Official August 2, 2014 MCAT Thread

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Paul Darlington

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I know, I know it is too early but is anyone else taking it on this date?

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Oh and btw,
Expected score: 26-29
Hoping for: 30+
I'm very well-rounded in content, it's just that damn time limit -_-

I wish I could expect that high :( i realized that i got the most simple questions wrong so my previous prediction is too high for how i feel now
 
PS: it was fine. Not terrible. Familiar content. Some questions I just had teouble finding the numbers I needed for calcs which was frustrating and ended up guessing on 3 or so and on one I had like 5 seconds left and just picked and answer while reading and I was about to change it to cerrect one...and time ran out. So...that was the most annoying thing but I still didnt feel hopeless or discouraged. Exchanged a few words about the general impression of the test w another fellow test taker and she didnt feel good about it and said that she felt like she was just half guessing/ picking random answers bc o time. That made me doubt myself bc my issue is...terrible test anxiety...wih just the mcat test. Never have I been this nervous for a test before. And I could be doing problems all day long...and as soon as that clock starts counting down its like my brain goes into stupid mode. So thats what I'm really afraid of. :(
VR: eh. All passages were just medium heavy with 'he said she said' type of a thing. 1st passage finished 1 min earlier than planned, which was good cause next one was def much longer and denser and I finished that one about a min or 2 later than expected. ..so that put me in a rush mode for 3rd passage ...and that one I might have screwed up bc I was thinking about time...which I realized so I took 2 sec to take a breather. After that everything went a tiny bit better....this section is such a toss up. Sometimes I get in the range of 9/10...and usually its such dumb mistakes that when I go back and read them...I face palm.
BS: first few passages were fine. I was a little surprised on the topics...not bad surprised but just didnt think there would be passages on it. Orgo was fine...had to do an edu guess on about 2ish bc I just didnt want to waste time . But yea that one passage I skipped and left for last...I didnt want to mistakenly let time slip by and rush through the stuff that I knew/could figure out. So I had about..5/6 min left for that one...which I used to skim the passage and just do my best in edu guesses...I honestly felt like I needed good 15 min for it...even then...probably would have gotten 2 or so wrong...
I dono. People are saying that oh the score doesnt deviate from what you usually get on aamc 11....mine did....A LOT. I'm talking about like 10 pts...it just looked like as though I never studied or even planned on studying for it...maybe thats why I have such mcat test anxiety bc I can never tell how I did. So.... I am crossing all the fingers and toes and whatever luck I have to just get something to get into md somewhere in usa. Which kind of disappoints me since I have been studying for so long. I know you guys have your own scores to worry about but if you have some good vibes to spare...I would so appreciate it.
I really really hope that all of us did well and can just rest easy when we get our scores.
 
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PS: it was fine. Not terrible. Familiar content. Some questions I just had teouble finding the numbers I needed for calcs which was frustrating and ended up guessing on 3 or so and on one I had like 5 seconds left and just picked and answer while reading and I was about to change it to cerrect one...and time ran out. So...that was the most annoying thing but I still didnt feel hopeless or discouraged. Exchanged a few words about the general impression of the test w another fellow test taker and she didnt feel good about it and said that she felt like she was just half guessing/ picking random answers bc o time. That made me doubt myself bc my issue is...terrible test anxiety...wih just the mcat test. Never have I been this nervous for a test before. And I could be doing problems all day long...and as soon as that clock starts counting down its like my brain goes into stupid mode. So thats what I'm really afraid of. :(
VR: eh. All passages were just medium heavy with 'he said she said' type of a thing. 1st passage finished 1 min earlier than planned, which was good cause next one was def much longer and denser and I finished that one about a min or 2 later than expected. ..so that put me in a rush mode for 3rd passage ...and that one I might have screwed up bc I was thinking about time...which I realized so I took 2 sec to take a breather. After that everything went a tiny bit better....this section is such a toss up. Sometimes I get in the range of 9/10...and usually its such dumb mistakes that when I go back and read them...I face palm.
BS: first few passages were fine. I was a little surprised on the topics...not bad surprised but just didnt think there would be passages on it. Orgo was fine...had to do an edu guess on about 2ish bc I just didnt want to waste time . But yea that one passage I skipped and left for last...I didnt want to mistakenly let time slip by and rush through the stuff that I knew/could figure out. So I had about..5/6 min left for that one...which I used to skim the passage and just do my best in edu guesses...I honestly felt like I needed good 15 min for it...even then...probably would have gotten 2 or so wrong...
I dono. People are saying that oh the score doesnt deviate from what you usually get on aamc 11....mine did....A LOT. I'm talking about like 10 pts...it just looked like as though I never studied or even planned on studying for it...maybe thats why I have such mcat test anxiety bc I can never tell how I did. So.... I am crossing all the fingers and toes and whatever luck I have to just get something to get into md somewhere in usa. Which kind of disappoints me since I have been studying for so long. I know you guys have your own scores to worry about but if you have some good vibes to spare...I would so appreciate it.
I really really hope that all of us did well and can just rest easy when we get our scores.

