Also, how often and what did you do for Verbal? 6days/week and 4 psg's per day? I noticed daily practice is really helpful but I was just wondering what you did for Verbal specifically. How often would you take a practice Verbal section test?
I took all of the AAMC and Princeton review tests, so about 10ish? I don't have access to my scores anymore, but I'm assuming between 32-35. Verbal was just complete practice, tweaking whatever I needed to improve. I followed the Princeton Review hw guide for the passages, and the month before just started doing about 4-6 verbal passages 5-6 days/week. Whenever the test gets close, be consistent with the practice because the minute I stopped practicing, I would start regressing.
TheRealist Thank you for your response. I just completed my 3rd Kaplan practice test and I am happy with my progress in my total score, however my Verbal score is still the biggest challenge for me. I'm gonna keep my faith and continue practicing verbal daily and reviewing answers I got wrong.
77drisaac Good luck with your exam! Keep tweaking the way you go through verbal and hopefully it will work out! Also, reading in your spare time can help (can't remember if I already wrote that). I have been advised to read difficult newspaper articles and books to enhance reading skills, but that may be too late at this point. But if you ever need down time and need to relax, reading allows for relaxation and verbal practice!
TheRealist You might not remember me, but I just got my MCAT score back and I figured I'd share. I got a 36, too: 14PS/10V/12BS. I'm somewhat devastated because I never scored below an 11 in verbal on the official practice tests, but my verbal section on the real MCAT was utterly ridiculous...it was almost indecipherable. I feel cheated.
Congrats on your score! I have literally been doing the EXACT same things you've been doing-The Princeton Review Course, the gym workouts, and everything else lol. And I also got a 29 on my first practice AAMC practice test #10 and seeing this video really calmed me down a lot. I have to say that I found your video to be one of the most informative MCAT videos on RUclips. Any tips for me to get out of the 29 range on practice tests and get to 30's? For me the biggest issue is physical sciences just like with you and it's all a matter of time not necessarily the difficulty whatsoever. Verbal and BS are pretty strong.
Hi! Nice to see we have similar techniques. For me it, was just practice. Make sure to go over EVERY problem after you take a practice test. Memorize the things that you forgot, and figure out why you are missing a problem (knowledge, didn't understand passage, didn't understand question, etc..). TPR is very good for knowledge review because I felt their tests were very knowledge based. Staying calm and making sure I read the passages in a good manner that would allow me to understand the material effectively was important for me. So basically, keep reviewing random facts, focus on you weakness in knowledge and technique, and make sure you read the passages with focus and confidence
I'm studying for the MCAT this summer, and it's literally ruining my life, haha. I suffer from generalized anxiety, and that makes studying very difficult...especially when I come across a topic I realize I don't know well enough, I start to panic and think to myself "oh my god I'm so stupid I'm going to get a 17 on the MCAT and never get into medical school," lol. But that's good to hear that you did better on your MCAT than your AAMC average! I hope I get a test that only covers topics that I'm really solid in (don't we all haha). So I have a few questions. You mentioned that the physics section was bad... did you think you were going to score really poorly on it? Did you find it calculation-heavy? Did you feel unsure about a lot of the questions? Also, coming out of the testing center, did you feel that there was anything you would have done differently in your studies if you could, after having taken the test? My test is August 15th, so I guess I should get back to studying Buffers and Titrations, lol. Congratulations on your excellent score!
Haha studying for the MCAT is definitely not the most fun way to spend a summer, but if it all goes according to plan, you will not regret it. I expected to do worse on the PS than I actually did, but that also could have just been because it was the first section and I was psyching myself out haha. I can't go into too much detail about the specifics about the exam cuz I don't want the AAMC to sue me lol, but essentially it was similar in difficulty to some of the harder AAMC tests. In my opinion, to some extent it really just comes down to luck as to whether you will get your average score or above. The best you can do is just study everything to the best of your ability, focusing on those topics that MCAT companies say are more likely to show and those that you feel weaker on. Coming out of the test, I don't feel like there was much else I could have done. I wish I could have gotten confident enough on my timing on verbal. Sometimes during practices I would panic about finishing in time, and I wished I would have been better on timing. I got really anxious while studying too, so I would try to do things that would keep me calm. I worked out everyday and even started taking yoga closer to the exam. The instructor taught me some rapid fire breathing that was supposed to get more oxygen to my brain, but I mostly did it when I felt overwhelmed haha. Find things that keep you sane, and make sure you do it throughout your studying. Thanks for the congrats, and good luck on your test! I hope everyone is congratulating you afterwards :)
Thanks for your detailed response, it means a lot! I used to run every morning (before I started MCAT prep), but now I just don't have any time, because I'm studying for the MCAT 8 hrs/day while doing summer research, summer classes, and putting together beginning-of-the-year events as a co-director of events on the Senior Class Council. When I have free time I sleep, haha. But I'm thinking about talking with the microbiologist I do research under and asking him if I could have the next month and a half off to focus on my studies...and my general health. Anyways, good luck on your med school applications. With that score, I'm sure you'll get into anywhere you apply!
Of course! Definitely do whatever you feel will allow you to have the best score possible, even if that means cutting back on research for a little. And your health should definitely always be a priority! Thank you very much! People with scores higher than mine get rejected from med schools all the time, so no guarantees (but that should alleviate some stress for you, know that the MCAT doesn't determine everything!)
