Official August 27th 2014 MCAT Thread

[HaitianMD]

I might as well get one started. I'm taking it in August but prepping now! Haven't seen my Sciences in YEARS so I'm starting early. Join as you will.

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[ChackieJan]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time:
FL AAMC Average: 33
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 35
Post-test expected score: 33-36
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): (10/12/10) 32

I'm never taking the MCAT again, which is a great feeling! However, I am a little bummed I didn't score a little higher. I thought I did better than a 10 on biological sciences. 32 is a good score though and I will get into medical school with it. Even though the score isn't as high as I hoped I'm happy at how balanced it is and that I scored a 12 on VR.

Good work everyone! Sorry if you didn't get the score you wanted. Don't give up on yourself over one score.

Peace!

 

[wuhsabee]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time:
FL AAMC Average: 33
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 35
Post-test expected score: 33-36
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): (10/12/10) 32

I'm never taking the MCAT again, which is a great feeling! However, I am a little bummed I didn't score a little higher. I thought I did better than a 10 on biological sciences. 32 is a good score though and I will get into medical school with it. Even though the score isn't as high as I hoped I'm happy at how balanced it is and that I scored a 12 on VR.

Good work everyone! Sorry if you didn't get the score you wanted. Don't give up on yourself over one score.

Peace!

Get it, ChackieJan!! Congrats!

 

[mehc012]

What about @mehc012 ? How did uberlady do?

Lol , she did alright! Ended up about 1 point below her AAMC average, but that is still a very very good store and she is very happy!
... I'll do a full post when I'm not on the run, very busy today. Glad to see that everyone is doing about as well as expected! Keep up the good work August 27th.

 

[1234acecombat]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time: 1PM
FL AAMC Average: 35
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 37
Post-test expected score: 38+
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): (13/10/11) 34

Extremely disappointed in myself, I worked so hard, and especially considering how confident I felt coming out of it I'd expected a much higher score. I am honestly at a loss right now, I don't know what my next step is going to be. Right now I just want to lay down and cry, so I'll just go and do that.

For those of you managed to meet or exceed your expectations, congratulations

 

[UBCStudent15]

Anyone planning on retaking?

 

[angeluh]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time: 1pm
FL AAMC Average: 35
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 35.5
Post-test expected score: 35+
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): 38!!!!! (13/11/14) So very happy and relieved!

 

[camng22]

I was wondering if anyone here took the AAMC FLs before and retook them. Were your averages similar to what you actually got?

 

[frenchyn]

33 (10 v/ 11 ps / 12 bs)

Super disappointed, don't know wtf happened. Not sure if I should retake

I got a 31 and I thought 30 is good according to MSAR. Just curious, why would you want to retake with a 33?

 

[tcmiddle1394]

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 32
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 34
Post-test expected score: 29
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): 10/10/12 32

I'm pretty much at my average and even if I could have done better it is over and I never have to look at the mcat again.

 

[TheIllusionist]

AAMC Average- 35.5
Average 10/11- 37
Actual
PS-14 V-10 BS-12= 36

Disappointed with verbal because I averaged a 12 on AAMCs. It's right around my averages, so I am contented. I would have been euphoric with 38+, but it is okay. Time to drink.

 

[wizz415]

Date: Aug 27
FL AAMC: 37
AAMC 10/11: 39
Post-test expected score: 37
Actual (PS/VR/BS): 14,12,14 40

Just died .....

 

[MajorBubblez]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time: 1:00 PM
FL AAMC Average: 36.5
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 37.5
Post-test expected score: 29-32
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): 33 (13/09/11)

Well I definitely got lower than my average. I'm a little disappointed, but at the same time 33 is the lowest score that I would have not retaken with and been alright so I'm happy. Good job everyone, some really impressive scores. Seems we had a good test.

 

[MajorBubblez]

I was wondering if anyone here took the AAMC FLs before and retook them. Were your averages similar to what you actually got?

No, I was reusing the practice tests and my FL average was a good 4 points higher. It's strange though because I actually didn't remember any questions bar 1 or 2, so I don't know if that matters.

 

[beastlybaja]

11/9/9. Retaking I feel stupid. 4 months and that's what I have to show. Usually my physical score is the lowest and I was averaging 11 and 13 on verbal and bio respectively. I think nerves got me. Signed up for the last date for the old mcat in January. Studying during this semester with 20 credits is going to be a challenge go say the very least...

