1) MCAT Score -
510 (129, 126, 130, 125)
Mostly due to the fact that I found this thread so helpful, I felt compelled to write an at-length post describing how I prepared for this test. I worked extremely hard for this score and remain optimistic that it will earn me an MD/DO acceptance. I apologize for the length of this post, but I really think it contains some substance. If I can help one or two fellow pre-med students, I consider this post a success. Of note, the above score was my second attempt. I scored a 504 (w/ 122 in CARS) on the first attempt.
In total, I spent 2,230 hours (~84.5 days) studying for this test. I took over 30+ practice exams and used test prep materials from every company (Kaplan, TPR, NS, Altius, EK, Gold Standard, AAMC, Jack Westin).
2) The study method used for each section
Chemical/Physical Foundations: Although I only scored 129, I considered CP to be “my strongest section” as a chemistry major. I used the Kaplan textbooks for my original content review and made a quizlet flashcard for every bolded term in the book. For practice questions, I completed all the questions in the Kaplan books as well as every CP passage on Khan academy. Also completed all of the AAMC material. If there was a specific CP subject that I did not perform well on, I utilized KA videos to “walk me through” the topic. After completing the first MCAT, I wanted to get an additional edge for this section. I purchased the EK general chemistry text and TBR Physics I and II texts. I did all of the practice questions in these books
CARS: LOL. This section almost killed me. I literally… for my life… could not figure out why I was so bad at CARS. This section kept me up at night. When I first started studying for the MCAT, I assumed that CARS was something that I would eventually “get the hang of”. It never happened. Prior to my first MCAT attempt, I realized that I had some serious issues w/ this section and decided to reschedule (was consistently scoring 122/123 on practice exams). I started doing 1-2 practice passages per day and did not see much improvement. Feeling lost, I signed up for Jack Westin’s course w/ hopes of improving. Jack taught a rigid CARS method. Some students saw benefit from it, others did not (unfortunately I was one of them who did not benefit). Overall Jack was very nice and helpful; his method just didn’t work w/ me. And rightfully so, you can’t expect one CARS technique to work for everyone. Regardless, getting a false sense of improvement, I proceeded to take the MCAT on 1/2017 and scored a 122 for the section. I was very disappointed. Nevertheless, I knew that CARS wasn’t going to prevent me from accomplishing my dreams. I worked so hard on this section. I purchased AAMC Q-packs, NS 108, the new EK CARS book, the old EK CARS book, and Testing Solutions CARS practice. I went through the NS108 and two EK books 3 TIMES EACH. I went through the AAMC passages like 5 times each. That’s like 1,000+ passages. B/w my first MCAT attempt and my second MCAT attempt, there were weeks in which I was working full time and taking CARS tests daily (9 passages). All-in-all, I probably averaged about 6-7 passages/day x 4+ months leading up to my second MCAT attempt. This was grueling and I don’t recommend it to anyone. But when you're a sicko w/ too much work ethic, CARS isn’t going to beat you. It never will. Fortunately for my second attempt, I raised my CARS score to a 126. I realize this still isn’t great, but I nearly cried when I saw my score. I couldn’t get above a 123 if my life depended on it for any of my practice exams. If you have any other questions regarding what I did w/ this section, let me know… I have other techniques that I mastered while preparing (question tracking, reviewing passages, timing, etc). I tried every method (read fast/slow, skip passages, etc) and found the one that worked best for me. Everyone is unique. Most of us read differently.
Biological Foundations: Similar to CP, I was pretty confident in my ability to perform well in the BS section. For MCAT attempt #1, I used Kaplan biology for content review. Similar to CP, I made a Quizlet flashcard for every bolded term in the Kaplan bio book. I completed all the questions in the Kaplan book, on the Khan academy website, and on the AAMC website (Q-pack, section bank). For my second attempt, I purchased the TBR biology and biochemistry text books. I read through all of the chapters and completed all the practice questions.
Psychological/Sociological Foundations: Prior to taking the MCAT, my background in sociology and psychology was very limited. I did not know all the topics that the MCAT was testing. For content review, I primarily utilized Kaplan PS and Khan academy. This was more than enough. Like all the other sections above, I made a quizlet deck for every chapter in the Kaplan PS book. However, unlike the other sections, I reviewed these flashcards far more frequently (once a week). Also, I made an effort to watch most of, if not all of the KA videos. If there was a section that KA benefited me the most in, it was definitely PS. My methods worked out for me on my first attempt (129). For the second take, I purchased the TPR sociology textbook. I read most of the book, took notes, and completed the questions. I did not perform as well the second time I took the MCAT on the PS section (125). I think this was poor luck. I was averaging ~127 for all of my practice exams.
