How He Increased His MCAT Score From 499 To 512 In 3 Weeks
Hey future doctor!
Picture this...
You've given yourself 8 weeks to crush the MCAT and get a 510+ score.
Beginning of your MCAT prep, you score a 498...
But that's no problem because you start studying extremely hard. You know if you spend the time and energy, you can achieve your goal...
4 weeks later (halfway through your MCAT prep), you do another practice test...
And you get a 499!
At this point you're panicking, you're demotivated, you're confused, and don't know what to do next.
All that work for a 1 point score increase!
This is exactly what happened to Troy Dolmetsch, today's featured MCAT Master:
From 64th Percentile To 98th Percentile On The MCAT In Less Than 30 Days
Hey future doctor!
In this post we have two special treats for you...
First, you're not only going to learn exactly how Dan scored a 520 on the MCAT, but also how he got there when he was just scoring a 506 one month before the exam date!
That's right - Dan increased his MCAT score by 14 points in less than 30 days, and in today's feature MCAT success story, you're going to find out how.
How To Increase Your MCAT Score By 10 Points Within 30 Days
Dear future doctor,
If your MCAT score isn't increasing fast enough....
If you got a horrible score on your recent practice exam...
If you feel like you have a super long way to go before you reach your MCAT score goal, that you absolutely NEED in order to open doors to med-school...
The first thing we want to say to you is...
It's going to be okay.
How do we know?
What if we told you that almost every 90+ percentile MCAT scorer felt the same way, at some point during their MCAT prep?
What if we told you that there came a point in every "current med-schoolers" MCAT prep journey where they felt 'stuck', where they felt like there was not enough time, where they feel like there was way too much information to study, where they felt like med-school admission might just be unattainable...
Yet today, those same students are on their way to becoming physicians.
Over the the years at MCAT Mastery, we’ve seen premeds who have improved their MCAT scores from 499 to 512, from 489 to 509, from 500 to 521, from 505 to 517, from 50th percentiles to 90th percentiles (and the list goes on)... in a matter of weeks.
Clearly, something "clicks" for these top scorers that enables them to skyrocket their MCAT score very quickly. There comes a moment where they just 'get it'. Our goal is to give you the key insights you need to make it 'click' for you too.
4 Strategies To Increase Your Bio/Biochem (B/B) Score On The MCAT Fast
Is your Bio/Biochem score suffering on the MCAT? Did you recently do a practice exam and were surprised at how low your Bio/Biochem score was? Do you need to increase it as soon as possible?
If so, you're in the right place...
Maybe you know all amino acids and most of the content, but you feel like something isn't connecting. Maybe you've asked people for advice and all you hear is "just do more practice passages". Maybe you're worried that you haven't taken a Biochem course and won't know how to do well in this section.
We've heard it all and we have your solution...
What you need are PROVEN tips, strategies, and thought processes on how to approach B/B passages.
Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of MCAT test takers increase their scores to competitive levels. As we research and interview 515+ scorers and their strategies they used to dominate the MCAT, we also single out those who score over 130 (we usually single out 132 scorers) in particular sections and try to drill down on the most powerful strategies they used for those specific sections.
In this post, we’re going to provide you with some of the most effective 130+ Bio/Biochem MCAT scorer strategies which you can apply right away to increase your B/B score fast and get over that 130 level yourself.
Is MCAT Tutoring Worth It For You? This Is How To Decide…
It's a good question...
Is it worth it for every student to get tutored for the MCAT?
You might expect us to say "yes", but to be honest, tutoring isn't for everyone.
Of course, there are the obvious few who shouldn't get tutoring like if you're just starting MCAT prep. Why not try to study yourself first and see if you can increase your scores continuously and hit your score goal?
How To Approach MCAT Passages And Figures Like A 90+ Percentile Scorer
A common recommendation we hear some MCAT “experts” make is to look at the questions first or to glance through the passage first, before properly reading the passage.
From our research of the way 90+ percentile scorers practiced for the MCAT, we don’t recommend simply ‘glancing’ or ‘skimming’ through a passage.
