The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
vsantav

vsantav

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
25
Reaction score
2
Registration opens up sometime today so I thought I'd go ahead and make this thread. Anyone else taking it in August?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents:

C/P: There were a bunch of calculations which through off my timing a bit. I ended up having to rush through the last passage and last few stand-alones. Hopefully I got a few of those right. This has always been my worst section and I definitely think it was the worst section that I performed on today. The actual passages were easier overall than Princeton and NS I think, though. Just took longer to get through calculations.

CARS: loved it! honestly cars is always my favorite section & I tend to do well. Didn't have as much time at the end to review (normally have 15-20 minutes & only had about 5 on the actual test). I think this is because the text size was larger and it threw off my normal pace. But I still think it went well. None of the passages were too difficult to follow.

Bio: Usually score 126/127 on this section for practice tests. I think it was easier than the exams I took (NextStep & Princeton) so hopefully I score in my target range. There were a lot of reasoning questions, which I like. Finished with 4 min to spare after reviewing marked Q's.

Psych: I'm a cognitive science major & usually breeze through this passage (usually with 30 min to spare). Normally score pretty high (128-129). Not totally sure how I'll score though because there were a good amount of terms I didn't recognize. I used EK for content review, for reference. I'm hoping my intuition serves me well. Finished with 15 min to spare after reviewing marked.

OVERALL: glad I moved my testing date from early August to the 22nd. I took roughly 4 more practice exams which I definitely think helped with stamina and confidence. Aiming for 127 in each section (508 overall). Nervous and excited to see my score in a month!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
FindingNismo said:
Do we really have to wait until September 22nd? Yikes.

So I've been doing quite a bit of thinking since yesterday. After coming out, I felt like I bombed and I swore I'd never take this test again, but I've become totally comfortable with the idea of a retake. I got rocked by those C/P calculations, and my initial feelings were that those questions just weren't fair. And maybe they weren't, but I don't think this test is meant to feel fair. Come to think of it, that would probably be a ****ty attitude for a doctor to have, and I'm guessing that most things in medicine don't feel very fair. Who knows, maybe some of them were experimental and won't count towards my score. Or maybe they weren't, and the one passage that I knew I killed was experimental. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to give up, and don't think anybody else in the same boat should either.
Click to expand...

I feel you, if I had to retake I honestly wouldn't mind, but I'm just aiming for above a 509. Glad registration for January 2016 opens in October so I have plenty of time to think if I want to retake after scores are up. I HATED the calculations, why can't you guys just have simple units like the FL and OG instead of having to convert between cm and mm, and then having to multiply/divide them to an approximate answers instead of allowing estimation by simple scientific notation–and in a short amount of time too. I just hope those were thrown in to slow test takers down so they wouldn't have enough time to answer the other 50 or so questions that didn't involve calculations.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
WVU2015 said:
What score would I get if I only get 50% correct on all section on the real MCAT? I think I did much better than that on CARS and P/S, but not so sure about the other 2 sections. Just curious to know. Thank You.
Click to expand...
Good question, anyone know the answer???
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rishikish said:
I feel you, if I had to retake I honestly wouldn't mind, but I'm just aiming for above a 509. Glad registration for January 2016 opens in October so I have plenty of time to think if I want to retake after scores are up. I HATED the calculations, why can't you guys just have simple units like the FL and OG instead of having to convert between cm and mm, and then having to multiply/divide them to an approximate answers instead of allowing estimation by simple scientific notation–and in a short amount of time too. I just hope those were thrown in to slow test takers sown so they wouldn't have enough time to answer the other 50 or so questions that didn't involve calculations.
Click to expand...
Right??!! I really hate feeling this way and prefer to take on an internal locus of control, but damn! Screw TPR and all the test prep companies that told us we wouldn't be doing conversions like that. Truly, I find it unfair that our test date was the only that was expected to do it to that degree. It seems like an unfair metric. There just wasn't enough time to do it thoroughly. Well, I suppose we have to be ready for anything! If I retake I will focus on physics for sure. Luckily I saved all of those to the end and tried to get everything else.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It's so weird getting back to normal life and responsibilities after living and breathing mcat for so long.
What have you all been doing with your freedom? I had dinner and drinks with friends last night and went to the beach today, finally got to fully enjoy my summer. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Also, does anyone else keep thinking about specific questions and second guessing their answers? I was so scared of running out of time that I rushed through every section, and sometimes barely read all the answer options...:oops:

The more I think about my answers,the less confident I am that I interpreted the question correctly...
29 more days....
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sorry if this has already been asked before, but will we be receiving preliminary percentiles in ~3 wks, or will we just get the whole shebang on the score release date?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TaroMilkT said:
Sorry if this has already been asked before, but will we be receiving preliminary percentiles in ~3 wks, or will we just get the whole shebang on the score release date?
Click to expand...
I think that was only for the April, May, June folks since the grading system was still being worked out....however that would necessitate prelim percentiles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
My brain woke me up in the middle of the night last night to inform me that one of those C/P questions that I thought I had "solved", was, in fact, completely wrong. Thanks brain, glad you were able to let me know that two days after the test rather than during it. This is going to be an awesome 4 weeks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
WVU2015 said:
What score would I get if I only get 50% correct on all section on the real MCAT? I think I did much better than that on CARS and P/S, but not so sure about the other 2 sections. Just curious to know. Thank You.
Click to expand...

You can't really know the answer to this. AAMC "equates" their scoring a little differently, so 50% of the answers correct on a C/P section could be a 125 (for example) or if AAMC deems that section more difficult than other exams it could be a 126.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
billeboi31 said:
You can't really know the answer to this. AAMC "equates" their scoring a little different, so 50% of the answers correct on a C/P section could be a 125 (for example) or if AAMC deems that section more difficult than other exams it could be a 126.
Click to expand...
In that case, I should get a 132 lol

My C/P was murder
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
Anyone else feel like they don't know what to do with their time now that the MCAT is done? I started watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix and am already hooked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
I was going to go the pool but it's been rainy/overcast since the MCAT. Once again that test robs me of my youth...

Anyways, I'm back to application stuff. Anyone else applying this cycle?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
billeboi31 said:
You can't really know the answer to this. AAMC "equates" their scoring a little differently, so 50% of the answers correct on a C/P section could be a 125 (for example) or if AAMC deems that section more difficult than other exams it could be a 126.
Click to expand...
So does that mean that the 50% of the answers correct could get you a score between 124-126 depending on the difficulty? Could it possibly be even lower than 124?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
skinofteeth said:
I was going to go the pool but it's been rainy/overcast since the MCAT. Once again that test robs me of my youth...

Anyways, I'm back to application stuff. Anyone else applying this cycle?
Click to expand...

Depending on that darn MCAT I am hopefully applying this cycle. I actually woke up a few times in a panic last night...and I don't suffer from anxiety. I didn't realize how much stress this would put on my brain to be honest!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
DHtoM said:
Depending on that darn MCAT I am hopefully applying this cycle. I actually woke up a few times in a panic last night...and I don't suffer from anxiety. I didn't realize how much stress this would put on my brain to be honest!
Click to expand...

Ibuprofen with alcohol helps. Trust me, I'm not a doctor but I will be someday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi everyone. I decided to not visit SDN until I was out of the "exam trauma" mode. I did post a quick summary of my opinion of the exam. Here's the detailed version for Sept test takers. First of all, I would say that the test was very manageable (note that this does not mean fair).

C/P: Lots and lots of calculations. Some of the questions felt a little too easy to be true. Mine had quite a few GChem/Physics concepts on it along with a bit of Orgo and a few questions about amino acids. I used TBR to prepare and though I heard it was overboard, I felt prepared as I could do the calculations quickly. I think I filled up about 3 pages of scrap paper with calculations and math.
CARS: very comparable to the AAMC FL with maybe 2 hard passages and about 10 questions where 2 answers sounded good. I honestly am just crossing my fingers and hoping to nail the 127 on this.
B/B: I was ripping my hair out during this section. The first passage was brutal, but I was used to seeing hard stuff from my practice exams so I persevered on. It really hit me when I got to the end and realized that every single passage was difficult. There was no way to study or prepare for the types of research questions they threw at us. Test prep companies (except maybe EK) missed the mark and the AAMC FL seemed too easy but the best representation. I 'm hoping for a generous curve on this one.
Psych/Soc: I was surprised by the lack of data/graphs questions. It felt like CARS part II. Definitely manageable with a fair amount of studying. Maybe 5 bad questions and if you have good answer eliminating skills, this should not be bad.