3) What materials you used for each section (Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, TBR, etc)
CP: Kaplan 7 book series, EK Chemistry, TBR Physics I/II, *
CARS: Kaplan 7 book series, NS108, EK Verbal, EK 101 CARS, Testing Solutions, Jack Westin Course, *
BS: Kaplan 7 book series, TBR Biology I/II, TBR Biochemistry, *
PS: Kaplan 7 book series, TPR Psychology/Sociology, *
*All AAMC material and Khan Academy
4) Practice tests (AAMC, Kaplan, TPR, EK, NS, Altius)
Practice Test: Score (Average=501.88)
Kaplan FL 1: 488
Kaplan FL 2: 499
Princeton 1: 499
Princeton 2: 494
Princeton 3: 496
ExamKrackers FL 4: 502 (used reddit conversion chart)
Princeton 4: 496
Kaplan FL 3: 500
Next step 1: 504
Next step 2: 503
AAMC Sample: 507 (attempt #1 - used reddit conversion chart)
Next Step Diagnostic 1/2: 507
Princeton 5: 496
Princeton 6: 502
Next step 3: 501
Princeton 7: 499
Altius Diagnostic 1/2: 507
AAMC Practice Exam 1: 507
Princeton 8: 499
AAMC Sample Test: 511 (attempt #2 - used reddit conversion chart)
AAMC Practice Exam 2: 506
MCAT #1: 504
Kaplan 1/3 Exam: 499
Next Step 5: 504
ExamKrackers FL 4: 499
Next Step 6: 505
AAMC Practice Exam 2: 511 (attempt #2)
AAMC Practice Exam 1: 513 (attempt #2)
Altius 1: 501
Altius 2: 504
Altius 4: 506
Altius 5: 504
MCAT #2: 510
5) Undergraduate major?
Chemistry
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
Throughout my studies, I used many tactics that were extremely helpful. Below are some of them...
Rule #1: Do not take the test if you are not ready: Basically as the title says. If you aren’t ready… don’t take it. No one cares how many times you voided. No one cares if it took you 3 months versus 1 year to study for. All that matters is the score you want. If you take it multiple times, that score looks slightly worse. Med schools care about this. Don’t try to be an MCAT hero. Use your best judgement 1-2 weeks out from the test and commit to a decision. Your career depends on this test.
Get organized and design a study schedule: Once you have a “tentative test date”, determine how many “practice MCAT tests” you are going to take. Create a schedule for the practice tests and allow for adequate review time (usually 1 test = 1 day of review). I took 1 test per week, usually on every Sunday and reviewed on Monday. In addition, try to develop a schedule for day-to-day practice… Make sure you hit your weakness more frequently. Below is the schedule I used… (note: CARS was my weak subject)
Sunday - Practice Exam
Monday - Review Practice Exam + CARS
Tuesday - Chemistry/Physics + CARS
Wednesday - Biology + CARS
Thursday - Biochemistry + CARS
Friday - Psychology/Sociology + CARS
Saturday - Review Question Mistakes + CARS
Simulate test conditions: When taking practice exams, try to simulate actual exam conditions to the best of your ability. This means adhering to break times, not eating/drinking while doing the questions, and no cell phone use. Try to take practice exams in a quiet setting in which you can focus. Also - highly recommend taking at-least 1 practice test in a “somewhat noisy” area. I took one test in a public library w/ mild commotion going on. After doing this, I felt more prepared to deal w/ nuisance noises on test day (e.g. people coughing, tapping, moving chairs, opening doors).
Timing matters! Always time yourself w/ your practice passages. By timing yourself, you will help establish an “internal pace”. Don’t let yourself linger on practice passages; treat them like actual test questions. Below are the timing standards that I tried to follow...
Science passages
4 questions: 6.5 minutes
5 questions: 8 minutes
6 questions: 9.5 minutes
CARS passages
5 questions: 8.5 minutes
6 questions: 10 minutes
7 questions: 11.5 minutes
Keep track of your journey: Prior to studying, I purchased a notebook and decided to log every single MCAT activity I did. Below is an example post I made...
01/10/17:
- Reviewed Kaplan MCAT General Chemistry Notes, Chapter 7 (45 minutes)
- Reviewed Kaplan MCAT Organic Chemistry Notes, Chapter 2 (30 minutes)
- Practice Questions:
- AAMC General Chemistry Q-pack: 38/42 (91%)
- AAMC Physics Q-pack: 15/18 (83%)
- Khan Academy CP: 18/20 (90%)
- CARS Practice
- Review Kaplan Biochemistry Flashcards (Chapter 10)
Keep track of your stats: Once I started practice passages/exams, I wanted to make sure that I was progressing in the right direction. I did so by keeping track of how many questions I got right/wrong each day I did questions. Below is one of the graphs I kept for “daily practice questions”. I also broke this down into CP, BS, CARS, and PS graphs.
Keep track of mistakes: Other than the “don’t take unless you’re ready rule”, this is probably the second most important. During my studies I created a google docs page for “wrong answers”. Every time I got a question wrong, I wrote down an explanation for why I got the question wrong. By the end of my studies, this page reached ~40 pages long. I reviewed this once a week (usually Friday). Thanks to this, I really didn’t make any “repeat mistakes”.
Don’t miss a topic: Keep track of everything you are going to be tested for on the MCAT. On the AAMC website, there is a printout for every subject the MCAT tests. Go through this list at the conclusion of your studying and make sure you can at least, educate a non-MCATer on each of these topics.
7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
MCAT #1: 3-4 months
MCAT #2: 6 months
Total: 2,230 hours (~84.5 days)