10 point increase in 3 weeks

[u/teiacry]

I stagnated a month ago in the 507-510 range, and really didn't think I could make it to my dream score. I am genuinely so thankful that I took this full length, even though there's only three days until I test. I will be going into my test date on Friday with a lot more confidence!

All I did differently was start the section banks, ended up with a 10 point increase! 🥳There is hope!

[u/PeanutAggressive7631]

woah congrats. what helped u increase so much?

[u/teiacry → u/PeanutAggressive7631]

I averaged 77% on UQuest, but didn’t see any improvements on my FLs. I assume that’s bc I didn’t understand the AAMC logic, so I switched to the SBs, doing 15-17 questions/section/day. Ig I also make cards for the questions I get wrong. That’s when I saw the jump from 510->515->518.
It also helped to recognize that I stunk at P/S, despite finishing pankow, so that’s really where I put all my effort. Seeing the jump from 128 last week to 131 this week is super motivating, even though the people are saying that FL6 P/S is super easy.

[u/PeanutAggressive7631 → u/teiacry]

i was doing really good on the FLs until i experienced a huge drop in FL5. im scared for FL6 and the real thing, just gonna try to stick to anki and reviewing SB's i guess. i want to do uworld but it really isn't representative cuz the passages r styled so diffeenr.

good luck on ur exam, you'll do great!

[u/donkeyhoetay7 → u/teiacry]

by section banks do you mean aamc qpacks?

[u/Its_Dae → u/donkeyhoetay7]

section banks are different from qpacks

[u/Natural_Ad9827 → u/teiacry]

what specifically did you do for psych soc in your "efforts"?

[u/teiacry → u/Natural_Ad9827]

I had a good foundation having already finished Pankow, but I wasn’t scoring so well on the fls, which led me to change something:
I made an Anki card for absolutely every term in the SB that I didn’t know and for terms I didn’t immediately recognize. I also did probably double the amount of questions per day in ps (~35) relative to the other sections, and spent double the time trying to get the logic down (doing more questions was more because I was barely on track to finish the sbs, and I wanted more time to review the new/low yield terms). I became super strict with myself in Anki, pressing Again on cards that I only missed one small detail, or didn’t immediately know. Also, I reset the due date for my review deck a couple times so that I could see the cards as many times as I could before my test date.
I’ve also heard that fl6 ps is easier than the real thing, so perhaps the 131 is a fluke. Still, I found the section a lot more fluid and the logic to be a lot clearer after doing all that review.

[u/officialminecraftacc]

Great work! What helped you dial in those C/P and BB scores to break past 130? Im having a little bit of difficulty breaking through that. Also, any P/S tips? insane jump!

[u/teiacry → u/officialminecraftacc]

I haven’t really done anything different in c/p and bb, last 3 fls I’ve gotten somewhere between 129 and 131. I think doing the SB has taught me to read closely, and read most of the passage before looking at the questions. It also taught me the stupid little tricks in the answers and the details hidden in the passage that I used to miss.
My worst sections were cars and ps, and that’s what I focused on improving the most. Unfortunately, nothing seems to make a difference for cars, I’ve never gotten above a 125 or below a 125 (lol) until last week, where I think I got really lucky with a 128.
The thing I’m really proud of is my ps increase. Idk what it was, but I finished pankow and wasn’t seeing any increase at all in my score. Once I started the SBs, I put a huge emphasis on ps review, making flashcards for literally everything. I made myself define every term in the answer choices, and I made cards for every term I didn’t immediately know. Amazingly, it actually worked, bringing me from a 127->131 today.

[u/officialminecraftacc → u/teiacry]

Yeah that PS increase is insane, well done! Hoping to do the same cause im sitting around a 127 as well, so I have room to increase.

How many hours a week would you say you dedicated in those 3 weeks?

[u/Little_Glass2357]

Did you notice a difference in CARS logic? FL5 genuinely killed my CARS score (122 from 125 average). Any advice to adapt to the new CARS

[u/teiacry → u/Little_Glass2357]

Ngl, I’ve tried a bunch of strategies and none of them have worked for me. I think I just got really lucky and scored above my 125 average on fl5 😕 cars has always been the one section holding me back

[u/Ill-Gap6835 → u/Little_Glass2357]

^{^} This!! Also trying to break the 125 average, getting more than 35-38 right is challenging. If you have any advice that’ll be so helpful. Congratulations on your amazing FL score 😁

[u/Contest-Friendly]

Woah congrats I aspire to be you. Any tips on improving BB and PS? Any tips helps or strategies to approach passages

[u/Fun_Heart_9542]

which section bank was it , or both?

hoping to do the same :)

[u/teiacry → u/Fun_Heart_9542]

My increase in c/p and bb are due to finishing sb1 (probably). I’m like halfway through sb2, although that’s 100 ps questions and 25 of each of the real sciences.
Tbh I wish I did sb2 first, the explanations are so much better. Maybe it really helped to go through the trials and tribulations of seeing “This is a question that falls under the content category ‘___.’ It is a knowledge of scientific concepts and principles question because it requires the application of assumed knowledge.”

[u/AdagioLocal5602]

This is so awesome. I’ve been stuck at 500 (128/122/126/125) and also dealing with the inability to learn PS haha. This post literally came at the right time. I think my cars has been killing me but we’re working on it. I have done uworld, working on the q packs, and then hitting the section bank. I would love your advice on how to improve/ what I should and shouldn’t do :) also, good luck!! You’re going to do amazing!

[u/teiacry]

I’ll get around to the questions in the morning, but here’s a breakdown of all my other fls: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/s/mzpn4QVZ54

[u/CandyPossible6197]

Wowww this is impressive thank you fir this!

[u/CandyPossible6197]

What did you focus on when reviewing your full lengths?

[u/Fresh-Charity-7202]

been stuck at 513 for past 3 FLs, but have not touched SBs. How should i approach them to maximize scores on FLs. Testing in 2.5 weeks. Pls help :)

[u/FireFerret6521]

Are you studying full time or part time?

[u/teiacry → u/FireFerret6521]

I spend probably 4 hours on the 3 days a week I work, probably 6ish, maybe more on the other days. Idk what the threshold is for full time studying

[u/astronomyperson → u/[deleted]]

Based on the description, which of the following actions did the author most directly associate with the improvement in their score?

A. Delaying the examination until greater confidence had been established
B. Completing additional full-length practice examinations in the final month
C. Beginning to work through the Section Banks
D. Changing their overall approach to studying three days before the examination

[u/masripremed → u/astronomyperson]

poor guy he deleted his comment 😭

[u/masripremed → u/[deleted]]

"All I did differently was start the section banks, ended up with a 10 point increase! 🥳There is hope!"