September 12, 2014 MCAT

[Lanoserol]

Who is taking MCAT on this day?

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[Oh_Gee]

whoop

 

[AmishExpressWay]

I am. It's gonna be sweet.

 

[ayocaptain628]

I mite have to reschedule to this date lol! Staying motivated to studying is hard

 

[lumberjack89]

Switched to this date from August 15th a few weeks ago. Scoring in the low/mid 30s on the AAMCs so far, and I switched over the Gold Standard tests to see if I can bump up my score because apparently they're much more difficult than the AAMCs. I'm worried about switching to such different material though, and posted in the GS forum; would you all mind taking a look and seeing what you think?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/gold-standard-vr-astonishingly-poor.1090791/

 

[Dreamstoo]

I mite have to reschedule to this date lol! Staying motivated to studying is hard

Exactly I'm scheduled for September 6th and I have been getting so nervous to take AAMC full lengths.

 

[lumberjack89]

Exactly I'm scheduled for September 6th and I have been getting so nervous to take AAMC full lengths.

I would recommend you start taking them as soon as possible and review your weaknesses; after all we're only a month out from the 6th. Granted if you haven't finished content review yet it might not be worth while... Taking the full lengths has been very rewarding and educational, and has actually decreased my worries instead of amplify them, because after all that prep you finally get a peek at what the beast really looks like and what you need to study to improve your score.

 

[Notepad]

I'll probably be scheduling for this date, too! Just took it this morning and felt pretty awful. Going to focus on my weaknesses and do a ton of practice problems over the next month...that was my downfall. I studied about 2 months for my test today, so it'll be nice having an extra month to do practice problems.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

 

[lumberjack89]

everyone[/B] is doing well!!

Yeah who else out there is taking it on this day? Let's get this thread happenin' - it would be nice to have some people to commiserate with during prep, as well as after the exam is over so we can compare notes on both prep-work and test-day experiences and whatnot. What does everyone's strategy look like? It would be cool to share scores, experiences, encouragement and such with each other if there's anyone else interested, as well as notes on which companies we've used and what the experiences with them have been like. I've used TPR, BR, EK, GS, AAMC, etc. and would be happy to throw some numbers out there

Either way, good luck to everyone!

 

[Oh_Gee]

I'll probably be scheduling for this date, too! Just took it this morning and felt pretty awful. Going to focus on my weaknesses and do a ton of practice problems over the next month...that was my downfall. I studied about 2 months for my test today, so it'll be nice having an extra month to do practice problems.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

you took the real one? how was it? i am scared

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yeah who else out there is taking it on this day? Let's get this thread happenin' - it would be nice to have some people to commiserate with during prep, as well as after the exam is over so we can compare notes on both prep-work and test-day experiences and whatnot. What does everyone's strategy look like? It would be cool to share scores, experiences, encouragement and such with each other if there's anyone else interested, as well as notes on which companies we've used and what the experiences with them have been like. I've used TPR, BR, EK, GS, AAMC, etc. and would be happy to throw some numbers out there

Either way, good luck to everyone!

i am way behind schedule. I am 2 chapters from finishing my TBR content review but I will be taking AAMC 3 and 4 this weekend.

 

[Notepad]

you took the real one? how was it? i am scared

Yeah I took the real one yesterday. It was really tough. I studied my butt off but in much less time than I would've wanted (due to certain issues). So although it didn't go as well as I would've liked, it was good to experience test day at the least...looking forward to crushing it on the 12th with all of you!!

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yeah I took the real one yesterday. It was really tough. I studied my butt off but in much less time than I would've wanted (due to certain issues). So although it didn't go as well as I would've liked, it was good to experience test day at the least...looking forward to crushing it on the 12th with all of you!!

you were able to sign up for a spot that close to the test day? what area do you live in?

 

[lumberjack89]

i am way behind schedule. I am 2 chapters from finishing my TBR content review but I will be taking AAMC 3 and 4 this weekend.

That should be eye opening for ya, they were the first two I took and I learned a lot. Even though people say AAMC-3 was easier, I didn't do that well. I think that getting accustomed to the format and timing of the real exam on AAMC-3 prepared me to do better on subsequent full lengths though, and my score started heading up after that. So, no matter how #3 goes, don't get too down on yourself if it's not that close to your ideal score - if your content review was pretty solid I bet your subsequent scores will go up as a function of your familiarity with the full length setting.

