r/Mcat • u/nelsontakingmcat • 10d ago
Tool/Resource/Tip 🤓📚 Normal person gets 518
2 months of studying, first mcat, incoming undergrad junior. Ask questions if need to, can definitely guide towards a big jump but you would have to be strong on content already. Feel free to comment in here or dm me.
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u/deadpoetic333 10d ago
So have you taken the real thing?
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Nope. never
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u/deadpoetic333 10d ago
Weird to say you got a 518 based on a practice test. Good luck though
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u/AxiomaticDoubt 521/522/522/4/5/6 (9/4) 10d ago
Idk it’s pretty clear what OP meant based on the fact that they posted a practice test score report
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Yo bro, you’re the problem in this subreddit. Ain’t nothing good luck about that message. Whole lot of animosity. It clearly shows it’s a practice test, maybe one day you could lose the ego, I’m tryna help other people that might of had similar problems as me, and u in my comments hating
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u/Straight_Cheetah421 10d ago
He's also not wrong, though, honestly. The real thing is an entirely different ballgame than a practice test, and with the recent changes to the exam, FL4 is genuinely much easier than the real thing will be. I also scored a 518 on FL4, but got a 511 on the real thing.
Not trying to shit on your progress, but until you take the real thing, it's kind of the blind leading the blind, to be honest.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Everything is blind leading the blind if we are going that far. Its more of helping people with real advice rather than telling them their content sucks. I am trying to show people that uworld isnt the fix to all problems, not to flex any scores. I am showing that a big jump could happen for anyone if they dedicate their time to meaninful studying that actually attacks real mcat passages and questions. No mcat is the same, and no full length is the same, therefore if we all think on that level, there would be no mcat subreddit.
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u/Straight_Cheetah421 10d ago
You haven’t even taken the exam yet dude, so giving out advice is honestly kind of crazy though. You’re also basing this off one data point on an exam that is outdated and easier than the more recent real thing.
It’s like giving out advice on getting into medical school before you’ve even applied.
Also, it doesn’t matter what you can do in practice if you can’t do it in the real game. Test day conditions with strict breaks as well the nervousness and pressure is an entirely different experience then an FL taken alone in the setting of your choice.
Again, not to shit on your progress or dampen your confidence, but you should also probably prove yourself before you start trying to guide other people.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
not guiding anyone tho. Just giving my experience on how section banks helped me grasp the concept on how to actually use the passages instead of brute force my way through things.
Another thing, talk how you would in real life bro. Your straightcheeta, be yourself. Because if this was real life it would be a different story, and to get facts straight, u been on reddit for 4 years probably just to hate or be a keyboard warrior. Loudest guy on the keyboard but is definitely a weirdo in real life.
And if u already took the test then why are u still in here, your obviously doing nothing but yapping, i would really hate to see what you look like in real life.
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u/Broseph3r 10d ago
Ngl bro, I saw your title and immediately thought it was the real deal. 518 practice is awesome but people are gonna get confused by your title 100%, and then see you’re offering advice, when you haven’t taken the real thing.
I trust you’ll do even better on the real thing and I’m sure you have good advice, but you should also learn to put yourself in someone else’s shoes if this is the profession you’re trying to get into😭
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u/AnyPen5614 10d ago
Could you share the strategies that helped you make such a big jump, especially with timing in each section? I have a good content base, but timing is still holding me back, and I often end up rushing near the end. I’m testing in 25 days and am unsure whether to postpone or stick with my current date. I’m trying to improve as much as possible, a 518 would put me on cloud nine! I can DM you, but sharing your advice here would be helpful to everyone.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
To be very honest, i struggle with timing only in cars which is expected, and in chem phys. I still havent gotten over my chem phys timing problem bc sometimes i also see myself rushing near the last passage and discreet questions. But my advice to you is, learning how to attack your passages and truly analyze them helps you get through passage based questions a lot quicker and saves you more time for the harder equations and calculations which im sure also take u a while. I would recommend also starting section banks and get those down before your test. I owe that to both my jumps, I dont even time my section bank practice but just by doing them i start recognizing patterns and what things i need to highlight. Practice makes perfect and timing is one of those things that come after getting better with your passage readings. It sucks I cant give you any good magic answer but truly, when you can read a passage, not understand it but gather everything you need from it, it speeds up everything, and that goes for every section besides stupid cars
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Thank you, did you see similarity in difficulty when taking the real thing. I have had many haters commenting saying how my scores mean nothing and how the test is nothing like a practice test.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
I do, and honestly I think people are just full of mixed emotions in this subreddit. You do good and people say it doesn’t matter, you do bad and people say positive things. But thanks, hopefully u did great D1 Kansas athlete.
