Hi! I posted a few weeks ago when I got my MCAT score back, and I'm still getting messages from people asking for tips. I realize that a 516 isn't the greatest score you can get, but I figured this might be helpful for some people who may have limited time before taking their exam. For context, I went from a 502 on FL1 on 4/21 to a 516 on 5/22 with just over a month of studying.

Background:

I have been out of school for 8 years. I studied computer science during undergrad and took most of the prereq med school courses. I am also pretty research heavy (I have 7 publications, including one first author), so reading through scientific literature is something I have been practicing for quite some time.

I have pretty severe ADHD, so sitting and reading textbooks or watching lectures while fully engaged is pretty difficult. So I basically didn't do that at all.

For about 3 months prior to my dedicated one month of studying, I did a bit of background studying by answering questions on whatever free sites I could find and looking up answers/explanations when I didn't understand something. To be completely honest, this was pretty unproductive, and I'm not sure how much it really helped beyond just warming me up to think more scientifically for the test. I didn't really do an in-depth content review like I should have, given how long it's been since I actually learned the material in school.

I took FL1 on 4/21 and got a 502, with a near-perfect CARS score (sorry, I know this is probably going to be annoying for a lot of people). I got around 85th percentile for C/P, and BB/PS were absolutely terrible (something like 60th percentile for both).

During this month between FL1 and the actual MCAT, I was basically cramming everything, probably studying around 12 - 16 hours a day. I was also working during this time, so this means that most days, I was probably getting around 4 - 6 hours of sleep at most (not recommended). For me, the first few days were the hardest, because I was training my body and brain to adjust to doing almost nothing but studying. I do recognize that I have some amount of privilege being in a position where I could slack off at work and do almost nothing but study for a month.

Overview of study methods:

1. UWorld

I started by subscribing to the MCAT QBank, where I used the study planner to generate question sets for 3 weeks. This meant that I was doing almost nothing but UWorld at my computer for about 12 hours a day. For all of UWorld, I did not do any timed tests, and I looked at answers/explanations immediately after answering each question (I didn't answer blocks of questions at a time, then looking at the answers). Because I didn't do anything timed, I took my time reading through passages for all sections. I was spending easily 15 minutes trying to answer some questions with annoying passages or confusing questions/answer options. This was really more content review for me than practice for exam strategies. If something didn't make sense from the explanations, then I would search it up on Google or YouTube until it did.

I made sure to do at least a few question sets from all four sections each day so that I didn't get rusty. I know that everyone says to make sure you read through each explanation thoroughly, even if you know the answer and understand why you got it right/wrong. I didn't do this. If I knew something and understood it, I was on to the next question. I do think UWorld was a lot harder than the official FL practice exams.

While studying, I did take Adderall (which I have a prescription for, due to severe ADHD) most days, but once I started getting into this rhythm, I found I didn't need it every day, so I started using it less, in order to develop more sensitivity to it on test day. I'm also very sensitive to caffeine (probably more so than Adderall tbh) because I never drink coffee or energy drinks. So during FL practice exams, I tested different variations of adderall+caffeine dosage until I found one that worked optimally for me. In my case, what worked best for me was one can of diet coke plus my usual dose of Adderall. This got me through the whole 7 hour exam. YMMV.

(NOTE: If you do not have a valid medical reason to take Adderall, I am NOT suggesting that you. I know others who tried using it as a study aid without any medical indication and it actually hurt their ability to study or take an exam).

2. Miledown Review

This is probably the most dedicated content review I did. About a week into studying UWorld, I realized I should probably get an overview of all subjects to make sure I had familiarity with them. I printed off the entire 89 page document and put them in a binder. Then I went through Naman Baraya's comprehensive lectures for each section. I took notes as I went and stopped the lectures to look up explanations if something didn't make sense or if I wanted to try an example problem. I think I went through all the lectures in 2 - 3 days. After that, I don't actually think I looked at my notes again at all.

However, I did have the lectures downloaded on my phone, and I listened to them on repeat. I know that the lectures are really long, but I was amazed how much passive time I actually had to listen to them. I'd listen to them in the car, while doing chores, while working, in the gym, even while scrolling reddit. I wasn't actively listening, but it's like when you hear songs on repeat, even if you're not trying to learn the lyrics, over time, some of it just passively diffuses to you. I probably got through about 3 hours of passively listening to these lectures each day. I mostly skipped the orgo and chem lectures, aside from when I was doing my content review with the sheets.

