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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[Free411]

and I thought 85% was good

It is! Just don't be like me and try to produce that on the real exam. I rarely ever linger over a test but I honestly wish I could go back and retake that section, but whatever; you live and you learn haha

 

[remedy23]

I scored a 130/132 (Bio; 97%) on the August 6, 2015 MCAT, if anyone wants any tips for that section.

Hey do you have any advice for that section? I'm aiming for a 129 in it!

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

So it's probably a little late to be asking this question, but how did you guys time yourself for the q-packs?

 

[medgirl1993]

Ahh yes it is, I'm taking the exam on saturday and I wanted to save the FL until after I was done review. What did you struggle with in C/P? I'm usually not so good with physics so maybe I can give you some pointers..



The picasso passage is the bane of my exsistence. I'm banking on the real thing having some easy to read passages with answers straight out of the passage. The Fl's were so straight forward that I barely re-read the passages.

I struggled with just grasping what the heck they were asking. I get so hung up on all the terminology in the passages that I start to panic and just push buttons. Any tips on how to select the best answer possible? And I HATE PHYSCIS.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

I did half and half.

So you did 60 questions in 95 minutes?

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Def learning from reviewing EK 1. CARS - tended to pick too extreme of answer choices. Chem/phys - some of it was careful reading errors or failing to look at graphs, and also had to review sound/Doppler effect as well as optics. Hopefully that's more solidified. Actually feel like I finally have a good grasp on geometrical optics!

 

[Free411]

Hey do you have any advice for that section? I'm aiming for a 129 in it!

Hey remedy23!

You can definitely get a 129 on it! I thought that section wasn't as bad as people were making it out to be. The key to doing well is efficient reading and thinking skills. Try to think of the passages as being a files full of information and the information is sorted using labels. Each label represents a paragraph and its main idea. You should only read a passage with specific intention of pulling out information for a question. Other than that there is no real reason to read the information in the passage.

Strategy: (Each passage is a file)
1. Read the first sentence of every paragraph. (Read the labels)
-I did this because most science paragraphs follow basic paragraph structure, so the main idea is generally the first sentence.
-This gives you a sense of what information is in your file and where it is should you need to come back and read the document/paragraph/passage in more detail
- should take no more than 40-45 seconds; this is a quick skim
-This allowed me to mentally map where things were for efficiency.

2. Read the questions word for word very closely. Look for tips and key words
-Keep an eye out for buzz words that tip you off to what label you need to go back to.

3. Quickly scan your the file for the labels to find which paragraph(s) have words/ideas related to key words in step #2
- This is where you spend time actually reading the information in more detail, but know you reading will be more focused and you will know what you are looking for rather than getting confused by information that you would never need anyway.
-For example, if the second paragraph deals with the symptoms of down syndrome (label = symptoms); then if you read a question that asks you to determine the outcome of a person with three 21 chromosomes (that would be a tip), you know where to go (straight to paragraph 2, because you knew the label)...this is a simple example but it works for more complex questions too.

4. POE
- once you pull the relevant information from the passage, POE the answer options and profit!

Trust me, my average time per passage was like 4-5 minutes.

 

[medgirl1993]

Def learning from reviewing EK 1. CARS - tended to pick too extreme of answer choices. Chem/phys - some of it was careful reading errors or failing to look at graphs, and also had to review sound/Doppler effect as well as optics. Hopefully that's more solidified. Actually feel like I finally have a good grasp on geometrical optics!

when is your test date?

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Sept 23.

 

[Pediateix]

Sept 23.

how many tests are you doing or have done and how many do you plan to do fem here on out. I'm reviewing kaplan 2 tests but I'm goig over systems first like digestive and kidney caue i always miss those questions

 

[Dolly96]

Just finished the aamc fl... I'm officially freaking out. 53%/83%/71%/71%
The passages really threw me off on this one. Am I totally screwed?
If you were me would you work more on content review or more Kaplan section tests? I test on 9/12

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Maybe look over the ones you got wrong and see if it was b/c of not knowing content or b/c of the passages/graphs/etc?

 

[orgogogo]

Can someone explain the answer to the question on the CARS passage about metaphors - the one about "drives me around the bend"?