Did you just go straight through the TPR stuff for content? I did a slightly modified SN2ed schedule starting back in mid May, and it worked out fairly well I guess: started in on full lengths about 10 days ago. I'm a non-traditional applicant by a few years though (graduated in 2011), so content on the PS/BS, has been a struggle because it's been a while seen I've seen the material in class. Either way taking the full lengths really shows you what your content review was worth, and where your weaknesses are. Good luck!

 

[Oh_Gee]

As soon as I graduated June 2014, I started hunkering down and studying TBR books. On Sep 12, i definitely feel that i am gonna wish I had done 2 months of FL's and 1 month of content review instead. I hope to get through the AAMC and GS FL's by September and hopefully a good amount of the TPRH verbal/science workbooks.

 

[lumberjack89]

Same plan here regarding full lengths, I just started in on the GS-1 the other day and they're definitely a good bit harder, like I was warned. The TPRH verbal is really solid, I wish I had gotten my hands on the science one as well, but it's gettin' a little late in the game to keep buying physical material...maybe... ?

 

[Oh_Gee]

Same plan here regarding full lengths, I just started in on the GS-1 the other day and they're definitely a good bit harder, like I was warned. The TPRH verbal is really solid, I wish I had gotten my hands on the science one as well, but it's gettin' a little late in the game to keep buying physical material...maybe... ?

lol the science one is about 6 inches thick but you can pick them up on amazon used for an ok price. I went to UCSD and we have a FB group for selling stuff. some people sell their old MCAT materials for a decent price. Do any colleges in your area have FB groups for selling stuff?

on another note, some guy on another post mentioned that the wording on GS tests is a lot worse than the AAMC ones. Did you find that to be tru?

 

[lumberjack89]

the wording on GS tests is a lot worse than the AAMC ones. Did you find that to be tru?

Yeah, I don't know if you saw my post up above but it's to a thread that no one has responded to that I wrote on this very topic. I've only taken GS-1 so far, but I think the VR section was horribly written. I went in less than a week from getting my first and probably only perfect 15 on the VR section on an AAMC test to a flat 7 on my first Gold Standard, and I had been scoring well on the VR sections before that so it was a shock. Other folks seem to love the VR from GS though, so go figure. Overall the feel is simply different on all the GS stuff - one of the mods/tutors/whatever on here said that's because they're designed more to skill build, not simulate the real MCAT as much. So, they'll take topics that come up a lot on the MCAT and really hammer them, sometime in exacting detail, whereas on the AAMCs you get more of a smattering of everything.

I don't really care how they do it, all I've seen from the numbers is that people's scores drop by about 5 points from their AAMC average when they start taking the GS tests and then they go through the roof when they transition back into the last half of the AAMCs, and they go on to score on the real MCAT with similarly high numbers, so I'm gunna suck those tests down like sweet, sweet nectar.

http://www.greedmontpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tumblr_inline_mt1vvhgMWe1qz4rgp.gif

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yeah, I don't know if you saw my post up above but it's to a thread that no one has responded to that I wrote on this very topic. I've only taken GS-1 so far, but I think the VR section was horribly written. I went in less than a week from getting my first and probably only perfect 15 on the VR section on an AAMC test to a flat 7 on my first Gold Standard, and I had been scoring well on the VR sections before that so it was a shock. Other folks seem to love the VR from GS though, so go figure. Overall the feel is simply different on all the GS stuff - one of the mods/tutors/whatever on here said that's because they're designed more to skill build, not simulate the real MCAT as much. So, they'll take topics that come up a lot on the MCAT and really hammer them, sometime in exacting detail, whereas on the AAMCs you get more of a smattering of everything.

I don't really care how they do it, all I've seen from the numbers is that people's scores drop by about 5 points from their AAMC average when they start taking the GS tests and then they go through the roof when they transition back into the last half of the AAMCs, and they go on to score on the real MCAT with similarly high numbers, so I'm gunna suck those tests down like sweet, sweet nectar.

http://www.greedmontpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tumblr_inline_mt1vvhgMWe1qz4rgp.gif

just finished AAMC 3 and got 10's on all sections. kinda sad since this is supposed to be the easiest of them all. i could feel my attention span waning after PS

 

[lumberjack89]

just finished AAMC 3 and got 10's on all sections. kinda sad since this is supposed to be the easiest of them all. i could feel my attention span waning after PS

Don't worry about it, just study what you missed and keep moving - that's almost exactly what I got on #3 and then got a 35 on another AAMC a few days later. Your scores will get better!