I feel your pain... I feel pretty bad about it too. Verbal is a complete toss-up, I could've gotten an 11 could've gotten an 8. I made at least 5 stupid mistakes on both science sections and I'm just really disappointed on my effort. I was pretty unsatisfied with my testing conditions, I kept hearing people talking and typing, Which makes me so angry lol. I tried to use their ear muffs but the "padding" was like asphalt. It cut off the circulation to my head so I couldn't use those... All in all there's nothing we can do about it now :/ it's all in the Lord's hands from this point out. I hope you did great along with everyone else though! We're in this together!! :thumbup:
 
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I wish I could expect that high :( i realized that i got the most simple questions wrong so my previous prediction is too high for how i feel now

I feel your pain.. I missed at least 3-5 easy questions on both sciences :/ you're not the only one.
 
3-5 questions only? thats awesome. for BS, i actually had no clue about the content material in 2-3 passages!
 
its funny how we all talk about the curve to save us...um what if we're on the lower end of it?
 
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"whyyyy can't they tun around scores in a week?" said by every pre-med ever + me. Anxious month ahead...
 
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Hi question... Taking the mcat in a few months .. What does FL and SA stand for ? Keep seeing posts about aamc fl and aamc sa?
 
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Yeah it's all on the AAMC website, or if you're taking a prep course like Kaplan, can be accessed through their website.

All the subjects covered on the MCAT are included in the "package." (Gen chem, o-chem, bio, physics, verbal)
 
Yeah it's all on the AAMC website, or if you're taking a prep course like Kaplan, can be accessed through their website.

All the subjects covered on the MCAT are included in the "package." (Gen chem, o-chem, bio, physics, verbal)
Not to be a prick, but don't forget genetics.
 
The wait is already killing me! Coming out of the test, I felt pretty numb. I didn't feel like I BOMBED it but I also didn't feel as good as I usually do after practice exams. I guess what sort of has me worried is the fact that I don't remember hardly ANYTHING about the test. Even right after the exam, I couldn't remember what I just got tested over (passages, questions, etc). So now I just feel weird LOL. My average was around a 33 so I am hoping to hold onto that. I think I'll pull through in PS&BS but there's just no knowing about the verbal. I felt pretty similar as usual -- I always feel like I bombed verbal but always get ~10 on practice exams. I have read on these threads of people scoring wayyy below their average on verbal and people scoring slightly above... I feel like my score will be relatively lower than my average (so like ~28ish) or relatively higher (35ish). Anyone here take the MCAT previously? If so, how did your post-test feelings compare to your actual score?

Good luck everyone!!!!!!
 
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The wait is already killing me! Coming out of the test, I felt pretty numb. I didn't feel like I BOMBED it but I also didn't feel as good as I usually do after practice exams. I guess what sort of has me worried is the fact that I don't remember hardly ANYTHING about the test. Even right after the exam, I couldn't remember what I just got tested over (passages, questions, etc). So now I just feel weird LOL. My average was around a 33 so I am hoping to hold onto that. I think I'll pull through in PS&BS but there's just no knowing about the verbal. I felt pretty similar as usual -- I always feel like I bombed verbal but always get ~10 on practice exams. I have read on these threads of people scoring wayyy below their average on verbal and people scoring slightly above... I feel like my score will be relatively lower than my average (so like ~28ish) or relatively higher (35ish). Anyone here take the MCAT previously? If so, how did your post-test feelings compare to your actual score?

