I’ve got one week left before the MCAT and feel comfortable with my performance thus far. Average of 28-ps 9 v 10 bs 9. Not awesome, but pretty good for me and I’m not going to get too much better at this point.
I got the same breakdown as my average on AAMC test 10 and feel good about things.
I’ve heard that 11 is extremely difficult, so the question is do I go into the exam with confidence as it stands now, or take 11 for a little more practice but face the possibility of losing the psychological edge if it bumps me down a bit?
Your comments appreciated!
Over thinking and worrying what may be when over thinking leads to FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). If you feel comfortable, ready, and have been doing consistently on practice exams under realistic conditions, then take your MCAT.
My advice is keep prepping AFTER you have taken it so you can be improved if for some reason you feel the need to retake the exam for this cycle application. The psychologically of stopping prep after you have taken the exam then trying to restart AFTER you get a lower than desired score is the hardest thing. hence why I suggest this to students.
You should also be aware that some test takers do slightly worse on the real MCAT versus their practice exams. Why this is so, has been debated. Perhaps it is due to the stress of being on the actual test, or the environmental conditions under which the actual test is given. For example, a friend of mine was scoring in the high 30s on his practice exams, but only got a 28 on the real one. He was shocked at the score and considered retaking the test, but only achieved a 30. Nevertheless, his GPA was high, and he is a URM, so he got into a top-5 medical school.
I would take test 11. I’ve taken it already, and honestly–it was really tough, but it gave me a few topics that I hadn’t reviewed yet. With some quick review, I remembered those topics and felt a lot more prepared. If I hadn’t seen them, I would’ve been setting myself up to miss a few easy questions.
The tests are great for practice, but they are also great for memory jogging. Any opportunity to expose yourself to more material is a good thing, I think. Go for it!!!
Good luck Dan! Go in there and kill it.
As for test 11, you can gamble and go all in with the assumption that you’re only going to take the real MCAT once. If that’s the case then take test 11 so you can be the most prepared. If you think you’ll want to keep studying afterwards, then you may want to save it.
Well,
I just retook the MCAT end of March. Before going to take the test, my scores were high enough for me. One week was left when I wondered if I should take 11. I decided not to, not because I plan on retaking it (that was my 2nd shot), but because I was afraid it would kill my confidence. With one week left before the attempt, I didn’t see the upside of taking it. So I didn’t.
Good luck for your prep.
good luck redo. i hope you get awesome scores this time around.
Hi desert
thx a lot. I am still mad at my first attempt. Too much to even want to think about it.
I hope the second will be better. I will keep you posted.
As for you, you can enjoy your official future med student status. I bet it feels awesome.
I went ahead and took test 11 yesterday, decided to throw caution to the wind. I actually scored within the range of my other test, so I feel good. Only my p.s. score was a point lower. Thanks to everyone for the advice! In retrospect, I’m glad I took it because I know if I could pull out a decent score on that monster I’ll be ready come game day this next week!
Best of luck Guitardan77. It sure is a challenging test.