Hey all! I switched my exam date from 23rd May to this date. Currently pursuing my masters and its been eating up the bulk of my time. Anyone else signed up for this date?
The Official August 3rd, 2013 MCAT Thread
- Thread starter Sydela
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Where are all you august 3rd takers? 
Just drafted out my plan and will be starting on May 1st so I'll have exactly 3 months to prepare. Using TBR for all except Bio content (EK). I had planned to study for 1 1/2 months for the may 23rd exam but had to change the direction of my thesis unexpectedly. Since I was forking out the money to postpone, decided to give myself 3 months instead. This is my second time taking this - first time was 2+ years ago. I honestly feel I don't remember anything and I pretty much ignored organic completely the first time. hopefully second time's the charm.
Just drafted out my plan and will be starting on May 1st so I'll have exactly 3 months to prepare. Using TBR for all except Bio content (EK). I had planned to study for 1 1/2 months for the may 23rd exam but had to change the direction of my thesis unexpectedly. Since I was forking out the money to postpone, decided to give myself 3 months instead. This is my second time taking this - first time was 2+ years ago. I honestly feel I don't remember anything and I pretty much ignored organic completely the first time. hopefully second time's the charm.
I'm also taking it that day!
I'm gonna study for 85 days in a slightly modified version of the SN2ed schedule using only TPR mainly for content review and NOVA for passages. Last 2 week will consist of doing the AAMC FLs.
I'm gonna study for 85 days in a slightly modified version of the SN2ed schedule using only TPR mainly for content review and NOVA for passages. Last 2 week will consist of doing the AAMC FLs.
welcome! just got my set of TBR books from a friend today. they weigh a ton! taking 2 days to read through organic chemistry as a second language and then start on TBR for all subjects on wed. all the best with studying!
just got my set of TBR books from a friend today. they weigh a ton! taking 2 days to read through organic chemistry as a second language and then start on TBR for all subjects on wed. all the best with studying!I switched to Aug 3'rd as well. Earlier I was registered for July 2'nd but I realized that my preparation was taking longer than I thought, not to mention the full time job I have was draining me out completely. I finished Kaplan content review around 1'st week of May and now I am with the TBR books + revision of Kaplan + MCAT Q Bank from Kaplan. The hardest part is to keep the momemtum going for a prolonged period and in my case I had it in March, slipped a little in April, got it back in May and trying to just keep it going for june and july.
How is everbody else doing?
How is everbody else doing?
August 3rd here too. I'm taking a TPR review course and its going well so far. Anyone taken a full length yet? Studying seems so much more manageable now that I have a defined beast to tackle instead of this amorphous mythical creature everyone complains about!
I am plodding through TBR books and their passage based questions and they are really kicking my butt. Overall it is good practice but it is very tedious, to say the least. I mean going over the answers and taking note of my mistakes etc., it takes a good 2 to 3 hrs per chapter and I get mentally tired after awhile.
Was wondering if any of you could point me towards some examples, some links of sample 'satement of purpose' or personal essays that premeds have to prepare for medical school. For those of us who are not in school or college anymore, any help in this matter is appreciated. I just wanted to go through a few sample essays to get an idea on what goes into it, how long should it be, and how to structure it. Thanks!
I was thinking that this weekend I will sit with AAMC - 3 and tear it apart line by line. No timing involved but to get a feel of questions, to see where I am at with my prepration. But we'll see how that goes. Has anybody done that so far ?
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sps27,
Check out Barron's Essays that will get you into Medical School. It really helped me get examples of what to write about.
Check out Barron's Essays that will get you into Medical School. It really helped me get examples of what to write about.
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I took the AAMC 3 and did horribly, so I'm planning on moving my test date back (scheduled for July 26). Are any of you using Kaplan books? I have them but I heard they weren't great for studying. Also, are any of you planning on applying this cycle? I was going to but now I'm rethinking that...
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You won't be ready until you have a competitive MCAT; rushing the test will do you no good. Take it when you are ready.
I am using Kaplan books. I finished them almost a month ago. Kaplan books are not horrible, but alone they are not sufficient. But I do like their easy flowing style of instruction, some humor, and they have a few good questions too. Kaplan Verbal passages are more difficult than TBR verbal. After finishing Kaplan I jumped on to TBR. I've found TBR to be the real deal, in terms of sheer volume of questions, tricks to answering questions quickly, difficulty level, orienting ones thinking on MCAT level. It is exhaustive. Currently I am revising Kaplan and doing TBR. TBR is time consuming, esp., OChem and Bio books.
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I agree but I think it will only benefit us in the end. Starting AAMC FL's in 2 weeks!
I won't be anywhere close to finishing TBR by that time, but I think I need to start looking at FL's too. How close are you to finishing TBR ? I am about 4 chaps in Part 1 of Phy, Orgo, GChem and Bio...
I was wondering if anybody else is having trouble with TBR Physical Sciences books. The questions are challenging. I am barely touching 10's in those passage based questions TBR has. It is all fantastic material -- but really hard.
Is it wise to focus more on Bio TBR book than Orgo TBR book? Out of the 7 psgs, there are more Bio psgs than Orgo. They are both very time consuming so I think its best to concentrate on finishing Bio first. What do you say?