Good luck to all and I cannot wait till Sept 22! Until then, try to relax and stay off of SDN (though coming here is inexplicably relaxing also).
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pusheen said:
Also, does anyone else keep thinking about specific questions and second guessing their answers? I was so scared of running out of time that I rushed through every section, and sometimes barely read all the answer options...:oops:

The more I think about my answers,the less confident I am that I interpreted the question correctly...
29 more days....
Click to expand...
I do and it's really bothering me. Sometimes I even second guess myself to what answer I put.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
It seems like the tests are mixed and matched...@blahblahpremeds and I had the same c/p and possibly CARS, but the rest of the sections seemed very different.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
WVU2015 said:
So does that mean that the 50% of the answers correct could get you a score between 124-126 depending on the difficulty? Could it possibly be even lower than 124?
Click to expand...

To be honest I have no idea. AAMC makes it well-known that they do not "curve" the test, but their MCAT Handbook talks a lot about how they "equate" the scores, so that 50% right on Test A C/P does not match up to 50% right on Test B C/P (might be a 125 on Test A and a 126 on Test B, depending on how difficult the section was). The best way to think about it is doing better than 50% of the test-takers for that test rather than answering 50% of the questions correctly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
billeboi31 said:
To be honest I have no idea. AAMC makes it well-known that they do not "curve" the test, but their MCAT Handbook talks a lot about how they "equate" the scores, so that 50% right on Test A C/P does not match up to 50% right on Test B C/P (might be a 125 on Test A and a 126 on Test B, depending on how difficult the section was). The best way to think about it is doing better than 50% of the test-takers for that test rather than answering 50% of the questions correctly.
Click to expand...

I agree. 50% answered right could also mean a 120. Thinking about MCAT makes me depressed. I really don't want to retake, although I've accepted the fact that retaking wouldn't be too bad. At least I know how to study better now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
C/P: darn calculations. focused on physics in my prep, since usually my weakest subject, and was glad that my section had a fair amount on it. Hoping for above a 125 in this section.
CARS: for some reason it felt very straightforward, passages were clear, so either did very well or very bad.....Finished on time and enjoyed the passage topics! Don't know what some people are saying that passages are longer, it felt like the same length as AAMC FL................................
B/B: A few here and there I wasn't sure on but overall very comfortable with this section. Echo what many have said already about the amino acids. Also, some ridiculously easy questions????
P/S: A bit harder than AAMC FL/TPR but manageable if you POE strategically and use what you know.

Honestly, when it comes to the mcat, YOU DO YOU; what I mean is, do what you feel like will help you the most. Whether it was TPR instructors, my med school friends, or people online, they all said to "don't review/focus on practice passages." Yes, I did passages but for me, I made sure to take a few days to understand and do content review in areas I was weak in. Just because the MCAT isn't a regurgitation test doesn't mean you skimp out on the fundamentals. Don't feel guilty about it. Overall thought it was fair; refuse to call the mcat a "beast" - yes it was hard, but its not unconquerable.

Congrats folks for finishing - you guys deserve some rest after studying this whole summer and staying inside while your friends go out to play. Im renting every stupid movie I can to help return my brain to mush :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
After all of that time in preparation, I honestly wouldn't mind taking 3 MCATs and being able to pick the best score. Seems wild to use a single score after all of that study!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
No idea how you all remember any questions. I can't recall a single one. It's a blur.+pissed+
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pusheen said:
it's so dead here now...
Click to expand...

