The Official 5/31/12

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You want a brutal test, it separates people more. if everyone has a predisposition to know most of the q's and get it right if you make a simple error or mistake the curve exacerbates it more

Good point, btw does anybody know if we are allowed to do a memory dump on our scratch paper during the tutorial? I get that we should know all the stuff already but i just think it would help me to have something to fall back on.

Originally Posted by s48jet

Good point, btw does anybody know if we are allowed to do a memory dump on our scratch paper during the tutorial? I get that we should know all the stuff already but i just think it would help me to have something to fall back on.

You sure are. Definitely do this. It calms the nerves down a lot. GL on your test

What are you guys doing this last week? I've been doing at least one Full Length a day and been cramming content for a couple weeks now and I'm getting solid Kaplan Full Length scores, a little lower on AAMC. I'm getting better on making less small mistakes and I have a decent grip on most of the content, with a few weak areas; should I focus on those these next few days? Or what should I do?

I'm so excited for this to be finally over. Only a few days left. Thank god.

@Bean Counter, thanks for the advice!

@ 2NiceNos: I am just going to reread my books, and on the morning of Im gonna review my practice tests to see what kind of mistakes I made. On any given test I make about 7 stupid mistakes! Im atleast 3 points below my potential. I need to fix that. But honestly Im a little worn out and I might just rest up for the two days before the test. As for your weak areas I would work on those unless they are not high-yield topics, then dont worry too much about them.

hollllly crap gettin really close and extremely nervous now! the last two weeks literally flew by. hows everyone feeling? this is the week! the final countdown!!!!

Lol I hear ya ehara1.. I'm just tryna review full lengths as much as i can at this point. I'll be so happy when its over with. 3 months...... one day.. lol

Done with full lengths!!! Pleasantly surprised when I found out I got a 36 (13/10/13) on AAMC 11, peaking at the right time. Was scared when I saw my score dip to 31 on AAMC 4. Been studying since last May.

At this point, I'm done with content...I realized from AAMC 11 they don't really test you on really obscure facts...I was gonna review metabolism but they don't ask #ATPs, etc so I'm just gonna look at my "mistake log" that I've created along the way.

Good luck to everyone!

I don't know allday, from what recent test takers have said it seems they do test a good deal on random/obscure facts. But there's only so much you can know. Took my last FL as well today. My ideal score will be a mixture of my top score across each section, but I'll be happy with my aamc average... +3 . Doing some final difficult passages tomorrow, reviewing all content and notecards, then chilling on Wednesday - reading some science journals and New Yorker for fun, gonna go see avengers again, get a massage, and a nice simple dinner with the fam.

The test hasn't seemed real until now because it was so far away. Here's to hoping for a difficult test that has a generous curve built in. And all the questions we get wrong will only be experimentals. Time to focus and eliminate all simple/reading/comprehension mistakes and ACE this mcat. I may have set my goals too high and won't be happy with my score, but I'm starting to appreciate that past 35, one question can equal one point.

Does anyone know what percentile 30/35 is? I know 38 is where the 99th percentile starts, is 35 90th or 95th percentile? 30 I think is 85th?

This is the most recent percentile chart I have seen, but it may be outdated.

https://www.aamc.org/students/downlo...combined08.pdf

I took my last practice test today as well. I am feeling pretty worn out, it may be in my best interest just to take it easy for the next two days! but its very hard to get yourself to not study the days leading up to one of the hardest college admissions tests!

Whoops, posted it into an old thread, didn't mean to but can't seem to figure out how to delete it. Here's a more appropriate thread.

Not gonna lie, feeling super stressed out right now and feeling pretty dumb honestly. Can't seem to break an 8 on the PS part of the practice MCAT and I'm taking it Thursday. Gotten 10-11 on the verbal (I read a lot), and 10 on the bio (physiology major) but can't seem to get above an 8 on the PS of the practice tests. Have done 3 - 9, though only the PS part on 7 and 9 because I know that's the one I need to focus on. My scores have been going up a little bit, I was on the edge for a 9 on PT9. All of my tests have been the old paper ones with 77 questions on the PS and BS. I took one PT from Kaplan, though it was a free one that was through the school to get us to sign up for their classes and ended up getting a 30 (PS 10/V 12/BS 8). Kinda freaking out because I've heard that the practice test AAMC questions are easier than the real MCAT. Not sure what else to do, I analyze all of the questions I missed and while my scores are improving by a little, I only have one PT and two days left and I've probably read over the sections I miss the most about three times now. On top of that I'm focusing so much on my PS that I have not even glanced at the writing section and haven't been taking the bio or studying ochem as much.

Overall:

That's your problem. Don't do the 77 question ones. They're not representative of the real mcat, They have verbal like passages in the longer tests that the shorter one doesn't have anymore. Spend some money to get 10 and 11, you'd be crazy not to attempt them. Do the short tests and see how you do. Maybe just do 11 because you really don't have time. Not taking the bio is pretty insane. I think you should probably void this test.

