MCAT Thread

[Lifeincali]

.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[brood910]

I will just join you even tho I started the thread for 9/12.
I already did a very light content review as I originally planned to take it on 5/30.. But I slacked off + cudnt do what I planned to do bc of school.

 

[brood910]

Until 7/1, do a lot of TPRH PASSAGES on [REVIEW DAYS]
Do DISCRETES on [FL DAYS]
READ AT LEAST ONE ARTICLE + DO ONE VR PASSAGE PER DAY
5/10: Review AAMC#3 + Bio 7
5/11: Review AAMC#3 + Bio 7
5/12: Orgo
5/13: Orgo
5/14: Bio 8 + Orgo
5/15: Bio + Orgo Review
5/16: Ch. 1~2
5/17: Ch. 1~2 REVIEW
5/18: Ch. 3~4 BS
5/19: Ch. 3~4 PS
5/20: Review Ch. 3~4
5/21: Ch. 5~6 PS
5/22: Ch. 5~6 BS
5/23: Review Ch. 5~6
5/24: Ch. 7~8 PS
5/25: Ch. 7~8 BS
5/26: Review Ch. 7~8
5/27: Ch. 9~10 PS
5/28: Ch. 9~10 BS
5/29: Review Ch. 9~10 + Review equations
5/30: MCAT
5/31: Kaplan FL#1 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/1: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
6/2: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
6/3: Kaplan FL#2 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/4: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
6/5: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
6/6: Kaplan FL#3 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/7: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
6/8: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
6/9: Kaplan FL#4 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/10: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
6/11: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
6/12: Kaplan FL#5 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/13: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
6/14: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
6/15: Kaplan FL#6 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/16: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
6/17: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
6/18: Kaplan FL#7 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/19: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
6/20: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
6/21: Kaplan FL#8 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/22: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
6/23: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
6/24: Kaplan FL#9 + TPRH DISCRETES
6/25: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
6/26: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
6/27: Ch. 9~10 + MAKE UP
6/28: Ch. 9~10 + MAKE UP
6/29: REVIEW WEAKNESSES + MAKE UP
6/30: REVIEW WEAKNESSES + MAKE UP
7/1: REVIEW WEAKNESSES + MAKE UP
7/2: REVIEW WEAKNESSES + MAKE UP
START DOING TBR PASSAGES
7/3: GS#1+ TPRH DISCRETES
7/4: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
7/5: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
7/6: GS#2 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/7: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
7/8: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
7/9: GS#3 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/10: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
7/11: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
7/12: GS#4 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/13: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
7/14: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
7/15: GS#5 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/16: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
7/17: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
7/18: GS#6 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/19: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
7/20: Review FL + Ch. 1~2
7/21: AAMC#4 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/22: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
7/23: Review FL + Ch. 3~4
7/24: GS#7 + TPRH DISCRETES
7/25: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
7/26: Review FL + Ch. 5~6
7/27: MCAT.org BS
7/28: MCAT.org BS
7/29: MCAT.org BS
7/30: MCAT.org PS
7/31: MCAT.org PS
8/1: MCAT.org PS
8/2: TPRH Diagnostic + TPRH DISCRETES
8/3: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
8/4: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
8/5: BS ASSESSMENT
8/6: BS ASSESSMENT Review
8/7: PS ASSESSMENT
8/8: PS ASSESSMENT Review
8/9: VR ASSESSMENT (Print version)
8/10: VR ASSESSMENT Review
8/11: AAMC#5 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/12: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
8/13: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
START STUDYING YOUR BUTT OFF
8/14: GS#8 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/15: Review FL + Ch. 1~3
8/16: Review FL + Ch. 1~3
8/17: AAMC#6 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/18: Review FL + Ch. 4~6
8/19: Review FL + Ch. 4~6
8/20: AAMC#7 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/21: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
8/22: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
8/23: GS#9 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/24: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
8/25: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
8/26: AAMC#11 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/27: Review FL + Ch. 1~3
8/28: Review FL + Ch. 1~3
8/29: GS#10 + TPRH DISCRETES
8/30: Review FL + Ch. 4~6
8/31: Review FL + Ch. 4~6
9/1: AAMC#8 + TPRH DISCRETES
9/2: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
9/3: Review FL + Ch. 7~8
9/4: AAMC#9 + TPRH DISCRETES
9/5: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
9/6: Review FL + Ch. 9~10
9/7: AAMC#10 + TPRH DISCRETES
9/8: Review FL
9/9: Review FL
9/10: EQUATIONS
9/12: MCAT

--------------------------------------------

Note:
I already read the books once + took concise notes on them, so It wont take me a long time to do the content review..

 

[CaptainQ]

I'm joining the 9/7 army.
Had some content review before. But will start with content. I will try to post my progress everyday to keep myself motivated. Let me know if this will annoy anyone.

