Official 5/19/2012 MCAT thread

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hopeful22213

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I figured since it seems there is a thread for all the other recent and upcoming test dates, I'd start one for us 5/19ers.

Two weeks to go, getting close.

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Anyone regretting not voiding? I sure am... all I can think about

Man i seriously contemplated voiding for about 2 minutes when given the option. Didnt do it. Not sure if I regret it or not. There were about 5 that I guessed on that i remembered to look up. Got 4 of those right. I try to entertain the fact that I might have broken 30 with good guessing like that. Probably not though. Its gonna suck filling out apps while knowing I probably bombed it. I only needed a 27 for my state MD too.......
 
Man i seriously contemplated voiding for about 2 minutes when given the option. Didnt do it. Not sure if I regret it or not. There were about 5 that I guessed on that i remembered to look up. Got 4 of those right. I try to entertain the fact that I might have broken 30 with good guessing like that. Probably not though. Its gonna suck filling out apps while knowing I probably bombed it. I only needed a 27 for my state MD too.......

Well, I ran through three or so passages in the end wthout reading the content... one of which was one of the passages from hell... the last two got completely guessed with 15 seconds left.

BS was the section always keeping me in the low mid thirties... so if I failed it my state school, and all out of states, would probably drop me as not intelligent. Kinda freaking me out... :scared:

Can it be 30 days yet?
 
you know a test is hard when you try to look up the question afterwards on the web, and still is not sure about the answer.....
 
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you know a test is hard when you try to look up the question afterwards on the web, and still is not sure about the answer.....

Exactly what i have been doing. However there was 1 question on the test that was EXACTLY like a BS question on one of the aamc's. Identical only off by 1 power of ten.
 
yea, instead of going out at my friends' urging, I stayed in and tried to search for some answers. Yes, I am still dwelling on it. I feel like in 30 days, my heart is going to sink again.
 
Hello friends, as a 5/24 MCAT test taker, I would appreciate if you could answer my questions:
1. From your experience on the exam, do you think it was possible for you to NOT read the passage for the PS section and tackle the questions immediately? I've tried this approach on the AAMC practice tests and like it a lot. But then again, the real MCAT is not very much like the AAMC practice tests....
2. A lot of you have said that the BS section was based on experimental data analysis. For those of you who have done research and have had to read journal articles and write your own, did this help you at all in figuring out what the passage questions were asking? In general, did it make the BS section a bit more bearable?
Thanks and best of luck with ze scores
1. I have been doing this for biology a lot as well, but seems to work very well for physics. I really only refer to the passage when I get stuck on something, then a clue here or there helps me out.

2. To be honest, I didn't find the bio that difficult. It was tougher, with a lot of new research, but I felt like my college seminars pretty much prepared me very well for them. It was less memory-based, so that actually worked out way better for me, since sometimes I mis-remember facts. I know most of the "experimental" concepts (one of them was actually straight from my research field), but didn't feel like my background knowledge was that helpful or necessary since the information you need are all in the question. I think what prepared me most was just reading a lot of science papers and doing really indepth analysis of figures and findings in my seminars. If you haven't had that exposure and have just been in introductory courses, that is definitely something to get to.

I think I got psyched out by the physical science just because it was the first section. Had to guess completely on a question and never had to do that before on AAMC tests. Also didn't have time to re-check anything I marked (some of which I wasn't too certain about). Was just so freaked out the entire way through.

Practice: 33-40 with an average of 36
Prediction for the Actual: 11-12-13
 
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Hello friends, as a 5/24 MCAT test taker, I would appreciate if you could answer my questions:
1. From your experience on the exam, do you think it was possible for you to NOT read the passage for the PS section and tackle the questions immediately? I've tried this approach on the AAMC practice tests and like it a lot. But then again, the real MCAT is not very much like the AAMC practice tests....
2. A lot of you have said that the BS section was based on experimental data analysis. For those of you who have done research and have had to read journal articles and write your own, did this help you at all in figuring out what the passage questions were asking? In general, did it make the BS section a bit more bearable?
Thanks and best of luck with ze scores
Also, don't be freaked out by these messages and feel like you have to study more/newer biology concepts because everything you needed were in the passages to solve the questions.
 