Hi, thanks so much for making this video and congratulations on your score as well! I'm also studying for my MCAT which I'll be taking early next month, and I'm trying to decide which practice tests I should take besides the AAMC tests (saving the later ones for last) for the next 2 weeks, as I'm trying to get in 3 tests a week. Did you rely solely on the TPR ones and find those representative? I have both Kaplan and TPR tests, but they seem soo different from each other when I take them. I also got a 29 on my first 2 AAMC's recently and was feeling discouraged until I saw this :)
Hi and thank you for watching! I used only the AAMC and TPR exams. TPR exams were NOT indicative at all for me. I scored much lower on those exams compared to the others. The TPR is a little more content based as in more memorization, therefore difficult in that manner. I used them for practice, not for indication of my score. Also, I think their verbal is very different from what AAMC would give, so that was also for practice. Examcrackers 101 verbal I believe were the best for verbal. So basically,TPR was for practice, and I used them to review content. From what I have heard about Kaplan, they are more lenient in their curving. But people vary in what they say about the Kaplan, and I cannot personally say anything about it. Yeah don't worry too much about what you get the first couple times! It takes some time to adjust to the setup of the exam. And a lot of people do find that the average of their AAMC is close to what they actually get, but at some point it just becomes luck of what you get on the exam and how you feel when you sit down and get started. Good luck on your studying! Try and stay as sane as possible while studying haha. Go show that exam who is boss, and let me know if you have any more questions!
TheRealist Thanks so much for the response! I have two weeks left and I must say I'm getting nervous. So far I've just been taking practice tests from TPR almost every other day and reviewing them. Is there anything else you did that you thought was effective in the last stretch? I'm going to start taking AAMC 7-11 in the next week. Additionally, my weakest section is the physical sciences section (mainly the conceptual questions) also and I was thinking of doing the discretes in the science workbook to help with it. Would you say there's a better resource? (I have access to all the TPR online materials too). Sorry this is so long haha
Nerves are natural! Keeping my nerves at bay was important for me. So keeping myself sane through yoga and working out was really good. For verbal specifically, I would do a lot of Examcrackers passages to build stamina and to get my technique down. But make sure to do online TPR ones so you get used to reading the passages on a computer screen, because I was not fond of that haha. So thats my advice for verbal. For physical sciences, the science workbook should also be good. You can also do the online passages that pertain to topics you are weak on. Also, I believe the amplifire is basically the science workbook but online? Use that if that is true. Getting used to the computer is important. Review everything you do, which includes both the questions you get right AND wrong. In that home stretch it was just taking lots of practice tests for me, so the AAMC will be good when you start those. I also recommend studying up until the day before the test. I wasn't supposed to study at all the day before, but I wasn't about to do that haha, so I just did a light review in the morning. Let me know if that helps haha
Thanks so much for sharing your MCAT experience. I am taking mine in January but I'm having troubles finishing on time,especially on Verbal Reasoning section. What's your advise for pacing?
No problem! So I really don't remember having this issue, my problem was that I would have too much time left over (I ended up having 15 minutes left on the real thing). The most important thing is PRACTICE. Get any MCAT material you can and read it. Try different strategies to do the verbal. Some people summarize each paragraph and write it down, others just write something at the end for the whole passage. I would just try to get the main idea of the whole passage, jotting something down whenever I felt it was too important and I would forget it (my memory isn't that great). I really recommend the Exam crackers 101 verbal passages, and I would use those and keep working on timing. Verbal is all practice, so just do whatever works for you. This was a good post about verbal: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/bloodysurgeons-verbal-guide-for-those-who-cant-read-good.509702/ Let me know how else I can help!
***** Great advice! Mubanga I would definitely try this out! Different methods work for different people, but this might work for you! Let us know what ends up working for you :)
TheRealist I decided to take your route, using ExamKrackers verbal reasoning strategies and tactics, and last week I actually got a personal tutor from EK. Princeton Review method was too time consuming and wasn't working for me, but EK is already paying off. I took test #8 from EK 101 and I only missed one question ( got 39/40). So I think I've finally found a method that suits me and I will keep on practicing to perfect my approach.
Mubanga Chisulo I am SO glad that you found something that works for you! A 39/40 is just dang awesome! I wish you the best of luck on your exam, and hope that you get on Verbal section on test day that plays to your strengths! Keep up the amazing work :)
Are those the AAMC practice tests? Sorry, I am not the best with the AAMC vocabulary. If it is the practice tests, I ranged from 29-35, and taking the highest score from each section, it was a 38. Let me know if I am thinking of the wrong thing!
I don't know what to do, I'm so horrible at physics and chemistry I keep putting off studying, I'm naturally good at the verbal section. I just took physics 1 and organic 1 and failed both courses just to give a perspective on how horrible I am on those topics. I have been taking practice tests and have been getting roughly a 20 score based off of the old scored version. any tips on how to get over my anxiety and how to self learn physics and chem if I don't have the money for an mcat class? I do have the kaplan 2015 mcat study guides, would just working through those books be enough?
Hmm this is tough.. Have you tried the Khan Academy videos? I think he tries to simplify things, so maybe that could help? I have provided the link below that might help. I think Kaplan books could help, but it might be better for you to hear and see lessons as well. ruclips.net/p/PLJfwA7_CzYE8p2drNfXvGOGECPU8xe3kg
What could I be doing as a current pre-med freshman..I am under a lot of pressure to do well on the MCAT and get into med school. I'm kind of freaking out and definitely lost.
