The Coveted 15 Club

[Jon Davis]

Hey Everyone. If you're one of those people who got a crazy score of a 14-15 in a section, post what you did to study for it (somewhat like the 30+ Thread).
Different techniques may help since we would have enough time to incorporate them into our study regimen.

Jon Davis.

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[ncoffey]

I obtained a 15 in physical sciences. (11 in the other two, and R.) I have a math degree with a physics minor and I'm nearing the end of an electrical engineering degree. (In Newfoundland, Canada)

My studying consisted first of reading through the biology section of a Kaplan book over the fall of '04. That school term got VERY busy (engineering project course required being at school for 36+ hours on several occasions and took up 80% of my time) and so I didn't do much of anything until it was over in December. I didn't like the Kaplan book so I ordered the Exam Krackers books and Audio Osmosis and the rest of my overall studying was from those. At the end of December I started studying Orgo like mad because I was taking the second course in Organic Chem. (I'd taken the first 5 years ago) Over the term I listened to Audio Osmosis twice (mostly while shovelling snow) and went through all of the Exam Krackers books. I also took AAMC practice tests 3-7 over a couple of months before the exam.

I think that beyond about 10 it becomes less about knowing more material or knowing the material better, and starts really being about how clearly you are thinking and whether or not you let anything get to you. There are questions on there that are deceptively complicated, and appear as if you may need a Ph.D. in a subject to understand it. This is never really the case, and anything on the MCAT can be solved using relatively basic knowledge. There's a specific example I would LOVE to give you, but I guess I'm not supposed to. All that being said, missing a few questions because you don't know some specific detail could immediately drop you to the 12-13 area. (This, however, is exactly the wrong way to think while writing)

I suppose I should also mention that I finish every section about 20 minutes early. For phys and bio I reviewed a few very specific questions and fixed my answers because I was ABSOLUTELY sure that I had them incorrect. I didn't do this for verbal because that section doesn't lend itself to that kind of review.

Finally I'd suggest reading a few books in the months before the MCAT to give yourself something to relate the writing section topics to. I read Dante's Divine Comedy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a book on writing well, by William Zinsser (audiobook from iTunes store, the book doesn't really apply to the MCAT because you're not writing as maybe you normally would want to but for how the markers may want you to), and I also studied The Art Of War, by Sun Tzu. (A must for any premed or other human being in any kind of competitive situation) Many people may suggest not doing much of anything for the writing section but I would try to spend some time on it because if you write a coherent essay and can relate your topic to something you have studied before then you'll likely feel better when you're writing the biology section.

Work hard in the months leading up to the exam, but not too hard. You don't want to be burned out when you write it. (Being burned out just when you finish the biology section is your goal) Each person has to figure out what they need to study and how to do this for themselves, because we all come from different backgrounds. Good luck.

 

[Wrigleyville]

It was probably the brutal chemistry and physics classes I had to take as a chemistry major. It gets to the point where you recognize what concept they want to test you on before you even finish reading the question, or you are already quite familiar with the subject of the reading passage they give you. I had one passage on the Haber synthesis, something I knew all about from my MANY chemistry classes. I barely had to read the passage at all to answer the questions.

But to be honest, I think what separates the very high scores from the high scores is only a couple of questions here and there. I'm not sure "study habits" will get you those extra questions...

 

[Neurolemma]

It was probably the brutal chemistry and physics classes I had to take as a chemistry major. It gets to the point where you recognize what concept they want to test you on before you even finish reading the question, or you are already quite familiar with the subject of the reading passage they give you. I had one passage on the Haber synthesis, something I knew all about from my MANY chemistry classes. I barely had to read the passage at all to answer the questions.

But to be honest, I think what separates the very high scores from the high scores is only a couple of questions here and there. I'm not sure "study habits" will get you those extra questions...

Nice score there. I, too, am a chem major - actually biochem - so I'll get the pchem & analytical. I'm gonna take the intermediate inorganic as well. Seeing how these benefited you tremendously, I feel that much more confident about my own future MCAT score. I was wondering though, when you took pchem, did you take the calculus-based or the normal one? The math doesn't bug me; my lab instructor said a lot of ppl avoid the B.S. in chem just to avoid pchem (wasn't sure what to make of that, when chem seems so straightforward). The entire sequence is 1 yr; which is great; I imagine thats the path you went. And what, if any, physics classes did you take beyond physics II? Did you take thermodynamics as well? Thanks for letting me know.