Good luck everyone!!!!!!
I feel the same way. To be honest it is the worst feeling. My average was 32-33 as well but I wasn't confident after doing verbal at all. I usually score 10-11s on verbal but its usually because I guess right on 50/50 questions.
 
I feel the same way. To be honest it is the worst feeling. My average was 32-33 as well but I wasn't confident after doing verbal at all. I usually score 10-11s on verbal but its usually because I guess right on 50/50 questions.
Exactly the same here! I guess we just have to trust our averages and hope for the best. The whole MCAT day is just a blur to me now. I wish I could remember at least a little from what was tested on BS&PS so I could look to see if my guesses were correct but part of me says it's a blessing I don't remember -- otherwise I would be going even more crazy! LOL. I really do hope we are pleasantly surprised when our scores come out -- seems to be a trend on this forum.
 
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Exactly the same here! I guess we just have to trust our averages and hope for the best. The whole MCAT day is just a blur to me now. I wish I could remember at least a little from what was tested on BS&PS so I could look to see if my guesses were correct but part of me says it's a blessing I don't remember -- otherwise I would be going even more crazy! LOL. I really do hope we are pleasantly surprised when our scores come out -- seems to be a trend on this forum.
Yeah that is true. However, I took the August 1 test and I felt like I was guessing on the BS section. I think PS was manageable but not knowing the answers is the worst. I know I missed some easy questions which sucks. Not only that verbal is always a toss up.
 
The wait is already killing me! Coming out of the test, I felt pretty numb. I didn't feel like I BOMBED it but I also didn't feel as good as I usually do after practice exams. I guess what sort of has me worried is the fact that I don't remember hardly ANYTHING about the test. Even right after the exam, I couldn't remember what I just got tested over (passages, questions, etc). So now I just feel weird LOL. My average was around a 33 so I am hoping to hold onto that. I think I'll pull through in PS&BS but there's just no knowing about the verbal. I felt pretty similar as usual -- I always feel like I bombed verbal but always get ~10 on practice exams. I have read on these threads of people scoring wayyy below their average on verbal and people scoring slightly above... I feel like my score will be relatively lower than my average (so like ~28ish) or relatively higher (35ish). Anyone here take the MCAT previously? If so, how did your post-test feelings compare to your actual score?

Good luck everyone!!!!!!
This is exactly how I felt after the exam too-so, so glad I'm not the only one! I was averaging 33 (finishing with 35/36's) on the aamc tests but I could never predict even remotely accurately how I would do. Combine that with being unable to remember anything that happened after phys sci and it's looking like August will be a long month...
 
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This is exactly how I felt after the exam too-so, so glad I'm not the only one! I was averaging 33 (finishing with 35/36's) on the aamc tests but I could never predict even remotely accurately how I would do. Combine that with being unable to remember anything that happened after phys sci and it's looking like August will be a long month...
I still don't believe I would get my averages though because I felt rush on the PS section sigh
 
I still don't believe I would get my averages though because I felt rush on the PS section sigh
I felt very rushed during the PS section as well so I feel like it will be my poorest section. Bio felt pretty good for me. I am predicting a 30 for myself... 10/9/11 (practice average 33, min 30 max 36) Let's just hope [the curve + experimental questions + luck] will help us out in the end.
 
I felt like I was guessing so much on PS but idk -- maybe it was just the nerves that made it feel like that. I looked back at a lot of other MCAT threads and it seems like almost always people do better than they predict post-exam. Let's hope that stays true for us!
 
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I felt oddly rushed during bio, but most people seem to be saying it was easy to them. So who knows...

I felt very rushed during the PS section as well so I feel like it will be my poorest section. Bio felt pretty good for me. I am predicting a 30 for myself... 10/9/11 (practice average 33, min 30 max 36) Let's just hope [the curve + experimental questions + luck] will help us out in the end.

