The Official 04/13/2012 MCAT Thread

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Originally Posted by 74X8

I had a quick question regarding the screen format of the test. It was little different from the aamc screen format. There were a total of 7 pages and all the 7 passages and discrete questions were included in the 7 pages, is this correct? i am not sure if i forgot to do the last page.

Did you hit review to make sure that there were no incomplete answers?

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

Took the test yesterday. Thought it was all right compared to practice tests.

PS seemed a bit more complicated than AAMC tests but not much harder. It just seemed like I had to keep track of a few more variables that would influence the answer. I was averaging around 11 and feel like that's probably what I got.

VR I was pretty confident though the whole thing. On FL I was getting fluctuating scores between 9-11. I bought the EK 101 VR and did 11 of those tests, then took AAMC 10 and 11 and got VR scores of 11 and 13 so I hope those carried over to the test yesterday. Yesterday I just ran out of time and had about 4 minutes to do the last passage. Mosty educated guesses based on the question stems but this seems pretty common for most people. Yes it was long, but doable had I moved faster. But then, maybe I would have gotten more wrong so I'm betting it was a wash.

BS really hard. Studying helped in terms of timing and that was about it. I was also a bio major, worked in a lab for 2.5 years in undergrad (about 30hrs a week), and I currently work at the NIH in a stem cell/neuro lab. I'm sure these experiences helped but I still found it hard. I think this may have been due to the organic content (2 passages + discretes). I guessed on almost an entire passage. I figured it was better to make a good guess at it and have more time for content I was more familiar with. The passage was very complex as well. I was averaging 12s on this section and feel like I got about a 9.

WS really easy

Hey Guys..

I'm highly in need of the Berkeley Review books.if you have it and want to sell them it, please send me a PM. I really need it asap, and can't seem to catch it when they are posted on the ad sections,.

THANK YOU!

Originally Posted by COTA2Phys

Did you hit review to make sure that there were no incomplete answers?

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

Unfortunately i did not have time to hit the review button . But i felt i finished the exam because in the bottom of the page it said page 7 of 7 which was an orgo passage.

Originally Posted by 74X8

Unfortunately i did not have time to hit the review button . But i felt i finished the exam because in the bottom of the page it said page 7 of 7 which was an orgo passage.

Just a heads up--On the test when it says passage 7 of 7, there are still questions after that for the discretes. Unless the passages and discretes are not in order, but for me at least I was like wow I finished the last question so early, I hit next and saw 3 more questions which were the discretes lol

Originally Posted by 74X8

Unfortunately i did not have time to hit the review button . But i felt i finished the exam because in the bottom of the page it said page 7 of 7 which was an orgo passage.

Could some one please tell me if the last questions in the Bio and physical sciences section were discrete question or passage based question because i felt like maybe i missed the if there are discrete questions. Because in the aamc practice test we always have discrete question to finish off the sections.

would you guys say that the bio passages were more like TBR or TPRH science workbook?

Originally Posted by 74X8

I had a quick question regarding the screen format of the test. It was little different from the aamc screen format. There were a total of 7 pages and all the 7 passages and discrete questions were included in the 7 pages, is this correct? i am not sure if i forgot to do the last page.

Did you check at the end and see any unanswered questions in the summary? That should have told you if you completed it all.

the bio passages were more like TPRH (especially like the ICC book ones)

What would ya'll say about the topics presented compared to the MCAT list (essentials) on the aamc website? Were there any topics covered on the exam that the list EXCLUDED?

Originally Posted by syoung

What would ya'll say about the topics presented compared to the MCAT list (essentials) on the aamc website? Were there any topics covered on the exam that the list EXCLUDED?

Yup definitely a lot, at least on PS--I don't remember the content covered didt really pay as much attention while taking, but on BS as well a lot f stuff wasn't on it, but then again last year some stuff was covered on my exam that wasn't this time, so I guess anything is fair game--practice it all

Just out of curiosity, since it was brought up. Is the format the same as the AAMC practice tests where there are three sets of discretes? These aren't listed with the passages right?

I go through and do all the discretes first on the practice exam but if on the real thing they are going to be hard to find/dispersed I definitely want to change that strategy.