 

[lumberjack89]

If anyone else wants to share experiences with the full lengths you're taking please do so, as I know there are already some people who've exhausted the AAMC and GS offerings are starting to look into TPR and BR full lengths to prep for September dates, and if the rest of us run out it would be nice to know what material to look for next. Here's what I've been up to thus far, all in the order I took them starting about two weeks ago:

AAMC-3 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-4 = 33 : 9/12/12
AAMC-5 = 33 : 8/15/10
AAMC-7 = 35 : 9/13/13
GS-1 = 27 : 9/ 7/11
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11

I'll be taking a full length every other day or so until Sept. 12th, primarily the GS tests with AAMCs interspersed throughout to check up on my improvements from the GS exams. Just took the GS-2 today, and was glad to finally see some improvement on the PS section, which is my biggest weakness. Also glad to see a reasonable VR score after that flop on GS-1

Anyways, hope things are going well for everyone!

 

[nicolemsm]

Just rescheduled from October 25th to Sept 12... hoping it will be one and done, but if not still have a chance with the Nov 7th test date... Really pushing it with only 4 weeks to study but I'm up for the challenge.

I was originally signed up for July 2nd but I was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident at the end of April and was lucky to even finish all my courses that semester. *Fingers crossed* for us all!

 

[Oh_Gee]

If anyone else wants to share experiences with the full lengths you're taking please do so, as I know there are already some people who've exhausted the AAMC and GS offerings are starting to look into TPR and BR full lengths to prep for September dates, and if the rest of us run out it would be nice to know what material to look for next. Here's what I've been up to thus far, all in the order I took them starting about two weeks ago:

AAMC-3 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-4 = 33 : 9/12/12
AAMC-5 = 33 : 8/15/10
AAMC-7 = 35 : 9/13/13
GS-1 = 27 : 9/ 7/11
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11

I'll be taking a full length every other day or so until Sept. 12th, primarily the GS tests with AAMCs interspersed throughout to check up on my improvements from the GS exams. Just took the GS-2 today, and was glad to finally see some improvement on the PS section, which is my biggest weakness. Also glad to see a reasonable VR score after that flop on GS-1

Anyways, hope things are going well for everyone!

how are you doing in GS?
my PS scores are going up but my BS scores keep fluctuating. I've been substituting TPRH VR as my VR section cause I dislike GS VR so much. but i usually average 30/40 in TPRH...
also good job in AAMC7 BS!
i got destroyed (got an 8)

 

[lumberjack89]

My scores are staying depressingly "the same" on the GS material:

GS-1 = 27 : 9/7/11
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11
GS-3 = 33 : 11/11/11
GS-4 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-5 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-6 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-7 = 30 : 9/10/11

I keep getting the same 9-11 scores in the PS and BS sections, so it's somewhat hard to tell if I'm getting any better. I'll take one or two more GS tests and then switch back to AAMC and take their #8,#9,#10, and #11 leading up to test day. Your scores are going up though, that's encouraging! How are you reviewing between tests? Are you going back to content review to run over weaknesses or just studying straight off of the GS answers? I can't figure out how to increase my scores on the science sections, even though I keep studying my errors and such after taking tests.

I'm really hoping my scores pick up when I head back to AAMC material like I've seen happen to so many other people, otherwise all this time spent on the GS stuff will be a total waste... we'll see soon enough! Did you take AAMC full lengths other than #3 before diving into the GS tests? What did you numbers look like on those?

 

[Oh_Gee]

My scores are staying depressingly "the same" on the GS material:

GS-1 = 27 : 9/7/11
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11
GS-3 = 33 : 11/11/11
GS-4 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-5 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-6 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-7 = 30 : 9/10/11

I keep getting the same 9-11 scores in the PS and BS sections, so it's somewhat hard to tell if I'm getting any better. I'll take one or two more GS tests and then switch back to AAMC and take their #8,#9,#10, and #11 leading up to test day. Your scores are going up though, that's encouraging! How are you reviewing between tests? Are you going back to content review to run over weaknesses or just studying straight off of the GS answers? I can't figure out how to increase my scores on the science sections, even though I keep studying my errors and such after taking tests.