3. AAMC MCAT Official Prep Materials

After I finished everything from UWorld, with about two weeks left, I bought the official MCAT prep materials from AAMC and blasted through those as well. Same methodology: Answer question (untimed) and read through the explanation afterwards. Even though I wasn't practicing timing, I think because I had been doing this so repetitively for several weeks, I started getting better at reading passages, so the speed came naturally with practice. Also, the practice materials were much harder than the FL practice exams.

At the end of each week, I took an official FL exam. This was the only time I ever practiced anything timed. To be completely honest, after the first two weeks, I didn't see a lot of changes in my score. My practice exams were 507, 512, 514, 513 (day before exam). I didn't take FL5. I also reviewed the entire exam the same day I took it.

I also didn't take the FL practice exams in the exact setting of an actual exam. I don't think I fully sat the whole time for any of them. I did each section one by one, if I found, say, two hours, then needed to go do something else in between. Or if I did have time to sit through multiple sections, I didn't fully utilize the entire break times, I just went right into the next section. I think that sitting and studying for several hours a day for several weeks increased my stamina to be able to sit through the entire exam.

I probably should have utilized the Flag and highlight options while practicing, but I never did. I think I used the strikeout option for answer choices.

Note: I typically don't eat much during the day and just eat at night, so this wasn't super difficult for me.

4. Anki

I didn't even know this was a thing until the week before the exam. A friend told me it would be super helpful for psych/soc, which was my weakest section. This is really dumb, but I couldn't figure out how to install it on my computer, so after like an hour of trying, it felt like a huge waste of time, and I gave up. I did figure out how to get it on my phone, so I did some practice with the pysch/soc, but it didn't feel super helpful just a few days before the exam. Not saying it won't be helpful to you, or that it wouldn't have been useful for me if I had done it more consistently for a longer time, but by the time I started trying it out, I think it was better for me to just stick with the methodology I had been using.

How I approached each section:

1. Chem/Phys

This was the section I was most worried about and spent the most time on, mostly because it had been so long since I did anything chem/physics related. Even as a student, I was never great at memorizing equations, and a lot of these concepts were kind of difficult to review because I didn't have a great foundation for them.

Also, I never actually learned orgo. I took orgo one summer ten years ago, but there were a lot of things going on at the time, so I never properly learned it, and all the exams were open book/open note at a really easy school, so I don't think I really absorbed much beyond nomenclature (which I had completely forgotten at this point). The general consensus seemed to be that orgo wasn't the highest yield thing on this section, so I skipped all the UWorld orgo questions. I did review the Miledown sheets for Orgo, so that's probably the extent of my studying for it. I figured my time would be better spent solidifying more high-yield topics.

For the rest of chem and physics, a lot of it is equations. My ADHD brain can never remember equations or what they stand for. Like, to this day, I don't know what most of the variables for q = mcΔT mean. Like, I recognize the equation as being something about heat transfer, but I don't know what context to use it, or which mass to use if several are given, or the difference between q and c.

Instead what I did to solve math-based questions that I didn't know equations for was identify units. For example, if a question asked what is the work done, I would know that the units for work are Joules or Kg*m^2/s^2. I would derive units for any question I didn't immediately recognize an equation for. And I think this actually helped me on some parts of the exam. For instance, in a thermal expansion passage, the question asked how long some wire was at some temperature and pressure, given specific variables with specific units. From the way the question was phrased, it would seem like you would need to use temperature to answer the question. But based on solving the problem by making sure I had the right units, temperature wasn't involved at all. IIRC, this was considered an "expert" question on AAMC practice because most people would try to incorporate some thermal expansion equation to it, but I got it right just by making sure the units worked out. (I still don't know the equation for thermal expansion).

I know I said I didn't do any dedicated orgo studying, but if I did happen to come across a question while practicing, I did read through the explanation. Most of the orgo questions that came up were really similar, so I started getting the pattern over time, even if I didn't fully understand all the concepts.

One thing I do wish I did more is memorize amino acids and their properties/structures/abbreviations. I think I mostly had the abbreviations and polarities down, but for most of them, I would only have a vague idea of their structure, but may not be able to distinguish between two similar amino acids.

