How did you feel as you walked out of the real MCAT?

[JDAD]

I could have posted this in the MCAT area, but I wanted to get some opinions from those who took the test, waited the 60 days, and then found out their scores.

How did you feel as you walked out of the test on Saturday? Confident? Stressed? Did you feel like you bombed, but actually did well?

I am asking becasue I went into the test thinking positively. I was confident. After my previous AAMC tests (3R,4R,5R,6R,7) I generally felt good about my performance. When I walked out of the real deal, no such feeling. I felt as if that test worked me.

How did you feel walking out? What did you predict you score to be? And what was your actual score?

Thanks

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[Psycho Doctor]

I thought i was fairly well pepared too the day before the exam. EWverything changed tha tday. i debated voiding my scores and was talked out of it. When i walke dout i knew i bombed it...i felt like a total failure (still do) and didn't want to talk abut it t anyone. i took my phone off the hook. I was torn between jumping in a gorge or just crying in my room. Instead i got drunk and felt miserable for days...

 

[Sage880]

I thought I was screwed. I had done a lot of practice tests and had a good idea of what was needed for a high score.

I was shooting for a 33. I came out of there thinking I got a 25 and a 29 in the best case senerio.

When my scores came back..... 35!

I'm not bragging, I'm just saying that the MCAT is really tough to figure out.

 

[Medikit]

I felt shaky on verbal and bio and good on physical science. I also felt like I wouldn't have to take the test again. I was basing my feeling on AMCAS 1 and 7, and also on some kaplan tests. I did a lot better than I thought on every section.

 

[Tiddly of Winks]

I felt relieved, like my brain had taken a huge dump. I did, however, have this strange feeling that I had screwed something up on the PS test. I had skipped an early section and with about five minutes left, I went back to that section and saw that I had already filled in the first oval for that section.

Basically, I had misnumbered.

So I went back to where I had screwed up (~10 questions before, I had filled in an extra oval), erased, remarked, and tried not to lose my mind.

For the next two months, I had this ominous feeling that a good part of my PS test was misnumbered.

 

[IndyZX]

i felt confident going in and confident coming out. i was a little worried when i saw all the doom and gloom on SDN for the next few weeks, but i honestly thought i paced myself well and gave it my all.

what sucks is all the second guessing you do in the weeks following the test, but sometimes you just gotta trust yourself and let it go.

 

[JDAD]

Tiddly, did you do well on your PS? Or did you misbubble?

Indy,

Did you find the real deal to seem much more difficult then the practice tests? I felt like I prepared for the wrong test!

 

[Tiddly of Winks]

Tiddly, did you do well on your PS? Or did you misbubble?

That, my friend, is a story for another day...

Okay, it's not: I got a 10 on PS. That was a relief to me, as my imagination had generated a torturous nightmare of single digit scores--SINGLE DIGITS, I tell you!

I though I might pull like an 8 or something (which wouldn't have been the end of the world, of course), but that 10 was a welcome score.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I felt awful after the real MCAT. Going into it, I knew that I could not have been more prepared. It all turned out fine, though.

 

[JDAD]

I felt awful after the real MCAT. Going into it, I knew that I could not have been more prepared. It all turned out fine, though.

I feel the same way. I don't think I could have been any more prepared, and that allows for inner peace. On the other hand, I feel I did poorly on this test. I feel worse than any other practice test.

 

[IndyZX]

Indy,

Did you find the real deal to seem much more difficult then the practice tests? I felt like I prepared for the wrong test!

I felt that the topics seemed to be somewhat more focused (for example, my physical science tested on the topic of rest mass energy several times... seemed excessive), but I didn't think the material was any more difficult.

I really thought the AAMC tests prepared me really well. I think those practices do try on purpose to be more broad in content than the real thing (it's for practice, after all), but I still didn't feel the two testing situations differed greatly.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I feel the same way. I don't think I could have been any more prepared, and that allows for inner peace. On the other hand, I feel I did poorly on this test. I feel worse than any other practice test.

That is exactly how I felt. I thought it was much worse than any AAMC. I thought that I had bombed PS since I had a little bit of a panic attack during it, but it ended up being my highest section. Do yourself a favor and don't stress about it!

 

[45408]

i felt confident going in and confident coming out. i was a little worried when i saw all the doom and gloom on SDN for the next few weeks, but i honestly thought i paced myself well and gave it my all.

what sucks is all the second guessing you do in the weeks following the test, but sometimes you just gotta trust yourself and let it go.

And that's where I am - sitting and waiting. I felt relaxed going in, and I felt a little upset about VR, but in all, I'm pretty sure I did fairly well. And if I didn't? ah, then, that really sucks

 

[dhoonlee]

.

 

[freaker]

I went into the test feeling like I had practiced enough, practiced well, and I was positive I would pull out the requisite 30 to get into school (which is all that really matters to me). I knew I was a little weaker on bio than I could have been, but hey, it had been four years since my last bio class. Studying for the MCAT and taking practice test had become a routine--it was what I did, and I wasn't nervous on test day. Not at all, really.