Man i seriously contemplated voiding for about 2 minutes when given the option. Didnt do it. Not sure if I regret it or not. There were about 5 that I guessed on that i remembered to look up. Got 4 of those right. I try to entertain the fact that I might have broken 30 with good guessing like that. Probably not though. Its gonna suck filling out apps while knowing I probably bombed it. I only needed a 27 for my state MD too.......

Relax man you probably did well, if you were averaging around 30 on the AAMC then the very least you will score a 27. Most of the time you're going to score close to your AAMC practice average obviously there are exceptions. I thought I wouldn't even score a 25 but ended up scoring a lot higher than 25 but still slightly lower than my AAMC practice average. Just be positive!
 
Relax man you probably did well, if you were averaging around 30 on the AAMC then the very least you will score a 27. Most of the time you're going to score close to your AAMC practice average obviously there are exceptions. I thought I wouldn't even score a 25 but ended up scoring a lot higher than 25 but still slightly lower than my AAMC practice average. Just be positive!

Thanks, but I really do feel unsure. I know people feel crappy after the MCAT regardless of how they did, but I'd have to say, at no point on any other exam was I as behind or clueless on passages as this one's BS section. Since my verbal never really goes above or below an 8-9 and my PS jumps around, I'm pretty worried. Really hoping the curve picks me up, but several people I've asked say they though BS didn't go nearly as bad as people say on here (most of them had extensive research experience and significant anat/physio classes, so I believe them)

Hopefully that means those people are pretty far and few between.

And gunslinga, I wouldn't be worried. Since the AAMC is phasing out Orgo for the next MCATs, they seem to really be toning it down from the BS section. Personally, I wish the whole thing would have been orgo...
 
Thanks, but I really do feel unsure. I know people feel crappy after the MCAT regardless of how they did, but I'd have to say, at no point on any other exam was I as behind or clueless on passages as this one's BS section. Since my verbal never really goes above or below an 8-9, I'm pretty worried. Really hoping the curve picks me up, but several people I've asked say they though BS didn't go nearly as bad as people say on here (most of them had extensive research experience and significant anat/physio classes, so I believe them)

Hopefully that means those people are pretty far and few between.

And gunslinga, I wouldn't be worried. Since the AAMC is phasing out Orgo for the next MCATs, they seem to really be toning it down from the BS section. Personally, I wish the whole thing would have been orgo...

urgh that really worries me

f***
 
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urgh that really worries me

f***

I'd take it with a grain of salt. I'm not at a top tier institution in any way, so either that's good news or bad... Two of the people I talked to were on retakes after they didn't get in this year as a result of their past tests, and most weren't as confident on the PS section because they were thorough biology majors (hence the extensive research and anat/physio classes).

These types are pretty rare, and tend to do weaker elsewhere on the exam, so it all (hopefully) evens out more or less except for certain exceptional people.

I agree with you though, made me feel a lot worse when I talked to them about it. I just hope I got my AAMC average, or at least close to it...

The best thing we can do is make a couple mixers, relax, fill out applications and :xf:
 
lol, time for Plan B

Although I don't think it was intentional:
i-see-what-you-did-there-and-i-like-it-thumb.jpg


If you don't get it:
Clicky!
 
Speechless....Wish I voided the test...BS (my strongest part) made me want to run out of the room...one of the BS questions didn't even fit on the screen...
Brooklyn testing center experience was horrible - cold, so they turned of the AC and only then I realized that some guy next to me showed some pretty obvious signs of indigestion...
P.S. Dear Guy in a white shirt with indigestion, if you are reading this...ummm, thanks for making my MCAT experience unforgettable
 
The only thing I liked about the test was that I got to use one of the stupid mnemonics from examkrackers:

Period of a pendulum= wiggle (w=(g/l)^1/2. Haha

Edit: frequency. Maybe I got that wrong. Never mind I liked nothing about they exam.
 
