Official August 2, 2014 MCAT Thread

PRIVATE MCAT LESSONS. Click to learn more!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Paul Darlington

Paul Darlington

Membership Revoked
Removed
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Messages
106
Reaction score
17
I know, I know it is too early but is anyone else taking it on this date?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Members don't see this ad :)
I am going with Kaplan, i heard TPR is better though but Kaplan offer a lot of online resources so we should both be good :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sorry to interrupt, I was wondering if you guys are planning to apply this cycle? I might have to post pone my May test and I was wondering if its still feasible to apply this cycle?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Applying this cycle. Just make sure you SUBMIT your application the day it opens and add ONLY one school so when your score comes in and you are content with it, add the rest of the schools and secondaries will start pouring in
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
BigEinstein said:
Applying this cycle. Just make sure you SUBMIT your application the day it opens and add ONLY one school so when your score comes in and you are content with it, add the rest of the schools and secondaries will start pouring in
Click to expand...

Nice!! This makes me feel better...

Did you guys finish writing your Personal Statement?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
Hey, hey! Checking in as an August 1st (8:00am) retaker. Let's. Do. This. Thang.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm taking it Aug 2nd as well. I've been trying to take the MCAT for 3 years, but always have major problem happen right when I'm about to start studying for it. I just started studying this week, I'm terrified. My diagnostics are HORRIBLE and I don't know if 3 months is long enough. I was thinking studying 20 hrs/week, what are you guys doing as far as how long you're studying for?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am doing a Kaplan course which starts in 2 weeks but I will use Chad's video and watch for all the topics before the classes start. That way I will start to recall all i learnt in my classes and then when i read their books, the content will be grasped faster. I will spend more time doing practice though as compared to content.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hello! August 2nd taker here! Started studying but feel miserable about content. Non-trad so material is not fresh to me at all! I am in no way, shape or form ready. I just finished TPR Bio book and feel unprepared. Have done a gloss over of orgo, gen chem and physics books but don't remember a thing. Someone talk me out of rescheduling for November!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jebelali said:
Someone talk me out of rescheduling for November!
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll give that a shot. Don't reschedule for November. You'll get your scores back in December and if you decide that you want to retake, the only thing left will be January. With the new MCAT coming, there will likely be a huge inflow of people trying to take the last possible old MCAT (January) and you won't be able to get a seat. Now you're stuck with a BRAND NEW MCAT to study for.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just finished Day 1 of the SN2ED schedule. Took a little longer than I was hoping but was expected since I hadn't studied in a while. Going to have to skip some break days to finish it in time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Okay cool, most likely doing AAMC 3 today to gauge where I stand after that 16 kaplan diagnostic :(
Did y'all start studying?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What are you guys doing for orgo? Not sure if I should use my TBR book or TPR for it tomorrow. Just finished Day 2 today and realized how much I hated gen chem lol.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K1NG said:
What are you guys doing for orgo? Not sure if I should use my TBR book or TPR for it tomorrow. Just finished Day 2 today and realized how much I hated gen chem lol.
Click to expand...

TBR Orgo I book is gold. TBR II book gets more dense than you could ever possibly need, but if you're soggy in orgo the extra detail can help to sharpen you up. Better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, certainly. It's surprising what a little bit of confidence can do for your performance on test day; just recognizing the name of a really obscure mechanism that they may try to present (even if they don't directly ask you questions about it) can help to avoid panic-mode.

I haven't taken orgo in over 2 years, but I think I performed moderately well on my April 5th test day (got a 10/9/10) using all of the TBR books ("moderately well" is the operable term, there -- I scored in the 73rd percentile by last year's standards.... pthhhhh). Only retaking because I scored significantly below my average.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am a bit ahead of schedule it seems like! All 3 sections from Berkley review completed for Ochem, Gchem, Biol, and Phys! Heading in on August 1st at 8:00 AM (A bit early to my liking)!

When do you guys think you are going to take FLs?

Which secondary FLs are good to use/invest in?

And are there any other good VR resources for practice besides EK 101, TPR hyper learning, and kaplan?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I've been keeping up with TPR coursework. Have been doing kinematics, pulleys, and inclined planes. Forgot how much i disliked that stuff in physics. What is everyone's strategy for bio?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
When would be too late to register for the 8/2 exam? I don't want to register yet until I see where I am but I also don't want to be left with no seats. I'm forgoing EK 1001 for now and just trying to push through most of the content review before July 3rd. I'll take diagnostic around a week before to see where I am.

