*Official August 2016 MCAT Thread*

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leelee12

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Hi everyone,

This thread is for everyone that is writing the MCAT on August 4th, 5th, 19th, 20th or on the 25th.

Slow and steady wins the race.

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Well, no idea what happened. 500 overall (124/126/125/125), 17-18 point drop from my unscored/scored (517/518). I knew C/P threw me for a loop and I ran out of time. I guess I never recovered from that whirlwind. Off to drown sorrow in alcohol for the week, look at test taking anxiety coping strategy and hitting the books again.
edit: typo
 
Well, no idea what happened. 500 overall (124/126/125/125), 17-18 point drop from my unscored/scored (517/518). I knew C/P threw me for a loop and I ran out of time. I guess I never recovered from that whirlwind. Off to drown sorrow in alcohol for the week, look at test taking anxiety coping strategy and hitting the books again.
edit: typo
I'm right there with you 499... didn't even break 500. I am devastated. And this was my second attempt. It might be time to call it quits for me. Best of luck friend!
 
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If this is something you want don't call it quits, never give up on your dreams. Just try to buckle down and figure out what is going wrong for you. Is it content knowledge, test taking anxiety, nerves, decided to drink before the test, etc. There are a few stories on here of people who took it 4x-7x times before getting in. SDN is just a small sample of the MCAT test takers. I spoke to a few adcoms who have already told me that they don't care if I take it 4x as long as I continue upwards and my 4th attempt is 510+. The 5x-7x is where they begin to question if I just got a fluke score.
 
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UNDERDOG ALERT!

Made a 507 (128/124/127/128)

This is a retake from last year's 499 (127/121/126/125)
Here are my practice test scores in order starting about 2 months out:
NS 1: 506
NS 2: 502
NS 3: 502
NS 4: 499 (fatigue)
EK 3: 60% overall
EK 4: 67% overall
AAMC Scored 502 (126/123/127/126)

MCAT TIPS:
This score will get me into my state school so I'm happy. Your MCAT score is very very dependent on your alertness on test day as long as you can keep your anxiety down. During the scored FL, I had the worst anxiety in the world (couldn't breathe and hand cramped up). I remember putting my head down and thanking god that it wasn't the REAL mcat. Test day I only had 5.5 hours of sleep but a medium starbucks coffee in the morning with 1 excedrin before the test and another one during the lunch break. After the test, I felt worst about CP because I blindly guessed on an entire Ochem passage and I was so indecisive throughout. I was praying for a 126. Somehow I managed to pull off a 128. The only explanation is that I trained myself to set aside my ego and mark and move on if I knew a question was tough or would take too long to figure out. Since orgo is my weakness my plan was to just guess "B" on the dry orgo passages and move on.
CARS felt good but i normally suck at cars so i guessed 125. Bio i predicted 127 and Psych I felt really good so i predicted 127 also.
 
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126/ 124/125/128 is my new score

retake from 127/121/127/127...

so scared of what my chances might be...
 
UNDERDOG ALERT!

Made a 507 (128/124/127/128)

This is a retake from last year's 499 (127/121/126/125)
Here are my practice test scores in order starting about 2 months out:
NS 1: 506
NS 2: 502
NS 3: 502
NS 4: 499 (fatigue)
EK 3: 60% overall
EK 4: 67% overall
AAMC Scored 502 (126/123/127/126)

MCAT TIPS:
This score will get me into my state school so I'm happy. Your MCAT score is very very dependent on your alertness on test day as long as you can keep your anxiety down. During the scored FL, I had the worst anxiety in the world (couldn't breathe and hand cramped up). I remember putting my head down and thanking god that it wasn't the REAL mcat. Test day I only had 5.5 hours of sleep but a medium starbucks coffee in the morning with 1 excedrin before the test and another one during the lunch break. After the test, I felt worst about CP because I blindly guessed on an entire Ochem passage and I was so indecisive throughout. I was praying for a 126. Somehow I managed to pull off a 128. The only explanation is that I trained myself to set aside my ego and mark and move on if I knew a question was tough or would take too long to figure out. Since orgo is my weakness my plan was to just guess "B" on the dry orgo passages and move on.
CARS felt good but i normally suck at cars so i guessed 125. Bio i predicted 127 and Psych I felt really good so i predicted 127 also.

