September 2015 MCAT Thread

[DAF16]

Registration for the September MCAT opens up soon, so I thought I would make the thread.
Who else will be taking the test in September?

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[Doctor Dream]

@PagingOrtho , I think most people are using the link TheAnonymous posted below. Seems to be fairly accurate, though I agree that the scores it gives are probably a little inflated

I think most people use this, though I think it's a bit inflated: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1Yd5-z8djMNL25k9w60X8yCFSlGY_M2Qynrjj_ph2l24/htmlview#
There is also an excel converter.

I don't mind doing it for you if you want to message me your %.

Regarding C/P, what is it that you are struggling with? Specific subjects? Passage comprehension?

 

[FutureD.O]

The improving trend looks great! How did you convert your AAMC section percentages into the scale score?

I saw people here referencing their AAMC FL scores on the 472-528 scale a couple times. What's the method to convert?

Thank you, I've been working my rear end off! Hopefully I can reproduce the same result on test day. Anonymous actually posted the conversion chart a few posts above. Just compare your percentages to the ranges in the document to get a rough estimate of your total score.

 

[FutureD.O]

@PagingOrtho , I think most people are using the link TheAnonymous posted below. Seems to be fairly accurate, though I agree that the scores it gives are probably a little inflated

Lol way to post at the same exact time as me haha.

 

[Doctor Dream]

Histidine is fixed

Make sure you guys note that Lysine abbreviation is "K" not "L" if you're going off @Ad2b 's drawing! I think a lot of people get that mixed up. Otherwise great drawing, thanks for making

 

[Doctor Dream]

Lol way to post at the same exact time as me haha.

Hehe our circadian rhythms must be synced

 

[TheAnonymous]

Hey guys, anyone here has taken NS FL #5 yet? I don't know if I should take that one on Tuesday or just review some notes I have on Bio/Biochem (like content/details).

Thanks!

 

[Doctor Dream]

Hey guys, anyone here has taken NS FL #5 yet? I don't know if I should take that one on Tuesday or just review some notes I have on Bio/Biochem (like content/details).

Thanks!

Yea I took it a week or so ago. What do you want to know about it?

 

[TheAnonymous]

Yea I took it a week or so ago. What do you want to know about it?

Did you find it useful? or do you think reviewing last-minute notes can be more helpful

 

[Doctor Dream]

Did you find it useful? or do you think reviewing last-minute notes can be more helpful

Yea I definitely thought it was useful, I got some good practice and flashcards out of it. It's the same quality as all the other NS exams. If you have the time I'd take it, but if you're feeling a little lack-luster on your Bio/Biochem then you're probably better off reviewing that.

 

[Ad2b]

@Ad2b I found it! The one with structural family info.

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/problem_sets/aa/aa.html

Thanks!! Added it to the blog under AA.

 

[Ad2b]

Make sure you guys note that Lysine abbreviation is "K" not "L" if you're going off @Ad2b 's drawing! I think a lot of people get that mixed up. Otherwise great drawing, thanks for making

FIXING - sorry!

 

[TheAnonymous]

Yea I definitely thought it was useful, I got some good practice and flashcards out of it. It's the same quality as all the other NS exams. If you have the time I'd take it, but if you're feeling a little lack-luster on your Bio/Biochem then you're probably better off reviewing that.

Thank you. Do you remember if it was biochem heavy i.e. passages on amino acids / enzyme kinetics etc. lol sorry for asking too many questions

 

[Doctor Dream]

Thank you. Do you remember if it was biochem heavy i.e. passages on amino acids / enzyme kinetics etc. lol sorry for asking too many questions

Looks like there's a decent amount of AA stuff, not too much on enzyme kinetics though. The Phys/Chem section had more AA questions and passages than the Bio section. I wouldn't say the exam is heavy on AA's or enzyme kinetics but there's probably like 20 or so questions

 

[Dreamstoo]

Did anyone who took EK FL 3 and EK FL 4 feel FL 3 had a much easier B/B section? I took EK FL 4 as a FL and did EK FL 3 as practice (untimed and with answer check). I went through EK FL 3 B/B section a lot quicker and did about 30% (~80%) better.

 

[Biswas]

So I just took Next Step's free half-diagnostic MCAT and made a 503.... Was this thing supposed to be real easy? Cuz if so... I might be screwed.

 

[DAF16]

Hey everyone,
Took the AAMC FL a while ago and got: 63%, 85%, 81%, and 69%.

