<p>So I am currently a sophomore at Vandy and I plan on taking the MCATs next Augest, before the start of my junior year. I am freaking out about the MCATs. I feel like I need to start preparing in advance for me to do well. So far these are my grades in my pre-reqs.</p>
<p>I am currently in the process of taking Orgo and Physics 2. </p>
<p>The reason I feel such a strong urge to start preparing is because I am not particularly good with standarized tests. </p>
<p>For example, in high school I took the psats sophomore year and only scored a 177 (I prepared for 2 weeks).
I then took the psats junior year and scored a 183. (studied 2 weeks)
I took the SATs in the spring of junior year and scored a 1900 (3 weeks of intense prepartiion).</p>
<p>Finally I took the SATs in the fall of my senior year of high school and somehow scored a 2210/2400 and a 1510/1600. (3 weeks of preperation). ----I honestly don't know how this happened. Seriously, no idea how I scored this. </p>
<p>What scares me is that even though I tried on the SATs and PSATs, it took me 4 tries to get the score I needed. I don't want to make the same mistakes with the MCAT. Should I be worried? Should I start going to a prep course to get a feel for the test and then take a prep course again in the summer--when I actually start studying?</p>
<p>How much of the MCAT is natural aptitude vs. hard work. I am willing to put in the hours, but I am seriously questioning my aptitude.</p>
<p>Should I start on sdn2's 3 month mcat study plan, I just read and bookmarked the thread that is on sdn.</p>
<p>I think the best way to prepare for the MCAT beforehand is to really try to learn in your classes. Don’t study for the grade, really try to understand the concepts. Also it is a good idea to take some humanities classes even if it does not have to do with your major, because you will do a lot of reading that will help for the verbal section.</p>
<p>2/3 months before the MCAT, you should take a prep course and/or do independent studying with prep books. Ideally, you want to take the MCAT once because it is so expensive and time consuming, but a retake is fine usually. Taking the test 3 times is frowned upon, but I know people who have taken it 3 times and have gotten into great schools, so it’s definitely not the end of the world.</p>
<p>^^^ Have you taken the mcats yet? If you don’t mind me asking, were you really good at standardized tests in high school? How exactly did you prepare?–study methods, average amount of hours per day. If you don’t want to post all these details on an open forum, can you pm me?</p>
<p>I really want to score a 35+ on my mcats, so I can feel like I have “conquered” the beast. In high school I really wanted a 2100 on the mcats, and luckly I scored a 110 points higher than that. I just don’t know if I have what it takes to do well on the mcats. I looked at stats online and it shows that the average mcat score is around a 24. If the mcat score was positively correlated with how hard you work, then how do people score so badly -----Is it because they don’t have the aptitude?</p>
<p>four months of preparation doesn’t seem enough for such a difficult test. I am too scared to take a diagnostic test, haha</p>
<p>You seem to be conflating “how hard someone works” with “how long they work.” If MCAT scores were correlated to the length of time spent studying, then the nutjobs who spend 1+ years prepping would be getting 45s. Fortunately, for those of us who are sane, they are not the ones scoring 40+.</p>
<p>You’re making two of the fundamental mistakes of MCAT studying. The first is assuming that more time = better score. While there’s no doubt in my mind that studying for 3 months is going to be better than 3 days, it’s not how long you study, it’s how you use your time. The second mistake is assuming that the MCAT is a knowledge test. It’s not - it’s a test of your test-taking skills and your reasoning. You don’t actually need that much raw knowledge to do well on the MCAT. What you absolutely must have are good test-taking skills, the ability to read quickly and accurately, and enough insight into the MCAT so that you really understand what each question is asking you about.</p>
<p>^^^ I read through the MCAT thread stickyed on this forum, but it didn’t really mention how to prepare for the test. Lollybo was nice enough to tell me how to prepare before I actually start studying, but can you provide me with some insight on what “actual studying” consists of? </p>
<p>I took the MCAT as well last month (don’t have my scores yet) but I was scoring 36-38 on the old exams. I used the EK prep books and studied for about ~10 weeks. I didn’t really focus on memorizing. I read a chapter and then did some practice questions. Closer to the test (like two weeks before) I completely stopped reviewing material and then started taking more practice exams (i also had the 10 kaplan exams). I think i studied about 3-4 hours a day, I was working full time as well. I used all the EK books (including the 1001’s and 16 mini mcats). I started studying after my sophomore year when I was finished with all the prereqs. Like lollybo said, the MCAT is less of a knowledge test and more of a thinking test. You have to know your basic science but most of the answers are found in the passage you just have to extract and apply that information.</p>
<p>Also, SAT/ACT scores and MCAT scores don’t really correlate because the design of the tests are different.</p>
<p>I did pretty well on the SAT/PSAT, but honestly I don’t think high school test scores matter that much because in college you learn a whole different style of critical thinking in college. My high school was mostly just memorization.</p>
<p>Like other posters said, critical thinking and reasoning skills are essential, and so are test taking skills. How I studied (ended up with a 37 after 3 months of studying) is first I did a content review by doing an MCAT course. That made sure I had the proper MCAT knowledge to do well. Then, I did all 10 AAMC practice exams. After each exam, I would review vigorously, looking for gaps in my knowledge. I did this for the PS and BS sections, and raised my score considerably. I can’t really offer advice for the V section because honestly I did not study for it that much because my scores always remained good, but I would suggest reading a lot of college level material such as the readings for your classes.</p>
<p>Also don’t start studying now, I wouldn’t start studying until after you are done with the pre-reqs. Why take a diagnostic now and get scared and turned off by your score, when you can approach it much more competently and confidently at a future date?</p>
<p>To be honest, even though it took you four tries, it seems like that is just because you didn’t really put intense preparation into the test- three weeks is a lot less than most people- so I wouldn’t worry about the fourth time being necessary- I’d just make sure you study enough for the first time. </p>
<p>All the advice I’ve seen hear seems good-the only thing I’d add is one thing you can do in the year leading up to the test is try to read more- be it the Economist, NYT, the New Yorker, particularly if the Verbal Sections of standardized tests have given you problems in the past.</p>
<p>^^^ The first time I took the SAT reading section, I scored a horrible 640. The second time I took the SAT, the much better score, I scored a 760. From the time I scored the 640, to the time I got the 760, I read A LOT of classical books, like Jane Eyre, and Frankeinstein, etc, which really helped me read fast and pick out little details. I guess I can start that up, and I can also start taking practice verbal passages for the hell of it. As for the other sections, I guess I can wait and start those over the summer when I start my intense preparation. I hope I don’t burn out over the summer lol.</p>
<p>“How much of the MCAT is natural aptitude vs. hard work”</p>
<p>-Before making any conclusions, just start taking prep. class / prepare yourself (some like it longer, some like it shorter, have to decide for yourself) which will include taking lots of practice tests. It is normal/average to get real score about couple points below your highest practice test score. So, here is your plan: chill, take class/prep yourself, take lots of practice tests and reasonably estimate your outcome. While taking real test, keep in mind that you have done reasonable attempts to prepare yourself the best you could. </p>
<p>D. got exactly 2 points below her best score from practice tests and was completely satisfied with results. </p>
<p>MCAT has nothing to do with very easy SAT/ACT. MCAT is very hard and requires tons of work. Only super genius test taker can rely on having decent score without hard work (several daily hours for many weeks). However, others are successful at it, so why you would not be? And remember, that your college GPA is still extremely important, do not let it slide, while preparing for MCAT.</p>