Hey sorry of the late reply! I would make sure to figure out your plan.. do you want to go straight or take a gap? If you wanna go straight, then I recommend taking the MCAT the summer after your sophomore year. This means you try to finish as many of those premed classes recommended to take before the MCAT. This might be harder with new MCAT requiring biochem and knowledge of psych and sociology (I think those are on the new test?). But it isn't totally necessary to finish before the test, i didn't take biochem before my test even though it was recommended. Does your college have a counseling service? Go to them and see if they can help you plan. Once you figure out the order of your classes, then just focus doing well on them. Study to learn AND get the good grade. When you study for the MCAT, you will begin to remember what you learned. Any good worksheets you receive or make during your premed classes, you should store those somewhere to help you study during the MCAT. Outside of studying, get involved in something. Do medical and nonmedical volunteering. Do things that interest you. And when you feel ready, do research. Research is a big thing for med schools.
Omg thank you so much!! This was really helpful. I don't think I'll ever feel ready its exhausting and hell I am doing. I've been studying like mad. I am so scared. I've been scoring really low on the AAMC (25) but I am gonna keep trying. How did you increase your endurance? I get so tired towards the end. :/
misssweethearted Haha its totally normal to feel like its terrible in the beginning, everyone has a panic attack in the beginning. The only thing I could do for endurance was practice. The more practice tests you do, the more it helps. My endurance for verbal was really bad, so I would gradually increase the number of passages I would do in a sitting. I didn't do this, but if you are very worried about endurance, you can do more than the actual number passages on the test, so that when you take the actual test, it seems shorter. Then again, your test is much longer than mine was, so I don't know if it would be good to increase the length for practice. Basically, have faith that over time your endurance will grow. And stay calm! The more nervous I would get during the test, the more exhausted I would be towards the end.
misssweethearted Good the improvement will keep coming! You just gotta keep pushing! And yeah that is an insane amount of time, I thought my MCAT version was so long and its nothing compared to yours. Good thing is that everyone else is gonna hate the long test too, so the long hours are gonna affect everyone haha. Once u are finished with the test u are gonna be so proud u sat through that whole test :) Keep the questions coming whenever they come to you :)
TheRealist Sweet! Thanks so much for your response you have no idea how much it means to me!! I just subscribed to your channel. I got the EK 101 passages just like you said and using that but I am getting a lot of questions wrong. aghh it's fairly annoying. I guess the only way is to just practice?? My science is strong like you I also took the engineering version of the physics, which helped a lot! The psychology section is INTENSE on Kaplans full lengths. I've been getting below average on the FL..... for your test that would be lower than 25, for my test it's lower than 500 which is the average. It worries me a lot because I cant finish the psych section and I've gotten As in nearly all my science prereqs including ochem so I am not sure what is going on. I am thinking about postponing my test. I am pretty good at science there's no doubt about that but for some reason scoring very low. Psych and verbal drag me waaaaay down. Your video helped me a lot and gave me a lot of motivation to keep going.
Hey..So I just finished my freshman year, I did well but i don't think i learned a lot. I decided to start studying right now simply because the longer I study and review for an exam the better I do. So here is my question I am currently using Kaplan's review, It seems to be quite concise which i don't really prefer. I do plan on purchasing Princeton Review because It goes into much more detail. When I do, Should i only stick to one source?
Haha relax today! You have been working hard for so long, your brain needs to rejuvenate today. I did very LIGHT studying the day before, but thats because I am crazy lol. Don't start eating something crazy the day before, or doing anything nuts, just stick to whatever you normally do and eat. Be confident, know that you have worked hard and deserve to do well, and kick butt! GOOD LUCK! :)
Hello, for confidentiality reasons I don't want to give away too much, but if you have questions regarding studying for the test or premed questions in general let me know! Thanks!
Hi! I am currently in 11th grade, and it school ends in less than 1 week. Is there any suggestions on how I can start preparing for becoming a doctor over the summer? Also is there any specific major or anything I should look for in undergraduate school? Thank! Please reply back :D
***** I was fairly certain i replied to this but I don't see the comment so I am going to reanswer this. Most medical schools only care about what you do in college, unless it was a publication/research or something you continue into college. So.. you could volunteer at a hospital near home and then continue during breaks in college. Or find somewhere to do research and get that going! Or you can start/join a volunteer org or some club you like, and then continue that work at college!
TheRealist Thanks! If you dont mind me asking, is there anything special I should look for in a college? I do want to become a doctor but I do not necessarily want to be tied down to constantly doing research.
Great video! We should do an mcat study video collab I am studying right now so any advice is helpful! Did you do well on the exam? Have you applied to any schools as of yet?
Thank you! I have no idea how a youtube collaboration goes but that sounds exciting to me! I am overall happy with the way the exam went for me thankfully. I want to retain some confidentiality so I won't go into whether I have applied to schools yet :)
Are the engineering versions any different from the regular version of the prereqs? Do they prepare you sufficiently for the MCAT? I'm taking a "Biology for engineers" class this fall and would like to know if it's any different from the bio that the bio majors take.
+Sandhya Appiah I don't know if my experience applies to all schools, but at my school, they were different as far as I could tell. My physics had way more calculus, my math classes were waaay more difficult, and my chem was also more complex (we even had an extra chem class to get in all that complex material). We didn't have a different bio for engineering majors as a prereq, so that was consistent. Maybe figure out if you can look at the syllabus for both the engineering and bio major version of the class and see if one aligns more with MCAT material (AAMC might have some guidelines on this) or ask your counselor. For my engineering version of the classes, yeah they were a lot harder but I think they challenged my brain enough that it made the MCAT material less challenging.
