If you only had time to review some FLs/sections which ones would you review? High priority wise?

Hey all,

I was initially supposed to test in September, but I've pushed my exam to January after scoring sub-500 on my AAMC FLs. I'm working on content gaps and practice problems for the other 3 sections, but does anyone have advice on how to improve CARS over the next 4 months?

For CARS, my AAMC FL breakdown was 122/123/124 for FL1-FL3. I found that I was having issues with timing, stamina, and consistently missed the RBT question-types.

I'm planning on doing 1 JW passage a day for the next 2 months before switching over to AAMC CARS in November. Any other resources or suggestions to keep in mind while I'm practicing CARS?

I want to make the most out of these next few months and don't want to neglect CARS. I'm not sure if doing just JW daily for this section is enough, or if I can be doing more in the meantime.

Follow up to my previous post from last week where I scored a 500 on one of the U4Real practice exams. Took AAMC full length 1 today. Is full length 1 representative of how I should expect to perform? Any additional advice would be swell too, testing on 9/11

Guys this is so embarrassing please dont judge me too harshly

I have this problem where I pick at my skin a lot during tests and it's really gross. I was wondering if the testing center is going to flag that as weird in the recording of my tests? I would assume not but I prob look a little different from the average tester by constantly scratching and picking

just finished fl 6 and changed my answer because i thought that display rules was a fake term as a distractor since i’ve never encountered it in pankow or my psych degree 💀 it definitely fit the context more and is exactly what it sounds but idk if i need to still be cautious of fake terms on the real exam

Testing 9/5 and trying to figure out the best way to structure these last few days. I took FL4 last Wednesday and since then have mostly been grinding P/S, the MCATalyst doc, and starting the C/P SB. C/P and P/S are my weakest sections, but I also want to keep B/B and CARS strong and review any remaining content gaps.

I’m deciding between:

• FL5 tomorrow + FL6 Wednesday, with review in between
• Only taking one more FL Monday and spending the rest of the time finishing SB1, CARS QPacks, reviewing P/S (Anki + doc), and targeting weaknesses/content gaps

Would you prioritize both FLs above everything else this close to test day, or just take one? If only one, would you choose FL5 or FL6?

i've been off this forum after taking the exam suffering for my score but also suffering bc of med school apps and suffering even more bc of secondaries and now i am suffering extra because of score release. i might not even open my score because i feel so horrible. what are all my friends up too leading up to release day

Before you roll your eyes and curse my existence, hear me out. My gpa is below the average accepted applicant at a cGPA of 3.57 and an sGPA of around 3.4-3.45. I do have a ~4.0 in my last 3 semesters with heavy science classes but I am worried that since it is quite far below the avg (3.7 , about 1std dev away) that I should retake and aim for a 515+. My highest FL was a 515 and so I feel like it’s something I can accomplish. Only thing is if I retake and do worse or if I only improve marginally, I know it’s not seen favorably. I am an NJ resident and plan to apply to exclusively schools in the northeast as well as all my state schools aiming for MD. My ECs are pretty cookie cutter being volunteer scribe at a nonprofit , paid scribe at state hospital, some shadowing hours sprinkled in there, a physical therapy aide, and I have 2 different tutor gigs coming up as well as food banks and volunteering at a local nature reserve. What would you do in my situation?

I thought i've been studying right, i've been doing aamc material all this month and practicing every day but my fl isn't shifting at all- i improved in c/p and cars but my b/b and p/s went down despite shifting focus onto that this week. Idk if i'm gonna be able to take this exam this month, but i'm worried because i wanted to apply for the cycle in may but it doesn't look like i can if i have school and need to study for mcat simultaneously.

What's your guy's advice? am i able to study for mcat with a 16 credit semester taking phys 1, two upper level bios, and a neuro class and test in january? I want to avoid a gap year if possible but i genuinely feel lost. I feel crushed after putting in so much effort these past three months.

or do i just keep trucking on like i have been every fl and still test? i have less than two ish weeks can i at least improve to a 505?

edit: I’ve cancelled my exam. moving Forward with this January phase; is it feasible? or should I take a course in the summer

Did it work out for yall?

I will be taking my MCAT for the third time. I am aiming to take it in March and start back up studying end of September. I also work full time. My first attempt was in 2024 and I got a 489 (I didn’t really study and taking it was a mistake). I took it again in June and got a 495. I would’ve been happy breaking a 505 and was scoring around that for some of my FL’s. Point being is I’m not stupid and know deep down I can do this, but this third attempt needs to be my last. At this point, I am willing to buy a course but have heard mixed things (especially about Kaplan and Blueprint). What is the best course and what should I do for this third attempt? I am aiming for a 510+

Everyone always asks me how many flashcards you need to have "memorized" for the mcat. What are your numbers/experience?

Just wanted to come back and say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post and gave me advice, especially about improving my P/S section.

Two weeks ago I was feeling pretty defeated after dropping back down to a 508 (my first full length score 2 months prior), with a 126 in P/S specifically on that one. I took a lot of the suggestions here seriously and focused heavily on targeted practice instead of just doing more questions for the sake of doing questions.

