The Official 01/28/2012 MCAT Club

[Sutton]

.Test Date.: Saturday, January 28, 2012
.Exam Start Time.: 1 p.m.
.Registration Opens.: October 12, 2011
...Tentative.. Score Release Date.: February 28, 2012
.After 5 p.m. ET.

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[JRTennis19]

Not to be a pessimist but anyone sign up for a re-take and/or start to study for another exam? I signed up for an exam in April and am thinking about starting to hit the books again. But the thought of doing this thing all over again makes me cringe.

 

[iceman132]

What were you getting on the AAMCs? Do you feel like you did that badly?

 

[JRTennis19]

My range was 31 - 36 on the AAMC's with an average of 32.75. I felt that PS and Verbal were ok but Bio was rough.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

Haha jrtennis I feel the same except I though bs and vr were good and ps was rough. I had the exact same AAMC average though. I can't bring myself to study again though and shell out 250 bucks without knowing my score. And I don't feel horrible about the test just uneasy as most do.

 

[Ssina]

Not to be a pessimist but anyone sign up for a re-take and/or start to study for another exam? I signed up for an exam in April and am thinking about starting to hit the books again. But the thought of doing this thing all over again makes me cringe.

i was thinking of doing the same... every horoscope I check it pretty much says EMBRACE YOURSELF so maybe i should! I don't even believe in that ****, a "friend" thought it'll be a good joke.... well it's gettin into me now

 

[iceman132]

up?)

 

[TinaBina22]

Not to be a pessimist but anyone sign up for a re-take and/or start to study for another exam? I signed up for an exam in April and am thinking about starting to hit the books again. But the thought of doing this thing all over again makes me cringe.

This happened to me too. I was getting 30-35 AAMC scores but I panicked and bombed the MCAT. So I signed up for the one in April too. Although, I'm currently too depressed to study. It really sucks, I studied for 8-9 hours a day, sacrificed everything, just so I could do well on this test. And I didn't. I wonder if I'll ever be happy again - or even able to study for this again, because quite frankly, I don't know how to bounce back from something so devastating

That's all.

 

[iceman132]

30-35 is not a bad score

 

[TinaBina22]

Not to make you relive it but can you describe what happened in more detail? 30-35 is not a bad score

I read through the thread and I saw that you got anxiety attacks. Were you not able to get to certain passages? Or did things just not connect like on the practice tests?

I was working through passages, and there'd be some questions that I didn't know. This would happen on the practice tests too, but I would always be able to just skip it, come back, and do it. But after I skipped a couple on the real MCAT, I just started panicking - "I don't know questions on the real MCAT." And when I panic, I can't think. So as I'd continue, I couldn't think. Then more and more questions would accumulate. Which, like a negative feedback mechanism, made me even more anxious, and less able to think.

It got to the point where I'd look at a passage, and not be able to read it - because I had forgotten how to read. None of the words made sense, so I'd panic even more. I just guessed for at least two passages. I had nightmares like this, so at first I thought I was dreaming - that I'd wake up, and it'd be the day of. But then I realized it wasn't a dream, which really freaked me out more.

Verbal and Bio are my best - I never got below a 10 for VR, and the only BS/VR questions I ever missed were careless errors. But PS depressed me sooo much, that my VR score suffered. Then I was so depressed about screwing up my BEST section, that I screwed up BS too. It was brutal. I'm still not over it.

 

[Maxine450]

Not to be a pessimist but anyone sign up for a re-take and/or start to study for another exam? I signed up for an exam in April and am thinking about starting to hit the books again. But the thought of doing this thing all over again makes me cringe.

Yeah, it certainly crossed my mind. I'm not sure what to do, to be honest. What if What if. It's driving me mad. If only we just got the stupid scores earlier. I don't give a **** about my WS.

 

[angldrps]

Not to be a pessimist but anyone sign up for a re-take and/or start to study for another exam? I signed up for an exam in April and am thinking about starting to hit the books again. But the thought of doing this thing all over again makes me cringe.

i won't be able to sign up even if i wanted to because every single date available so far is full in the entire state of California. i swear, there must be the most amount of pre-meds living here than anywhere else in the country.

 

[JohnSnow]

Has anybody noticed how there is like 4 times the activity on this thread compared to the 1/27 exam thread? Was their exam that hard that everybody has just lost hope?

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

Lol I noticed that too. I feel like this tread became the January test thread though.

 

[Pisiform]

I am from 27th and I am having nightmares literally. Hope the curve make up for that but it's hard to stay calm ...

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Most of the Jan. 27th test takers (myself included) are still curled up in the fetal position....