Any advice on what to do between here and test date? I was just going to do practice questions for all subjects and review PS and Psych content. What do you all think about the score? Is it all right?

 

[waitaminute]

How have you all been doing on the Official Guide questions? I managed to do well on the AAMC Fl but I'm finding that the Official Guide questions seem more difficult than those found on the FL.

 

[El-Rami]

How have you all been doing on the Official Guide questions? I managed to do well on the AAMC Fl but I'm finding that the Official Guide questions seem more difficult than those found on the FL.

Yeah, I noticed that. I scored 76 total (68/94/71/71) on the FL back in May, but I scored 76 total (77/77/73/77) on the OG yesterday. I know the total score is in the ballpark of ~508 on both tests, but it has me really freaked out about that CARS score. I've seen people who scored worse than me on the FL in CARS score mid-80s to high 90s on the OG CARS. People say FL C/P is hard, but I thought OG was a LOT harder in this area and about the same in P/S and maybe a bit harder in B/B as well. I thought the OG CARS passages were very easy to understand, but for some reason I missed enough questions to drive down my score. I know I could have scored at least 80% on OG CARS if I didn't change one of my answers during the last 30 seconds when I was reviewing my marked questions (I took longer on this section because the passages were a lot longer than FL).

Also, if the OG is anything like the new test, and the Qpacks are anything like the old test, the old MCAT was a complete joke...

 

[Dolly96]

I made some silly silly mistakes on the bio q packs: bio qpack 1-73% and bio qpack 2-75%

What's really scaring me is the cars qpack which I ended up getting a frightening 55% How are so many of you scoring so well on cars? Is there really anything I can do within these last few days to get my cars score up? I've been averaging 124-125 on the last few Kaplan fl's I've done.

 

[Aretehopeful]

I made some silly silly mistakes on the bio q packs: bio qpack 1-73% and bio qpack 2-75%

What's really scaring me is the cars qpack which I ended up getting a frightening 55% How are so many of you scoring so well on cars? Is there really anything I can do within these last few days to get my cars score up? I've been averaging 124-125 on the last few Kaplan fl's I've done.

That first cars qpack is ridiculous, I tried it a couple days ago and just got obliterated. Don't feel disparaged, you are not the only one who had trouble on it. Try the second q pack with the same confidence you had before you tackled the first one, I promise you'll do better!

125 on kaplan isn't bad, they're known to be more difficult then the real thing.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Just took EK4, and of course I'm feeling terrible now. 69% overall (71/70/62/73). My brain feels fried but I'd like to wake up tomorrow and do another because even though I did 15 straight hours of content review yesterday, I feel like I accomplished way more in the last 7 hours than all of yesterday... Trouble is I still haven't reviewed lab techniques, thermochem/thermodynamics, electrochemistry, carbonyl ochem, or any metabolism whatsoever. I really need a 512. Any advice for how to schedule this week?

My plan right now is to take the AAMC FL Tuesday, OG 1/2L Thursday, and review content and do Q-packs in between.

There's always a bright side, right? At least I'm improving:
Kaplan FL1 (46/77/56/54)
Kaplan FL2 (46/79/66/59)

PS - I miss the old exam where you could knock out a FL after dinner and still get a good night's sleep

 

[PooshBag]

Wow, i havent posted here in forever.

I would like to say, I am very happy for those who finished it, and very happy for their feedback. Your advice and wisdom is greatly appreciated by me!!!!!

I'm aiming for a 510 as my goal. Current projections show it as being grim:
Kaplan FL's range = 490 to 503 [mode is 503] (10 FL exams total from kaplan)

AAMC FL: 75.5%
Bio pack 1: 86%
Bio pack 2: 84%
Chem pack 1: 93%
Cars pack 1: 68%!!!!!

Still need to do physics pack and OG questions. Testing on 9/12.

I am praying for a 510 at least..

 

[FutureD.O]

Hey guys! What are everyone's plans regarding their approaches to this final week?

I'm finishing qpacks, and doing review on main/reoccurring high yield topics Monday-Thursday. Capping off my mcat study with probably <3 hours of quick sheet/equation review the day before the mcat just so I feel internally safe lol.

Edit: still haven't done OG so I'm wondering where to throw that in..

 

[Aretehopeful]

Hey guys! What are everyone's plans regarding their approaches to this final week?

I'm finishing qpacks, and doing review on main/reoccurring high yield topics Monday-Thursday. Capping off my mcat study with probably <3 hours of quick sheet/equation review the day before the mcat just so I feel internally safe lol.

