The Official January 10, 2015 MCAT Thread

[Jhakaasmaan]

Hey everyone, first time posting here and I thought I would go ahead a make a thread for those writing on this test date.

115 days out!

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[eatandpoop]

I see my post-gaming strategy working for you eh?

Mind sharin it with the rest of ussss?

 

[lazyindy]

Mind sharin it with the rest of ussss?

of course!

After you take any practice test take a break for 4-5 hours. You need to give your brain a chance to recover from the mental beatdown. Here is how I post-gamed each of my aamc fl:

1. get a notebook

2. write down your thought process when you were attempting to answer the question that you missed.

3. Write down the subject category of the question you missed: (like Physics-kinematics, gen chem-solutions, etc.) and whether you missed it due to lack of content or mis-interpreting.

4. write down WHY you missed the question. this is the most important part.."I missed this question because...." then after that write "my thought process SHOULD HAVE been...."

5. take a break

6. For questions you missed due to content - do corresponding problems in TBR/TPR/Kaplan/ whatever you have for the subjects you missed.

 

[deleted388502]

Improved by 2 points from #3, which still is extremely low compared to some of you guys, but I have lower expectations
24: 8/7/9
Circuits killed me on PS, and I need to work on verbal like a mo-fo, but I was pleased with my BS score! Always so much more interesting when they have real-life examples (sepsis, etc.)

Don't be nervous! I was so excited to start taking practice tests, so after making a 22 on #3, I was devastated. There's a girl with the username @avenlea who just posted in the 30+ MCAT thread that keeps me going if you want to go read her post! It's on the very last page.
Don't psych yourself out...psych yourself in. I have to work on "fake confidence" with myself all the time and even though it's "fake", it's much better than wallowing in self-doubt.


Target is anywhere from 27-30. In that range I think I'll have a great shot at DO with my EC's and GPA.

oh my gosh you just made my day I'm so glad I was able to help you out!
Congratulations on the BS improvement; frankly if you keep improving, that's the biggest goal. You still have a month until your test and you can totally get it up to the range you want it to be!! Keep working on PS content, throw in some verbal tests, and you should be good Best of luck!

This makes me nervous to take Anynore exams.... I get discouraged easily but good thing is I manage to pick myself up pretty quickly....

The more discouraged you are to do tests, the more it will show in your score.
Practice tests are exactly that - practice. They expose you to what may happen on the real thing. You want to peak on test day, not before that. Your AAMC scores give you a ballpark of where you're at, but only YOU know yourself and how well you know the material, how well you can apply it. Use the AAMCs as a way to figure out where you're struggling and how you're handling the test, rather than using the score as a measure of your intelligence and letting it hit your self esteem.

Best of luck to all of you guys!!!

 

[deleted388502]

Also, regarding this:

Reviewing the full length and I am realizing...wow. Sometimes if I don't know a question/concept at all, I'll blank and just not even attempt it or not give it an honest attempt(I know bad). Damn. And I am realizing. ..wow if I would have just read the question carefully or gone back to the passage I could have gotten rid of 3 choices leading to the right answer. Yay for full lengths!!

Follow @lazyindy's advice!!

of course!

After you take any practice test take a break for 4-5 hours. You need to give your brain a chance to recover from the mental beatdown. Here is how I post-gamed each of my aamc fl:

1. get a notebook

2. write down your thought process when you were attempting to answer the question that you missed.

3. Write down the subject category of the question you missed: (like Physics-kinematics, gen chem-solutions, etc.) and whether you missed it due to lack of content or mis-interpreting.

4. write down WHY you missed the question. this is the most important part.."I missed this question because...." then after that write "my thought process SHOULD HAVE been...."

5. take a break

6. For questions you missed due to content - do corresponding problems in TBR/TPR/Kaplan/ whatever you have for the subjects you missed.

Part of what you've described, @nystin, is learning the test. Learning to not get burned out in the middle of the test, and understanding that all the answers are literally right in front of you at all times. That's why when you first start taking practice tests your scores may be a little lower - but constant improvement is the goal, learning from your mistakes is the ultimate goal.

 

[nystin]

Also, regarding this:



Follow @lazyindy's advice!!



Part of what you've described, @nystin, is learning the test. Learning to not get burned out in the middle of the test, and understanding that all the answers are literally right in front of you at all times. That's why when you first start taking practice tests your scores may be a little lower - but constant improvement is the goal, learning from your mistakes is the ultimate goal.

thanks for replying and giving us your two cents! Congratulations on your score!!! good luck friend!!!