 

[CaptainQ]

5/14 TBR physics 8+9 review

 

[CaptainQ]

5/15 TBR gchem 1+2 review
Planned to finish 3, but just too much stuff.
I tend to fall behind my schedule. It's probably because I overestimate my attention span. I am not as efficient as I thought.

 

[brood910]

Slacked off today, and didnt finish what I wanted to finish lol.
But I think I will be able to catch up tmr as I already have very concise notes.

 

[CaptainQ]

5/16 TBR gchem 3 review
Too tired. Hope I can catch up tomorrow.

 

[otsoa93]

Hey guys! I;m new here but I am also taking it on September 7th! No one has posted in a while, but hopefully it will start again.

Do you guys have any recs on the Physical sciences section? I am having a lot of trouble with that section. Tips on: how to get faster doing passages, or scoring higher? I am getting really frustrated.

Thanks!

 

[trishaaah]

Hey guys! I'm taking this thing on the 7th, too. Anyone else doing the SN2ed 4-month plan? I started May 13. Still doing content review/answering passages. Going relatively okay, but kind of discouraged by Berkeley Review passages!

 

[3655]

What I do is that I supplement my reading with watching videos online, I watch videos first and then read the chp afterwards...it helps me out.

 

[elusiveCHILD]

I'm between this date or 8/28th but I will probably take it this date. Started off with Orgo I...seemed like reviewing took forever. Hopefully will do some questions later on tonight. Tomorrow G. Chem. hopefully. I wanted to start my content review by reviewing on subjects I loathe and OChem lol was the number one topic. Hope everyone is hanging in there!!!

 

[Mimi77]

Hi Everyone,

I'll be joining you all taking the MCAT on September 7th! I took the TPR Hyperlearning online class and just reviewing content now. Will start taking the practice tests soon. Hope the studying is going well for all of you.

 

[otsoa93]

How is everyone doing so far?

 

[t0ny]

Just switched from August 22nd to September 7th. Gotta go big or go home for the studying and decided what's another 2 weeks of my life if it is to get a better score. Where is everyone at so far in their studying?

 

[FeinMS]

I was looking for this and i was never able to find this!! Good luck everyone. A month left! Doing practice tests so far. Did aamc 3 and 4

 

[Field87ven]

Hey all! I took the August 2nd MCAT and signed up for a retake in case I don't hit that 10 in VR. Working on brushing up some minor weaknesses in the sciences but other than that I'll be focusing hardcore on my VR!

I've still got:

3BR tests
1 AAMC FL -> #10

Thinking of buying some GS full lengths to keep my sciences up!

Good luck to everyone =).

 

[t0ny]

Hey guys, was wondering what you think about this plan:

I have gone over all my Bio review and physics review as well as chem review. All I have left is orgo review which shouldn't be a problem since I've taken Organic 1,2,3 and 4. I was going to start my practice AAMC exams next week, you guys think this is a bad idea? Should I start doing them now?

Let me know!

 

[Field87ven]

If you feel comfortable with your review, you should start the practice tests ASAP. The last thing you want to do is cram a bunch of AAMC's in the last minute and burn out.

Take one and see where you stand!

 

[t0ny]

Perfect idea, I'll do one on Saturday at 1 pm. Any suggestions on which to start with? I have em all

 

[FeinMS]

Finish all AAMC before you take your test. If you have more time, incorporate other FL by non-AAMC

 

[Field87ven]

Perfect idea, I'll do one on Saturday at 1 pm. Any suggestions on which to start with? I have em all

Do AAMC 3 and finish them in order. You'll want to save 9, 10, and 11 because they are the most representative of the real thing. The PS seems to be the same throughout most of the later AAMC's, but the bio changes from factual knowledge to being able to read an experiment and figure out what it means.

The verbal is about the same on all the exams no matter which AAMC you use.

 

[summergirl]

I signed up for the same date as my last year's MCAT. I ended up voiding last year but I'm hoping this year will be better .

So how's everyone else doing?

 

[Jorge1626]

Hey all, just wondering if people have been doing the kaplan section tests for PS and BS. I have been getting anywhere from 45-80% on these, which I personally find odd. The percentages also are not scaled to a score out of 15, so I am just curious to see how easy/hard people find these to be compared to kaplan full lengths and aamc's respectively since september 7th is fast approaching.

 

[FeinMS]

Kaplan section tests are a bit harder. I'm scoring consistent 13 on AAMC BS/PS (AAMC 3,4,5,7), but Kaplan PS average is 80% (N=5) and BS avg is 86% (N=4)

 

[t0ny]

Well I've done aamc 4 (11-9-10) and aamc 5 (11-8-11). Cracked 30 at least on my first two practices but still not satisfied at all. I need to step up my verbal game.

