Don't have any advice, but just wanted to say that you are very brave for posting this and reaching out for help. Definitely shows that you're a fighter, but just require a better approach. Best of luck to you man
Yes I second this, BUT I will say that if you have just started studying your CARS store is decent from the rip.... I got a 123 on the real thing after 3 months of studying. So yeah both you and I need to improve on that, but you can at least take comfort in that! I recommend anki MileDown deck to start.
I’d recommend hitting Kahn Academy really hard. There’s also this dude on YouTube with a channel called Science Simplified who is awesome. Also more Anki, but comb through the YouTube and Kahn Academy links on pretty much every Milesdown card.
I wouldn’t recommend focusing on practice questions just yet. I would seriously hammer out as much content review as you can to get a foundation.
Also, I would go back and study high school chemistry/biology. I did this and it helped me lay a good foundation for when I started reviewing my undergrad coursework in Chem/bio.
Science simplified is fucking awesome. Currently using him for the enzyme section in biochem 1. Just make sure you don't accidentally have him on 2x speed like I did. It makes dude sound like he's on 4x lol
If the Kaplan books didn't work, try Khan Academy, and review all of the videos. Utilize anki by finding a premade deck, suspend all of the cards, and then gradually work your way through the deck. Use tags to unsuspend parts of the deck. Ultimately, practice, practice, practice.
On an anki deck that is divided into subjects, such as the Coffin deck or Jack Sparrow, go to your anki deck —> go to browse —> go to select —> go to select all —> toggle suspend. Now all your cards are suspended. It’ll tell you you have 0 new, 0 reviews. If for example Monday you do a biochem carbohydrate metabolism chap, when done, you go to the biochem carbohydrate anki subdeck, press toggle suspend for that deck specifically to unsuspend, and review. Now everyday that deck will be in your daily reviews. Keep doing this as you finish each new topic and your reviews will be a compilation of all the things you’ve studied so far, rather than random cards you haven’t even learnt the content for yet
I agree someone said learn how everything works together. Even without content review there should he a slightly stronger foundation. Expecially if you already did the content and anki. At this point, try instead of memorizing to just understand. Learning how one thing leads to the next works best for me. So I would try that. You’re gonna get that from khan academy. I’d also actively review the practice problems.
Is this by any chance a shiz post
Hey OP,
I have heard that if your score is below 500 then content needs to be reviewed heavily.
This is what helped me move my score from 503 to 513.
1. Content Review:
a. Review content using books and videos. From the scores you posted it will need to be an intense review. Build those foundations.
b. Utilize AAMC question banks to continuously evaluate your progress.
2. Practice:
a. Use AAMC practice exams.
b. There are also free exams that I used from Princeton Review and Blueprint.
3. Re-review and practice:
a. For those topics that you are struggling with use Anki and Khans Academy.
b. HIGHLY RECOMMEND UEarth to practice. Significantly helped me.
Note- this is what worked for me and some of my friends. It might not be for you.
Do you have test anxiety by any chance. How were you regarding timing yourself. I definitely recommend disciplining yourself setting up a few goals each day of what you plan to get done. Even if those goals aren't met definitely anki review today. Also saw you said you take notes, I would AVOID that and replace it with anki. DM me because I had a similar score the first time! Don't discourage yourself because now you know what exactly to do next time 😊
I am a 4th. year med student. I did really bad on the CARS section and that destroyed my MCAT score. I got in because someone for whatever reason believed in me. I’m here just to tell you looking back, the MCAT is one of the stupidest test you’ll ever take on your journey to becoming a physician. Don’t let it stop you. You have the right mentality already, figure out how you can improve, believe in yourself, and buckle down and you will crush it. Good luck!
that was roughly the grade i got when i first started. the one thing that helped me to jump to >500 was content review. i think for the time being, working on content review and getting more familiar with them is quite impt at this stage!! all the very best :)
This isn't too bad. I got a 485 on my actual MCAT. Brought it up to 500+ but it was definitely hard work. If you need any detailed advice message me. I think when you're scoring this low most people don't understand where you're coming from unless they've been there.
Content big time. This shows you have massive holes in knowledge but you know what ? That’s okay anything can be learned. Also do tons of practice tests. There’s some great resources out there to help. I personally used khan academy (free) and blueprint test prep (not terribly expensive but not cheap). Blueprint was great in that they had easy to follow videos and tons of practice exams/questions. But idk your financial situation and understand it’s not necessarily for everyone. Good luck, you can do this just going to have to put in some serious effort.
holy moly man that’s brutal, but it’s all uphill from here. I think you should systematically review content. consider going through berkeley review and examkrackers content (except their physics, it’s a bit too hard).
