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Im Not Sure if I Want to Take the Mcat Again

room-for-improvement

Good thing there's e'er room for improvement!

You lot've decided y'all want to retake the MCAT (if you haven't decided yet, cheque out our blog post Should I Retake the MCAT?), and at present it's time to sit down and figure out how. Hither are a couple things to consider as you start to make your study programme and head in to round ii.

1) Accept a break

You've been off the MCAT books for at least a couple of weeks as you waited for your score, and might feel that y'all should jump back into studying correct away and so that yous don't autumn too far behind. Yous need to take a interruption! While you were waiting for your score, your encephalon was probably still subconsciously stressing and worrying most your performance on the exam, and so y'all owe information technology to yourself to have at least a few weeks off before you start seriously studying once again. Focus on the other things going on in your life: schoolhouse, work, extracurricular activities, family unit, anything to stop your encephalon from seeing passages in your slumber!

If you're on a serious time crunch, like you're rushing to get in an MCAT examination earlier your application cycle starts (which I don't recommend, run across "Should I Retake the MCAT?"), have AT Least one full weekend later on you lot become your MCAT scores before yous start restudying.

2) Learn from your exam

What happened on your kickoff sitting of the test? Did your brain cloud over during Verbal section and you felt like you lot couldn't get through the passages? Or did you go bare on all of the organic chemistry questions and randomly guess? If you lot did more poorly across the lath than you were expecting, brand sure that your practise tests nearly exactly replicate the bodily exam. That means no distractions, no snacks, and no bathroom breaks during the test. You lot might also want to consider how to manage test anxiety so that y'all don't seize upward during exam solar day.

If there was one particular department that surprised you, you might exist able to target your studying more than towards that section while doing light review on the rest of the fabric so that you lot don't lose it. Here's where a tutor tin help – they are really familiar with the exam and operation patterns, and can guide you in the right management in terms of balancing your report time.

Make certain to remember that it is amend to apply with a slightly lower score than to retake the exam and exercise worse overall or on i of the sections!

3) Balance your resources

If your exam didn't go according to plan the first fourth dimension, replicating your study strategy is not the way to get. If you have cheat sheets or broad review notes from your starting time get-around, those will be useful to add onto this time. All the same, you lot need to make certain that you are doing new sets of problems and new exercise tests. Doing so will ensure yous aren't lulled  into a false sense of security by reviewing questions you take already seen.

MCAT resources can definitely be expensive, so search online for cheaper deals and enquire around to come across if friends have any they might be willing to give you.  Khan Academy has some great free videos and practice passages that they teamed upwardly with the AAMC to develop, so they're a great resource to use. Generally, if you used the practice questions from one testing visitor (ex. Kaplan) to study for the test the first time, effort to apply practice questions from another (ex. Princeton Review) to re-study. Cambridge Coaching prioritizes Berkeley Review books for their great passage-based practice questions.

The one prepare of practise questions you should absolutely wait at again is the AAMC practice tests. If you lot already took them in one case, don't employ them as a benchmark  of your functioning, since you take seen the questions before, only yous should wait at each passage and its associated questions to analyze patterns and strategies for how to approach the test again.

4) Hit the sugariness spot in timing

Some people feel similar the more time they dedicate to studying, the better they volition do. This is non truthful! Y'all need enough time to adequately review the fabric, merely later a while your brain will go tired and not process that much more information.

If you already took the MCAT once, y'all probably experience at least somewhat comfy with well-nigh of the material. Studying the second time should be more focused on strategy, test-taking skills, and targeting your weak spots, especially if your practice test scores were generally in your target range. Therefore, you might need less dedicated study time than you did at showtime. In this scenario, 1-3 months should be sufficient review. Review your cloth and notes from earlier, simply focus more on practice taking passages, replicating exam scenarios exactly, and learning relaxation techniques that might aid you curb anxiety.

Just, if y'all didn't feel ready the first time, or yous felt like your content cognition was lacking, take that into account and requite yourself the time to seriously review the material out there. At least 3-4 months of focused studying that includes both a guided content review too as regular practice exams is essential to performing well. The AAMC posts a topic outline with subjects in each section of the examination that you are expected to know -- use this to go through each section carefully and make certain you lot accept reviewed all of the subjects on their list.

Taking the MCAT again is a tough procedure, only with the right study techniques and residue, it is possible to do well and more than importantly, perform at your best. Cambridge Coaching tutors can help you through this process!

For more relevant reading, check out these other blog posts, written past our MCAT tutors: When Information technology Comes to Studying, Less Tin can Be More than, ii Elementary Tips to Assist You Kickoff Your MCAT Prep, What Y'all Demand to Know Well-nigh the 2015 MCAT. Looking to piece of work with Nikita Saxena? Feel costless to get in affect! Cambridge Coaching offers private in-person tutoring in New York Metropolis and Boston, and online tutoring around the world.

Click here to sign up for a free MCAT consult.

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Source: https://blog.cambridgecoaching.com/what-to-do-if-you-want-to-retake-the-mcat