Edit: still haven't done OG so I'm wondering where to throw that in..

Finishing up the OG and Q packs, aamc FL tomorrow. Review all the high yield stuff, and give the AAMC content list a look.

 

[PooshBag]

My final week will consist of OG questions, finishing physics pack questions, doing some kaplan qbank or sections tests, revewiing to find weak spots and going back to the books i have, and finally, on thursday: a thorough review of quicksheets and amino acid flashcards. No mcat stuff on friday.

And then on saturday: Time for war..

 

[El-Rami]

Poosh, I got the same overall score on CARS qpack 1a, so I wouldn't be too worried. A lot of people struggle with it, no matter how good they are in CARS. Also, take OG now. You won't be able to really prepare yourself for it. Just take it and see how you do.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Just finished CARS 1 QPack - 88% can't complain at all, I was expecting a lot worse. I hate the feeling that goes along with CARS where you have no %#@&ing idea if you're passing or getting everything wrong.

About to finish the chem pack and then work more on the physics one. Gotta do OG too. Glanced through it awhile ago and it looks scarier than the official practice test.

 

[PooshBag]

@RaspberrySlushy Very nice job on the cars 1 pack! I am amazed at that score. You will do well!

 

[El-Rami]

Just finished CARS 1 QPack - 88% can't complain at all, I was expecting a lot worse. I hate the feeling that goes along with CARS where you have no %#@&ing idea if you're passing or getting everything wrong.

About to finish the chem pack and then work more on the physics one. Gotta do OG too. Glanced through it awhile ago and it looks scarier than the official practice test.

OG is a lot harder than AAMC FL. Just do it and don't study for it. I feel it is more abstract and more time-consuming. I allotted myself 50 minutes per section and was barely able to finish on time, except on PS where I had about 7 minutes for review. It's very much if you know it, you pick the answer and move on. If you don't know it, you cross out what you can and then make a guess and move on. There is no time to really sit there and think; it forces you to quit obsessing over your answer choices, do the best you can, and keep moving.

 

[sfkniner81]

OG is a lot harder than AAMC FL. Just do it and don't study for it. I feel it is more abstract and more time-consuming. I allotted myself 50 minutes per section and was barely able to finish on time, except on PS where I had about 7 minutes for review. It's very much if you know it, you pick the answer and move on. If you don't know it, you cross out what you can and then make a guess and move on. There is no time to really sit there and think; it forces you to quit obsessing over your answer choices, do the best you can, and keep moving.

Im doing the OG questions right now and finding it pretty difficult. Time consuming too. I usually am pretty good on time but it took me an 60 -65 minutes each to do the B/BC section and P/C section . Still have CARS and P/S to do.

 

[El-Rami]

I felt like the AAMC was repeatedly hitting me in the gut with each passage on the OG C/P section... Some of the stuff on there was pretty intimidating.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

@PooshBag - thanks, I really hope you're right

@El-Rami - good to know about OG. From flipping through it seemed like a lot of graphs, charts, etc. I still really need to strengthen P/S.

Just finished chem QPack - 98%!!! I've been tutoring Chen for a few years so this QPack was really in my wheelhouse. I hope I get a lot of chem on the real deal b/c I'm about to go work on physics QPack and that has been a very different story.

 

[El-Rami]

I don't think the concepts in physics will be very difficult on the exam, but the way they are presented certainly will be. All of the stuff on the OG was very basic concept-wise, so please don't spend a lot of time preparing for the OG. Most of the difficulty in the hard sciences sections stemmed from interpreting graphs and convoluted experiments. That, along with being pushed for time, makes them fairly intimidating. You just have to trust yourself and go with your gut because you usually can find the answer choice but not be 100% confident. They get you when you let time slip by while obsessing over a question. I've noticed that I tend to mark questions I am not confident on, but when I seldom change my answers when I review. When I check the score report for the OG, most of my marked answers are correct, which suggests that I was obsessing over most of my questions when really I shouldn't have been concerned. Now, there are questions that I don't know the answer to sometimes (maybe one or two on the sciences sometimes when I do FLs), those are definitely worth marking, moving on, and making sure that my response made sense when I get time.

Also, for what it's worth, I realize that I probably could have scored mid-80s on OG CARS if I didn't push myself for time at the end. In the final passage, I missed three questions in a row. I believe my reading pace is great (it keeps me moving forward while having good understanding of something, I mark main points of an argument so I can easily reference them), but I was obsessing over a few questions in the middle of the section; this made me lose valuable time. Ironically, I changed my answer on a question I spent minutes obsessing about, only to find that I had the right answer (50/50) the first time and let myself overanalyze things. None of the CARS passages were hard to understand, unlike the Picasso passage from QPacks.

