*Official August 2016 MCAT Thread*

[leelee12]

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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[MrsSheperd]

@MrsSheperd NS 1/2 diag and NS1 is free

YASSSS Thank you! I'm trying to decide whether I should take 3 or 4 more FL tests until the 20th.. Do yall think I'll be burned out? All I want to do starting this weekend is taking FLs and reviewing them. Then the day before the exam just chill out and relax.

 

[theonlytycrane]

@MrsSheperd Does this include the unscored and scored? Go at your pace starting this weekend and get through as much as you can while staying strong!

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Can you check the question #?

Sorry i meant to have that. question 58

 

[theonlytycrane]

Sorry i meant to have that. question 58

The enzyme is a homo-tetramer (4 subunits that are identical). They run a reducing gel and see only 1 band at 35 kDa. The weight of the enzyme must be 35 kDa * 4 = 140 kDa.

Is this the question you're referring to?

 

[laczlacylaci]

Sorry i meant to have that. question 58

The enzyme is a homo-tetramer (4 subunits that are identical). They run a reducing gel and see only 1 band at 35 kDa. The weight of the enzyme must be 35 kDa * 4 = 140 kDa.

Is this the question you're referring to?

I think you were referring to B/B Section bank #22
It is not assuming the approximate molecular weight of the monomer, but rather each amino acid (110 Da)
110Da*288amino acids=you can estimate to 110Da*300amino acids=33000Da=33kDa (which is really close to 32kDa, the key)
33kDa*4=132kDa, which is the closest to D. 128kDa

Let me know if that helps.

 

[MrsSheperd]

@MrsSheperd Does this include the unscored and scored? Go at your pace starting this weekend and get through as much as you can while staying strong!

Thank you!! Yeah I was planning on taking the scored and I scored last, plus NS1 and Kaplan FL2. I'm afraid to not practice enough but at the same time I don't want to be burned out. Def not doing anything the day before test day!

 

[whatisthisagain1]

Just took my first set of AAMC material and got 63%,63%, 67%, and 73% on OG questions. I usually do well on CARS.. don't know what happened

 

[neurodjent]

Weellllllllllllllll....that was hard.

Predicting/Hoping for 505 - (124/127/126/128) to 509 - (125/128/127/129)

 

[MrsSheperd]

Good luck to all of you testing tomorrow! Feel free to post afterwards I'd love to hear how it went.

BTW: if anyone has any advice for test prep these last 2 weeks, please share. Totally confused as to what to do from this point on. Practice/review only? Practice+Khan? (Because I really can't see those books anymore , and that other guys voice gets SUPER annoying after a while lol )

 

[Dr. Stalker]

I'll be sitting for the exam tomorrow. Good luck to everyone else, remember, we got this .

 

[jahcat]

Weellllllllllllllll....that was hard.

Predicting/Hoping for 505 - (124/127/126/128) to 509 - (125/128/127/129)

How did you feel it compared to the scored? I thought it was pretty much on par, happy to see barely any physics

 

[neurodjent]

How did you feel it compared to the scored? I thought it was pretty much on par, happy to see barely any physics

I actually thought that it was much harder than the scored. The Chem/Phys had plenty of physics, and P/S section was very different. CARS and Bio/Biochem were on par.

 

[jahcat]

I actually thought that it was much harder than the scored. The Chem/Phys had plenty of physics, and P/S section was very different. CARS and Bio/Biochem were on par.

Wow maybe we had diff tests because I only had a couple physics discretes! Either way, I'm sure after your great scored exam score you'll be okay! congrats on finishing

 

[neurodjent]

Wow maybe we had diff tests because I only had a couple physics discretes! Either way, I'm sure after your great scored exam score you'll be okay! congrats on finishing

thank you! congrats to you too! We took a huge step today in taking that test, if I come within 5 points of my scored I'll be happy lol. Now is the waiting game. I'm going to inundate my brain with so many video games that I won't remember that my score isn't out yet lol.

 

[RockMcat520]

What do you guys think of my EK 4 score?
(83%,55%61%,66%) would I score 508+ on the real deal?

 

[awad2893]

For those who took it today how did you feel the real test compared to the section bank. I'm taking the real test tomorrow and would love to know. And how was the cars section?

 

[neurodjent]

For those who took it today how did you feel the real test compared to the section bank. I'm taking the real test tomorrow and would love to know. And how was the cars section?

