Hi all! I know I have been MIA for a bit but this is where I am currently sitting since I have finished my undergrad (finally). My MCAT is in 8 days and I am not sure how I feel, maybe that’s normal? But if I am honest, I know I am burned out. I scored ok on my first practice since I took my diagnostic from one year ago, and went from a 17 to a 25 with kaplan 1 (just this past tuesday). But the day after I decided to take kaplan 2 after a 6 hour day of reviewing and only scored a 19 and I believe this has a strong correlation to how tired I was by the time I took it. So I guess my question is, should I cancel my MCAT now and reschedule? Or should I wait it out and void. Also, i voided one already back in august. Hmmph… the stress is really getting to me.
Oh and as a side note it took me 6 months and two classes to really study for the MCAT I learned those classes are no good when you have ZERO study habits and much of the content has been so distant that it was hard to remember. So in my fight or flight, I chose flight and didn’t study for the two 3 month kaplan classes and mainly just came to class to sit and listen. Once I realized this way wouldn’t fly (aka teacher called me out) I have been living in the library nonstop for 6 days a week since memorial day weekend. It took me a grand total of 13 weeks to completely wipe out the kaplan content books page by page with meticulous hand written notes and drawings created to help me study. In the beginning of Sept I started Princeton review hyperlearning science workbook and completed that around the beginning of a week or so ago. My initial plan was to take a practice test nonstop since then but of course life gets in the way aka you get so burned out you can’t move or you have migraines that make your head want to blow up.
Another question is what is the proper way to study at this point? Just all practice tests? Or more review stuffs like Berkeley review? I also have EK 1001 at home that I have yet to use. Ugh so stressed and confused 
Sorry for the long post. I do feel a lot better though hah. Any advice, opinion, or replies would be great to help me find better direction at this point. Thanks in advance guys 
While knowing the content is obviously incredibly important for the MCAT, timing is just as important. Personally, there’s no way I would take the test after only having done 2 practice tests, unless you had plenty of time after finishing a section to go back and look over your answers.
I took the Kaplan MCAT course as well, and I think I took almost 15 practice tests before taking the actual MCAT (10-11 of those before the first time I took it, the rest in the 3 weeks between when I got my results and took it the second time).
8 days isn’t a lot of time, but it might well be enough to get the timing down if you’re able to handle taking a practice every other day until then (maybe more if that works for you).
You’ve already paid for the thing, and even if you cancel you’re not getting your money back, so I’d say take it regardless. You can always void it and treat it like a dress rehearsal if you’re not feeling good about it day of.
Also, depending on when you plan and/or are able to take it again, you may have to do quite a bit more studying, as the MCAT is changing substantially next year. Better to take the exam you’ve actually prepared for and not the new one nobody’s seen yet.
That’s my two cents anyway.
I also did a Kaplan course and ended up doing several FL practices and then treated a bunch more as shorter subject tests. I’d recommend taking a day completely off of studying, then doing about 30 minutes of equation review and taking another FL so you aren’t exhausted. I’d also take it close to the schedule of the real one.
Kaplan says to get their higher score guarantee you have to follow the syllabus exactly. I don’t remember how many there were but I think it was at least 4.
Cancel, void, or keep is ultimately up to you. I wanted to void my first test after having zero confidence. Best thing I ever did was to keep it…
@Prodigal and @kennymac
Thank you both for your responses! I decided to cancel on friday and attempt to reschedule for January. Reason being NOTHING is open WORLDWIDE from the december 6th date on so I figured knowing I am not ready I might as well cancel than to put myself at risk for not getting a seat for the retake. So my journey continues as I now have purchased a set of berkley review books to play with for the next month or so then on to practice until (hopefully) my january exam date.
BTW would you both mind sharing which practice tests you used? My kaplan online thing expired and they want $100 per two weeks to keep. I was thinking all AAMC and maybe Berkley?
I just used what Kaplan offered as part of the class package. It was pretty much their own tests plus the AAMC tests that are available for purchase. My real MCAT was probably an average of the two types but leaned more toward the advanced Kaplan tests. …or so I tell myself because there was some stuff I pretty much forgot how to do.
I did the full Kaplan class (in person a couple times a week) in addition to all the online stuff.
As far as practice tests go (I actually tracked my progress in a spreadsheet that I still have, so I can give you the actual details) I got a 24 on my diagnostic, and took Kaplan practice tests 1-6 & AAMC practice tests 8, 7, & 11. My average score was 31. My first attempt on the actual MCAT got me a 26.
I pretty much cried on seeing my score, and so signed up to take it again 3 weeks later. During that time I took Kaplan 8 and AAMC 3 & 9, averaging 32 on those practice tests, and got a 30 on the actual MCAT on the second go.
Aside from the actual content, the practice tests were extremely helpful for me because it let me learn how to manage my time throughout the exam. I would write down the first question number for each passage so that I could easily move between them if I needed to skip a question that was going to take more than the minute I wanted to spend on it, etc.
I called Kaplan after my first attempt results and even though it was higher than my diagnostic, they still extended my access to the online stuff for free for the few weeks I was studying for the retake, they might be willing to do the same for you if you explain your situation.