The Official April MCAT 2015 Takers Thread

[emulsifier]

Hey guys,

I've seen some old threads (from 2012, or early 2014) on the MCAT2015.

I am wondering if we can bring resources together here, discussions for those who are planning on taking the new one in or after April.

Has anyone gotten their hands on the new prep material for 2015, and the chance to compare the different companies? I scoured the internet, obviously not much at the moment. But I know someone out there has started, just need to get this info out!

Edit:
Resources mentioned in this thread or elsewhere:

• Free mini-test: AAMC MCAT 2015 12 sample questions and answer (3 x 4 sections)
  • http://offers.aamc.org/mcat2015-mini-test
• Next Step guide here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-mcat-2015-100-days-to-mcat-success.1101251/
• TPR 2015 books: They seem to be the same as their previous books. Their bio book has a chapter on biochem.
• Kaplan 2015 books: removed content that is not tested. Physics section is 400 pages (may be too much for the new MCAT). Very little practice. Whole book on biochem.
• EK 9th edition books: reformatted the whole book. SDNer reviewer has said that even parts with same illustrations have whole new contents. Got rid of topics that won't be tested. May be too condensed though.

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[uwbadgers4]

How is everyone doing on practice tests?

 

[Vellin]

wait, the single letter and 3 letter abbreviations are on there?!? i am familiar with the structures and properties of each but didnt want to waste my time with the abbreviations...

Yeah there were a couple questions on the AAMC practice test that used three letter abbreviations, and there was one question that used the single letter ones.

So I'd think it would be wise to at least know the charged AA abbreviations, but they may ask for nonpolar ones. I'm going to memorize them all because otherwise you just have to guess.

 

[deleted673832]

How is everyone doing on practice tests?

Eh, I have done 3 Kaplan FLs so far, my highest score being 496. Really want to cross the 500 margin... Although I have heard that Kaplan FLs are made deliberately hard... Planning on doing the 4th one this week. We'll see how it goes! At least there was upward progress among my scores.

 

[uwbadgers4]

Eh, I have done 3 Kaplan FLs so far, my highest score being 496. Really want to cross the 500 margin... Although I have heard that Kaplan FLs are made deliberately hard... Planning on doing the 4th one this week. We'll see how it goes! At least there was upward progress among my scores.

did you take the course? I did and I am still right around 500, all my friends are too. Nobody has cracked like 503.

 

[neuropanic]

did you take the course? I did and I am still right around 500, all my friends are too. Nobody has cracked like 503.

I'm glad to hear this.. im in the Kaplan course. i am around 500 as well, got a 504 on one but that was due to some crazy CARS outlier I think (got a 129 on that so it def carried my score). haven't heard anyone doing any better. How many FL have you all done?

 

[meant4med]

wait, the single letter and 3 letter abbreviations are on there?!? i am familiar with the structures and properties of each but didnt want to waste my time with the abbreviations...

Yes, both type appeared so you had to recognize them.

 

[meant4med]

Eh, I have done 3 Kaplan FLs so far, my highest score being 496. Really want to cross the 500 margin... Although I have heard that Kaplan FLs are made deliberately hard... Planning on doing the 4th one this week. We'll see how it goes! At least there was upward progress among my scores.

Don't worry too much-- kaplans are way too low. example, I got a 71% and 73% on CARS with them , but a 94% on CARS with the actual AAMC sample test

 

[DrHart]

anyone else take any TPR practice tests? I did **** terrible on the first one... 123, 127, 126, 124... officially freaking out. Also, was it just me or was 7.5 hours about 2 hours too long? I was dead by the psych/soc section

 

[meant4med]

anyone else take any TPR practice tests? I did **** terrible on the first one... 123, 127, 126, 124... officially freaking out. Also, was it just me or was 7.5 hours about 2 hours too long? I was dead by the psych/soc section

All my scores on AAMC material were between 15%-30% higher than TPR, with the exception of Psych on TPR that's a little too easy compared to AAMC. What I will say though is that TPR exam is much longer, I felt so drained because there were more passages and longer. BUT it was great practice for AAMC test because I finished both science sections with 10 minutes to spare, even CARS with 5 extra minutes, and psych with 20 extra minutes (I have a masters degree in a psych-related field so I brushed through that). So it overdoes it with the stamina but in the end it made me feel more relaxed and less time-conscious on AAMC.