So, I'm entering my junior year. Of my core classes, I still have biochem and physics to take so tentatively planning that I'll be taking the MCAT in like the July or August between junior/senior year. Is that too late? When would you consider it too late to take the MCAT if you want to be in the regular applicant cycle? Thanks!!
atlndnballer123 To be honest, I would have advised you to take it the summer between your sophomore year and junior year, because I believe a full summer is required to study for the test, and I also believe in applying with the first week of the application opening. Taking the MCAT in July or August means you get your scores too late. I have a friend who applied in september and got in, but applying late means that you are put a huge disadvantage from what I have heard. Do you for sure want to apply as a regular applicant or can you wait a year? Many people wait a year to apply anyways. If you are adamant about applying the upcoming cycle, try to have an extremely light semester and study for the MCAT during school and have it so that your score comes in within a month of application opening (might better if you can get the score earlier than that). Sorry, let me know if you have follow up questions, I just really believe in applying on time and having everything set. But there are exceptions to every rule!!
An 11 on verbal? omg how did you do it? it is number 1 on my list of my impossibilities lol i have been studying all summer and my exam is next week but still cant escape the 5-7 range on verbal reasoning. But sciences are fine. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you
Wow exam is coming up! Verbal was definitely the hardest for me to improve in. Practice was the most essential component for me to study, literally taking as many passages and practice tests I could stomach. You should definitely be practicing a lot, Examcrackers 101 is something I really liked. Princeton Review had some good hard passages. If stress is an issue, find a way to calm down while reading. You must remain focused while reading, so that you don't have to go back and see what you missed. Review all questions even if you got it right, and see what made you get a question wrong. Do not rush taking the exam, if you feel you are not ready, postpone the exam. Confidence and concentration are essential, as well as practice. What have you been doing for verbal lately?
TheRealist Thank you for your response. I actually just took an AAMC and got a 6 on verbal. It really hurts but I did almost all 101 EK passages and finished princeton review verbal book and still no improvements. I now think it is a problem of vocabulary. Since English isnt my first language, I tend to miss many important themes and tone clues due to not understanding certain terms or words. I was thinking of just going to take the exam for practice and void it at the end. Only if I have a VERY good gut feeling that I hit a 9 or something on verbal (which happened only about twice) I will score it. If not, then I will take it in January. I just don't know how to approach preparing for verbal differently this time. I was thinking of getting some SAT vocab and reading online articles and magazines.
Bavley Barsoum Oh second language... I do think I have heard that slack is cut for those with English as a second language, you should be aiming for about a seven if your sciences are ok, better if it is an 8. If you are ok with spending the money for your test that might be a good idea, and I know that I was considering that as an option. Your MCAT score will remain with you forever, so don't score unless you think you are ready. Two 9's on verbal is nothing to be dismissed! Good job on those. I really wish I knew what to do in your situation, but I want to be honest and say that having English as a second language is beyond my knowledge. I can only say I know that English has subtleties that must make things hard for you. Practicing your reading in all settings is a great idea. Read articles, the newspaper, a novel, anything that challenges your reading skills. And they shouldn't always be interesting (let's be real, some MCAT passages are boring, and that can affect how well you read them). I don't know how your test will work out, but I do know that if your science sections are going well, you must be smart. Do not let your scores discourage you during the exam, go in there with a fighting attitude. People have come out with scores above their average, sometimes the pressure of the exam helps. Also, make sure your timing is good, don't speed too quickly, and don't go too slow. I am going to research what people in the same situation as you have done and I will post the link!
Bavley Barsoum forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/verbal-for-esl-students.740536/ This link shows advice from a student who provides advice for those with english as their second language. Summarizing each paragraph may be useful
I think Princeton Review was fine for me. I didn't really look to other sources for extra information, I did use Exam Crackers sometimes when I wanted clarification. Like sometimes Exam Crackers would have an alternative explanation or an easier way to remember a certain fact. So I was fine with the textbooks (I had bought the Berkeley Review but was too lazy to study off two texts) and my teachers were good too. If you are considering taking a class, see if there is a way to look up reviews on the teachers in your area. Mine were good, but I am not sure if that quality is consistent everywhere
Hey, sorry for the late reply I just saw this! I don't think they are, at least at the place I was at. They are just people who had to take the test and prove they were good at it. One of my teachers is someone who got a 35 on the test after studying just for two weeks. She was a grad student at that point. Most of my teachers were relatively young. There may be places where college professors assist but not that I know of.
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How many practice tests did you take? And what were your scores on the last couple of practice tests?
Also, how often and what did you do for Verbal? 6days/week and 4 psg's per day? I noticed daily practice is really helpful but I was just wondering what you did for Verbal specifically. How often would you take a practice Verbal section test?
I took all of the AAMC and Princeton review tests, so about 10ish? I don't have access to my scores anymore, but I'm assuming between 32-35.
Verbal was just complete practice, tweaking whatever I needed to improve. I followed the Princeton Review hw guide for the passages, and the month before just started doing about 4-6 verbal passages 5-6 days/week. Whenever the test gets close, be consistent with the practice because the minute I stopped practicing, I would start regressing.