Hey all!
I am currently scheduled for the July 2nd mcat but have been very disappointed with my aamc practice scores (18-22). I have the capability to change my test date to August 2nd.
What are your thoughts on the August 2nd date corresponding to the application process? I have been told this is too late to be considered at all
Thanks for any help and or advice!
I am currently scheduled for the July 2nd mcat but have been very disappointed with my aamc practice scores (18-22). I have the capability to change my test date to August 2nd.
What are your thoughts on the August 2nd date corresponding to the application process? I have been told this is too late to be considered at all
Thanks for any help and or advice!
I changed from July 2'nd to Aug 3'rd. I work for a medical school and at least in this school they don't start looking at applications until after late Oct or Nov. So I don't think it is too late.....in my opinion. Now I have been told that most schools have rolling admissions and that is true but I still think you have a descent shot, if not exemplar by taking the exam on Aug 3'rd.
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Applying with an MCAT around 18-22 is approximately the equivalent of not applying at all. Late is better than never, also, August 2 is not too late. You have a long way to go, but a descent or competitive score will greatly outweigh an 18-22 regardless of what time in the cycle you apply.
In regards to LOR (letter of recommendation), what is the norm that students use. Should all recommendations be from teachers, professors or should 2 be from teachers and 1 from the hospital or clinic one is volunteering or some non-profit that the student may have worked for in the past. Just wanted to get some ideas on that. Do people take recommendation from their employers (past or present) if they are employed?
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School websites usually indicate the required LORs. Usually they want one letter from a physician and a letter or two from your teachers or premed committee.
So I figured I'd start posting on here since I've been obsessing over SDN for quite some time over my aug. 3rd mcat. I am beyond anxious at this point. The days aren't long enough! I've been using the Gold Standard exams and the PS sections are pretty hard. Anyone else using these exams? Oh, and TBR for everything.
Is there a way I can figure out by just looking at the molecular structure (without using the benedict or fehling) if a sugar is a reducing sugar or a non-reducing sugar.......I guess what I am asking is, why is sucrose a non-reducing sugar and lactose a reducing sugar?
Got the ans to this question, Thanks!
Here is another question that has me puzzled. Take a look at Q: 49 in TBR page 147 of Bio Part 2 Molecular Bio book. So how the hell did they calculate those numbers based on pka1, pka2, pka3 values. Histidine + Aspartic Acid (pH = 4.5) , Cystein + Tyrosine (pH = 9.2), Arginine + Lysine (pH = 4.65), Lysine + Cysteine (9.6).. There is no explanation given as to how they are getting those values. Any thoughts, insights on this one?
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I am. How is everyone doing? Started FL's yet? I am taking my 3rd (AAMC 5) tomorrow.
I am taking on Aug 28'th, but I am still sh***t scared about it. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. I will do AAMC-3 this weekend. But TBR has been a great resource. I have to finish TBR before I sit for the exam.
Also, I stumbled upon many school threads with admission updates for 2012-2013 batch. It is so competitive to get in. There is top 25, top 40, top 50 waiting list. There are so many students waitlisted and one drops out, one goes in. It is scary, not knowing whether one is getting accepted or not, and how many students are still ahead of you.
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Hi fellas and felletes(?),
I hope you guys are feeling more confident in your abilities to DESTROY this exam!! Did AAMC #5 and I have mixed feelings about my score. I will be switching my focus to verbal for now at least!
AAMC #5: 13/8/13 (yay verbal...) - Decided to wing the verbal section since I find it extremely boring to study. Borrowing my friend's EK verbal 101 book to get some more practice in.
I hope you guys are feeling more confident in your abilities to DESTROY this exam!! Did AAMC #5 and I have mixed feelings about my score. I will be switching my focus to verbal for now at least!
AAMC #5: 13/8/13 (yay verbal...) - Decided to wing the verbal section since I find it extremely boring to study. Borrowing my friend's EK verbal 101 book to get some more practice in.
I am taking the exam on Aug 28 but Verbal is my problem too. I just don't know how to tackle it. I started with Kaplan and was pretty much a 9~10 with those 6 passages. And then I jumped over to TBR and got 7~8. In one exam of TBR I hit a 4 and I was devastated. So I jumped over to EK 101. I decided to break the EK 101 tests up in two sets. 3 passages for 30 mins in the morning and 4 passages in 32 mins same day at night with the idea being to get as many correct ans as possible. Once I get a consistent 70% correct margin, I can extend to 5 passages in 40 mins, 6 passages in 48 mins and so on. Anyways, I don't know what else to do. I would like to at least get 30/40 or more consistently correct for this section but it seems almost impossible at the present moment.
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How's everyone feeling!?? The day is getting close!!!
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I'm getting anxiety I just want to write it now!!! I feel perfectly prepared this very minute and want to write it ASAP!! (okay, VR could def be improved, but still, ain't nobody got time for dat).
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This thread sucks. I feel like I won't have anyone to bitch/relate to Satuday afternoon.
I'll be on here sometime saturday to voice my frustration over the test.
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