As an international student (with GC), I always struggled in CARS. I guess it was insurmountable. Still happy with my score.

Ask me anything about science prep tho; glad to answer any questions

The first score is my 9/12 exam. And the second score was last year. Given that I only studied for the 5/12 exam in 2-3 weeks, but I did nothing but study. My goal is a 520. I don't come from a strong science background clearly.. I did my undergrad in Human development and MS in Integrative Biology. I feel like I just don't know how to read these CP and Bio sections like english. I ran out of time nearly everytime and even on exam days. It takes me 2-3 mins to do things like 5+2 also... bc I think about and rethink it. Should I get a tutor just for this and how much can they help me fix this if I'm retaking by jan 15. I'm first gen and black, with dreams of going to medical school for free, I don't want my mcat score to be the thing that holds me back.

Hi everyone! I’m about to start studying again for the MCAT after scoring much lower than I hoped, and I’d really appreciate hearing from retakers about what worked for them. For reference I used Anki and Kaplan for content , uworld/AAMC for practice.

My current plan is to spend about a month on content review using Kaplan books and Anki, with YouTube videos for topics I’m struggling with. But I know I need to change my approach instead of repeating the same thing and expecting a different result.

How did you figure out what went wrong with your previous attempt? What changes to your studying, practice, or test-taking approach made the biggest difference?

Thanks so much for any advice!

Kaplan is saying Moles of Enzyme per second.

Why is that? I don’t quite understand that conceptually

anki cards ("Anki Kādo") is just japanese for flash cards. found this out watching an anime lmao.

Let’s say i had 500 clinical hours by may (app started). Do they also consider the hours i will be doing while im waitint for the acceptance? Will we have somewhere to add the expected hours in the application and are those taken into consideration? If not can i just add how much im expecting as part of my clinical hours

It’s so dumb and confusing. Just talk about it normally. I don’t want this confusing metaphor I have to keep connecting back and forth to the actual topic lol

In total, I did 8430 practice questions, including 13 FLs and 3 half FLs

This includes:

1. 1055 JW questions at 73% accuracy
2. 2691 uplanet questions (89.6% completion) at 73% accuracy
3. all AAMC practice questions

I averaged 517.3 across 7 official FLs: unscored 512/515/514/519/518/518/525

So I technically averaged my last two official FLs (129/127/130/132) and (129/132/132/132)

Third party FLs were rough:

• BP FL1 — 509 
• PR FL1 — 509 
• PR FL2 — 503 
• BP Diagnostic — 514 
• PR FL3 — 506 
• Kap FL — 514 
• Alti 1/2 Length Exam — 514 
• MSC hFL — 514 
• PR Free FL — 510

Finished all of Pankow and Milesdown decks

Crusty Penis → neural crest develops into most of the PNS

Incline plane trick:

• Cosine crunches → perpendicular to the plane
• Sine slides → parallel to the plane
• Friction fights → friction opposes relative motion or impending motion

Ox-hemoglobin dissociation curve → Increase CADET = right shift

• CO₂
• Acid (increased H⁺)
• 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-BPG)
• Exercise
• Temperature

Fatty acid synthesis = Amy Can Ride Dick Right → Attach, Condense, Reduce, Dehydrate, Reduce

Beta-oxidation = Oh HOT → Oxidation, Hydration, Oxidation, Thiolysis

Electromagnetic spectrum: Raging Martians Invaded Venus Using X-ray Guns → Radio, Microwaves, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma rays

PORN

• Proactive = old memories interfere with new memories
• Retroactive = new memories interfere with old memories

She Always Likes Kinky Sex Positions → Strong acids have large Ka values and small pKa values

Female ORM applicant from NYC, currently a junior. My goal is to attend an MD school, as I’m interested in pursuing a highly competitive specialty, specifically orthopedic surgery. I would strongly prefer to attend medical school in NY or another major city rather than a rural area. I also plan to apply traditionally, without taking any gap years.

GPA: 3.82 cumulative and science GPA, both of which will likely increase by the time I apply. (upward trend)

Clinical Experience: I’ve been working as a medical scribe for an adult orthopedic spine surgeon for the past 1.5 years and plan to continue until graduation. (will be over 1k hours)

Shadowing: I shadowed an adult orthopedic spine surgeon throughout my freshman year. I also spent three months shadowing physicians in pediatric orthopedics, anesthesiology, and family medicine on a daily basis. (hundreds of hours in total)

Research: I’ve been involved in orthopedic research for the past six months and expect to have at least one abstract and one publication by the time I apply.

