How yall feeling? C/P, B/B and P/S where fine for me but CARS was absolute hell 🤣. No matter how yall did today just remember you worked hard for this day and no matter how you feel about your exam just relax and take a deep breath!

Was CP hard asf or is it just me

Also the heuristic passage on ps

Start the trend once the scores are up. Hopefully all of our dreams come true. Let us know how you did and do you believe it was a fair assessment 🥹

I have a science major, so I know some background info already. What is the highest yield thing I can do in the next 8 hours, given I haven't studied at all? My weakest area is probably chemistry or physics.

I just began studying for the MCAT so I'm pretty new to figuring everything out. Are there any recommendations to help with my studying? I purchased the Princeton review book. Any chapters I should skip?

Fellow 4/28ers, how are y’all feeling after leaving your testing center? I personally feel like my brain is scrambled but I’m glad it’s over🍾🤣

BRO WTF

Do you guys know many 520+ scorers IRL? There’s lots of them on Reddit, but I’ve only met a few at my school. Highest I’ve seen is a 525

Title

About 80% of the questions I miss aren’t due to content gaps. I usually get them wrong because I misinterpret the information presented in the passage. I’ve never been the strongest reader, but I like to think I’m decent—until the MCAT came along.

This winter break, I picked up “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in the hopes of improving my reading skills. As I’m sure many of you can relate, the typical pre-med undergrad curriculum doesn’t require much intensive reading, and now it’s catching up with me.

So, I was wondering: what helped YOU improve your reading on the MCAT? Not just for CARS or P/S, but also for C/P and B/B. Let’s treat this as a “back-to-the-basics” thread.

P.S. I wish I had double-majored in English

This is not a shit post. I am serious. I have taken a few FLs and without fail, every time, I need to take a shit halfway through C/P. I test in about a month so how tf do i make sure this doesn't happen during the actual exam?

Really explained by the title, I tried sleeping 8 ish hours the last few days but I’m a night owl through and through. I know it’s not going to happen but I’m still gonna try. I have to wake up at 5 to get to my testing center so I’m trying here. Anyone have any advice ?

Edit: Welp two hours before i should wake up I think I’m just doing to chug coffee and listen to Kiss. Thank you everyone for the comments. I’m not even anxious on the surface but probably some part of me is. Have a great life everyone! God bless!

As much as I tell others to use it here and there I actually hate using it and I feel like it’s just so boring for me, like I can’t see it as a fun little game about chemistry questions the same way others do. I aspire to like it the same way most of this sub does :(.

This pushes me to my question, is it worth to just supplement learning with uworld only instead of anki? Or should I at least try with some anki? Thanks!

Edit: I love you guys

EDIT: I'm trying to post this in r/premed as well. Please, even if you don't read/respond to this, I would appreciate your help in gaining karma so I can post in the premed sub. I'm trying to get all the advice I can!

Long-time lurker and applicant here, though I suppose l'd be considered a non-traditional applicant now. Today, I received heartbreaking news: my state school, where l've applied each year, won't extend an interview offer this cycle. This was disheartening, especially since l've received an interview invite there (and nowhere else) each year. Despite trying to apply to other schools, I believe my low statistics and average MCAT score have held me back (BCPM GPA: 3.28, AO GPA: 3.89, Total GPA: 3.49, MCAT 1: 505, MCAT 2: 511). Several personal issues at home during undergraduate contributed to my low GPA. However, after graduation, I took a semester of upper-level science courses to show I was capable of achieving a solid GPA once my circumstances improved (4.0 that semester). I'm sure l've effectively communicated these challenges and the changes in my habits in my application.

I've had a file review with this school after each rejection, and their main advice has been to internalize my "why medicine" answer. During my last review, they noted that I had done so but needed to keep sharpening my communication skills and tie in my experiences more during my responses. In response, I joined Toastmasters and became a mentor at my current job (l'm a project manager at LabCorp Drug Development). I've since noticed that my confidence while speaking has increased since then. Last cycle, I was waitlisted (albeit at a very high position on the waitlist), but they mentioned it as a positive sign for the upcoming application cycle and an interview invitation. Needless to say again, I was shocked when I received this email today. While I didn't make significant changes to my application this past year due to the waitlist, I've been actively working on developing my soft skills, including communication, internalizing why l've been pursuing medicine, and continuing my volunteer work at a needle exchange clinic.

