Advice For A Repeat Taker

[spotsanddots]

Hey All, 

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on which prep company I should go with this time around.

 

I'll try to explain my situation concisely: 

I wrote the old one and due to a lack of focus on content review, didn't do so well (~25/26)

I wrote the new one, changed my strategy and improved in all sections EXCEPT I didn't improve enough in CARS (124). 

Hence why I'm rewriting again -- for the third time. (124 = below cutoffs for many schools, aiming for at least 127)

 

I have used TPR for the past 2 years and am interested in only extending the online materials for this time around. (I have 2015 TPR books) However, the reps have told me that these materials (FL, mini-passages) will all be the same as last year. It does come with all new AAMC material though. 

 

My question: Should I go with TPR again, even though the materials for science/CARS will be the same? I feel like it might be okay redoing science passages but I see redoing verbal passages (especially for the second or third time) would be a bigger problem (I remembered some verbal passages from last year and worried that redoing verbal passages I remember may not be an accurate indication of my progress).

My other option I'm considering is to switch to online materials with Kaplan so I can access fresh questions I haven't done before (but will be researching if they also come with AAMC material - does anyone know if the new Kaplan Self-Paced program comes with AAMC materials like TPR does?).

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts everyone. My fight with the MCAT has been a long one, so I appreciate any insight you have. Truly. I may have questions about strategy later (specifically for repeat takers and CARS) but that'll be for another post.

 

Let me know if you need more context.

[m_jacob_45]

If your main issue is just CARS, and you're happy with your other sections, I would recommend Exam Krackers. I would buy their strategy book and the 101 passages. I ultimately used a combination of their strategy and TPR's strategy, and found that their questions and passages were more representative of the mcat passages than TPR. I have not used Kaplan at all so I can't comment on their materials. I was in a similar situation as you and wrote the mcat twice. I first got a 6 on verbal, but got 129 on CARS, and I think fixing my timing issues and practising with EK materials helped (though I thought TPR was pretty good too). Hope this helps!

[trimethoprim]

Hi spotsanddots,

 

I too have written the MCAT numerous times, in fact I have gone through 3 iterations of the test (back to when writing sample was part of the test). I too have tried to study on my own using prep books from var. companies and etc (scores ranging from 26-33). Most recently, I took a Kaplan online course and found that most fruitful (515, 128 cars). They have a structured approach that I found helpful, especially for when I didn't feel motivated to study. As well they have a lot of practice questions and more importantly, a lot of full length exams.

Good luck!

[YorkMD]

I took a Kaplan course two years ago and I didn't find the VR section to be super helpful. I found that I made the most progress when I started practicing a lot; like one VR section a day and one-two full length tests a week. From the beginning of the summer to the end (4 months) I went from a 5VR on my first practice test to an 11VR on my final MCAT. Even if you can find resources that allow you to do one passage a day and review why your answers were wrong I think you will start to make progress. Try out different approaches and see if any work for you and you will most likely find your own way that is a combination of approaches.  

 

Good luck!

[fastrunningfish]

I used the Kaplan online self paced program. I thought it was great because it gave you a study plan and order to do things so I didn't have to come up with the study structure myself. It had lots and lots of questions and practice exams. There were review videos for all topics which had little pauses interspersed to answer a quick question. I think this program with it's approach to CARs and its many practice questions absolutely improved my scores. I took the old mcat VR 9 and new mcat cars 130. (Albeit I only studied 1 month the first time, and 2 months for the new mcat)

[spotsanddots]

Sorry for the late reply but thank you all!

Wrote my test last week and I felt good coming out of it - thanks so much for your all suggestions!