I'm really hoping my scores pick up when I head back to AAMC material like I've seen happen to so many other people, otherwise all this time spent on the GS stuff will be a total waste... we'll see soon enough! Did you take AAMC full lengths other than #3 before diving into the GS tests? What did you numbers look like on those?

i think i'm just gonna finish up GS 8 9 10 before going back to AAMC. PS on GS-7 absolutely rocked me. I've heard 7 8 9 10 are the hardest PS out of the GS series. a friend who took the MCAT last month told me the real MCAT PS was like if the GS 7 8 9 10 had a baby together so I'm really nervous now

 

[lumberjack89]

Yeah I just took GS-7 yesterday, going through the electrochemistry/thermo sets is teaching me a thing or two, to say the least. If the real MCAT is really as difficult as later GS tests like your friend said, I mean.... dang. I've been studying for nearly 4 straight months, average 6-7 hours per day, and I don't know what more I can wring out of my lil' brain. If my scores don't snap back to at LEAST mid 30's (hopefully higher) when I head back to AAMC material, I have no idea what I'll do. I already rescheduled from August to this date, and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take it.

I'm fairly confident my scores will pick back up with AAMC stuff though - I'm going to take GS-8 tomorrow, review and drill content weaknesses for two full days, and then I'll be back to AAMC stuff starting with #8 on Wednesday, so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yeah I just took GS-7 yesterday, going through the electrochemistry/thermo sets is teaching me a thing or two, to say the least. If the real MCAT is really as difficult as later GS tests like your friend said, I mean.... dang. I've been studying for nearly 4 straight months, average 6-7 hours per day, and I don't know what more I can wring out of my lil' brain. If my scores don't snap back to at LEAST mid 30's (hopefully higher) when I head back to AAMC material, I have no idea what I'll do. I already rescheduled from August to this date, and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to take it.

I'm fairly confident my scores will pick back up with AAMC stuff though - I'm going to take GS-8 tomorrow, review and drill content weaknesses for two full days, and then I'll be back to AAMC stuff starting with #8 on Wednesday, so I'll let you know how it goes.

totes lost my nerve at the last 2 pages of GS-8 PS and forgot all my equations lol...

 

[lumberjack89]

totes lost my nerve at the last 2 pages of GS-8 PS and forgot all my equations lol...

Ha! Just took that GS-8 and the exact same thing happened to me: I just started looking at the questions like "whaaaaat I don't even know what this is asking me for...how....who.....???"

Plus the ridiculous VSEPR theory passage: apparently I don't understand VSEPR spacial theory at all. Literally zero. That test overall was a little weird in general, what with odd topics in the PS and the doubled-up genetics passages in BS. Did ok all told ( 8/12/11 = 31 ) but that PS section completely rocked me, especially the VSEPR passage and section 7 with all those oncotic/osmotic/partial pressure/freeze-point modulation questions. I probably would have had a fine score on the PS if those 2 passages were on almost anything else, but as it stands I got almost all of section 7 and the VSEPR questions wrong.

Oh well! Hope things are going well for ya - I'm going to review all the weird stuff from GS-8 PS section and general notes on all my exams for the next 2 days. Still on track for AAMC#8 on Wednesday - let me know if you take it first and how it goes! Basically all my hopes are hinging on a big turn around on that exam.

 

[Oh_Gee]

after taking GS-8 and reviewing i thought i'm in pretty good shape. then i just took GS-9 and thought damn i know nothing

 

[lumberjack89]

Interestingly enough, I was on the GS forums looking through the discussions on some of the particularly difficult parts of the PS sectiosn of GS-7 and GS-8, and found this posted from one of the GS admins:

"Yes GS-8 and especially GS-7 PS are more challenging than the real exam so do not let it affect your confidence levels. To really help you real exam score: spend at least one day reviewing all section of the full length test, right and wrong answers, and take very, very brief notes. About 1 page per exam. Review all your brief notes daily leading up to the exam to be sure you build on your conceptual knowledge, approach to questions as well as basic knowledge.

The real MCAT is not usually so calculation heavy but because the questions/passages are near random (because it is computer based, different time zones, etc), it means that some students have gotten unpleasant surprises (a more calculation heavy exam compared to their expectations). We want to be sure you are ready for the worst case scenario so if the exam is lighter, you'll be laughing.

It sounds like your scores are on the right track, just be sure you keep reviewing your exam experiences through brief notes so that you are building on your past. Good luck."

 

[Oh_Gee]

Interestingly enough, I was on the GS forums looking through the discussions on some of the particularly difficult parts of the PS sectiosn of GS-7 and GS-8, and found this posted from one of the GS admins:

"Yes GS-8 and especially GS-7 PS are more challenging than the real exam so do not let it affect your confidence levels. To really help you real exam score: spend at least one day reviewing all section of the full length test, right and wrong answers, and take very, very brief notes. About 1 page per exam. Review all your brief notes daily leading up to the exam to be sure you build on your conceptual knowledge, approach to questions as well as basic knowledge.