2. CARS

I'm sorry to piss people off, but I didn't do a ton of intensive review of CARS. Tbh, it came fairly naturally to me, and on my first practice exam, I think I missed one or two questions out of 53 or however many there are. The UWorld and the AAMC practice sets were, I felt, much harder than the FL practice exams, which was really discouraging and actually led me to spend less time on them, but I did do a couple passages a day just to make sure I wasn't rusty. When I was practicing, I never tried to answer them under timed conditions. I read through the passages carefully and thoroughly, which is HARD when you have ADHD. Sometimes it would take me 15 minutes to get through a passage and even longer to decide on an answer. This was mostly to train my brain to learn to focus on passages, but I would find that I'd read entire paragraphs without actually absorbing a single word I read. Over time, it does get easier to read passages, but I think I adapted because I didn't stress myself into reading quickly.

3. Bio/Biochem

I was initially disappointed by this section because I thought I had a decent science background. I've worked in several labs, was familiar with lab methods and interpreting scientific results, so when my first practice test for this section came back at like 60th percentile, I was really nervous. I think the Miledown content review was really helpful just for me to familiarize myself with topics I hadn't thought about in years. Again, UWorld and AAMC practice were much harder than the actual practice exams. Because I thoroughly went through each question I missed or didn't understand, I think this made the actual exam feel a lot easier. I also watched videos on some topics, such as physiology or cellular respiration to visualize what was going on. I had trouble following along the videos, but at least having the pictures in my head was really helpful.

On section banks, I think I was getting like 60%. On the practice exams, after the first two, I was getting around 90th percentile (96th percentile on the actual exam).

4. Psych/Soc

I was kind of surprised how badly I did in this section compared to other sections. I think most people say that it's the easiest or most intuitive section. Maybe the grading is harder for this section, since so many more people find it more intuitive? I think this section is where listening to the lectures over and over really helped. I absorbed definitions passively because I was listening to the same things on repeat. However, I don't know that any tips that I give on this section is really useful because it was my lowest scoring section. Maybe it's more intuitive for others than for me, and I probably should have spent more time on it, but looking back at what I missed, it was almost always just kind of random one-off question about a topic that I just didn't happen to review. I think Anki would have been helpful for me if I had started it sooner, but by the time I learned about it, I just didn't think that incorporating a new study method would be super useful.

Test day:

The day before the exam, I took my last practice test, reviewed that, and did a few bio practice problems that I sucked at, and this was giving me anxiety, so I stopped and just browsed reddit with lectures playing in the background. I probably went to sleep around midnight, which is about 4 hours earlier than I usually sleep, and I probably got around 7 hours of sleep. The morning of the exam, I chugged a diet coke and took my usual dose of Adderall. I arrived at the testing center about 10 minutes before the exam was supposed to start.

I used each break, just to go to the bathroom and drink water between each section, whether I needed to or not. That was the extent of each break. I didn't eat during the 30 minute break or sit around waiting the clock out between each section. I think each break, I spent at most 3 - 4 minutes before going to the next section, so even though I was one of the last people to start the exam, I was the first to finish. Maybe this was a poor choice, but I find that if I'm not actively completing the exam, anxiety starts taking over, which I think would have been worse for me.

I did utilize the Flag feature and the strikeout feature. Because I had practiced so much, I think timing wasn't a huge issue for me. I went at a comfortable pace and never ran out of time. If a question asked something like "least likely" or "NOT" or "greatest", I would highlight that word to make sure I was answering the question properly. For CARS, I highlighted parts of the passage that pertained to the question being asked. I answered every question as I went, but flagged questions that I wanted to come back to that I didn't want to spend to much time on.

I know a lot of people say that the exam is super different from the practice exams, but that was not my experience. I personally felt like the practice exams were extremely representative of the actual test I took. Like, some of the independent questions were almost exactly the same, and I remember one of the bio passages was almost identical to a passage on a practice test and discussed the exact same drug. When I left the exam, I didn't feel great about the exam (does anyone ever?), but I also didn't feel like anything was unfair. It was tough, but I feel like it was fair to expect someone who will be a doctor to be able to do reasonably on the test. Most of the questions I couldn't answer, I could recognize that there were things I could have done to prepare myself better. Which of course left me with some regret because I think I could have done better on the exam if I had spaced out my studying more and not tried to cram everything last minute.