 

[ConfusedChemist]

I did my first aamc since august, went with #7
got 13/10/11
VR is killing me....any advice for bio though?

 

[Dolly96]

I'm barely starting to do practice tests. I did one on Sunday and am very discouraged with how low I scored. I took Kaplan Full Length 2. I plan on taking an AAMC full length this Wednesday. Any suggestions on which one I should take as a starter?

 

[GCSDOC]

Don't be nervous! I was so excited to start taking practice tests, so after making a 22 on #3, I was devastated. There's a girl with the username @avenlea who just posted in the 30+ MCAT thread that keeps me going if you want to go read her post! It's on the very last page.
Don't psych yourself out...psych yourself in. I have to work on "fake confidence" with myself all the time and even though it's "fake", it's much better than wallowing in self-doubt.



Target is anywhere from 27-30. In that range I think I'll have a great shot at DO with my EC's and GPA.

Sounds like we are in a similar situation, and yeh, @avenlea's post is a confidence booster for us!

 

[Cawolf]

I'm barely starting to do practice tests. I did one on Sunday and am very discouraged with how low I scored. I took Kaplan Full Length 2. I plan on taking an AAMC full length this Wednesday. Any suggestions on which one I should take as a starter?

If you are planning on taking all of them, you should start with 3.

 

[TXhopeful]

Ditto on the #3!

 

[uvrsol]

howz everybody's studying going? I'm taking GS 1 today with TPR verbal.

 

[mslm5401]

@avenlea Thanks for your kind words to everyone on this thread and congrats on your score!

Hm - I thought there were some challenging questions on 4 but overall I found 3 much harder.

I agree-- I thought 4 was much easier.

Improved by 2 points from #3, which still is extremely low compared to some of you guys, but I have lower expectations
24: 8/7/9
Circuits killed me on PS, and I need to work on verbal like a mo-fo, but I was pleased with my BS score! Always so much more interesting when they have real-life examples (sepsis, etc.)
Target is anywhere from 27-30. In that range I think I'll have a great shot at DO with my EC's and GPA.

Congrats on the score increase! You only need 1-2 more points in each category to get your goal score, and you have a whole month. You can totally do it

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

AAMC FL #4 today. 11/9/10. Improved on PS by 3 points, VR by 1, and dropped in BS by 1. I tried out the VR method posted here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/verbsies-the-draupadi-method.1099968/ and I think it helped a bit reading the questions before hand to get an idea of what I'm about to read. But hey I will take an increase over my VR 7 any day.

I originally took a prep course with TPR and exhausted all those FL tests (not very encouraging results haha) Looking to these last couple weeks does anyone have an opinion on purchasing GS or TBR FL tests? I want more material but not sure what to go with. I look forward to your input!

 

[Cawolf]

Are you out of AAMC FL? I have 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 left - plenty to space out until test day.

I am asking because you said you took 4 and if you were going sequentially. . .

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

Are you out of AAMC FL? I have 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 left - plenty to space out until test day.

I am asking because you said you took 4 and if you were going sequentially. . .

Cawolf, I took all the AAMC FLs ranging from August of this year up to my test date in October. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing but I vaguely remember the tests, especially the early ones so I don't really feel like my scores are affected too much by retaking them. (but yes I am aware that these scores may inaccurate). This would also be the reason why I am looking for extra test material.

 

[Cawolf]

@AspiringOrtho09 Ah ok makes sense! I recall all the questions after the tests too.

 

[lumberjack89]

Cawolf, I took all the AAMC FLs ranging from August of this year up to my test date in October. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing but I vaguely remember the tests, especially the early ones so I don't really feel like my scores are affected too much by retaking them. (but yes I am aware that these scores may inaccurate). This would also be the reason why I am looking for extra test material.

Same situation here - I've taken all the AAMC tests, but will probably be taking them all again between now and Jan. 10th just for the practice, even if the scores will be a little inflated from having seen the material before.

Having taken all the GS tests as well I can tell you they are very different from the AAMC material, and most folks agree they are harder, but still good. The VR on anything but AAMC tests is pretty bad, and GS is no exception. Their tests are more drill-oriented, i.e. taking a concept and really hammering it in with tons of problems about it on a single test, which would never happen on an AAMC, but it's a great way to solidify concepts.

I hear TBR are more representative than any other as far as AAMC-likeness goes, so I'll probably buy access to some of those later on if I really get a hankering for a more accurate read on my score compared to the re-taken AAMCs. Let me know what you go with and what you think of whatever material you pick!

