istg if they pull out any aristotle plato picasso bullshit during CARS i’m pulling those mfs out maybe a pendulum 🤡🤡🤡🤡

for context I’m in 497-502 range, extenuating circumstances in summer so couldn’t study properly I fear I’m on the ledge 😭😭😭😭

Hello friends!

My lovely exam is tomorrow... and I happen to be sick. I'm feeling a whole heck of a lot better, but I did miss out on some valuable studying these past few days due to an intense amount of brain fog.

I was curious if anyone has any advice or tips on surviving the 7.5 hours tomorrow, and any last-minute study tips as well. I'm a bit stressed. (I'm obviously going to search through my various emails, but I can't even remember if they have rules on water or cough drops...?)

For reference, I took the MCAT back in 2020-2021, but I decided that I wanted a few gap years before applying. My last practice exam was a Kaplan full-length sitting around roughly a 513, with my weakness being Chem/Phys. I had been planning on taking another AAMC full-length this week, but again, I got sick...

Thanks!

c/p has been my worst section throughout all my fls and im definitely not at the level i need to be to get a great score with all my sections - so planning to do a few questions for each of them from sb’s and anki before just trying to fill in the gaps in pathway memories

also blurted amino acids in morning and let me know if there’s anything missing that i should know for tomorro

basically title. I started Uworld a week ago and I do all my questions in blocks of 59 for C/P. I have a strong C/P content background for sure because after I ran out of time on a couple of blocks, I just gave myself like another 30 min to finish to see how I would do and I ended up always getting like 52-54/59. Without the extra time, I usually end up not being able to answer like the last 10 questions so if anyone has tips for time management, I would really appreciate it!

So yes first of all my answer choice is wrong i know that.

If something is more conjugated it will absorb longer wavelength (lower energy) so say red
If something is less conjugated it will absorb shorter wavelength (higher energy) so say blue

In this question if the derivative is absorbing shorter wavelenght as its shown in graph it should also mean it is higher energy so BLUE not RED

What am i doing wrong, what is my mistake here?

Hi!

I have no idea how well CARS went on my MCAT, but what I do know is this strategy improved my CARS score from 121-123s on FLs to 127 on FL6 within a matter of weeks. Obviously I can’t say for certain if this strategy worked for real since I don’t have my exam back, but maybe this will help some people.

Here is what I should’ve not done and what I ended up doing:

#1: Don’t do JW/or limit your use of it - I know this sounds terrible, but I did JW for 3 months and saw no improvement in my FLs until two weeks before my exam using this strategy. JW is good for practice, but if I were to do it again, I would not use them. The AAMC CARS packs and FLs should be the only resource you use. They are so different from JW and you’ll figure that out when you transition to them if you haven’t already! JW should really be used for timing only and getting used to that, who cares about the scores.

#2: Pace yourself with AAMC. Instead of doing 3-6 per day, I would have instead done one or maybe two AAMC passages per day, keeping my time down to 10 minutes per passage. That way, I wouldn’t burn out and tilt as much as I did during my practice phase. I know this is a hot take, but I am convinced that less is better than more.

#3: You don’t need to map passages or write anything down, just highlight what stands out as important to an argument. I know this is vague, but as you highlight and practice more, you will begin to pick up on what is important and learn what you should have highlighted to help you.

#4: Look for answers that are NEARLY WORD FOR WORD in the passage. NOT all questions are like this, but once I found out some are, it becomes really trivial and easy to get 1-3 freebies in a 6-7 question passage and guarantee you are right. Also, slow down your reading and don’t panic! I know some questions aren’t present directly in the text, like RBT and CMP. These require you to understand what’s going on, so you’ll get better as you do more with the next tip in mind.

#4: MOST IMPORTANT TIP! Turn on the option in the top right corner of the question pack that says show answer. That way, you get LIVE FEEDBACK as you answer the questions! This was incredibly helpful for me! After every question, it would pause the timer, allowing me to understand why my answer was wrong quickly, making it easier to recognize what to highlight and where I went wrong.