The real MCAT is not usually so calculation heavy but because the questions/passages are near random (because it is computer based, different time zones, etc), it means that some students have gotten unpleasant surprises (a more calculation heavy exam compared to their expectations). We want to be sure you are ready for the worst case scenario so if the exam is lighter, you'll be laughing.

It sounds like your scores are on the right track, just be sure you keep reviewing your exam experiences through brief notes so that you are building on your past. Good luck."

GS-10 PS was straight up a math test

 

[lumberjack89]

Wow: I just got a 10/10/11 = 31 on AAMC#8 just now and I literally don't know what I'm going to do. That's way, way, way lower than I was hoping for on returning to AAMC material, even lower by a significant margin than some of my other GS scores.

I've never seen anyone do as many GS test, study off of them, and come back to AAMC tests with a score that low; they usually score higher than their GS work by at least 3-4 points, many times higher, and I scored WORSE. Good lord. Hahaaa. Wooow. Please let me know how you do on that exam, hopefully much much better than me.

I'm probably going to make a thread outside of this one for advice on what to do next, maybe even to reschedule... again...

 

[Notepad]

Wow: I just got a 10/10/11 = 31 on AAMC#8 just now and I literally don't know what I'm going to do. That's way, way, way lower than I was hoping for on returning to AAMC material, even lower by a significant margin than some of my other GS scores.

I've never seen anyone do as many GS test, study off of them, and come back to AAMC tests with a score that low; they usually score higher than their GS work by at least 3-4 points, many times higher, and I scored WORSE. Good lord. Hahaaa. Wooow. Please let me know how you do on that exam, hopefully much much better than me.

I'm probably going to make a thread outside of this one for advice on what to do next, maybe even to reschedule... again...

What have your other scores been (specifically previous AAMCs if you've taken any)? AAMC 8 railed me, and then 3 days later I scored 5 points higher on AAMC 9. I'd suggest reviewing AAMC 8 in its entirety and then give AAMC 9 a shot.

 

[lumberjack89]

What have your other scores been (specifically previous AAMCs if you've taken any)? AAMC 8 railed me, and then 3 days later I scored 5 points higher on AAMC 9. I'd suggest reviewing AAMC 8 in its entirety and then give AAMC 9 a shot.

AAMC-3 = 31 : 10/ 10 / 11
AAMC-4 = 33 : 9/ 12 / 12
AAMC-5 = 33 : 8/ 15 / 10
AAMC-7 = 35 : 9 / 13 / 13
GS-1 = 27 : 9 / 7 / 11 <--(not sure what happened on VR here)
GS-2 = 34 : 11 / 12 /11
GS-3 = 33 : 11 / 11 / 11
GS-4 = 30 : 9 / 10 / 11
GS-5 = 30 : 10 / 11 / 9
GS-6 = 30 : 10 / 11 / 9
GS-7 = 30 : 9 / 10 / 11
GS-8 = 31 : 8 / 12 / 11
AAMC-8 = 31 : 10 / 10 / 11

 

[idkwhatname]

Hi,

This is my first time posting here. I just took AAMC 9 and I'm devastated Here are my scores from the all the aamc tests I took (in order):
AAMC 4: 28 (7/12/9)
AAMC 5: 29 (8/10/11)
I stopped taking tests for a few weeks and focused on PS. Then I started taking tests again.
AAMC 7: 35 (13/11/11)
AAMC 8: 34 (12/11/11)
But today I took AAMC 9 and I got a 30 (11/9/10).
The test is a week away and I'm so depressed. I heard AAMC 9, 10, and 11 were most similar to the real thing. I don't know what to do anymore. Any advice??
Thanks.

 

[lumberjack89]

Hi,

This is my first time posting here. I just took AAMC 9 and I'm devastated Here are my scores from the all the aamc tests I took (in order):
AAMC 4: 28 (7/12/9)
AAMC 5: 29 (8/10/11)
I stopped taking tests for a few weeks and focused on PS. Then I started taking tests again.
AAMC 7: 35 (13/11/11)
AAMC 8: 34 (12/11/11)
But today I took AAMC 9 and I got a 30 (11/9/10).
The test is a week away and I'm so depressed. I heard AAMC 9, 10, and 11 were most similar to the real thing. I don't know what to do anymore. Any advice??
Thanks.

