PATH TO 514+: Ostallopathic's MCAT testing log

[Ostallopathic]

I don't know if we are allowed to do this here, but I thought it might be interesting. I'll be documenting my test prep strategies here.

TEST DATE: April 1, 2016
GOAL SCORE: 514 or higher (ideally higher )

I'm aiming for a score in the 90+ percentile because as an ORM my GPA and sGPA are pretty mediocre for MD schools (in the 3.6 range). I want to make up for it with a high MCAT.

PRACTICE FL's I PLAN TO USE:
TPR 1 (11/18 - 11/21)
TPR 2 (12/5/15)
TPR 3 (12/12/15)
NS 1 (12/19/15 or maybe earlier depending on when family comes back for Christmas)
NS 2 (1/2/15)
NS 3 (1/9/15)
NS 4 (1/16/15)
NS 5 (1/23/15)
EK 1 (1/27/15)
EK 2 (1/30/15)
EK 3 (2/3/15)
EK 4 (2/6/15)
AAMC 1 (2/10/15)
AAMC 2 (2/20/15)

I've done some prep up to this point, but nothing substantial.

This is what I've completed prior to taking TPR FL1. I'm leaving out most of the stuff that's in progress or that I might not even complete:

CP

Haven't completed anything I guess I've been avoiding this. Ochem and Physics are interesting but I suck at them. Gen Chem is boring but at least it's not hard.

CARS

1. Completed CARS passages on Khan Academy (there's only like 8 passages lol)

Bio

1. Completed Biomolecules videos/problems problems on Khan Academy
2. Completed 17/142 Bio passages on Khan Academy
3. Read Kaplan Biochemistry book (didn't do problems in it)
4. Had been practicing anki deck of amino acids for a while, so I knew the amino acids pretty well.

Psych

1. Read Kaplan Psych/Soc book (didn't do problems in it)

(Note: I know it's weird that I'm taking TPR tests even though I did some Kaplan review books. It's because my friend let me borrow some of his Kaplan books but he's gone now so I gave them back to him and bought TPR books instead. No real reason for the change other than that's what was available on our school's facebook group for buying/selling stuff.)

Honestly, I hate reading prep books though, and watching videos takes forever. My general plan right now is to just take a bunch of practice tests and learn from them. If there's anything in the explanation of a problem that I didn't know but that would have allowed me to solve it, then I'll add it to my anki deck. If there's anything I really can't understand after reading the explanation, then I'll go back and read about it. I'll be releasing my anki deck once I'm done with my test.

I'll see if I have to adjust this strategy eventually.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ostallopathic]

TPR FL 1
I'm still in school (graduating after this semester), so it's hard to really fit a whole practice test in. This week I just took a practice test one section at a time over a span of about a week.

TPR FL1 results:
503 total (61st percentile)
124 CP (45th percentile)
125 CARS (58th percentile)
128 Bio (87th percentile)
126 Psych (66th percentile)

I'm not too worried about these results because I saw that @bruins2016 got a 504 on his first exam and ended up with a 520. I wish I knew what his score breakdown for that was. After looking at the results, though, I think I will have to go back and go through the Ochem prep book after all. (Why..... ) I'm not really sure why my CARS score is so low. I did well on the SAT in reading and I didn't really forsee myself having any trouble with it. I think for the next test I'll use @GhostNote's strategy of dumbing each paragraph down into really basic main ideas.

Pretty encouraged by the Bio score, although I guess it makes sense because I'm a bio major and I did the most prep work for Bio just because it was interesting to me. Psych was surprising because I felt like I was guessing on every problem. I thought for sure I would get a 123 or something. I'm definitely going to review all the problems I got wrong for Psych and for every other section.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Work in progress)

PLAN before next test:

1. Review each question on the exam and make necessary anki cards. If I don't understand the explanation, I'll look up the weak concepts in the prep book.
2. Complete TPR O-chem prep book (So far, none of the Ochem explanations made any sense at all to me LOL)
3. Do a re-test of TPR FL1 to see if I can get

______________________________________________________________________

Weak concepts:

CP
Gen Chem

1. Electrochemical Cells/Reduction Potentials (should be easy to review). >What exactly is a galvanic cell (it it a synonym for electrochemical cell) and why is it always spontaneous?
2. Ksp. Don't even remember learning this. Doesn't seem hard though. > Complete Solubility equilibria on KA

Physics

1. Capacitance >understand what dielectric really means > complete Capacitors on KA

Ochem

1. Chapter 3 TPR Ochem
2. Chapter 4 TPR Ochem
3. Chapter 5 TPR Ochem
4. Chapter 6 TPR Ochem
5. Chapter 7 TPR Ochem

Problems to revisit: 29, 30, 32, 36, 51, 52

CARS
The Native American passage was pretty sad Kind of disappointing how reviewing the passages didn't really seem to give me as much insight as it did for CP. Before my next test, I'm going to work through 10 passages in my TPR CARS book or until I get a perfect score on one of them, whichever comes first.

Problems to revisit: 12, 18, 45

Bio

Kind of discouraging how I got 4 out of 6 marked questions correct. That shows that it's a little bit of a fluke. Or maybe I'm just mark-happy. Oh well, time to review.