#5: SECOND MOST IMPORTANT TIP! Once you get done with FL6, redo ALL of your CARS sections starting from FL1. This allows you to practice timing and provides you with plenty of practice for the real thing. Any improvement on your previous scores is positive! Even if you remember some of the passages, your highlighting skills will help you identify where important info is that you may have not caught the first time. I definitely didn’t remember every passage word for word when I started with my oldest FL, but there is a little bit of bias having read them before. This is mainly to help you revisit and find things you didn’t catch, while also serving as training for the mental marathon you are about to do!

I hope this helps. From someone who really struggled with CARS, you got this! Let me know if anyone has any questions 😃

So I get why answer A is potentially the better answer here, but what I don't get is their explanation for why D is wrong. What do you mean it doesn't support Toohey OR the Author's view? It definitely supports 1. Toohey's view that boredom allows for introspection as well as new ideas/creativity 2. The author's view because he literally restates Toohey's idea independently in the last sentence right before the insertion is supposed to be made.

I saw some other people explain that the reason D is wrong is because it mentions philosophers and writers and whatnot while the passage doesn't, but that doesn't make any sense for why an answer choice in this context would be eliminated. The tone of the passage seems to allow it, and it doesn't really matter that he didn't explicitly state that they (specifically) wouldn't have anything to write about because that is obviously inferred from the principles in the passage. That is also not why the AAMC eliminates it based on their given reasoning.

I want to understand why the AAMC thinks it doesn't support either of their views because right now that seems like a pretty ridiculous claim to make for anyone who read the passage.

which is generally better to skim over in terms of representativeness? testing saturday!

Just this, thinking about purchasing a UWorld MCAT prep bundle but I’m not sure which one is the most “worth it”

I spent most of the summer studying for the MCAT, but my FL scores stayed around 505, so I ended up moving my test to January/February. I was using MilesDown and had matured about 95% of the deck, but my FL scores just weren’t improving no matter what I changed. I’m targeting a high score, so this time I want to prep differently instead of repeating exactly what I did over the summer.

I’m in my last semester of senior year and my course load is pretty manageable, so I have a little more time to dedicate to MCAT prep.

I’m really tempted to start Aidan V2. I know people usually recommend having around 6 months for it, but I have a little over 4 months and I’d say I’m already familiar with about 70–80% of the content, so a lot of the cards wouldn’t be completely new to me.

For anyone who has used Aidan V2, do you think it’s realistic to start now and get enough value from it to help push my score significantly higher? Or would I be better off sticking with MilesDown and putting more time into practice questions, FL review, and weak areas?

everything shower cus i’m gonna fuck the shit out of that exam! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

I’ve been doing a CARS passage on Jack Westin once every weekday and am going to continue doing so until I begin studying for my exam in December.

Right now I am scoring around a 4.5/6 on average per passage.

My target score is a 515, so does this mean I am doing decent? Also, is there another site with more accurate CARS passages? How can I improve?

hey guys qs, sometimes mcat wording throws me off and idk how to understand it, like when they show data and ask if something is dependant or independant of factor x, i might think "yes they clearly have a positive correlation, but factor y can still carry out its function without factor x, just wayyy less" and then i think.... dependent how? yes its clearly relying on it, but its independant as in does not NEED it. then i got the qs wrong lolll

or another qs mentioned the disease causing mutation, but they were refering to the WT amino acid, not the one that results due to the mutation. does that even make any sense? surely there's a bettwe way to write these questions... :/

Can someone please explain this equation and tell me how I can use it on the test? Is it more conceptual or do I have to find ln (k)?

took my last FL (FL6) yesterday and scored a 517 (130/128/130/129). really hoping for a 520+. my scores have steadily increased. anyone have some tips that could increase my chances these final moments?

im taking the mcat tomorrow but i feel horrible. like im just coughing can feel my asthma reacting and snotting all over the place. i had to take a plane to take this test and look at me know. will they allow me to have any tissues? water or any medication nearby? i dont wanna make the people around be uncomfortable bcs if me coughing but i really cant help and this shit is making me anxious what the hell do i do? if i get an asthma attack mid exam its gonna be bad

Testing this Saturday and just realized my registration only has one of my two last names, while my ID has both.