Section bank was definitely harder but there were definitely section bank difficulty passages. Overall, the test was between the scored and section bank. CARS was consistent in difficulty to the scored. Good luck tomorrow!!

 

[awad2893]

Thanks for the feed back! That's good to hear that it's not as difficult. I've scored high 60s and low 70s % on the section bank (can remember the exact break down). Do you think I'm in relatively good shape? I'm not looking for a super high score my target is between 505-510. I have pretty much given up on CARs lol

 

[Dr_Curry]

Thanks for the feed back! That's good to hear that it's not as difficult. I've scored high 60s and low 70s % on the section bank (can remember the exact break down). Do you think I'm in relatively good shape? I'm not looking for a super high score my target is between 505-510. I have pretty much given up on CARs lol

Also testing tomorrow and my biggest concern is CARS. I thought the scored CARS section was tough with the boring confusing passages. Hopefully ours are a bit more interesting. Will be happy with 125 on CARS and 505+ overall

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Well that was fun. Very strange.

 

[premed1244]

NS1 is free too, I'd recommend it.

Took it today and got a 515, which I'm really happy with! I thought it was fairly similar to the AAMC and would definitely recommend it as well.

 

[neurodjent]

Thanks for the feed back! That's good to hear that it's not as difficult. I've scored high 60s and low 70s % on the section bank (can remember the exact break down). Do you think I'm in relatively good shape? I'm not looking for a super high score my target is between 505-510. I have pretty much given up on CARs lol

I think you could realistically get in your range pretty easily. Just take the test the same way you've done practice tests and you should be fine.

 

[neurodjent]

Well that was fun. Very strange.

that's exactly how I felt about it lol.

 

[healingwave]

Thought the bio and psych/soc sections were very difficult

 

[theonlytycrane]

strange?

 

[neuro583]

New to this thread but I took it today and also thought it was very strange... CARS and b/b seemed about normal but my C/P and P/S were weird. P/S seemed very research heavy and light on straight up terminology recall. I would highly highly suggest knowing how to strongly apply psych terms to situations as opposed to just knowing the definition. Also doing EK tests throughout then switching to NS sections in the last 2 weeks or so seemed to help. EK is so passage/analyzing graphs based and NS seemed to always include random info which balanced things out for me today. But I agree with the person above, I got plenty of physics/calculations and a strange P/S.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

So I've noticed that the MCAT is different than all others obv. But how? So the real MCAT is structured differently. Each passage is strategically ordered to test stamina and endurance, the questions ranged from obvious to wtf. Nothing you can do about those, they are there to generate a curve. All u can do is your best.

 

[toutou]

So I've noticed that the MCAT is different than all others obv. But how? So the real MCAT is structured differently. Each passage is strategically ordered to test stamina and endurance, the questions ranged from obvious to wtf. Nothing you can do about those, they are there to generate a curve. All u can do is your best.

There's no curve, it's scaled. Weird, I know, I thought so too.

I took the exam already and didn't use any of the materials mentioned, but a friend is taking it. Do you guys recommend doing strictly NS, Khan and maybe section banks and AAMC materials for this exam?

 

[Dagrimsta1]

There's no curve, it's scaled. Weird, I know, I thought so too.

I took the exam already and didn't use any of the materials mentioned, but a friend is taking it. Do you guys recommend doing strictly NS, Khan and maybe section banks and AAMC materials for this exam?

By curve I meant those questions are placed in order for there to even be a scale. There can only be a scale if people get questions wrong. I recommend using some of everything. Chances are you wont review everything. The P/S section felt as if it were created by someone who had never seen ANY of the review materials, none of the "high yield" terms. Luck is a factor. Don't get it twisted.

 

[neuro583]

There's no curve, it's scaled. Weird, I know, I thought so too.

I took the exam already and didn't use any of the materials mentioned, but a friend is taking it. Do you guys recommend doing strictly NS, Khan and maybe section banks and AAMC materials for this exam?

Agreed^. I personally think EK full lengths were amazing although expensive they really taught me how to answer complex passage based questions and I ended up getting a ton of those on test day. NS helped with B/B and Psych content especially and also was good prep for deducing the right answer when I may not have been familiar with the term. I ended up getting a 130/129 on those on the aamc FL. But diversify which companies you use and be ready for anything, not just the high yield topics.