Originally Posted by Maxine450

That's your problem. Don't do the 77 question ones. They're not representative of the real mcat, They have verbal like passages in the longer tests that the shorter one doesn't have anymore. Spend some money to get 10 and 11, you'd be crazy not to attempt them. Do the short tests and see how you do. Maybe just do 11 because you really don't have time. Not taking the bio is pretty insane. I think you should probably void this test.

The BS section is very verbal-like now.
Those passages are great practice.

I did do the bio sections for PT 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, just not 7 and 9 since it was getting to be crunch time and I wanted to focus on my weak points since I know a badly distributed score is not good. I was not aware that the longer tests weren't as good, I thought that they were just longer but still focused on the same sort of thinking and questions that the MCAT would have, especially 7-10 or 8-10. I do have an updated version of 10 that I'm planning on taking today, so we'll see about that.

What is the advantages of voiding? Is it only good if you know you bombed the test (though I've heard people always think they have scored terribly right afterwards) or if you know the schools you are applying to take an average instead of your latest score?

Well let me put it this way, would you be satisfied with a score under 30? If so, don't void. If you're not satisfied, take the MCAT just to see what the real thing is like, and void after. Med schools will never even know that you took the test. They won't get a score (neither will you) but they won't know you took it. The verbal passages in PS will not help you prepare. True, they might help with the verbal or BS section, but you want an accurate representation for your score, and the longer ones won't help with that. The fact that they can test you on more subjects in the longer ones doesn't help your score either. The longer time I think would affect it too.

Originally Posted by Maxine450

I'm so excited for this to be finally over. Only a few days left. Thank god.

+1
my average is ~30 and i don't even care that my goal score is 33! i just want to get it over with already!

First time poster. Taking it tomorrow as well. Good Luck everyone :-)

good luck to you all as well! Im hoping the test isnt too crazy.

I'm freaking out right now--they cancelled my test for tomorrow! I've been creeping on your thread for a while and I wish my first post wasn't so terrible. I was finally starting to feel confident and prepared and now I'm back to freaking out.

what!? thats terrible, did they email you? where do you live? I think they give you priority to reschedule for the next available date (according to my classmate)

Originally Posted by s48jet

what!? thats terrible, did they email you? where do you live? I think they give you priority to reschedule for the next available date (according to my classmate)

I live in NY and there are no more open seats in the state... they e-mailed me 40 mins before they closed and kept me on hold for 15+ mins before hanging up on me and closing. My friend got through to them though and that's what he was told.

Im sorry to hear that. Hopefully you can at least take it on June 21st.

This is ridiculous...I don't want to wait until June 21st. I'm ready to take the test tomorrow

Originally Posted by YankeeKM91

This is ridiculous...I don't want to wait until June 21st. I'm ready to take the test tomorrow

I know what you mean. There's little to no chance of getting a seat tomorrow. I already know of four people who are out of the test--have no idea how many people were scheduled to take it than. But the chances of 4+ seats opening within traveling distance since 8pm tonight is slim to none. I really hate to be pessimistic about this but I feel like it's the most likely scenario.

First time poster here. Doing it tomorrow as well.

Why is our thread so small compared to other recent test date threads?

Not feeling terribly confident as I've only been cramming for the past 3 weeks or so, gotta wing it. Friend who did MCAT in April only skimmed some review material and still got 35, so I'm hoping it's not all that bad.

OK guys, this is it. Good luck everyone!

Originally Posted by EvilSpawn

OK guys, this is it. Good luck everyone!

Ditto. Good luck people! Don't fall asleep halfway through.

Good luck!!

Good luck today ... everyone! Here is to crossing our fingers for each other.

I am very nervous.... especially after reading the 4/28/12 board yesterday. It seems that sooo many people did way worse on VR than their averages. Considering that I have not prepared an ounce for verbal and I have always scored 10-11, this terrifies me... it seems too based on luck.

I hope that there is not much orgo and I hope that the physics section is nice to me. <3

-C

Originally Posted by catzzz88

Good luck today ... everyone! Here is to crossing our fingers for each other.

I am very nervous.... especially after reading the 4/28/12 board yesterday. It seems that sooo many people did way worse on VR than their averages. Considering that I have not prepared an ounce for verbal and I have always scored 10-11, this terrifies me... it seems too based on luck.

I hope that there is not much orgo and I hope that the physics section is nice to me. <3

-C

Yeah there is literally no point in practicing for VR other than to improve time management for the real test, everything else is up to chance.

I wonder if I should bring something to eat lol. Or maybe a can of redbull?

How was?

oh damn I know its late but I hope you guys did great!

Phys and Chem was pretty easy.

Verbal was kinda brutal..

Writing sample is writing sample, no one cares about it. It's gonna be scrapped next year anyway.

Bio and Org was ok except that one section (you all know what it is).

I thought bio and verbal were actually decently easy~

But phys were dificult for me~~~
I dunno why maybe i froze up. But there were a handful of questions i just couldnt get right~~~

Originally Posted by chaser0

I thought bio and verbal were actually decently easy~

But phys were dificult for me~~~
I dunno why maybe i froze up. But there were a handful of questions i just couldnt get right~~~

I never did any verbal practice questions before today's MCAT so.. guess I deserved it. Although who knows, I might be too pessimistic about it.

i thought physical was pretty easy

verbal was hard...the passages were not bad to read but the questions were pretty difficult

bio was okay

Originally Posted by rohand100

i thought physical was pretty easy

verbal was hard...the passages were not bad to read but the questions were pretty difficult

bio was okay

Identical to my experience haha, yeah the verbal was tough due to the strange wording of a lot of questions indeed.