Thanks! Hope you all did well.

Originally Posted by EnginrTheFuture

Just out of curiosity, since it was brought up. Is the format the same as the AAMC practice tests where there are three sets of discretes? These aren't listed with the passages right?

I go through and do all the discretes first on the practice exam but if on the real thing they are going to be hard to find/dispersed I definitely want to change that strategy.


Thanks! Hope you all did well.

Yeah there were three sets. They aren't that hard to find since the bottom left part of the screen will say "Passage 4 out of 7" or "Questions 18 through 22".

My friend took the test yesterday, though he is pretty nonchalant about most things he said it wasn't that bad. He felt like bio wasn't bad, but that's because he's taken several upper level bio courses like genetics and developmental bio. He definitely isn't a genius and he didn't study that hard, but maybe that's just his personality.

I have a feeling that you guys who took the test on the 13th might have had an experimental passage on the BS section aka the ochem heavy passage.

Originally Posted by wild2taz

I have a feeling that you guys who took the test on the 13th might have had an experimental passage on the BS section aka the ochem heavy passage.

let's hope that you're right..... for those of us who took it, you should know exactly which passage was absolutely ridiculous

Yes, I hope so as well. I really can't understand how someone would create one of those passages where you only see 1 mechanism at a time, but have 3 different mechanisms. I'm sure you all know which one, but it makes me wonder if they ever check and see what it looks like on the computer screen that we have to use. For as much as we pay for the test, they should have thought it through better or provide better monitors. Did anyone leave a comment about it at the end? I did, but I doubt it will get anywhere.

Does anyone know if they are going to decrease the cost of the test next year since the writing section won't be part of it and they won't be paying someone to read and grade it?

Hello Friends,

Let me share my thoughts!! As some of my friends here already said, this MCAT had its own moments of ups and downs. Some sections were relatively easy and some were just there to a hole in our confidence!! haha

PS:- I used TBR to prepare for this section. And to be honest I felt like at least 3-4 passages were like TBR passages. Same kind of language, same kind of tricks, same material, same style and same everything else. lol. TBR has got hold of this section really well. There were some tricky questions here and there, but I think, just like fellow test takers, this section was relatively easy compared to BS.

VR:- VR was surprisingly easy. The first passage felt like the continuation of PS Section [Fellow test takers would know what I am talking about .. ] There were 1-2 tricky long passages, but overall this section didn't give much trouble. On a side note, English is not my first language. So if I did not find it hard, then you can guess how easy it might have been for native English students!

BS:- Well ... Well ... Well .. This section was truly the reflection of latest MCAT trend toward making your experience in BS section an exceptionally strange and unforgettable one!! Most of its passages were tricky and long. For me, 2-3 passages had some images or tables that were outside the range of the screen; and I had to scroll a bit to see the tables. That was a really irritating task to do when you consider how important every second is in MCAT. For some questions, I had to use 2 tables in the same passage and to see both tables I had to scroll here and there every freaking time!!!! But hey, who are we to complain anyway. It's not like AAMC will listen to us... lol ... But yea ... there were 2 Orgo passages. And for biology, it felt like no matter what class you take or how much review you do, it won't help for BS section. All those bio passage had research data and tables in it, and you had to gain info. from that to answer the question. So even if you don't know your bio very well, you can still do well if you know how to read those LONG and FULL OF INFORMATION passages efficiently. It's both a good and bad news depending on a student. But I am sure most of the students would like it better if it asks questions that require basic background info and actually tests what you learned in those basic bio classes!!

AAMC really has to make its priorities clear. Do they want doctors who can treat patients with PHYSIOLOGICAL problems, or do they want doctors who can do their research in microbiology better than treating their patients. According to this new trend of not asking questions about anatomy and physiology and including a tons of info. about microbio and genetics research, it looks like AAMC wants scientists in the disguise of doctors. I think scientists are there to do research. Leave researching to researchers. Healing humans is the task doctors are supposed to do; and not the research.

I know my ideas may not resonate with many, but hey I just had to let off my steam. lol. But yupp ... I think I read all those passages carefully and with enough patience. Not freaking out while reading the passage and to pay enough attention to questions and its information is the key to answer those questions. I hope I did well in this section.