Congrats brotha 507 buddies lmao
 
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Started from my diagnostic at 499....to a 519
THERE IS HOPE!!
 
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Started from my diagnostic at 499....to a 519
THERE IS HOPE!!

Congratulations on the significant improvement. Over how many months did you study and how many practice tests did you take? What were your individual practice test scores?
 
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Congratulations on the significant improvement. Over how many months did you study and how many practice tests did you take? What were your individual practice test scores?

Thanks! I studied over about 4-5 months because it had been about 6 years since taking the basic sciences. I spent a lot of time at the beginning just doing content review because I basically had to relearn everything in addition to never having taken Ochem2 and biochem!

In total I took 1 half length diagnostic, 11 FLs, and also did several exam-length subject blocks from AAMC (doing 59 questions of bio, CARS, etc.)

Scores::::
Kaplan Diagnostic 499 [122/127/125/125]
K #1 = 502 [123/128/127/124]
K #2 = 505 [125/128/126/126]
NS #1 = 510 [127/127/128/128]
NS #2 = 512 [127/129/128/128]
K #3 = 508 [125/127/129/127]
NS #4 = 508 [127/128/127/128]
K #4 = 511 [128/128/127/128]
AAMC scored = 518 [128/131/130/129]
EK #3 = 509 [126/126/128/129]
EK #4 = 509 [128/126/127/128]
AAMC unscored = 516 [127/130/130/129]

For the EKs & AAMC unscored, I used my other tests to estimate what the scores would be
 
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Thanks! I studied over about 4-5 months because it had been about 6 years since taking the basic sciences. I spent a lot of time at the beginning just doing content review because I basically had to relearn everything in addition to never having taken Ochem2 and biochem!

In total I took 1 half length diagnostic, 11 FLs, and also did several exam-length subject blocks from AAMC (doing 59 questions of bio, CARS, etc.)

Scores::::
Kaplan Diagnostic 499 [122/127/125/125]
K #1 = 502 [123/128/127/124]
K #2 = 505 [125/128/126/126]
NS #1 = 510 [127/127/128/128]
NS #2 = 512 [127/129/128/128]
K #3 = 508 [125/127/129/127]
NS #4 = 508 [127/128/127/128]
K #4 = 511 [128/128/127/128]
AAMC scored = 518 [128/131/130/129]
EK #3 = 509 [126/126/128/129]
EK #4 = 509 [128/126/127/128]
AAMC unscored = 516 [127/130/130/129]

For the EKs & AAMC unscored, I used my other tests to estimate what the scores would be

Thanks a lot! How many months out did you start practice tests? How did you review your practice tests?
 
Thanks a lot! How many months out did you start practice tests? How did you review your practice tests?

I waited about a month after starting content review to take the first FL.
After that I did one about every ~3 weeks?
Final 4 weeks I took one every 3rd day

For every exam I would take the rest of the day off and then the next day review questions one by one that I had gotten wrong and write a little note about why I had gotten it wrong (whether it was content or just rushing). This also included reviewing questions that I was unsure about but guessed right anyway. I would spend a lot of time going back over content that I didn't know well during this time and also started making a list of areas where I was struggling and felt I needed extra review. (This was like an 8 hour event usually)
For the last 4 weeks I basically did a 6 day schedule
Day 1: FL
Day 2: Reivew FL
Day 3: Do practice sections & content review specifically on your worst section from the FL
Repeat
Take 1 day off

* I have to say though, this type of schedule doesn't work for everyone. It can be easy to burn out but I was in a situation where I only really had time off work the last couple weeks leading up to the exam so I had no choice.