TheRealist Thank you for your response. I just completed my 3rd Kaplan practice test and I am happy with my progress in my total score, however my Verbal score is still the biggest challenge for me. I'm gonna keep my faith and continue practicing verbal daily and reviewing answers I got wrong.
77drisaac Good luck with your exam! Keep tweaking the way you go through verbal and hopefully it will work out! Also, reading in your spare time can help (can't remember if I already wrote that). I have been advised to read difficult newspaper articles and books to enhance reading skills, but that may be too late at this point. But if you ever need down time and need to relax, reading allows for relaxation and verbal practice!
TheRealist You might not remember me, but I just got my MCAT score back and I figured I'd share. I got a 36, too: 14PS/10V/12BS. I'm somewhat devastated because I never scored below an 11 in verbal on the official practice tests, but my verbal section on the real MCAT was utterly ridiculous...it was almost indecipherable. I feel cheated.
Congrats on your score! I have literally been doing the EXACT same things you've been doing-The Princeton Review Course, the gym workouts, and everything else lol. And I also got a 29 on my first practice AAMC practice test #10 and seeing this video really calmed me down a lot. I have to say that I found your video to be one of the most informative MCAT videos on RUclips. Any tips for me to get out of the 29 range on practice tests and get to 30's? For me the biggest issue is physical sciences just like with you and it's all a matter of time not necessarily the difficulty whatsoever. Verbal and BS are pretty strong.
Hi! Nice to see we have similar techniques. For me it, was just practice. Make sure to go over EVERY problem after you take a practice test. Memorize the things that you forgot, and figure out why you are missing a problem (knowledge, didn't understand passage, didn't understand question, etc..). TPR is very good for knowledge review because I felt their tests were very knowledge based. Staying calm and making sure I read the passages in a good manner that would allow me to understand the material effectively was important for me. So basically, keep reviewing random facts, focus on you weakness in knowledge and technique, and make sure you read the passages with focus and confidence
I'm studying for the MCAT this summer, and it's literally ruining my life, haha. I suffer from generalized anxiety, and that makes studying very difficult...especially when I come across a topic I realize I don't know well enough, I start to panic and think to myself "oh my god I'm so stupid I'm going to get a 17 on the MCAT and never get into medical school," lol. But that's good to hear that you did better on your MCAT than your AAMC average! I hope I get a test that only covers topics that I'm really solid in (don't we all haha).
So I have a few questions. You mentioned that the physics section was bad... did you think you were going to score really poorly on it? Did you find it calculation-heavy? Did you feel unsure about a lot of the questions? Also, coming out of the testing center, did you feel that there was anything you would have done differently in your studies if you could, after having taken the test?
My test is August 15th, so I guess I should get back to studying Buffers and Titrations, lol. Congratulations on your excellent score!
Haha studying for the MCAT is definitely not the most fun way to spend a summer, but if it all goes according to plan, you will not regret it. I expected to do worse on the PS than I actually did, but that also could have just been because it was the first section and I was psyching myself out haha.
I can't go into too much detail about the specifics about the exam cuz I don't want the AAMC to sue me lol, but essentially it was similar in difficulty to some of the harder AAMC tests. In my opinion, to some extent it really just comes down to luck as to whether you will get your average score or above. The best you can do is just study everything to the best of your ability, focusing on those topics that MCAT companies say are more likely to show and those that you feel weaker on.
Coming out of the test, I don't feel like there was much else I could have done. I wish I could have gotten confident enough on my timing on verbal. Sometimes during practices I would panic about finishing in time, and I wished I would have been better on timing.
I got really anxious while studying too, so I would try to do things that would keep me calm. I worked out everyday and even started taking yoga closer to the exam. The instructor taught me some rapid fire breathing that was supposed to get more oxygen to my brain, but I mostly did it when I felt overwhelmed haha. Find things that keep you sane, and make sure you do it throughout your studying. Thanks for the congrats, and good luck on your test! I hope everyone is congratulating you afterwards :)
Thanks for your detailed response, it means a lot!
I used to run every morning (before I started MCAT prep), but now I just don't have any time, because I'm studying for the MCAT 8 hrs/day while doing summer research, summer classes, and putting together beginning-of-the-year events as a co-director of events on the Senior Class Council. When I have free time I sleep, haha. But I'm thinking about talking with the microbiologist I do research under and asking him if I could have the next month and a half off to focus on my studies...and my general health.
Anyways, good luck on your med school applications. With that score, I'm sure you'll get into anywhere you apply!
Of course!
Definitely do whatever you feel will allow you to have the best score possible, even if that means cutting back on research for a little. And your health should definitely always be a priority!
Thank you very much! People with scores higher than mine get rejected from med schools all the time, so no guarantees (but that should alleviate some stress for you, know that the MCAT doesn't determine everything!)
Hi, thanks so much for making this video and congratulations on your score as well! I'm also studying for my MCAT which I'll be taking early next month, and I'm trying to decide which practice tests I should take besides the AAMC tests (saving the later ones for last) for the next 2 weeks, as I'm trying to get in 3 tests a week. Did you rely solely on the TPR ones and find those representative? I have both Kaplan and TPR tests, but they seem soo different from each other when I take them. I also got a 29 on my first 2 AAMC's recently and was feeling discouraged until I saw this :)
Hi and thank you for watching! I used only the AAMC and TPR exams. TPR exams were NOT indicative at all for me. I scored much lower on those exams compared to the others.