And yupp friends .... BEST OF LUCK to you all. I hope we ALL did well in this MCAT, and will get 30+ score after 1 month.

PS:- Let me know friends if you need any more info. regarding this 4/13/12 MCAT.

Originally Posted by Pateln381

Hello Friends,

Let me share my thoughts!! As some of my friends here already said, this MCAT had its own moments of ups and downs. Some sections were relatively easy and some were just there to a hole in our confidence!! haha

PS:- I used TBR to prepare for this section. And to be honest I felt like at least 3-4 passages were like TBR passages. Same kind of language, same kind of tricks, same material, same style and same everything else. lol. TBR has got hold of this section really well. There were some tricky questions here and there, but I think, just like fellow test takers, this section was relatively easy compared to BS.

VR:- VR was surprisingly easy. The first passage felt like the continuation of PS Section [Fellow test takers would know what I am talking about .. ] There were 1-2 tricky long passages, but overall this section didn't give much trouble. On a side note, English is not my first language. So if I did not find it hard, then you can guess how easy it might have been for native English students!

BS:- Well ... Well ... Well .. This section was truly the reflection of latest MCAT trend toward making your experience in BS section an exceptionally strange and unforgettable one!! Most of its passages were tricky and long. For me, 2-3 passages had some images or tables that were outside the range of the screen; and I had to scroll a bit to see the tables. That was a really irritating task to do when you consider how important every second is in MCAT. For some questions, I had to use 2 tables in the same passage and to see both tables I had to scroll here and there every freaking time!!!! But hey, who are we to complain anyway. It's not like AAMC will listen to us... lol ... But yea ... there were 2 Orgo passages. And for biology, it felt like no matter what class you take or how much review you do, it won't help for BS section. All those bio passage had research data and tables in it, and you had to gain info. from that to answer the question. So even if you don't know your bio very well, you can still do well if you know how to read those LONG and FULL OF INFORMATION passages efficiently. It's both a good and bad news depending on a student. But I am sure most of the students would like it better if it asks questions that require basic background info and actually tests what you learned in those basic bio classes!!

AAMC really has to make its priorities clear. Do they want doctors who can treat patients with PHYSIOLOGICAL problems, or do they want doctors who can do their research in microbiology better than treating their patients. According to this new trend of not asking questions about anatomy and physiology and including a tons of info. about microbio and genetics research, it looks like AAMC wants scientists in the disguise of doctors. I think scientists are there to do research. Leave researching to researchers. Healing humans is the task doctors are supposed to do; and not the research.

I know my ideas may not resonate with many, but hey I just had to let off my steam. lol. But yupp ... I think I read all those passages carefully and with enough patience. Not freaking out while reading the passage and to pay enough attention to questions and its information is the key to answer those questions. I hope I did well in this section.

And yupp friends .... BEST OF LUCK to you all. I hope we ALL did well in this MCAT, and will get 30+ score after 1 month.

PS:- Let me know friends if you need any more info. regarding this 4/13/12 MCAT.

Well said about the trend of Doctor to be

That was exactly how my son felt after he got out of the 3/24 test. He was steaming and obviously pissed.

Originally Posted by Pateln381

AAMC really has to make its priorities clear. Do they want doctors who can treat patients with PHYSIOLOGICAL problems, or do they want doctors who can do their research in microbiology better than treating their patients. According to this new trend of not asking questions about anatomy and physiology and including a tons of info. about microbio and genetics research, it looks like AAMC wants scientists in the disguise of doctors. I think scientists are there to do research. Leave researching to researchers. Healing humans is the task doctors are supposed to do; and not the research.

Thanks for that long post, but in regards to the quoted part I think you should realize that we are just pre-med students right now, and even if we don't have a comprehensive knowledge of human anatomy and physiology we are expected to learn that IN medical school. The fact that they are presenting these research based passages is to assess our critical thinking ability, they want doctors that can think critically in new situations as opposed to ones that can regurgitate information that they sat down and looked at for a couple months. Anyways, good luck man! I hope you get the score you were hoping for.