 

[ahisma]

FL 3 and 4 felt comparable to me and my scores were about the same. I did have a little more difficulty with FL 4's verbal and dropped 1 point. They were a handful of questions that seemed more ambiguous and subjective than usual, although part of my problem was running out of time. I also ran out of time on PS and had to guess on 2 whole passages again.

Any ideas for improving timing besides just doing more timed practice? Not sure what else I can do. I know the content, it just takes me longer than the allotted time to recall or figure out exactly what is going on with the question.

 

[petyr_baelish]

ahisma, I have the same problem. I'm handling it by focusing on learning more. If you read fairly fast, then your biggest drain on time is likely just not enough practice.

I'm not timing anything. I've gotten faster naturally with more practice.

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

Same situation here - I've taken all the AAMC tests, but will probably be taking them all again between now and Jan. 10th just for the practice, even if the scores will be a little inflated from having seen the material before.

Having taken all the GS tests as well I can tell you they are very different from the AAMC material, and most folks agree they are harder, but still good. The VR on anything but AAMC tests is pretty bad, and GS is no exception. Their tests are more drill-oriented, i.e. taking a concept and really hammering it in with tons of problems about it on a single test, which would never happen on an AAMC, but it's a great way to solidify concepts.

I hear TBR are more representative than any other as far as AAMC-likeness goes, so I'll probably buy access to some of those later on if I really get a hankering for a more accurate read on my score compared to the re-taken AAMCs. Let me know what you go with and what you think of whatever material you pick!

From what I read people like TBR, I just wanted an opinion from some1 here. Reading from your description on GS, it seems like my experience with TPR was very similar so I probably wont spend any money on GS. I think I will go ahead and buy the 5 exams and swap out a few AAMCs with some extra TBR tests. Thanks for your input!

 

[TXhopeful]

Any ideas for improving timing besides just doing more timed practice? Not sure what else I can do. I know the content, it just takes me longer than the allotted time to recall or figure out exactly what is going on with the question.

I found that when doing verbal passages, I would either rush reading through them or take way too long. The Spinach Method has you write "52---44----36---28---20---12" at the top of your scratch paper, giving you about 8 minutes per passage with a little time at the end to review anything you marked. I've found that it's a great guideline to tell myself, "Hey, you've got extra time, slow down on your reading", or "Speed up, you're behind" based on which passage I just finished. So at 52 minutes remaining, you should be through with Passage 1. At the 44 mark, you should be finishing Passage 2, and so on, so forth.
Maybe if there's a way to incorporate this into PS or BS sections it would help you out? I know some people click through and do all of the discretes first, that way they know that all they have to do are the passages and don't worry about running out of time for the discrete questions.

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

FL 3 and 4 felt comparable to me and my scores were about the same. I did have a little more difficulty with FL 4's verbal and dropped 1 point. They were a handful of questions that seemed more ambiguous and subjective than usual, although part of my problem was running out of time. I also ran out of time on PS and had to guess on 2 whole passages again.

Any ideas for improving timing besides just doing more timed practice? Not sure what else I can do. I know the content, it just takes me longer than the allotted time to recall or figure out exactly what is going on with the question.

ahisma, I have the same problem. I'm handling it by focusing on learning more. If you read fairly fast, then your biggest drain on time is likely just not enough practice.

I'm not timing anything. I've gotten faster naturally with more practice.

Ahisma, if you are running out of time on either of the science sections, its more likely due to content gaps more than anything. Verbal is a tough one to get acclimated to timing. The most common advice I have heard is practice, practice, practice. Ideally under timed conditions but don't stress if you don't complete it in time, just take note of it and finish up the passage(s). I have found my timing to improve with tons of practice too. Everyone figures out what works for them but I have found taking my time reading and digesting the passage helps me blaze through the questions, instead of skimming the passage and being like... what on Earth did I just "read"?! Play around with strategies, if one doesn't work, try something new. We still have plenty of time for trial and error.

Oh yeah, also for timing issue, don't get hung up on one single question. The questions are all weighted the SAME! No point in bashing your head over one question and running out of time to answer potentially easy questions. Good Luck!

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

I found that when doing verbal passages, I would either rush reading through them or take way too long. The Spinach Method has you write "52---44----36---28---20---12" at the top of your scratch paper, giving you about 8 minutes per passage with a little time at the end to review anything you marked. I've found that it's a great guideline to tell myself, "Hey, you've got extra time, slow down on your reading", or "Speed up, you're behind" based on which passage I just finished. So at 52 minutes remaining, you should be through with Passage 1. At the 44 mark, you should be finishing Passage 2, and so on, so forth.
Maybe if there's a way to incorporate this into PS or BS sections it would help you out? I know some people click through and do all of the discretes first, that way they know that all they have to do are the passages and don't worry about running out of time for the discrete questions.

