*Official June 2016 MCAT Thread*

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Hey there everyone! Figured I'd start this thread since I recently started preparing for the June 18th MCAT. For those of you who are taking the June 2nd MCAT, June 18th MCAT, or still considering one of those two dates, feel free to post here with any questions, comments, concerns, or support you have to offer!

Good luck to you all! Let's crush it.
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jesie said:
Check the 509+ strategies thread, but also if you are really trying to get a MCAT in September, then it wouldn't cost much more than the cost of the test itself to fly yourself out somewhere to take it there...I had a friend fly from where we live in Colorado out to Kansas for hers...
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I'm pretty sure people are going to drop like a few weeks before the exam. If anything, I will fly out to take it lol. But if I get accepted into a post bac, then I don't have to take it just yet
 
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Congratz all who got their scores today. The wait wasnt too bad, right?

Fortyfive said:
Thanks Jesie!! I guess what you said makes sense because I did take the old mcat once before and I didn't do so well. I had a 30 (12,7,11) so I wanted to retake it. I guess it paid off. Well, I guess I am going to go enjoy a chipotle burrito now lol

If anyone is curious, my breakdown was 522 (132 , 127 , 132 , 131)
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Gj man. It feels good to kill the test 2nd time round. Been there, felt that.

Ryomagoku said:
Im going to have to retake it. But man all September test dates are filled for California. I don't know how I'm going to start studying. Any recommendations? Books, tests, etc?
Click to expand...

Spots love to open up last minute (too many insecure premeds around). Keep studying. EK worked wonders for me (their 30-min test at the end of every book, at least)

Goro said:
A 124 CARS is like 7 on the old MCAT, so target schools who go down that low in %iles. Your state school will be the most lenient with you.
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I read somewhere a 124 is like an 8 now in terms of percentiles... dunno how true it is
 
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AshSLAY said:
500.... I cried and laughed then cried and laughed again because I know it's not the end of the world but gosh I just don't want to take this exam over again. This sucks.

Pleaseeee someone tell me how you guys studied because I definitely will be retaking. I just don't know when to do it. Will late August exam be too soon?! Too late for this cycle. Kind of at a standstill right now. Any advice would help.

Also congratulations to those who got the scores you wanted. You guys inspire me and I am so proud and happy for you. Truly.
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same here...lower than expected :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
 
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I followed this thread throughout my MCAT prep and although I never posted, feel extremely close to all of you! Congrats to everyone who made their goal, and to those who didn't, don't get discouraged. Take the countless success stories on SDN as evidence!

I scored a 519 (132/126/132/129)

I am ecstatic, although mildly worried about the unbalanced CARS score. If anyone has any questions about prep (or really anything at all), I'd be happy to answer!
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
So you don't think this will hold me back in MD admissions yeah? Because I 100% agree with you. I am nowhere near the same person, physically, mentally, or emotionally as I was when I first started this game.
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What do you think helped you jump so much? Could use any tips for my January exam. Congrats once again!
 
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if you guys could post your score compared to your practice exams that would be really helpful. I'm taking my exam on friday and I'm so nervous that my practice exams aren't representative of what i'm going to get
 
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azucker20 said:
if you guys could post your score compared to your practice exams that would be really helpful. I'm taking my exam on friday and I'm so nervous that my practice exams aren't representative of what i'm going to get
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It's common to perform better than your practice exams, especially if you're gauging your score from Kaplan or TPR. Here's my practice tests in order:

TPR 1: 503
TPR 2: 507
Next Step: 512
TPR 3: 504
AAMC Scored: 513
AAMC Unscored: 85.5% (roughly 516-518)

Actual was 519. I studied for about 6 weeks full time. Also I felt like the testing environment really made me focus and perform better.
 
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meOWzas said:
I followed this thread throughout my MCAT prep and although I never posted, feel extremely close to all of you! Congrats to everyone who made their goal, and to those who didn't, don't get discouraged. Take the countless success stories on SDN as evidence!

I scored a 519 (132/126/132/129)

I am ecstatic, although mildly worried about the unbalanced CARS score. If anyone has any questions about prep (or really anything at all), I'd be happy to answer!
Click to expand...

hey! congrats!! that's a great score! Can I ask how you studied? Im currently taking a Kaplan in person course and I've studied most of the content already with EK books, and Kaplan for PsychSoc. I'm doing about 3 passages from each section a day and correcting the ones I missed and figuring out why I missed them. So far, I've been scoring around 500 on those Kaptests (about 124/123/125/125), and will be taking another practice test this Thursday.

thanks so much for your help!!
 
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Lost In Transcription said:
Thanks :) Section banks helped a lot!!
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You earned it :)

With respect to SB's: I have made discrete notes on them and also trends and redid any graphs with explanations (not expecting the exact same graph but if something similar shows up, I'd know how to read it).