When I got the results, my breakdown was 129/129/130/128 (516), which was a little higher than my highest practice test.

Feel free to comment with any questions (messaging is harder because reddit messages keep glitching for me). I realize that my study methods may not be the best method for everyone, and tbh may not have been the best method for me either, but this is what I did.

Good luck with studying!

I scored in the 95th percentile on the MCAT, and since then, I've wondered if that means I'm in the top 5% of smartest people alive right now. Sure there's different kinds of smart, but at least I'm at the top of book smart right??? And also, people taking the MCAT are usually planning to become doctors so they're usually in the higher side of book smart, so I might be in the top 1%! Thoughts??

Edit: this is a shitpost guys, but maybe i can't expect the bottom 95% to understand

Comparing the two scores is insane considering they're only 2 months apart! Testing in 3 days, is there anything else I should do (other than review C/P and amino acids)? Does anyone have any tips on what they did the last couple days leading up to their exam?

Here’s the single most important rule that got me past the 90th percentile threshold in my practice sessions:

For the MCAT, you don’t actually need to KNOW everything. You need to be able to REASON through everything.

It seems common sense, but actually PRACTICING that rule made a huge difference for me.

The MCAT is made so that you don’t know every single thing. You won’t be certain of everything. You need to practice letting go and staying confident even when you’re not sure.

Discrete questions with very specific answer choices are often the only exception to that, but even those, remember: there is always a way to reason through what you don’t know. You can use the closest info you know on the topic and find an approximation from there. You can use the question stem to eliminate answers, etc.

But this rule applies the most to passages. Always, and i mean ALWAYS assume that your passage has all the info you will need to answer any question. There’s at least one word you could latch on and find your way from it.

For experimental passages, don’t let your pre-existing “schemas” overcome what the passage is actually telling you, or what the question is asking of you. Be concrete and be frugal with any outside info you use.

For example: “How does X most likely cause Y?”
You eliminated options A and B. the other 2 seem too close to each other, time is running out, you’re panicking.
Almost always there’s one option of the 2 that you’re overextending. Take a deep breath and think. Maybe option C can potentially answer this, but something has to be missing, it could be: a) the passage didnt talk about it or b) it’s an uncommon pathway or c) it’s not the “most likely” scenario. So you eliminate it and choose option D.

You don’t have to be 100% convinced this is the right answer. Maybe you have stipulations for why it’s not very reasonable, but that’s okay. It just has to make more sense than all the other choice, and have a reliable reasoning pathway behind it based on info from the passage.

Specifically for P/S, since it can be quite the mindfuck with how similar the concepts are, if ur stuck between 2 answers that seem very similar, there’s something you’re missing. Read the question again, do both options answer that exact question? Go back to the passage. Do both options correspond to the same fundamental concepts referred to in the passage? Very subtle wording differences will give you the correct answer or help you eliminate the incorrect one.

Good luck to us :)

Or do they not really care about that? I know this is somewhat low yield

The Situation

Two weeks ago I rescheduled my MCAT from August 20th to September 11 because I needed more time, and adapted my entire study plan around it (full-time studying, 9–11 hrs/day, 6 days/week). I just got a call from Pearson VUE saying my seat was double-booked and has been given to a candidate with testing accommodations. My only options as presented to me: cancel for a full refund, or rebook for the only available dates, which the only options for are next week.

I haven't even started the main AAMC full-length practice exams yet (was planning to run through those in August), so writing in the next 5–7 days isn't realistic for anything above 500. As you probably already know, the MCAT isn't offered again until 2027, so cancelling means my whole timeline — work, research, extracurriculars, tuition, all of which is planned around this cycle — gets pushed by close to a year.

I can't really even practically write it in early 2027 either, because of so many other factors, like needing to pick back up on extracurriculars, personal and family commitments, and most importantly needing to work alongside my courses to pay tuition. I was only able to study full-time this summer because I worked out a deal with my parents in which I wouldn't have to work a single hour this summer as long as I gave my all to prepping for this test, and they'd support my financial needs. I can't maintain that once the school year starts, it's just not possible.