Welcome to SDN - I'm new here myself, and as of about 4 hours ago I'm in the exact same boat as you... made a thread about it (posted below) and a few folks have piped in with advice that you may like to read. Keep us up to date with your decision, you can see mine in the thread and maybe we can talk ideas and come up with a plan.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-bad-worse-score-should-i-reschedule.1096562/

 

[Oh_Gee]

Welcome to SDN - I'm new here myself, and as of about 4 hours ago I'm in the exact same boat as you... made a thread about it (posted below) and a few folks have piped in with advice that you may like to read. Keep us up to date with your decision, you can see mine in the thread and maybe we can talk ideas and come up with a plan.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-bad-worse-score-should-i-reschedule.1096562/

oh man i'm so psyched out right now after reading all this. i will let you know how i do on AAMC 8

i have already had a few mental breakdowns lol


life....

 

[lumberjack89]

oh man i'm so psyched out right now after reading all this. i will let you know how i do on AAMC 8

i have already had a few mental breakdowns lol


life....

Are you taking it tomorrow? Fingers crossed that you totally kill it like all the other people who did what you and I did with the GS stuff!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do - I'm worried about the possibility that the reason I scored so low was due to burn-out, which means I need to take a break, but I also don't have time to take even as much as a day off and still finish all the AAMC tests before the 12th, so I'm not sure what to do. I've planned to take the 11th off, but the only other option I have if I want to take a burn-out break tomorrow is to skip one of the AAMC tests and take a day or two off, but... then I'd be skipping an AAMC and postponing my decision regarding whether or not to reschedule :\

 

[Oh_Gee]

Are you taking it tomorrow? Fingers crossed that you totally kill it like all the other people who did what you and I did with the GS stuff!

I'm not sure what I'm going to do - I'm worried about the possibility that the reason I scored so low was due to burn-out, which means I need to take a break, but I also don't have time to take even as much as a day off and still finish all the AAMC tests before the 12th, so I'm not sure what to do. I've planned to take the 11th off, but the only other option I have if I want to take a burn-out break tomorrow is to skip one of the AAMC tests and take a day or two off, but... then I'd be skipping an AAMC and postponing my decision regarding whether or not to reschedule :\

gonna do it saturday. have you done the AAMC SA's? some of the questions are way too easy but i think thinking your way through the hard ones will give you more of a feel of what the real thing is gonna be like. The SA's are also good for reminding you if you forget some random concept. if you haven't done them yet, there's not a lot of time left to do it cause it's a lot of questions (around 100 questions per subject for a total of 5 subjects). i've done the ochem and bio already. but i agree with others and think you should how you do on the others. as to if you should take a day off....
you might do worse on your next FL if you're feeling burnt out which is what happens to me. maybe just get a good night's rest today instead of taking a day off?

 

[lumberjack89]

gonna do it saturday. have you done the AAMC SA's? some of the questions are way too easy but i think thinking your way through the hard ones will give you more of a feel of what the real thing is gonna be like. The SA's are also good for reminding you if you forget some random concept. if you haven't done them yet, there's not a lot of time left to do it cause it's a lot of questions (around 100 questions per subject for a total of 5 subjects). i've done the ochem and bio already. but i agree with others and think you should how you do on the others. as to if you should take a day off....
you might do worse on your next FL if you're feeling burnt out which is what happens to me. maybe just get a good night's rest today instead of taking a day off?

Yeah I think I'm going to end up reviewing AAMC-8 tomorrow regardless - I'm just to curious to see what went wrong!

Good call on the AAMC SA's, I never thought to take them because I've been taking so many full lengths. I don't have time for them before test day, but who knows; if I reschedule I'll definitely take them. I'm actually not as concerned about rescheduling now as I was a few hours ago - I would LOVE to have the test over with, which is why the score on #8 made me so anxious, but there's no need to rush/risk/or even take it feeling afraid/nervous. I can study for the next couple months no problem, so if worst comes to worst I'll just reschedule. If I'm not scoring at least 36-39 on the next three exams, I'll probably reschedule.

I just know I'll never forgive myself if I take the test afraid and knowing there was something more I could have done to prepare, and I also know I don't want anything lower than a 35, so I'll wait it out and study longer if I have to.

 

[Oh_Gee]

Yeah I think I'm going to end up reviewing AAMC-8 tomorrow regardless - I'm just to curious to see what went wrong!

