MCAT score plateaus: why they happen, and what to do about them

Health Professions MCAT test anxiety
By Katelyn

MCAT-10One of the most common frustrations that I’ve seen students run into during their MCAT studying is the dreaded score plateau. A student’s studying is going well, they are improving on their practice exam scores and feel confident in their content mastery, but then several exams in a row show the same score. It can feel demoralizing, but remember, it happens to nearly all students, even students who end up with 520+ scores, and it is a normal part of the MCAT studying process.

Plateaus occur because a student has rounded out all of their most prominent content gaps, familiarized themselves with the basics of MCAT strategy and reasoning skills, and addressed any glaring problems with time management. In other words, plateaus occur when we have fixed our most obvious weaknesses, and now the mistakes that we’re making, while fewer in number, are subtler, more systemic, and harder to address. When we reach this stage of the studying process, the appropriate prescription is a detailed exam review.

Look at what you missed on your last few practice exams. Were there certain content areas where you kept missing questions? That can be a sign that you are misunderstanding some key aspect of that field, even if you know the basic science behind it. Did you do better or worse in certain sections? That can be an insight to guide your drilling. Are you scoring better or worse on easy or medium or hard questions? A stronger performance on questions classified as easy often means that you are approaching the exam too shallowly. Go back to the hard questions you got wrong, and really dig into your thought process: Why did you choose answer choice A? Why was A wrong? Why was answer choice B correct? Why did you rule out B? Focus on understanding and changing your thought process, rather than passively reviewing your mistakes. On the flip side, you may see that you actually did better on medium and hard questions, and struggled on questions classified as easy. Don’t feel embarrassed; this is actually quite common! It is typically a sign that you are overthinking questions, looking for reasons that are too subtle and too complex. When this happens, review the explanations for those “easier” questions that you missed, and try to find ways to streamline and simplify your thought process. Remember Occam’s Razor: the simplest reasoning process is likely to be the correct one.

Score plateaus can be scary, especially if you plateau at a point below your target score, but overcoming a score plateau is not an insurmountable task. Expect that it will happen when you begin studying, don’t panic when it finally does happen, and focus on a detailed test review to solve it. Remember that while content weaknesses can play a part in score plateaus, a plateau is typically more deeply rooted in our reasoning skills and how we approach questions. This is especially true for score plateaus above the 505 score range. However, with these study approaches, you’ll be better equipped to bypass your plateau wherever it may occur.

Comments

topicTopics
academics study skills MCAT medical school admissions SAT expository writing college admissions English MD/PhD admissions strategy writing LSAT GMAT GRE physics chemistry math biology graduate admissions academic advice ACT interview prep law school admissions test anxiety language learning premed MBA admissions career advice personal statements homework help AP exams creative writing MD study schedules test prep computer science Common Application summer activities history mathematics philosophy organic chemistry secondary applications economics supplements research 1L PSAT admissions coaching grammar law psychology statistics & probability legal studies ESL CARS SSAT covid-19 dental admissions logic games reading comprehension engineering USMLE calculus PhD admissions Spanish mentorship parents Latin biochemistry case coaching verbal reasoning DAT English literature STEM excel medical school political science skills AMCAS French Linguistics MBA coursework Tutoring Approaches academic integrity chinese letters of recommendation Anki DO Social Advocacy admissions advice algebra art history artificial intelligence astrophysics business cell biology classics diversity statement gap year genetics geometry kinematics linear algebra mechanical engineering mental health presentations quantitative reasoning study abroad technical interviews time management work and activities 2L DMD IB exams ISEE MD/PhD programs Sentence Correction adjusting to college algorithms amino acids analysis essay athletics business skills careers cold emails data science dental school finance first generation student functions graphing information sessions international students internships logic networking poetry resume revising science social sciences software engineering tech industry trigonometry writer's block 3L AAMC Academic Interest EMT FlexMed Fourier Series Greek Health Professional Shortage Area Italian Lagrange multipliers London MD vs PhD MMI Montessori National Health Service Corps Pythagorean Theorem Python Shakespeare Step 2 TMDSAS Taylor Series Truss Analysis Zoom acids and bases active learning architecture argumentative writing art art and design schools art portfolios bacteriology bibliographies biomedicine brain teaser campus visits cantonese capacitors capital markets central limit theorem centrifugal force chemical engineering chess chromatography class participation climate change clinical experience community service constitutional law consulting cover letters curriculum dementia demonstrated interest dimensional analysis distance learning econometrics electric engineering electricity and magnetism escape velocity evolution executive function freewriting genomics harmonics health policy history of medicine history of science hybrid vehicles hydrophobic effect ideal gas law immunology induction infinite institutional actions integrated reasoning intermolecular forces intern investing investment banking lab reports linear maps mandarin chinese matrices mba medical physics meiosis microeconomics mitosis mnemonics music music theory nervous system neurology neuroscience object-oriented programming office hours operating systems

Related Content