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Speechless....Wish I voided the test...BS (my strongest part) made me want to run out of the room...one of the BS questions didn't even fit on the screen...
Brooklyn testing center experience was horrible - cold, so they turned of the AC and only then I realized that some guy next to me showed some pretty obvious signs of indigestion...
P.S. Dear Guy in a white shirt with indigestion, if you are reading this...ummm, thanks for making my MCAT experience unforgettable

I did my exam at the Brooklyn testing center too. Good luck, my fellow Brooklyn test taker! :xf:
 
That was rough. To me, it felt like I walked in at 7:30 am, magically 10 minutes passed and then in some surreal twist of time I walked out of that place and it was 1pm. My flip out is related to the fact that I was so nervous at the start that I was 1000% focused on being perfect in PS and went slow as hell. Didn't finish all the questions which has me in knots. I'm the jackass who finds VR to be the easiest thing ever, so no worries there, but like everyone else except that insane maniac on the prior page fretting over the idea of a 40, I felt like BS was ridiculous.

My husband and parents keep asking me how I feel about the test and my answer is basically: I feel like I got sucker punched for 5 hours and $240. Have no idea how I did, but am hoping the curve will provide a nice bump. That said, I really don't think the aamc practice tests prepared me for the actual test day experience. I actually wouldn't mind taking it again if necessary because at least I feel like I'm hip to the procedure and that would cut down on nerves. Of course, NOT having to do it again would be way more awesome.

My .02:)
 
Copied from AAMC website:




Why are raw scores converted to scaled scores?

The conversion of raw scores to scaled scores compensates for small variations in difficulty between sets of questions. The exact conversion of raw to scaled scores is not constant; because different sets of questions are used on different exams. The 15-point scale tends to provide a more stable and accurate assessment of a student's abilities. Two students of equal ability would be expected to get the same scaled score, even though there might be a slight difference between the raw scores each student obtained on the test.
Is the exam graded on a curve?

Examinees often ask if earning a high score or higher percentile is easier or harder at different times of the testing year. They ask whether they have a better chance of earning a higher score in April or in August, for example. The question is based on an assumption that the exam is scored on a curve, and that a final score is dependent on how an individual performed in comparison to other examinees from the same test day or same time of year.
While there may be small differences in the MCAT exam you took compared to another examinee, the scoring process accounts for these differences so that an 8 earned on physical sciences on one exam means the same thing as an 8 earned on any other exam. The percentile provided on your score report simply indicates what percentage of examinees from the previous testing year scored the same as you did on the MCAT exam.
How you score on the MCAT exam, therefore, is not reflective of the particular exam you took—including the time of day, the test date, or the time of year—since any difference in difficulty level is accounted for when calculating your scale scores (see above for information about scaling).




THIS IS SO AMBIGUOUS just like their verbal passages lol. No but seriously it seems to say that the test is based off a preset curve from the prior year, yet the conversion scale accounts for the differences between each test... what does this mean?!!

Edit- nevermind. So my understanding is that it is based off a curve, and the percentiles are just from last year on the score report. They could be more specific though right..
 
Are you all planning to submit your apps for verification before we get our scores? Or are you going to wait to see what you got before you send things in? Im debating this currently.
 
Cinamin, the exam operates on a bell curve and they do it for each individual exam.

Hopeful, I intend to submit to like Harvard (a school I will not get into) for verification, but honestly I do not feel like my MCAT score is going to grant me access anywhere. I am just so disoriented from what just happened.

June 5th is submit date?

Anyone else wish that a couple yesrs down the road they would release ours as a practice exam? I can only imagine seeing the reaction to a couple passages (like ebola on AAMC 11). Too bad it cannot happen.


----------------
I like stats, so for a frame of reference, and before my scores expire on my practices, I'll put down my experience. I'll update it (and repost) when I get my actual score, regardless of how I actually do. Hopefully I didn't fail... because that's how I feel after that BS section.

I prepared using Kaplan only, I wish I would have tried out the EK 101 verbal book, because Kaplan's verbal strategy didn't work at all for me. The verbal not improving is pretty indicative of that below.

The class lectures were nice, although I got the best lecturer of all in Kaplan's arsenal. I heard less-fortunate things about some of the other lecturers. I found the Kaplan pace to be pretty erratic though, sometimes blurring through complex situations, other times spending half an hour because one student couldn't get F=ma through their head. Basically, YMMV.