If you simply ‘glance’ or ‘skim’ through a paragraph, you’re most definitely going to have to revisit it. That wastes our precious and limited time. That also wastes mental energy that you want to use strategically throughout the entire 7.5 hour exam.
Instead, here's what we recommend...
4 MCAT Timing Strategies Used By 90+ Percentile MCAT Scorers
Timing is a huge issue for a lot of MCAT test takers and it's something we want to address in this article.
The most counterproductive thing to do is to be taking your exam while worrying about time; constantly checking the clock and calculating how much time you have left and how much you’ve already used up.
That pressure alone is enough to cloud your thinking, making it harder to remember what you studied, and overall make you less effective during the exam.
To overcome this hurdle, top scorers used some specific MCAT timing strategies. We’ll share a few of them here with you...
How He Went From 499 To 513 On The MCAT In 8 Weeks
Be honest…
Before you began studying for the MCAT, you thought it wasn’t going to be so bad…
You figured you’d have a good shot at getting a 510+ or a 515+ MCAT score if you just spent enough time memorizing the content…
But then you got your first practice exam score back and…
Ouch! Reality hits you in the face like a ton of MCAT prep books!
That’s what happened to Peter Kim, our featured top scorer in today's MCAT Master Interview.
Peter's goal MCAT score was a 515, but when he was 75% of the way into his MCAT prep, he did a practice test and scored a 499.
Extremely discouraged, Peter knew something had to change.
How Lindsay Scored 513 On The MCAT While Working Two Jobs
Want to know the smartest way to being successful? Follow the methods of successful people 🙂
Which is why we love bringing you the real life success stories of top MCAT scorers! So you can see how they progressed on this difficult journey and managed to achieve a competitive MCAT score that opens doors to med-schools.
In this success story, we have a lot of details for you, so you can really understand and get in the mind of how this top scorer prepared and studied to achieve her 88th percentile MCAT score.
It definitely wasn't easy...
She faced many battles that often had her really discouraged...
But no matter how hard it got, you'll see that she was always able to take a step back, recalibrate, and move forward with persistence, positivity, and an improved plan.
In today's MCAT Master Interview, we'd like to introduce you to Lindsay Partin, a 513 scorer...
How Melissa Scored 512 On The MCAT In 4 Months
You've heard the MCAT is a 'mindset' based exam (you probably heard it from us)...
Some people brush that off. Others know it's important but still don't do anything about it!
Taking care of your mindset takes some effort, but it's so worth it.
Here's one top scorer that demonstrated how powerful mindset really is when it comes to dominating the MCAT...
In this interview, we want to introduce you to Melissa Ma, a 512 scorer:
130+ CARS Scorer AAMC Passage Dissection: Step-By-Step Breakdown of How Top Scorers Walkthrough CARS Passages
In this article, we've done a full step-by-step demonstration for you of how a 130+ CARS scorer would go through all the paragraphs of an AAMC CARS passage, analyze all the questions and all the answer choices, and consistently identify the right answer choice.
It's our hope that with this and the many other CARS passage dissections we have for you, you are able to get a better understanding of how all the strategies we talk about, are applied in different scenarios.
Before going through this, it would be helpful if you're already familiar with a lot of the top scorer CARS strategies we mention throughout our blog and emails. But if not, you'll still find this valuable (you might just miss a few things here and there).
In order to follow along you’ll need to have access to the AAMC CARS Question Packs (Volumes 1 and 2).
Here we’ll be covering Passage 15 from Question Pack 1. Before moving on, make sure you have it open.
MCAT Exam Day Strategies Of 90+ Percentile MCAT Scorers
Picture this...
It's exam day. You're taking the MCAT and you come across the hardest section you’ve ever encountered...
What do you do?!
Of course, you start panicking...
Is all your hard work going to waste?!
In this article, we're going to tell you how 515+ scorers dealt with a situation like this. Be sure to read to the end 🙂
How To Increase Your Psych/Soc (P/S) Score on the MCAT
In this article, you’ll learn P/S strategies and tips from 130+ P/S Scorers and how they increased their Psych/Soc score on the MCAT incredibly fast!