I'm getting almost of 100 percent on the gen chem sections which is good at least but the physics waves is killing me. How are you all doing so far on practice tests?

 

[summergirl]

Well I've done aamc 4 (11-9-10) and aamc 5 (11-8-11). Cracked 30 at least on my first two practices but still not satisfied at all. I need to step up my verbal game.

I'm getting almost of 100 percent on the gen chem sections which is good at least but the physics waves is killing me. How are you all doing so far on practice tests?

I'm in a similar situation with verbal....it just simply refuses to improve

 

[chocolateislife]

Hey all! I took the August 2nd MCAT and signed up for a retake in case I don't hit that 10 in VR. Working on brushing up some minor weaknesses in the sciences but other than that I'll be focusing hardcore on my VR!

I've still got:

3BR tests
1 AAMC FL -> #10

Thinking of buying some GS full lengths to keep my sciences up!

Good luck to everyone =).

take the GS 7-10. The GS full lengths for sciences before that are much easier than the AAMCs , kaplan, etc

 

[FeinMS]

Looks like not a lot of people on SDN are taking the MCAT on this date? lol

Who here are taking 1pm tests?

 

[t0ny]

I'm taking the 1pm test. No way my brain functions optimally at 8 am lll

 

[BossAndroid]

Haha for this test date I thought there only was a 1 PM.. i think the day is either a 1 PM or a 8AM/2PM. How's everyone's progress coming along?? I'm taking it again so I had already taken all the AAMC FL's, n I'm retaking them to get back into the groove/practice, but my scores are obviously inflated. I'm gonna do the Self-Assessments so I get some fresh AAMC questions!

Any tips for timing? For example I see some posts where people claim to finish PS 15-20 minutes early??! I'm always taking it to the wire.. I recently started writing down intervals on my paper like 56..49..42..35..28.. etc.. I do all the discretes first

 

[FeinMS]

Haha for this test date I thought there only was a 1 PM.. i think the day is either a 1 PM or a 8AM/2PM. How's everyone's progress coming along?? I'm taking it again so I had already taken all the AAMC FL's, n I'm retaking them to get back into the groove/practice, but my scores are obviously inflated. I'm gonna do the Self-Assessments so I get some fresh AAMC questions!

Any tips for timing? For example I see some posts where people claim to finish PS 15-20 minutes early??! I'm always taking it to the wire.. I recently started writing down intervals on my paper like 56..49..42..35..28.. etc.. I do all the discretes first

Know your content inside out. That will most help in reducing timing issue!

 

[BossAndroid]

No doubt about that.. I am working on that as well. Sometimes I just have a hard time moving on, and I think to myself to double check my answers. This really screwed me on my last MCAT, where I had to blindly-guess on 1-2 passages EACH section, and even left some blank. I did alright though, but I know I can do better. Any more timing strategies?

Edit: How long do you all take on discretes? I hit them first and take about 10-15 minutes on them and then move on. And how much time do you all take per passage?

 

[t0ny]

I haven't actually tried doing the discrete questions first and then starting the passages, I always just trucked along as it came at me, but I seem to always be left down to the wire and cut it close with time. Anyone think this is a good method or simply move along as regular.

I'm trying my luck on another AAMC tomorrow, I've been doing them in order so I think I'm at 7 now. The only thing bothering me slightly is that I haven't even opened any books for organic nor done any practice because I've taken Organic 1-2-3 and 4 so I felt like that would have been a waste of time to study those. Is this a bad idea?

 

[FeinMS]

I say each discrete question should take less than a minute or around a minute if you know your stuff inside out.

 

[BossAndroid]

csdamin- Good point. You're right about that. Considering that there are 13 discretes, I should definitely be done with those with 56 minutes to spare. I do my discretes first as a warm-up of sorts. I've always done it that way.. I can't change now haha. Do you finish with time to spare csdamin? And how do you deal with tough questions, marking them, and returning to them? I didn't hit my mark on my last real MCAT because I marked the questions and didn't even guess.... so I literally left a handful blank on PS and BS.. Terrible.. I know.

 

[FeinMS]

I just took AAMC 9 today and finished first go-through of BS with about 30 minutes left. Then I reviewed for another 20 minutes, ended the section around 10 minute mark. This is the largest number of extra minute during my AAMC practice.

I deal with tough questions by marking and returning to them. Before marking I would get rid of as many choices as possible. When I return to them, I take a deep breath, stretch around without moving too much. I carefully read the question over, make sure that my eliminations are reasonable, and debate which of the left over choices are better ones by reading over the passage. Again, this is possible because I finish with extra time and only mark 2-3 questions.

A lot of people who finished early on their AAMC practices say that they finished ON time during real MCAT. So I think it wouldn't hurt to try to go faster without losing accuracy.