I do something similar for Verbal, but just once, all I know is I should be around halfway done with passage 4 by the 30 minute mark, and adjust from there. I used to look at the clock after every passage and I ended up worrying about the time more than answering the questions, so what ever works stick with it!

As for PS and BS, I answer all discretes first so I know my timing with the passages. (similarly I look to be at least ON passage 4 by the 35 min warning.)

 

[neuro_nerd14]

Hey guys hows everyone doing I just finished my finals and studying for MCAT and i found out that my school will be closed from this sat until jan 6th ...
Idk what to do i can not focus at home I have to lock myself to study cause I'm easily distracted public library is full of kids and not as quite any ideas? what are u guys doing how do u get urself motivated if u are studying at home with fun family ??

 

[Mavs88]

Hey guys hows everyone doing I just finished my finals and studying for MCAT and i found out that my school will be closed from this sat until jan 6th ...
Idk what to do i can not focus at home I have to lock myself to study cause I'm easily distracted public library is full of kids and not as quite any ideas? what are u guys doing how do u get urself motivated if u are studying at home with fun family ??

Any other public libraries in the area? ask the librarian if there are quiet zones, or another floor, or study rooms?

 

[neuro_nerd14]

@Mavs88 I asked they do not have study rooms and the next library that does is 40 mins away ... I'm trying to make my room is a study place for me until exam date but family being around all the time is distracting too I wish my school is open

 

[Mavs88]

@Mavs88 I asked they do not have study rooms and the next library that does is 40 mins away ... I'm trying to make my room is a study place for me until exam date but family being around all the time is distracting too I wish my school is open

earplugs or noise cancelling headphones in the library. I'd try to stay away from home with all the people there and fun around the corner.

 

[TXhopeful]

@Mavs88 I asked they do not have study rooms and the next library that does is 40 mins away ... I'm trying to make my room is a study place for me until exam date but family being around all the time is distracting too I wish my school is open

Are there always a lot of kids there? During the holidays I would imagine they are with their families traveling, etc. I say get some cheap ear plugs (Howard Leight Max Lite on Amazon are great) and make the library your study place. I "studied" over Thanksgiving at my parent's house, and my studying consisted of naps, playing Cards Against Humanity and watching Vines with my sister. Avoid at all costs.

 

[Dolly96]

I took AAMC 3 today. Well, I improved by 1 point on both sciences but did absolutely HORRIFIC on verbal.

 

[AspiringOrtho09]

I took AAMC 3 today. Well, I improved by 1 point on both sciences but did absolutely HORRIFIC on verbal.

keep practicing those verbal passages! Re-evaluate your strategy if you are way off your target score.

AAMC FL 5 today 8/10/12 - 30 which is what I scored on AAMC4, PS dropped 3, VR moved up 1 and BS moved up 2. I'm a little worried about the large swings in my PS score, 8 to 11 and back to 8 (also got 11 on the real deal in October) but I guess they must be due to concept gaps. 34 is my target goal so I just need to keep on keeping on I guess.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

I took AAMC 3 today. Well, I improved by 1 point on both sciences but did absolutely HORRIFIC on verbal.

Horrific is definitely good word choice to describe verbal...

 

[azor ahai]

@Mavs88 I asked they do not have study rooms and the next library that does is 40 mins away ... I'm trying to make my room is a study place for me until exam date but family being around all the time is distracting too I wish my school is open

I feel the exact same way. I never get any work done at home. I love waking up and going straight to my school's library and sitting down in the ergonomic chairs in front of a 26" screen. Especially around Finals like now, where the library is packed and crackling with energy. I am not looking forward to the break.

I never found earplugs to be that effective. They block out at most 30dB? I just play whitenoise using my earbuds.

Oh yeah, also for timing issue, don't get hung up on one single question. The questions are all weighted the SAME! No point in bashing your head over one question and running out of time to answer potentially easy questions. Good Luck!

This is probably my biggest problem with timing. I draw out the grid and know how I should be allocating my time. I am just a perfectionist and can't bear to let one go past me.

I think I will set a certain goal, like to finish everything (seeing every problem) 10m early, then spend those last 10m on marked problems.

