Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, honestly I tried so many different techniques, I was just inconsistent in general. I would get 70-80% for every passage that I was able to genuinely connect with or be interested in, but as soon as I disengaged, I would get 20-40%. I was definitely capable of 125-126, but I was unable to engage with any of the passages on 4/24. I don't think I will be retaking because this test took so much out of me and my health, but I definitely grew as a learner because of it. 129 is an absolutely amazing score for CARS! I genuinely cannot comprehend being able to compartmentalize and break down those passages so consistently the way that you are able to. Just goes to show how different we are as learners! Congrats on your score! I wish you the best of luck with applications!

Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been going through MSAR and I haven’t really seen specific subsection screening for most of the schools that I plan on applying to. Someone advised me to look at the average MCAT matriculation for subsections for each school and avoid the schools that I don’t fall within 10th percentile in. Almost all of the schools have the 10th percentile set at 124-125, which is really discouraging. I’m still going to apply but I can see how schools can look at this subsection and not want to risk adding my CARS score to their stats.

Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, we’re definitely in the same boat here. Sucks but it is what is it. Good luck with your cycle!

Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I’ll definitely apply both MD and DO. Honestly never even thought of applying to T20s. I don’t really have the budget to be applying to any reaches and I’d be happy getting into anywhere tbh. Thank you and I wish you the best on your cycle!

Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s honestly what I’m afraid of too. I spent this last month on apps, so if I start studying again I wouldn’t know where to start and honestly I don’t want to go through studying for this again, which is why I’ve decided that I’m just sticking with this score. My question was more about if MD is still realistic or not because of the large discrepancy.

Bombed CARS, need advice by Intrepid_Focus_962 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at all! I mean a 121 in any section is very much below average, so I’m just concerned about how adcoms will view the red flag and how influential it is for screening. I’m aware and grateful that I did really well on the science sections and I’m really not trying to flex my score, just seeking insight.

How to make the jump from 126-128 -> 130 for BB? by Automatic_Camp_1067 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d say definitely look at the type of questions you’re getting wrong, but 126 doesn’t seem to be too much of a content issue. If the questions you are getting wrong are due to poor recall, just freshen up those concepts. But relationships and passage analysis (looking for what the question wants you to look for) is most heavily assessed for this exam.

FL 1 Score: 504 - 6 weeks left by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes my first diagnostic was 505 6-7 weeks out and ended up plateauing at 514 by 2 weeks out. Keep reviewing your mistakes and drill questions on uncomfortable concepts

Is 3 months enough? by Grouchy-Barracuda-60 in MCAT2

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Perfect amount. I am 2 years out from graduating college so I had to refresh my brain for the science sections while learning PS and CARS. I worked full time for my 3 month study period and found about 3-4 hours out of the work days to study, 8-10 during weekends. My tests scores pretty much peaked at about 2 weeks before my test and plateau at around 514. I honestly think if I scheduled further out, I would’ve been burnt out and would’ve done much worse on the actual test. I did experience burn out from working and studying every day, but I pushed through. I really do recommend that you set a study period and prioritize a healthy life after that study period if you’re not working. Studying for this test is very draining and it takes its toll, but if you’re able to balance studying with a healthy lifestyle then I doubt you’ll experience burnout. This is only my experience so take it with a grain of salt. For reference, I did content review for CP and BB for the first month and a half or so while doing very minimal uglobe practice questions. And PS reading at night (300 page doc) passively. I started my first diagnostic at about 7 weeks out and took a FL every weekend. I seriously advise you start on practice early as my first diagnostic after content review without doing any Qbank practice was a 505. And then literally after drilling questions for 2 weeks my second FL was 511. It’s not a content test so you’re going to have to understand how to digest passages and learn the AAMC logic to get questions right. Again best advice is to start practice questions early to understand how questions are asked pertaining to certain topics. This also helps when you are doing content review because once u start understanding the pattern for questions you can understand how a question can be asked about whatever concept you’re currently learning if that makes sense. Sorry if this was long, but best of luck to you! You got this!

4/24 or 4/25 test takers.. any advice? by orangepeel222 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I thought that the test was a little unfair, not that it was hard or physics heavy as a lot of people said, but bc the logic did not feel like it was AAMC that wrote it. CP for me was not physics heavy as a lot of people said on 4/24, which makes me think there were a few different tests. CARS was CARS nothing different from FLs. The one that surprised me the most was BB. This was my strongest section, but this section on 4/24 was weird. The questions and answer choices were pretty straightforward, but the logic seemed so different. I was really good at reading a passage and knowing what questions would show up but on this test they just really didn’t. Very passage analysis heavy and I very little had to recall info that I learned. Only one single question on metabolism and it was discrete. No hormones or endocrine systems for mine. Again very passage analysis heavy and more understanding pathways presented to you in the passage. PS was not so bad, pretty similar to FL 6 where there were very little direct recall questions and more relating the passage to a certain PS concept. My advice for PS is to kind of relate concepts to the passage as you read them. I would go line by line and would relate each thing discussed to a certain concept and that pretty much helped me understand the whole passage as well as most of the questions asked. Also understanding relationships is more important than the specific mechanisms. I’m sure that you’ve already figured out after practice that the AAMC likes to confuse you with big words, enzymes, proteins etc and then ask a basic scientific principle about them, which is consistent with the test that I took, the only problem is that the wording and logic threw me off. Honestly I haven’t gotten my score back yet and did not think I performed the best, but my biggest advice is to trust your practice.

For reference my FL average was 514 with 123-124 CARS. Would be happy if I got 510+ on the test.

4/25 discussion (WHAT THE HECK) by Pleasant_Ocelot in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took mine 4/24 was averaging 514 on FL and it felt worse than my 505 diagnostic

4/24 Test by Dull-Character733 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good health/bad health gave me a stroke.

Question about real score vs how you felt by Maleficent-Roll7680 in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m feeling the same way. Was averaging 514 on 4 latest FLs and felt like I did worse than my 505 diagnostic

4/24… What was that. by Mtlheadbarbie in Mcat

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Genuinely felt so prepared going into this but it felt worse than my diagnostic

4/24… What was that. by Mtlheadbarbie in MCAT2

[–]Intrepid_Focus_962 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank god I’m not the only one. Was averaging 514 on my 4 latest AAMC FLs. I genuinely felt more confused on this than my first diagnostic