Oh....well I guess then we'll just have to

HAVE A F*CKING DANCE PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

pusheen_disco_animated_gif_by_markp0rter-d75xvk0.gif
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
When scores are released, the thread will pick back up again but it will ultimately die. This part of our lives will be over.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
J Senpai said:
When scores are released, the thread will pick back up again but it will ultimately die. This part of our lives will be over.
Click to expand...

All beautiful things die. Life is a rat maze, and most of us will never reach the cheese. Or we will reach the cheese, and realize it is rotten.

It's all a big nothing. Excuse me while I have a manic episode.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Signed up for a retake 3 days after I get my score but can't bring myself to review in the event I have to retake it..guh...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
StudyLater said:
So enlighten me. Why do Canadians want to go to med school in the US? All $$$ or what? And even then, I thought Canadian docs were paid pretty handsomely, just slightly less on average.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...nt-per-physician/article7824173/?from=7750697

Granted.....CAD (3/4 multiplier) but still quite comparable.

Do you expect to get way better training or something?
Click to expand...

Oh, I would never pick US over Canadian schools. I firmly believe that our healthcare system is much better than you guys (both suck but I am against the way it works in US personally). Plus, tution fee for us studying there is like 90k vs 12k here per year. The only reason I d consider applying to schools there is because they are somewhat easier to get into for me at least. But unless I get into top 10 US schools, I personally would never ever pick US (as an international student) over Canada (as a citizen here).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yea, we come on these forums to chit chat with our american counterparts on the MCAT exam, beyond that our processes, cut offs, and everything is pretty different. @TheAnonymous thanks! I really really hope I do not have to re-write this thing, if my scores aren't horrendous I can cancel and still get some money back, if not...well...guess I have to re-take to salvage this year as a possible applicant.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
StudyLater said:
So enlighten me. Why do Canadians want to go to med school in the US? All $$$ or what? And even then, I thought Canadian docs were paid pretty handsomely, just slightly less on average.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...nt-per-physician/article7824173/?from=7750697

Granted.....CAD (3/4 multiplier) but still quite comparable.

Do you expect to get way better training or something?
Click to expand...

It's brutally competitive to get into Canada. We're realistically limited to applying to our province only. We can apply to other provinces but you have about ~5-10% chance of getting in if applying out of province. Many students even relocate to other provinces that have lower MCAT/GPA cutoffs for a couple of years to get the In-province status. You're also required to meet BOTH the MCAT and the GPA cutoffs i.e. you can't compensate one for the other. It's not all bad though. There are schools that look at best 2 years, last 3 years, no MCAT etc. But yeah that's the general gist of it. Ultimately the idea is to become a physician by any means possible, whether it's up North or in 'Murica :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I just want my scores. Seriously waiting for one month does not help one bit, I NEED TO KNOW NOW!!!

This is my third time taking this test, and I believe I studied my hardest in this third attempt.

This score will determine so many things, it has been difficult concentrating on anything without thinking about this score.

I just want to be done, I'm tired and have reached the end of my tank and I just want a break.

Honestly, waiting is as stressful (if not more) as studying everyday.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
So I've been celebrating/repressing this experience for the last two days, but here's my update!

My test center had serious connectivity issues to the MCAT server, tl;dr I didn't start my exam until 11AM, finished just before 6:30PM. Was kind of a nightmare.

C/P: This felt pretty standard. Definitely more calculations than expected and you had to know physics equations. Lots and lots of biochem. I felt good about this section and it is consistently my highest, only two calculations I wasn't 100% certain about. Harder than AAMC FL and AAMC OG, and usually I have more time left over than I did, but not bad.
CARS: It was fine, felt consistent with OG and FL. Interesting passages, sans one. Longer passages than expected, but pretty easy questions. I felt good about this, a few with ambiguous/similar answer choices but overall I feel like this was a good CARS for me.
B/B: PRAISE THE QUESTIONABLY EXISTENT GOD(S). I've never felt so confident about a section as I did on this exam's Bio/Biochem. Doing research and going to lab meetings seriously makes the passages easier to read, I had no issues there. Most of these just felt too easy. Not much biochem, and what there was just required amino acid chemistry. Only had a few metabolism questions, and those could be answered from intro bio. Tons of cell bio, minimal but present physiology. Definitely follow the AAMC outline, I had one question I could specifically relate to a seemingly obscure bullet on the AAMC outline.
P/S: Everything went downhill here. I felt great about every other section but this. I prepped with TPR+Khan, and I felt like there were many terms I had not seen before... I'm nervous about this section. Definitely confident in more than half of them, but I've never marked and been unsure about this many in a section. Definitely worried about my score in this section, hoping for the curve, experimental questions, and/or my other three section scores to save me. Really nervous.