 

[PooshBag]

50 minutes per section. I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks @El-Rami

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

I hated that Picasso passage, totally misunderstood parts of it!

I might have the opposite prob in that I sometimes don't slow down enough. I end up finishing early which is great but then realize I made stupid mistakes or didn't read carefully or dismissed an answer choice by not reading it in its entirety. So dumb but hard to break the habit.

 

[TheAnonymous]

** Biochem newbie here: I thought His, Lys, Arg have positive charge at physiological pH, but then isn't His neutral at physiological pH?? So only Lys and Arg are +ve? Or am I just stupid?

 

[sfkniner81]

finished the OG half length:

P/C: 80%
CARS: 87%
B/BC: 80%
P/S: 70%

total % = 79%

don't know how I should interpret this. struggled w time on bio and physics but was good on time on the other two sections. obviously need to get my psych/soc up. Shooting for a 515+, any thoughts / feedback/ tips? much appreciated! test date is 9/23

 

[El-Rami]

** Biochem newbie here: I thought His, Lys, Arg have positive charge at physiological pH, but then isn't His neutral at physiological pH?? So only Lys and Arg are +ve? Or am I just stupid?

The pKa of H is ~6 (some sources say 6.5), so its imidazole side chain will be protonated 100% below physiological pH and below pKa value. Please remember that when pH = pKa, there will be a ratio, so total charge will be fractional (roughly +0.5 is charge since it is in buffer). A little beyond that, and you rapidly get the salt. The buffering capacity of an amino acid is about +/- 1 pH unit, so you still have SOME protonated species at physiological pH. I hope that makes sense.

http://www.russelllab.org/aas/charged.html << Says that 10% of histidines are protonated at physiological pH. The ratio of the salt to the protonated form will be about 11:1. If you get a question that asks if His is +ve at physiological pH, I would say no if I were you.

finished the OG half length:

P/C: 80%
CARS: 87%
B/BC: 80%
P/S: 70%

total % = 79%

don't know how I should interpret this. struggled w time on bio and physics but was good on time on the other two sections. obviously need to get my psych/soc up. Shooting for a 515+, any thoughts / feedback/ tips? much appreciated! test date is 9/23

You should do well on the MCAT. I got one less question correct than you in PC and two less in BB, so I should be the one worried. For PS, just study a glossary and skim through chapter on topics in glossary you don't understand. A lot of the PS was interpretation of studies and the data.

 

[PooshBag]

Cars pack 2 is going a bit easier.. finished the first half. Still hard af commpared to pack 1.

 

[TheAnonymous]

The pKa of H is ~6 (some sources say 6.5), so its imidazole side chain will be protonated 100% below physiological pH and below pKa value. Please remember that when pH = pKa, there will be a ratio, so total charge will be fractional (roughly +0.5 is charge since it is in buffer). A little beyond that, and you rapidly get the salt. The buffering capacity of an amino acid is about +/- 1 pH unit, so you still have SOME protonated species at physiological pH. I hope that makes sense.

http://www.russelllab.org/aas/charged.html << Says that 10% of histidines are protonated at physiological pH. The ratio of the salt to the protonated form will be about 11:1. If you get a question that asks if His is +ve at physiological pH, I would say no if I were you.



You should do well on the MCAT. I got one less question correct than you in PC and two less in BB, so I should be the one worried. For PS, just study a glossary and skim through chapter on topics in glossary you don't understand. A lot of the PS was interpretation of studies and the data.

Have you taken the AAMC FL yet? Can I discuss one of the questions with you?

 

[El-Rami]

Have you taken the AAMC FL yet? Can I discuss one of the questions with you?

I took the AAMC FL back in May, but I did not review the answers. As such, I plan to take the FL again tomorrow so it is fresh in my memory when reviewing and also to gauge how much my score improves from content review (sort of like a pre-test/post-test thing). I will be happy to discuss it with you later in the week if you still need help.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I took the AAMC FL back in May, but I did not review the answers. As such, I plan to take the FL again tomorrow so it is fresh in my memory when reviewing and also to gauge how much my score improves from content review (sort of like a pre-test/post-test thing). I will be happy to discuss it with you later in the week if you still need help.

Sounds awesome. Thanks man. Best of luck tomorrow!!

 

[WhatamIDOING!]

