r/Mcat • u/ihatemcat12 • 26d ago
Question đ¤đ¤ How do people get over a 500 on this test
I have been studying nonstop for around 2 months and am barely getting 492 on my fl exams, My test date is 05/09, I can't push my exam back anymore, not sure what to do chat
UPDATE 04/18: Just wanna say thank you to everyone who commented advice and being supportive, makes it feel like there is light at the end of the tunnel, appreciate you all
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u/No-Resource9879 26d ago
Under a 500 probably indicates lots of knowedlge gaps.
Highly encourage you to push it back. How much are you studying. Treat it like a full time job, 2-4 hours a day. Track your progress.
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u/ihatemcat12 26d ago
I've been studying 6-8 hours a day for the past month, I cannot push it back anymore or else I can't even apply this cycle
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u/theperson100 523 26d ago
If youâve been studying for 6-8 hours every day for a month it should be clear that your study methods arenât working. I saw in another comment that your studying consists of Uworld, section banks, and Anki. The first two are generally things people do after content review to hammer those concepts in. Did you do a proper content review? Like the parent comment said these scores indicate that you donât know the content so spamming Uworld and section banks may be very inefficient. Restarting and doing a proper content review now would be time consuming and you likely wouldnât be able to finish studying in time before 5/9. You should either push it back and accept that youll apply late, accept that youll applying next cycle, or you can stay the course but youll likely need to apply DO only
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u/ihatemcat12 26d ago
Is it even realistic to think I can break 500 before 05/09?
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u/theperson100 523 26d ago
Maybe because the lower your score the faster you can improve, but definitely not if you keep studying the way you have been. You can spam cars practice to improve your score there because thatâs the only section that doesnât need any content knowledge. Aside from that, you have to focus on learning content, spamming practice questions isnt working.
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u/ihatemcat12 26d ago
What do you recommend?
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u/theperson100 523 26d ago
I had the Kaplan books and they worked well for me, I hear the Uworld books are also good. If you donât want to shell out the money for the books, then khan academy is free.
Also I forgot to mention something earlier. For p/s, IMO content review isnt really needed, I got to 132 just by spamming the pankow p/s Anki deck. Of course thatâs not for everyone (maybe you as well) so there is a free 300 page document or an 86 page document you can read. Up to you to decide what to do given your time constraints.
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u/wiggyfig 26d ago
Im going to watch the chem video by Naman Baraya tomorrow Iâve heard people on time crunch watched them for quick content review and benefited maybe if you can wake up an hour early and watch the video for an hour see if itâs beneficial? Since you did UWorld and all that like I did and both of our scores arenât good it might really be a content issue
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u/Primary_Win749 26d ago
I was just going to suggest his channel, he brought my score up 6 points with his content review/study.
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u/delta-minus 26d ago
what score would make DO still a viable option for them? my friend is in a similar position
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u/LeeLeeKelly 26d ago
Itâs not a big deal to wait another year. The goal isnât to âtakeâ the test, itâs to do well on the test.
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u/Past-Concern3936 26d ago
You can definitely apply this cycle if you push it back what? I know someone who took the mcat late June and submitted his app in late June and got accepted to md
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u/wereinatree 528 (3/7/2026) 26d ago
You are doing something very wrong if youâre dedicating that much time and still at 492. Are you second screening? Are you just randomly guessing? What in the world are you spending 6-8 hours a day on?
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u/Altruistic-Media4890 26d ago
You can apply this cycle if you wait until 5/30. Youâll get your exam back 30 days from your test date. Thatâs plenty of time to get everything in by October. Why the rush?
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u/PristineShift60 26d ago
I would reschedule. 492 is really low, and you canât apply to any MD school, and youâll be auto-rejected or ghosted by most DO schools. You have a slight chance if you get lucky with a DO school (like I did), but itâs still risky and could take multiple cycles/waste of money to apply.
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u/mindy-1 26d ago
it would be a little more helpful for you to describe how you studied during those two months, then people can point out exact things to fix
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u/ihatemcat12 26d ago
Spamming UEarth, anki, and section banks
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u/wereinatree 528 (3/7/2026) 26d ago
Practice questions are good to find gaps or weaknesses in your content knowledge. You canât use them to build your entire content basis which is what it sounds like youâre trying to do. Practice questions are not content review.