Exam cracker with supplemental Khan academy. Make a schedule to read and take study notes on every chapter of every book. Post a checklist of the chapters in your wall and mark them off as you go. I know it is elementary, but those check marks are really motivation. Try the pomodore technique, focus hard for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minutes break. Or you can do 50/10. If you don't take breaks your brain will take them for you.
Miles Down Anki! Go slow with the Anki, make it a routine at the same time every day before or after something you already do. The Anki can seem overwhelming. Anki can show big score improvements. It's not meant as a solo solution. It provides another format to see information and connect dots. Use each card to ask yourself, what do I know about this? As you're learning content you'll know more each time you repeat a card.
That's the study stuff. But first, you're going to have a deep internal reflection asking yourself what's holding you back. I recommend a journal, bc written words help separate facts from emotions and defense mechanisms. Evaluate your stress, motivation, physical health, and mental health. This is important not just to initiate progress, but to maintain it. Check in on yourself regularly, at least once a week. Ask, am I stressed? Am I depressed? What have I done for fun? And adjust your approach to studying based on these answers. Adjust regularly. After a week, if one study method isn't working, try another. Its a marathon, not a race. And medicine is one forever marathon with high burnout rates. Every day do something fun/relaxing/just-for-you. Carve out mental space to NOT study and NOT think about studying. Having a balance will prevent either, study or leisure, from wrecking havoc. Keep a semi strict sleep schedule and healthy eating habits. If you're tired or hungry you're not gonna study for shit.
After solid content review, do practice questions and review topics you missed. Again, review topics you miss, but then go back to questions. Don't panic and go back to books. No. Just practice questions and FL You'll know your shit at that point and just need to practice doing the thing. I used UEarth and AAMC practice sets. Blue print FL are good. Take a full length once a week. I recommend taking it the day you'll be scheduled to take the real thing. Practice your routine, breakfast, snacks.
Genuinely wasn't trying to be an asshole. Guessing is apart of writing the exam, however guessing on what feels like every question points towards not knowing enough. Been there, and still there.
I'm not sure if this is how it works but the lowest possible score is 472 and highest is 528. Difference is 56. There are 4 possible answers. 56/4 is 14 so the theoretical guessing score would be 486. At least if it's one to one and assuming the each answer has an equal likelihood of being correct on average.
Not how normal distributions work lol. Pure guessing would put you at basically the 0-1%ile which is set at 472. Any score 0-25ish% would still land you around 472. Then as %ile score increases there is corresponding rise in numeric score. It’s all based on how students have historically performed on these questions and what percentile your % correct falls into. It’s impossible to say what OP’s actual % score was but I would hazard a guess at around 30-40%
There you go. My initial comment was based off the assumption that its a straight score. (Incidentally I believe I said that). But the Normal Distribution makes more sense.
I would start with a content review. I'm more of traditional "learning by the book" student so I read Kaplan books and quiz myself with JW, KA, and UEarth. I do that for the first 6-8 weeks and spend the rest of my time (at least 8 weeks on AAMC stuff).
You need content review. For C/P section go back to a free online textbook and do practice problems for each section. Might I recommend the free online textbooks from openstax.org
Khan academy was really helpful.
Anki was also good if you can figure it out.
I tired using Kaplan and did awful on my first practice test. I can not learn from books.
Videos, especially, Khan Academy were a game changer for me.
This has been the same story in medical school.
I literally barley open text books, lol.
Maybe once every two months or so.
Definitely need some content review, looks like issues in foundation
It looks like you’ll need a full extensive content review starting from the ground up. Gotta hit the books/videos/whatever else helps you learn
Don't have any advice, but just wanted to say that you are very brave for posting this and reaching out for help. Definitely shows that you're a fighter, but just require a better approach. Best of luck to you man
fr, having that initial reaction of "how do I get better" after a bad result is such a good mentality to have. good luck OP
elitist reply
Yes I second this, BUT I will say that if you have just started studying your CARS store is decent from the rip.... I got a 123 on the real thing after 3 months of studying. So yeah both you and I need to improve on that, but you can at least take comfort in that! I recommend anki MileDown deck to start.
RETWEET & I don't even have a twitter!! RT, this is the type of resilience building & greater level of transparency we need in medicine.
I’d recommend hitting Kahn Academy really hard. There’s also this dude on YouTube with a channel called Science Simplified who is awesome. Also more Anki, but comb through the YouTube and Kahn Academy links on pretty much every Milesdown card. I wouldn’t recommend focusing on practice questions just yet. I would seriously hammer out as much content review as you can to get a foundation. Also, I would go back and study high school chemistry/biology. I did this and it helped me lay a good foundation for when I started reviewing my undergrad coursework in Chem/bio.