 

[Kazema]

I think that beyond about 10 it becomes less about knowing more material or knowing the material better, and starts really being about how clearly you are thinking and whether or not you let anything get to you. There are questions on there that are deceptively complicated, and appear as if you may need a Ph.D. in a subject to understand it. This is never really the case, and anything on the MCAT can be solved using relatively basic knowledge. There's a specific example I would LOVE to give you, but I guess I'm not supposed to. All that being said, missing a few questions because you don't know some specific detail could immediately drop you to the 12-13 area. (This, however, is exactly the wrong way to think while writing)

I suppose I should also mention that I finish every section about 20 minutes early. For phys and bio I reviewed a few very specific questions and fixed my answers because I was ABSOLUTELY sure that I had them incorrect. I didn't do this for verbal because that section doesn't lend itself to that kind of review.

I agree very strongly with both these statements. Beyond a certain level of knowledge I really think it's more about understanding how to approach the questions, how sharp your mind is that day, and how quickly you can get through the test without making errors. Usually most of the information will be in the passage or will be infer-able from the passage; and I remember a question on my PS where a specific formula seemed to be needed but the problem could be solved (much more quickly!) without using the formula and instead just thinking about the units. I remember PS in general being littered with these types of traps - you think you need to use a formula and make calculations but you really don't.

The benefit of being able to finish quickly is self-explanatory; the more quickly you go, the less stressed you feel, and the more time you have to check over your answers at the end. Also, if you can comprehend everything on the first pass I think that's the best - a lot of times the more you read the more confused you feel and the more agitated you get.

Actually for me I always do review Verbal. On test day I actually changed 2 or 3 of my answers after finishing and going over the section. But who knows whether that made the difference between a 13 and a 14 or a 14 and a 15? I'm not gonna complain .

 

[lundysd]

I was lucky enough to receive a 15 in PS (39S overall) in April. Unfortunately there isn't a really clear cut answer as to how to score above 12; I took over 10 practice tests (Kaplan and AAMC), and I was maxing out at 13. After taking the real thing, I knew I had done well in PS (expecially because it was a brutal PS section), but I thought I had gotten another 13 or so. The great (but also not so great) thing about those scores is that often the jump to 15 is only a few questions, and I guess I had a good (and lucky) day for my 15.

Believe it or not, I feel much stronger in Biological sciences, although I only scores an 11 here. I think this is because I am an engineer and I have had so much quantitative material that physics and chemistry are simply ingrained, whereas biological sciences is more about knowledge.

To get high scores in PS: the best thing to do is work problems. I took all the topical tests Kaplan offered (a GREAT resource), as well as some supplemental stuff here and there. If you read your review books, study the material, and practice the problems, you can get a 12 fairly consistently. I honestly don't feel like I ever mastered all the topics in PS (solution chem, electrochem were my weaknesses), but I practiced and practiced until I felt like I could almost guess the answer on some problems without crunching the numbers.

Sorry this was longwinded and generic, but the short is that there is no way to consistently get 14/15 on any section no matter how gifted you are. Shoot for the 12 and 13 and on a good day you can get 14 and 15. I suggest using the day or two before the test day to pray for this more than anything

 

[murphomatic]

The great (but also not so great) thing about those scores is that often the jump to 15 is only a few questions, and I guess I had a good (and lucky) day for my 15.

Yea I got a 14 and it kills me to think that I could have had a 15 if I could remember wheteher Boyle's law is PV=PV or V/T=V/T or P/T=P/T. I mean isn't knowing PV=nRT enough. I can't belive they asked the actual name of an equation. But I digress. As stated above I think doing very well on any section of the test is realizing that the science that they are asking is always very basicf, they just try to make it seem more complicated than it really is. Just don't let yourself get rattled.

 

[ultimateend]

I got a 14B and 13P.

For the biology, I would say that your undergrad classes are very important. Physiology is a must. I have no idea why they say that one year of general biology is enough for the mcat other than to get underprepared people to set the curve lower. I also took cell bio, biochem 1 and 2, and genetics. As for studying, use the EK books.

On the physical science section I read and reread and rereread the EK books. I never was confident with answering chem questions so I did thousands of them. That goes for physics as well. Since it is the first section, make sure you don't freak out and take practice tests that start at 8am! I thought I slept through the whole section. Thankfully, I guess well while dreaming.