** Also I would say, take as many FLs as you can. By the time I was taking the actual MCAT I was feeling really bored with it so I didn't feel as anxious during the test. I had done it so many times that I was just ready to be done.
 
Who else is waiting for their Aug 25th score? The wait is making me more anxious than the days leading up to the test
 
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Who else is waiting for their Aug 25th score? The wait is making me more anxious than the days leading up to the test
Same here. My friends got their scores this week and no one did well!!!!!!!!! All below 508 and that got me more anxious, I literally did not sleep last night. My head is like what if you messed up, its your second time taking this **** and just freaking nightmares. Idk how i felt about that exam, its hard for me to assess my prefomance. But i know that C/P had so many calculations
 
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Same here. My friends got their scores this week and no one did well!!!!!!!!! All below 508 and that got me more anxious, I literally did not sleep last night. My head is like what if you messed up, its your second time taking this **** and just freaking nightmares. Idk how i felt about that exam, its hard for me to assess my prefomance. But i know that C/P had so many calculations

how did you feel after you took it? i also took the 25th one and i felt the bio and psych were brutal . with chem having a lot of calculations
 
8/25 exam. As the day goes by waiting for my score, I feel like I did worse and worse... lol

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Who else is waiting for their Aug 25th score? The wait is making me more anxious than the days leading up to the test
I am. 17 more days. It's killing me. Luckily I just started 2 jobs and am taking a class, so I just take my stress out by being OCD about those. Lol. I just keep reminding myself that it's a marathon.

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I felt like crap at the end of my MCAT, I felt like i got in the 400s, don't fret too much, you probably did alright. I got a 514.
 
I am applying to both.
Well the median mcat score for the 2014 entering class for DO schools was a 26. Don't quote me but I believe your 503 would translate to that or above it. As long as the rest of your application is in order you should have a good shot! This entire process is a crapshoot and not all about stats. Apply broadly and you should find a landing place.
 
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16 more days for those of us that took the 25th. Suddenly I am having to remind myself that re-reading this thread again and again is not going to make my score arrive faster. :bang:
 
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Well the median mcat score for the 2014 entering class for DO schools was a 26. Don't quote me but I believe your 503 would translate to that or above it. As long as the rest of your application is in order you should have a good shot! This entire process is a crapshoot and not all about stats. Apply broadly and you should find a landing place.


do you think I have a chance for MDs? i have interviews from DO already but I am hoping for a MD :(
 
Just about one more week for the 8/19 and 8/20 takers. I have narrowed my possible score range to between a 495 and a 515.
 
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Just about one more week for the 8/19 and 8/20 takers. I have narrowed my possible score range to between a 495 and a 515.
It is a wide range, isn't it? Or i can say most scores fall b/w 490 and 520. Are u applying this cycle?
 
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It is a wide range, isn't it? Or i can say most scores fall b/w 490 and 520. Are u applying this cycle?

Assuming I don't score under ~505 then yes I will apply but I'm only applying to DO schools. If I was focusing on MD I would be applying next year regardless.
 
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do you think I have a chance for MDs? i have interviews from DO already but I am hoping for a MD :(
I by no means want to give you faulty information, all I can do is speak from experience of what I have seen in others' success. 503 is ~27-28 according to efle's conversion and I do know people with strong GPA/EC's that have gotten in with that. It really is dependent on what the rest of your application looks like. If you want to talk about it further, feel free to PM me.
 
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Ahhh, reading this thread is making me lowkey nervous :oops:

I took the 8/20 and the possibility of having to retake feels so real right now. Only 6 more days until scores come out guys..
 
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Less than 10 days..... eeek!

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You know.. I wasn't feeling anxiety until the one day mark.. but now it's CRIPPLING!!!

One more day, 8/19-20'ers!
 
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