Is there more I should do with the results of SBs? I'm a little nervous I'm not doing all that I should. Thank you!!
 
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meOWzas said:
It's common to perform better than your practice exams, especially if you're gauging your score from Kaplan or TPR. Here's my practice tests in order:

TPR 1: 503
TPR 2: 507
Next Step: 512
TPR 3: 504
AAMC Scored: 513
AAMC Unscored: 85.5% (roughly 516-518)

Actual was 519. I studied for about 6 weeks full time. Also I felt like the testing environment really made me focus and perform better.
Click to expand...

wow congrats great score! very helpful thank you
 
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medschoolplease123 said:
For those of you who got lower. Are you retaking this year and applying this year or going to apply next cycle?
Click to expand...

I just signed up for the August 25th test date. I am picking back up on my studying as of right now. I will see how my practice test scores are going to decide if I will follow through with the test or not. Or I might just take it and void if need be. But I just don't want to count myself out just yet for this cycle.
All of my secondaries and letters of rec are done. So once I get scores back (if they are good), I figure I can send off secondaries right away. I'll be late but oh well.
 
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511
129/125/130/127
I'm pretty bummed because I thought I did better. All except psych were similar to the scored test, so I think the scoring is pretty harsh on the actual exam. I was shooting for 90th percentile:(

My tests were:
NS1: 507
NS2:508
NS3:508
NS4:507
AAMC unscored: 85%
AAMC scored: 513
 
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medschoolplease123 said:
For those of you who got lower. Are you retaking this year and applying this year or going to apply next cycle?
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Probably not. I want to take the MCAT on September but we will see. I'm gonna focus on the DO smp or post bac programs. But if I start this fall, then the program is offering the prep
 
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meOWzas said:
I followed this thread throughout my MCAT prep and although I never posted, feel extremely close to all of you! Congrats to everyone who made their goal, and to those who didn't, don't get discouraged. Take the countless success stories on SDN as evidence!

I scored a 519 (132/126/132/129)

I am ecstatic, although mildly worried about the unbalanced CARS score. If anyone has any questions about prep (or really anything at all), I'd be happy to answer!
Click to expand...

Same here! I would constantly watch this thread, but never had the courage to post. Everybody in this thread echoed exactly how I felt about this whole process and it made me feel like I wasn't alone.

I got a 511 (127/126/127/131) (Definitely don't like how unbalanced it is, but you know what I'm grateful for this score. As long as it can get it me into one school, that's all that matters.)

Just wanted to say thank you to all you guys posting. It may not seem like it, but I know there's a lot people like me who frequent these threads for guidance even though they may not post.

THANK YOU!
 
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AshSLAY said:
I just signed up for the August 25th test date. I am picking back up on my studying as of right now. I will see how my practice test scores are going to decide if I will follow through with the test or not. Or I might just take it and void if need be. But I just don't want to count myself out just yet for this cycle.
All of my secondaries and letters of rec are done. So once I get scores back (if they are good), I figure I can send off secondaries right away. I'll be late but oh well.
Click to expand...
I am on the same exact boat as you, have all my letters and applications done, but got a 500 today. Signed up for the 9/1/16 test date and hoping for the best in my last attempt for this cycle! Good luck to you!!
 
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Brah of Science said:
511
129/125/130/127
I'm pretty bummed because I thought I did better. All except psych were similar to the scored test, so I think the scoring is pretty harsh on the actual exam. I was shooting for 90th percentile:(

My tests were:
NS1: 507
NS2:508
NS3:508
NS4:507
AAMC unscored: 85%
AAMC scored: 513
Click to expand...
We got the same scored and actual!
 
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nikelove56 said:
hey! congrats!! that's a great score! Can I ask how you studied? Im currently taking a Kaplan in person course and I've studied most of the content already with EK books, and Kaplan for PsychSoc. I'm doing about 3 passages from each section a day and correcting the ones I missed and figuring out why I missed them. So far, I've been scoring around 500 on those Kaptests (about 124/123/125/125), and will be taking another practice test this Thursday.

thanks so much for your help!!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! I studied on average 8-10 hours per day for 6 weeks, without really taking any days off because I'm not one to really get burnt out from studying. I self-studied with TPR books, which I found to be very helpful, although maybe too much emphasis on physics and not enough psych/soc. I supplemented with the AAMC tests and section banks (would HIGHLY recommend), and with Khan Academy videos and passages from bio and psych and soc (would also recommend, especially because they're FREE). Practice passages are much more important than content review, and I spent my last month basically just doing passages, with occasional content review if I felt shaky on anything. It sounds like you're doing all the right things, but just make sure to put full effort into all of your practice exams and review of practice exams. Doing it in real testing conditions is ideal, and after doing it so many times I didn't even feel like 7 hours was that long. If I could go back, I'd obviously focus more on CARS and do at least a passage every day to practice, but I can't complain too much. Good luck!
 