I left the test feeling like I had met my potential and generally pretty good about things. Went to the gym afterwards and worked out.

My test score came in as equal to my highest practice test, which I was more than happy with.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I felt I really screwed up the writing sample, but instead I got an L!

 

[dxw]

Here's my take on the whole MCAT thing. It sucks how many people really can't tell how well they performed based on how they felt walking out of the test. One person feels terrible then aces it, another felt just as bad and truly bombs it. For me, I am the type of person that always knows how well I did on tests. Yes, even standardized tests. In April, I walked away feeling like I gave it my best shot, and that if my studying paid off, I'd get between a 31 and a 34 on the real deal. I actually scored in that range.
But driving home, I remembered all these questions that I was totally confused about, but I know that I picked the answers to the best of my abilities. Which means using logic, deduction, and the foundation you've built in the basic sciences. I even went so far as to write down all the questions I might have gotten wrong, then further tormenting myself by guessing my scores if I indeed got all the questionable ones wrong. But you're not going to get all those wrong. And I agree with the other posts, torturing yourself isn't going to help.
Here's how I knew when to panic. I took the test in an earlier administration and felt terrible walking away. I would look at these BASIC questions that I knew I should know how to answer, but got so freaked out that I ended up guessing randomly because I was too nervous to think straight. For future testers, if this is happening to you, I suggest voiding the test. Voided tests don't get recorded on your AMCAS application.
But this past April, I was thinking straight, dealt with some hard questions, but really felt I gave it my best shot. That's when you can start to feel better coming out.
Also, remember that the experimental questions are wacko. I felt like I knew exactly which ones were experimental, and if I let myself feel bad about them, it would only make me feel worse. Don't do that to yourself. I guessed that about 10 of those questions in the PS and BS sections were experimental, and the MCAT admin told me I was right. So everyone should walk away feeling a little defeated because we had hard questions that were tough to answer. Some perhaps worded to badly to answer. Those practice tests don't have those experimental questions.
Sorry for the long response. Others have different experiences, but for me, just knowing myself and what I capable of gave me some relief.

 

[MoosePilot]

I walked out mentally exhausted. I thought it had kicked my butt, but I felt that way after every practice test and l did well on every practice test, so I didn't believe my feeling. I experienced daily ups and downs, wondering whether I did as well as my most recent diags or lower. When I got my scores I got almost exactly the same score as my most recent diag.

Relax as much as possible and expect a score similar to your most recent practice test.

 

[bewitched1081]

happy

 

[Shaz]

like the fecal matter of a dog that just ate chili cheese fries, a hamster, and a case of fruit roll-ups

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

I felt I really screwed up the writing sample, but instead I got an L!

LOL! i love the way you make me think twince..nay..thrice!

 

[dnelsen]

I was so relieved it was over. I was a little concerned as to what my score would be since the real MCAT was so much different than the Kaplan practice tests.

I was fine for about 45 days but those last 15 days or so before the scores were released, I started getting nervous again.

My wife checked my score online while I was busy doing some demolition work...good thing I got a good score otherwise I might have ended up on the news considering I had a hammer in one hand and a crowbar in the other when I found out my score

 

[boilerbeast]

I felt like I'd gotten schooled, but ended up doing better than I'd anticipated. With that being said, I was pretty relieved after it was over. The pre-MCAT studying kind of consumes your life and 5 of my roommates were waiting outside the building and walked me to the bars (with my backpack) when it was all over. It's fantastic to go out and not have that guilty "I should be studying for the MCAT" feeling looming over your head.

It was also really nice to sell back the freshman bio, chem, and physics books.

Keep your chin up! I'll bet you did better than you expected and there's not a lot you can do to change it. Waiting is the longest part.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I feel the same way. I don't think I could have been any more prepared, and that allows for inner peace. On the other hand, I feel I did poorly on this test. I feel worse than any other practice test.

What? The predicted scores you told me on PM are not 'doing poorly'!! I wish I felt I got the scores you predicted!!! And you probably did better than you think!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

And that's where I am - sitting and waiting. I felt relaxed going in, and I felt a little upset about VR, but in all, I'm pretty sure I did fairly well. And if I didn't? ah, then, that really sucks

wow, you're the first person i saw say "I'm pretty sure I did fairly well." How did you do on your practice tests?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I felt numb. I've never felt so mentally exhausted in my entire life.

agreed..maybe that's why i can't inspire myself to start on my apps

 

[javandane]

i prepared my ass off for this test. i have been out of school for 3 years, and had not taken gen. bio, chem, physics, or ochem for 5+ years. i'd not really paid much attention to chem and physics when i was in school. hence, i began looking things over 6 months before the august 04 exam. i was satisfied with my practice exam scores, and therefore walked into the real exam last week with confidence. i walked out with much less. much of my confidence was drawn from my AAMC practice exam scores, exams that are allegedly the most realistic appraisal of your score potential. after taking the real exam, i felt lied to, that the AAMC exams were no where near the difficulty of the real exam. of course, ancillary factors contributed (stress, lack of sleep the night prior, etc), but i'm quite sure the real exam material is more difficult than what we've seen on AAMC practice tests. with that said, however, i'm hoping the AAMC exams are predictive of our actual scores, rather than representative of test content.

 

[JDAD]

Thanks for the help. I just have to wait it out.

 

[generic]

First of all (and I know you already know this, but you should hear it many times anyway), you shouldn't worry now because it's over and there's really no benefit at all to torturing yourself for 60 days.

The Saturday before the actual test day (last April), I took an AAMC practice test and did REALLY well. I was psyched. It seemed so easy, it seemed so general, and I felt confident the whole way through.

Then on the actual test day I was still confident and cool. But halfway through my PS section I noticed that things weren't so easy this time. I thought to myself "it's OK, I'll rock the others," but then verbal and BS were both harder than expected too.

Afterwards I was sick with worry...I too kept thinking about those 5 or so questions that I KNEW I missed...over and over I kicked myself for forgetting those little stupid details.

Then I got my scores and I did really well! 2 points less than that really high practice test...but much better than I felt like I had done. So I think that most people really do leave the test feeling like they bombed. Go relax!

 

[aparecida]

I felt pretty good after the real MCAT. (Please don't hate me for this, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be -- the April one was really light on Orgo 2 material, and the reading section seemed easier than the one from the 5R practice test.) Scores were good.

In general, I've talked to people who thought they did terrible but actually did great, and people who thought they did okay but actually did terrible. I don't know if there's any correlation at all, really.

 

[Innocent Girl]

I was glad to be done with it. I went home and got drunk and stoned.

 

[Sunflower189]

I was nervous going in because I didn't have much time to prepare...less than three weeks, while working 50 hrs/week in a lab, and I hadn't taken orgo yet. So I essentially blew off the VR and WS. (bad idea - it showed.)

It didn't help that my MCAT site was all the way across the city, and I had to use public transport to get there. Had to get my butt up at 4:30 am and switch buses three times...hard on the nerves!

But I'd done well on the 3r, which I took the first weekend. So I went in with visions of 45Ts and sugarplums dancing in my head.

By the end...didn't feel quite so good. I knew there were a few questions that I wasn't rock-solid on, enough to drop me from fearsome to merely competent. But I wasn't exhausted or anything - they give you a lot of breaks, it's really not that bad. One of the other premeds drove me back, and I tried to get her to drop me off at the lab so I could check on my experiment. She talked me out of it...so I went to my dorm, ate leftovers, traded answers on an MCAT forum for a few hours, then slept.

Didn't have much time to worry afterwards - I had two weeks left to beat some results out of my research project!

I did get more worried as the scores were about to come out. Then I was pissed at myself when I first saw the results, because it's not like me to do worst in verbal, or tank *that* much on timed writing. But I was promptly (and deservedly) ordered to STFU when I complained to premed friends...did well overall, and I'm happy with it now. (Took in August 2003.)

 

[Cerbernator]

tired

 

[rgporter]

I could have posted this in the MCAT area, but I wanted to get some opinions from those who took the test, waited the 60 days, and then found out their scores.

How did you feel as you walked out of the test on Saturday? Confident? Stressed? Did you feel like you bombed, but actually did well?

I am asking becasue I went into the test thinking positively. I was confident. After my previous AAMC tests (3R,4R,5R,6R,7) I generally felt good about my performance. When I walked out of the real deal, no such feeling. I felt as if that test worked me.

How did you feel walking out? What did you predict you score to be? And what was your actual score?

Thanks

To be honest I felt like I scored somewhere north of 39. I didn't score anywhere near that high, but I felt really good coming out of that thing. I don't think that's what the general experience is though. One thing I do know is that once you get into school, your score matters not at all for the rest of your life.
So don't stress it, you'll have plenty of things to worry about during the application cycle. You'll do fine and be accepted and then forget completely about the MCAT. Or you won't and then you'll need to work a little harder to get in. But if you want to get in then you will, somewhere.

 

[SpiderBill]

After the PS the proctor accused me of cheating (filling in bubbles after time was up), which was total bull****, but nonetheless I spent the next three sections scared
****less that the AAMC was going to investigate me and I would never get into med school. On top of that, they put our test center in the middle of three different construction sites. I ended up getting my average score on the PS and substantially lower scores on the other sections, including an N on the WS. I spent the better part of two months waiting for a letter saying that the AAMC was investigating me, but it never came (thank god). I was so disappointed with my scores my aunt offered to pay for a retake, but I'd feel like a goon retaking since my scores were still OK.