 

[Jorge1626]

How is everyone doing? Trying to break 30. Just got rocked by AAMC 7 verbal (10-6-10), despite having gotten upwards of 9 on verbal AAMC 3-5 sections. Do people try to get to every question?Or just get through 6 out of the 7 verbal passages and get most of them correct before guessing on the remaining 5-6 questions? Perhaps picking which to do first and last helps people?

Open to suggestions!

 

[FeinMS]

I had a drop in AAMC 7 VR too. I scored 10 on 3,4,5 then down to 9 on AAMC7 and to 8 on AAMC 8. It went back up to 10 on AAMC9. I just try all the questions because there's no guarantee that I will get most of the questions on a passage right if I spend more time on it. Also, some hard passages might have easy questions and some easy passages might have hard questions.

I know I'm not an appropriate person to give advice in VR, but what helped me is to read slower to fully understand the passage, this makes solving questions faster. Also taking a break for a deep breath inbetween passages. Not looking at the time as often. Time pressure is a big factor for me that slows my understanding.

 

[t0ny]

Well, did AAMC 7 today and not sure exactly how to feel about the results. I got a alright score but verbal just got me upset because all my 50/50 guesses ended up being wrong. I ended up with a 31 (11/8/12) and could have easily gotten a 13 on BS considering I made the dumbest mistake on one of the discretes, but I guess that can occur on the real test too.

Going to take my next AAMC (9) on Thursday and practice up on my verbal and exocrine bio until then. What are you guys all doing with the next coming days? How are your AAMC scores looking thus far?

 

[FeinMS]

Less than 2 weeks left, and I still don't have a grasp of VR. I'm doing VR Self Assessment and AAMC 10 and 11, final go through of everything for the rest of the time.
I scored one point lower than usual on AAMC7, I think it was hard. So far:
AAMC 3 - 13/10/13
AAMC 4R - 13/10/13
AAMC 5R - 13/10/13
AAMC 7 - 13/9/13
AAMC 8 - 14/8/14
AAMC 9 - 15/10/14

Ugh if I can get 11 or 12 on VR in the real thing..

 

[summergirl]

Did you guys feel that AAMC 7's PS was particularily calculation intensive and the VR was particularily long? I did not finish the PS on time, which NEVER happens to me on Kaplan's CBTs or AAMC stuff (n=15ish). And I was very rushed at the end of verbal, while I always finish verbal with a couple of minutes to spare. The rush at the end of verbal really costed me. I got like 2 wrong on the first 4 passages and 16 wrong on the last 5...

 

[t0ny]

For some reason its always the opposite for me. I always get 80% of my mistakes on the first 3 passages of VR... I feel like its a common occurrence that I need to find a solution for.

 

[FeinMS]

For some reason its always the opposite for me. I always get 80% of my mistakes on the first 3 passages of VR... I feel like its a common occurrence that I need to find a solution for.

Maybe your mind needs time to switch gears to reading intensive mode? Take a good break before the VR and inbetwen the psgs.

Edit: or probably because first few passages are usually humanities passages in my opinion.

 

[t0ny]

Yehh both of those could be a possibility. I'll try the big break between PS and VR. I haven't really taken the full 10 minutes yet actually, usually just 4 minutes then go time.

 

[FeinMS]

Yup get some glucose but not too much, stretch your body, etc

 

[Jorge1626]

AAMC 3: 7-8-10
AAMC 4: 12-9-9
AAMC 5: 10-8-10
AAMC 7: 10-6-10
AAMC 8: 10-7-10

Anyone experiencing this verbal trend? I seem to either understand the group of passages or understand almost none of them... would love to remedy it before next Saturday.

 

[FeinMS]

Yeah I had VR drops on AAMC 7 and 8. It went back up on AAMC 9. The reason is probably either that they were harder or that I didn't drink coffee before taking 7,8 lol. Probably the former.

Verbal is my problem too. I'm focusing to do only AAMC verbal until the D-Day. I got AAMC 11 and VR self assessment at my disposal.

 

[summergirl]

AAMC 3: 7-8-10
AAMC 4: 12-9-9
AAMC 5: 10-8-10
AAMC 7: 10-6-10
AAMC 8: 10-7-10

Anyone experiencing this verbal trend? I seem to either understand the group of passages or understand almost none of them... would love to remedy it before next Saturday.

I didn't do AAMC8, but my AAMC7 verbal was lower than my average by 1-2 points.

 

[summergirl]

Just did AAMC9 --> 11/11/12. PS was lower than expected (avg 12-13). VR is slightly above average (avg 10), which I'm super happy about. BS is exactly my average, but I'm a little dissapointed because I got a 14 on BS last time... Oh well, overall I'm considering this test a success due to the slight improvement in VR, despite having an overall score that's lower than my average