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Congrats everyone! I'm super ecstatic! 512 with 128/127/129/128. I'm super pumped about how balanced it was!
 
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516 (128/128/130/130) up from a 29 (8/10/11 PS/BS/VR) in my first attempt! Super happy about my improved PS/BS score but a little bummed (in the neurotic pre-med way) about my slight decrease (95th - 90th percentile) in CARS.

In any case, glad I (hopefully) never have to take this test again!
 
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medschoolplease123 said:
For those of you who got lower. Are you retaking this year and applying this year or going to apply next cycle?
Click to expand...
I signed up for the Aug 20 and just can try my best this time. I don't wanna give up in this cycle cuz I put so much work on the application and don't really have any plans for the gap year yet. But I know the score will come out on Sept. 20 which is too late. But there's still hope!
 
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medbunny56 said:
What were your practice tests scores like?
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Kaplan: 500, 502
NS: 503

Due to financial reasons I wasnt able to buy more stuff and I sort of gambled and hoped for the best. However, if there is practice material that isbworth the money then I am willing to charge my credit card...Whatever it takes :(
 
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catjelly300 said:
What kind of problems are you having? Getting through passages? Choosing the right answer?
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I have exact same problem. My CARs came out to be the worst. But this is my 2nd language though, so I know that would happen.
I feel like this: If I just scan through the passage, I would not really understand, so will pick the wrong answer.
But if I read the passage carefully to understand it, it would take me at least 15 min for every passage and finally ran out of time for the rest.
 
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meddesire said:
I have exact same problem. My CARs came out to be the worst. But this is my 2nd language though, so I know that would happen.
I feel like this: If I just scan through the passage, I would not really understand, so will pick the wrong answer.
But if I read the passage carefully to understand it, it would take me at least 15 min for every passage and finally ran out of time for the rest.
Click to expand...

:/ That's definitely a tough problem. Personally, when scanning through passages quickly, I use the highlighter to help organize my thoughts about the passage! That way I don't have to understand every sentence exactly and will still get the gist of the passage. Then again, English is my native language so I'm not sure how useful this is, sorry :(
 
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I usually end up selecting the wrong answer. I get the straight context ones, but the inference/beyond the scope of text questions is where I get in trouble.

catjelly300 said:
:/ That's definitely a tough problem. Personally, when scanning through passages quickly, I use the highlighter to help organize my thoughts about the passage! That way I don't have to understand every sentence exactly and will still get the gist of the passage. Then again, English is my native language so I'm not sure how useful this is, sorry :(
Click to expand...
 
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medschoolplease123 said:
I usually end up selecting the wrong answer. I get the straight context ones, but the inference/beyond the scope of text questions is where I get in trouble.
Click to expand...

I was having trouble with that too, and honestly, all I did was get my hands on as much practice material as possible to get a feel of the "logic" that the MCAT uses for CARS. I did PBQs from Kaplan, KA, and AAMC CARS question packs.
 
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catjelly300 said:
I was having trouble with that too, and honestly, all I did was get my hands on as much practice material as possible to get a feel of the "logic" that the MCAT uses for CARS. I did PBQs from Kaplan, KA, and AAMC CARS question packs.
Click to expand...

I agree, practice is everything! I scored 128/ 90th percentile on CARS (512 overall). I did 3 practice passages everyday for 3 months, alternating sources between TPR Verbal for new MCAT, TPR Hyperlearning MCAT Verbal Workbook, NextStep, Examkrackers, basically anything I could get my hands on.

If you are looking into analyzing your methodology, I really liked TPR's Verbal book where there are exercises on taking notes, specific question types, etc.
 
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510. 130/126/125/129

The overall score is good but I am disappointed with my B/B. I made a couple dumb mistakes that I looked up after the exam.

I was running low on time leading up to the exam so I skipped the C/P section on the scored as well as CARS. On Kaplan FL's I was getting between 504 and 506.
 
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Brah of Science said:
511
129/125/130/127
I'm pretty bummed because I thought I did better. All except psych were similar to the scored test, so I think the scoring is pretty harsh on the actual exam. I was shooting for 90th percentile:(

My tests were:
NS1: 507
NS2:508
NS3:508
NS4:507
AAMC unscored: 85%
AAMC scored: 513
Click to expand...

great job on the mcat. 511 is a great score.

but if I remember correctly, you said the chem/physics was very hard on your real exam containing a lot of calculations and low yield physics. And that you were really worried about it and hoping for a generous curve. I don't think the scored fl chem/physics has low yield stuff along with difficult calculations. Along with that, you said that psych/soc was different than any exam you have taken.
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
What's a 511 on the old mcat? I can't get a definitive answer...
Click to expand...

Between a 31 and 32 depending on your percentile. The AAMC has files online that show the percentiles correlating with each score for the old and new MCAT. I'd say that's the most reliable
 
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