The Official August 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

[Thoroughbred_Med]

107 days out! Who all is signed up to obliterate the MCAT August 7th?

I know it's a bit early but I searched and could not find another August 7th, 2014 MCAT thread! I am hoping that we can keep each other motivated this summer while studying...

I am starting a slightly modified SN2ed schedule May 7th.... slightly modified due to my incredible weakness with physics. I am not taking physics 2 before the MCAT and therefore will be self-teaching it.

Looking forward to hearing from some of y'all!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[moop]

As much as I've seen this dropped on SDN, I already know that passage on AAMC #11 will be hell lol.

It was actually a really nicely written passage/question set. Got all of them right

 

[Shipley231]

It was actually a really nicely written passage/question set. Got all of them right

Moop, M.D., Master of Ebola

 

[moop]

Moop, M.D., Master of Ebola

moop* moop* moop*

 

[Shipley231]

moop* moop* moop*

Hahaha I only do it 'cause I love you =p

 

[futuredoc2389]

Question for you MCATecutioners... Do you time yourselves on the self assessments or naw?

 

[Shipley231]

Question for you MCATecutioners... Do you time yourselves on the self assessments or naw?

I *loosely* timed myself. They aren't full passages with 6-8 questions or anything so it's hard to get a realistic timing down. I just kind of went with the suggested "2-3 hours" or whatever and made sure I fell somewhere in between. Focus more on your thought process and critical thinking skills.

 

[nvas]

Is aug 2 too late to do AAMC 11 as my last full length?

 

[futuredoc2389]

I *loosely* timed myself. They aren't full passages with 6-8 questions or anything so it's hard to get a realistic timing down. I just kind of went with the suggested "2-3 hours" or whatever and made sure I fell somewhere in between. Focus more on your thought process and critical thinking skills.

Thanks Ship

 

[sg808]

Took AAMC 7 today.

Finally got a 30!!! (10/10/10)....if only I can keep this up for the remaining aamcs

 

[evooo8]

I feel like my main weakness right now is test taking skills and not so much content review (besides organic). I find myself making very careless errors on practice exams and because of that my score suffers. Any advice would be great!

 

[jenniferrae]

Is aug 2 too late to do AAMC 11 as my last full length?

Nah, I'm saving AAMC #11 for that day!

 

[whip]

I feel like my main weakness right now is test taking skills and not so much content review (besides organic). I find myself making very careless errors on practice exams and because of that my score suffers. Any advice would be great!

I'm in the same boat. I started this strategy that I got from a TPR tutor:

Monday: PS (I take three FL PS section tests under normal testing conditions)
TEST 1 PS-----Break-------REVIEW----------Break
TEST 2 PS -----Break------REVIEW--------Break
TEST 3 PS-----Break-------REVIEW------Done for the day.

The REVIEW is the most important part- Review every question- I log it into a spreadsheet, Why I got it wrong, what kind of question, what subject, etc. I try and find patterns to specific types of questions, what types of mistakes I make, how I fall for the tricks, elimination errors, changing my answer, not understanding the concepts, missing passage information, running out of time, intimidation.. etc.

It has helped me- but I still want to hear how other people study for for the TEST not just the content.

 

[futuredoc2389]

Gosh! Was that verbal self assessment killer or what?!? I literally got 3 right in the last three passages! :|

 

[goft20]

17 days until freedom!!! We can do this!!

Then, inspired by the fate of @ciestar's ochem book, I'm going to go to the beach, throw my VR book in the ocean, and drink my body weight in margaritas.

I'd like to be there when you are drunk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shipley231]

I'd like to be there when you are drunk.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

August 7th party!! Haha

 

[futuredoc2389]

Can someone maybe make me feel better about bombing the verbal self assessment?

 

[Shipley231]

Can someone maybe make me feel better about bombing the verbal self assessment?

What % did you get on it? Have you taken any FLs?

 

[futuredoc2389]

What % did you get on it? Have you taken any FLs?

I have and I usually average around an 8. But the thing is I screwed up pretty bad on the last 3 which were tough passages by AAMC's analysis. I think the passages got progressively more difficult as I went on. I got 75% of the easy ones correct, but overall I got a 60% on the self assessment for verbal.

 

[Shipley231]

I have and I usually average around an 8. But the thing is I screwed up pretty bad on the last 3 which were tough passages by AAMC's analysis. I think the passages got progressively more difficult as I went on. I got 75% of the easy ones correct, but overall I got a 60% on the self assessment for verbal.

Take the SA as practice, but gauge your score by your FLs

 

[futuredoc2389]

Take the SA as practice, but gauge your score by your FLs

Ya, I mean I was curious if people found the last few tough. I struggle with those social science passages.

 

[jenniferrae]

I have and I usually average around an 8. But the thing is I screwed up pretty bad on the last 3 which were tough passages by AAMC's analysis. I think the passages got progressively more difficult as I went on. I got 75% of the easy ones correct, but overall I got a 60% on the self assessment for verbal.