Overall, despite a weird testing situation, I'm glad it's over and that it was, for the most part, a great test for me. Hard to say how I feel like I did, I got a 519 scaled on the OG and I feel like I got anywhere from a 514 to something in the 520's.

I prepped with:

TBR class, ~2.5 months.
TBR books (ochem, gchem, bio/biochem, psych, physics).
TPR Psych/Soc
Kaplan Biochem (first half only).
Khan Academy (random videos).
AAMC Question Packs (Chem, Bio 1, Bio 2, CARS 1, CARS 2)
AAMC OG Questions
TBR Exams (only used one, do not recommend)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
torontopharm said:
It's brutally competitive to get into Canada. We're realistically limited to applying to our province only. We can apply to other provinces but you have about ~5-10% chance of getting in if applying out of province.
Click to expand...

So 5-10% vs. the US's 2%? Still seems better. Plus don't you guys have even smaller chances than Americans? Applying to US schools just seems like the lottery at that point. Do you guys get preference over other countries, like say India/China/Japan/Mexico for example? Or do you compete with all those guys for spots specifically designated for international students?

torontopharm said:
Many students even relocate to other provinces that have lower MCAT/GPA cutoffs for a couple of years to get the In-province status. You're also required to meet BOTH the MCAT and the GPA cutoffs i.e. you can't compensate one for the other.
Click to expand...

I didn't think we really could either. Maybe some DO schools do that, but I don't know.

torontopharm said:
It's not all bad though. There are schools that look at best 2 years, last 3 years, no MCAT etc. But yeah that's the general gist of it. Ultimately the idea is to become a physician by any means possible, whether it's up North or in 'Murica :)
Click to expand...

I suppose I understand. More options is always a good thing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheAnonymous said:
Oh, I would never pick US over Canadian schools. I firmly believe that our healthcare system is much better than you guys (both suck but I am against the way it works in US personally).
Click to expand...

From a moral perspective? Of course.

From an economic perspective? Capitalism drools in the face of this cash cow. Profiting off of the misery of others is a US pasttime, like baseball or entitlement.

TheAnonymous said:
Plus, tution fee for us studying there is like 90k vs 12k here per year.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the other thing. Again, we love us some capital gains over here. No one is exempt. Except those in poverty, and that's mainly due to standards set against discrimination by the accrediting bodies.

TheAnonymous said:
The only reason I d consider applying to schools there is because they are somewhat easier to get into for me at least. But unless I get into top 10 US schools, I personally would never ever pick US (as an international student) over Canada (as a citizen here).
Click to expand...

Seriously? Top 10 US schools are easier for Canadians to get into than your own schools? I don't get this!!

Why isn't it just "Mk, you get this reasonable MCAT score and this reasonable GPA and you'll have a great shot," like it is here?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

agentfaithmd
AAMC MCAT Official Prep Complete Bundle Worth It?
Replies
0
Views
376
agentfaithmd
agentfaithmd
D
Is it possible to get II or acceptances with a late August MCAT? Assuming the primary is submitted in June
Replies
6
Views
1K
gyngyn
gyngyn
freshdoe
  • Question
August 8th vs August 14th MCAT
Replies
9
Views
2K
JimKimSlim
JimKimSlim
doctorjackal
  • Question
August 14th MCAT Late?
Replies
3
Views
1K
Blueprint Med School
Blueprint Med School
alv
  • Question
Looking for lost link "NextStep Test Prep's 100 Days to MCAT 2015 Success"
Replies
5
Views
1K
alv
alv
Top