My question to you, Reddit, is what else could I be doing to further strengthen my application? I'm determined to succeed, but being a first-generation college graduate with limited medical connections makes the process challenging. I want to make the most of this upcoming year to enhance my application and demonstrate my commitment to medicine. However, the state school l'm applying to only accepts MCAT scores that are three years old, so this would be my final cycle before I need to retake it for a third time. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Please let me know if additional information about my situation is needed or wanted. TYIA.

Other application stats:

Needle exchange volunteering hours: 200 Shadowing: 100 Undergrad research: 500 Medical Scribe: 3460 Non-medical volunteering: 180 CNA: 350 Pharmacy Tech: 1500

My LORs are fairly old, with only one being from last year

EDIT 2: this has been cross-posted in r/premed https://www.reddit.com/r/premed/s/qq1BF7pSmH

Hi all,

Testing January 24th and trying to figure out the best use of my time in my last month studying. I completely procrastinated studying metabolism (I know, I know, but it’s so time-consuming) and have basically just been going based on overarching knowledge of the big pathways like Krebs, Glycolysis, ETC from undergrad. I have basically zero enzymes or intermediates memorized! Let alone the other pathways!

The thing is, I scored a 520 on AAMC US and a 523 on AAMC FL 1 last week. This is confusing given that I definitely still have some content gaps, metabolism being the largest one. Have I just gotten lucky with the content playing to my strengths on the last two FLs? Or would memorizing metabolism be a waste of time in my last month that could be better used on completing the section banks?

TLDR: Been scoring 520+ on 2 AAMC FLs with basically zero detailed metabolism knowledge. Should I take the time to learn it or just focus on section banks?

Please advise! Thanks <3

Looking for advice :)

Edit: How long did it take until you saw a huge increase?

I'm trying to salvage my GPA, but I know that's not going to be the strongest factor in my application, so I really need to nail the MCAT. As an international citizen, I feel like I'm at a disadvantage right now because I don't even know where to begin. I would be grateful for any tips. Also, I'm sort of poor right now and need help with resources. I was born in the US but raised abroad so idk the system well. I would appreciate all the help.

Also, to anyone who is in a similar situation, how do you get out of a mental slump? Believe that you, too, can get into med school? I never felt like this in a Muslim country because so many women dress like me, but in the US, I feel odd, like I don't belong in this crowd. :/

btw posting for someone else but help is appreciated!

So I just started studying for my MCAT last week and will be taking the exam in January. I want to get the Kaplan books off of Amazon. When I click on the 2024-2025 books, it says the 2025-2026 books will be released on July 2. I will be working 40-45 hours a week until my MCAT and on top of that classes start in August and I'll still be working. Do you think it would be worth it to pre-order the 25-26 books and wait until July to get them? They're only $5 more. Or would I still be fine with the 24-25 books? I can't really think of what all could be different between them anyway, but maybe there's a difference idk.

Also, I saw UWorld came out with a 7 review book series, too, and I know their QBank and explanations are known to be the best apparently. Should I just get those instead of Kaplan orrrrr idk. Idk what to do. Plz help

Tested 9/14 and I’m genuinely having a hard time doing anything. I thought after I would be so full of energy to get back into my hobbies, start cooking again, prep for moving my plants to my indoor garden, but I just can’t function. I’m sleeping like 10hours a day and I’m tired by the time 3-4PM rolls around. I feel like I’m in a state of paralysis where I keep thinking about things I want to do, but just don’t have the energy to do them. Anyone else experience this and what did you do to get back into the swing of things?

How do you guys feel!

Basically what the title says, any low yield you were so upset to see on test day and wish you had gone over more?

I’m a Canadian non traditional student, I had over three months to study while working 20 hours a week but I didn’t study nearly as much as I should have. I’ve been really struggling in general and it made me more depressed and less motivated to study. I accidentally took the AAMC free scored FL first and got 491 then I took the BP diagnostic and got 495. I’m sure one day I can get my score over 500 but I know I’m not ready to take my exam scheduled for September 6th. I feel like I should cancel but it really adds to my feelings of being a failure… I wanted to study more but I didn’t and I already feel subpar compared to other premeds. I would appreciate any advice or personal experiences

Please be kind, I’m on the verge of a breakdown 🥲

Went from 491 diagnostic in July to this. Goals is 507-510.

Title says it all… it’s a genuine question lol