Hey Everyone,

So I am currently scheduled to take the MCAT on 9/23/15 and am worried because I am doing TPR full lengths and keep scoring between 497-499 my most common spread is 124/125/125/124

Any thoughts on how TPR compares to the real exam? Should I be worried or are TPR THAT MUCH harder?

Thanks

 

[Pediateix]

Hey Everyone,

So I am currently scheduled to take the MCAT on 9/23/15 and am worried because I am doing TPR full lengths and keep scoring between 497-499 my most common spread is 124/125/125/124

Any thoughts on how TPR compares to the real exam? Should I be worried or are TPR THAT MUCH harder?

Thanks

thinking about you score will make you put a gun to your face. i do terrible on all tests and i mean it like below average in all sections. but i realized that my goal when going over tests is the concepts. if i got it wrong because of conent and when I'm done reviewing a test i have an idea of the topics i need to go over so i try to go over those topics soon.

I'm doing sterling problems which is just discrete questions for topics that i haven't gone over a ton and the ones i keep missing. lie digestive never studio hard core or the skin or development. so by doing the questions ill have a good idea of what i should know like digestive enzymes, hormones and all that.



I'm finally hitting average for the last section but there is stuff i still need to go over. content review never ends. its impossible to know 100%

 

[Pediateix]

no matter how soon you study. info doesnt stick into your long term memory unless its like 2-3 weeks before your test. lol. i don't even remember what i learned when i first started doing, but if you really push yourself in these final weeks i think that will be good and its all you can do. i plan on doing kaplan test 2 tomorrow and 3 on wednesday with question packs in between.

 

[it'sabeautifullife]

Death in family - not my dad - am flying "home" on Tue night after class, funeral on Weds, burial on Th in a different location, flying back on Th night, driving on Fr to MCAT site, sitting for MCAT and then voiding the exam. It will be my practice test.

I will then withdraw from this cycle , take the test in January, have everything ready to go June 1, and apply. At the age of 51.

Good luck to everyone taking it for real on the 11th, 12th, and 23rd. Go nail this thing!!!

Sorry to hear Ad2b Relieved it's not your dad, but losing any loved one is so difficult. Just went through this myself--lost my closest friend last week-- 48 hours before my first exam in med school. Hugs and best wishes for coming back even stronger.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Spoiler alert. Asking a question on AAMC FL. Question will be in white text underneath:


For AAMC FL C/P Question #2, why is it 32 possible stereoisomers. I keep getting 64 stereoisomers. Aren't all the nitrogens chiral centers therefore making it 6, and 2^6 = 64?

 

[howlcat]

So i while back I read from reviews that getting the AAMC OG was not really that useful if you had the Qpacks..but it seems like the OG is pretty helpful to you guys..do you think I should get it now? I test on the 12th...and i still havent finished all the AAMC Qpacks (stil have Bio2, half of chem and phy left..and like 5 passages of CARS left..and I plan to review AAMC questions and do concepts and some practice this week, but I've been advised not to do another Kaplan FL this week..
should i get the OG? is it worth it? is it helpful?

 

[jimmypod]

So i while back I read from reviews that getting the AAMC OG was not really that useful if you had the Qpacks..but it seems like the OG is pretty helpful to you guys..do you think I should get it now? I test on the 12th...and i still havent finished all the AAMC Qpacks (stil have Bio2, half of chem and phy left..and like 5 passages of CARS left..and I plan to review AAMC questions and do concepts and some practice this week, but I've been advised not to do another Kaplan FL this week..
should i get the OG? is it worth it? is it helpful?

I found the OG to be helpful when reading through the "Foundational Skills" that each subject requires. It's great for checking if your content review is thorough enough to match what the AAMC expects. I can't say anything about the OG test as I took it as a diagnostic in the beginning, but it was definitely more difficult than the AAMC FL.

 

[howlcat]

I found the OG to be helpful when reading through the "Foundational Skills" that each subject requires. It's great for checking if your content review is thorough enough to match what the AAMC expects. I can't say anything about the OG test as I took it as a diagnostic in the beginning, but it was definitely more difficult than the AAMC FL.

Thanks, I will defiinately consider it.

Also, I noticed that the Bio-Biochem section in the AAMC FL had a lot of biochem experiment analysis- genes in mice etc, and I noticed that at least 3-4 passages were structured in that way as opposed to bio system related passages in the AAMC bio Q-packs. Is this similar to the actual MCAT- the biochem-like passages more than actual biology-physiology passages?