Increasing my MCAT score by 18 Points

During my senior of college, March 2017, I took the MCAT. I was devastated when I received my first score. I didn't even break 500. I am interested in MD/PhD programs, which have much higher MCAT averages. To make up for my mediocre first score, I knew I had to work my behind off. I took time off from studying, about 4 months. I started lightly studying again in August and picked it up around November for a January 2018 test date. I increased my score by 18 points and obtained a score that was over the national average for applicants. Here are a few tips I used to increase my score:

• PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. I took 9 practice tests from different companies. Each company had its own strengths and weaknesses and helped me learn different strategies for the test. Also, I used the AAMC material. I did not use it much for my first test, which contributed to my low score. 
• Review everything that you get wrong with a fine tooth comb. If it was content that you do not understand, thoroughly review the material. For example, I had issues with the cardiovascular system. I constantly got answers wrong. I did not have a strong foundation when I started studying, so I paid extra attention to this section. If it was a mistake, do more practice problems in that area. 
• Use Anki or some other form of recall/repetition while studying. To quote Lil Wayne, "Repetition is the father of learning." I used Anki to recall facts that I got wrong, as well as basic content information. This helped me retain information a great deal. I definitely would not have gotten my score without it. 
• Realize that you do not truly know something until you are getting every question in that area right. I thought I knew chemistry because biochemistry was my major. I ended up getting the lowest score in that section because I overestimated my abilities. 
• Study your weak areas. I literally studied CARS the week of my MCAT and Pysch/Soc about a month before. I was a philosophy minor so reading critically has never been an issue for me. I scored the highest on those two sections. Most of my prep was in biology. I did not have a good background in biology. The biochemistry was not particularly difficult but learning all of the systems of the body and basic cellular mechanisms took up most of my practice. I went from scoring 123/124 to scoring a 128 on the actual exam. This may not sound like a big improvement, but most pre-meds are biology. Therefore, they tend to skew the percentiles, so it was a huge accomplishment for me personally. 
• You will make stupid mistakes. I certainly did after every practice test. Mistakes are opportunities for learning. However, a mistake should only be made once. 

I hope this helps and good luck studying!