 

[TheDoctorist]

Sept 23.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to practice geometrical optics? I've been having some trouble understanding diffractions and things of that nature.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

First I went through it a bit via some prep book but it wasn't clicking really. Then I watched these Yale physics videos which were cool but didn't go over the basics enough. Then I talked with this guy I know who was taking physics this summer who is totally a natural teacher and things started to click and I at least figured out how to do Ray diagrams.

What finally helped it all come together was actually going through the optics chapter of Berkeley Review. It was laid out in a logical way and didn't just talk about shortcuts to memorize. I felt like I got the full picture but it was also probably putting together all those different sources.

Part of my issue was I took physics 3 years ago and had kind of an easy teacher so I never learned it all that well to begin with.

 

[drbeat14]

If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to practice geometrical optics? I've been having some trouble understanding diffractions and things of that nature.

One thing I would recommend doing, is comparing optics with the visual process and anatomy of the human eye. Draw Ray diagrams within the context, and consider how the Rays change with near and far sightedness and what kind of lens fixes each. Next, I would make a chart, there are only so many possibilities for the two types of lenses, and their combinations. You should know do, di, focal point, mag, what +/- means for each of these, for convex/converging lenses, concave/diverging lenses, and each of their bi-forms. Then when they are added up, you can just consider the Rays immediately before it. There will only be three ways per lens, and the one in the middle is straight across. I would also then review the two types of mirrors, and also make a chart/diagram, the difference of course being that they reflect rays back.

The hyper physics website has a vision section under their health related physics topics that I enjoyed.

Random fun point: Google why we cannot see underwater.

 

[drbeat14]

Oh and also real vs virtual images and upright vs inverted.

 

[Gibbward]

Just finished the aamc fl... I'm officially freaking out. 53%/83%/71%/71%
The passages really threw me off on this one. Am I totally screwed?
If you were me would you work more on content review or more Kaplan section tests? I test on 9/12

It all depends. Are your mistakes from just straight up not knowing the content? If so, do a quick content review and then do some practice passages. Practice is especially important for C/P just so you get used to knowing how to manipulate the information given to you.

 

[Dolly96]

Maybe look over the ones you got wrong and see if it was b/c of not knowing content or b/c of the passages/graphs/etc?

It all depends. Are your mistakes from just straight up not knowing the content? If so, do a quick content review and then do some practice passages. Practice is especially important for C/P just so you get used to knowing how to manipulate the information given to you.

I'm going through C/P now and I can't believe I'm still making such silly mistakes. Most of them are from not understanding the passage or what the question is really asking. I got stuck on some of the passages and spent too much time trying to understand the little details for "clues". My worst fear is running out of time with 2-3 passages left on C/P section on the real deal.

 

[Gibbward]

The chart you mentioned is one of the very first things I write down during the 10 minute "tutorial" before each test. Also good to note is that object distance is ALWAYS positive.

One thing I would recommend doing, is comparing optics with the visual process and anatomy of the human eye. Draw Ray diagrams within the context, and consider how the Rays change with near and far sightedness and what kind of lens fixes each. Next, I would make a chart, there are only so many possibilities for the two types of lenses, and their combinations. You should know do, di, focal point, mag, what +/- means for each of these, for convex/converging lenses, concave/diverging lenses, and each of their bi-forms. Then when they are added up, you can just consider the Rays immediately before it. There will only be three ways per lens, and the one in the middle is straight across. I would also then review the two types of mirrors, and also make a chart/diagram, the difference of course being that they reflect rays back.
.

 

[itsmemario]

The chart you mentioned is one of the very first things I write down during the 10 minute "tutorial" before each test. Also good to note is that object distance is ALWAYS positive.

TBR has excellent shortcuts for this section.

 

[medgirl1993]

Who here is testing on September 11!?

 

[medgirl1993]

The chart you mentioned is one of the very first things I write down during the 10 minute "tutorial" before each test. Also good to note is that object distance is ALWAYS positive.

What is this chart?

 

[medgirl1993]

What are you guys memorizing about the Amino Acids? I memorized all their structures and whether or not they're polar/np, sulfate containing, amides etc. What else should I know? Someone was saying to know the charges and pH/pKa but how do I know those?