Originally Posted by typicalindian

Thanks for that long post, but in regards to the quoted part I think you should realize that we are just pre-med students right now, and even if we don't have a comprehensive knowledge of human anatomy and physiology we are expected to learn that IN medical school. The fact that they are presenting these research based passages is to assess our critical thinking ability, they want doctors that can think critically in new situations as opposed to ones that can regurgitate information that they sat down and looked at for a couple months. Anyways, good luck man! I hope you get the score you were hoping for.

Yes my friend, I understand their reason behind giving us the new information and then to use it to answer the Qs. They want to test our critical thinking. I completely agree with that. But why not test things that are actually related to medicine, B/c in my case, the image of the doctor in my mind is the image of a person who primarily need physiology to treat humans. Why not give passages about anatomy, physiology and why to give passages about only the very well advanced stuff like very detailed microbio, genetics and biochem. If MCAT is testing our critical skills now, then why didn't it test it in the past. Why almost all practice exams has the passages that test basic bio skills and info.

This can go on forever ... but hey man ... I understand they want doctors that can keep up with the needs of modern world. I agree with them and their ideology. I hope they will find those characteristics in us and hopefully we will be doctors one day!!

I think we are all just a little frustrated with uncertainty but we'll get there... we will all get there! Just keep working hard and try to enjoy life after the tough days/months

i highly doubt that the or go passage was an experimental...it was 8 questions that would make everything else count that much more.

Best of luck, previous 4/13 comrades. I ducked out two weeks ahead because I knew my bio wasn't where it needed to be...good thing based on all your comments.

For those of you who used Kaplan materials, I've read that the online Sections Tests were some of the best preparation for how hard the BS sections have become. Would any of you agree with this for the 4/13 exam?

The more time I have to think, the more random questions from the test pop into my head. The more that happens, the more I realize that I answered incorrectly. Damn. I'm starting to doubt myself here.

^Realistc, I took one KAPLAN full length and remember it being convoluted just like some of the stuff I saw on 4/13. I'd say KAPLAN would be a good source to use now but only for PS and BS.

Overall the bio section was different than most tests I took in preparation (BR, Kaplan, EK, and AAMC). I took 15 tests total and this was very different. I don't regret my study habits at all, it seemed like all the studying in the world wouldn't have helped on Bio. The questions were based on reading comp, basic vocab, and the ability to reason it out. Answers were also stated in a way that prevented the correct answer from always popping out even when I knew what the correct response should be. It was just strange, hope the curve works in our favor.

Does anyone know the date scores are being released on?

Originally Posted by jevo

How much did background knowledge of bio help in the BS section? Was PS calculation heavy? If you had any advice for future test takers, in regards to what your own perceptions were prior to the test, what would it be?

Congrats on being done. I was originally signed up but postponed :|

I wouldn't say that a great deal of background knowledge is necessary for BS, although it may come in handy on test day. In my opinion, aamc 11 is probably the best representation of what the actual MCAT is like. BS is full of passages that require a great deal of experimental analysis and critical thinking. My advice would be to study the basic bio concepts (EK is more than enough) and use TBR passages to practice your critical thinking skills. Also, do not neglect Ochem as it can come back to haunt you (it happened to me ).

PS was not calculation heavy, but that may vary from time to time. A lot of concept based problems with some calculations here and there. There were several tough questions but also some freebies. In my opinion, TBR passages and aamc best resembled PS on the actual exam.

One last piece of advice to anyone planning on taking the MCAT. Make sure that you fully understand the concepts that you are studying rather than just memorizing facts (hormones, formulas etc..). Although it is good to know these details, it is more important to understand the material as this will help you tackle passages that present familiar topics within complex scenarios.

Best of luck on your test!

Would you guys say it was harder than #11, about the same, or easier? Sounds like about the same (maybe?)....thanks and good luck to you all.

Originally Posted by virtuoso735

Does anyone know the date scores are being released on?

It's tentative for May 15th.

Originally Posted by LPpostbacc

Would you guys say it was harder than #11, about the same, or easier? Sounds like about the same (maybe?)....thanks and good luck to you all.

In my opinion it was much harder than AAMC #11

I got a 36 on AAMC #11 and I hope to god I get a 31 on this.

