The Official April 2016 MCAT Thread

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
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drbeat14

drbeat14

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April Fool's you're taking the MCAT! Worst prank ever?! No really, as a serial delayer, I absolutely must take this thing on this day before application submissions this upcoming cycle in 2016. So I thought I would go ahead and start the official thread. Never to early to start an official support/study group.
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Congratulations to all the April 1st exam takers who received the score they desired!! To the ones who did not DO NOT GIVE UP!! Believe in yourself!! Praying we (the April 23rd exam takers) receive our scores as early as you all did.
 
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Hey guys congrats on you guys scores. How did you guys study for CARS what was most helpful. English is my second language and I just find it very difficult to do well on CARS. Besides reading is not just my thing. Is there anyone here who struggled with CARS and ended up doing great! What were your strategies. I would greatly appreciate your inputs.
 
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YoungDoc25 said:
Everything I've seen on DO schools is that a 505+ makes you competitive for most of them. As long as your ECs are solid, apply broadly and you'll find a home!

You could always submit with that score and retake it still. If you feel like you could significantly improve, it's definitely an option.
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Thanks for your help!
 
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Hi Guys,
I got a 509 ( 129,125, 128,127)
Have a 3.9, Hispanic, and great letters/extracurriculars.
Should I retake because of CARS?
Would a July MCAT delay my application?
Would I get screened out of schools because of my 125 CARS before they receive my updated MCAT?
Thanks!
 
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Kaplan Practice after content review (4 weeks before test day) 504
AAMC Practice 1 week before test day 512
Official MCAT 516 (95%)

127/130/129/130

I'm very happy with this score!
 
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Don't give up guys--I would say the scores from practice materials are not representative of the real scores! Just keep pushing. It was hell but worth it
 
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BeerHelpsMeStudy said:
Not by any means looking at the glass as half empty. I'm just reflecting on the heavy sampling bias..
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Ah. I guess its due to the fact that people in this thread are better prepared than the average test taker by a long shot. Knowing what to study, pacing, hours committed etc.
 
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Hope everyone is happy with their results, and if not don't give up!

515: 129 C/P, 126 CARS, 131 B/BC, 129 P/S
 
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ElApacheNess said:
Hi Guys,
I got a 509 ( 129,125, 128,127)
Have a 3.9, Hispanic, and great letters/extracurriculars.
Should I retake because of CARS?
Would a July MCAT delay my application?
Would I get screened out of schools because of my 125 CARS before they receive my updated MCAT?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

You shouldn't get screened out. I wouldn't retake it unless you think you can get a 516 or above realistically speaking. CARS is the most difficult subject to improve on but it looks like if you retake, most of your points should come from there.
 
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509 (126, 125, 131, 127)

Not sure what to make of this since CARS is right at the 125 mark.

On the fence about a retake because of the CARS score, but I recall @Goro saying total score and B/B scores are looked highly upon.
 
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Congrats on the scores guys! For those that want to retake, is anyone doing it to get into a top school?
 
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Longtime lurker here, but I figured it would be helpful to post some more anecdotal data about prep material performance in relation to a final score. The table by mcatjelly and xenith was super helpful for this, both when studying before the test and afterwards when consoling myself during the month-long wait. I'm not sure whether the google doc is still active, but if anybody gives me the word I'll definitely add my info there!

I used Kaplan books but didn't do the practice tests because they felt too difficult/unrepresentative (like C/P needed a calculator on many problems). Started reading P/S over winter break (my weakest subject) then B/B over January and February (biochem review was good but physio review was not worth). Skimmed C/P book over a few days in March (my strongest subject, minus optics) and didn't read the CARS book.

AAMC B/B Section Bank: 83% [1 month before]
AAMC C/P Section Bank: 83% [1 month before]
AAMC P/S Section Bank: 71% [2 weeks before, basically reread Kaplan P/S after this]

EK FL1: 86%/75%/88%/75% [taken in pieces 1-2 weeks before]
EK FL2: 68%/60%/75%/83% [taken in pieces 1-2 weeks before]

AAMC Sample: 93%/91%/98%/86% [5 days before]
AAMC FL1: 521 (131/129/132/129) [3 days before]

Real Deal: 521 (132/129/130/130)

Real thing felt harder than the scored FL on all sections. Ran into time trouble on CARS and finished the last 3 passages in 15 minutes, which shook me up, but still got out well!
 
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Actually, maybe the best part of doing the well on the MCAT is I plan on tutoring for one of the prep companies and making bank $$$$$$
 
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Yorick said:
Actually, maybe the best part of doing the well on the MCAT is I plan on tutoring for one of the prep companies and making bank $$$$$$
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Do they make good money?? Gosh those videos would be cake to produce. Not sure I could sell all of that BS about eating right to get to a decent score though lol.
 