Using a very modified Sn2ed scheduled seeing as how there's only 70 days left and I just started today (and I'm taking a summer course). I'm planning to finish content by the first week of July and spreading out the AAMC FLs in the last 3-4 weeks before the exam. This is going to be rough.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It depends on if there is open seats. If there is open seats then its definitely not too late. However, in my area, all the mcat seats for August 2 are completely full.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Dead and boring thread, lets revive it. Can we post challenging questions and solutions to keep this alive?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
So it just occurred to me today to check out the orgo chem outline. I am self-studying from a 2010 Princeton Review book and they teach E1/E2 and electrophilic addition reactions which I was fretting over last time I went through the book. Turns out, I can't find these topics in the AAMC outline. And there is a whole bunch of extra stuff that I have never heard of. Very discouraged right now and seriously considering taking a course because I am really rusty (7+ years since pre-reqs). I am not sure I have enough time to "master" orgo!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jebelali said:
So it just occurred to me today to check out the orgo chem outline. I am self-studying from a 2010 Princeton Review book and they teach E1/E2 and electrophilic addition reactions which I was fretting over last time I went through the book. Turns out, I can't find these topics in the AAMC outline. And there is a whole bunch of extra stuff that I have never heard of. Very discouraged right now and seriously considering taking a course because I am really rusty (7+ years since pre-reqs). I am not sure I have enough time to "master" orgo!
Click to expand...
I suggest you use Chad for orgo, he covers all you need for orgo. " www.coursesaver.com"
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm hoping to be done with content review by the beginning of July. Then I get a month to do FLs and nail whatever weaknesses I have.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I aint even start yet lol, this is a retake for me so content should be done by July so I can spend a whole month in practice
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Im half way through content review, but this is my first MCAT. Im planning on finishing by middle of june then start FLs since I got a lot of them!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am half-way through content. I am hoping to be done by early June. I have relied on TPR for content review and still awaiting my TBR for passage practice and to nail down some concepts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wait, but you haven't done practice passages during content review? I'm no where near half way done with content review but I've been doing practice passages for each topic I go through. Am hoping to be done with content review by early july and then have all of july to do full length exams (I'm also doing TPR exams every 2-3 weeks during content review to gauge progress).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
doctorgirldaisy said:
Wait, but you haven't done practice passages during content review? I'm no where near half way done with content review but I've been doing practice passages for each topic I go through. Am hoping to be done with content review by early july and then have all of july to do full length exams (I'm also doing TPR exams every 2-3 weeks during content review to gauge progress).
Click to expand...
Not yet. When I took a first pass at Bio, I did the questions after I finished each chapter and while that was helpful, I felt that it was more about cementing the material than me testing myself. So starting Monday, I will be doing sample passages from the TPR content review Bio and Chem books while I finish orgo and then start doing the Orgo passages during physics content review. Hope that keeps my mind fresh on content. After my physics is done, I will do passages religiously.

Does this sound crazy lol? :eek:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm doing TBR practice passages during my content review, but those passages are mainly content checks, you kind of know what to expect (except for the last few passages for the biological sciences, which are pretty out there). I probably won't start "test" passages until July. I don't have as many FLs to work through either.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I know this might be lame but why dont we start posting high yield facts across all subjects and the strategies we use when doing passages?
This is how I review for verbal:
- After doing passages, I grade myself but I don't look into their explanations
- I then go back and write my though processes for each question, like why and how I arrived at the answers i chose
- Lastly I read their explanation to see if similar to my thought process.
- This helps me to get a feel when i come across similar questions all the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
I came across helpful videos here on sdn

Sodium potassium pump video

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sit...ion__how_the_sodium_potassium_pump_works.html

Function of the Nephron video



How a muscle contraction is signaled video



Cardiac Cycle video



Molecular visualizations of DNA video


Organs of digestion video
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sit...chapter26/animation__organs_of_digestion.html

Free tutorials vids
http://rapidlearningcenter.com/preview.html

The ovarian and uterine cycles vid

http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/ovarianuterine.html

LAC operon video


TRP operon video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aAYtMa3GFU&feature=related

Immunology videos
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp18/1802001.html

Auditory system
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sit...nd_waves_on_cochlear_structures__quiz_2_.html

Polymerase chain rxn vid
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/pcr.html

ALL SCIENCE helpful links (A&P, Bio, Micro)
http://nhscience.lonestar.edu/biol/index.html

Virus Lysogenic cycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9-xKitsd0

Conductive sys of heart vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te_SY3MeWys&feature=related

Egg fertilization/ovulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAgOk3-loUY&feature=related

Genchem vids
http://dwb4.unl.edu/ChemAnime/index.htm

http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animationcategory.php?cat=chemistry


Learning names of elements
http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animation.php?ani=184&cat=chemistry

Spermatogenesis and oogenesis
http://wps.aw.com/bc_martini_eap_4/40/10469/2680298.cw/content/index.html

Gastrulation
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire8e/content/cat_040/4304001.html

Gel Electrophoresis
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/gelelectrophoresis.html

Krebbs Cycle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juM2ROSLWfw
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thank you for the videos. I also find that Chad's videos for physics have helped a lot since that seems to be the subject I'm having the most trouble with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
I am actually going to use Chad for everything. Am not really gonna waste my time reading test books. Practice is more important than content
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
For the record, I am the one who started this thread, I spoke **** to someone and got banned lol so had to make new account. Can you believe with all the stress am going through, some idiot was talking about retaking a 35? That got me mad, like seriously give me a 28+ and I will be good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
People like that are just looking for praise from others. Ignore them. Worry about you because you and everyone on this thread are going to rock this!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

agentfaithmd
AAMC MCAT Official Prep Complete Bundle Worth It?
Replies
0
Views
360
agentfaithmd
agentfaithmd
D
Is it possible to get II or acceptances with a late August MCAT? Assuming the primary is submitted in June
Replies
6
Views
1K
gyngyn
gyngyn
freshdoe
  • Question
August 8th vs August 14th MCAT
Replies
9
Views
2K
JimKimSlim
JimKimSlim
doctorjackal
  • Question
August 14th MCAT Late?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Blueprint Med School
Blueprint Med School
K
  • Question
August MCAT or wait until January?
Replies
6
Views
954
KnightDoc
K
Top