 

[uwbadgers4]

anyone else take any TPR practice tests? I did **** terrible on the first one... 123, 127, 126, 124... officially freaking out. Also, was it just me or was 7.5 hours about 2 hours too long? I was dead by the psych/soc section

I took the PR Demo and got a 501 I think. Ive taken 4 Kaplan ones.

 

[TexanProud]

Don't worry too much-- kaplans are way too low. example, I got a 71% and 73% on CARS with them , but a 94% on CARS with the actual AAMC sample test

jesus i thought i was good at cars. what'd you miss 2-3 questions? very nice.

 

[meant4med]

jesus i thought i was good at cars. what'd you miss 2-3 questions? very nice.

thanks, yeah 3. I've done the most timed 90 minutes sessions on CARS though, 11 up-to-date, and still between 9-10 more before the exam. I guess practice really does help with verbal!

 

[deleted673832]

did you take the course? I did and I am still right around 500, all my friends are too. Nobody has cracked like 503.

Yep, I am taking the course right now, we only have 1 class left! Whew haha, good to hear! I definitely think that I will feel more confident though once I crack the 500 margin.

Don't worry too much-- kaplans are way too low. example, I got a 71% and 73% on CARS with them , but a 94% on CARS with the actual AAMC sample test

Great job with that score! Makes me feel a little bit better, thank you.

 

[go cougs]

Took Kaplans second FL and got 496. 124's on everything. Looking through I definitely made some dumb mistakes. Thinking of saving the AAMC FL until the week before is what most people are doing?

 

[rraidermd]

Took Kaplans second FL and got 496. 124's on everything. Looking through I definitely made some dumb mistakes. Thinking of saving the AAMC FL until the week before is what most people are doing?

Maybe 2 weeks or a week and a half before doomsday, you're going to want to know that exam inside out, like the question style and everything. That's half the battle.

 

[GCSDOC]

Maybe 2 weeks or a week and a half before doomsday, you're going to want to know that exam inside out, like the question style and everything. That's half the battle.

yeh man you are right about this. When I studied for the old mcat, I didn't start practice exams until 4wks out from test day. The whole format, question style, etc was a big shock and took a ton of time to get used to. If you aren't familar with this exam yet, I would make sure to understand the format before studying any more content...good luck!!!

 

[neuropanic]

what is everyone planning to do the week of? def not studying the day before, but the week before?

 

[ARBRLA12]

I can't remember where I read it, but I read that Kaplan/TPR, etc. representatives may sit for the April MCAT to get a feel of what it's like. Is this true? How would this be handled, and would it skew the data so much that it would bring the mean to something like 510? Obviously using the median would be realistic for a skew, but is this really what happens?

 

[NaomiM]

I'm holding off on taking the AAMC sample get until a few days before the actual test. Then I'll be post gaming and doing practice passages until 1 day before. Definitely not doing any studying the day before the test

 

[ARBRLA12]

@NaomiM have you just mainly been content reviewing? Any practice problems at all, maybe from EK? I also want to hold off on taking the sample test since it's the only official practice we really have!

 

[NaomiM]

@NaomiM have you just mainly been content reviewing? Any practice problems at all, maybe from EK? I also want to hold off on taking the sample test since it's the only official practice we really have!

I finished up my content review in the first week of March and have been doing EK1001 and TBR passages, and making/reviewing Anki flashcards. But in the next two weeks I'm going to take the 3 TPR exams I have access to and then finish up with the AAMC sample test. Hopefully, holding off on the AAMC test will work out, we'll see...

 

[meant4med]

you all are brave waiting to a few days before the test to see what the actual AAMC test is like.... hopefully you'll be pleased but if you're not, you have hardly any time to adjust your strategy and focus....

 

[NaomiM]

At base, we're all kind of flying blind anyway, right? I've already taken the short one (aamc practice test), a few weeks ago to get a feel for the question/passage style, and have just been doing passages from various sources since then to really make sure I have the content down. At this point, what I really need more than anything is stamina-practice.
@meant4med when would you suggest taking the aamc sample test?

 

[DrHart]

I can't remember where I read it, but I read that Kaplan/TPR, etc. representatives may sit for the April MCAT to get a feel of what it's like. Is this true? How would this be handled, and would it skew the data so much that it would bring the mean to something like 510? Obviously using the median would be realistic for a skew, but is this really what happens?

If true I doubt it would affect the distribution much (even if they do get a crazy score). Realistically, the number of Kap or TPR reps is so low compared to the amount of students taking the actual test, the mean score really wouldn't be affected much

 

[meant4med]

At base, we're all kind of flying blind anyway, right? I've already taken the short one (aamc practice test), a few weeks ago to get a feel for the question/passage style, and have just been doing passages from various sources since then to really make sure I have the content down. At this point, what I really need more than anything is stamina-practice.
@meant4med when would you suggest taking the aamc sample test?

I took mine last weekend (3 weeks out) and I'm really glad I did because it showed me that I've prepared more than well enough in some sections and it showed me exactly where I need to zone in over the next 2 weeks. I had already taken the AAMC what's on the mcat sample test, I had taken 4 full lengths (2 TPR and 2 Kaplan), I had taken an additional 7 timed CARS sessions, 3 timed bio sessions, 1 timed physics sessions, and 1 time chem session, and was still a little surprised in some sections with the kinds of things they asked--so yes I would recommend to do it this weekend so that you have 2 weeks to improve those areas of weaknesses you may discover.

 

[neuropanic]

I took mine last weekend (3 weeks out) and I'm really glad I did because it showed me that I've prepared more than well enough in some sections and it showed me exactly where I need to zone in over the next 2 weeks. I had already taken the AAMC what's on the mcat sample test, I had taken 4 full lengths (2 TPR and 2 Kaplan), I had taken an additional 7 timed CARS sessions, 3 timed bio sessions, 1 timed physics sessions, and 1 time chem session, and was still a little surprised in some sections with the kinds of things they asked--so yes I would recommend to do it this weekend so that you have 2 weeks to improve those areas of weaknesses you may discover.

I was kind of planning on doing the same thing as @NaomiM because I'm in a Kaplan course and they recommended waiting on the AAMC as my last FL. I guess by now I should know that they don't know what is best...
So considering taking it this weekend instead of next weekend. Can you elaborate on what you think it helped point out? Like mostly just content that you were weak on or more like formatting of the test. I had heard that Kaplan's were pretty well formatted timewise and lookswise etc. just that the questions themselves were poor. So did the AAMC one help you know what types of questions you were worse at etc?

 

[meant4med]

I was kind of planning on doing the same thing as @NaomiM because I'm in a Kaplan course and they recommended waiting on the AAMC as my last FL. I guess by now I should know that they don't know what is best...
So considering taking it this weekend instead of next weekend. Can you elaborate on what you think it helped point out? Like mostly just content that you were weak on or more like formatting of the test. I had heard that Kaplan's were pretty well formatted timewise and lookswise etc. just that the questions themselves were poor. So did the AAMC one help you know what types of questions you were worse at etc?

If you've only taken Kaplan then I strongly suggest taking AAMC sample. Time wise, not too different, I had ample time on both Kaplan and AAMC. Look wise, I like AAMC much better. Some examples of things I learned from AAMC:

There was stuff in the psych/soc section that I didn't come across in either TPR or Kaplan books. Also, this session looks absolutely nothing like Kaplan's by the way.

For some reason (and I doubt this will be the case with the test), there was much less organ/developmental stuff on the bio/bc section then I was thinking there would be, especially after doing 240 bio questions from the AAMC pack. So this was a little surprising. I also thought I would do much better in this section, but was a bit thrown off by the over-focus in some areas (i.e., like i mentioned before, know AAs in and out) so I didn't do as well as I thought, especially considering I was making 80-85% on AAMC bio (I divided the question packs into 2 and took them timed, so it gave me 4 60 question sessions).

Physics and chem had hardly any math on it, which was great, but I'm very weak in organic chemistry (I'm in orgo 1 now) and so I missed a lot of those, but the kinds of questions that they asked in organic are much more basic and conceptual than the detailed ones from test prep.

I can't articulate it all too well, but all I know is that I am glad I took it and got a feel for it now. I would absolutely freak out if I took it a few days before and didn't do as well as I would hope in a section or two and didn't have anytime to correct that.

 

[neuropanic]

I can't articulate it all too well, but all I know is that I am glad I took it and got a feel for it now. I would absolutely freak out if I took it a few days before and didn't do as well as I would hope in a section or two and didn't have anytime to correct that.

Thanks for your advice! That has been something I worried about - taking it a week before and then doing poorly would wreck my confidence for the actual one. So better sooner rather than later so I can see a better idea of what I'm weak in.

 

[expressions]

I have taken 3 TPR FL so far and have yet to get out of the 490's. Also tpr verbal passages seem way longer and more specific than EK. Any last minute tips for the PS SECTION????

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Does anyone know whether we have to memorize the structure of sugar molecules? Thanks

 

[Skis]

You should probably know glucose and fructose and then be able to determine epimers from those foundation molecules. Ex. "mannose is c-2 epimer of glucose."

 

[Dr.Doctor11]

lol my pre med advisor told me the 2015 books still are not out
i was enrolled in a kaplan course so that's how i got my kaplan course book

Is the Kaplan course useful for preparing for the test?

 

[Affiche]

I would not recommend using the Kaplan online materials at all. Additionally, I would strongly advise against waiting any longer to take the AAMC sample test.

The Kaplan prep tests are way too focused on fine details of content, which teaches you to answer questions based on studied material rather than looking to synthesize information from passages, which is what the vast majority of AAMC questions are looking for. After studying with Kaplan, I cruised through the AAMC guide to questions and every single question that I answered incorrectly was because I missed information in the passage. After thoroughly reviewing every question in the guide, I took the AAMC sample test and felt incredibly prepared to take the actual thing. My scores jumped from 60/70's on the guide to questions into the high 80's on the sample test, just because I took the time the understand the style of AAMC.

 

[TexanProud]

If you've only taken Kaplan then I strongly suggest taking AAMC sample. Time wise, not too different, I had ample time on both Kaplan and AAMC. Look wise, I like AAMC much better. Some examples of things I learned from AAMC:

There was stuff in the psych/soc section that I didn't come across in either TPR or Kaplan books. Also, this session looks absolutely nothing like Kaplan's by the way.

For some reason (and I doubt this will be the case with the test), there was much less organ/developmental stuff on the bio/bc section then I was thinking there would be, especially after doing 240 bio questions from the AAMC pack. So this was a little surprising. I also thought I would do much better in this section, but was a bit thrown off by the over-focus in some areas (i.e., like i mentioned before, know AAs in and out) so I didn't do as well as I thought, especially considering I was making 80-85% on AAMC bio (I divided the question packs into 2 and took them timed, so it gave me 4 60 question sessions).

Physics and chem had hardly any math on it, which was great, but I'm very weak in organic chemistry (I'm in orgo 1 now) and so I missed a lot of those, but the kinds of questions that they asked in organic are much more basic and conceptual than the detailed ones from test prep.

I can't articulate it all too well, but all I know is that I am glad I took it and got a feel for it now. I would absolutely freak out if I took it a few days before and didn't do as well as I would hope in a section or two and didn't have anytime to correct that.

yeah absolutely agree with you. my weakness on both the sciences was ochem. I think I missed about every question lol. it's not how it was in the past, you're right, very conceptual now. with that being said, I went back to my materials to see what I could do to improve and nothing quite fit what I was looking for. what are you doing to hone in on the conceptual ochem?

 

[Affiche]

Also I sincerely doubt that test prep companies are having employees sit in on the exam, because you have to sign an agreement when you register that you are only taking the exam for the purpose of applying to medical school or another graduate program.

 

[Bookworm36]

looks absolutely nothing like Kaplan's by the way

Thanks meant4med! This is good to know =)

 

[expressions]

I have taken 3 TPR FL so far and have yet to get out of the 490's. Also tpr verbal passages seem way longer and more specific than EK. Any last minute tips for the PS SECTION????

 

[meant4med]

I would not recommend using the Kaplan online materials at all. Additionally, I would strongly advise against waiting any longer to take the AAMC sample test.

The Kaplan prep tests are way too focused on fine details of content, which teaches you to answer questions based on studied material rather than looking to synthesize information from passages, which is what the vast majority of AAMC questions are looking for. After studying with Kaplan, I cruised through the AAMC guide to questions and every single question that I answered incorrectly was because I missed information in the passage. After thoroughly reviewing every question in the guide, I took the AAMC sample test and felt incredibly prepared to take the actual thing. My scores jumped from 60/70's on the guide to questions into the high 80's on the sample test, just because I took the time the understand the style of AAMC.

That's great! I'm just under 80% overall only because I did much more poorly on phys/chem then I thought, and to my surprise, not as high on bio/bc as I was expecting (scored high in AAMC bio materials). My cars and psych were high. Do you have suggestions for the phys/chem section?

 

[Affiche]

That's great! I'm just under 80% overall only because I did much more poorly on phys/chem then I thought, and to my surprise, not as high on bio/bc as I was expecting (scored high in AAMC bio materials). My cars and psych were high. Do you have suggestions for the phys/chem section?

The phys/chem section is also my worst section lol. Besides really reviewing material, the thing that helped me the most was making sure I paid attention to the pictures, graphs, tables etc in the passages. When I took the guide to questions, I didn't pay nearly enough attention to pictures or trends that graphs showed, and when I reviewed I realized that a lot of valuable info was there. When I took the sample test, I really made sure that I understood what the pictures were demonstrating and what the graphs showed for results, probably skimming the passage and spending more time interpreting the data displayed, and I think that's what bumped me 10%. Of course, it's still my lowest score and there's lots of room to improve, but 10% is better than nothing. Good luck!

 

[txmed73]

I hope every single one of you gets accepted into med school! 2 more weeks. WE CAN DO THISSSSS!

 

[ARBRLA12]

For some reason (and I doubt this will be the case with the test), there was much less organ/developmental stuff on the bio/bc section then I was thinking there would be, especially after doing 240 bio questions from the AAMC pack. So this was a little surprising.

I *think* (from what I have heard) that the Question Packs are just the previous exam's Self-Assessment packages with more irrelevant passages removed. I have them from last September when I started prepping for the old MCAT and didn't get through them all, so I will be working on them before the new one.

Also I sincerely doubt that test prep companies are having employees sit in on the exam, because you have to sign an agreement when you register that you are only taking the exam for the purpose of applying to medical school or another graduate program.

You're completely right, I never really thought about that. Thanks for pointing that out!

 

[Bookworm36]

I did not realize that the AAMC sample test only gives the percentage correct. I have no way of knowing what my score is. Oddly enough, I did better on the cars section this time and my worst was the biology section. I'm so nervous, though. Just eliminating things down in my schedule so I will be doing minimal work other than Mcat until test day.

Does anyone have suggestion like how to practice under timed conditions? I found myself running out of time on the science sections, meaning I didn't have time to go back and review the ones I marked. Any suggestions? Does anyone else mark the ones unsure of?

 

[DrHart]

I did not realize that the AAMC sample test only gives the percentage correct. I have no way of knowing what my score is. Oddly enough, I did better on the cars section this time and my worst was the biology section. I'm so nervous, though. Just eliminating things down in my schedule so I will be doing minimal work other than Mcat until test day.

Does anyone have suggestion like how to practice under timed conditions? I found myself running out of time on the science sections, meaning I didn't have time to go back and review the ones I marked. Any suggestions? Does anyone else mark the ones unsure of?