 

[centillion]

Did anyone dwell on their answers/questions they guessed after the test and realized they had gotten a bunch wrong in each section, only to do much better than they thought?

 

[iwantinplz]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time: 1 pm
FL AAMC Average: 32 on diagnostic didn't do any other ones
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: didn't do
Post-test expected score: 30-35? Expectations lowered until 25...
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): 14/12/13 Total 39

This was my third try. I didn't study at all for the first two tests (got 30 on both).
I was able to get through all the material this time except orgo, but I really suck at time management so couldn't do any practice tests ..
39 was completely unexpected, I actually didn't have time to even guess the last two verbal questions.
Super happy and I am gonna apply this cycle (again my time management sucks).

 

[boxbeast]

Test Date: 8/27/14
Time: 1:00 PM
FL AAMC Average: 27
AAMC 10-11 Avg.: 28
Post-test expected score: 27-30
Actual Score (PS/V/BS): 32 (10/10/12)

Scored above my average, so I am pretty happy. Funny how I scored higher on the actual thing than any of my FLs

 

[Lokkja]

Anyone planning on retaking?

Only if I don't get accepted this cycle.

 

[swolebrah]

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 31
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):10/9/11, 30

I'm glad it's over, happy I hit 30. Still lower then my average. Congratulations to everyone who got their scores back!

edit: debating retake ...

 

[Aerus]

edit: debating retake ...

No...you have no reason to retake. You were scoring within your average and a 30 is an excellent score.

 

[Timewinders]

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 33
Post-test expected score: 32
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):11/12/11, 34

I'm glad I won't have to take this again. Some of the people on this thread are too hard on themselves, generally a 31 or higher is considered a good score, right?

 

[UBCStudent15]

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 33
Post-test expected score: 32
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):11/12/11, 34

I'm glad I won't have to take this again. Some of the people on this thread are too hard on themselves, generally a 31 or higher is considered a good score, right?

Yes, but it depends on the school/program they are applying to. For example, a person applying to a MD phD program or an ivy league medical school needs a significantly higher MCAT score, so in the end its all relative. A "good score" means different things to different people.

 

[MajorBubblez]

Yes, but it depends on the school/program they are applying to. For example, a person applying to a MD phD program or an ivy league medical school needs a significantly higher MCAT score, so in the end its all relative. A "good score" means different things to different people.

Take everything on SDN with a pinch of salt.

 

[Timewinders]

Yes, but it depends on the school/program they are applying to. For example, a person applying to a MD phD program or an ivy league medical school needs a significantly higher MCAT score, so in the end its all relative. A "good score" means different things to different people.

I can understand that for the MD/PhD programs but I don't really see that much of a difference between going to an ivy league medical school or a regular med school. You might need to work a little bit harder at the regular med school to get into the more competitive residencies but it's still achievable. At the end of the day the medical school is just a means to an end and it doesn't make sense to get attached to going to one over another if both allow you to achieve the same end. And even with a high score getting into an ivy is a crapshoot. So I can understand people getting disappointed if they get a lower score, but I wish they wouldn't beat themselves up over it. These tests are highly variable anyway.

 

[Aerus]

Yes, but it depends on the school/program they are applying to. For example, a person applying to a MD phD program or an ivy league medical school needs a significantly higher MCAT score, so in the end its all relative. A "good score" means different things to different people.

I'm confident there are MD only programs out there that allow you to apply into the PhD program, although the tuition wouldn't be fully paid for. A 33 doesn't disqualify one from MD/PhD programs anyways. There are many programs outside the top 10 where many people with 33's get into.

 

[Valleyofdreams]

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: -
Post-test expected score: 30+
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):12/9/12, 33

I feel like a dope cause I started studying a week before the exam and didnt take any practice exams when I should have. I actually went into the exam expecting to void it and not really caring about doing well since I realized I needed more prep time but getting into the exam i had a good feeling so i went with not voiding. My gpa is 3.57 so I was hoping for a badass score but I think this is good enough not to warrant retaking.

 

[entertainment720]

Is anyone planning on applying during the 2016 cycle (to matriculate Fall 2017) with these scores?

 

[Rhino1000]

Is anyone planning on applying during the 2016 cycle (to matriculate Fall 2017) with these scores?

Yep, I am.

