The Official 3/24 2012 MCAT Thread

[doctor712]

I'm registered, 8am. Will be on the 4 month S2N study plan, all materials in hand. This is a retake for me.

Good luck all.

D712

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[gdortega]

AAMC 10 - 35
AAMC 11- 32

Actual - 34Q

I remember reading the forums frequently before my test date and it seemed that the consensus was the real test is much harder than the AAMC practice tests. I felt like they were very similar in difficulty to the actual test. I would say, if your taking the practice tests under real test conditions, then you'll probably score very close to your average. Unless you get major test anxiety....then you're probably in for some trouble. Stay calm and remember to let a question go if it's taking your valuable time.

 

[GoBriightly]

AAMC 10- 31 (10/11/10)
AAMC 11- didn't actually take the full test, just the PS section and got an 8

Actual- 33Q (11/11/11)

I also didn't really take the AAMC tests under test conditions (poor choice!), so I don't know how reliable my scores are.

 

[evolvex]

AAMC 10 - 35
AAMC 11- 32

Actual - 34Q

I remember reading the forums frequently before my test date and it seemed that the consensus was the real test is much harder than the AAMC practice tests. I felt like they were very similar in difficulty to the actual test. I would say, if your taking the practice tests under real test conditions, then you'll probably score very close to your average. Unless you get major test anxiety....then you're probably in for some trouble. Stay calm and remember to let a question go if it's taking your valuable time.

was BS similar to 11? Did you score better on BS in 11 or on the real deal.

 

[gdortega]

was BS similar to 11? Did you score better on BS in 11 or on the real deal.

The BS section was similar in format and I did better on the real deal.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

was there a lot of orgo on yalls test?

 

[ljc]

was there a lot of orgo on yalls test?

Almost none. 1 passage and maybe 2-3 discretes.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Almost none. 1 passage and maybe 2-3 discretes.

interesting, thanks.

 

[Temperature101]

interesting, thanks.

We have no way of knowing if future BS in the MCAT wont have that much organic. Other people that took this year said they have two passages of organic plus a few discretes...We shouldn't take any chances.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

We have no way of knowing if future BS in the MCAT wont have that much organic. Other people that took this year said they have two passages of organic plus a few discretes...We shouldn't take any chances.

I don't disagree, but I don't think study too much organic is high yield, I've gone through EK a couple of times and do pretty well on the FL tests. Hell half the time it's just reading the passage and you can get the answers.

 

[Corithane]

Ditto. Albeit 26 isn't superb, it's not atrocious either. Posts like these have zero constructive value at all.

 

[premedandproud]

AAMC Range: 37-42
AAMC Average: 40
3/24 Actual: 39

So I'd say the AAMC scores were very predictive.

 

[evolvex]

AAMC Range: 37-42
AAMC Average: 40
3/24 Actual: 39

So I'd say the AAMC scores were very predictive.

aamc 11 vs your test?

 

[premedandproud]

My AAMC 11 was a 41.

 

[typicalindian]

My AAMC 11 was a 41.

wtf? nice job man! You definitely deserved your score.

 

[premedandproud]

wtf? nice job man! You definitely deserved your score.

Thank you!

 

[blargy]

Verbal Section
AAMC 9: 12 (36/40 correct, overall: 13PS,12BS)
AAMC 10: 14 (39/40, overall: N/A)
AAMC 11: 13 (37/40, overall: N/A)
Actual (3/24): 12BS,14VR,12PS

60 min, 40 q's, 7 passages --> *8 min/passage

I'm posting this to give my take on the verbal reasoning section. I didn't take a prep class, so I'm not exactly sure what their prescribed approach is. However, I do believe that the best way to improve your VR score is to read (trite, I know). More concretely, I bought a kindle and set about reading a couple of books (good reads if I do say so myself: Martin's A Game of Thrones, Isaacson's Steve Jobs) in the month before my test date. If nothing else, reading lenthier texts should improve your concentration so that you don't drift off while slogging through an especially dry passage. Make sure to pick exciting works! That way, you can think of it as a break from your studying.

At the same time, I'd obviously recommend taking all the official practice exams under real test conditions. For the verbal section, I committed a couple of things to memory: number of passages (7) and average time permitted for each (~8.5 min/passage). *I gave myself 8 whole minutes per passage (to read it carefully and attempt the questions), which allowed me 4 minutes (not much, but still significant) at the end to quickly review marked or incomplete questions.

Also, I took some sample verbal sections from The Berkeley Review, which kicked my as*, but they honed my sense of timing when working through a particularly difficult passage.

Finally, I'd say the AAMC tests were a good predictor of performance on the real deal (avg. 11-13 on the science sections & 12-14 on the verbal).

In summary, my (probably unoriginal) verbal theory is eBooks + AAMC + TBR = good VR score.

Good luck!

 

[pr2]

I'm going to provide my 2-cents as well, echoing blargy.

My advice: review content diligently, but keep in mind that content is only about 50% of the battle. You need to be able to take those concepts and recognize their application in often ambiguously worded questions. For that, you almost HAVE to take an AAMC practice exam.

In my opinion, when it comes to the sciences, the best thing one can have is research experience. I especially noticed with the BS section that the MCAT is really becoming more research oriented, with many of the passages coming straight out of recent journal publications (you can even see the citations at the bottom of the passages in the actual test). Solid research experience prepares you to make connections between different concepts and to correlate macroscopic observations with microscopic phenomena.

All in all, I felt just as horrible as anyone right after taking it. But you just have to stick with it and trust your gut. If anything, the MCAT is just that: a test of scientific instinct.

Cheers.

 

[premedandproud]

In my opinion, when it comes to the sciences, the best thing one can have is research experience. I especially noticed with the BS section that the MCAT is really becoming more research oriented, with many of the passages coming straight out of recent journal publications (you can even see the citations at the bottom of the passages in the actual test). Solid research experience prepares you to make connections between different concepts and to correlate macroscopic observations with microscopic phenomena.

Completely agree. Comfort with primary literature is a huge asset in the BS section.

 

[impact2d]

I'm going to provide my 2-cents as well, echoing blargy.

My advice: review content diligently, but keep in mind that content is only about 50% of the battle. You need to be able to take those concepts and recognize their application in often ambiguously worded questions. For that, you almost HAVE to take an AAMC practice exam.

In my opinion, when it comes to the sciences, the best thing one can have is research experience. I especially noticed with the BS section that the MCAT is really becoming more research oriented, with many of the passages coming straight out of recent journal publications (you can even see the citations at the bottom of the passages in the actual test). Solid research experience prepares you to make connections between different concepts and to correlate macroscopic observations with microscopic phenomena.

All in all, I felt just as horrible as anyone right after taking it. But you just have to stick with it and trust your gut. If anything, the MCAT is just that: a test of scientific instinct.

Cheers.

Any idea where one can find relevant free/open source journal articles?

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Any idea where one can find relevant free/open source journal articles?

nature, cell, science

 

[BurntFlower]

Let's just say, there's going to be some massive celebration tonight

What was your score? And congrats!

 

[pr2]

nature, cell, science

Be forewarned thought that just casually reading papers for a few months won't get someone the progress that he or she may desire (assuming that is one's timeframe).

It really takes a considerable amount of time and work to get used to thinking like a researcher, and one of the biggest factors is accepting ambiguity where you need to. That's where most MCAT takers tend to trip up: they fall for the more specific answer while glossing over the more ambiguous, yet ultimately correct, answer choices.

But yes, Nature, Cell, and Science do provide excellent articles. Also just casually go through PubMed; they often publish interesting findings for free via their PMC free-access database.

 

[pr2]

What was your score? And congrats!

Thanks . I am very happy with my score. I tend to not post my exact numbers for privacy reasons, but I did score fairly close to my AAMC average.

 

[EnginrTheFuture]

Did they post a scale?

Is it similar to AAMCs?

 

[jlescher]

No scales. Raw scores will forever be a mystery.