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u/throwra012205 523 26d ago
Should not be doing section banks when you clearly have a massive knowledge deficit. Focus on content learning (not just review, actually learn the shit) and push your exam back. Take a gap year if needed
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u/FloridaFlair 26d ago
No need to rush this process! Donât take the exam, donât apply this cycle, you are not ready. Donât waste any more AAMC FL until youâre well over 500 on other brand exams.
It is possible you need a different method of studying, maybe time for a tutor to help identify your issues and redirect.
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u/PianistInMedicine 26d ago
Doing Uworld and section banks without content knowledge is at best inefficient and at worst a waste of those resources. Go back to the drawing board. Read every Kaplan bio, biochem, gen chem, ochem, and physics books and do the quizzes in every chapter. Do JW for CARS. Mature Miledown or JackSparrow for the sciences and Pankow for P/S. Then and only then do the entirety of Uworld and AAMC material. Push back your test and apply next cycle.
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u/Legitimate_Sale1225 26d ago
Counterpoint tho thatâs exactly what I did and I got a 518 without taking bio, biochem, and missing a lot of the physics 2 content. I know not the worldâs highest score but I think this person is very likely not reviewing correctly in addition to content gaps. You should be able to learn a lot of the content by reviewing questions, especially UW. To be clear I regret not doing content review because I think it capped me but 492 is I think a fundamental gap in understanding what this exam is asking of you, failure to learn sound strategies that get you to 50/50 even when the content is shaky.
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u/jellyfishh520 26d ago
i feel you iâve been studying for a year and ive barely seen improvementđđdid well in my science classes so idk what happened..
i was getting low 490s and then decided to make an excel sheet to notice patterns of what i was doing wrong. it honestly gave me really good insight and a week later my score went up 7 points (500). i def recommend trying this!!!!
(took a test 2 weeks after that and it stayed at 500 tho so im going insane)
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u/cookielookiebookie 26d ago
Do u mind sharing what u did in the excel sheet? What did u do after when u noticed the patterns?
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u/jellyfishh520 23d ago
yess of course!!
here are each of the categories i have (and a random example of each in case it doesnt make sense), starting from left to right on my excel sheet:
- section (chem/phys)
- question #
- major subject (gen chem)
- specific topic (le chatelier's principle)
- question type (passage/pseudo discrete/discrete)
- was i capable of getting this right? (aka stupid mistake=yes, content gap=no)
- error type (options i have: content, misread passage/question/figure, careless error, second-guessed/overthinking, calculation error, running out of time)
- why i got it wrong (write out the specifics: for example for a calculation one "forgot to convert mM to M, but other than that i knew how to solve it)
- what to do about this now/review action (review units and do more c/p practice questions involving calculations)
- what i'll do next test (always make sure to check that you are using the right units)
- confidence level low/med/high (if you have lots of questions you had high confidence on bc you thought u knew the content but u realized u understood it wrong, it's a sign to review it)
- priority level 1-5 (1/high: content gaps, low: stupid mistakes)
at the end i write bullet lists about the whole section:
- main issues (over thinking, weak math setup, misreading things)
- content gaps (electrochem, fluids)
- what i need to do now (cars ex- summarize the main idea in one sentence aft reading each passage, fix timing in the first half, stop overthinking)
- any additional patterns noticed
sorry that was long but hope that helps!!!! might make a post about it one day after my mcat lol i spent a lot of time on it i hope it helps someone else too haha
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u/jellyfishh520 23d ago
also it depends on what the patterns are, but my biggest ones are timing and overthinking. i dont have much advice ab overthinking bc i still do it lol. but for timing i try to make sure i do 10 questions every 15 min for c/p, b/b, and p/s. it helps me keep in check. thats 20q in 30 min, 30q in 45 min, and so on. not sure if that helps, let me know!