 

[iceman132]

Make sure to wooozahhh the next time

 

[premedicine555]

I was working through passages, and there'd be some questions that I didn't know. This would happen on the practice tests too, but I would always be able to just skip it, come back, and do it. But after I skipped a couple on the real MCAT, I just started panicking - "I don't know questions on the real MCAT." And when I panic, I can't think. So as I'd continue, I couldn't think. Then more and more questions would accumulate. Which, like a negative feedback mechanism, made me even more anxious, and less able to think.

I'm scared now. This is what happens to me.. I start panicking if I don't understand a problem because of the wording.. then after I calm I'm like "Ahhh, that's what they're asking". As a usually nervous person, I feel like come MCAT day, I'll be x100000 nervous... ANY advice on those who already took it on how I should calm myself/be more confident?

 

[andrewsmack05]

I can't even think about the test now, I have so much engineering homework my mind is numb to the mcat.

 

[ravin66]

I was able to finish each section and come back to recalculate or rethink my answers.

Ps- ehhh the only passage that trip me was the one with the whales and bats.

Vr- all passages were boring but I was able to answer most of the questions.

Ws- the prompts were very revelant to my classes, so I was lucky

Bs- a majority of the questions involved interpreting a graph or figure. Not that bad but some question I had to guess upon.

Overall, the test wasn't that bad, I've been prepping for it since last August. I felt ready going into the test center and great walking out. I pretty much wiped the sweat off my head and sang to Kpop on my way home.

- applying to podiatry school

 

[Mountaineer12]

I'm scared now. This is what happens to me.. I start panicking if I don't understand a problem because of the wording.. then after I calm I'm like "Ahhh, that's what they're asking". As a usually nervous person, I feel like come MCAT day, I'll be x100000 nervous... ANY advice on those who already took it on how I should calm myself/be more confident?

I think you just need remind yourself that you can do this. Remember doing well on practice tests and stuff like that and convince yourself if you don't know a few questions it isn't going to stop you from becoming a doctor. Just do your best and then move on and forget about it.

I can't even think about the test now, I have so much engineering homework my mind is numb to the mcat.

That's how I feel with anatomy. It's kind of nice having a distraction from worrying about scores though.

 

[TheBoss88]

I was able to finish each section and come back to recalculate or rethink my answers.

Ps- ehhh the only passage that trip me was the one with the whales and bats.

Vr- all passages were boring but I was able to answer most of the questions.

Ws- the prompts were very revelant to my classes, so I was lucky

Bs- a majority of the questions involved interpreting a graph or figure. Not that bad but some question I had to guess upon.

Overall, the test wasn't that bad, I've been prepping for it since last August. I felt ready going into the test center and great walking out. I pretty much wiped the sweat off my head and sang to Kpop on my way home.

- applying to podiatry school

For PS, That passage was the only one that made sense to me. The funny thing is that you could have answered every question without even reading the passage as they were completely unrelated. First couple passages were easy which made me feel pretty good. Unfortunately, I neglected to study mechanical advantage.

Verbal Passage: I remember the one with people using cameras in paintings (passage 2 I think), the one about gangs (only interesting one)

 

[ridethecliche]

This happened to me too. I was getting 30-35 AAMC scores but I panicked and bombed the MCAT. So I signed up for the one in April too. Although, I'm currently too depressed to study. It really sucks, I studied for 8-9 hours a day, sacrificed everything, just so I could do well on this test. And I didn't. I wonder if I'll ever be happy again - or even able to study for this again, because quite frankly, I don't know how to bounce back from something so devastating

That's all.

Calm down.

It's just a test. You didn't sacrifice everything. And you have no idea how you did yet.

 

[surfdr]

Has anybody noticed how there is like 4 times the activity on this thread compared to the 1/27 exam thread? Was their exam that hard that everybody has just lost hope?

I bet they all do better than us.

Out of curiosity, I logged on to this thread, and the first thing I noticed was the activity (20k vs. 5k). I took it on the 27th, and yeah I thought is was tough, mainly the PS section. All we can do is wait...

 

[ravin66]

For PS, That passage was the only one that made sense to me. The funny thing is that you could have answered every question without even reading the passage as they were completely unrelated. First couple passages were easy which made me feel pretty good. Unfortunately, I neglected to study mechanical advantage.

Verbal Passage: I remember the one with people using cameras in paintings (passage 2 I think), the one about gangs (only interesting one)

Yea i couldn't think how to answer the question about whales diving under the sea. I am a biochemistry major so I love chemistry and physics... but that damn whale question has been bothering me since I finished the exam lol.

I did not like any of the passages in verbal reasoning. Ha Ha... I probably spent the entire hour to answer the questions in verbal reasoning. Educated guessing every question is a good sign!

 

[aspiringmed]

I've been quietly refreshing this thread daily since the 1/28 test...and finally decided I'd share how I felt about it.

