The Official April 24, 2014 MCAT Thread

[HopelessDreamer]

Anyone else on here taking it on the 24th? I'm going to start studying later this week. What is everyone else's study plan?

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[smoothbunzz]

Ok so I know this question has been asked before, but do we need to memorize Amino Acids for the exam? I have not experience any practice exams that required this knowledge, but some TBR questions require knowledge of the structures.


AAMC 9, 10 and 11 left!!! Getting nervous ahh.

 

[AKMCAT]

Ok so I know this question has been asked before, but do we need to memorize Amino Acids for the exam? I have not experience any practice exams that required this knowledge, but some TBR questions require knowledge of the structures.


AAMC 9, 10 and 11 left!!! Getting nervous ahh.

I was also wondering that. I'm not really sure; but, I believe one of the AAMC Bio Section example question for 2015 required knowledge on the structure of tryptophan. In my opinion, I think its more important knowing which one is basic, acidic, polar, non-polar.

 

[AKMCAT]

Just finished taking TPR FL8 = on some of the questions and definitely for verbal!

 

[ManOfDiligence]

Just finished GChem Self Assessment - 76%. Time to go over this bad boy.

 

[ManOfDiligence]

Just finished taking TPR FL8 = on some of the questions and definitely for verbal!

Yessir, TPR full lengths are pretty demoralizing IMO. I think I got what, a 6 on the VR section last time? My AAMC scores are always much better. Don't let it being you down, just consider it mere practice. Builds up fatigue for the real deal!

 

[Bbqchickenman]

I cannot believe im at AAMC 9... Getting dangerously close

 

[Lamel]

Ok so I know this question has been asked before, but do we need to memorize Amino Acids for the exam? I have not experience any practice exams that required this knowledge, but some TBR questions require knowledge of the structures.


AAMC 9, 10 and 11 left!!! Getting nervous ahh.

I was also wondering that. I'm not really sure; but, I believe one of the AAMC Bio Section example question for 2015 required knowledge on the structure of tryptophan. In my opinion, I think its more important knowing which one is basic, acidic, polar, non-polar.

I vaguely know polar/non-polar (hasn't come up yet on the AAMCs), but I think more important is to know the basic and acidic ones.

His Lies Are Basic (His, Lys, Arg).

And Aspartic Acid and Glutamic Acid (well duh) are acidic.

Cysteine has the Sulfur residue used in disulfide bonds etc...things like that can help I suppose.

 

[jonhamm]

How do I push past the plateau I'm at? I'm PTing around 36-39 (13-14 PS, 12-13 BS, 11-12 VR). I would like to at least consistently bring it closer to 39 instead of 36. My problem is not with any particular concept, but rather missing a detail in the question stem and not realizing it, or just other general "silly mistakes". On VR, there is usually one passage I will grossly misinterpret and end up missing 3 questions on, which can be pretty frustrating.

How do I avoid careless/silly errors?

 

[Bbqchickenman]

Awesome free Chad video on Thermodynamics. Really ties in things together that I didn't fully appreciate

http://www.coursesaver.com/videos/watch/011-review-of-thermodynamics-and-kineticsmp4-960/?catid=123

 

[Lamel]

How do I push past the plateau I'm at? I'm PTing around 36-39 (13-14 PS, 12-13 BS, 11-12 VR). I would like to at least consistently bring it closer to 39 instead of 36. My problem is not with any particular concept, but rather missing a detail in the question stem and not realizing it, or just other general "silly mistakes". On VR, there is usually one passage I will grossly misinterpret and end up missing 3 questions on, which can be pretty frustrating.

How do I avoid careless/silly errors?

I am in your same position, and remember at that stage 1-2 questions increase you by 1 point. I've made silly errors too, and I think reading the questions slowly and carefully can be important. Make sure you read the passage carefully the first time around because going back and forth can get confusing too. But I agree there are some STUPID mistakes that I make. And yeah, there is always that ONE verbal passage that is nonsense.