Ha I felt rushed on both the PS and BS parts of the exam! I had to guess on, more or less, an entire easy chem passage, and in BS, spent so much time on that one passage that I had to guess alot on the last several...I know that I missed one orgo question already. My AAMC range was 28-34...and I feel really bad because I thought I may have put in my best performance (despite the fact that I was somewhat sleep deprived). So I'm worried that I'll be really dissapointed because even though I'm trying not to, I feel like I did better than most of my practice tests... if I get a 32 I'll be very happy...31 or lower and I may have to retake ...Sigh,...only 27 more days.
 
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Yeah it's all on the AAMC website, or if you're taking a prep course like Kaplan, can be accessed through their website.

All the subjects covered on the MCAT are included in the "package." (Gen chem, o-chem, bio, physics, verbal)
Ok thanks !
 
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Ha I felt rushed on both the PS and BS parts of the exam! I had to guess on, more or less, an entire easy chem passage, and in BS, spent so much time on that one passage that I had to guess alot on the last several...I know that I missed one orgo question already. My AAMC range was 28-34...and I feel really bad because I thought I may have put in my best performance (despite the fact that I was somewhat sleep deprived). So I'm worried that I'll be really dissapointed because even though I'm trying not to, I feel like I did better than most of my practice tests... if I get a 32 I'll be very happy...31 or lower and I may have to retake ...Sigh,...only 27 more days.

Yes, that *one* passage on BS also consumed a lot of my time. But all in all, I felt pretty good about the section. PS -- different story LOL. More than likely, we will all score right around our average hopefully and many of us will probably do better than our average, regardless of how we feel right now!

Happy to see this thread active because I hate talking to premed at my school.... LOL
 
Yes, that *one* passage on BS also consumed a lot of my time. But all in all, I felt pretty good about the section. PS -- different story LOL. More than likely, we will all score right around our average hopefully and many of us will probably do better than our average, regardless of how we feel right now!

Happy to see this thread active because I hate talking to premed at my school.... LOL
How many questions do you think we can miss to get a decent score minus the experimental questions?
 
hi I have a question. Was this test at 8 am? When did you leave the testing center?

Yes it was.

I got to my test center at 7, was seated at 7:30 (I was the first person to be seated), started testing ~7:35, and left the test center before noon.
 
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I felt very rushed during the PS section as well so I feel like it will be my poorest section. Bio felt pretty good for me. I am predicting a 30 for myself... 10/9/11 (practice average 33, min 30 max 36) Let's just hope [the curve + experimental questions + luck] will help us out in the end.

Just curious, but do you think we still have experimental questions? I kind of feel like they wouldn't need them anymore bc of the new mcat but I definitely could be wrong. And hopefully I'm wrong lol
 
Just curious, but do you think we still have experimental questions? I kind of feel like they wouldn't need them anymore bc of the new mcat but I definitely could be wrong. And hopefully I'm wrong lol

I was actually thinking this too! I have a feeling they probably still do have a few experimental questions, to normalize everything with past test takers, but who knows?
 
Just curious, but do you think we still have experimental questions? I kind of feel like they wouldn't need them anymore bc of the new mcat but I definitely could be wrong. And hopefully I'm wrong lol

From the MCAT Essentials PDF that you SHOULD HAVE READ, before taking the exam...

(Just kidding...haha. Nobody reads that!)

"Note: Each of the three scored multiple-choice sections includes some experimental items. Experimental items, as well as questions contained in the Trial Section, do not count toward your score." (Page 6, under the "Exam Overview" table)
 
Hi! Will be taking the test in September, was wondering what prep materials felt most similar to your exam? I'm trying to figure out if I should focus on TBR passages or TPRH in my last month of studying (also have some Kaplan sectional tests). Thanks!
 
Hi! Will be taking the test in September, was wondering what prep materials felt most similar to your exam? I'm trying to figure out if I should focus on TBR passages or TPRH in my last month of studying (also have some Kaplan sectional tests). Thanks!

I liked ExamKrackers but they are all good enough honestly. But I highly recommend that in the last month you shift to primarily practice tests (AAMC especially). This is one mistake that I made. I spent most my summer doing content review and only did practice exams the last 2-3weeks and I wish I had done more. The real test felt very AAMC-ish but slightly harder/weirder.
 
BTW, my official prediction (so I can quote it when I post my actual scores) is:

10PS/9V/11BS = 30

Hopefully I don't make a fool of myself LOL.
 