Originally Posted by Class1P

In my opinion it was much harder than AAMC #11

I got a 36 on AAMC #11 and I hope to god I get a 31 on this.

I agree! I got a 34 on AAMC #11 and I feel like I got a 25 on this one. The next month cannot go by fast enough.

PS was not calculation heavy, but that may vary from time to time. A lot of concept based problems with some calculations here and there. There were several tough questions but also some freebies. In my opinion, TBR passages and aamc best resembled PS on the actual exam.

So I got 2 weeks to do a lot of TBR Physics and GCHem passages!

AAMC avg. ~34
My scores on 11= 10/13/10 Bad science.

Real test is harder. PS a little harder. VR not harder just longer. BS much harder but still doable. You shouldn't really be afraid of it, it's just harder. I'm simply worried that I didn't do as well well, we'll see.

Originally Posted by Pateln381

Yes my friend, I understand their reason behind giving us the new information and then to use it to answer the Qs. They want to test our critical thinking. I completely agree with that. But why not test things that are actually related to medicine, B/c in my case, the image of the doctor in my mind is the image of a person who primarily need physiology to treat humans. Why not give passages about anatomy, physiology and why to give passages about only the very well advanced stuff like very detailed microbio, genetics and biochem. If MCAT is testing our critical skills now, then why didn't it test it in the past. Why almost all practice exams has the passages that test basic bio skills and info.

This can go on forever ... but hey man ... I understand they want doctors that can keep up with the needs of modern world. I agree with them and their ideology. I hope they will find those characteristics in us and hopefully we will be doctors one day!!

Microbio is related to medicine.

Ever done anything related to Infectious Disease? It's all microbio/pathology.
All the docs in my practice do tons of it and have tons of knowledge regarding it.

Took it also

Ps and verbal were expected but bio was a different beast. I'm the one who usually asks about ochem and there it was like how others are saying two passages w discretes

Pm me and I'll say more

PS and verbal were pretty reasonable. The writing was too.

Yeah, bio was difficult. Definitely felt rushed especially the last part of the test.

So I have a month till test, how would u guys recommend spending that time studying for each section? Especially BS? Let me know thanks!

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

Microbio is related to medicine.

Ever done anything related to Infectious Disease? It's all microbio/pathology.
All the docs in my practice do tons of it and have tons of knowledge regarding it.

Yes Sir. I agree with you on this point. One of my uncles is Pathologist. So I understand how important microbio/pathology is to the field of medicine. Without it we can't fully understand any disease. But my point was that AAMC is giving too much of an importance to the field of Microbio, genetics, and biochem very lately by pushing aside the basic biology concepts related to anatomy, physiology, cell bio, and even general bio. But I guess we need to shape our selves according to this trend too, otherwise we will be pushed away by this changing current!

They can even ask questions of philosophy in BS section [after all BS is becoming pseudo-verbal] , and our duty is to answer them; not question them.

I'd say review all your weakest points. I've taken the test before the one I took Friday. Sometimes PS can be harder than BS. Other times, BS can harder than PS- It's a bit random in that respect. The first time I took it, I felt that the BS portion was easier than the PS.

Originally Posted by wild2taz

I have a feeling that you guys who took the test on the 13th might have had an experimental passage on the BS section aka the ochem heavy passage.

I think I had 3 orgo passages on my exam last year. That's why I'm retaking... Sigh...

Originally Posted by Pateln381

Yes Sir. I agree with you on this point. One of my uncles is Pathologist. So I understand how important microbio/pathology is to the field of medicine. Without it we can't fully understand any disease. But my point was that AAMC is giving too much of an importance to the field of Microbio, genetics, and biochem very lately by pushing aside the basic biology concepts related to anatomy, physiology, cell bio, and even general bio. But I guess we need to shape our selves according to this trend too, otherwise we will be pushed away by this changing current!

They can even ask questions of philosophy in BS section [after all BS is becoming pseudo-verbal] , and our duty is to answer them; not question them.

Honestly, just because your particular test got xyz topics doesn't mean that they all did. Luck of the draw!!!

Originally Posted by ridethecliche

Honestly, just because your particular test got xyz topics doesn't mean that they all did. Luck of the draw!!!