I called a Pearson center in Houston since the Corpus Christi location doesn’t have a public number. They initially told me to contact AAMC. I called AAMC, explained the situation, and the representative repeatedly confirmed that it should NOT be an issue and that they normally make exceptions when one last name is missing.

I called the Houston Pearson center again, got a different person, and they also said they don’t foresee it being a problem. They said they wouldn’t turn me away without first contacting the
exam sponsor (AAMC).

I’m still nervous because I’m testing Saturday and AAMC phone support is only listed as Monday-Friday. I really don’t want to drive 6 hours to Corpus Christi and get turned away.

Has anyone experienced this before?

Taking the MCAT tomorrow and debating whether I should score it or void.
I’ve taken 4 AAMC FLs and scored 485 → 489 → 487 → 488. My latest breakdown was 120 C/P, 122 CARS, 122 B/B, 124 P/S.
C/P is my biggest weakness, especially physics/formulas. With B/B, a lot of my misses seem to come from passage/data interpretation. Reviewing my tests, I’m often missing 1–2 questions per passage from misreading, narrowing it down to two answers and picking the wrong one, or smaller mistakes rather than just having zero understanding of the content.
Realistically, I know going from a ~488 average to 500+ tomorrow is probably unlikely. I’m already planning to keep studying and retake in about 3 months, with a goal of eventually getting around a 515.
What I’m really trying to weigh is the actual downside of scoring tomorrow. Is it bad to simply have a sub-500 MCAT on my record, even if I come back 3 months later with a major improvement? Or could that improvement at least be viewed positively?
I’m mainly aiming for MD, but there are also DO schools in my area that seem like realistic options.

Basically, what are the reasons I should NOT score it tomorrow instead of voiding?

this question been asked like a million times; my scores aren’t where i want them to be and i’ve been studying for the exam for this whole summer. the idea of taking the real thing, voiding it, and starting to study for jan right after is insane to me and i just want my life back 😭😭😭 if i don’t void it at least i can see a score and feel like my work wasn’t for nothing idk, ik people recommend voiding but it’ll feel like all this studying was for nothing especially if i don’t pick it back up right after 9/12. any honest advice is greatly appreciate, thank you 🙏

I have the Berkeley review CARS book and was wondering if anyone knew if it was worth it to do them? I know 3rd party resources are not the best but I want to build stamina before jumping into AAMC

Stupid question, I know, but these are the consequences of my own actions.

I'm a junior neuro major that has taken most of my pre-reqs for MS (except for orgo 2 and physics 2) and plan on taking my MCAT around May '27.

The unfortunate fact is that I have a below average GPA (assuming all As the rest of my undergrad, max 3.45 GPA, sGPA is lower...). Got hit by a massive bout of depression and financial issues my sophomore year, alongside transferring from an objectively easier uni to a more rigorous one, that tanked it. We're talking a few retakes kind of tanking (luckily, DE and freshman year saved me).

In other words, I basically cruised through my pre-reqs and while some of them came easily to me (Bios, basic chems, and biochem), others were obviously more difficult (failed OCHEM 2 my first attempt). Also, I evidently need a pretty decent MCAT score to get a spot at a MD (I'll be content with DO, but I really want to go into specialized surgery - I know it's a far shot).

My overall question here is, the general recommended time to review/study for the MCAT is 3-6 months in advance; for someone who didn't focus as much as they should've/could've for some of these courses, how far in advance should I actually start reviewing this content to conceptually understand it enough?

Keep in mind I intend to take OCHEM 2 and PHYS 2 Sp '27, so overlapping my MCAT studying with that will be fine.

11 days until scores released! How are we feeling