 

[mehc012]

Alright, here goes...

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 41-42
Post-test expected score: 41-42
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):14/12/14, 40

I wish I had hit my average...I feel like I spent the whole month stupidly building this thing up in my head, whereas if I'd gotten it right away I'd have been pumped with this instead of just 'oh, yeah, that is good yay'. Stupid AAMC and their lazy, money-grubbing policies. I don't do well with delayed gratification. I should be excited but I guess I just got over the MCAT as soon as I took it, so now it's just anticlimactic no matter how I score!

That being said, of course I am in no way disappointed in this score. I think it'll get me where I need to go, despite my cruddy gpa. Or at least, I think that if this score doesn't get me where I want to go, I wasn't going there anyway and I probably have other giant glaring issues to address beyond the numbers!

All in all, I'm glad the MCAT is over and done with, glad there's not even a remote possibility of a retake, and I feel as if this test, along with my postbacc, gave me a second chance after my poor undergrad showing.

 

[sls6279]

15/13/15, 43

oh yeah

 

[Aerus]

Alright, here goes...

Test Date: 8/27/14
FL AAMC Average: 41-42
Post-test expected score: 41-42
Actual Score (PS/V/BS):14/12/14, 40

I wish I had hit my average...I feel like I spent the whole month stupidly building this thing up in my head, whereas if I'd gotten it right away I'd have been pumped with this instead of just 'oh, yeah, that is good yay'. Stupid AAMC and their lazy, money-grubbing policies. I don't do well with delayed gratification. I should be excited but I guess I just got over the MCAT as soon as I took it, so now it's just anticlimactic no matter how I score!

That being said, of course I am in no way disappointed in this score. I think it'll get me where I need to go, despite my cruddy gpa. Or at least, I think that if this score doesn't get me where I want to go, I wasn't going there anyway and I probably have other giant glaring issues to address beyond the numbers!

All in all, I'm glad the MCAT is over and done with, glad there's not even a remote possibility of a retake, and I feel as if this test, along with my postbacc, gave me a second chance after my poor undergrad showing.

You're amazing.

 

[mehc012]

You're amazing.

Haha, thanks...let's hope the adcoms agree next year!

I really am proud of all of us Aug27thers, though...we dun good, guyz!

 

[Rhino1000]

Haha, thanks...let's hope the adcoms agree next year!

I really am proud of all of us Aug27thers, though...we dun good, guyz!

Are you applying to top schools then? Or just state schools, perhaps near home?

 

[mehc012]

Are you applying to top schools then? Or just state schools, perhaps near home?

Haha, no, I don't have the gpa for top schools. This MCAT will bring me up to snuff to maybe get into med school at all, period. I'm in CA right now, so probably not applying much around here since there's no IS preference (and I'm not a big Cali fan anyway). I do have strong ties to a couple of states back East, though.

 

[Valleyofdreams]

Haha, no, I don't have the gpa for top schools. This MCAT will bring me up to snuff to maybe get into med school at all, period. I'm in CA right now, so probably not applying much around here since there's no IS preference (and I'm not a big Cali fan anyway). I do have strong ties to a couple of states back East, though.

What is your gpa? If you were able to get a 40 on the mcat why did you do poorly in undergrad? You're clearly capable of a 4.0.

 

[mehc012]

What is your gpa? If you were able to get a 40 on the mcat why did you do poorly in undergrad? You're clearly capable of a 4.0.

I didn't care back then (wasn't premed), and I was doing other things - lots of activities, lots of personal stuff, 17cr/semester, and also just absolutely terrible time management. Graduated with <3.2, sitting around 3.3 now after a 4.0 postbacc. I only have 2 or so postbacc courses each semester, though, because I have 2 jobs so I'm over fulltime and can't do much more than 2 courses OR studying for MCAT OR the internship I'm currently in. I'm hoping that acing those plus doing well on the MCAT, both while working over 40hrs/wk will start to show that I've greatly improved my time management skills, though!

 

[Rhino1000]

I didn't care back then (wasn't premed), and I was doing other things - lots of activities, lots of personal stuff, 17cr/semester, and also just absolutely terrible time management. Graduated with <3.2, sitting around 3.3 now after a 4.0 postbacc. I only have 2 or so postbacc courses each semester, though, because I have 2 jobs so I'm over fulltime and can't do much more than 2 courses OR studying for MCAT OR the internship I'm currently in. I'm hoping that acing those plus doing well on the MCAT, both while working over 40hrs/wk will start to show that I've greatly improved my time management skills, though!