The TPR is a little more content based as in more memorization, therefore difficult in that manner. I used them for practice, not for indication of my score. Also, I think their verbal is very different from what AAMC would give, so that was also for practice. Examcrackers 101 verbal I believe were the best for verbal. So basically,TPR was for practice, and I used them to review content. From what I have heard about Kaplan, they are more lenient in their curving. But people vary in what they say about the Kaplan, and I cannot personally say anything about it.
Yeah don't worry too much about what you get the first couple times! It takes some time to adjust to the setup of the exam. And a lot of people do find that the average of their AAMC is close to what they actually get, but at some point it just becomes luck of what you get on the exam and how you feel when you sit down and get started.
Good luck on your studying! Try and stay as sane as possible while studying haha. Go show that exam who is boss, and let me know if you have any more questions!
And thank you for the kind words! Please let me know if you have any more questions!
TheRealist Thanks so much for the response! I have two weeks left and I must say I'm getting nervous. So far I've just been taking practice tests from TPR almost every other day and reviewing them. Is there anything else you did that you thought was effective in the last stretch? I'm going to start taking AAMC 7-11 in the next week. Additionally, my weakest section is the physical sciences section (mainly the conceptual questions) also and I was thinking of doing the discretes in the science workbook to help with it. Would you say there's a better resource? (I have access to all the TPR online materials too). Sorry this is so long haha
Nerves are natural! Keeping my nerves at bay was important for me. So keeping myself sane through yoga and working out was really good. For verbal specifically, I would do a lot of Examcrackers passages to build stamina and to get my technique down. But make sure to do online TPR ones so you get used to reading the passages on a computer screen, because I was not fond of that haha. So thats my advice for verbal. For physical sciences, the science workbook should also be good. You can also do the online passages that pertain to topics you are weak on. Also, I believe the amplifire is basically the science workbook but online? Use that if that is true. Getting used to the computer is important. Review everything you do, which includes both the questions you get right AND wrong. In that home stretch it was just taking lots of practice tests for me, so the AAMC will be good when you start those. I also recommend studying up until the day before the test. I wasn't supposed to study at all the day before, but I wasn't about to do that haha, so I just did a light review in the morning.
Let me know if that helps haha
TheRealist It did help, thanks so much! I just did the TPR Mcat review/cracking tests and oh my goodness were they ridiculously hard haha
Here are some MCAT Sociology Review videos: ruclips.net/video/vy-B3qn9mIg/видео.html
Thanks so much for sharing your MCAT experience. I am taking mine in January but I'm having troubles finishing on time,especially on Verbal Reasoning section. What's your advise for pacing?
No problem! So I really don't remember having this issue, my problem was that I would have too much time left over (I ended up having 15 minutes left on the real thing). The most important thing is PRACTICE. Get any MCAT material you can and read it. Try different strategies to do the verbal. Some people summarize each paragraph and write it down, others just write something at the end for the whole passage. I would just try to get the main idea of the whole passage, jotting something down whenever I felt it was too important and I would forget it (my memory isn't that great).
I really recommend the Exam crackers 101 verbal passages, and I would use those and keep working on timing. Verbal is all practice, so just do whatever works for you.
This was a good post about verbal: forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/bloodysurgeons-verbal-guide-for-those-who-cant-read-good.509702/
Let me know how else I can help!
***** Great advice! Mubanga I would definitely try this out! Different methods work for different people, but this might work for you! Let us know what ends up working for you :)
TheRealist I decided to take your route, using ExamKrackers verbal reasoning strategies and tactics, and last week I actually got a personal tutor from EK. Princeton Review method was too time consuming and wasn't working for me, but EK is already paying off. I took test #8 from EK 101 and I only missed one question ( got 39/40). So I think I've finally found a method that suits me and I will keep on practicing to perfect my approach.
Mubanga Chisulo I am SO glad that you found something that works for you! A 39/40 is just dang awesome! I wish you the best of luck on your exam, and hope that you get on Verbal section on test day that plays to your strengths! Keep up the amazing work :)
TheRealist Thanks a lot. Your youtube video inspired me to believe that I can actually do well on VR. So, thanks to you once again :)
Thanks for the tips! Did you do the AAMC assessment testing? If so how'd you do?
Are those the AAMC practice tests? Sorry, I am not the best with the AAMC vocabulary. If it is the practice tests, I ranged from 29-35, and taking the highest score from each section, it was a 38. Let me know if I am thinking of the wrong thing!
I don't know what to do, I'm so horrible at physics and chemistry I keep putting off studying, I'm naturally good at the verbal section. I just took physics 1 and organic 1 and failed both courses just to give a perspective on how horrible I am on those topics. I have been taking practice tests and have been getting roughly a 20 score based off of the old scored version. any tips on how to get over my anxiety and how to self learn physics and chem if I don't have the money for an mcat class? I do have the kaplan 2015 mcat study guides, would just working through those books be enough?
Hmm this is tough.. Have you tried the Khan Academy videos? I think he tries to simplify things, so maybe that could help? I have provided the link below that might help. I think Kaplan books could help, but it might be better for you to hear and see lessons as well.
ruclips.net/p/PLJfwA7_CzYE8p2drNfXvGOGECPU8xe3kg
thank you. I def will watch those videos and use that to get me up to speed. thanks!
What could I be doing as a current pre-med freshman..I am under a lot of pressure to do well on the MCAT and get into med school. I'm kind of freaking out and definitely lost.