 

[CloverBale]

does anyone feel remotely ready? my exam is on the 25th and I feel far from ready lol. There's just SOO MUCH MATERIAL!!!

 

[RockMcat520]

does anyone feel remotely ready? my exam is on the 25th and I feel far from ready lol. There's just SOO MUCH MATERIAL!!!

You will never feel ready no matter how much you study

 

[MrsSheperd]

does anyone feel remotely ready? my exam is on the 25th and I feel far from ready lol. There's just SOO MUCH MATERIAL!!!

Same here! I'm simply doing practice problems and exams now...content review seems like a waste of time at this point lol

 

[Ad2b]

Started at 7:30 today, done by 1:00. Do not let anyone scare you. Yes, there are some tricky passages, yes there are some tricky things like the scored and section banks.

This test is fair. And now, I get to join the others (finally) who have taken the last required step in the application process.

MCAT - you are dead.

 

[whatisthisagain1]

Same here! I'm simply doing practice problems and exams now...content review seems like a waste of time at this point lol

literally same as you! writing on the 25th and started Qpacks yesterday, there's so much I feel so overwhelmed and a part of me is thinking of pushing it back again, but i'm trying to tell myself that a week really wouldn't help lol

 

[MrsSheperd]

Started at 7:30 today, done by 1:00. Do not let anyone scare you. Yes, there are some tricky passages, yes there are some tricky things like the scored and section banks.

This test is fair. And now, I get to join the others (finally) who have taken the last required step in the application process.

MCAT - you are dead.

Awwww congratulations!!! I'm so jealous

But....how did you finish at 1 if you started at 07:30?? Did you not take any breaks or is my brain just fried from Gen Chem practice right now?? LOL

 

[Ad2b]

But....how did you finish at 1 if you started at 07:30??

CP: 1 hour maybe 12 minutes
CARS: 1 hour maybe 15 minutes
BB: 1 hour maybe 15 minutes
PS: 45 minutes

Breaks between all sections to eat and slam a diet coke.

I will say I was very pleasantly surprised at how calm I was and I think that helped tremendously. At first, I was like okay - where's the trick question, next. Where's the trick question, next... and then I realized

The AAMC is not our professors giving us trick questions. There are no "How many months have 29 days" type of nonsense on this thing.

The calculations for mine were pretty easy... if you know variables and basic algebra, they were not hard.

For CP... mine was pretty straightforward - there were questions that were variations on a theme from any piece of the AAMC material. Meaning, if you work through the materials, and understand WHY, when you see something similar on the actual exam, you'll be able to say to yourself:

"Okay this is like that other one in the blah blah blah so therefore, I need to do this." Then do "that" and find the answer choice that corresponds.

For CARS... nothing bad... thankfully, all the passages were somewhat interesting. One I almost laughed out loud at because it was kind of ludicrous but I went with it... didn't let m y own personal feelings about the material get intertwined with the passage itself.

For BB ... nothing bad... kind of the same principle of CP applies here; do the AAMC materials and understand WHY.

For PS... just ... follow the AAMC guide and make sure you can cross every term, off the list and understand who came up with what and HOW it applies to a situation.

The biggest thing I can say is this:

My test will not be your test. But I walked in like a boss, like it was some scum horde that's better off dead than red so, like horde scum, I did all my best to slay it.

 

[nathan_4]

I took the exam on the 4th (8/4/16) and I can confirm that the C/P and P/S sections were very... strange... . C/P was very calculation heavy and tested what I like to call "end-of-the-textbook-never-got-to-that-chapter-before-the-final" material. I also agree that P/S was very light on terminology and felt like a CARS 2.0 section, light on experiments, and basically guesswork. I feel as if I guessed on at least half the questions. I was so looking forward to relaxing on the last section after such a brutal test but boy was I wrong!

CARS was the usual bs but at least it was the usual. B/B was a little more on the tricky side, closer to the section bank than the scored. Overall the test was very difficult compared to any practice exam I've taken before. In my opinion the level of difficulty: August 4th > Section Bank > NS exams 1-6 > AAMC FL > AAMC Scored.

With that said, I wish the best of luck to everyone taking the test today and for the rest of August! For those who are reading this and have yet to take the test, take solace in the fact that it is unlikely most tests will be this hard. And for those who took the test on the 4th, remember that the exam is scaled based on how you did with respect to everyone else!

