Official July 24, 2014 MCAT Thread(because just once wasn't fun enough!)

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
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zzzetrigan said:
I'm an Ontario student applying this year. Where exactly did you hear that 3.91 cGPA is considered below average for applying? If you are applying to U of T with a 3.9 your chances are good as long as you have good references, EC's, and essays at getting an interview, and you just have to keep trying really. Ottawa is fully an option if your 3-year GPA >3.85, but with Ottawa you may be below average. As for Queens, you meet their cut offs, and as long as you show diverse EC's on your Autobiographical sketch, you have a chance. The only thing stopping you from western and mac is your Verbal score really, if you raise that to an 11 for MAC you are above the cut off in GPA terms and have to do well on the CASPER and guaranteed an Interview. If you meet Western cut offs almost guaranteed an interview (you can check their website for admission criteria). I can't speak to other schools in Canada (as they are super competitive) but with that GPA and MCAT you REALLY shouldn't think of yourself below average. Tons of clincal experience, awards, volunteering, scholarships and research? No - you are a very good candidate, you just have to apply and improve your CV and if your MCAT improves you'll be in, in no time.

As for others, in Canada the GPA requirements for entry are generally ridiculous and hover 3.8 and above and anything below a 30 for most school disqualifies you with an 11 in Verbal being crucial to success in many school. We do not have DO school, so anything below a 30 balanced-ish MCAT disqualifies you almost immediately from schools that require the MCAT, and the ones that do not either require a GPA around 3.95, or require you to have lived in rural community most of your life.
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I suppose I was wrong to say I'm below average, but I don't feel very confident about admissions... where as, if I was in US, I would feel confident that I will get in somewhere. Also, we are restricted to very few schools too. If VR is <11, it drops your chances immensely at ~4 schools. If GPA is <3.9, it drops your chances at 3 schools. We have like total of 12 schools in the country, and very few accept out-of-province.

Ameanoacid said:
Canada also doesn't have tiered med schools.

Like, you can't use less than subpar stats to get into say a lower or middle tiered med school. They all hover around the same level of admission requirements. Mac has an average VR accepted of 11 (lower than a 10 severely hinders you); Queens will discard your application if you have even one 9 or below (even if its 15/9/15); Western will disqualify you for less than a 9/11/12 on the MCAT; (even if its 15/15/11); The schools that don't have rigorous MCAT requirements have high GPA requirements: UoFT and Ottawa have an average GPA of around 3.92 ish.
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There are certainly a lot of barriers for Canadian Med schools. VR score is crucial, and so is not getting less than 10 on any section. If those are relaxed, GPA shoots up big time.

jordansnfootbal said:
I couldve sworn you could go over a 4.0 in Canada thats why 4.0 is considered good. Ive met some people from Dalhousie saying they have 4.6 gpas n stuff
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Only very few schools (Manitoba) have GPA out of 4.3. 95% of the schools in Canada have GPA systems out of 4 (or % grades which are converted into GPA out of 4).

Anyways, good luck everyone! Hopefully, we all get the good news tomorrow. :)
 
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"The 2015 MCAT is designed to better prepare tomorrow’s doctors, for the rapidly advancing and transforming health care system."

Translation: Sh-t guys, there are too many people applying to medical school now! Let's make this test even more unreasonable and irrelevant! Surely this won't impact the students who don't have the funds or means to access the new costly prep materials or have the luxury to study for months nonstop or pay for the application process...
 
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microbiology said:
So I still don't understand, is the scale predetermined?
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From what I gather this is true.

These questions have been experimental on past exams so gauging how people have done on these in the past helps them determine the relative difficulty of the questions so they can scale scores accordingly

Man these last hours of the wait will be killer...no sleep for me tonight
 
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Pericynthion said:
"The 2015 MCAT is designed to better prepare tomorrow’s doctors, for the rapidly advancing and transforming health care system."

Translation: Sh-t guys, there are too many people applying to medical school now! Let's make this test even more unreasonable and irrelevant! Surely this won't impact the students who don't have the funds or means to access the new costly prep materials or have the luxury to study for months nonstop or pay for the application process...
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This. am I the only one who literally can't retake because I won't be able to afford new books on top of the exam costs??
 
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ConfusedChemist said:
This. am I the only one who literally can't retake because I won't be able to afford new books on top of the exam costs??
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I was blessed to get FAP, but even with that the MCAT cost, prep material and some application fees still kind of hurt me. Here's to hoping that we don't have to retake it! Think positive thoughts, we got this! :)
 
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SaintedHover said:
I was blessed to get FAP, but even with that the MCAT cost, prep material and some application fees still kind of hurt me. Here's to hoping that we don't have to retake it! Think positive thoughts, we got this! :)
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Canadian=no FAP
Hopefully we got whatever score it is we needed!!
 
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Today's the big day! I won't be checking my scores until I'm off work. Good luck everyone!
 
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According to the AAMC twitter account, scores will be released today by 5 PM... Usually they say that and the scores are out by 3:30, 4 PM.

Good luck everyone!! Regardless of how this goes, remember that long term goals are what inspire us in the face of short term failures. I'm rooting for every single one of you :)
 
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Good luck to everyone today! Keep a level head and hope for the best :)

Hope you get a score you are all happy with.
 
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The big day. Alas, the big day.

I'm just gonna get through school, go to work, and pour myself a nice strong drink when I get home before I check my scores. At least then I'll have Mr. Jack Daniel's warm-feeling, cold-filtered grace if I am horrified by my score.
 
