*Official September 10, 2016 MCAT Thread*

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frosted_flake

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Taking the MCAT on September 10th, who else?

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So I just took the AAMC scored. 496 (124/125/124/123), target score was a 500. Anyone have any advice? My lowest section was Psych/Soc.

This is good news compared to my last MCAT. I originally scored a 490, so Im up six points. Any way to get 4 more additional points? Is there a curve?

I thought P/S was weirdly hard too, I feel like NextStep and Kaplan versions were easier or maybe I just got used to their style. AAMC seems to care more about application of concepts if anything. And you'll most likely hit your goal if you just focus on weak points and review what you missed as well.

Something I recently started doing with my tests also was not moving too quickly and double checking answers to questions I think I had in the bag. 70-80% of the time I was wrong about an answer I automatically picked and it would take that second look for me to pick the correct answer.
 
Took AAMC scored, not happy about it but oh well.
Total: 504
C/P:128
Cars: 124
B/B:126
P/S: 126

I want a 508+ preferably 510 on saturday, I found Psych abnormally hard and I had difficulty understanding a few passages in Cars
 
Took AAMC scored, not happy about it but oh well.
Total: 504
C/P:128
Cars: 124
B/B:126
P/S: 126

I want a 508 on saturday, I found Psych abnormally hard and I had difficulty understanding a few passages in Cars

Same, usually Psych is easy.

CARS was pretty tough, like ridiculously hard.

B/B was fine.

C/P seemed tricky.
 
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Honestly feeling discouraged at this point. Obviously I have to take the exam but I am seriously considering voiding.
 
So I just took the AAMC scored. 496 (124/125/124/123), target score was a 500. Anyone have any advice? My lowest section was Psych/Soc.

This is good news compared to my last MCAT. I originally scored a 490, so Im up six points. Any way to get 4 more additional points? Is there a curve?

I Got also 496 on the scored 125/120/127/124

Same, usually Psych is easy.

CARS was pretty tough, like ridiculously hard.

B/B was fine.

C/P seemed tricky.

I got 496(125/120/127/124) And ab0ut the same as you in EK.

Lets get our 500.
 
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If you need more time to study and solidify your content areas, do it and void your score this go around...I was supposed to take the exam in June and at the time I did not understand/know everything, especially for C/P, that I know now. It makes such a tremendous difference.

For reference my practice scores went up 1-3 points in each section since June.
 
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Many people score higher on the actual exam so keep that in mind! Tell yourself and believe in yourself that you will get your score and you will!!
 
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Well ladies and gents, tomorrow is the big day. Anyone doing any light studying today?

I plan on doing some psych doc notecards and that's about it. Trying to go to bed round 9
 
September 10 gang checking in. AAMC Scored 511 (130,125,129,127).

Anyone find the CARS section harsh for the scored? I usually averaged 127-128 on TPRH and the old AAMC material when I take them as full sections.

Came off a month of straight studying 5-6 hours a day before the scored. Burned out at the psych section and half assed it. Hopefully this day of rest will do me some good.
 
September 10 gang checking in. AAMC Scored 511 (130,125,129,127).

Anyone find the CARS section harsh for the scored? I usually averaged 127-128 on TPRH and the old AAMC material when I take them as full sections.

I did. That Photography passage. Like literally, what?
 
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Anyone have any last minute timing advice... I feel like I am finishing sections super fast hahahah! I'm trying to focus on getting through the test much slower so I don't feel rushed but idk

Personally I am the same. I think having the time buffer is nice provided you're doing well on your practice exams. You'll be much more focused on exam day and much more inclined to double check your work. In my opinion the fact that it's the actual exam will naturally slow you down.
 
So I just took the AAMC scored. 496 (124/125/124/123), target score was a 500. Anyone have any advice? My lowest section was Psych/Soc.

This is good news compared to my last MCAT. I originally scored a 490, so Im up six points. Any way to get 4 more additional points? Is there a curve?

Are you aiming for D.O schools? I don't want to rag on you but you have a good chance of not breaking 500 and even if you do break 500, it's not competitive enough of M.D schools and might give you a hard time at D.O schools. I would honestly recommend postponing. Any scores around the 500 range usually means weakness in content areas so a few months of extra studying would be good provided you study well.

Tldr: Can you break 500 on test day? Possibly. But it's not something you want to bank on, especially if its your second time taking it.
 
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Are you aiming for D.O schools? I don't want to rag on you but you have a good chance of not breaking 500 and even if you do break 500, it's not competitive enough of M.D schools and might give you a hard time at D.O schools. I would honestly recommend postponing. Any scores around the 500 range usually means weakness in content areas so a few months of extra studying would be good provided you study well.

Tldr: Can you break 500 on test day? Possibly. But it's not something you want to bank on, especially if its your second time taking it.

Yes, DO all the way. The schools I called said they would be fine with a 500 +/-2 points.
 