But honestly those are incredible scores, that's a great place to plateau at.

 

[jonhamm]

I am in your same position, and remember at that stage 1-2 questions increase you by 1 point. I've made silly errors too, and I think reading the questions slowly and carefully can be important. Make sure you read the passage carefully the first time around because going back and forth can get confusing too. But I agree there are some STUPID mistakes that I make. And yeah, there is always that ONE verbal passage that is nonsense.

But honestly those are incredible scores, that's a great place to plateau at.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my scores. I was not expecting them to be this high when I started, so that's exciting. My GPA is pretty horrendous though, so I'm doing everything I can to get it high. At the very least it will mitigate the chances of disaster on test day, ha.

 

[AKMCAT]

What do we have to know about ultrasound and x-ray diffraction anyone know ? (Listed under AAMC outline)

 

[CapCrunch]

I decided to take a week and half off of AAMCs and just read and hammer down concepts. Finally saw an improvement. scored a 32 on AAMC 8 with a breakdown of 12/9/11. Now if I could only raise my verbal score

 

[ConsultantMD]

How do I push past the plateau I'm at? I'm PTing around 36-39 (13-14 PS, 12-13 BS, 11-12 VR). I would like to at least consistently bring it closer to 39 instead of 36. My problem is not with any particular concept, but rather missing a detail in the question stem and not realizing it, or just other general "silly mistakes". On VR, there is usually one passage I will grossly misinterpret and end up missing 3 questions on, which can be pretty frustrating.

How do I avoid careless/silly errors?

Haha, this is a nice plateau... I thought I was headed that direction. I also make a lot of silly mistakes, some of them are like not reading the question or not doing the calculation right, I think fixing that involves practice.... but I just got destroyed by Kaplan FL #11, like so bad I don't even want to post what I got. There were grammatical errors and questions that literally had no words on them, just a reaction and question marks. Whoever made that test can go to hell. Seriously. I'm going to ignore the score, go over it in detail because I still made some silly mistakes.

 

[Lamel]

Haha, this is a nice plateau... I thought I was headed that direction. I also make a lot of silly mistakes, some of them are like not reading the question or not doing the calculation right, I think fixing that involves practice.... but I just got destroyed by Kaplan FL #11, like so bad I don't even want to post what I got. There were grammatical errors and questions that literally had no words on them, just a reaction and question marks. Whoever made that test can go to hell. Seriously. I'm going to ignore the score, go over it in detail because I still made some silly mistakes.

This reminds me, there is a terribly worded question in AAMC 3 or 4 within bio. They wanted to ask "what is happening", but they phrased it like "what WILL happen". So I think there is always a chance of a badly worded question showing up.

 

[inasensegone]

This reminds me, there is a terribly worded question in AAMC 3 or 4 within bio. They wanted to ask "what is happening", but they phrased it like "what WILL happen". So I think there is always a chance of a badly worded question showing up.

Like HALF of the AAMCs are poorly worded. I have heard a lot of prep companies saying that "the MCAT isn't trying to trick you, they just want to test your basic knowledge of the sciences" but the AAMCs would lead you to believe otherwise. The basic science is easy. Navigating a poorly worded question and even worse, a convoluted verbal passage that has no bearing whatsoever on your prospective competence as a physician, is not always so easy.

 

[Bbqchickenman]

Where is everyone at in their FLs? How have you guys been scoring?

Just took AAMC 9, thought PS was easy compared to previous tests and almost definitely not a good predictor.
BS was kind of a *itch. Verbal was on the harder side too...

 

[forfun135]

.

 

[Xtract]

Haha, this is a nice plateau... I thought I was headed that direction. I also make a lot of silly mistakes, some of them are like not reading the question or not doing the calculation right, I think fixing that involves practice.... but I just got destroyed by Kaplan FL #11, like so bad I don't even want to post what I got. There were grammatical errors and questions that literally had no words on them, just a reaction and question marks. Whoever made that test can go to hell. Seriously. I'm going to ignore the score, go over it in detail because I still made some silly mistakes.

