6 hours per day, it was easier when I didn't have to worry about going to work or studying for classes. So if you're able to do that I think it may help as well.

 

[ChemCrazy]

I fell off the face on the Earth for a while. I am looking to retake 5/19.

Can anyone help me with coming up with a schedule for content review? I am unable to get it under 30 days. The first time I used TBR for content and passages, and this time around I wanted to get my bio from elsewhere (found it was overwhelming for content). But right now, I plan on doing a complete Kaplan and EK content review because I'm afraid I'll miss something important.

I'm also afraid of focusing too much on CARS and Bio and my 130 C/P will drop. If anyone wants to work together, let me know.

 

[DaAlienist]

Hey guys, so I just took the MCAT in January. I got a 501. Really not what I wanted (my ultimate goal is a ~508). I knew what I was getting based on my AAMC FL, but I didnt give myself enough time to practice or didnt do so efficiently i think. I didnt void cause I heard schools see if you void and could be skeptical when you do. My CARS was low, but I underestimated the time I needed to practice that v. other sections. Psych was great (128), Bio/Phys were about 126 each.

Im planning a retake in June, so any tips on how I should study? And is it a long shot to hope to improve by 6-7 pts in these next few months? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

What did you think of the Jan 2017 exam? Was it as hard as the section banks, harder? Will retaking practice tests help if you have already taken them? I might do that with the AAMC tests but if its a waste of time I'd rather not. Thank you.

 

[supsh17]

What did you think of the Jan 2017 exam? Was it as hard as the section banks, harder? Will retaking practice tests help if you have already taken them? I might do that with the AAMC tests but if its a waste of time I'd rather not. Thank you.

I took it Jan 19 and it was VERY hard, much harder than the practice AAMC material. Its been a while since the section banks so i cant say if it was harder than that, but def harder than the AAMC FLs. I think its worth going back to if you use it to understand why the answer is correct and others are wrong. The problem for me is some passages ill remember the answers, so redoing doesnt help for testing my knowledge, but for understanding mistakes and thought processes it is still helpful. Then there are other harder passages you dont remember the answers to, so Ill def also go back and do those again.

 

[medical_school_journey]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but how are you guys studying for the retake if you've already done all your AAMC material? That's the boat I'm currently in.

 

[CJhooper123]

Took the test on 1/28 - 504 (122 in CARS). I plan on retaking on 5/19.

In the process of redoing all of the AAMC material for the 3rd time. Also, plan on completing every KA question on the website. Considering buying the EK 101 books for additional practice.

 

[DrHart]

I bumped my C/P and B/BC by 3 points each by using Anki. As you go through a book for content review, make flash cards and do your Anki deck every day. Spend at least a month doing practice passages and practice exams.