Hey sorry of the late reply! I would make sure to figure out your plan.. do you want to go straight or take a gap? If you wanna go straight, then I recommend taking the MCAT the summer after your sophomore year. This means you try to finish as many of those premed classes recommended to take before the MCAT. This might be harder with new MCAT requiring biochem and knowledge of psych and sociology (I think those are on the new test?). But it isn't totally necessary to finish before the test, i didn't take biochem before my test even though it was recommended.
Does your college have a counseling service? Go to them and see if they can help you plan. Once you figure out the order of your classes, then just focus doing well on them. Study to learn AND get the good grade. When you study for the MCAT, you will begin to remember what you learned. Any good worksheets you receive or make during your premed classes, you should store those somewhere to help you study during the MCAT.
Outside of studying, get involved in something. Do medical and nonmedical volunteering. Do things that interest you. And when you feel ready, do research. Research is a big thing for med schools.
Wow, thanks a lot! SUPER helpful!
Omg thank you so much!! This was really helpful. I don't think I'll ever feel ready its exhausting and hell I am doing. I've been studying like mad. I am so scared. I've been scoring really low on the AAMC (25) but I am gonna keep trying. How did you increase your endurance? I get so tired towards the end. :/
misssweethearted Haha its totally normal to feel like its terrible in the beginning, everyone has a panic attack in the beginning. The only thing I could do for endurance was practice. The more practice tests you do, the more it helps. My endurance for verbal was really bad, so I would gradually increase the number of passages I would do in a sitting. I didn't do this, but if you are very worried about endurance, you can do more than the actual number passages on the test, so that when you take the actual test, it seems shorter. Then again, your test is much longer than mine was, so I don't know if it would be good to increase the length for practice. Basically, have faith that over time your endurance will grow. And stay calm! The more nervous I would get during the test, the more exhausted I would be towards the end.
Thank you so much I've been practicing and I've already seen much improvement. I just hate sitting on my butt for nearly 7 hours. :/
misssweethearted Good the improvement will keep coming! You just gotta keep pushing! And yeah that is an insane amount of time, I thought my MCAT version was so long and its nothing compared to yours. Good thing is that everyone else is gonna hate the long test too, so the long hours are gonna affect everyone haha. Once u are finished with the test u are gonna be so proud u sat through that whole test :)
Keep the questions coming whenever they come to you :)
TheRealist
Sweet! Thanks so much for your response you have no idea how much it means to me!! I just subscribed to your channel. I got the EK 101 passages just like you said and using that but I am getting a lot of questions wrong. aghh it's fairly annoying. I guess the only way is to just practice??
My science is strong like you I also took the engineering version of the physics, which helped a lot! The psychology section is INTENSE on Kaplans full lengths. I've been getting below average on the FL..... for your test that would be lower than 25, for my test it's lower than 500 which is the average. It worries me a lot because I cant finish the psych section and I've gotten As in nearly all my science prereqs including ochem so I am not sure what is going on. I am thinking about postponing my test. I am pretty good at science there's no doubt about that but for some reason scoring very low. Psych and verbal drag me waaaaay down.
Your video helped me a lot and gave me a lot of motivation to keep going.
Hey..So I just finished my freshman year, I did well but i don't think i learned a lot. I decided to start studying right now simply because the longer I study and review for an exam the better I do. So here is my question I am currently using Kaplan's review, It seems to be quite concise which i don't really prefer. I do plan on purchasing Princeton Review because It goes into much more detail. When I do, Should i only stick to one source?
MCAT tomorrow. Any last tips? Haha.
Haha relax today! You have been working hard for so long, your brain needs to rejuvenate today. I did very LIGHT studying the day before, but thats because I am crazy lol. Don't start eating something crazy the day before, or doing anything nuts, just stick to whatever you normally do and eat. Be confident, know that you have worked hard and deserve to do well, and kick butt! GOOD LUCK! :)
Hey when are you applying to medical school? When do you plan on graduating?
Where do you go to school...
Thanks!!!
Hello, for confidentiality reasons I don't want to give away too much, but if you have questions regarding studying for the test or premed questions in general let me know! Thanks!
Hi! I am currently in 11th grade, and it school ends in less than 1 week. Is there any suggestions on how I can start preparing for becoming a doctor over the summer? Also is there any specific major or anything I should look for in undergraduate school? Thank! Please reply back :D
***** I was fairly certain i replied to this but I don't see the comment so I am going to reanswer this. Most medical schools only care about what you do in college, unless it was a publication/research or something you continue into college. So.. you could volunteer at a hospital near home and then continue during breaks in college. Or find somewhere to do research and get that going! Or you can start/join a volunteer org or some club you like, and then continue that work at college!
TheRealist Thanks! If you dont mind me asking, is there anything special I should look for in a college? I do want to become a doctor but I do not necessarily want to be tied down to constantly doing research.
Great video! We should do an mcat study video collab I am studying right now so any advice is helpful! Did you do well on the exam? Have you applied to any schools as of yet?
Thank you! I have no idea how a youtube collaboration goes but that sounds exciting to me! I am overall happy with the way the exam went for me thankfully. I want to retain some confidentiality so I won't go into whether I have applied to schools yet :)
Are the engineering versions any different from the regular version of the prereqs? Do they prepare you sufficiently for the MCAT? I'm taking a "Biology for engineers" class this fall and would like to know if it's any different from the bio that the bio majors take.