 

[Gibbward]

I'm going through C/P now and I can't believe I'm still making such silly mistakes. Most of them are from not understanding the passage or what the question is really asking. I got stuck on some of the passages and spent too much time trying to understand the little details for "clues". My worst fear is running out of time with 2-3 passages left on C/P section on the real deal.

Well at least now you know what you need to work on! Just stick with understanding the general relationships of the different variables presented, and go from there. But yeah I feel you. The most important skill that I learned is to just mark a questions when I get stuck. It's just not worth wasting time on one question, when I could use that time on other questions that I'll be more confident in answering.

 

[El-Rami]

97% on Chemistry qpack b for an overall total of 93%. Is it just me, or was there barely any O-chem in the qpacks? All the O-chem I saw was ridiculously easy.

 

[El-Rami]

Can someone explain the answer to the question on the CARS passage about metaphors - the one about "drives me around the bend"?

For this one, I got it wrong. The answer is vehicle. You are being driven around the bend. Madness is driving you around the bend, therefore madness is a vehicle in which you are driving around the bend.

 

[PooshBag]

Anyone else feeling like they're forgetting everything the closer test day gets?

 

[Free411]

97% on Chemistry qpack b for an overall total of 93%. Is it just me, or was there barely any O-chem in the qpacks? All the O-chem I saw was ridiculously easy.

The real MCAT will probably be like that. No guarantees. I had minimal orgo on my exam and the little bit I had was so easy it was laughable.

 

[drbeat14]

What are you guys memorizing about the Amino Acids? I memorized all their structures and whether or not they're polar/np, sulfate containing, amides etc. What else should I know? Someone was saying to know the charges and pH/pKa but how do I know those?

Each (amino) acid has a pKa for the amino group, the acidic group, and all of them have one for their side chain, and they all have a pKa when their net charge is Zero because they have a negative charge on the acid and positive charge on the amino group at the same time, this pKa is the isoelectric point, pI. Online, you can fine each of these pKa values for each amino acid. It would be most important to know the pI. However, because, personally, I suck at memorizing numbers, I created an estimation system, and I will repost that image. Some people may want to memorize exact values, but at this time I use my own point value system because 1) I don't think it necessary to memorize several numbers, and 2) it helped me to understand the nature of amino acids.

Essentially what I did was assign an arbitrary point system to each molecule that may be present in amino acids. For example, I assigned 7 points to the 1st N that occurs in the side chain. This makes sense because that is going to make a more basic aa, and also N is atomic # 7, each additional N in the side chain only gets 1 extra point because it does not significantly effect the pKa of the side chain. Another example, I assigned any C in the side chain 1 point, because it is basically moving the side chain functional groups 1 more point up the pH scale, and therefore making it more basic. On the other hand, oxygen containing groups are going to make the aa side chain more acidic, so I assigned 3 points to OH, and 2 points (an even more acidic value!) to a -COOH group. In that case, that C has already been included in a functional group, and therefore I do not count it twice, only the C's outside of that functional group. For S, I gave it an arbitrary value of 7 points. I cannot chemically justify this choice, but perhaps someone else can, I simply chose it because it worked within my system.

For every amino acid, I assumed that the pKa of the amino group is somewhere around 9, and the carb acid group somewhere around 2. So that when I need to know the pKa of a side chain, and simply draw the structure and total points per molecule on the side chain. If I need to know the pI, I add that value to the appropriate corresponding pKa and I get a good estimation of the pI.

I know have all values for an amino acid and can know what the charge will be at a particular pH based on which pKa is nearest (below) that pH.

To me, this is is easier than memorizing 20 * 3 or 4 numbers.

However, there is only one amino acid that my point system does not work for, and I bet you can guess which one it is. Yep, histidine. As I have said before histidine is like a cat in that it "Hisses" at following rules, and therefore you will need to memorize that one. I will post the relative pictures that I drew further explaining my point system in the next post below.

 

[drbeat14]

The point system is outlined here with example. At the top is just a way to memorize the points-which takes nothing, as well as my own little chart of relative acidity of each major group as well as charge by H+ dissociation.

PS-Sorry about the Novel!

 

[Pediateix]

how many question packs do you do in a day ?