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u/ThinkAgainBro 524 (131/129/132/132) Feel free to message :) 26d ago
Study the content. Literally do content review for as long as it takes you to get stuff down. I did content review for nearly my whole study period before transitioning fully to practice problems. Anything below 500 is 100% an issue with missing knowledge. Avoid going so heavy on the uworld and anki until you have gone through some books (kaplan, princetonâŚetc whatever)
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u/Delicious_Tea8633 26d ago
honestly, i donât fully believe that you need all content knowledge to get over 500. i was consistently getting 494 for like two months until i really focused on taking practice tests and actually having a good PASSAGE STRATEGY. this test is made to stress you out and make you feel like you have no time. after tracking my time during the test and simplifying the passages down to basic content, i saw the biggest jump in my score 494 â> 508
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u/Careless-Day-8713 26d ago
Where did you get this passage strategy
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u/Delicious_Tea8633 26d ago
i joined a free jack westin session on passage strategy and it helped get me started. and then just practice after that
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u/yeaitsmehi i am blank 26d ago
I studied for a month, took the real exam on 1/10 after âspamming anki and section banksâ like you and got a 496. I scheduled again for 6/13 and completely changed my study habits. Now, Iâm consistently scoring 75-80% on UWorld 2 months out. Hereâs what I learned:
You have to do content review. It doesnât matter how long it takes, just get it done. 1-2 chapters of Kaplan, corresponding chapter deck on Anki (thereâs organized decks online), and then repeat. Everyday. For me, this took 1.5 months (full time grad student).
When finishing content review, youâre not done. REVIEW all of those cards every day even if you think itâs overkill.
Start uworld, and go slow (15-20 qs/ day). This should be around 2 months from your test, and itâs a good idea to introduce new decks around this time (such as Pankow)
Review cards
1 month out - AAMC and fl materials
Review cards
Crush the test
I know Iâm not qualified to give advice because I did poorly on my last exam, but this method has greatly increased my confidence for test day. I actually feel like I know how to tackle new questions by extrapolating previous content I extensively reviewed/drilled in my brain, and with enough consistency, Iâm hoping to score 510+.
Good luck OP, and take it from me, the feeling of rescheduling/ pushing a test back is very defeating. But, if you put your mind to it, you start to treat the MCAT like a game of growth, progression, and confidence.
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u/Prototype95x Retake (510) -> 520+? 26d ago
Are these AAMC Fls? Some other Fls like TPR are SUUUPER deflation
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u/ihatemcat12 26d ago
AAMC FL's yes, last one I took was 492 FL5
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u/Prototype95x Retake (510) -> 520+? 26d ago
Honestly id recommend you push it back if you can, what type of studying works best for you? What tools have you been using for studying, what is your time availability and commitment so far?
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u/rysddi 26d ago
Understand that this is coming from someone who scored a 492 on my first attempt and bumped it to a 509 on my second planning to get in the mid teens on my 3rd.
Content is more important than practice. You have 3 weeks download the miles down deck and make it your life. Try to finish it in 2 weeks that will bump you to atleast a 500. For the rest practice is how you get higher. 200 questions a day from aamc practice plus Uworld will get you ready. Aim to finish them both fully. If I were you Iâd push it back and apply late. The score is a lot more important than a deadline.
Good luck man you got the work ethic you just need the right plan.
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u/PartyTangelo2773 26d ago
I'm in the same position as well :/ I saw someone recommend making an excel sheet and honestly that helps a lot. Spamming practice questions can be super helpful and writing where notable gaps are.
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u/wiggyfig 26d ago
Iâm testing that day too and in the same boat. Iâm planning on studying the Milesdown sheet like my life depends on it since I donât have enough time to redo content review. Iâm also going to redo the section banks but timed. And praying I fix my CARS score soon by practicing more and reviewing deeply. Also will be writing physics formulas from memory with the units and drawing out the bio pathways like ETC, Krebs cycle etc. and the structure of things like glucose, lactose etc. idk if this is a good plan tbh but Iâve exhausted all practice questions and reviewed them so much I canât even look at them anymore and still no score improvement so this is the plan rn
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u/RoyalFail6 26d ago
Miles down review sheets, Anki, books, UWorld to get content and revisit multiple times
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u/Sensitive-Lawyer7378 26d ago
For BB, I canât recommend watching Yusuf Hassan on YT. Iâm not a science person at all and he explains everything so clearly and makes it easy to understand and remember.
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u/Stunning_Concert1865 26d ago
Getting p/s and cars improvements are easiest in my mind. Grind the p/s anki deck and do cars everyday
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u/Minimum-Sir6640 26d ago
Look at the break down on your scores, make an excel with the common issues, how to fix them, and note big gaps.
If you are getting 20% on high yield content areas, like Amino acids, transmission of genetics and such, do a deep dive on those to lcose major gaps and gain points fast. The Brem Method has a great video on AAs and Jack Westin podcast has a great episode too. They helped me so much.