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I feel like I either did well or horribly - no in betweens. Anyone else also feel this way?
 
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EndoAdduct said:
I feel like I either did well or horribly - no in betweens. Anyone else also feel this way?
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YES. I feel the same way, i'm either going to be floating on clouds or just drowning in my tears by the end of today. I can't do this. Omg. why is not one commenting on this thread, can't we all suffer together?
Where you at July peeps?
OMG I'm at work right now...gahhhh.
 
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EndoAdduct said:
I feel like I either did well or horribly - no in betweens. Anyone else also feel this way?
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Right there with you. The other weird thing is that I actually have NO predictions of how I did on each section anymore... I feel like it could honestly go either way and it is driving me insane.
 
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EndoAdduct said:
I feel like I either did well or horribly - no in betweens. Anyone else also feel this way?
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Totally in the same boat. I almost want to cover my screen so I can see my PS score first, cause if that's in the tank then I know I'm screwed.
 
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dopa-mean said:
Right there with you. The other weird thing is that I actually have NO predictions of how I did on each section anymore... I feel like it could honestly go either way and it is driving me insane.
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sashimi777 said:
YES. I feel the same way, i'm either going to be floating on clouds or just drowning in my tears by the end of today. I can't do this. Omg. why is not one commenting on this thread, can't we all suffer together?
Where you at July peeps?
OMG I'm at work right now...gahhhh.
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Yup. I find myself thinking I flunked PS but maybe they'll have an easier curve. Then I start thinking about how 'straightforward' Verbal and BS was and worry that I might've gotten tricked without knowing it. There's no winning so I'm not even going to make a prediction.
 
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EndoAdduct said:
Yup. I find myself thinking I flunked PS but maybe they'll have an easier curve. Then I start thinking about how 'straightforward' Verbal and BS was and worry that I might've gotten tricked without knowing it. There's no winning so I'm not even going to make a prediction.
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I know this subject has been debated to death..........but......when are ya'll checking your scores?
 
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I bet the AMMC unnecessarily and irrationally prohibits the use of calculators for its own staff too. That's probably why it takes so long to get the stupid scores out.
 
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BactiDoc said:
Totally in the same boat. I almost want to cover my screen so I can see my PS score first, cause if that's in the tank then I know I'm screwed.
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LOL that's actually a pretty good idea! I think I might do that..... Who else felt like PS was just...weird? I guess it didn't really feel like it was difficult for me---but time was just freaking whizzing past me!!! Makes me think I may even have made stupid silly mistakes because of the loss of time.

I definitely didn't have time to double check anything! And I had to blindly guess on at LEAST 3 or 4 questions- that weirdo passage that I just didn't get- Gen Chem too- which is usually the easier stuff imo
 
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We can all grieve together...

Test Date: 7/24/2014
FL AAMC Average: xx
Post-test expected score: xx
Actual Score: ( PS / V / BS) xx (x/x/x)
Comments:
 
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the times are totally messing with me. I was under the impression from looking at previous threads that it would come out 12 pm EST because thats the time that appears on my laptop when I see the previous thread score post times. Apparently its then 3 pm ish? Good luck this wait is killing me. The 30 days are long enough, now to make us wait another three hours...
 
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gaaaaah I can't do anything with my day. Just sitting here. In front of the computer. Hoping for that one brave person to post THEY'RE UP!
 
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Raincouver said:
gaaaaah I can't do anything with my day. Just sitting here. In front of the computer. Hoping for that one brave person to post THEY'RE UP!
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Same! I've been trying to get work done, but instead of obsessively stalking through this forum waiting for scores to be posted.
 
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I've got a midterm at 2 and the scores supposedly come out at 2...damn it!
 
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I have a nice single malt scotch and a cigar waiting for me. I also have a my study materials packed in my bag. Either way, it's gonna be a long night!!
 
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Set my alarm for 9 this morning, woke up at 5.... it's definitely MCAT scores day!
 
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EndoAdduct said:
Yup. I find myself thinking I flunked PS but maybe they'll have an easier curve. Then I start thinking about how 'straightforward' Verbal and BS was and worry that I might've gotten tricked without knowing it. There's no winning so I'm not even going to make a prediction.
Click to expand...

Same here. I studied like a fiend for PS and still feel like I flunked. Ran out of time. Didn't even guess at a few questions. Nightmare. Think BS and VR were fine for me, but PS shook me, so I'm a little worried about them as well. If I had taken exam in May, I would have definitely canceled and retaken. Ahhh.
 
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Furiously refreshing the AAMC mcat twitter page. They said scores might come out before 2
 
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Hello! My scores jumped around a lot:

Here are my practice test scores FLT AAMC - Under strictly timed conditions on a library computer:

Average/Median across all FLTs
PS: 10.3/11
VR: 8.9/8
BS: 10.7/11
Composite: 29.9/29

Average/Median across AAMC 9, 10 and 11
PS: 10.7/11
VR: 9/9
BS: 11/11
Composite: 30.7/30

So I expect my score to be in the range 29-31. I did run out of time on the PS section on the electrochem question and I was in a rush in BS and had to guess on the last 2-3 on VR, but, I also believe the test was a lot harder than any of the practice AAMCs so I'm guessing ill get a 29-30 (Which would absolutely suck). But I had to retake it I know what I need to do. I am extremely strong in physics and biology and weak in chem and orgo. I'll probably to TBR this time. Ohh well for all I know I won't even have to retake..Why do I want to be a doctor again?
 
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The last two release dates came out around 3pm EST 12pm PST, so hopefully very soon.
 
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