People say to completely neglect FL 11 score. Just use for stamina boost or something. I got a 27/40 on that verbal section and it gave me a 7.

 

[Lamel]

Just took AAMC 8, my verbal dropped significantly (like 5-6 more incorrect than usual). I couldn't focus for some reason. Man, that was rough.

 

[Bbqchickenman]

What is your score on AAMC#9? Is it really easier than AAMC#8?

I think the AAMC 8 Physics was harder; Verbal on AAMC 9 was harder than 8 though...

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Almost done with Berkeley Review physics! I only have 3-4 passages left in both circuits and optics. I have been scoring 10-12 on the sections. Is that good/bad?

Another thing: I stopped using BR for orgo passages and decided to just use BR for PS. As soon as I am done with the Berkely general chemistry books, I am going to try and do most of the passages in the TPRH Science workbook for all four subjects. Does this sound logical?

 

[ConsultantMD]

Just took AAMC 8, my verbal dropped significantly (like 5-6 more incorrect than usual). I couldn't focus for some reason. Man, that was rough.

I think VR is all about how much you are in the zone. I feel like I've been doing so much practice that I'm zoned out so I'm going to take a day off for once. I think. is that possible? haha...

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I think VR is all about how much you are in the zone. I feel like I've been doing so much practice that I'm zoned out so I'm going to take a day off for once. I think. is that possible? haha...

Day off = review MCAT flash cards lol

 

[forfun135]

.

 

[Lamel]

I think VR is all about how much you are in the zone. I feel like I've been doing so much practice that I'm zoned out so I'm going to take a day off for once. I think. is that possible? haha...

Yeah I am gonna wait a few days before my next FL.

I believe AAMC#8 is more difficult. I thought I could only get a 7 on PS. For verbal, there is one passage I didn't really understand at all. But, the curve is more lenient.

Yeah 8 felt harder than the last few. I made the error of being too slow in verbal, first time this has happened to me, and so my last few passages suffered a lot. Lesson learned.

 

[SOOyC52H1Sof]

Well since we are talking about AAMC 8, I thought Bio was SIGNIFICANTLY harder, and everything else was on par.

 

[AKMCAT]

Yeah I am gonna wait a few days before my next FL.



Yeah 8 felt harder than the last few. I made the error of being too slow in verbal, first time this has happened to me, and so my last few passages suffered a lot. Lesson learned.

Taking AAMC 8 tomorrow! Once you lose the perfect timing for verbal in the beginning it really impacts your score especially on the last two passages, well at least for me. PAce is so important. Still working on this.

 

[AKMCAT]

Almost done with Berkeley Review physics! I only have 3-4 passages left in both circuits and optics. I have been scoring 10-12 on the sections. Is that good/bad?

Another thing: I stopped using BR for orgo passages and decided to just use BR for PS. As soon as I am done with the Berkely general chemistry books, I am going to try and do most of the passages in the TPRH Science workbook for all four subjects. Does this sound logical?

Have you done all the FL's ? I would say its more important to review content and do FL at this point. 2 more weeks left!

 

[orangeblue]

Anyone taking TBR-7 today? Let's see...

 

[smoothbunzz]

Haha, this is a nice plateau... I thought I was headed that direction. I also make a lot of silly mistakes, some of them are like not reading the question or not doing the calculation right, I think fixing that involves practice.... but I just got destroyed by Kaplan FL #11, like so bad I don't even want to post what I got. There were grammatical errors and questions that literally had no words on them, just a reaction and question marks. Whoever made that test can go to hell. Seriously. I'm going to ignore the score, go over it in detail because I still made some silly mistakes.

Keep your head up! That exam is rough! I scored 11 points lower on that than my Kaplan 9 and 10.

 

[Bbqchickenman]

Anyone been working on Kaplan PS Section tests? How are those scores looking for you guys

 

[ConsultantMD]

Keep your head up! That exam is rough! I scored 11 points lower on that than my Kaplan 9 and 10.

My instructor said it's like getting a 34-35 so I should not worry. I just think it's silly to make a test like that. Waste of time!

 

[TheAnonymous]

Anyone been working on Kaplan PS Section tests? How are those scores looking for you guys

I did the first PS Section Test yesterday and got 77% - not sure how that looks. How about yourself?

 

[Bbqchickenman]

I did the first PS Section Test yesterday and got 77% - not sure how that looks. How about yourself?

Not good, PS is my weak spot. I keep getting high 60' low 70's : /

How have you been doing on your Kaplan/AAMC PS FL?

 

[CapCrunch]

Well since we are talking about AAMC 8, I thought Bio was SIGNIFICANTLY harder, and everything else was on par.

Everything depends on your own strengths and weaknesses. I did no worse on AAMC 8 bio than I did on any of the previous ones with the exception of my first. If the exam tests to your strengths you will do well, if not, you will do worse. I'm convinced the entire exam is a crapshoot.

 

[enjoipanda]

Just took AAMC 8, my verbal dropped significantly (like 5-6 more incorrect than usual). I couldn't focus for some reason. Man, that was rough.

Dude I'm in the same boat with you! Got a 9 on this one, but when I looked at what I got wrong I literally missed most of the questions in the second passage, I believe it was about literature vs literary study ( I think I just completely lost my focus on that one). PS and BS were aight, got a 13 and 12, respectively. And when I looked at the answers for the PS and BS I felt like I lost my focus on some of the passages and questions, but could have answered them correctly otherwise.

 

[Lamel]

Dude I'm in the same boat with you! Got a 9 on this one, but when I looked at what I got wrong I literally missed most of the questions in the second passage, I believe it was about literature vs literary study ( I think I just completely lost my focus on that one). PS and BS were aight, got a 13 and 12, respectively. And when I looked at the answers for the PS and BS I felt like I lost my focus on some of the passages and questions, but could have answered them correctly otherwise.

Yeah sciences were fine, but that verbal shook me a little bit. It was that behavior passage that got me bad. What are your usual scores?

Well since we are talking about AAMC 8, I thought Bio was SIGNIFICANTLY harder, and everything else was on par.

I didn't think bio was harder, but my concentration was diminished after a crap verbal performance. But yeah it just goes to show everyone sees the exam through their own lens.

 

[CapCrunch]

Dude I'm in the same boat with you! Got a 9 on this one, but when I looked at what I got wrong I literally missed most of the questions in the second passage, I believe it was about literature vs literary study ( I think I just completely lost my focus on that one). PS and BS were aight, got a 13 and 12, respectively. And when I looked at the answers for the PS and BS I felt like I lost my focus on some of the passages and questions, but could have answered them correctly otherwise.

That second passage was awful. I also got a 9, with 2/7 on that passage.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

That second passage was awful. I also got a 9, with 2/7 on that passage.

Glad it wasn't just me that couldn't understand that passage. Even after the test I tried reading it slowly and couldn't even understand it lol

 

[AKMCAT]

We are almost there ...getting nervous !!

 

[Bbqchickenman]

We are almost there ...getting nervous !!

So nervous

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Wow. Just BOMBED AAMC #9 verbal section. Scored a 7.

Yesterday I scored a 10 on AAMC #8.

I absolutely HATE verbal!

 

[Lamel]

I went against judgment and took AAMC 9 today. Now I only have 2 exams for the rest of the 2 weeks (10 and 11). I think that should be okay though, I'll just focus on more BR passages and maybe self assessments.

My scores are coming out nicely, and I really hope I can replicate an AAMC 9 performance on the real thing. PS is definitely my strong suit, and I've been trying intensely to get Bio to 14 to no avail. Anyone who has scored 14-15 on bio, any advice?

Wow. Just BOMBED AAMC #9 verbal section. Scored a 7.