I've seen people who score 12 and 13s only get low 70s on the SA, so don't feel too bad. As painful as it is, try to go over it and see why you got the answers wrong. Don't get discouraged!!

 

[futuredoc2389]

I've seen people who score 12 and 13s only get low 70s on the SA, so don't feel too bad. As painful as it is, try to go over it and see why you got the answers wrong. Don't get discouraged!!

Thanks! Ya, I have never even got a 10 on verbal ... Its sort of the bane of my existence. I have usually start off like a trooper! I do 3 passages or so and get very near all of them right! But the last 4 is where I usually tank. I came to the conclusion that my endurance is off.

 

[drrao88]

Have any of you been using Gold Standard?!

I took the 5/31 MCAT, so I exhausted all of the AAMC's. I cant use them anymore besides for practice questions. I heard good things about the GS exams, and they seem to be close to the real thing in terms of difficulty. Anyone else using these have any insight?

My last 4 scores:

GS#1: 11/9/10
GS#2: 10/11/10
GS#3: 11/10/11
GS#4: 11/11/12

Going for 33+. Starting Verbal SA tonight to stay familiar with AAMC style Verbal.

 

[Shipley231]

Have any of you been using Gold Standard?!

I took the 5/31 MCAT, so I exhausted all of the AAMC's. I cant use them anymore besides for practice questions. I heard good things about the GS exams, and they seem to be close to the real thing in terms of difficulty. Anyone else using these have any insight?

My last 4 scores:

GS#1: 11/9/10
GS#2: 10/11/10
GS#3: 11/10/11
GS#4: 11/11/12

Going for 33+. Starting Verbal SA tonight to stay familiar with AAMC style Verbal.

I haven't used GS but I'm looking at taking their free exam, do you think it was comparable to the other exams that you have taken thus far?

 

[drrao88]

I haven't used GS but I'm looking at taking their free exam, do you think it was comparable to the other exams that you have taken thus far?

Yes, it's comparable to AAMC. I think the Verbal may be a bit easier, but that's why I'm doing the AAMC Verbal SA now to compare. PS for Gold Standard is very similar to the real thing, and BS on the real thing is really a crapshoot. If it's going to be mostly experimental Kaplan would probably best, but if not, I would say GS does a good job of imitating the real thing.

Much better than Kaplan overall though.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Gosh! Was that verbal self assessment killer or what?!? I literally got 3 right in the last three passages! :|

I think I got less than that on the last three. At least the official guide has more understandable passages. Good grief what did those past MCAT takers have to go through on verbal.

 

[clairephillips]

I love ebola.

(This will make sense very soon.)

I love Ebola too, but I haven't seen it yet. I am just that freak med school applicant all geared to work with infectious diseases.

 

[Czarcasm]

Gosh, this is terrible. I wake up and have a crap ton to do for the day, then I go to sleep and dream about the MCAT/studying. It's becoming a habit now. I can't be the only one.

 

[dumadr.]

Gosh, this is terrible. I wake up and have a crap ton to do for the day, then I go to sleep and dream about the MCAT/studying. It's becoming a habit now. I can't be the only one.

Nope! Not the only one. I dreamed I was taking a verbal test last night and none of the answers seemed correct. Not a good sign..

 

[Czarcasm]

Nope! Not the only one. I dreamed I was taking a verbal test last night and none of the answers seemed correct. Not a good sign..

Haha, it's the worst!

 

[nvas]

Funny, I dream about incredibly handsome and accomplished men calling me up and offering to pay for my medical school.

 

[Blob229]

So, it's the final push before the exam and I think to keep myself on track I'll try to post updates a little bit more.

My current scores are:
Date - Test: TS (PS/VR/BS)
6/10/14 - AAMC 11: 34 (11/11/12) <-- Baseline (before content review)
7/7/14 - AAMC 3: 36 (13/12/11) <-- Finished First Pass of BR Physics
7/8/14 - Kaplan 2: 39 (13/12/14)
7/13/14 - Kaplan 1: 35 (12/12/11)
7/14/14 - AAMC 4: 39 (14/12/13) <-- Finished First Pass of EK Bio
7/21/14 - Kaplan 3: 40 (14/12/14)

I'm about 60% done with my first pass of BR orgo and 30% done with BR gen chem. I had planned to crank through the remainder of content review last week, but got distracted by research and lost interest in reviewing chemistry. So that's the plan for this week. I'm also going to try to fit in the rest of the Kaplan and AAMC practice tests. This will be fun, right?

 

[Blob229]

On a lighter note, who has exciting plans for post-test celebrations? I know a few people in this thread have already posted about how they're planning to unwind. As much as I love high-stakes standardized tests, I can't say I'm not excited.

 

[Midnight Schemes]

So far...
PS-VR-BS

AAMC's
#3- 30, 9-9-12
#4- 29, 10-9-12
#5- 30, 10-8-12
#7- 32, 11-10-11

Just took... #8-28, 10-7-11

I want to blame it on just having a bad test day. That verbal drop is hugely depressing. Are the verbal sections consistent through all these AAMC's? What do I even do at this point? My target score of a 33 looks like its not happening in 2 weeks...