Unfortunately, as mentioned before, without a standard its impossible to determine what your score would be. No students have taken the exam, so there's no distribution data and no way of characterizing what a good or bad score are. As for timing, I've just been doing exams and passages with a time limit. They say the more you practice the better you will be at timing. For me, I ran out of time on the Phys/Chem section with one whole passage left >.< Practice makes perfect I suppose...

 

[TexanProud]

have many people done the official guide to the mcat?

thinking of purchasing, though i have already taken the practice exam, so i'm thinking it may be futile. thoughts on it's value?

 

[meant4med]

have many people done the official guide to the mcat?

thinking of purchasing, though i have already taken the practice exam, so i'm thinking it may be futile. thoughts on it's value?

I took it today, I thought it was great. you can never get enough of real AAMC material. As the test day approaches, I'm weaning more and more off test prep companies because you want to stay in the mindset of AAMC and how they reason answer choices. Plus, there are only two possible AAMC psych previews--sample test and official guide. I suggest taking advantage of both!

 

[Affiche]

I wouldn't doubt that they are, even if it is illegal. Companies have spies all the time. For instance, lots of mobile companies have spies working in corporate positions at other companies to find out what will be launched before going public. That way they can avoid being one-upped by their competitors by offering similar plans. AAMC is a little different though so the chances of prep companies letting just any employee go undercover and risk snitching, is too risky. It would likely be a relative or close friend of someone highly invested into the company.

Considering that test prep companies depended on AAMC working with them to prepare new material for 2015, I doubt they would be so quick to burn that bridge. Also, the people that are "highly invested" in these companies are working on the business side of things, not just a regular teacher for one of their courses, so it's not like they would have the background to score well on the MCAT anyway. So again, this really shouldn't be a concern anyone worries about.

 

[JulioJones]

Considering that test prep companies depended on AAMC working with them to prepare new material for 2015, I doubt they would be so quick to burn that bridge. Also, the people that are "highly invested" in these companies are working on the business side of things, not just a regular teacher for one of their courses, so it's not like they would have the background to score well on the MCAT anyway. So again, this really shouldn't be a concern anyone worries about.

I'm pretty sure AAMC exclusively works with Khan academy and does not endorse any other test prep companies, so really its up to them to figure out how best to prepare the students, so it wouldn't surprise me if people who aren't students take the exam.

 

[deleted567285]

Been studying since December, reaching burnout mode. I have taken EK and Kaplan FL test and they are both way harder than the AAMC. I am getting about 60% question correct on those exam, but on the sample test I took in January I got about 65% right w/o major content review.

Next 10 days is just going to be major concept review and question packets.

 

[wearywanderer]

wow i'm glad you feel the same way man. I thought I was alone in this boat.

On NS #2 I got:
PS: 126
VR: 123 (I couldnt ****ing believe it)
BS: 127
PSY: 129

Hands down the hardest test I've taken in the past 3 months. Extremely disappointed but that was definitely an outlier. I couldn't believe the verbal. The equivalent of a 6

Have you taken any other NS exams?

 

[Affiche]

I'm pretty sure AAMC exclusively works with Khan academy and does not endorse any other test prep companies, so really its up to them to figure out how best to prepare the students, so it wouldn't surprise me if people who aren't students take the exam.

There's a difference between working with AAMC to understand changes and being endorsed by AAMC. Either way, they still depended on a relationship with AAMC to get their new course together and it's still a breach to send people into the MCAT for purposes other than using the test to apply to graduate programs. Lastly, if they're sending in people who haven't studied for the MCAT and just want to see what the new test is, then that will form a curve that benefits legitimate test takers (if it affects the curve at all). I don't know where this idea that test companies are sending in "spies" originated from, but it's just going to freak people out and it shouldn't. On to something more encouraging...

If anyone is freaking out about the Kaplan scores, don't! Everyone that's taken those tests has seen a huge difference between their Kaplan scores and their AAMC scores, with the latter being much better. Don't stress...we've all got this