This is my 2nd time taking it, so I definitely felt a lot more pressure going in...I knew I couldn't screw up this one the way I did my first attempt. I also absolutely do not want to retake it again...mostly because studying for the MCAT is the most brutal thing!!!

I felt a lot more nervous than I did the first time...probably due to the increased pressure from myself, as well as family, and friends. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking from the PS section all the way to VR..it only calmed down slightly when I got to BS

I thought PS was the most difficult section out of the entire test. It was calculation heavy in my opinion (but apparently a lot of people in this thread disagree...which leads me to be seriously worried). I'm also not the fastest or the strongest at math, so that may also be why I felt that way. I finished just in time...but I didn't really do the last passage thoroughly..I just briefly skimmed it and then picked the answer choices that I felt were appealing lol. I'm predicting that I got a 9, but hoping for a 10 in this section.

VR had some wtf passages. I definitely did not get the first 2 passages like everybody else...every question had at least 2 answer choices that looked equally correct. So let's hope luck was on my side for those questions The rest of the passages were okay, but all of them were EXTREMELY LONG. What is up with that??? I felt like I did okay overall for this section, but VR is always a crapshoot so we'll see. I finished with 2 minutes to spare. Hoping for a 10.

BS had some pseudo-discretes as well as discretes that definitely required outside knowledge. I felt like I must have gotten some of those wrong because there were a few I wasn't really sure on. The passages were all relatively easy to tackle-- like everybody else said, it just required some analysis and not much outside information. I finished right on time. Hoping for at least a 11

Overall, I felt like the test was fair, but definitely not "easy." There were a lot of content tested that I never practiced much on, so I think that coupled with my anxiety/nervousness did not help me attack the questions in the most clear-headed and efficient manner. I REALLY hope that did not affect my performance too much.

I just want a 30+ so I can put this nightmare behind me...Feb 28th could not come fast enough!

 

[iceman132]

What'd you get on the AAMCs.

 

[Amba]

Yea i couldn't think how to answer the question about whales diving under the sea. I am a biochemistry major so I love chemistry and physics... but that damn whale question has been bothering me since I finished the exam lol.

I did not like any of the passages in verbal reasoning. Ha Ha... I probably spent the entire hour to answer the questions in verbal reasoning. Educated guessing every question is a good sign!

I used to suck at fluids, so I read through that TBR chapter probably 6 or 7 times. Definitely came in handy on the whale problem

However, I did screw up one mechanical advantage problem (gahhhh stupid mistake, didn't really think) and I also struggled for 7 minutes on one very basic, introductory physics question. Ended up guessing...two nights later, I'm trying to fall asleep and solve it with no problem in my head

 

[angldrps]

did anyone else also find the last PS passage to be most difficult? i was running out of time and had to guess more than i like.

 

[CodeRedDew]

did anyone else also find the last PS passage to be most difficult? i was running out of time and had to guess more than i like.

I found that one to be difficult and also the one that was about different machines. I'm sure the questions would have been easier if I would've known a little more about mechanical advantage/machines and that other non-sense

I wish we would have had more Gen Chem. There were hardly ANY Gen Chem. passages, the test was flooded with physics gahhhhh!!

 

[CodeRedDew]

Oh and about the idea of this thread having way more activity than the 1/27/2012 one. Maybe it was because more people took the 1/28/2012 one, given the fact that it was on a Saturday where no one has classes vs. 8AM on a Friday where some students have classes. I don't know, just a guess really?

 

[aspiringmed]

What'd you get on the AAMCs. I completely agree with you on the PS.

I got an average of 32 for the AAMC tests, with a 10-11 for PS on most tests.

 

[angldrps]

Oh and about the idea of this thread having way more activity than the 1/27/2012 one. Maybe it was because more people took the 1/28/2012 one, given the fact that it was on a Saturday where no one has classes vs. 8AM on a Friday where some students have classes. I don't know, just a guess really?

good point but according to the mcat registration site, all seats were taken.

 

[angldrps]

do you guys think there could have been multiple versions of the test given on the 28th? there are things that people are mentioning on here that i am not sure i had on my test, but my memory is also starting to be bit fuzzy with each passing day.

 

[CodeRedDew]

do you guys think there could have been multiple versions of the test given on the 28th? there are things that people are mentioning on here that i am not sure i had on my test, but my memory is also starting to be bit fuzzy with each passing day.

Probably just fuzzy memory, because everything that people have mentioned on this forum was on my test.

 

[andrewsmack05]

do you guys think there could have been multiple versions of the test given on the 28th? there are things that people are mentioning on here that i am not sure i had on my test, but my memory is also starting to be bit fuzzy with each passing day.

This is the intent of the test makers I believe. They want to make it hard enough so you dont remember much.

 

[GreenKitsune]

I'm scared now. This is what happens to me.. I start panicking if I don't understand a problem because of the wording.. then after I calm I'm like "Ahhh, that's what they're asking". As a usually nervous person, I feel like come MCAT day, I'll be x100000 nervous... ANY advice on those who already took it on how I should calm myself/be more confident?

I just told myself that I know more than I think I do. During the actual test I just told myself that I wouldn't be seeing this score for another month or so and to just do my best with the weirdness and difficulty of the test. I also listened to "Dirty Diana" and "I'm bad" by Michael Jackson before my test (1/27)

 

[iceman132]

19 days left!!

 

[IH8ColdWeath3r]

Guys, don't post specifics about exam topics. Everyone is making references to mechanical advantage and fluids. You signed an agreement stating that you would not reproduce any of the exam topics in person or on the net. Believe me, I'd like to talk and discuss with everyone what questions I had trouble with and know whether or not I got them wrong but it would be foolish. The AAMC monitors this site regularly and they can and will investigate (judging by the email they sent everyone). JUST SAYING.

 

[CaribbeanBlue]

I'm from the Jan 27th realm. I sorta just gave up talking about it or thinking about it until today. I am just hoping to break a 30.

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

.... The topics we mentioned can be found in the official Mcat guide by AAMC in what topics may be tested on the real test nothing special was stated

 

[yellowfish]

I was working through passages, and there'd be some questions that I didn't know. This would happen on the practice tests too, but I would always be able to just skip it, come back, and do it. But after I skipped a couple on the real MCAT, I just started panicking - "I don't know questions on the real MCAT." And when I panic, I can't think. So as I'd continue, I couldn't think. Then more and more questions would accumulate. Which, like a negative feedback mechanism, made me even more anxious, and less able to think.

It got to the point where I'd look at a passage, and not be able to read it - because I had forgotten how to read. None of the words made sense, so I'd panic even more. I just guessed for at least two passages. I had nightmares like this, so at first I thought I was dreaming - that I'd wake up, and it'd be the day of. But then I realized it wasn't a dream, which really freaked me out more.

Verbal and Bio are my best - I never got below a 10 for VR, and the only BS/VR questions I ever missed were careless errors. But PS depressed me sooo much, that my VR score suffered. Then I was so depressed about screwing up my BEST section, that I screwed up BS too. It was brutal. I'm still not over it.

I know LOTS of prep companies encourage people to skip around, but I honestly think it's detrimental. It really takes away from your focus, especially during the actual MCAT, and makes you constantly wonder in the back of your mind "should I skip this question?" rather than allowing you to focus completely on the question for the minute that you have. I would suggest at least trying without "giving yourself the option" of skipping questions and instead of leaving it blank, just select what you feel is the best answer and mark it. Then come back to it after you've finished the test. This exact strategy might not be the best for you but try a variation along those lines, it may help you focus better.

Also, if you were aware that it was that brutal, why didn't you consider voiding the exam?

I'm scared now. This is what happens to me.. I start panicking if I don't understand a problem because of the wording.. then after I calm I'm like "Ahhh, that's what they're asking". As a usually nervous person, I feel like come MCAT day, I'll be x100000 nervous... ANY advice on those who already took it on how I should calm myself/be more confident?

Everyone gets nervous, so know you're not alone! If it's any consolation, when I took the MCAT, I thought in the back of my head "look, if it goes that bad, I'm just going to void this test and walk out." Other than that, just focus on the task at hand rather than what the task means. I'm a really calm person by nature, and excel in testing environments, so I don't know if this advice is any help. I guess it sums up what I consider to be some important points.

 

[iceman132]

Someone posted on the MD thread that he was scoring a 33 on the practice and got a 23 on the real thing.

Those stories scare me.

 

[yellowfish]

Focus on the stories of people who were scoring 25s on the practice exams and ended up with a 35 on the real thing xD

 

[IrishCogs]

When MCAT scores are released, do they send everyone an email? I know you can continue to log in but just wondering if there is any formal notification?

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

When MCAT scores are released, do they send everyone an email? I know you can continue to log in but just wondering if there is any formal notification?

I don't believe this was the case when I took it last year. Just log on to SDN. When you see users browsing MCAT prep forum shoot from 100 to over 300, you'll know that scores were released.

 

[iceman132]

17 days left!!!

 

[andrewsmack05]

To the TOP! 15 days people!

 

[iceman132]

What time do the scores usually come out? Anyone know?

 

[GrabSlamBoot]

After 5 is what it says on AAMC

 

[mmckuin]

Hey,

I take my MCAT in april, and have been reading how hard the BS section was on your guys test. Had a few questions:
1) What was hard about this section?
2) Seeing how this section has developed into a harder section than previous years, what can I do now while I have some time to help me on this section?

Please let me know. THANKS!