Yesterday I scored a 10 on AAMC #8.

I absolutely HATE verbal!

That's so surprising, 8 was so much harder than 9 for verbal imo. Did you overthink too much?

Also do you just do them individually? I think simulating a real exam is better.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I went against judgment and took AAMC 9 today. Now I only have 2 exams for the rest of the 2 weeks (10 and 11). I think that should be okay though, I'll just focus on more BR passages and maybe self assessments.

My scores are coming out nicely, and I really hope I can replicate an AAMC 9 performance on the real thing. PS is definitely my strong suit, and I've been trying intensely to get Bio to 14 to no avail. Anyone who has scored 14-15 on bio, any advice?



That's so surprising, 8 was so much harder than 9 for verbal imo. Did you overthink too much?

I don't understand philosophy passages at all. I really don't. My scores on the passage were:

3/5
4/5
4/7
1/5
2/5
5/7
3/6

I just absolutely bombed 2 passages.

 

[Lamel]

I don't understand philosophy passages at all. I really don't. My scores on the passage were:

3/5
4/5
4/7
1/5
2/5
5/7
3/6

I just absolutely bombed 2 passages.

3 and 5 gave me trouble as well. This exam also had a bit more of the "what is the main idea of the passage" type questions. Don't let the number get to you so much though, if you're capable of getting a 10 on AAMC 8 then you can do it on the real thing as well.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

3 and 5 gave me trouble as well. This exam also had a bit more of the "what is the main idea of the passage" type questions. Don't let the number get to you so much though, if you're capable of getting a 10 on AAMC 8 then you can do it on the real thing as well.

I am redoing 9 right now. I didn't look at any of the answers so I am gonna do the passages relatively untimed. I think that I am trying to read too quickly.

 

[enjoipanda]

I went against judgment and took AAMC 9 today. Now I only have 2 exams for the rest of the 2 weeks (10 and 11). I think that should be okay though, I'll just focus on more BR passages and maybe self assessments.

My scores are coming out nicely, and I really hope I can replicate an AAMC 9 performance on the real thing. PS is definitely my strong suit, and I've been trying intensely to get Bio to 14 to no avail. Anyone who has scored 14-15 on bio, any advice?



That's so surprising, 8 was so much harder than 9 for verbal imo. Did you overthink too much?

Also do you just do them individually? I think simulating a real exam is better.

I don't know if I was out of it for the bio section for AAMC 9 but I ended up getting an 11, the lowest in a while. I think I was having trouble with the wording of the passages and answer choices. Not sure if I didn't do well because I was burnt out, or need to do more reviewing. Scored a 13 on ps, which has been the norm, and went back to a 10 on verbal. Ughhh I want to start seeing some higher scores overall, this is depressing.

 

[smoothbunzz]

Just finished the AAMC SAP for physics and chemistry. How do these correlate?

Physics SAP -- 94%
Gen Chem SAP -- 91%

Also I have 3 AAMCs left. Should I spread these out or just finish them by next week?

All I have left are AAMC 9, 10, 11 and TBR MC questions (no way I am getting through all of them..)

 

[nihitmehta]

AAMC3 29- 10/9/10. Highest composite score thus far.

I'll be taking the AAMC Self Assessments here in the next couple of weeks.
First up, Ochem SA- my weakest subject. I'll be doing these tomorrow.

Question: Ochem is my weakest section. Do you think it is worth it to devote alot more time to this section? Or should I choose by battles wisely and devote this time on the other sciences since Ochem is generally minimal on the test? Feedback would be appreciated.

Few more weeks!

Any Ochem Question you see are going to be broken down into two sections, one is techniques, just going to have to memorize them. Second and more important are rxns. I don't know whether you have taken OChem class yet, however, in Ochem Class one important way of remembering rxns is kind of memorizing the mechanisms, in MCAT however, just memorize what kind of rxns give what kind of products, for instance, Epoxide breaking can give anti OH products that will be racemic.