Most students know the importance of achieving a balanced MCAT score. You don’t want there to be one ‘problem’ section that sticks out.
If Psych/Soc is a problem section for you, you’re in the right place…
6 Point Score Increase In the Last Week Before the MCAT
Imagine this. It's the last week before the MCAT and your biggest MCAT prep fear has come true...
You just took a practice exam and you're not scoring ANYWHERE near the score you need to get into the med-school you're aiming for!
What do you do!? This is definitely a scenario that calls for a lot of anxiety and panic.
Well, that's exactly the situation Rachel found herself in...
And in this article, you're going to learn exactly how she managed to take her score from "disappointing" to hitting her target score in less than a week!
With her MCAT prep insights and strategies, we hope you can replicate her results for yourself and increase your MCAT score significantly in just a week, regardless of how far you are from your MCAT test date!
A Non-Traditional Applicant’s 514 (91st Percentile) MCAT Success Story
Throughout our ongoing 90+ percentile MCAT scorer research and interviews over the years, we've come across many non-traditional MCAT test takers.
We find their MCAT success stories especially inspiring because they're often struggling with additional pressures and challenges that the average MCAT scorer doesn't face.
Recently, we interviewed Valentina Viertel...
A graduate student and a stay at home mom who was pregnant for almost her entire journey as she was studying for the MCAT!
In fact, she was 24 weeks pregnant when she took the MCAT!
Not only that, but as you'll find out in her interview below, it had been 5 years since Valentina graduated college and almost 10 years since she took some of the pre-reqs!
The most amazing part?
Even with all of these additional barriers...
Valentina managed to increase her MCAT score by 19 points and achieve a 514 (91st percentile) MCAT score.
5 Simple MCAT Strategies To Instantly Increase Your MCAT Score
Do you want to get the highest MCAT score that is within your capabilities?
Do you want to know the smartest, fastest, and simplest formula to make that happen?
In this article we'll cover 5 effective yet easy-to-apply MCAT strategies that can lead to a very quick score increase.
But first, understand that anyone who achieved a competitive MCAT score, did it by applying strategy to their MCAT prep.
The biggest reason most premeds end up writing the MCAT more than once is because they didn't understand that they need to study for the MCAT differently and a lot more strategically than how they've been studying for exams all their life.
They usually realize this after they bomb the first (or second) MCAT.
Next, realize that most of the MCAT strategies and 'studying tips' that are out there are useless. They're made by people who don't have any evidence to back up their claims.
The evidence we focus on is the only one that matters; the MCAT score.
If I'm going to spend my valuable time and energy applying someone's MCAT study strategy or tip, I need to be sure it works. I need to know what their MCAT score is and how many other high scorers have applied the same strategy.
KEY POINT
The key to achieving a competitive MCAT score is using the same strategies 90+ percentile scorers have used to master the MCAT and get into med-school.
Without a high MCAT score, med-schools don't even bother looking at any other aspect of your application. The MCAT score is how they filter out who's application they're going to spend time looking at.
If you understand that one simple insight, you're already ahead of most MCAT writers and med-school applicants. Now, your level of success on the MCAT depends solely on what you do with this knowledge and if you actually apply it.
At MCAT Mastery, we're the intermediaries between MCAT writers like you and 90+ percentile MCAT scorers.
We do the research, we run paid interviews, and we bring top-scorer strategies directly to you for you to apply and skyrocket your MCAT score...
So you can achieve a competitive MCAT score and greatly increase your chances of getting admitted into your choice of med-school.
Here we've compiled 5 simple 'quick application' top-scorer MCAT strategies you can start using during your MCAT prep right away.
We recommend you take the time to read through and actually try out each one because most of the tips here can lead to an almost immediate increase in your next practice test score.
So let's begin...
Continue reading
MCAT Science Passage Strategies Used By Top MCAT Scorers
Are your science sections suffering on the MCAT?
Do you feel like you know a lot, if not all, of the content but something is just off because it’s not reflecting in your score?
Are you looking for logical ways to approach those confusing science passages?
Do you want a quick score increase especially on the Chemistry/Physics section of the MCAT?