Edit: did you do it at the Montreal place, by any chance?

Originally Posted by jerg

Edit: did you do it at the Montreal place, by any chance?

nope, took it in orlando

Originally Posted by chaser0

I thought bio and verbal were actually decently easy~

But phys were dificult for me~~~
I dunno why maybe i froze up. But there were a handful of questions i just couldnt get right~~~

I feel exactly the same. Physics was crazy for me, VR was a little more difficult than usual but bio was fairly straightforward except one passage

I thought verbal was hard... man I really really hope I don't have to retake I was hoping to apply this cycle...

Originally Posted by studentdoctor08

I thought verbal was hard... man I really really hope I don't have to retake I was hoping to apply this cycle...

yeah verbal was pretty bad...i usually never had any time issues on any of the practice tests but today i looked at the clock after finishing the 5th passage and i only had 12 minutes for the last two. it was the worst feeling

physical sci was straightforward enough, verbal.... passages were too long! , and bio was okay (i hope) some of it was tricky i felt but who knows! fingers crossed we all did well!

Well I was gonna wish you luck, but hope you guys did well!

We all walk out of the exam feeling like we failed. It's normal. Then we do great!

Howd u guys do on the practice tests?

I was averaging 12-14 on the physical sections. Maybe thats why i felt so ****ty? It feels terrible not knowing the answer to all.

I averaged 35-36 on practice AAMCs.

PS: Same difficulty
V: About the same except two really hard passages
BS: 2 hard experimental passages, rest were ok/meh

Anyone else think those experimentals in bio were hard?? Pretty worried about it...

Congrats guys. We're done! I was retaking today after getting a 31 in January even though my AAMC average was a 34. Hoping to get an evenly distributed 33 or 34 this time.

PS- seemed pretty straightforward but calculation heavy. I noticed a few problems where there was a simple trick to get you around the calculations of you recognized it. I felt a lot more confident than I did last time but it may just have been due to nerves the first time and not a difference in difficulty. Pretty even chem and phys balance.

VR- I got a 9 on verbal last time. I feel really good about this section this time. The first passage was by far the hardest. If you didn't get rattled and burn time it you were home free. Verbal is unpredictable so we'll see.

BS- this is my best section hands down but I know I'm not going to get a 13 like last time. 2 of the passages were difficult (one seemed to rely on a lot of outside knowledge so one or two of the questions may have been experimental. Had a lot of super easy discretes but also one or two I could only narrow down and guess on. There seems to be a trend of the organic passages just requiring reasoning and not a whole lot of actual organic knowledge.

Is this similar to what you guys thought? Love to hear some other opinions.

Bdc, I totally agree with you on the bio. It seemed like there was one crazy question on both of them.

Is this your first time taking? I feel like we have pretty similar stats and felt the same way about the test today.

Originally Posted by ChampoftheWorld

Congrats guys. We're done! I was retaking today after getting a 31 in January even though my AAMC average was a 34. Hoping to get an evenly distributed 33 or 34 this time.

PS- seemed pretty straightforward but calculation heavy. I noticed a few problems where there was a simple trick to get you around the calculations of you recognized it. I felt a lot more confident than I did last time but it may just have been due to nerves the first time and not a difference in difficulty. Pretty even chem and phys balance.

VR- I got a 9 on verbal last time. I feel really good about this section this time. The first passage was by far the hardest. If you didn't get rattled and burn time it you were home free. Verbal is unpredictable so we'll see.

BS- this is my best section hands down but I know I'm not going to get a 13 like last time. 2 of the passages were difficult (one seemed to rely on a lot of outside knowledge so one or two of the questions may have been experimental. Had a lot of super easy discretes but also one or two I could only narrow down and guess on. There seems to be a trend of the organic passages just requiring reasoning and not a whole lot of actual organic knowledge.

Is this similar to what you guys thought? Love to hear some other opinions.

Agree on chem and physical balance. TBR will definitely help when it comes to the PS calculations. Are you referring to the second passage (chronologically) in BS when you talk about a lot of the outside knowledge? Cause I thought that whole passage was a little absurd.

Yeah, first time taking it. I completely agree with you about orgo passages. Though there were a couple of orgo discretes that definitely required memorization (one of them was also a rather obscure concept too!).

Overall it felt pretty easy, got one topic in PS that I don't like, but thankfully most of the questions weren't based on that topic. A few questions I was unsure of here.

Verbal felt longer and I went down to the wire, changed an answer at the last minute, whatever.

Bio felt pretty easy, a few discretes I probably screwed up on, one experimental passage had some hard questions, the other experimental had questions that were just kind of weird, didn't really make much sense in regards to the experiment.

Overall pretty easy but definitely feel unsure on about ~20-30 questions.

AAMC average ~38, hoping for good score, or very low score so I can retake.