Dang, I really hope you get in! You're clearly pretty dang smart. I'm curious what your major was?

 

[mehc012]

Dang, I really hope you get in! You're clearly pretty dang smart. I'm curious what your major was?

Orgo - technically it was just a plain 'ol chemistry major, but I tested out of Gen chem and then took only one p-chem course in the 4yrs...it was pretty much all organic, so I just say I'm an orgo major.
I was 1 class away from a Bio major as well (my school doesn't do minors), but I'd finished all of the microbio I was interested in and it didn't seem worthwhile to take an Ecology course which I didn't care about just for another title under my degree. I've done nothing but Bio since then, though, so I guess I pretty much got there anyway, even if it's not official!


And on this vein, I just want to say don't let your advisors get you down because you've had poor scores or decisions in the past. The me of 3+ years ago was in no way ready to be a doctor, and would not (should not) have gotten in. That doesn't mean I'm not a better student, and a more organized person, now. I think part of why I was pushing so hard was because my advisor basically told me 'yeah, OK, go score well on the MCAT ' I really wanted that 42 because that is the highest score she has ever seen - and only one of those - (and let that be a good lesson in perspective as well, because she's been advising premeds at a top 10 for many many years...SDN truly is skewed) and she was SO disbelieving that I wanted to blow her away. I know, I know...petty. But hey, for a beast like the MCAT you take all of the various motivation you can dig up, right? And while I won't blow her mind, I am absolutely proud of my showing and I think it will improve our interactions from here on out (not to mention my chances!)

So yeah...don't let people tell you that you cannot improve. I mean, be realistic (I got knocked down on a few SDN threads for assuming I'd do well on the MCAT, and rightfully so), but don't go into it believing that you'll do poorly just because of a low GPA or a weird background.

 

[DaysToCome]

AAMC practice average: 33 or so
Post-test expected score: ~30
Actual score: 30 (09 PS/10VR/11 BS)

Unfortunately I'll be scheduling my retake in January this weekend to make myself more competitive. Congrats to everyone else who wrote today though!

 

[briannyole]

Orgo - technically it was just a plain 'ol chemistry major, but I tested out of Gen chem and then took only one p-chem course in the 4yrs...it was pretty much all organic, so I just say I'm an orgo major.
I was 1 class away from a Bio major as well (my school doesn't do minors), but I'd finished all of the microbio I was interested in and it didn't seem worthwhile to take an Ecology course which I didn't care about just for another title under my degree. I've done nothing but Bio since then, though, so I guess I pretty much got there anyway, even if it's not official!


And on this vein, I just want to say don't let your advisors get you down because you've had poor scores or decisions in the past. The me of 3+ years ago was in no way ready to be a doctor, and would not (should not) have gotten in. That doesn't mean I'm not a better student, and a more organized person, now. I think part of why I was pushing so hard was because my advisor basically told me 'yeah, OK, go score well on the MCAT ' I really wanted that 42 because that is the highest score she has ever seen - and only one of those - (and let that be a good lesson in perspective as well, because she's been advising premeds at a top 10 for many many years...SDN truly is skewed) and she was SO disbelieving that I wanted to blow her away. I know, I know...petty. But hey, for a beast like the MCAT you take all of the various motivation you can dig up, right? And while I won't blow her mind, I am absolutely proud of my showing and I think it will improve our interactions from here on out (not to mention my chances!)

So yeah...don't let people tell you that you cannot improve. I mean, be realistic (I got knocked down on a few SDN threads for assuming I'd do well on the MCAT, and rightfully so), but don't go into it believing that you'll do poorly just because of a low GPA or a weird background.

I read from one of your previous posts that you used TBR for review. Just wondering how you were doing on the passages? Were your scores improving over time?

 

[oclax03]

Only took AAMC 3 - 36
Took 9 TBR FLs and averaged 34 (super inconsistent though, some were 30 others were 36)
Post-test expected score - 33
Final Breakdown - 9/12/12 (33)

Pretty disappointed about that 9 since my PS scores were never below a 10 in practice and always my highest of the three. Definitely satisfied with the score and won't be retaking, but I wish I could've at least gotten double digits all across the board.