 

[El-Rami]

Anyone else feeling like they're forgetting everything the closer test day gets?

What I would do is briefly skim over high-yield topics, reinforce your memorization of formulas and chemical structures, and maybe do a quick pass through the solutions for qpack/OG/FL questions you missed. I know people say review everything, but chances are if you felt you knew something and got the answer right, looking at the correct answer solutions is pointless. I would look at right answer solutions for stuff you know you guessed on/felt on the fence about as well as wrong answers.

@Pediateix I am doing 2 question packs a day.

 

[medgirl1993]

Going through all the Khan biochem videos before test on Friday! Good source of review!

 

[Gibbward]

What is this chart?

I pretty much just list down what a (+) or (-) value would mean for do, di, and df of the lenses and mirrors. So for example, for converging lenses, I'd write down f=(+ always), i=(+ when image is on other side of lens)/(- when image is on the same side as object).

 

[medgirl1993]

So let me get this straight...an agonist causes action by mimicking the substrate, and an antagonist blocks the action? Or does the antagonist mimic?

 

[orgogogo]

An antagonist "mimics" the real substrate enough to be able to bind to the catalytic site, but is different in a relevant way (ex: missing a hydrolyzable group) that prevents the catalyzed reaction from occurring.

 

[howlcat]

@Free411 The current strategy that has been working for me with CARS has been to really read and understand everything in a passage..but a lot of testing companies say otherwise (ex. dont focus on details, just get the gist etc)- it works for me and I find that when I DONT read the passage thoroughly I end up making comprehension based mistakes (like on the AAMC question packs). However, though it works for me it takes up about 9-10 mins for a passage thats 6 questions long, and 10mins for 7 question passages. I was hoping to get some feedback for the actual MCAT- I hear its longer and there is more depth- is it worth keeping my thorough reading strategy? I'm worried that I may go over time..

 

[Free411]

@Free411 The current strategy that has been working for me with CARS has been to really read and understand everything in a passage..but a lot of testing companies say otherwise (ex. dont focus on details, just get the gist etc)- it works for me and I find that when I DONT read the passage thoroughly I end up making comprehension based mistakes (like on the AAMC question packs). However, though it works for me it takes up about 9-10 mins for a passage thats 6 questions long, and 10mins for 7 question passages. I was hoping to get some feedback for the actual MCAT- I hear its longer and there is more depth- is it worth keeping my thorough reading strategy? I'm worried that I may go over time..

Hello howlcat!

So, I took the 8/6/15 MCAT and I can say that the CARS passages were definitely much longer than any of Princeton Review passages and the practice AAMC exam. I've always considered myself a pretty quick/efficient reader so for the sciences I never read the passage from start to finish. I just read to pull information for specific questions. I scored very well on the sciences. Now for the CARS I used a similar reading strategy where I only skimmed the first paragraph and only read the first and last sentence of every paragraph in between to get a jist of the main points. Unfortunately, I only ended up scoring a 125 which is annoying considering I scored 48/53 on the AAMC exam two days before my test (timed conditions) and was scoring around 11s on the old exams with one 12. I feel like what got me is my strategy wasn't suited for the depth/length of the real passages, so I was missing out on a little too much during the real exam. I'm quite sure if I retook it I would score around 127/128. So, I would say if you're a relatively quick reader, then keep your strategy. As far as how difficult the passages are to actually comprehend, I didn't think they were bad at all actually. But I read a ton, so I really didn't find any MCAT passage "hard" to read. I think you'll be find if you either cut that time down by a minute or if you keep that rate, but make sure you are really solid on game day and know by the last passage you will be down to the wire and might have to guess on a couple questions.

Also, b/c I was studying for this exam over 2 months and hadn't taken physiology, sociology, no psychology since freshman year, and was weak in physics, I definitely spent much more time on the science sections than CARS and it reflected in my score. Since I like to read I kind of took this section for granted. Reading a lot helps but you really just have to know how to take this section. My problem is I understand the mechanics of this section, but I'm prone to second guessing/overthinking and unlike the sciences, in CARS, I can't just use pure logic to figure out the answer. So, all in all, just make sure that whatever CARS strategy you use, you have nailed it down so well that you stay calm on game day. Don't go into that section without a sound strategy. It's too tricky for that.