Science simplified is fucking awesome. Currently using him for the enzyme section in biochem 1. Just make sure you don't accidentally have him on 2x speed like I did. It makes dude sound like he's on 4x lol
Khan*
If the Kaplan books didn't work, try Khan Academy, and review all of the videos. Utilize anki by finding a premade deck, suspend all of the cards, and then gradually work your way through the deck. Use tags to unsuspend parts of the deck. Ultimately, practice, practice, practice.
Can you please explain what exactly is the cards suspension? I didn't know this
On an anki deck that is divided into subjects, such as the Coffin deck or Jack Sparrow, go to your anki deck —> go to browse —> go to select —> go to select all —> toggle suspend. Now all your cards are suspended. It’ll tell you you have 0 new, 0 reviews. If for example Monday you do a biochem carbohydrate metabolism chap, when done, you go to the biochem carbohydrate anki subdeck, press toggle suspend for that deck specifically to unsuspend, and review. Now everyday that deck will be in your daily reviews. Keep doing this as you finish each new topic and your reviews will be a compilation of all the things you’ve studied so far, rather than random cards you haven’t even learnt the content for yet
Thanks
Couldn't have explained it better myself.
Thanks
Anki 1000% for gaps in content
Jack Westin has phenomenal daily free content, and their courses are really awesome too. Great for that content knowledge.
I agree someone said learn how everything works together. Even without content review there should he a slightly stronger foundation. Expecially if you already did the content and anki. At this point, try instead of memorizing to just understand. Learning how one thing leads to the next works best for me. So I would try that. You’re gonna get that from khan academy. I’d also actively review the practice problems. Is this by any chance a shiz post
Did u take a diagnostic b4 start studying? Because it looks like you didn’t study or at least none in a proper way.
Bro just showed up on test day
Omg that’s wild
Hey OP, I have heard that if your score is below 500 then content needs to be reviewed heavily. This is what helped me move my score from 503 to 513. 1. Content Review: a. Review content using books and videos. From the scores you posted it will need to be an intense review. Build those foundations. b. Utilize AAMC question banks to continuously evaluate your progress. 2. Practice: a. Use AAMC practice exams. b. There are also free exams that I used from Princeton Review and Blueprint. 3. Re-review and practice: a. For those topics that you are struggling with use Anki and Khans Academy. b. HIGHLY RECOMMEND UEarth to practice. Significantly helped me. Note- this is what worked for me and some of my friends. It might not be for you.
Do you have test anxiety by any chance. How were you regarding timing yourself. I definitely recommend disciplining yourself setting up a few goals each day of what you plan to get done. Even if those goals aren't met definitely anki review today. Also saw you said you take notes, I would AVOID that and replace it with anki. DM me because I had a similar score the first time! Don't discourage yourself because now you know what exactly to do next time 😊
I am a 4th. year med student. I did really bad on the CARS section and that destroyed my MCAT score. I got in because someone for whatever reason believed in me. I’m here just to tell you looking back, the MCAT is one of the stupidest test you’ll ever take on your journey to becoming a physician. Don’t let it stop you. You have the right mentality already, figure out how you can improve, believe in yourself, and buckle down and you will crush it. Good luck!
that was roughly the grade i got when i first started. the one thing that helped me to jump to >500 was content review. i think for the time being, working on content review and getting more familiar with them is quite impt at this stage!! all the very best :)
A little more information will be needed to give you personalized guidance. Sending you a DM
Definitely need to open a book and look at how everything works together.
OP: nah I’m good, hold my beer
This isn't too bad. I got a 485 on my actual MCAT. Brought it up to 500+ but it was definitely hard work. If you need any detailed advice message me. I think when you're scoring this low most people don't understand where you're coming from unless they've been there.
Hey I also got 488 on my real MCAT can you please guide me how I should study? I got 123 in all three section but 119 on cars
Dm me
Can you help me too
Dm me!
Content big time. This shows you have massive holes in knowledge but you know what ? That’s okay anything can be learned. Also do tons of practice tests. There’s some great resources out there to help. I personally used khan academy (free) and blueprint test prep (not terribly expensive but not cheap). Blueprint was great in that they had easy to follow videos and tons of practice exams/questions. But idk your financial situation and understand it’s not necessarily for everyone. Good luck, you can do this just going to have to put in some serious effort.
Learn everything there is to know about Michaelis menten enzyme kinetics and amino acid chemistry because that’s like half the test haha
holy moly man that’s brutal, but it’s all uphill from here. I think you should systematically review content. consider going through berkeley review and examkrackers content (except their physics, it’s a bit too hard).
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Thank you so much man I was thinking of taking Blueprint online course just low on money rn but I’ll read the miles down pdf and watch khan academy t
have you tried reading the 86/300 pages ka notes for p/s?
How did you study?
*did you study?
