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May 22, 2015 Test Takers...What did you find to be the most difficult section on the May 22, 2015 MCAT?
CARS without a doubt. Bio would probably be second but it's still a long way behind CARS.
Chem/Phys was probably the hardest for me. There was a lot more physics on it than I would have preferred. The biology section was like the practice out there so it wasn't terrible. CARS was a little more on the difficult side just because the passages were so long and many times the answer choices had a subtle point that made it wrong so had to do a lot of reasoning when approaching the choices. Psych/Soc probably my favorite session. Enjoyed reading the articles and it was pretty much stuff I had seen on practice. Currently deciding if i want to go through the stress of taking it again on the retest day since my test location was having a lot of technical problems and we had a 20 second lag after each question. Definitely felt rushed for bio and verbal as a result. Decisions decisions
Which company did you use for psych if you don't mind me asking?
I have a hard time trusting when people say passages were a lot longer. In my experience with the old MCAT this was not the case, despite the fact people would frequently state "the verbal passages are longer on the real deal." I'm sorry, I don't need to take the test to know this: The passages on test day vary in length but are not beyond the 500-600 range which is present on the practice MCAT. The difference is entirely based on the magnification of the screen. Stop passing this myth on.
I have a hard time trusting when people say passages were a lot longer. In my experience with the old MCAT this was not the case, despite the fact people would frequently state "the verbal passages are longer on the real deal." I'm sorry, I don't need to take the test to know this: The passages on test day vary in length but are not beyond the 500-600 range which is present on the practice MCAT. The difference is entirely based on the magnification of the screen. Stop passing this myth on. Also, I can tell you you'd do a lot better on CARS if those irrelevant thoughts weren't flooding into your mind. You should be focusing on what's in the passages, not how long it is.
No it was definitely longer. The practice exam I got through easily. I had 6 minutes left over on the practice exam. I was moving pretty quickly through the CARS section on the real thing at first, but then the passages started being like 7-9 paragraphs. There were only a few semi-difficult passages, but it was the length of the passages that was killer. I had gotten through the first 3 passages in 30 minutes. Right on par with what I needed to be at. I had to mostly guess on the last passage I did because of time constraints.
Edit: And trust me, I wasn't worried about the length during the exam. It wasn't stressing me out. TPR verbal sections were ridiculous and so I had already practiced with the intention of guessing on one of the passages and had still done well. The passages were definitely longer though.
Amen to this. The sections were much longer but no I did not count the characters. And I had lag on my computer which compounded the problem. Honestly though I took 2 GS FL the AAMC FL and some half lengths and I truly felt like the real MCAT was easier than all three. But we'll see in 19 days if that is the case.
Does the timer keep running if it lags or the server is disrupted? That seems like a problem between Prometric itself and not the exam. The time lost should be accounted for.
Does the timer keep running if it lags or the server is disrupted? That seems like a problem between Prometric itself and not the exam. The time lost should be accounted for.
Did you take the exam?
Some were definitely longer than the AAMC FL practice. Not all but some. I'm basing this off of how long it took me to read them, not how long the passages looked. I read at a fairly consistent speed.
I took the 2014 exam and it was the same story with most folks saying passages were longer. It's not longer Its that simple. Entirely based on the monitor.
Ok. These were longer.
I took the 2014 exam and it was the same story with most folks saying passages were longer. It's not longer. Its that simple. Entirely based on the monitor.
No. Average practice passage 4-5 paragraphs. I counted the actual MCAT 2015 passages and they are 6-7 each. Not monitor dependent. Indeed longer. Thanks for the 2014 advice anyway...
You don't need to compare to know. Some questions were like "refer to 7th paragraph"You wasted time to compare paragraph lengths? On each and every passage? Hmm... Here is my 2014 advice: if you have to re-take, don't count the paragraphs, just read them. We'll have to agree to disagree.
You don't need to compare to know. Some questions were like "refer to 7th paragraph"
If the passages are longer for you, it's also longer for you competition. Therefore, it's irrelevant to complain about for reducing your performance. But on a side note, they are approximately 500-600 words You'll have to do a lot of scrolling at the test center because the font is much, much larger. Nerves + magnification + scrolling = false perceptions of reality
You wasted time to compare paragraph lengths? On each and every passage? Hmm... Here is my 2014 advice: if you have to re-take, don't count the paragraphs, just read them. We'll have to agree to disagree.
Ugh. Nobody is complaining. Just trying to be helpful for future test takers. Please stop posting on this thread.
Yes there was so much more physics than expected (not complaining, I actually like it better)
honestly, the exam has been somewhat different for everyone (except for those taking it the same day). future test takers need to take what others post with a grain of salt. i remember reading "not much physics for my exam" (april 2015) and mine was full of physics (may 2015). it really just depends.
as an actual may test taker, i agree that our passages were longer than usual. that was our test. believe it or dont and be done with it
What I thought it was actually like: BIO>CARS>PS I can't even put Psych on there because it was a total toss up. I could have killed it or failed it.