How She Increased Her MCAT Score By 12 Points (From 505 to 517)
Hey Future Doctor,
We have a question for you...
What's better than getting a jolt of inspiration from the success of someone who was once where you are now (struggling with the MCAT), and is now where you hope to be soon (with an amazing MCAT score and med-schools knocking at your door)?
Answer: Finding out exactly what steps they took to get there so you can do the same!
In this post, you're going to get both: the inspiration + the steps 😉
9 Ways To Stay Motivated For The MCAT and Avoid MCAT Prep Burnout
Are you struggling to stay motivated for the MCAT? Do you find yourself burning out constantly and wanting to procrastinate?
Recently we've been spending time with top MCAT scorers figuring out how they kept themselves motivated for the MCAT.
An exam of this length with this extreme amount of content to know, requires a whole new level of motivation than the exams you're used to.
We realized that someone who has mastered the ability to motivate themselves during MCAT prep, can make progress in their MCAT score at a MUCH faster rate than someone who studies for this exam like it's their regular college exam.
It seems obvious, but we know that if we're dedicating ourselves to providing you with the tools to skyrocket your MCAT score in the quickest amount of time, then the topic of MCAT motivation needs to be addressed.
Some will dismiss this as 'soft' skills that don't matter...
Those who are smart, will take this seriously and master themselves.
When you master yourself, you'll be able to master the MCAT, and more importantly you'll truly be ready to take on med-school...
How Jennifer Increased Her MCAT Score By 10 Points In Less Than 30 Days
Imagine this...
You take your baseline test at the beginning of your MCAT prep, and you score a 500! Not bad right?
In fact, you're kind of pumped because you have 4.5 months before you write your MCAT! That's a lot of time to improve your score by 10 or more points! Especially since you're investing in a big-name MCAT prep company to help you study...
So you take the exam 4.5 months later, you get your score and you can't believe your eyes when you see that you scored a 501...
How To Increase Your Chem/Phys (C/P) Score on the MCAT Fast
Over the years, we’ve helped thousands of MCAT test takers increase their scores to competitive levels and it’s obvious that Chem/Phys and CARS are two of the most challenging sections for most.
As we research and interview 515+ scorers and their strategies they used to dominate the MCAT, we also single out those who scored over 130 (we usually single out 132 scorers) in particular sections and try to drill down on the most powerful strategies they used for those specific sections.
In this post, we’re going to provide you with some of the most effective 130+ C/P scorer "quick strategies" which you can apply right away to increase your C/P score fast and get over the 129 mark yourself.
How To Cross The 500 Mark On The MCAT
Are you frustrated with not being able to consistently get over the 500 hump on your MCAT practice exams?
Or maybe you've already written the MCAT before and couldn't seem to break that 500 barrier?
You're not alone. We've come across many MCAT writers in our community who faced the same frustrations...
Who doubted their abilities and their future...
But ended up achieving a competitive, balanced 510+ MCAT score.
Today, they're in med-school and on their way to becoming doctors.
So our first piece of advice is to not worry. You'll be fine. As long as you're willing to adjust your current MCAT study process, you'll see your score improve.
With that said, let's begin with discussing how you can get over the 500 mark on your next practice test...
Low MCAT Score? Here’s What 510+ Scorers Recommend You Do Now
Are you spending days studying for the MCAT and still seeing low scores?
Do you feel you're doing a decent job at memorizing and understanding concepts, but still not scoring as high as you want to?
For most premeds there comes a point during MCAT prep where you hit a brick wall. A certain score or a score range that you can’t get beyond.
Depending where you are in your MCAT prep it might be getting over the 500 mark, the 510 mark, or maybe it’s getting beyond mid 120’s on the CARS section.
Regardless, the walls are normal and come up almost inevitably for most students. But this can get extremely frustrating…
We truly feel you on that one. When your scores aren’t improving, and especially if you’ve gone days or weeks without seeing that improvement, things get scary.
But don't worry, it's not your fault. You just need to take a new perspective...
12 Scientific Steps To Get Your Maximum MCAT Score
The highest score you can get on the MCAT is a 528.