Volunteering: I’ve been volunteering by assisting my physical therapist since the beginning of high school.

Teaching: I’ve served as an undergraduate organic chemistry TA for two semesters.

MCAT: I just received my score on Tuesday: 510 (128/126/127/129).

I’m currently conflicted about whether to retake the MCAT. Given my goal of attending an MD school, preferably in NYC, elsewhere in NY, or another major city, I’m unsure whether a 510 will significantly limit my options, particularly at more competitive schools.

I would really appreciate feedback on how competitive my application looks so far, whether an MCAT retake would be worthwhile, and what I should prioritize improving before applying, especially since I’m hoping to matriculate without taking a gap year.

If you know him, you know that he's mainly a tutor for USMLE but he has an MCAT QBANK with 5000+ questions. I've heard that his USMLE qbank has worked unbelievably well for the med students taking 2ck and I'm wondering if anyone has found success on the MCAT using his qbank seeing how well he preps the questions?

Hi everyone! I could really use some advice, especially from people who have retaken the MCAT and significantly improved their scores.

I took the MCAT twice and scored a 495 the first time and a 498 the second time, despite studying for six weeks before my retake. I was scoring in the 500s on my practice exams, so I am feeling pretty discouraged and trying to figure out what I need to change.

The first time around, I matured the MileDown Anki deck, excluding Psych/Soc, for which I used Pankow instead. I also completed less than 20% of UWorld and went through AAMC resources, but I did not consistently practice under timed conditions.

For my second attempt, I took Altius practice exams 1–5 because I thought test anxiety might have been the main issue. However, after scoring a 498, I want to completely reevaluate my study strategy rather than repeat the same mistakes.

I am planning to retake in January, which gives me approximately three months to prepare. I want to use this time as effectively as possible and make meaningful improvements before my next attempt.

For those who have been in a similar situation and improved significantly:
What did you change about your study strategy?
- Which resources helped you the most? Was completing most or all of UWorld essential?
- Are there any Anki decks you would recommend over MileDown?
- Did any prep courses actually help you improve your score?
- How did you approach AAMC practice materials and full-length exams?
- If you struggled with test anxiety or scored much lower on the real exam than on your practice tests, what helped you overcome that?

I would genuinely appreciate any advice, resources, or study schedules that helped you break through a score plateau. I am willing to change my approach completely and put in the work. Thank you!

I am curious if anyone has taken the MCAT before taking the two semesters of physics that most med schools require. I graduated with my Bachelor’s in 2025, but had not yet decided I wanted to pursue med school so I have not yet taken those classes. I plan to take them of course, likely in the summer, but at this point, I have started to prepare for the MCAT, and I am wondering if this is feasible/if anyone has done this. If yes, any advice is appreciated!

Scored a 507 on 9/4 and was pretty upset about it because I’ve scored a 511 and a 513 on full lengths. Obviously SUPER upset about CARS cuz that’s the lowest I’ve ever scored😭. I plan on retaking hopefully in January, but does anyone have any tips for me to assure I score above a 510? Please any help is needed I’m definitely in a rough spot right now!!

Do people inflate their clinical hours because the numbers i’m usually seeing are crazy😭😭. I’m literally just starting as an MA this week and it feels like i won’t have time to get as much hours before the next application. Especially since my stats are really low so i need something to save my application.

Hi guys, kinda overwhelmed rn, there is a lot of resources for content review and I'm just starting to plan out my studying and am confused on where to start. Some people say get kaplan books (but they're so expensive..) and others say Khan Academy and Youtube is sufficient for content review. Based on your own experiences what worked for you guys? Is it worth paying for kaplan books or are free resources enough? Any tips to survive lol (I'm studying for the MCAT while taking classes rip) anywayss help is appreciated thank you!!

Hi I have ADHD, Audio Processing Disorder and Binocular Vision Dysfunction. I tried for accommodations this MCAT testing year yet they told me they likely would not be approved by my testing date (9/4).

I took the MCAT back in August 2025 and scored 486 then took it again this September which i got a 489. I was averaging in the high 490s so I was really discouraged to see my score drop in every section by 2-3 points which was below what I was averaging.

I took all my practice tests under the proctored testing conditions to try to minimize anxiety when it came to test day. This past summer I had a neuropsych evaluation and the provider suggested I get accommodations such as breaks, time and half and ability to be in a room where I could read aloud due to how I process information. I was curious if someone has been through this experience and what would they suggest when approaching to take this test for a third time so I am successful this go around. Thank you for any advice :)