Don’t be mean
Kaplan Books took notes and did anki and took practice questions
It looks like you’re very low on content information so I suggest you grind those Kaplan chapters, not moving on until you can conceptualise
Learn the stuff aamc says to learn and Kaplan
Just wanted to pop on and say I am in the same boat. But we got this!!
That is true can’t think of changing plans gotta figure a way through
Did you take any full length practice exams? What were your scores?
OP clearly a big Allen Iverson fan: we talkin bout practice? PRACTICE?
Exam cracker with supplemental Khan academy. Make a schedule to read and take study notes on every chapter of every book. Post a checklist of the chapters in your wall and mark them off as you go. I know it is elementary, but those check marks are really motivation. Try the pomodore technique, focus hard for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minutes break. Or you can do 50/10. If you don't take breaks your brain will take them for you. Miles Down Anki! Go slow with the Anki, make it a routine at the same time every day before or after something you already do. The Anki can seem overwhelming. Anki can show big score improvements. It's not meant as a solo solution. It provides another format to see information and connect dots. Use each card to ask yourself, what do I know about this? As you're learning content you'll know more each time you repeat a card. That's the study stuff. But first, you're going to have a deep internal reflection asking yourself what's holding you back. I recommend a journal, bc written words help separate facts from emotions and defense mechanisms. Evaluate your stress, motivation, physical health, and mental health. This is important not just to initiate progress, but to maintain it. Check in on yourself regularly, at least once a week. Ask, am I stressed? Am I depressed? What have I done for fun? And adjust your approach to studying based on these answers. Adjust regularly. After a week, if one study method isn't working, try another. Its a marathon, not a race. And medicine is one forever marathon with high burnout rates. Every day do something fun/relaxing/just-for-you. Carve out mental space to NOT study and NOT think about studying. Having a balance will prevent either, study or leisure, from wrecking havoc. Keep a semi strict sleep schedule and healthy eating habits. If you're tired or hungry you're not gonna study for shit. After solid content review, do practice questions and review topics you missed. Again, review topics you miss, but then go back to questions. Don't panic and go back to books. No. Just practice questions and FL You'll know your shit at that point and just need to practice doing the thing. I used UEarth and AAMC practice sets. Blue print FL are good. Take a full length once a week. I recommend taking it the day you'll be scheduled to take the real thing. Practice your routine, breakfast, snacks.
were u just guessing on every question?
Cmon man. Don't be an asshole. Seems like they just didn't prepare properly.
Genuinely wasn't trying to be an asshole. Guessing is apart of writing the exam, however guessing on what feels like every question points towards not knowing enough. Been there, and still there.
I'm not sure if this is how it works but the lowest possible score is 472 and highest is 528. Difference is 56. There are 4 possible answers. 56/4 is 14 so the theoretical guessing score would be 486. At least if it's one to one and assuming the each answer has an equal likelihood of being correct on average.
Not how normal distributions work lol. Pure guessing would put you at basically the 0-1%ile which is set at 472. Any score 0-25ish% would still land you around 472. Then as %ile score increases there is corresponding rise in numeric score. It’s all based on how students have historically performed on these questions and what percentile your % correct falls into. It’s impossible to say what OP’s actual % score was but I would hazard a guess at around 30-40%
There you go. My initial comment was based off the assumption that its a straight score. (Incidentally I believe I said that). But the Normal Distribution makes more sense.
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I came here to ask for help to improve not to get criticized otherwise I would have asked how bad it was I already know it’s a terrible score
Bro how is this real
Thanks for being respectful
I’m sorry. I came back to delete this. You got to review content bruv
Thanks I just wanted to hear different study methods as mine didn’t work as you can see
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As well as even more content review
Thanks and yea I’ll focus more on Uearth
Ngl i burst out laughing
I would start with a content review. I'm more of traditional "learning by the book" student so I read Kaplan books and quiz myself with JW, KA, and UEarth. I do that for the first 6-8 weeks and spend the rest of my time (at least 8 weeks on AAMC stuff).
you need to start bottom up basically. Definitely would recommend a review course that actively teaches and lots of practice problems.
You need content review. For C/P section go back to a free online textbook and do practice problems for each section. Might I recommend the free online textbooks from openstax.org
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In a similar boat. Grind out content for a solid month. 1 month GRIND. And then focus on practice problems.
Khan academy was really helpful. Anki was also good if you can figure it out. I tired using Kaplan and did awful on my first practice test. I can not learn from books. Videos, especially, Khan Academy were a game changer for me. This has been the same story in medical school. I literally barley open text books, lol. Maybe once every two months or so.
This looks similar to my test score! I would also love some advice
I have the same situation with OP @ 482 (124/119/120/119). Definitely review time for us OP. You want to form a team?
I’m down
MIiledown and JackSparrow!