1. Genetic inheritance tree practice problems (I actually really like doing these, I just got it wrong on the test. I'm sure I can find problems online.) >http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-01sc-fundamentals-of-biology-fall-2011/genetics/pedigrees/
   >http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/.../genetics/pedigrees/MIT7_01SCF11_3.3prob1.pdf
   >http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/...1/genetics/pedigrees/MIT7_01SCF11_3.3sol1.pdf
2. All the reabsorption hormone systems. Don't understand that stuff at all. >How does aldosterone facilitate reabsorption of sodium from urine and secretion of potassium into the urine? >I guess it's called the RAAS system
3. Missed some lame Ochem stuff about R and S (more Ochem than anything)

Problems to revisit: 5, 11, 25

Psych

1. Goffman’s dramaturgical theory of interaction
2. Difference between escape and avoidance learning >make anki card for escape learning once I know the difference
3. What is the limbic system, and why aren't executive functions associated with the limbic system?
   
4. What is borderline personality disorder?
5. What is panic disorder?
6. What is the "key word method"?
7. Functions of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine.
8. Piaget's theory of cognitive development
9. Conflict Theory

32

Anki to do:
> make anki cards for personality disorders, piaget's theory of cognitive development, conflict theory


So many anki cards for this one... I feel like the Psych section is just a giant vocab quiz
_____________________________________________________________________

For next test:

1. For CARS, use @GhostNote's strategy of dumbing each paragraph down into really basic main ideas.
2. Take the whole exam at once (shout outs to @Gibbward)

 

[Gibbward]

Just a couple of thoughts for you. First, the SAT verbal is no where close to the difficulty of the CARS section, so you shouldn't have expected a good CARS score based on that. Also, did you take these sections in timed test taking conditions? IMO, it's hard to assess whether your practice test performance is solid unless you're taking it in timed conditions. Also, you should definitely take whole practice tests in test taking conditions, especially when you're getting close to your test date. It's a whole different ball game when you have to sit down and think for 7 hours straight. It shouldn't be too difficult to do this evem when you're in school. Just wake up early on a Sunday, start in the morning, and you should be done by mid-afternoon!

But other than that, good start my friend! I was doing content review using a prep book for ~2 months before taking TPR FL1 and I only got a 125 on it!

 

[Ostallopathic]

Just a couple of thoughts for you. First, the SAT verbal is no where close to the difficulty of the CARS section, so you shouldn't have expected a good CARS score based on that. Also, did you take these sections in timed test taking conditions? IMO, it's hard to assess whether your practice test performance is solid unless you're taking it in timed conditions. Also, you should definitely take whole practice tests in test taking conditions, especially when you're getting close to your test date. It's a whole different ball game when you have to sit down and think for 7 hours straight. It shouldn't be too difficult to do this evem when you're in school. Just wake up early on a Sunday, start in the morning, and you should be done by mid-afternoon!

But other than that, good start my friend! I was doing content review using a prep book for ~2 months before taking TPR FL1 and I only got a 125 on it!

Thanks for the help and encouragement man. Really appreciate it! I did each section under timed conditions, but yeah I didn't take the whole test at once. I realize that's probably the most challenging part about it so I know I have to start doing that. I'll definitely do it on the next test.

I'm thinking about getting EK 101 for verbal because I heard it is very helpful.

Wow, just did some scoping out and found you got a 517. Good job, man! I hope that you continue following my progress and giving advice

 

[Gibbward]

Thanks for the help and encouragement man. Really appreciate it! I did each section under timed conditions, but yeah I didn't take the whole test at once. I realize that's probably the most challenging part about it so I know I have to start doing that. I'll definitely do it on the next test.

I'm thinking about getting EK 101 for verbal because I heard it is very helpful.

Wow, just did some scoping out and found you got a 517. Good job, man! I hope that you continue following my progress and giving advice

Thanks! You just gotta work hard, understand and address your weaknesses, and have confidence on your strengths and you should be fine!

It was really helpful for me to take the whole test in testing conditions, like being very strict with when I can take breaks, taking the test in a quiet but public place like the school library, etc. I'm a bit more neurotic in terms of stress management and getting a routine going though so that could be why it was great for me haha

And I actually used the EK 101 for the first half of my CARS review. I thought the style of questions that were asked were pretty different from those in the AAMC official practice material though, so I stopped using them. EK 101 focused too much on minute details instead of big picture ideas, but was still good practice for me since I'm a slow reader and it helped me practice reading passages quickly and thoroughly.

 

[Thoroughbred_Med]

I'm April 1st as well. ORM. I'll be journaling as well. Let's do this!

 

[Doctor Dream]

Just thought I'd chime in with a couple bits of advice based on my own MCAT prep experience...
If you really want to make your way through all the Khan videos, then by all means go for it. However, I think that might be a huge time suck. If you feel confident in the material initially, you're probably okay just using a prep-book for content review. I only used Khan for topics I never learned (like immunology) and for topics that consistently gave me trouble (like batteries and liquid flow). I used the EK set for my content review, which I liked because they distilled things down to the basics. I see you're also making Anki cards which will give you great content review. Keep analyzing your exams the same way you did TPR1, that will help you a TON.

Also 100% agree with Gibbward about simulating test day. If you want to get the most out of your FL's, that's the way to do it. Take your exam in a public place like a library, take breaks only when they'd be allowed on test day, wear ear protection, etc. No breaks will really help your mental endurance. Also, how frequently are you taking practice exams? Since you're still ~4 months out, it might be a good idea to focus mainly on content review right now, and do like one FL/week. When it gets to be mid-late Jan you could start taking more FL's, like 2-3/week. You're probably going to want more FL's than what you have listed, since those won't last you 4 months. Would highly recommend NS, they have 5 exams for ~$125 I think. They're solid prep material and a lot cheaper than EK.


Hope that helps. I scored 502 (126/125/124/127) on TPR1 and 514 on the real thing, you're on the right track!