Kaplan tests were much more difficult than the AAMC's, but Kaplan's scaling is far, far more forgiving, other than on their Diagnostic. Kaplan has a plethora of online resources, however. Your usage of those would make Kaplan worth it, but I didn't find the 'traditional' perks of Kaplan to be all that appealing, especially for $2,000. But like I said, their online resources are absolutely great, as are their notecards, quick sheets and even their books are pretty good (except verbal, which was awful).

The books also seemed to tend to go into story mode in an attempt to be 'cutesy', which made the books that were relatively concise into making me feel like I was a child. If you can't tell, it was pretty much a love-hate relationship. Again, the online resources were great, and Smart Reports (gives a breakdown of everything you do) is good at picking out your weaknesses, especially underlying ones you don't notice.
 
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Seems to me after reading through this thread and several others around this test date, that the new emphasis on research based passages and questions for BS seems to be totally unexpected and difficult to prepare for, unless, of course, you have written journal articles and read scientific journals in your past-time. But Im definitely not one of those! Only if BS was clinical based like USMLE! I actually looked up at some questions for USMLE and I feel like they are much easier and apt than research articles!

I heard the TBR prepares you a bit for the BS and so does the Princeton review passages but other than that I am really hoping that when I take the test around August, they keep these "experiment-based" passages on a big curve.

Also, since you guys are already done with your MCAT, is anyone looking to sell TBR, already tight on the 3month sn2ed schedule and no TBR :/
 
Dear xianxTxx,

If you are on a time crunch, don't worry about getting the tbr books. I studied from them and I don't think they helped any better than the other books (kaplan, tpr, eks, nova....I studied from all). But if you really want to get the books, the bio books are not worth it. They go into too much detail in some areas and completely ignor's other sections. These are my opinions..you can decide
Thanks!
 
Was this exam a retake for anyone? I wonder if past test takers felt this way after the exam.
I'm a retaker. I got a 21N the last time around (ugh). I felt that it wasn't nearly as bad as the last time I sat the exam, but I think that's just because I seriously studied this time and got around to answering every question with time to spare.

With that said, this exam was definitely NOT easy. I felt the PS had far more calculations than the practice exams which is incredibly time consuming. I usually do pretty wild rounding-offs the first time around then go back to check them, when I'm done. I could only get around to check half of these.

Verbal wasn't awful, but I never know with verbal.

BS WAS RIDICULOUS!!!!!

The bottom line: I did feel a lot better about this exam (i.e. I didn't leave the room considering an alternate career as a psychologist) but that may simply be a result of unfair comparison with my dismal 7/6 score.
 
Dear xianxTxx,

If you are on a time crunch, don't worry about getting the tbr books. I studied from them and I don't think they helped any better than the other books (kaplan, tpr, eks, nova....I studied from all). But if you really want to get the books, the bio books are not worth it. They go into too much detail in some areas and completely ignor's other sections. These are my opinions..you can decide
Thanks!

Yeah thanks a lot for your input! TBR books on ebay sell quite fast and really high bids plus couldnt get my hand on TBR set from the forum so I guess Ill just use the TPRH/EK for BS, EK for verbal, and PS Nova/Chad's videos. Hopefully this is sufficiently supplementary. :confused::confused:
 
Seems to me after reading through this thread and several others around this test date, that the new emphasis on research based passages and questions for BS seems to be totally unexpected and difficult to prepare for, unless, of course, you have written journal articles and read scientific journals in your past-time. But Im definitely not one of those! Only if BS was clinical based like USMLE! I actually looked up at some questions for USMLE and I feel like they are much easier and apt than research articles!

I heard the TBR prepares you a bit for the BS and so does the Princeton review passages but other than that I am really hoping that when I take the test around August, they keep these "experiment-based" passages on a big curve.

Also, since you guys are already done with your MCAT, is anyone looking to sell TBR, already tight on the 3month sn2ed schedule and no TBR :/

I have a masters in exercise physiology, lead author in MSSE for my thesis, several manuscripts, clinical research coordinator publishing in J. Arthroscopy, SMAR, and orthopedic text books. NONE of that mattered. The test is so time crunched it doesn't mimic what it's like to read a research article.

My best advice would be to not miss any other questions, but unfortunately the discreet questions seemed abnormally tough as well compared to the practice exams.
 
I have a masters in exercise physiology, lead author in MSSE for my thesis, several manuscripts, clinical research coordinator publishing in J. Arthroscopy, SMAR, and orthopedic text books. NONE of that mattered. The test is so time crunched it doesn't mimic what it's like to read a research article.

My best advice would be to not miss any other questions, but unfortunately the discreet questions seemed abnormally tough as well compared to the practice exams.

How'd you feel about the exam in all? I feel super pessimistic and it's hindering actually getting my application done :(
 
I keep going over stuff in my head and feel like I was unsure on more than I should have been. As I posted earlier. I'm hoping for a 27, but who knows how the BS went.

I would guess 8 on PS, 10-12 on VR, 8-9 on BS (I hope). It could go either way. I'm a non-traditional, and a retake. This same thing happened last year when I took it, but this time was even worse. I was much more prepared for the BS switch, but it was really out there even compared to AAMC 11.
 
Premedordead, it sounds now you need a beer now:p

I've already had a couple today, haha. Been relaxing a bit. Going to cut into my applications up until the June 5th date starting tomorrow.

And I'm really hoping I broke 30... I don't want a retake :eek:
 
i'm not feeling too good about this exam either. Did anyone else go home and look up questions that they were unsure about? I couldn't even find some of them online or in my books. I know I missed about 7 on the Physical Sciences section...plus more so probably missed around 10+.. Verbal felt alright. I probably missed 5-8 or so on that.

Biological Sciences.. I already know I missed most of the discrete questions. I tallied it up to be about 10 questions I missed for sure not counting the ones I couldn't find online. I could have missed anywhere from 10-20.

I know people say that they feel horrible after taking the MCAT and are surprised to find out they didn't do as badly as they thought they did...but do these people KNOW for sure that they missed so many questions? Not being confident on ~5 questions is different from knowing you missed at least 10 and not being confident on 10+ more.

(my average on the aamc's have been a 30)

Should I start studying for a June or July exam?
 
i'm not feeling too good about this exam either. Did anyone else go home and look up questions that they were unsure about? I couldn't even find some of them online or in my books. I know I missed about 7 on the Physical Sciences section...plus more so probably missed around 10+.. Verbal felt alright. I probably missed 5-8 or so on that.

Biological Sciences.. I already know I missed most of the discrete questions. I tallied it up to be about 10 questions I missed for sure not counting the ones I couldn't find online. I could have missed anywhere from 10-20.

I know people say that they feel horrible after taking the MCAT and are surprised to find out they didn't do as badly as they thought they did...but do these people KNOW for sure that they missed so many questions? Not being confident on ~5 questions is different from knowing you missed at least 10 and not being confident on 10+ more.

(my average on the aamc's have been a 30)

Should I start studying for a June or July exam?

You must have a superb memory because I could barely remember any questions after I took that monster. My brain seriously felt violated. Ditto about not being able to find the answers to the questions even online.
 
Hahaha i will see Or hear random stuff now and it will trigger my memory about a question on the test. I will look it up and usually cant find it. Of the ones i did find though i've only missed two. Of course those are discrete questions and not the monster passage questions hahaha
 
The discreet questions that I remember, I haven't been able to find the answers to anywhere. We really got bent over by those... at least I did.

I'm really hoping for just a ridiculous curve on this thing... lol
 
The discreet questions that I remember, I haven't been able to find the answers to anywhere. We really got bent over by those... at least I did.

I'm really hoping for just a ridiculous curve on this thing... lol

Dude for the ones I found I searched forever for. Don't worry though man it sounds like most did kinda ****ty on this thing. Whats the worst that can happen......a retake? You know how many people are too scared to even take this thing once? Its all good whatever happens.....and this is coming from somebody who probably got like a 25 on the test.
 
I am in the same boat as it seems like everyone on here.