Good call on the AAMC SA's, I never thought to take them because I've been taking so many full lengths. I don't have time for them before test day, but who knows; if I reschedule I'll definitely take them. I'm actually not as concerned about rescheduling now as I was a few hours ago - I would LOVE to have the test over with, which is why the score on #8 made me so anxious, but there's no need to rush/risk/or even take it feeling afraid/nervous. I can study for the next couple months no problem, so if worst comes to worst I'll just reschedule. If I'm not scoring at least 36-39 on the next three exams, I'll probably reschedule.

I just know I'll never forgive myself if I take the test afraid and knowing there was something more I could have done to prepare, and I also know I don't want anything lower than a 35, so I'll wait it out and study longer if I have to.

also here's some advice that i got early on

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/which-tests-to-take-before-test-day.1091443/

 

[idkwhatname]

Welcome to SDN - I'm new here myself, and as of about 4 hours ago I'm in the exact same boat as you... made a thread about it (posted below) and a few folks have piped in with advice that you may like to read. Keep us up to date with your decision, you can see mine in the thread and maybe we can talk ideas and come up with a plan.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...-bad-worse-score-should-i-reschedule.1096562/

Thanks! So I finished reviewing AAMC 9, and I realized my low score was mainly due to very silly mistakes. For example, I got a total of 10 wrong in the PS section, and 6 of them were due to me accidentally marking the wrong answer or not reading the question correctly (for one question, I read "tripled" as doubled - I have no idea why I did that.) I usually don't mess up that badly, but I think it had to do with me being very nervous. I knew these 3 last tests would be somewhat near my real score, so I was freaking out during the test. I'm going to do a test (from TPR and AAMC 10, 11) everyday until the day before the test so I can get used to it. I'm also going to try meditating exercises or something to calm my nerves. I'll update again when I take AAMC 10 and 11.

I live in California, and all the dates through January are closed last time I checked. So I really can't reschedule unless I take the new one. After reviewing AAMC 9, I decided I'm just going to try my best and practice so I don't make such embarrassing mistakes during the real test. Since you did well on AAMC 7 (and the previous ones too), I also think the 31 might be an outlier. Good luck!

 

[Oh_Gee]

Thanks! So I finished reviewing AAMC 9, and I realized my low score was mainly due to very silly mistakes. For example, I got a total of 10 wrong in the PS section, and 6 of them were due to me accidentally marking the wrong answer or not reading the question correctly (for one question, I read "tripled" as doubled - I have no idea why I did that.) I usually don't mess up that badly, but I think it had to do with me being very nervous. I knew these 3 last tests would be somewhat near my real score, so I was freaking out during the test. I'm going to do a test (from TPR and AAMC 10, 11) everyday until the day before the test so I can get used to it. I'm also going to try meditating exercises or something to calm my nerves. I'll update again when I take AAMC 10 and 11.

I live in California, and all the dates through January are closed last time I checked. So I really can't reschedule unless I take the new one. After reviewing AAMC 9, I decided I'm just going to try my best and practice so I don't make such embarrassing mistakes during the real test. Since you did well on AAMC 7 (and the previous ones too), I also think the 31 might be an outlier. Good luck!

are they closed because they're booked or because it's past the deadline? i was hoping to sign up for another january one right after i get out of my Sep 12 MCAT. someone told me that they open up closer to the actual test date because people drop out but since this is the last administration of the old mcat, idk....

 

[idkwhatname]

are they closed because they're booked or because it's past the deadline? i was hoping to sign up for another january one right after i get out of my Sep 12 MCAT. someone told me that they open up closer to the actual test date because people drop out but since this is the last administration of the old mcat, idk....

I checked before the last reschedule deadline and they were all booked. I hope they do open up. I was thinking to sign up again too (and cancel if my score doesn't suck), but if not in California then maybe in a nearby state.

 

[lumberjack89]

I was hoping to sign up for another january one right after i get out of my Sep 12 MCAT.

I was thinking to sign up again too (and cancel if my score doesn't suck)

Two questions for both of ya: how are you planning already on registering for another test date when you're scoring above the low 30s, and are most likely going to get something like that? Isn't it too dangerous to re-take if you score in the low-to-mid 30s, i.e. you run the risk of getting the same score or lower, both of which make you look worse than if you didn't re-take at all?