I'm hoping my strong science scores and strong PS can help show that CARS was more of a fluke situation for me.

 

[TheAnonymous]

interesting that one of the passages from the AAMC FL was actually from AAMC 3 ... which I think is more than 10 years old ......

 

[medgirl1993]

interesting that one of the passages from the AAMC FL was actually from AAMC 3 ... which I think is more than 10 years old ......

I saw that, too! seriously it's as if they put in ZERO effort. Everyone complained that the FL was nothing like the real test anyway. I honestly dont think any prep companies are on par with the new exam either smh. Are you testing on friday?

 

[TheAnonymous]

I saw that, too! seriously it's as if they put in ZERO effort. Everyone complained that the FL was nothing like the real test anyway. I honestly dont think any prep companies are on par with the new exam either smh. Are you testing on friday?

Saturday

 

[medgirl1993]

Saturday

Lucky lol. I'd do anything for the extra day. I'm Friday. I've pushed my test so much and wasted so much money postponing it out of fear

 

[jimmypod]

Lucky lol. I'd do anything for the extra day. I'm Friday. I've pushed my test so much and wasted so much money postponing it out of fear

I feel that... I postposed my test a little over a week for over a hundred dollars just so that I could have that much more time to study... What is this logic.

 

[TheDoctorist]

Hey @Free411 how fast were you reading the passages for the FL (if you read normally- not skimming)?
it takes me on average about 4-5 minutes to read and comprehend each passage..

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Lucky lol. I'd do anything for the extra day. I'm Friday. I've pushed my test so much and wasted so much money postponing it out of fear

You are not alone! At this point I could have taken the June test I originally had, voided it, and signed up for this Saturday and still spent less :/
I wish I had just decided back in March that I wouldn't take it until September, then I would have felt like I had time to methodically go over all the content. Instead it's been in these 1-month bursts of cramming. Blech.

 

[medgirl1993]

You are not alone! At this point I could have taken the June test I originally had, voided it, and signed up for this Saturday and still spent less :/
I wish I had just decided back in March that I wouldn't take it until September, then I would have felt like I had time to methodically go over all the content. Instead it's been in these 1-month bursts of cramming. Blech.

OMG YESSSS! THIS IS MY LIFE! When is your test date?

 

[Free411]

Hey @Free411 how fast were you reading the passages for the FL (if you read normally- not skimming)?
it takes me on average about 4-5 minutes to read and comprehend each passage..

Hi!

If you mean for the sciences, then I never read any passage straight through. (My average time per passage was about 4-5 minutes)

If you mean for CARS, then I would say it might take me about 2-3 minutes to get through a typical MCAT passage. That's without skimming. I just naturally tend to search for the main idea sentence aggressively and ignore the details or pay minimal attention to them.

I would say at 4-5 minutes you're fine if you are answering the questions quickly or with confidence. If, though, that's your rate and you're overthinking questions (something I'm definitely prone to) you might want to increase your rate, so you don't get behind on the real thing. As a heads up, the passages on the real thing are much longer than the practice AAMC. At least mine were, you might get lucky.

 

[itsmemario]

Hi!

If you mean for the sciences, then I never read any passage straight through. (My average time per passage was about 4-5 minutes)

If you mean for CARS, then I would say it might take me about 2-3 minutes to get through a typical MCAT passage. That's without skimming. I just naturally tend to search for the main idea sentence aggressively and ignore the details or pay minimal attention to them.

I would say at 4-5 minutes you're fine if you are answering the questions quickly or with confidence. If, though, that's your rate and you're overthinking questions (something I'm definitely prone to) you might want to increase your rate, so you don't get behind on the real thing. As a heads up, the passages on the real thing are much longer than the practice AAMC. At least mine were, you might get lucky.

Thanks for all your comments! Just wondering, how much harder/longer did you find the real test CARS vs the practice FL? I was able to complete the practice FL CARS with 20 mins to spare and scored 85%.

 

[itsmemario]

I had over 30 minutes left in the fl and on the real thing I used the full amount without going back through to double check. I don't think they're longer (diff screen resolution makes them look longer) but they were more complicated.

I see. Was your score comparable to the FL? Thanks for your help!