 

[tigress]

Okay, so I didn't get a 14 or 15 in anything, but I got a 13 in VR so I thought I'd post (and I felt like I might have gotten a 15, but I suppose I must have missed 2 or 3 questions). I actually didn't study for the VR more than doing a few passages every week and reviewing the answers, plus of course doing the VR sections on the full-length tests and reviewing those answers. But I think I did well because I read all the time. When I'm not doing something else I'm busy reading. I read the New York Times every day, I read the New Yorker, Scientific American, etc. In a vacation week I can easily read 11 books in a week, because I just don't stop (even to the detriment of my sleep schedule). And these books are mostly non-fiction, though I read some fiction as well.

So to do better on VR, I suggest reading everything you come across. And don't just read it, but think about it. If you are planning on taking the test in a year or more, start reading now! Also, force yourself to read things you might not think you're interested in (you might be surprised, and it will help you learn to pay attention to "boring" stuff for the MCAT).

As far as the suggestion above that a score above 10 is mostly how you take the test, I have to disagree. In BS, for example, I received a 12, but I believe that was mostly because I knew the bio forwards and backwards. The orgo, on the other hand, I was a lot less confident about. So I may have taken the bio sections of the test at a 15 level, but the orgo sections at about a 10 level, so overall I received a 12. The issue here is that two subjects are tested in each science section. Perhaps I "took the test" differently for bio and orgo because I was less confident about the orgo, which I suppose would support the above statement.

Anyway, I have to agree about not freaking out at PS. I'm starting to think I didn't do as well on it simply because I was nervous. It's hard not to be, though.

 

[trishaaa]

Congrats to all of you high scorers!

If we happen to end up at the same school, I'm going to seek you out and study for the boards with you!

 

[QofQuimica]

I scored two 14s and one 15 (in BS.) I'd say that excellent test-taking skills is key to scoring in that range. You can't learn everything in any field of science, even if you do have a PhD in a subject, but if you are systematic and analytical in how you approach problems in every section, you will be able to solve problems on topics you haven't ever seen before.

 

[isabelle18]

I got 14 in verbal (not as good as a 15) and R in writing. I was in ESL in High School, and when I came to the US 7 years ago I did not speak any English. I guess what really helped me is that I love reading. I think that what really matters is that you love reading what you are reading. I did not prepare by reading complicated scientific magazines. Rather, I read fiction (yeap, even Harry Potter). This might not actually help everybody, but I say it for two reasons.
1. I think that for all of those who still have one year until they take the MCAT, if they start reading NOW and become avid readers, the verbal part will be extremely easy (or at least easier)
2. Those that are not native speakers should not despair or lose hope. It can really be done, just keep trying and reading and loving what you do.
Good luck to everyone taking the MCAT in the near future.

 

[Kazema]

I got 14 in verbal (not as good as a 15) and R in writing. I was in ESL in High School, and when I came to the US 7 years ago I did not speak any English.

Wow. I'm very impressed.

 

[aliendroid]

14 PS and 13 BS

You have to learn everything you can, then learn all the MCAT tricks. You have to know how to see things from different angles and pay attention to the details. I'm really fast, so when I do problems I mark ones that I think may be tricking me and I go back later. I finishied the PS with 25min to spare, I finished the BS right before the 45 min warning and the verbal with 5 min to spare.

 

[Medikit]

Wow. I'm very impressed.

Seriously.

 

[isabelle18]

Wow. I'm very impressed.

Thanks Kazema

 

[cyanutopia]

I took Kaplan and got PS=15, BS=14, V=11, Writing=P (groan) for a 40P. To study for the science sections, about a month and a half before the test, I started to get serious about studying. First, I wrote out a schedule (that I made myself stick to religiously) that basically had me reviewing about 3 or 4 chapters of Kaplan material daily. When I say reviewing, I don't mean just reading---I mean that when I was reading the material, I was writing and making a review packet for myself. I also made sure that my notes for any one chapter was not more than 1 page written so that I knew I was focusing on the big picture rather than details. On these review packets, I mostly wrote down formulas and other things that were frequently asked and easily forgotten such as hormones, embryology, etc.

But the most important thing I did was repetition---everyday before I started the new chapters, I talked myself through (as if I was teaching myself) my all of my old review notes and made sure all of it was committed to memory. Although it seems like it would take a long time, the more you review the material, the faster you can talk through it. You should get to the point where the material has burrowed into your mind and it's so easy it's boring. This lets you focus more on taking the test and reasoning through the answer choices than wondering "hmm...I remember this...but I don't."

I made it a point not to study more than 3 hours a day for MCAT and did not schedule any studies on Saturday (Kaplan test day) or Sunday. BREAKS ARE IMPORTANT, take 15 minutes of break time for every 30 minutes of studying. Also, I made sure to get a good night's sleep every night to let my brain digest the day's material.

