The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

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

vsantav

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Registration opens up sometime today so I thought I'd go ahead and make this thread. Anyone else taking it in August?
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SpaceyWacey said:
AAMC only has one FL released right now. So I'll probably end up supplementing with a mix and match of FL's from a few test prep companies; that way I can save the single 'official' practice test for later in my study schedule.
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Same here.. have you looked at PR
 
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Im taking it August 22nd. I have decided after much research to use EK 9th edition, TBR because their passages are great and their BIO is awesome ( lots of research), TPR psych so I can get the 3 FL, and Kaplan 2015 which also has 3 FL from my understanding, Khan academy for anything I need for visual learning, AAMC FL, and AAMC question packs, TPR, EK 101, and Kaplan for CARS. I am going to do a subject a day, and follow the BR schedule for relating passages. Then EK, Kaplan for additional passages on the subject I am study for the day. I am going to do a Kaplan VR passage a day, and review it the next day. When I run out of those I will start with EK 101 VR, then TPR VR. I will also use the EK 1001 for just question practice, because what I have read on SDN is that the more practice you get with questions the better. I thought about taking the Kaplan course, but was informed that they know as much as I do. But, I do get the Kaplan question of the day and the 20 minute workout, which is awesome. I can self-study but would like a study partner. I live in Memphis, TN. Please do not consider this a study plan this is just what I have decided to do.
 
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Looks like you've got a solid plan lynnie! I'm working on scheduling out practice and verbal resources now. I was supposed to start studying this Friday, but finals are taking their toll on me and I can't quite crack open my MCAT books yet. Anyone start studying full force yet?
 
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TPR, Kaplan, EK 9th, EK101, TBR, Khan and all AAMC materials here. Going off the AAMC outline as a guide.

Will TBR have a biochem/psychsoc book out?
 
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StudyLater said:
TPR, Kaplan, EK 9th, EK101, TBR, Khan and all AAMC materials here. Going off the AAMC outline as a guide.

Will TBR have a biochem/psychsoc book out?
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Their Bio 2 book is their biochem book that won't be revised.
They did promise to come up with a psych book with no timeline for it.
 
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Its 3AM and I finally finished my study schedule. I was probably waaaaayyyy more meticulous than I needed to be, but it feels good anyway :happy:
 
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SpaceyWacey said:
Looks like you've got a solid plan lynnie! I'm working on scheduling out practice and verbal resources now. I was supposed to start studying this Friday, but finals are taking their toll on me and I can't quite crack open my MCAT books yet. Anyone start studying full force yet?
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Not yet still waiting on books to come. I just ordered them yesterday.
 
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Hey guys. August 22nd is my planned date, not too worried about spots filling up so I haven't scheduled yet (you guys are making me worried though).

I'm using mcatjelly's plan as well, one of her older plans follows the Kaplan review books which is the set I have.
Also going to use Sterling Test Prep MCAT Practice Tests: Chemical & Physical + Biological & Biochemical Foundations and/or the Princeton Review 4 FL Practice Tests books for additional FL exams I think
+ Khan material (if needed), AAMS bundle questions and FL exams (older ones I guess since there's only 1 2015 geared one).

I need more 'passages' material, any recommendations? Kaplan Review has none and I'd rather not buy the TBR books as they're quite expensive.

Is anyone using NextStep material? They have good reviews on amazon but I haven't heard much about them until this cycle.
 
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blahblahpremeds said:
@geronimo11 I have the NS strategy books. In my opinion, they have good practice passages. Also, while TBR is a bit expensive, IMO it's well worth it. Good luck!
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Thanks @blahblahpremeds ! I would love to get the TBR books but other than price, I didn't think to get them in time, my study schedule doesn't have much wiggle room. Plus I didn't realize their ordering system was slightly archaic and with my luck I'd be one of the horror stories that didn't get their books for a month lol!
Would you say the next step books are good enough that you'd recommend them for passage material? (i.e. are they comparable enough to TBR passages from what you've seen so far)
 
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Just started prep for the August testing date. Using Kaplan, TBR, Khan, and a couple other books. I have to work on verbal as that's my lowest section. We got this guys!

How far is everyone into their prep? How long are you dedicating to content review?
 
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All supplies are in yay!!!! Let's get started guys... I going to use the mcatjelly study plan, it looks easy to follow and includes all the books I using.
 
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PolarSand said:
Just started prep for the August testing date. Using Kaplan, TBR, Khan, and a couple other books. I have to work on verbal as that's my lowest section. We got this guys!

How far is everyone into their prep? How long are you dedicating to content review?
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Hello Hello! I am already 6 days behind schedule :arghh: since I was supposed to start last Friday, but instead I'll be starting tomorrow after my finals, and doing double chapters for a couple of days. My schedule is 90 days long and I'll be spending 55 days doing content review (including break days). What about everyone else?
 
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Ive been reviewing mcatjelly plan to make sure everything goes smooth. Officially starting 05/15/2015
 
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lynniepooh said:
Im taking it August 22nd. I have decided after much research to use EK 9th edition, TBR because their passages are great and their BIO is awesome ( lots of research), TPR psych so I can get the 3 FL, and Kaplan 2015 which also has 3 FL from my understanding, Khan academy for anything I need for visual learning, AAMC FL, and AAMC question packs, TPR, EK 101, and Kaplan for CARS. I am going to do a subject a day, and follow the BR schedule for relating passages. Then EK, Kaplan for additional passages on the subject I am study for the day. I am going to do a Kaplan VR passage a day, and review it the next day. When I run out of those I will start with EK 101 VR, then TPR VR. I will also use the EK 1001 for just question practice, because what I have read on SDN is that the more practice you get with questions the better. I thought about taking the Kaplan course, but was informed that they know as much as I do. But, I do get the Kaplan question of the day and the 20 minute workout, which is awesome. I can self-study but would like a study partner. I live in Memphis, TN. Please do not consider this a study plan this is just what I have decided to do.
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Hi, can you clarify what you meant by "follow the BR schedule for relating passages?"
 
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@geronimo11 I wouldn't say the NS passages are totally tat par with TBR but, they are certainly good for practice especially because they're designed for the new exam. You can still learn a lot by doing the NS passages.

Anybody else using TBR for OChem and Physics? Which sections are you guys not studying?
 
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@blahblahpremeds Thanks for the info! I actually ended up getting an older (and thus, cheaper) version of TBR per yours and others recommendation on this thread. Have you looked at mcatjelly's study schedule? She seems to have combed through the TBR ochem and physics ch's and picked out which sections/passages correlate with the new test
 
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SpaceyWacey said:
Its 3AM and I finally finished my study schedule. I was probably waaaaayyyy more meticulous than I needed to be, but it feels good anyway :happy:
Click to expand...

Same boat, I spent an un-necessary amount of time color coding mine. Meticulous study guides are motivating (mainly because you can look forward to crossing something off once its finished).

Are you guys timing your passages from the get go or letting yourself take your time at first? So far, physics passages are killing me
 
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geronimo11 said:
Same boat, I spent an un-necessary amount of time color coding mine. Meticulous study guides are motivating (mainly because you can look forward to crossing something off once its finished).

Are you guys timing your passages from the get go or letting yourself take your time at first? So far, physics passages are killing me
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Physics is killing me too! I did the first EK 30 minute exam one and finished it in 36 minutes... but got a lot of questions wrong. :whistle: After reviewing the answers at the back of the book though, you realize that the physics behind most of the questions are relatively simple! Sometimes the passages themselves just try to throw you off with the jargon. And the time pressure is a bitch too, haha.
 
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@geronimo11 Nice! Good luck with TBR. I did look through mcatjelly's schedule for guidance and it was really helpful. Thanks!

Today was my first official study day and I was surprised that it actually took me the full 5-6 hours to study one chapter and do relevant passages. Anybody else in this boat?
 
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blahblahpremeds said:
@geronimo11 Nice! Good luck with TBR. I did look through mcatjelly's schedule for guidance and it was really helpful. Thanks!

Today was my first official study day and I was surprised that it actually took me the full 5-6 hours to study one chapter and do relevant passages. Anybody else in this boat?
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Yup, same here. I had originally planned on doing two EK chapters a day plus all of the relevant passages--that plan fell through very quickly. That's why I like EK, though, because I spent only 25% of my day reviewing the material and then 75% applying it and "digesting" it more thoroughly through the solutions. EK gets a lot of flack for being concise, but I think the real value of content review comes from learning the material through practice.
 
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Question!

Both EK and Kaplan are contradicting what they're saying re. the effective nuclear charge trend. EK says that Zeff increases going down the periodic table because the attractive pull of a growing positively charged nucleus trumps additional shielding effects of higher electron shells. However, Kaplan says as one goes down in a group, the increased shielding from the inner shell electrons will cancel the increased positivity of the nucleus - so Zeff is pretty much constant. I've looked up what Google says and it's a mixed bag of it increasing vs. staying constant... anybody know which is right?
 
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sarah990123 said:
Question!

Both EK and Kaplan are contradicting what they're saying re. the effective nuclear charge trend. EK says that Zeff increases going down the periodic table because the attractive pull of a growing positively charged nucleus trumps additional shielding effects of higher electron shells. However, Kaplan says as one goes down in a group, the increased shielding from the inner shell electrons will cancel the increased positivity of the nucleus - so Zeff is pretty much constant. I've looked up what Google says and it's a mixed bag of it increasing vs. staying constant... anybody know which is right?
Click to expand...

I remember learning in my Chem course that Zeff increases only slightly going down a group.
 
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I've been doing Khan Academy passages as practice and I'm finding them to be more difficult/complex than TBR. Given that the AAMC has approved of them, how similar are they to the real deal? I haven't taken any practice exams yet. I've just been doing Khan and TBR. I'm doing much better on TBR than Khan. Any advice from april test takers appreciated.
 
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August 22 here, and I am glad I found this thread.
How I'm studying is by completing all the 2015 Kaplan books and doing practice questions that I have in a 2011 (2012?) TBR book set I found online and a 7th edition EK book set I rented on Amazon for $16; Kaplan just doesn't give enough practice to see if you understand the concepts!

There are a total of 84 chapters in the Kaplan books (12 chapters for each of the seven books), and I plan to study Mon-Fri,Sun: doing two chapters a day (one book a week). I usually spend 6-8 hours a day (more or less depending on if the content is murky or unclear).

Then for the last 7-8 weeks (July -August): practice questions I plan to order from NextStep, Khan Academy questions, going back and seeing what content I'm weak in, and doing the three Kaplan FL that came with the book set and saving the official AAMC FL for last; as well as any other updated material from companies that may be available in July and August. As well as cross checking with the AAMC outline to make sure I touched on each topic.

Also, Kaplan is planning to release an updated 2015 MCAT book in July that you can preorder on Amazon now, but since I plan to be done by content review by then-there's no point in me buying it.

I don't plan to completely know every little detail of the books at the end of the week, just 70-80% of the content, that way I can just keep moving on and come back for any review or clarification. As well as the fact many concepts repeat in different subjects. For example: I just completed gen chem today, but I glossed over electrochemistry since it wasn't that clear to me, though I went back to TBR and EK and did problems over topics I did in the previous 11 chapters.
 
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Officially started studying today...did the first section of the EK physics book. Kind of scared because I got a good amount of questions wrong in the practice problems even though I felt comfortable with the content. I think I'm also having a problem with the way some questions are worded, ahhh so stressful!
 
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vsantav said:
Officially started studying today...did the first section of the EK physics book. Kind of scared because I got a good amount of questions wrong in the practice problems even though I felt comfortable with the content. I think I'm also having a problem with the way some questions are worded, ahhh so stressful!
Click to expand...
Youtube is surprisingly good for Physics, check out Khan academy and this.
 
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Don't worry about that too much, the MCAT isn't simple recall and won't ask you in passage questions directly what they might be looking for; if you understand the concepts, then it all mushes together. The key part of studying is practice of different passage questions and analyzing scientific research.
 
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vsantav said:
Hey, what is everyone in here using for practice out of curiosity? Also applying next cycle, not sure if I mentioned that earlier or not.
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We created 10 identical exams to the AAMC tests. Check us out on SDN as this week is test prep week. Click on the test prep week icon on the home page. Go to test prep, then MCAT.
 
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makeyrmark said:
Are any other fellow August test takers applying this cycle? I will be retaking the Aug. 6th MCAT as a retake (took it last year). Woohoo for studying new material!
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Yeah, I'm applying this cycle. I've determined to apply to Osteopathic schools, so I'm not particularly worried about the later testing date. I'm eying MD schools though because of the cost - do you guys think the Aug. 6th test would be too late to apply to Allopathic schools? I have a very competitive GPA and EC if that helps.
 
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brenasuarus said:
Yeah, I'm applying this cycle. I've determined to apply to Osteopathic schools, so I'm not particularly worried about the later testing date. I'm eying MD schools though because of the cost - do you guys think the Aug. 6th test would be too late to apply to Allopathic schools? I have a very competitive GPA and EC if that helps.
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This depends on your stats, of course. Great gpa (3.8+), great ECs, great letters, and great MCAT (80+%), and you'd get in. You don't have your MCAT yet though, so you currently have no idea if you should apply. If it is below 80%, don't expect an MD acceptance but do expect a decent chance at DO schools. Again, I'm assuming you've got everything else well in check.

Of course, none of this applies if you are a URM.
 
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^^ August 6 MCAT --> September 6 scores --> ~October complete; very little chance at MD.
 
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StudyLater said:
This depends on your stats, of course. Great gpa (3.8+), great ECs, great letters, and great MCAT (80+%), and you'd get in. You don't have your MCAT yet though, so you currently have no idea if you should apply. If it is below 80%, don't expect an MD acceptance but do expect a decent chance at DO schools. Again, I'm assuming you've got everything else well in check.

Of course, none of this applies if you are a URM.
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allantois said:
^^ August 6 MCAT --> September 6 scores --> ~October complete; very little chance at MD.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your replies.

What I'm gathering from your two posts, is that I shouldn't even begin my application for MD until I know my MCAT scores (Sept 6th). The assumption is that it would then take until about October to fill out my application, and for it to be reviewed and sent out? Does this still apply if I had my application already approved and just awaiting my (hopefully) competitive MCAT score? (I know this is a risky approach).
 
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brenasuarus said:
Thank you for your replies.

What I'm gathering from your two posts, is that I shouldn't even begin my application for MD until I know my MCAT scores (Sept 6th). The assumption is that it would then take until about October to fill out my application, and for it to be reviewed and sent out? Does this still apply if I had my application already approved and just awaiting my (hopefully) competitive MCAT score? (I know this is a risky approach).
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Your app doesn't need to take a month. That said, working on it in the middle of studying? Not generally recommended. Of course, whatever works for you, works for you, though.
 
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sarah990123 said:
Physics is killing me too! I did the first EK 30 minute exam one and finished it in 36 minutes... but got a lot of questions wrong. :whistle: After reviewing the answers at the back of the book though, you realize that the physics behind most of the questions are relatively simple! Sometimes the passages themselves just try to throw you off with the jargon. And the time pressure is a bitch too, haha.
Click to expand...

vsantav said:
Officially started studying today...did the first section of the EK physics book. Kind of scared because I got a good amount of questions wrong in the practice problems even though I felt comfortable with the content. I think I'm also having a problem with the way some questions are worded, ahhh so stressful!
Click to expand...

Have you guys tried reading the physics sections in TBR, I'm starting to have a little less problems with physics from skimming them, they give you great tips/strategies on how to answer the question. From TBR, it seems the way you answer the question is more important than knowing the hard physics (which is great), take a look at their example problems if you can

I'm nervous about how the MCAT will be putting physics questions in "biology style" or whatever. I want my classic ramp question, damn it.
 
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Also, silly question but the AAMC first official practice exam WON'T be out in time for late August test date takers right? It says "fall" so I assume October-ish but I am also from Florida, where seasons are meaningless so what do I know
 
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geronimo11 said:
Also, silly question but the AAMC first official practice exam WON'T be out in time for late August test date takers right? It says "fall" so I assume October-ish but I am also from Florida, where seasons are meaningless so what do I know
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It's already out.
 
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Taking it August 21st. Never taken before, about to be a senior in college. Will be taking a Gap year, either at an SMP (depression screwed up my GPA for a year, but on a strong upward trend.)

My materials:
  • Kaplan 7th ed., all 7 books with practice tests
  • EK complete set with practice tests (?)
  • TBR 2013 complete set, minus physics (I heard they've updated or are updating their materials, but I've already ordered a while back :()
  • AAMC FL Test
  • Any other MCAT materials that the AAMC has posted (I think there's a $75 flashcard packet and a $25 practice exam?)
Any recommendations as to what else I may need? On the fence about TPR's Psychosocial book, hearing that it's missing some info that the MCAT will have.
About 90 days left until my test. Will be using mcatjelly's study schedule
 
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Finished my 2nd day of mcat studying, went over first section of chem in EK. At least I still remember what I first learned when I started chem! Feel much better than yesterday when I was doing physics...
 
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FutureSurgical said:
On the fence about TPR's Psychosocial book, hearing that it's missing some info that the MCAT will have.
Click to expand...

TPR released a very long addendum that fills in a large amount of gaps that were in their book, so once you add that in their book is pretty comprehensive.
 
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I'm kinda glad I took Biochem 1&2, since we covered a lot of metabolic pathways that I've seen questions on in some FLs.

I also changed my studying, I'm doing 2 chapters a day from two different subjects (1 chapter each from two different books). I feel doing two chapters a day from the same subject is boring, and it's harder to recall 12 chapters in one week vs 6 chapters each for two separate topics. It also allows me more time per chapter to practice, and makes me eager to learn. Only section I'm worried about is physics, since there's a ton of formulas to memorize.
 
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