I have a 3.88 GPA from a good undergrad school (UNC-CH) and really solid EC's, anyone know how (or even if) that 9 is going to affect my chances?

 

[mehc012]

I read from one of your previous posts that you used TBR for review. Just wondering how you were doing on the passages? Were your scores improving over time?

Nah, they were decent, but pretty static (around 85% for all). I actually didn't bother with final ⅓s or even the first or second ⅓s for anything Ch8+, as I was running short on time (finished content review 4d before the exam). I'm glad I did TBR, and it was good practice, but EK1001 was almost more helpful to me.

 

[briannyole]

Nah, they were decent, but pretty static (around 85% for all). I actually didn't bother with final ⅓s or even the first or second ⅓s for anything Ch8+, as I was running short on time (finished content review 4d before the exam). I'm glad I did TBR, and it was good practice, but EK1001 was almost more helpful to me.

85%? that's really high. Currently i'm getting between 65-75%. Were you doing the ek's 1001 before you tackled the passages? and did you do all the ek 1001 problems?

 

[mehc012]

85%? that's really high. Currently i'm getting between 65-75%. Were you doing the ek's 1001 before you tackled the passages? and did you do all the ek 1001 problems?

No, I'd read TBR → make Anki cards
Then I'd do TBR passages
Then for reread day I'd read TPRH and make cards for any new points that came up
Then I'd go through EK1001, every ⅓ question. If I got it wrong, or it took me too long, I'd go back and analyze the crap out of the problem until I saw their short way. Then I'd go back and do the 2 surrounding Qs for every wrong (or starred) question from my first pass. If I missed any in that final pass I clearly didn't understand the perspective/shortcut exemplified by that chunk of EK1001, so I'd turn it into an Anki card.

Of course, the closer I got to the exam, the less of any of this that I did, until as I said before, for the final Chs8+ I did nothing but read → Anki cards.

 

[Czarcasm]

I feel like my performance is overshadowed by all these other amazing scores lol. Regardless I am still very happy with my score especially since I am a non-trad and it's been almost 10 years since I've seen much of this material. Much of my prep was largely self-taught.

2011 score: 24O( 9/7/8); gave up, returned 3 years later, prepared for 3 months
2014 score: 31 (12/6/13); neglected verbal prep unfortunately, but still a major improvement I'm happy with.

AAMC averages for the sciences were 12-13 PS, 13-14 BS. Struggled with verbal and focused on the sciences. In hindsight, that was a mistake that caught up with me. Anyways, I hope this encourages others to never give up.

 

[Czarcasm]

So this is it.... It's been real guys. [Plays Titanic violin music] Gonna step away from SDN for a while and focus on other non-MCAT related things.. for once. Good luck everyone and congrats to all those who've done well.

 

[Oh_Gee]

I feel like my performance is overshadowed by all these other amazing scores lol. Regardless I am still very happy with my score especially since I am a non-trad and it's been almost 10 years since I've seen much of this material. Much of my prep was largely self-taught.

2011 score: 24O( 9/7/8); gave up, returned 3 years later, prepared for 3 months
2014 score: 31 (12/6/13); neglected verbal prep unfortunately, but still a major improvement I'm happy with.

AAMC averages for the sciences were 12-13 PS, 13-14 BS. Struggled with verbal and focused on the sciences. In hindsight, that was a mistake that caught up with me. Anyways, I hope this encourages others to never give up.

wow nice science scores! no wonder you were always helping me out lol

 

[justadream]

So this is it.... It's been real guys. [Plays Titanic violin music] Gonna step away from SDN for a while and focus on other non-MCAT related things.. for once. Good luck everyone and congrats to all those who've done well.

Noo Czarcasm! Who is going to educate us all with about physiology now?

 

[centillion]

Did anyone dwell on their answers/questions they guessed after the test and realized they had gotten a bunch wrong in each section, only to do much better than they thought?

 

[my_dog_is_a_lion]

Did anyone dwell on their answers/questions they guessed after the test and realized they had gotten a bunch wrong in each section, only to do much better than they thought?

Like no other. I kept thinking about how I missed like entire passages in verbal... But ultimately just trust your avg I guess and expect + or - 2 points from it. Of course there is always the unfortunate case where that does not hold true, but just keep in mind that it is normal to feel very nervous about answers in a test like this one.