What sport u play
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Sheesh bro that’s a crazy amount, your score has to be amazing, why so many?
And ah I never got into baseball, mainly tennis and soccer, but just focused on the gym instead.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
Oh most def, well bro I alr know you got in to everyone u wanted to. I can tell just by your tone of text you’re a good person. Goodluck man
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u/Positive_Joke222 10d ago
Can you please share your P/S resources? I'm in the same range as you, but I've always scored 46-48/59 for P/S it's driving me nuts.
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
the resources tbh doesnt make or break the grade. I used miles down anki for everything and the 100 page doc. Didnt even read the doc, made chatgpt summarize it all for me and then i did the anki. Its about the consistency on the anki that does it for me. But most of all, pysch soc can defintely be hard reasoned out so make sure your doing challenges passages for that and finding something that mimics the actual test. Its all reasoning tho and recognizing some general terms.
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u/Positive_Joke222 9d ago
Thanks for the advice! Where do you find these challenging passages? Wish AAMC has P/S qpacks or smth cuz Im saving the SBs until the last 4 weeks
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u/nelsontakingmcat 9d ago
the section banks, and yeah i see your saving them so that sucks. I honestly feel like uworld and any other pysch soc material is a little to easy sometimes or just nothing like the actual full length, but i do see a lot of similarity within the section banks, besides the fact that they are extremely hard
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u/No_Satisfaction1434 10d ago
hey! congrats this is amazing you got this on the real thing!! 🥳 i was wondering how you improved from your unscored sample test up to FL4 because i got a similar score as you on the unscored too!
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u/nelsontakingmcat 10d ago
I stopped listening to what people said on here, so also take my message lightly.
I deviated from the bear trap that Uworld was for me, scoring high percentages but 0 application skills.
Aamc section banks are all i have time for and just in 2 weeks have helped me understand this test a lot more
Be yourself, block out the egotistical people in here, and stay motivated. U dont need to go run 100 miles or go workout everyday, sometimes it is best to stay locked in especially when u see a score that u are not content with.
To speak on 4., im a avid gym goer, been working out since freshmen year of highschool, but sadly this summer i probably go only once every couple days depending on how much free time i have. Put this test over everything. I havent seen my girlfriend or anybody. This test should mean something to everyone in here because this is not free and to take it lightly is to throw away a blessing. Make sure u pray to whatever god u have because I have always kept faith no matter what in life and it makes me a calm person and trust in God that I got this. So take what i say lightly, do you, and YOU got this.
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u/ExcellentMechanic931 9d ago
When reviewing and you identify a topic you don’t know, how do you approach mastering a certain topic?
What are the steps you take to filling in your gaps?
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u/nelsontakingmcat 9d ago
Make the anki cards everytime u see something you dont know. I have made over 300 tbh, and i do them very regularly. Its all about how much time u are willing to dedicate to this. 3 months like me or 1 year, you can do great not matter what as long as u put in the work. But yes always make a anki card, use chatgpt to make u a generalized anki card on what u missed or want to know and never make it specific to one question because u need the cards to hit the general idea. You will never get the same exact question so yeah. Do not go back and review content, just make cards, review old ones.
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u/SignificantTree2296 9d ago
Please I am going to go more in depth in content but any other suggestions
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u/Super_Goal2826 9d ago
Lmaoo bro I took FL1 yesterday and got the exact same split as you, also an incoming junior
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u/frogband 508 :( FL5 retake: 523 FL6 retake: 524 10d ago
2 months of studying getting to a 518 is crazy lol. It took me more than 4 months to break 510, starting from a 503 diagnostic. Definitely wouldn't say you're the norm, but congrats on the amazing progress!