May 19th was a retake for me. I took the MCAT for the first time last year and scored a 28. I had prepared with Kaplan, but looking back I know that I was not as prepared as I could have or should have been. I partially believe that this was because the Kaplan course was not a good fit for me and partially my own doing, but that is another story. I am currently waitlisted at my state school, but retook the MCAT in case I have to reapply.

This year, I did not take a course leading up to the MCAT. I studied on my own, but worked very hard, taking every AAMC practice test. I scored a 35 on my last practice test (10) so I felt confident going into the exam.

I hated this exam. It was so vastly different from the AAMC tests. I am so frustrated that they sell each of those tests and then they give us something so incredibly different. I felt that there were many more detail oriented questions on the real exam versus the practice tests.

I felt that the discretes were much more difficult in the PS section. This threw me off a bit because I do those questions first. It got me behind on time early. I was able to make up that time over the course of the section, but I did not like starting off that way.

VR seemed okay to me. I am usually strong in that section and did not have any major complaints.

BS could be described using another a more popular meaning of the acronym, it truly was BS. I read the cranberry passage and then sat there for just a moment before I realized that I did not digest anything I had just read. I have a strong research background, having done research for 2 years in undergrad and now as a full-time job. I did not feel like this provided me any significant help at all.

I really, really hope that I pulled off a 30 so I do not have to go through this process yet again. It was so discouraging to go into the exam feeling prepared and walk out feeling so terrible. I am glad to see here that I am not the only one in this position, so I guess we can only hope that AAMC anticipated this and was gracious with the scaling that they set for the exam.

Good luck to everyone. I personally feel more stressed than I did before I even took the exam. Is it time for the scores to be posted yet??? :eek:
 
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I've been on an emotional rollercoaster since the exam!

One minute, I feel like I completely failed the exam. The next minute, I feel like maybe, just maybe, I did alright. A few hours later, I feel like I probably had luck on my side. Maybe I made great guesses :cool: (but probably not :(). I just want to know how I did!

Please Curve, help us all.
 
I've been on an emotional rollercoaster since the exam!

One minute, I feel like I completely failed the exam. The next minute, I feel like maybe, just maybe, I did alright. A few hours later, I feel like I probably had luck on my side. Maybe I made great guesses :cool: (but probably not :(). I just want to know how I did!

Please Curve, help us all.

i predict a bell curve
 
Maybe they will accidently invert the bell curve and 50% of us will get up in the thirty/forty range ;)
 
I had my first mcat dream last night.....i got a 39.......waking up was soul crushing.
 
Hey, I've got a few questions for you guys. What is your plan regarding potentially retaking? Is anyone going to sign up for another test date before they get their score back in a month? I am concerned about this, because I am worried that if I have to retake, it will set me back in the application process. Schools will not review my application until sometime in August if I retake in July.

All together, my numbers are not all that competitive (cum gpa 3.46 and BCMP 3.71) so I am trying to get everything in ASAP to maximize my chances of interviews at MD schools.
 
Hey, I've got a few questions for you guys. What is your plan regarding potentially retaking? Is anyone going to sign up for another test date before they get their score back in a month? I am concerned about this, because I am worried that if I have to retake, it will set me back in the application process. Schools will not review my application until sometime in August if I retake in July.

All together, my numbers are not all that competitive (cum gpa 3.46 and BCMP 3.71) so I am trying to get everything in ASAP to maximize my chances of interviews at MD schools.
I'm honestly too shot mentally to think about retaking at this point. I haven't looked at any books, but it has only been a few days so, who knows?
 
I won't retake this cycle. If I don't get in, then I would think about retaking. Until then, why push my application even further behind?
 
Yes, I'm gonna wait, at least till August, but more likely ill wait till next May/June, too. I wish we could see our raw score after the test. There's no reason we cant see our raw scores after the test. Come on AAMC!!!
 
I've been on an emotional rollercoaster since the exam!

One minute, I feel like I completely failed the exam. The next minute, I feel like maybe, just maybe, I did alright. A few hours later, I feel like I probably had luck on my side. Maybe I made great guesses :cool: (but probably not :(). I just want to know how I did!

Please Curve, help us all.

Ditto
 
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