Yes, DO all the way. The schools I called said they would be fine with a 500 +/-2 points.

Still iffy at a 496. On the score compilation there are a few people that get a 4 point jump, but this is a biased compilation in that most of the people reporting are the ones that did well. People also do worse on their actual vs. their scored (albeit not by much usually). Personally I would postpone if I was aiming for a 4 point jump, especially if you have the time to postpone.

But to each his own. I'm sure a lot of people on SDN would say it's possible.
 
Still iffy at a 496. On the score compilation there are a few people that get a 4 point jump, but this is a biased compilation in that most of the people reporting are the ones that did well. People also do worse on their actual vs. their scored (albeit not by much usually). Personally I would postpone if I was aiming for a 4 point jump, especially if you have the time to postpone.

But to each his own. I'm sure a lot of people on SDN would say it's possible.

I understand. I would like to be as realistic as possible, so Im not asking "hey, can I score a 509 with this preliminary score". I would think its possible to score a 500, especially if CARS is a kind mistress tomorrow.
 
I understand. I would like to be as realistic as possible, so Im not asking "hey, can I score a 509 with this preliminary score". I would think its possible to score a 500, especially if CARS is a kind mistress tomorrow.

Here's to hoping that test day adrenaline pushes you over the edge. Good luck brother. :horns:
 
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I understand. I would like to be as realistic as possible, so Im not asking "hey, can I score a 509 with this preliminary score". I would think its possible to score a 500, especially if CARS is a kind mistress tomorrow.

dont worry about what the other guy is saying. i got a 495 on the mcat i took in july and am like you, hopeing for 500 +/- 2. I think we can do it and for him to says 500 for DO is risky is completely false especially because DO admissions focus on the candidate as a whole more so than MD schools. we got this :)
 
dont worry about what the other guy is saying. i got a 495 on the mcat i took in july and am like you, hopeing for 500 +/- 2. I think we can do it and for him to says 500 for DO is risky is completely false especially because DO admissions focus on the candidate as a whole more so than MD schools. we got this :)

Again, not trying to argue against anyone but saying that DO admissions focus on the candidate as a whole more than MD schools is false. They both admit based on a comprehensive view of the applicant, only difference being that some schools might focus a little more on service oriented ECs than other schools.

Also looking at the averages for D.O schools, the average matriculant mcat score ranges from 25-28 which translates to a 499-504. Risky means that you have a chance of not getting accepted in a cycle based on how your application looks. A safe score would be a 505+.

Considering his AAMC scored was 496 it puts him at risk of getting a 496 or lower which is out of the 499-504 range. Considering your scored should be around the same since you seem to be both in the situation, you guys are putting a lot into chance into the MCAT based on your practice scores. I am at a 511 right now and honestly I would not be surprised if I got as low as a 508 since scoring worse happens to more people than you think.

But again to each his own. Maybe the two of you have GPAs that makes up for the MCAT should you score lower than your target or have very good ECs. I'm not trying to discourage you guys. It would be in your best interest to postpone if you have the time and do the best you absolutely can do which I'm sure would be a 505+. This is a marathon and not a race. Postponing till January will still have you guys in time for the next cycle for M.D and D.O. If you score lower (not saying you will but there's a chance), you just dig yourself a deeper hole and will have to take it again next year anyway.
 
So everyone on the September 9th exam says that C/P was terrible. Should we be memorizing all the equations right now?
 
Also, I feel like Psych and Soc have really increased in difficulty since the inception of the new MCAT. When I took it last year, it was basically all vocab words. Now its like another Bio/Biochem section. Anyone else feel this way?
 
So everyone on the September 9th exam says that C/P was terrible. Should we be memorizing all the equations right now?

My friend was telling me that C/P wasn't as passage-based as B/B, so yes, I would try to know as many equations as possible, especially know the conversions between power, work, energy and converting between the units of all of them. Also know the different equations that delta G is equal to. If you know how to derive an answer based on the units given in the question/answer choices, it can be really helpful in situations where you can't remember the exact equation needed.
 
My friend was telling me that C/P wasn't as passage-based as B/B, so yes, I would try to know as many equations as possible, especially know the conversions between power, work, energy and converting between the units of all of them. Also know the different equations that delta G is equal to. If you know how to derive an answer based on the units given in the question/answer choices, it can be really helpful in situations where you can't remember the exact equation needed.

watch it be completely different tomorrow.
 
Just got back home and I'm so relieved it's finally over :D definitely could have done better on C/P but felt well prepared for all other sections. Let's hope we can maintain our sanities until scores come out!
 
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I didn't want to say anything before the exam so as not to freak you out but it's a little absurd if you didn't have the 20 aa's (including structure, 3 letter and 1 letter codes) memorized by last night.

Oh, no worries, I did. I was just asking if the other guy did
 
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Alright, time for the ambiguous writeup/reflection.

C/P: Ridiculous. By far the hardest section, and by far the one I did the worst at.