My schedule was such that I had 2 weeks left before test day when I finished all my review material. With the remaining two weeks, I did switched off between doing half-length verbal sections and a science section. On the days that I did verbal, I would review all of my science notes (took 45 minutes?) The week before test day, I took a verbal section on monday, PS on Tuesday, and BS on Wednesday. Thursday I once again reviewed all my notes and Friday I shot pool with some friends and went out for dinner.

By the time Saturday rolled around, MCAT was old hat and I was actually excited to take it because I wouldn't have to study the boring material anymore.

Oh, and make sure to take your practice tests seriously. A bunch of my friends and I would have friendly competitions about who would get the best score on their Kaplan diags---I think it really helped all of us (three people in my group got 39's, two got 37's). With your Sundays, go back over your practice test and figure out if what you missed was a stupid mistake (misbubble, forgot to read a "not" or something) or if you genuinely had no clue on the problem, then make a note of it and make sure to study that section again.

Please don't forget that the MCAT is a reasoning test...most of the answers are not from what you knew coming into the test but what is given right in front of you in the passage. Take advantage of it.

Best of luck.

Tim

 

[ncoffey]

Oh, and make sure to take your practice tests seriously. A bunch of my friends and I would have friendly competitions about who would get the best score on their Kaplan diags---I think it really helped all of us (three people in my group got 39's, two got 37's). With your Sundays, go back over your practice test and figure out if what you missed was a stupid mistake (misbubble, forgot to read a "not" or something) or if you genuinely had no clue on the problem, then make a note of it and make sure to study that section again.

I did the same thing with the practice tests. I'd take one on saturday just like I would on test day, and then reviewed my answers on sunday to see what I should be studying. I think it was a good way to focus what I should be studying on. I know a few topics (electrochem, say) that I studied because of those mistakes helped me get the 15.

 

[lundysd]

In the 2 weeks before the test, I would take a practice on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday. I would review the answers and corrections on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and I would get Friday off I would HIGHLY recommend this method -- I felt ready to go on testday.

Keep in mind this was done with a full-time job and a full courseload; the time is there, you just have to maximize it.

Good luck everyone!

 

[speranza]

In the 2 weeks before the test, I would take a practice on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday. I would review the answers and corrections on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and I would get Friday off I would HIGHLY recommend this method -- I felt ready to go on testday.

Keep in mind this was done with a full-time job and a full courseload; the time is there, you just have to maximize it.

Good luck everyone!

You took an entire full length test with a full time job and full courseload during the week? I mean, I have a full-time job now, and I doubt I could that during the weekdays. I'm impressed.

 

[lundysd]

No I took 3 full lengths a week with a job One on Sat, one on Mon, and one on Wed. It's really not that bad, since you can take a section early before class, one during the afternoon, and one late at night for a full test (not counting writing here). My job was also flexible with hours (it's research), so for those 2 weeks I probably didn't quite hit the usual 30 or so hours.

 

[cyanutopia]

You Scot...I mean "sir" are crazy. 3 full lengths a week? CRRRRAZY.

 

[lundysd]

It was the only way I could even come close to your king kong score my friend

 

[OwnageMobile]

15 in PS and 13 in BS. As mentioned, I took lots of practice tests (but only trusted the AAMC ones and studied what I missed. I never got a 15 on any section before but did get close with the 14. I've got a "natural" understanding of physics and simply studied all the biology redundantly a few times. I studied with my TPR class for 2 months but merely went to class and skimmed the material. I cramed for 3 weeks before the test and took my last practice test 2 days before the real thing. I'm a crammer.
Personally I think the dificulty of the PS in the april exam was key in the generous PS curve and hense, my score.

Just study what you miss on the practice tests, and learn to avoid being tricked or making stupid mistakes like misreading questions. And if you are a crammer, yes, it can be done.

 

[jmnykrkts]

I got a 14B and 13P.

For the biology, I would say that your undergrad classes are very important. Physiology is a must. I have no idea why they say that one year of general biology is enough for the mcat other than to get underprepared people to set the curve lower. I also took cell bio, biochem 1 and 2, and genetics. As for studying, use the EK books.

On the physical science section I read and reread and rereread the EK books. I never was confident with answering chem questions so I did thousands of them. That goes for physics as well. Since it is the first section, make sure you don't freak out and take practice tests that start at 8am! I thought I slept through the whole section. Thankfully, I guess well while dreaming.

ultimateend, your avatar is weirding me out, big time. I really really hope that turtle is not what it appears to be