Also one thing I'm worried about is actually finding a seat if we end up re-scheduling: regardless of whether we take it or not on the 12th, it's got to be hard to find seats in Oct/Nov. by now, and I don't know if waiting another 4 entire months for January would actually help scores or not: won't stretching our study over more and more months cause us to forget certain things, especially the strengths that we have now, which we undoubtedly will work on less than our current weaknesses? I can't see any of the Oct/Nov section availabilities on the AAMC site because I'm still registered for the 12th... what if we skip (or take it on) the 12th and end up not being able to find a seat? I mean I guess there would be available seats in Jan still, but who knows; there's got to be a lot of people playing the same mind games we are now, especially since this is the last chance at the 2014 MCAT, so I bet the Oct/Nov/Jan sections will fill much earlier this year compared to previous years.

 

[idkwhatname]

Two questions for both of ya: how are you planning already on registering for another test date when you're scoring above the low 30s, and are most likely going to get something like that? Isn't it too dangerous to re-take if you score in the low-to-mid 30s, i.e. you run the risk of getting the same score or lower, both of which make you look worse than if you didn't re-take at all?

Also one thing I'm worried about is actually finding a seat if we end up re-scheduling: regardless of whether we take it or not on the 12th, it's got to be hard to find seats in Oct/Nov. by now, and I don't know if waiting another 4 entire months for January would actually help scores or not: won't stretching our study over more and more months cause us to forget certain things, especially the strengths that we have now, which we undoubtedly will work on less than our current weaknesses? I can't see any of the Oct/Nov section availabilities on the AAMC site because I'm still registered for the 12th... what if we skip (or take it on) the 12th and end up not being able to find a seat? I mean I guess there would be available seats in Jan still, but who knows; there's got to be a lot of people playing the same mind games we are now, especially since this is the last chance at the 2014 MCAT, so I bet the Oct/Nov/Jan sections will fill much earlier this year compared to previous years.

Well, it's just a precaution. I would only retake it if my score is really low. Otherwise, I would just cancel. I could spend that time focusing on other stuff. You're right; I think it's better to go ahead and take the test next week. I'm going to take it next week, because the errors I made on AAMC 9 were due to my state of mind going into the test. I haven't done that on the previous AAMCs, so I'm just going to treat it as an outlier.

 

[Shirafune]

Did anybody else think AAMC 9 was substantially harder than the others? Maybe it just hit all my weak topics...I'm seriously hoping the odds are in my favor next week! Ack.

 

[lumberjack89]

Did anybody else think AAMC 9 was substantially harder than the others? Maybe it just hit all my weak topics...I'm seriously hoping the odds are in my favor next week! Ack.

I'm taking AAMC#9 tomorrow and that is pretty much going to decide whether or not I keep this date: I'll be back with a score on that exam in about 15 hrs! How have you been doing on the AAMCs? What's your target score for the real deal?

 

[lumberjack89]

Alright dudes/dudettes: I'm outta here!

I took AAMC#9 and got 12/13/10 = 35 which is fine, but just not high enough for me to feel comfortable, so I canceled my registration for Sept. 12th and have re-registered for Oct. 21st, but only because there were no seats available near Maryland for November 7th, which is the date I'd prefer. Hopefully a spot will open up on that date before too long, but if not I'm sticking with Oct. 21st - I'll warn you guys, looking at Nov. 7th there are barely any states in the US at all with spots left, and I'm lucky as hell to have found the one spot I did, and it's almost 2 hours away from where I live in a different state at 8am on a date I didn't even really want! So the seat are filling up.

Basically all the January dates are wide open though, so if you guys are looking to reschedule in that month you should be fine. Either way, good luck as always, and I'll definitely be checking back in here to see how you guys do!

 

[Oh_Gee]

Alright dudes/dudettes: I'm outta here!

I took AAMC#9 and got 12/13/10 = 35 which is fine, but just not high enough for me to feel comfortable, so I canceled my registration for Sept. 12th and have re-registered for Oct. 21st, but only because there were no seats available near Maryland for November 7th, which is the date I'd prefer. Hopefully a spot will open up on that date before too long, but if not I'm sticking with Oct. 21st - I'll warn you guys, looking at Nov. 7th there are barely any states in the US at all with spots left, and I'm lucky as hell to have found the one spot I did, and it's almost 2 hours away from where I live in a different state at 8am on a date I didn't even really want! So the seat are filling up.

Basically all the January dates are wide open though, so if you guys are looking to reschedule in that month you should be fine. Either way, good luck as always, and I'll definitely be checking back in here to see how you guys do!

dang i wished you had taken a screenshot of what dates are open. could we make accounts to just look at what dates are available lol?
i was also gonna take it on the 12th and cancel my January MCAT (if i'm even able to get one) if I score 30+. i don't have very high hopes lol.