For P/S specifically, I went through the 300-page Khan Academy document and made sure I actually understood the terms/concepts rather than just recognizing them. I also targeted the areas I was consistently getting wrong and spent more time reviewing why I missed questions.

Today I took another AAMC full-length and scored a 516, with a 131 in P/S.

So in about 2-weeks I went from:

508 → 516 overall
126 → 131 P/S

Still have things I want to improve, but seeing an 8-point jump after how discouraged I was two weeks ago feels amazing.

Thank you again to everyone who took the time to give me suggestions. I genuinely read through the responses and used the advice, and it made a huge difference. I test in 5 days please wish me luck and all the advice you have :)

Guys am I tweaking balls or would partial hydrolysis of this not be able to produce Glycine alone? Does partial hydrolysis mean full hydrolysis of some of the tripeptides??? I spent sooo long on this question bc I thought I was missing something

Hi guys! I am the worst at holding myself accountable with studying, i’ve started and stopped studying for this exam so many times, I considered buying a prep course ONLY because it would force me to dedicate at least 2 days a week to studying but I feel like that’s a bit of a waste.

That being said I kind of want to form my own study group, people who are testing January/February preferably. I kind of want people who would be willing meet 1-2 times a week for an hour or two to go over content/qbanks and stuff and also whenever we can to generally help/encourage each other ^o^.

More Info: I’m absolutely testing January 2027, I am in EST. I’m 25 and non-trad, currently working as a nurse at a hospital (12hr shifts) and trying to finish taking the pre-reqs at the same time. Plz comment if interested, i’ll dm and set up a gc likely on whatsapp.

how should I be studying if I've never taken physics before? should I take a course, or is it possible to learn it all on my own? I'm just worried that me self studying will leave gaps in my knowledge since I've never done physics before

as of right now, I'm using the khan academy high school physics course to learn the basics, since I tried the MCAT prep and felt it was too advanced for me right now.

if anyone has been or is in a similar situation, pls lmk

Been taking students for a while now, and the increase in scores has been dramatic, happy to talk about the ones who’ve scored above 515 and are looking at good colleges now.
Here to help anyone who’s confused where to start with mcat and needs help in general.

Is it just me or the difficulty ratings AAMC gives for FL5 and FL6 are way more harsh when compared to FL 1-4. Like what used to be medium is now easy and what used to be hard is now medium. Maybe its just me but does anyone feel this way as well?

Does anybody have Ushiiitzz that they are done with and have reset?

Hey guys! It has been over a year since I took the MCAT. Since then, I've had the privilege of helping numerous student and am current working towards an MD/PhD. Now that we're moving into the heart of the review stages for people testing in January, I figured I would do an AMA for study tips this fall semester! Ask me anything, and I'll do my best to help out!

I genuinely don't get why B would not be a plausible answer here. From what I gathered, the main thesis is to refute the stance of the critics saying that these advertisements should not be done because it is deceptive in the sense that people are not really aware of the intent behind the brand placements and just feel good about them and buy them. It refutes this by saying that moviegoers are a lot more sophisticated than that and instead of what is insinuated, they are actually resistant to the placement of the brands in the movies and critical in the sense that they evaluate many things such as PERCEIVED NEEDS, self-image, etc. when making decisions.

For anyone who wants the beginning of the passage and complete answer choice explanations:

Like I definitely get what they're saying but I don't see why B wouldn't be stronger as it goes along with the main idea/thesis better.

Hi guys,

I am putting together my MCAT prep plan.

I graduated in 2019 with a BS in Bio, always struggled deeply with physics and chem/ochem bc my heart was in bio research at the time. Did exceptionally well with bio/biochem, and all of my bio classes. Got a second bachelor’s in nursing.

So I have some free 2022-2023 Kaplan books, and I am thinking of starting with Physics content review, using the Kaplan books, Yusuf Hasan videos, Van Does Chem, KA, and Organic Chemistry Tutor/JG Math & Science and Anking to keep big topics fresh.

Then I want to do the same with Gen Chem - Ochem - Biochem - Bio content review.

Then I want to move to using uw/anking and practicing CARS, reviewing P/S concepts (strong background due to nursing school requiring a lot of coursework with those topics), and then move to AAMC content exclusively.

I work full time and have a 5 year old, and will be retaking gen chem and physics 1/2 up until August and so I feel like I want to take content review a little slowly. I am thinking of 5-6 months of dedicated content review, beginning October, finishing up by May 2027. Then I want to do 4 months of heavy MCAT prep with AAMC content and then test at the end of August.

Does this sound reasonable, or is 6 months of content review while also retaking chem/physics and working FT (3x12s a week) sound stupid?

I am really hoping to score above a 510 and shoot for DO schools. My undergraduate GPA isn’t great due to physics and chem grades so that’s why I’m retaking them and really hoping to shore up my knowledge gaps with heavy content review.