CARS: Honestly, not too bad. Most fair CARS section I have ever had.

B/B: Bipolar. Had extremely easy questions, and insanely hard ones.

Psych/Soc: What I expected.

This was not representative of the AAMC practice at all.

There will be a lot of R-OH tonight.
 
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Alright, time for the ambiguous writeup/reflection.

C/P: Ridiculous. By far the hardest section, and by far the one I did the worst at.

CARS: Honestly, not too bad. Most fair CARS section I have ever had.

B/B: Bipolar. Had extremely easy questions, and insanely hard ones.

Psych/Soc: What I expected.

This was not representative of the AAMC practice at all.

There will be a lot of R-OH tonight.

Agreed. *sigh* Now we wait.
 
Was leafing through my notes during lunch; proctor came over and said, "You're not allowed to study during breaks." Is this really true?
 
Generalized impressions:

C/P: what I expected for content... but ran out of time? No real curve balls, passages seemed LONG.
CARS: All of the passages seemed long! Didn't read 2 whole passages. WTF... at this point starting to think my time management skills were a lot worse than when I practiced.
B/B: Longer than the Kaplan B/B practice exams. I usually finish this section with time to go back and review. I narrowly answered every question and didn't get to go back to review the ones I guessed on.
CARS: I thought this was supposed to be more psychology based than sociology!? At least that's what the Kaplan books told me. I had time to go back and review my answers, but the questions seemed trickier than the Kaplan practice exams.

Would say more but don't want to risk having my **** MCAT score voided :rofl:
 
Alright, time for the ambiguous writeup/reflection.

C/P: Ridiculous. By far the hardest section, and by far the one I did the worst at.

CARS: Honestly, not too bad. Most fair CARS section I have ever had.

B/B: Bipolar. Had extremely easy questions, and insanely hard ones.

Psych/Soc: What I expected.

This was not representative of the AAMC practice at all.

There will be a lot of R-OH tonight.
Did you feel that the C/P was hard or just too long? I didn't think any of it was extremely difficult, but rather that I didn't have enough time to solve everything.
 
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Was leafing through my notes during lunch; proctor came over and said, "You're not allowed to study during breaks." Is this really true?
You're lucky they didn't report you to the aamc for irregular testing conditions (forgot the official term) Seen it happen...
 
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Did you feel that the C/P was hard or just too long? I didn't think any of it was extremely difficult, but rather that I didn't have enough time to solve everything.

I didn't feel like cars was that bad but I didn't have time for last 2 passages. The passages were so long and not interesting at all
 
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I didn't feel like cars was that bad but I didn't have time for last 2 passages. The passages were so long and not interesting at all
Exactly the same for cars.. so long. so boring. didn't get to the last two either. But was Chem/physics hard for you or just long?
 
Exactly the same for cars.. so long. so boring. didn't get to the last two either. But was Chem/physics hard for you or just long?

I didn't find chem to be that bad, cars I feel horrible about, feel okay about bio don't really remember it much and there were some psych soc questions where I was between two terms
 
Thank God that is over with.
I hope we all did alright. This test had some really hard parts but also some easy ones, so we shall see.
 
C/P: Passages were much longer than what I saw during practice. Ran out of time and had to pick random answers for the last couple passages. Wanted to walk out during my break and never look back.
CARS: Easy
B/B: Easy
P/S: Split between the impossible and the seemingly obvious
 
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I'm not sure if I was anxious because this was the real deal but... I seemed to be running out of time on all the sections today and rushing at the end for each section other than P/S.

C/P is my best subject but it had a lot of calculations and way more biochem than the other practice stuff. Horrible way to start.
CARS was running out of time too but didn't feel super easy or hard.
B/B had some passages I didn't understand... similar in style to the official guide passages... hope I did okay.
P/S is not my strong suit and needed to study this more, so I can't really comment. Probably would have been hard to me even if it was easy.

Countdown to Oct 12th starts today... Hope everyone did well!
 
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Agree with what everyone's been saying.

C/P: Some really hard/really easy questions, but passages were all weirdly confusing. Had about 8 minutes left to check my answers but didn't have enough time to go thru them all.
CARS: Some passages were just brutal to decipher and so dense. I had again about 10 minutes to check my answers but didn't have enough time to go thru them all.
B/B: Same difficulty level as other AAMC material albeit a few passages/questions that were confusing to interpret. Didn't get to check all my marked answers
Psych: Have always finished with 30 minutes to spare so I was able to check all the questions I marked. There were some terms I had never encountered before and some questions which were so weirdly asked.

Overall, didn't leave that exam feeling comfortable like I had with the AAMC unscored/scored. It was pretty bad but if we all thought it was hard, the curve will hopefully work in our favor! I hope you all get the score you want!!
 
I'm just glad I'm done!! I thought CARS and Psych/Soc were my best.. Felt pretty confident with C/P too. But, B/B on the other hand :confused:
 
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