Thank you @pchitsaz appreciate your response! I dont think you will make a fool of yourself at all! I'm definitely doing all the AAMC's, it's more about the in between days where i tackle weaknesses (2 days in between every full length is how my schedule is set up, 1 for review of full length and the other for practice problems) so that's why i'm asking.
 
So July 12 just got their scores back... Some people did better than what they thought, quite a few did worse than what they thought... how's everyone feeling now??? I am just concerned because I did not get hardly any sleep the night before, so I'm thinking that I might be delusional in thinking that I did Ok. Looking back though, PS still seemed ok, VR whatever, and BS not bad except the one passage.... So how's everyone out there feeling?? Just submitted my primary to AMCAS today lol....yikes.
 
So July 12 just got their scores back... Some people did better than what they thought, quite a few did worse than what they thought... how's everyone feeling now??? I am just concerned because I did not get hardly any sleep the night before, so I'm thinking that I might be delusional in thinking that I did Ok. Looking back though, PS still seemed ok, VR whatever, and BS not bad except the one passage.... So how's everyone out there feeling?? Just submitted my primary to AMCAS today lol....yikes.
LOL, yeah I was all up on July 12 forum as well. You're right -- there were a handful of people who scored much worse than their average so it got me worried as well. PS still seemed like I didn't do as well as usual, VR felt like crap (as always) so hoping for a 9-10 --10 is my average, and BS honestly felt pretty good for me. That one passage threw me off but everything else seemed manageable.

I mentioned this before but what is REALLY DRIVING ME CRAZY is the fact that I don't remember hardly ANYTHING on the test to even look it up or ponder how I did. Like literally I remember 1/7 passages from PS, 2/7 passages from BS, and 0/7 passages from verbal LOL. I felt this same way right after the test too. There were 2 discretes from PS I remembered that I guessed on and thankfully I got them right but man PS has me so worried -- it makes me even more worried that everyone else said it was sort of easy for them... LOL. I can't wait to get our scores.

It seems as if VR will either make me or break me. If I get a 10 on VR (my avg towards the end) I think I can pull through in the sciences.

Now that I've cooled down a little bit, the absolute best I think I can get on this exam is 11PS/10VR/13BS = 34 but part of me is feeling a 10/9/11 breakdown for a 30

I'm hesitant to submit my primary now. Good news is AMCAS is verifying SUPER fast this year (~23 days) so that's good.

How is everyone else holding up? We need to keep this thread active, guys!
 
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So July 12 just got their scores back... Some people did better than what they thought, quite a few did worse than what they thought... how's everyone feeling now??? I am just concerned because I did not get hardly any sleep the night before, so I'm thinking that I might be delusional in thinking that I did Ok. Looking back though, PS still seemed ok, VR whatever, and BS not bad except the one passage.... So how's everyone out there feeling?? Just submitted my primary to AMCAS today lol....yikes.

I took the Aug 1st exam but looks like we're getting our scores on the same day. I'm 80% sure I will have to retake lol so just doing light review (very light :p) until I get my score. For my test PS felt OK but I'm pretty nervous about VR and BS.

AMCAS already verified, waiting for secondaries to roll in. Submitting AACOMAS within this week.
 
@pchitsaz Yeah, I remembered a few things after the exam, but I honestly did not want to look stuff up. I looked up one question that I guessed on (and got wrong), but other than that, I was like, whatever happens,... I hate neurotically looking stuff up. But I did have to guess on about 2-3 questions on the PS, an easy gen chem passage too. I think the best I could have done is like 12,12,12 = 36, and the worst (I hope) is like 9,9,9.... but after seeing some of the people on July 12, you never know...I am kinda feeling like a 31-32 (maybe 10,11,11)... Only three more weeks or so :-/

@K1NG
Good for you having submitted AMCAS and studying for MCAT again lol... I am definitely not going to pick up another MCAT book until I know 100% that I have to retake, what score will you be happy with>?
 
@HinduHammer Haha I wouldn't really call it studying. I've just been listening to Audio Osmosis whenever I'm bored. I was averaging ~31 but I'll be happy with a 30+ score. Then I'll be done with this thing forever!
 
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