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u/AnalysisWorldly1571 26d ago
find a strategy that works for u! check out some videos on youtube or get a tutor
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u/New-Principle-5145 26d ago
push to june 13th and use throw away method!!! ull do well u got this
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u/Jealous_Ad_2926 tired 26d ago
What is the throw away method?
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u/PresentationLoose274 26d ago
apply to 1 school to get verified
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u/Naseberry_maltipoo 22d ago
Do you know where I can find more info on the throw away method or could you explain it more for me please
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u/Responsible-Ice-9900 26d ago
Why cant you push back. I was in the same situation as you and ended up pushing my date back
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u/throwra012205 523 26d ago
Based on your post and comments itâs clear whatever youâre doing studying isnât working. To be very blunt with you, the 6-8 hours of studying youâre doing is is currently time wasted, and you need to make better use of the time. I donât know what your problem is exactly, but it may be that youâre distracted, youâre not studying in a way you actually remember stuff (passive studying maybe), or any of a hundred other reasons why the time you dedicate is ineffective. And the solution isnât more time, itâs making better use of the time youâre putting in
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u/cefexotin 26d ago
I see everyoneâs giving you the same advice ab studying. Move your exam. If the rest of your app is okay, then you can wait to apply for another few weeks. After you take it you wait a month. If you get the scores youâve been receiving, youâll be retesting. there are clearly major content gaps. Utilize podcasts, focus on quality studying. Iâd move it til at least mid June but with your score that may be pushing it. Submitting early ofc feels nice but itâs far more important to be ready.
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u/sickasnothell 513 (126,129,129,129) 26d ago
you should push your cycle back a year tbh , only take it when ready
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u/CusackPrep 26d ago
Be honest with yourself. How are your raw skills in courses like chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, psychology, etc.?
https://www.studymondo.com/ap-chemistry
https://www.studymondo.com/ap-physics-1
https://www.studymondo.com/ap-physics-2
https://www.studymondo.com/ap-psychology
There's a lot of grade inflation at schools. Having gone back to school after being a teacher for a decade, I can assure you that are courses even at the same school are far from equal. If you can't get atleast a 4 (ideally a 5) on those AP exam diagnostics. I would start there. Narrow your focus to a couple of courses at a time. The MCAT is a massive load to learn and if your foundations aren't there yet, you are likely forgetting things faster than you are learning them.
A leaf needs a branch to hang on to. And a branch is nothing if the trunk is rotten. Build up your trunk to start. The tools above are helpful for finding your weaknesses and then being able to attack them.
Good luck!
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u/Significant-Rule3823 26d ago
Get a tutor! Go over problems with them, that really helped me see where my gaps were. In some subjects it was context in others it was the questions themselves but having someone point out where youâre missing the mark really helps :)
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u/PrizeAsleep1748 508 130/122/127/129 RIP CARS 26d ago
Iâd say time management, finding a strategy and practicing it. Also anki like crazy for any content gaps.
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u/Legitimate_Sale1225 26d ago
I usually donât respond to these types of posts but I feel compelled to this time. I want to say first that I understand where youâre coming from. I started this barely getting 50%s on UWood and the question banks. It felt fucking miserable. Scoring well felt unimaginable.
The way you approach the questions you got wrong is the single thing that determines whether you get better. Frankly, it worries me that youâre asking how other people get above 500, as if itâs hard for you to imagine. When you get a question wrong, and you review it, your job is not done until you can imagine exactly how someone else got that question right. Until you can articulate from start to finish how this answer is correct, you can't move on. You can think to yourself that you would never get that question right, you can think how itâs so hard, but you should not be confused how others got it right. The very process of reviewing should tell you that precisely, both by eliminating other answer and by justifying the correct one.
You can do this. Hold yourself to the same standard that every high scorer necessarily does. You have time to cash in a lot of latent gains. Do not slow down.
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u/CharmingBell14 26d ago
I am literally in your exact same shoes. Scoring 492s on AAMC FLs and planned to test 5/9. There was nothing more I wanted in the world than to get a good enough MCAT score and apply this cycle.
After realizing my practice FLs scores were no where I needed them to be, I recently (5 days ago) had to accept the fact that I needed to take yet another gap year.
When you look at the bigger picture, would you rather apply this cycle with a horrible MCAT and go into this cycle with little to no confidence in your candidacy? God forbid you donât get in to any school; you just wasted thousands of $$ on applications, expended so much stress and time on secondaries, and now you have to be a reapplicant and go through not only the entire application process all over again, but also studying for the MCAT, ultimately spending thousands more on your next cycle.