In this article, we're about to show you how you can go about achieving the closest score you can possibly get to that elusive 528. We're going to show you how you can achieve your maximum MCAT score.
Achieving your maximum MCAT score isn’t a result of just studying “harder” or studying more. It’s about studying better and studying smarter.
If you’re not seeing your score progress, it’s because there's something missing from the way you're studying for the MCAT, or there's something you're doing that's holding your score back.
If you want to get your score as high as it possibly can be, you need to raise the effectiveness of your current MCAT study habits, mindset, and strategies...
If you're like most premeds, the effectiveness of your MCAT prep is probably much below 70% and with some simple tweaks and changes to your MCAT prep style, you can maximize your efficiency, and consequently, your MCAT score.
In this article, we're going to cover proven ways to maximize your MCAT prep mindset, habits, strategies, and more, so that in the next week or two, you can start seeing tremendous progress...
How To Increase Your CARS Score on the MCAT Fast
Is the CARS section of the MCAT turning out to be one of your biggest challenges during MCAT prep?
Do you finish reading a passage and have no idea how to move forward with identifying the right answer?
Are you struggling with timing, comprehension, and identifying the most important points in CARS passages?
Lastly, are you hoping to increase your CARS score as soon as possible?
If so, this CARS strategy article was written for you 🙂
How Your Beliefs About The MCAT Are Keeping Your Score Low
As you know, we love talking about the unconventional concepts; those ideas that other MCAT prep companies never address.
We know that these are also essential pieces of the puzzle that will lead to your MCAT success, that must not be ignored.
In this article, we want to talk to you about the beliefs of top MCAT scorers.
A Powerful 510+ Scorer MCAT Study Hack Every Premed Should Be Using
One of the biggest failures we see in those who are studying for the MCAT, is that they don't invest time and energy into maximizing their mental and physical performance abilities during this critical phase of their lives...
A phase on which the fate of their medical future rests.
MCAT Retake Success: How She Retook The MCAT and Scored 510
Hey Future Doctor,
If you're retaking the MCAT, this post was written for you. In fact, even if you aren't retaking the MCAT and this is your first time writing, you're going to get some great insights from a real 510 scorer!
Let's begin...
Some students feel like retaking the MCAT is harder than taking it the first time because the pressure to succeed becomes greater...
However we'd argue it's easier.
If you can get beyond the disappointment and the negative emotions, and take the time to reflect, you can learn a lot about yourself from the 'first-time' experience.
The insights you get from reflection, can lead to a much more strategic MCAT prep study plan to make sure you dominate your next MCAT exam.
In this article, we'd like to introduce you to someone who retook the MCAT and scored a 510 the second time around...
Her name is Oleksandra Kaskun and here's her inspiring MCAT success story...
From 489 To 509: How Miriam Improved Her MCAT Score By 20 Points
Have you ever wondered how some students increase their MCAT score in such huge jumps?
We're talking 20 point score increases! We're talking 20 point score increases WHILE managing full course loads and a job!
Well in today's case study, you're about to hear from someone who did just that...
We'd like to introduce you to Miriam Alghothani, a 509 scorer:
Click image to enlarge.
Her Motivational MCAT Success Story: From 499 To 511 In 3 Weeks?!
It's easy to get overwhelmed when studying for the MCAT. In fact, overwhelm can be one of your biggest hurdles on this journey...
Especially when there is so much to learn and remember. Especially if you keep getting lower scores than you want on your practice exams.
In this MCAT success story, you'll hear how a fellow MCAT Mastery Community member dealt with and overcame many of these challenges.
At the end of it all, she achieved an impressive, balanced MCAT score that is sure to open doors to some of her top picks in med-school...
We'd like to introduce you to Jenny Paul, a 511 scorer:
Click image to enlarge.
Why Your Fear Is Keeping Your MCAT Score Low
Most students feel like the MCAT and fear go hand in hand. If you're writing the MCAT, you may have just accepted fear as part of your daily life, dealing with it until test day is over.
That's an unfortunate but common situation; premeds are spending months chasing a higher MCAT score, but struggle to reach it because of one thing that they refuse to let go of... fear.