+Sandhya Appiah I don't know if my experience applies to all schools, but at my school, they were different as far as I could tell. My physics had way more calculus, my math classes were waaay more difficult, and my chem was also more complex (we even had an extra chem class to get in all that complex material). We didn't have a different bio for engineering majors as a prereq, so that was consistent. Maybe figure out if you can look at the syllabus for both the engineering and bio major version of the class and see if one aligns more with MCAT material (AAMC might have some guidelines on this) or ask your counselor. For my engineering version of the classes, yeah they were a lot harder but I think they challenged my brain enough that it made the MCAT material less challenging.
So, I'm entering my junior year. Of my core classes, I still have biochem and physics to take so tentatively planning that I'll be taking the MCAT in like the July or August between junior/senior year. Is that too late? When would you consider it too late to take the MCAT if you want to be in the regular applicant cycle? Thanks!!
atlndnballer123 To be honest, I would have advised you to take it the summer between your sophomore year and junior year, because I believe a full summer is required to study for the test, and I also believe in applying with the first week of the application opening. Taking the MCAT in July or August means you get your scores too late. I have a friend who applied in september and got in, but applying late means that you are put a huge disadvantage from what I have heard. Do you for sure want to apply as a regular applicant or can you wait a year? Many people wait a year to apply anyways. If you are adamant about applying the upcoming cycle, try to have an extremely light semester and study for the MCAT during school and have it so that your score comes in within a month of application opening (might better if you can get the score earlier than that).
Sorry, let me know if you have follow up questions, I just really believe in applying on time and having everything set. But there are exceptions to every rule!!
THAAAANKS!!!
No problem :)
An 11 on verbal? omg how did you do it? it is number 1 on my list of my impossibilities lol i have been studying all summer and my exam is next week but still cant escape the 5-7 range on verbal reasoning. But sciences are fine. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you
Wow exam is coming up! Verbal was definitely the hardest for me to improve in. Practice was the most essential component for me to study, literally taking as many passages and practice tests I could stomach. You should definitely be practicing a lot, Examcrackers 101 is something I really liked. Princeton Review had some good hard passages. If stress is an issue, find a way to calm down while reading. You must remain focused while reading, so that you don't have to go back and see what you missed. Review all questions even if you got it right, and see what made you get a question wrong. Do not rush taking the exam, if you feel you are not ready, postpone the exam. Confidence and concentration are essential, as well as practice. What have you been doing for verbal lately?
TheRealist Thank you for your response. I actually just took an AAMC and got a 6 on verbal. It really hurts but I did almost all 101 EK passages and finished princeton review verbal book and still no improvements. I now think it is a problem of vocabulary. Since English isnt my first language, I tend to miss many important themes and tone clues due to not understanding certain terms or words. I was thinking of just going to take the exam for practice and void it at the end. Only if I have a VERY good gut feeling that I hit a 9 or something on verbal (which happened only about twice) I will score it. If not, then I will take it in January. I just don't know how to approach preparing for verbal differently this time. I was thinking of getting some SAT vocab and reading online articles and magazines.
Bavley Barsoum Oh second language... I do think I have heard that slack is cut for those with English as a second language, you should be aiming for about a seven if your sciences are ok, better if it is an 8. If you are ok with spending the money for your test that might be a good idea, and I know that I was considering that as an option. Your MCAT score will remain with you forever, so don't score unless you think you are ready. Two 9's on verbal is nothing to be dismissed! Good job on those. I really wish I knew what to do in your situation, but I want to be honest and say that having English as a second language is beyond my knowledge. I can only say I know that English has subtleties that must make things hard for you. Practicing your reading in all settings is a great idea. Read articles, the newspaper, a novel, anything that challenges your reading skills. And they shouldn't always be interesting (let's be real, some MCAT passages are boring, and that can affect how well you read them). I don't know how your test will work out, but I do know that if your science sections are going well, you must be smart. Do not let your scores discourage you during the exam, go in there with a fighting attitude. People have come out with scores above their average, sometimes the pressure of the exam helps. Also, make sure your timing is good, don't speed too quickly, and don't go too slow. I am going to research what people in the same situation as you have done and I will post the link!
Bavley Barsoum forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/verbal-for-esl-students.740536/
This link shows advice from a student who provides advice for those with english as their second language. Summarizing each paragraph may be useful
TheRealist Thank you very much for your help
Did you feel like Princeton Review prepared you well for the test...or did you have to do a lot of "Princeton Review independent" work?
I think Princeton Review was fine for me. I didn't really look to other sources for extra information, I did use Exam Crackers sometimes when I wanted clarification. Like sometimes Exam Crackers would have an alternative explanation or an easier way to remember a certain fact. So I was fine with the textbooks (I had bought the Berkeley Review but was too lazy to study off two texts) and my teachers were good too. If you are considering taking a class, see if there is a way to look up reviews on the teachers in your area. Mine were good, but I am not sure if that quality is consistent everywhere
Rah came looking for a videos of mkat
So are the Princeton review teachers like actual college professors?
Hey, sorry for the late reply I just saw this! I don't think they are, at least at the place I was at. They are just people who had to take the test and prove they were good at it. One of my teachers is someone who got a 35 on the test after studying just for two weeks. She was a grad student at that point. Most of my teachers were relatively young. There may be places where college professors assist but not that I know of.
TheRealist Hey it's fine! That's for the info.
No problemo :). let me know if u have any more questions!
Cute and smart
Haha thank you very much for the kind words :)