 

[Ad2b]

August 4th > Section Bank > NS exams 1-6 > AAMC FL > AAMC Scored

My order would be: August 5 = Scored = Part of SB = Q-packs < anything Kaplan ...

 

[kamikama101]

Started at 7:30 today, done by 1:00. Do not let anyone scare you. Yes, there are some tricky passages, yes there are some tricky things like the scored and section banks.

This test is fair. And now, I get to join the others (finally) who have taken the last required step in the application process.

MCAT - you are dead.

Glad it felt great for you I was rooting for you

 

[kamikama101]

So for me. This was very shocking. IDK how I managed to mess myself up.

The Chem/Phys was not so bad except for some odd questions but I spent way too much time on the hard questions and then ended up not having enough time to pick the right answers for the really easy questions towards the end (literally didn't have to read the passage for some of these, but I faltered under the limited time.) Literally kicking myself right now.


CARS. Well the passages weren't so bad and were kinda interesting for once. However, the options for the questions for me felt weird and I felt like I was guessing through some of them. Idk not too confident which is not good since I am Canadian.... possibly my worst section.


Bio was really good, interesting passages and pretty simple questions except for the odd ones here and there. Really similar to Section Bank!

Psych again weird. Some unfamiliar terminology and then for some I was not sure I understood the relevance of the study to the concept at hand. Really similar to Section Bank!

 

[Ad2b]

So for me. This was very shocking. IDK how I managed to mess myself up

Glad it felt great for you I was rooting for you

Thank you for the support

Don't look at it as messing yourself up. Really. Everything I read says, "Easier test, harder scale; harder test, better scale" so you easily could get a better score than me but had a harder test.

We're all in this together And... we're done!

 

[MrsSheperd]

My order would be: August 5 = Scored = Part of SB = Q-packs < anything Kaplan ...

I'm so glad to hear that it went so well for you!!! Are you (hopefully) saying that the test was easier than Kaplan practice? Because that's what I'm studying with, aside from the section banks and some EK stuff I got

 

[Ad2b]

Had a whole thing written out and thought, "Ad2b, go sit by the pool and drink a diet coke; have some chocolate!" So here's my answer:

Kaplan is brutal. Can't speak to EK. AAMC scored is like the real deal. Use Kaplan because - to me - doing their stuff made the real deal look like nice ice cream sundae on a hot August afternoon.

The only caveat is this: I may have had the easier version of the test than others so can only speak to my test today. It was almost... easy. Only one passage kind of made my eyes roll around in the backside of my head; but when I sat back, took a breath and reviewed it again, it was pretty straightforward.

And no, I am sure I didn't get a 528 but I'm also sure, I did not get a 496 either

 

[MrsSheperd]

Had a whole thing written out and thought, "Ad2b, go sit by the pool and drink a diet coke; have some chocolate!" So here's my answer:

Kaplan is brutal. Can't speak to EK. AAMC scored is like the real deal. Use Kaplan because - to me - doing their stuff made the real deal look like nice ice cream sundae on a hot August afternoon.

The only caveat is this: I may have had the easier version of the test than others so can only speak to my test today. It was almost... easy. Only one passage kind of made my eyes roll around in the backside of my head; but when I sat back, took a breath and reviewed it again, it was pretty straightforward.

And no, I am sure I didn't get a 528 but I'm also sure, I did not get a 496 either

Go and relax!!! I think it is safe to say this about the exam from what I've read so far: If you practice like crazy and also have a bit of luck in the mix, chances are that you can do well on this beast!

Thank you so much for your input! I'm much more motivated now

 

[southernpremed2]

edited

 

[awad2893]

Finally done!!!!! Just tested today. I walked in there thinking it would be the hardest thing, and was pleasantly surprised. Decent exam overall, but I don't want to speak too soon.

 

[MrsSheperd]

Finally done!!!!! Just tested today. I walked in there thinking it would be the hardest thing, and was pleasantly surprised. Decent exam overall, but I don't want to speak too soon.

CONGRATS!!! But....why are you taking this test of you're a medical student already?

 

[awad2893]

CONGRATS!!! But....why are you taking this test of you're a medical student already?

I actually have no idea and never noticed why my status says medical student haha. I should definitely change that right now

 

[MrsSheperd]

I actually have no idea and never noticed why my status says medical student haha. I should definitely change that right now

haha well...I thought I'd ask...you never know. Some people may need that "extra kick" in their lives