 

[nystin]

Hey guys hows everyone doing I just finished my finals and studying for MCAT and i found out that my school will be closed from this sat until jan 6th ...
Idk what to do i can not focus at home I have to lock myself to study cause I'm easily distracted public library is full of kids and not as quite any ideas? what are u guys doing how do u get urself motivated if u are studying at home with fun family ??

Ear plugs! Ear plus! Ear plugs! And also put a note up on your bedroom and remind everyone in the area, "about to take one of the biggest tests in my life........please do not disturb from this time to this time". It has helped me.... You'll get better at focusing and just drowning out everything as time goes by, because this is CRUNCH TIME.

 

[Cawolf]

Finished with finals tonight and taking AAMC 5 tomorrow!

 

[mslm5401]

Finished with finals tonight and taking AAMC 5 tomorrow!

How'd finals go? You're getting back into it so fast... I still have two more days of finals Good luck tomorrow!! Kill #5

 

[TXhopeful]

Finished with finals tonight and taking AAMC 5 tomorrow!

I was supposed to take mine tomorrow as well, but my business has a big catering event for Chevron. Taking it Friday instead. Hope you kill it!

 

[Cawolf]

@mslm5401
@TXhopeful

Thanks! I made a calendar I have to stick to in order to get through all the full-lengths. I am taking off the holidays and Sundays, no time for rest other than that!

 

[GCSDOC]

I was supposed to take mine tomorrow as well, but my business has a big catering event for Chevron. Taking it Friday instead. Hope you kill it!

Entrepreneur to med school ?

 

[neuro_nerd14]

Thank you guys for all suggestions for study places and tips to focus i will try everything and see what works best....

has anyone done the selfassessments yet? I did the bio one and would appreciate some help with questions 25 and 27 ?

 

[ahisma]

I never found earplugs to be that effective. They block out at most 30dB?

Could get some earmuffs like what they have the test centers for ~$20 on Amazon. Luckily I had some already from shooting.

 

[ahisma]

Thank you guys for all suggestions for study places and tips to focus i will try everything and see what works best....

has anyone done the selfassessments yet? I did the bio one and would appreciate some help with questions 25 and 27 ?

As in 25 the vitamin E question and 27 the plots of fasted and fed rats? I ask because it looks like the order is different for some.

Maybe we should discuss in the official thread for this? More folks might see it and those here that haven't taken the SA yet but might later probably don't want to see answers. I have a question on #45 (suppressor T cell formation) I just posted there too.

 

[neuro_nerd14]

As in 25 the vitamin E question and 27 the plots of fasted and fed rats? I ask because it looks like the order is different for some.

Maybe we should discuss in the official thread for this? More folks might see it and those here that haven't taken the SA yet but might later probably don't want to see answers. I have a question on #45 (suppressor T cell formation) I just posted there too.

thanks for directinng me there i answer ur question and posted mine ... good luck with ur studies

 

[TXhopeful]

Entrepreneur to med school ?

Something like that. I needed a way to work as little as possible, make a great income and have tons of time to do what I needed to do with studying or taking classes for med school. So I opened my own business that just so happened to be a food truck in the West Texas oil field. Food service industry is by no means a passion of mine, but it will get me where I need to be!

 

[neuro_nerd14]

I left practicing verbal for 2 weeks now my verbal sucks ...... I hate kaplan's verbal section tests

 

[Cawolf]

I found AAMC 5 very hard!

 

[GCSDOC]

Something like that. I needed a way to work as little as possible, make a great income and have tons of time to do what I needed to do with studying or taking classes for med school. So I opened my own business that just so happened to be a food truck in the West Texas oil field. Food service industry is by no means a passion of mine, but it will get me where I need to be!

Interesting, same mentality here too!

 

[Cawolf]

Interesting, same mentality here too!

You ALSO opened a food truck in the West Texas oil field?

Quite a coincidence!

 

[GCSDOC]

You ALSO opened a food truck in the West Texas oil field?

Quite a coincidence!

Haha no but like he said, have a started a side gig to earn money to free up time for courses/mcat

 

[Odi]

I found AAMC 5 very hard!

When I looked back at AAMC 3 & 4 I realized how easy they were--hindsight bias of course.

When I looked back at AAMC 5 I didn't feel the same way. It was definitely the most difficult so far which oddly enough also turned out to be my best score.

My mistakes were spread out on PS but a single passage cost me half of my total mistakes in BS lol.

How did you do?

 

[Cawolf]

@Odi

My #5 was a 35 12/11/12. It is respectable, but my biggest drop from #4 (13/13/13) was in verbal.

I think I felt worse about the sciences than I did, but they still were challenging!

I am reviewing it tomorrow, so we will see where I really messed up.