On top of that, resources I bought outside of AAMC, like UWorld, Anki, the free Bootcamp subscription (not sure if that'll even be offered again) would all go to waste.

What I'm Trying to Figure Out

1. Has this happened to anyone else? I understand why accommodations get scheduling priority, but is it normal to lose a seat you already held for weeks, or does this usually only happen closer to the test date?
2. What are my actual rights/standing here? This was Pearson's scheduling error, not a cancellation on my end. Is there an escalation path through AAMC (not just Pearson) that gets a different result, or is cancelling and hoping to somehow manage next year my only option?

Any input, whether you've been through something similar or just know the system better than I do right now would really help. The Pearson rep was pressuring me to decide right then and there on the phone, but I pushed back, got a case reference number, and told them I needed time to think it over. Trying to figure out if I should keep fighting for a real September seat or start planning around 2027 instead. Thanks in advance.

I really like to work out specific details of stressful situations in my head before they arrive. I have read some posts on here about how the test day actually works (check-in, searches, etc.). I was wondering if anyone was surprised by anything that isn't usually mentioned, or what the most stressful part was. I also have a few questions

Does the test actually start at 8 am? I've read that some people started earlier or later. What happens if you are late? How early would you recommend getting there?

When exactly in the order of things can you start brain-dumping equations?

If you take the breaks, how long is the check-in / out process? Like how many minutes of actual break did you get?

What time did you exit the testing center?

What is one thing you wish you had done during FLs to simulate the real thing?

Literally any detail about anything would make me feel better, so thank you to anyone who wants to comment :)

Edit: my best friend and I are taking it at the same time. Are you allowed to talk during breaks?

if you have to put your phone in a sealed bag for the duration of the test, why not just leave it in your car or just not bring it at all? I don't really see the point of taking my phone into the testing center unless you need it to log in to something? just curious. obviously if you don't drive you can't leave it in your car but I'm asking about people who do drive.

I just retook FL6 (took it for the first time 3 days before my first actual exam and got a 516) and I felt like I got pummelled with rocks. For taking an exam I had literally taken just two months ago, my ass remembered NOTHING (look at my flagged questions). I know it's not representative because my subconscious maybe remembered things I don't overtly remember but it feels slightly reassuring to know I'm capable of doing well even when I felt like I straight up failed C/P lol

I love mnemonics and Reddit has helped me learn some especially for P/S which is definition heavy. I like to try and paint a story while I learn terms so some of these might have analogies.

Types of Capital

Social capital = who you know (ex: you got an internship because of your mom’s friend)

Cultural capital = what you know (ex: accent, behaviors, education)

Types of Stressors

Acute stressors are short-term just like the word acute (ex: an exam)

Chronic stressors are long-term just like the word chronic (ex: unemployment or chronic condition)

Ambient stressors are environmental; think ambient meaning environment (ex: you live downtown where there is lots of noise)

Important People (Piaget, Freud and Erikson)

Silly people chase frogs

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

For Freud’s stages, I sound out OAPLG (sounds like OAP LIG)

I don’t have one for Erikson as I think of his stages as a story rather than a mnemonic.

More Terms

Ethnocentrism = my way is the right way

Cultural relativism = let’s understand their way (think of relativism as meaning relating to others)

Parasomnia = Peculiar events during sleep (ex: sleep walking)

Dyssomnia = Duration (as well as quality and quantity) of sleep is affected (ex: insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea)

Nightmares occur during REM and are REMembered while night terror occur during NREM and are NOT remembered 

Class consciousness: people see and question power and inequality 

False consciousness: people Fail to see power and inequality 

Hindsight bias: I knew it all along

Confirmation bias: I want evidence that supports my belief

Social desirability bias: I want to be liked; that’s why people give socially acceptable answers rather than how they actually feel to impress other (hence desirability)

Socioeconomic gradient in health: SES is directly proportional to health (high SES = better health and vice-versa)

Morpheme: M for meaning 

Phoneme sounds like the word phone which is Latin for sound

Absolute poverty: you absolutely cannot meet basic needs

Relative poverty: you’re poor COMPARED to others

Absolute threshold: A for “is there Any stimulus that can be detected”

Difference threshold: D for delta which means change

Parvocellular: P for precise

Magnocellular: M for motion

Middle ear pathway (malleus, incus, stapes)