Haha yupp man. Totally agreed! Luck ... luck ... luck!!! The four letter word that determines the lives of thousands ...

Originally Posted by Pateln381

why not test things that are actually related to medicine, B/c in my case, the image of the doctor in my mind is the image of a person who primarily need physiology to treat humans. Why not give passages about anatomy, physiology and why to give passages about only the very well advanced stuff like very detailed microbio, genetics and biochem. If MCAT is testing our critical skills now, then why didn't it test it in the past. Why almost all practice exams has the passages that test basic bio skills and info.

I think you should wait until you are actually a doctor before you decide how AAMC needs to select doctors.

FYI, you will need to know and will learn microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry for medical school. Biochemistry is the first topic I'll be covering in the fall when I start medical school. If you just want to treat patients and not understand fully how it works, that's what PAs and NPs do. Also, you have to bear in mind that the test is designed to test knowledge that one learns in two semesters of intro biology. While I did get animal physiology taught in my year of biology (which btw, is tested regularly on the exam), I didn't get hardly any anatomy until I took an upper-level course.

Originally Posted by Donald Juan

I think you should wait until you are actually a doctor before you decide how AAMC needs to select doctors.

FYI, you will need to know and will learn microbiology, genetics, and biochemistry for medical school. Biochemistry is the first topic I'll be covering in the fall when I start medical school. If you just want to treat patients and not understand fully how it works, that's what PAs and NPs do. Also, you have to bear in mind that the test is designed to test knowledge that one learns in two semesters of intro biology. While I did get animal physiology taught in my year of biology (which btw, is tested regularly on the exam), I didn't get hardly any anatomy until I took an upper-level course.

I wasn't telling what AAMC should do, I was just saying what AAMC is doing right now. I was only giving my opinion about their current trend in BS section. I am sorry if it looked like I was making decision on how AAMC should select doctors.

Anyways ... I do believe medicine is the combination of many sciences. Without the support of all of them, medicine can't make progress. But as someone said above, many factors decide, including luck, what kind of passages you will get on exam. But hey that's what it's all about - just be ready for anything on real deal; and kill the beast in the end!

So the consensus for the 4/13/12 MCAT is that the PS was slightly more difficult than the AAMC practice tests but doable, the Verbal was not too bad, and the BS was very difficult (especially the orgo)?

Originally Posted by virtuoso735

So the consensus for the 4/13/12 MCAT is that the PS was slightly more difficult than the AAMC practice tests but doable, the Verbal was not too bad, and the BS was very difficult (especially the orgo)?

PS wasn't too bad. I don't really remember specifics but I got through it ok. VR was definitely easier than most of the practice tests. Some of the passages were longer than average, but the passages were fairly engaging and there weren't any really wacky ones. I actually came out of the test thinking BS wasn't too bad either. I finished with plenty of time left and booked it out of the test center feeling good. But after seeing this thread I did remember the one ochem passage people are referring to that had a bunch of mechanisms. It was definitely intimidating looking but solvable. But then again I don't know my score so we'll see what happens!

Originally Posted by virtuoso735

So the consensus for the 4/13/12 MCAT is that the PS was slightly more difficult than the AAMC practice tests but doable, the Verbal was not too bad, and the BS was very difficult (especially the orgo)?

the bs section was just very time consuming--if you didn't work fast and think fast enough and got intimidated, you may have thought it was hard to do, since some may not have finished in time

Originally Posted by virtuoso735

So the consensus for the 4/13/12 MCAT is that the PS was slightly more difficult than the AAMC practice tests but doable, the Verbal was not too bad, and the BS was very difficult (especially the orgo)?

BS wasn't horrible. I finished with time to spare. It is just unnerving because I know I got 3-4 questions wrong after working them out after the test, and I only felt confident with 2 of the orgo questions from the hard passage. I just don't feel as good as I did after most practice tests, but who knows, I felt bad on AAMC 10 and got a 13 so it probably doesn't mean much.

So I'm the only one that feels really badly about the BS section then?

Originally Posted by virtuoso735

So I'm the only one that feels really badly about the BS section then?

No, I feel like most of us feel pretty shaky about that section. It was difficult, don't feel bad.