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RN MD 2017 said:
Do they make good money?? Gosh those videos would be cake to produce. Not sure I could sell all of that BS about eating right to get to a decent score though lol.
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For how much the companies charge I have to assume they make decent money. And I can't imagine it's that hard. I'm hoping I can do this too to help offset the cost of applying.
 
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Yorick said:
Actually, maybe the best part of doing the well on the MCAT is I plan on tutoring for one of the prep companies and making bank $$$$$$
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Go freelance instead. These companies charge up to $175/hour for their students, but you only get paid in the ballpark of $30/hour. You could easily garner $75/hour if you take time marketing yourself as a freelance.
 
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salemstein said:
Go freelance instead. These companies charge up to $175/hour for their students, but you only get paid in the ballpark of $30/hour. You could easily garner $75/hour if you take time marketing yourself as a freelance.
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That's a really good idea, just market to all the pre-med clubs at your university. I just think it might be harder to get credibility than going through a company. I wonder how much that Jack Westin guy is making now, I wish I was a beast at CARS like him haha.
 
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Jesus Christ, I hate the "what are my chances if I have a 4.0, with 528 MCAT, two years as an EMT, with 2 publications while majoring in biomedical engineering at MIT"
 
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exposedbrickcampaign said:
Jesus Christ, I hate the "what are my chances if I have a 4.0, with 528 MCAT, two years as an EMT, with 2 publications while majoring in biomedical engineering at MIT"
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Lol yes!! Can't believe adcoms even give advice to these people. If you're smart enough to do that well, you're smart enough to know where to go.
 
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Hey everybody, I just had a question regarding the AAMC sample test. What did you use in regards to coming up with a particular score. I saw the method by mcatjelly, but was unsure of whether this was relatively accurate or not. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
 
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Brah of Science said:
Hey everybody, I just had a question regarding the AAMC sample test. What did you use in regards to coming up with a particular score. I saw the method by mcatjelly, but was unsure of whether this was relatively accurate or not. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Statistics say, add 3 points to the scored. Add 11 points to Kaplan exams. I also remember a linear correlation for the unscored.
 
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Brah of Science said:
Hey everybody, I just had a question regarding the AAMC sample test. What did you use in regards to coming up with a particular score. I saw the method by mcatjelly, but was unsure of whether this was relatively accurate or not. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
Click to expand...
I found this on another thread on SDN. Can't vouch for its accuracy. I did not make it.
 

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For those who took the exam 23rd, nothing is up on your AAMC account for the mcat right?

Under the score report, nothing is there. Just wanna make sure I didn't hit void on accident.
 
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Just want to take as second to say congratulations on some great score from the April 1 exam.

To one particular poster [I'll let you out yourself], you just had to believe in yourself. You did amazing and I am proud of you for sticking with it and not postponing. You really should tell your story because it could inspire others. Being out of school and pounding through so much material seems daunting at first, but once you find your rhythm it gets easier. Congratulations on how far you came!
 
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Astra118 said:
For those who took the exam 23rd, nothing is up on your AAMC account for the mcat right?

Under the score report, nothing is there. Just wanna make sure I didn't hit void on accident.
Click to expand...
I also had the same concerns. It's funny how much we worry.
 
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Astra118 said:
For those who took the exam 23rd, nothing is up on your AAMC account for the mcat right?

Under the score report, nothing is there. Just wanna make sure I didn't hit void on accident.
Click to expand...

Hahahh yep. Nothing there. I have been scared I voided since the minute I walked out of the exam. So ready for the 24th.
 
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gribear said:
Hahahh yep. Nothing there. I have been scared I voided since the minute I walked out of the exam. So ready for the 24th.
Click to expand...

CastleG8 said:
I also had the same concerns. It's funny how much we worry.
Click to expand...

I sat at the Score/Void screen for 5 minutes OCD double checking and verifying that yes, I had "score test" checked...
 
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Wolfpack93 said:
Hope this is correct haha. How did it match up to your scored FL?
Click to expand...

It overshoots my Scored FL by 3 points :( I hope this is the better indicator! Though, it is exactly accurate to my Scored except for 1 section (which is usually a good section for me) that I bombed on the scored and did well on the unscored.
 
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Gurby said:
It overshoots my Scored FL by 3 points :( I hope this is the better indicator! Though, it is exactly accurate to my Scored except for 1 section (which is usually a good section for me) that I bombed on the scored and did well on the unscored.
Click to expand...
Was it CARS? I felt like the unscored CARS was straightforward I'm praying for something like that on the real deal.
 
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Wolfpack93 said:
Was it CARS? I felt like the unscored CARS was straightforward I'm praying for something like that on the real deal.
Click to expand...

No, I just got crushed by the Scored P/S for some reason. Lots of terms I didn't know, etc. I felt like P/S went pretty well for me on the real deal, so I'm holding out hope.
 
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