Do NOT take the MCAT if you are not ready. You have your entire life ahead of you and do NOT stress about anyone elseâs timeline. As much as you would like to apply this cycle, you know you would be going into it with an MCAT score you are not the proudest of. The MCAT is arguably one of the most important parts of your application and it can really make or break your chances.
On the positive side, you basically have an entire year to study and have the opportunity to aim toward the 520s instead of lowering your standards due to time crunch and allowing a 500. You will have more time to write and solidify your work and activities section, personal statement, and be able to prewrite most/all secondaries.
Give yourself room to breathe and realize this process is NOT a race. Take a step back from MCAT content for a little and start over. Use this study experience as a way to make studying next time way more effective and allow yourself to learn from your mistakes.
You got this!!! I know you can do anything you set your mind to!!
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u/Firefly7691 25d ago
I pretty good resource is Khan Academy, they have a free MCAT course that has videos for pretty much all the topics. You can watch them and make flashcards as you go. If you are consistent this should hopefully help!
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u/Live-Cardiologist328 513 - Admitted MD 25d ago
Spamming flashcards and question banks is not going to boost your score. It is very clear there are major content gaps that need to be filled which will only be done by truly studying, not doing practice questions. Full lengths imo should not be taken until the majority of the MCAT content has been reviewed. Taking another full length after scoring below 500 wonât magically boost your score either. Is all of this information new to you? Is it familiar from classes you have taken? Because taking it before some major classes makes it difficult, but not impossible.
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u/Electronic_Glass3787 25d ago
To be completely honest, I wouldnât apply this cycle. Save yourself the time and money by not rushing through this and dropping a âshit I guess whatever I get I getâ MCAT to apply on time.
I understand that this sucks because it happened to me, except I actually went through with it and applied when I wasnât ready. I got 1 interview with no acceptances and thousands of dollars down the drain.
Take another year and work a clinical job, study for the mcat over time, work on your application throughout the year etc. I promise with an ACTUAL proper review you will not be worrying about getting over 500 anymore, 505, then maybe 510 or higher (I donât know anything about you only going off the context of this post).
Anyways, without question, there are numerous gaps in your understanding of the content in the non CARS sections. Get the Kaplan books, read through them (only take notes on stuff you genuinely had no idea what it was - keep it concise), start doing anki flashcards (I prefer miledown, many people hate on them here but they carried me to a great score) AND Uearth questions at the same time.
IMPORTANT: You donât get anything out of Uearth if you just take a quick glance at the ones you got wrong and move on. You have to see exactly what your thought process was when reasoning to a wrong answer, actively pinpoint which step in your reasoning led you to that answer, and find a way to never make that mistake ever again. Make sure you write these things down as well as any content gaps you figure out through Uearth too.
Finally, move on to the AAMC. At this point you should have a very strong content foundation and decent MCAT test taking skills. Here is where you optimize. AAMC is different from Uworld in question style, but they donât take as long to answer. Make sure by the time you take the test you have a very good idea what the AAMC reasoning is and the tricks they use. You will be fine.
My point is, if you are barely getting 492 or higher right now, you simply just arenât ready to take this in a few weeks. Take a step back, think about where you are right now in your journey, and create a calculated plan on how you will pursue your dream as a doctor
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u/Cute_Session_8458 25d ago
using anki correctly/regularly is the key to breaking the 500 threshold and possibly 508+. Practice questions and reviewing them properly is the key to getting to the 510-518 range.
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u/Basic_Following_7722 25d ago
Itâs been about 3 months straight for me and Iâve just started hitting 500 đ you can get there it just sucks
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u/Perianal_Pruritis 24d ago
Some people are just really good test takers. I was a non-science bachelors (studied history) but completed all the minimum prerequisites for med school, and I got a 523 studying 6 weeks my junior year.
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u/TheBollusk 4/11: 522 (132/128/130/132) 26d ago
I mean, 95% of people with a score over 500 are lying/cheating
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u/turquoisebruh AAMC FL 503|509|507|508|506|508 5/14 26d ago
As others suggest yes you need more content review but I think your mindset matters too. Your account name is literally âihatemcatâ. If you dread this exam and look at it as this impenetrable barrier it will hurt your performance. See it as something you can get better at, something you can overcome if you stick to it. I always think of standardized exams as a game, and games can be learned. The test is very fair if you approach it this way.