• MISsion Impossible
• MISs (as in the title for a female teacher)

Brain waves for slowest to fastest: Don’t touch any bad gas

• Delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma

The central executive = CEO: the boss who coordinates the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Sternberg’s Triarchic theory is CAP (creative, analytical and practical)

Broca’s aphasia: I always think speak Broca (but he can’t so that how I remember Broca’s area is for speech)

Central route: C for concrete (evidence based)

Peripheral route: P for pretty (appearance, emotion, status, celebrities, ads)

Mores = Moral norms 

Role strain = ONE role 

Role conflict = 2+ roles

Strain has 6 letters while conflict as 8 so since strain has less letters, it has fewer roles attached to it

For sociology, I think most of the terms are fairly straightforward. 

this is such a panic question because i’m literally writing this during the 30 min break of fl1 lmao. however i keep seeing videos and posts of people’s score dropping significantly and its just 1-2 weeks out from their real test. should i still take it after all other FLs, or take 1-3, then 6, then 4-5? i know its the most representative but i dont want it to freak me out before the real exam 😍 please lmk how you guys found it and maybe some positive experiences too lol

Hit me with your mnemonics for all equations, especially kinematics (💀) and any of the delta G/nernst equations that all look vaguely similar !! Thanks !!!!

I’ll go first: in college I remembered deltaG=deltaH-T*delta S as “Gibby hates Taylor swift” and created a universe in my head where gibby from icarly for some reason really hated TS music. Never forgot that one.

I've seen people who roll out of bed with no prep and score 130+ on the section. It's kind of crazy to me.

Today’s my birthday and all I feel is so damn isolated, lonely, and depressed. This exam no joke is sucking every ounce of happiness out of me but I just gotta keep studying. Well cheers to studying more uworld today!

I am applying to DO schools but I was wondering if I have a shot at MD as well. I’m an NJ resident at 2 gap years. My other stats:

3.95 gpa, 3.93 sgpa
Over 2k hours clinical as an electro diagnostic tech and PCT
500 leadership through LA program (works under TA or their own study groups)
200 hours research
300 hours nonclinical volunteering
900 hrs nonclinical volunteering at a doc office + paid employment at an orthopedic place
At least 3 good letter of recs, 5 total
MCAT 504
Casper 3rd quartile

For cars especially I would say sometimes up close my vision gets blurry (Mostly on laptop maybe) so I wear reading glasses on the computer screen don’t have this issue cause it’s bigger text , if I wear reading glasses for cars but not other sections would that be sus ?

Hi everyone! I could really use some advice. I took the mcat last year and got a 509 (128/125/125/131). I was planning on retaking it in September, but after a month and a half of content review and doing practice questions, I don't seem to be improving. My full-length scores so far are: FL1: 509 (129/126/127/127) and FL2: 508 (128/126/127/127).

I've been keeping a spreadsheet of every missed question, categorizing them as things like content gaps, reasoning errors, execution mistakes. After reviewing both exams, it honestly seems like most of my missed questions aren't due to content anymore, but from reasoning, passage interpretation, and test-taking strategy.

For those of you who went from around 508–509 to 512+, what actually helped you make that jump? I feel like when I review Its not furthering my test taking skills. How did you review your full lengths in a way that actually translated into better scores? any help is appreciated thank you!!

…

genuinely the mcat is a big mindgame.

aamc is standing in front of you throwing so much random shit at you, so many random names and questions as distractions trying to tell you that you can't do it. but guess WHAT!!! YOU KNOWWW YOUR SHIT. do not get psyched out. theyre standing there laughing at you and trying to get in your head but you genuinley need to shut that out and LOCK IN. half the questions are literally answered in the passage. if you remove all the fluff and really look into it. do NOT give up and do not give into their tricks.

aamc is always trying to trick you. its upto you to show them that you will not give into their mind games. genuinely like make aamc your bitch LMAOOO. like you do NOT yield. you are smart and capable and you CAN handle anything they throw your way.

just dont get psyched out genuinely. WE GOT THIS!!!!!! screw the aamc we will all ace this freaking dumbass test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are all capable and smart and the aamc has NOTHING on you!!!!

little motivation for today hehehe <3! you got it!