 

[goft20]

So far...
PS-VR-BS

AAMC's
#3- 30, 9-9-12
#4- 29, 10-9-12
#5- 30, 10-8-12
#7- 32, 11-10-11

Just took... #8-28, 10-7-11

I want to blame it on just having a bad test day. That verbal drop is hugely depressing. Are the verbal sections consistent through all these AAMC's? What do I even do at this point? My target score of a 33 looks like its not happening in 2 weeks...

Drake>>>>>Kendrick at verbal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[goft20]

On a lighter note, who has exciting plans for post-test celebrations? I know a few people in this thread have already posted about how they're planning to unwind. As much as I love high-stakes standardized tests, I can't say I'm not excited.

I am going on tour and will bang Beyoncé after she gets divorced from jay z.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clairephillips]

On a lighter note, who has exciting plans for post-test celebrations? I know a few people in this thread have already posted about how they're planning to unwind. As much as I love high-stakes standardized tests, I can't say I'm not excited.

I will only have until August 11th to celebrate because teacher inservice starts then, but my fiance and I are making a beeline for the beach right after I'm done. Road trip!

 

[dumadr.]

So far...
PS-VR-BS

AAMC's
#3- 30, 9-9-12
#4- 29, 10-9-12
#5- 30, 10-8-12
#7- 32, 11-10-11

Just took... #8-28, 10-7-11

I want to blame it on just having a bad test day. That verbal drop is hugely depressing. Are the verbal sections consistent through all these AAMC's? What do I even do at this point? My target score of a 33 looks like its not happening in 2 weeks...

I had a HUGE drop in verbal on #8 too, along with everything else. Maybe due to the fact that I took three practice tests in four days...

Feeling very discouraged as well, but from what I could tell the verbal on that test was considerably more difficult. At least for me...

 

[Shipley231]

So far...
PS-VR-BS

AAMC's
#3- 30, 9-9-12
#4- 29, 10-9-12
#5- 30, 10-8-12
#7- 32, 11-10-11

Just took... #8-28, 10-7-11

I want to blame it on just having a bad test day. That verbal drop is hugely depressing. Are the verbal sections consistent through all these AAMC's? What do I even do at this point? My target score of a 33 looks like its not happening in 2 weeks...

I thought that #8's VR was particularly hard, I wouldn't fret too much. Just give yourself ample time to rest and relax and hit the next one hard.

 

[goft20]

I thought that #8's VR was particularly hard, I wouldn't fret too much. Just give yourself ample time to rest and relax and hit the next one hard.

Wow my highest vr score out of 3,7,8 and was 8 vr..I guess I got lucky because I thought the passages were interesting. **** humanities though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[futuredoc2389]

I think I got less than that on the last three. At least the official guide has more understandable passages. Good grief what did those past MCAT takers have to go through on verbal.

If those self assessments are past verbal questions I am realllllyy scared

 

[goft20]

If those self assessments are past verbal questions I am realllllyy scared

They are past verbal questions on really old mcats..1,2, and 6 I think...I suggest to keep practicing daily by taking full verbal tests..at least that is what I'm doing...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[futuredoc2389]

They are past verbal questions on really old mcats..1,2, and 6 I think...I suggest to keep practicing daily by taking full verbal tests..at least that is what I'm doing...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ya I have like 5 more full length verbal section tests from Kaplan. People tend to not like Kaplan verbal though. I have the EK 101 I haven't done though. I have to decide which I am going to do.

 

[ciestar]

What would be more useful, a book with Kaplans section tests or a book with FLs?

 

[goft20]

What would be more useful, a book with Kaplans section tests or a book with FLs?

A book wit fls definitely. You will not get an entire section of just physics passages. This close to the exam date..your priority should me aamc mcat questions and fls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ciestar]

A book wit fls definitely. You will not get an entire section of just physics passages. This close to the exam date..your priority should me aamc mcat questions and fls.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not taking the exam on the 7th.

 

[whip]

Time is really closing in on us.... Anyone else feel like their weeks go by like days and their days go by like hours?

Time to go do aamc5 verbal section test!

 

[RumbaToMD]

I just signed up for August 7th but have only completed AAMC #3 and a few other FL through Kaplan, TPR and GS. With so little time left, do you think that I can complete all of the AAMC practice exams? Furthermore, would you suggest completing the self-assessment prior to taking another AAMC practice test? I'm trying to figure out how to schedule these last 2 weeks...

 

[moop]

I just signed up for August 7th but have only completed AAMC #3 and a few other FL through Kaplan, TPR and GS. With so little time left, do you think that I can complete all of the AAMC practice exams? I'm trying to figure out how to schedule out these last 2 weeks...

You must complete all AAMCs before taking the exam. Ditch everything else, start doing AAMCs. It's just plain dumb to not do the questions released by the authority and creator of the exam. Who else would know better? Kaplan? (lol they're good, but they ain't AAMC)

 

[goft20]

I'm not taking the exam on the 7th.

Then why are you posting on an august 7 thread then? Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk