The Official January 10, 2015 MCAT Thread

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Jhakaasmaan

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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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How's everyone doing (both with studying and life in general)? I'm a little bit behind, but I can breeze through most of it because I have a strong background in the sciences and will focus on the questions themselves. But dat verbal's looking up! Previous time around, I was getting anywhere between 25 and 28 on EK's (out of 40). Now, I've gotten a 32 and 30 (the first was on a couple of passages I remember reading but didn't remember questions/answers; the second was a totally new EK verbal test that I hadn't done). Good luck y'all. Keep strong. P.S. I'm still scoring in the 60s-70% in PS and BS stuff from TBR.
 
Hey guys!! I've been registered for the Jan 10th MCAT date for a while after making a 26 on my July MCAT (didn't study the content enough). However I've been in and out of the hospital since July due to HG so haven't been able to study much. I'm in 4 classes this semester plus a stay-at-home mom to a 2 & a 4 year old boys plus obviously pregnant due to my HG diagnosis due in March. While I hate only having two months to study (due to science content being my weakness since I haven't taken these courses since 2004), I really want to try to get a GREAT grade in Jan to avoid the new MCAT!! So tomorrow I get to work!! I wish all of y'all luck & look forward to hearing of your progress!!
 
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Hey guys!! I've been registered for the Jan 10th MCAT date for a while after making a 26 on my July MCAT (didn't study the content enough). However I've been in and out of the hospital since July due to HG so haven't been able to study much. I'm in 4 classes this semester plus a stay-at-home mom to a 2 & a 4 year old boys plus obviously pregnant due to my HG diagnosis due in March. While I hate only having two months to study (due to science content being my weakness since I haven't taken these courses since 2004), I really want to try to get a GREAT grade in Jan to avoid the new MCAT!! So tomorrow I get to work!! I wish all of y'all luck & look forward to hearing of your progress!!

Welcome! Practice practice! That is the key! Review and practice. I have Begun practicing....still so much to get through. And Wow...you are a mom! And expecting, very impressive!
 
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Welcome! Practice practice! That is the key! Review and practice. I have Begun practicing....still so much to get through. And Wow...you are a mom! And expecting, very impressive!

Thank you!!! Trying to show my kids you can make your dreams come true no matter what life throws at you! :)
I plan to do content this month (school finishes dec 10th) with some practice thrown in and then dec 10-jan8th just non-stop practice!! It's just hard to focus & absorb material when you are so sick (like trying to study with the flu). So I'm hoping my brain can power through & retain it!!
 
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Thank you!!! Trying to show my kids you can make your dreams come true no matter what life throws at you! :)
I plan to do content this month (school finishes dec 10th) with some practice thrown in and then dec 10-jan8th just non-stop practice!! It's just hard to focus & absorb material when you are so sick (like trying to study with the flu). So I'm hoping my brain can power through & retain it!!

I am impressed by your dedication! I can't even imagine what a typical day is like for you.
There is just enough time to prepare well for our MCAT on the 10th. Best wishes to you too!
Now, I am going to my doctor's office to get my flu shot!
 
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Thank you darling!!! My typical day is quite interesting! Haha.
I also think there is enough time but definitely need to be in crunch mode!! Best of luck to you too!! We got this!!
Definitely get your flu shot! I have Hyperemesis Gravidarium (HG) which is extreme morning sickness to the point that it requires multiple hospitalizations to get IV fluids & nutrition. I compare it to the flu because I'm very weak & exhausted 24/7 and it's hard to be productive & focus when I'm so sick I just want to sleep! But got kids to care for & dreams to accomplish so gotta power through!! We can do this and I look forward to seeing y'all kick some MCAT a$$!! :)
 
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Would love to know:

Have y'all taken the MCAT before? If so, how did you do?

I took it in July and made a 26 (7-11-8)

How are you studying for this test and what's your goal score?

I'm reading content from Kaplan books and testing it with EK books. Planning on taking AAMC exams next month. My ultimate goal is 38-40 but I'll be happy with mid 30s!
 
Would love to know:

Have y'all taken the MCAT before? If so, how did you do?

I took it in July and made a 26 (7-11-8)

How are you studying for this test and what's your goal score?

I'm reading content from Kaplan books and testing it with EK books. Planning on taking AAMC exams next month. My ultimate goal is 38-40 but I'll be happy with mid 30s!

Using BR, & Kaplan. Kaplan stuff is great for content review and just practice. I am shooting for a 30. Being realistic.
 
Whao kids and morning sickness and the MCAT.. hats off to you! Super impressed:) Yup, we can do this! Just gotta keep striding.

This is my first write and hoping it'll be the last!!

I'm using mostly TPR materials but also using EK and TBR stuff here and there. Also planning on finishing content early December and from then on it's just practice practice practice!
I'd be elated if I scored in the mid 30s, but would be pretty happy with
anything 30+.

Thank you darling!! We can do this!!
I also plan on finishing content early Dec too so I can focus on practice until test day! I think that's a good plan of attack!
I think anything 30+ is fantastic and will definitely help with applying! Hope you get the score you want and not have to take it again!!
 
My cat meowing at 6 AM is enough for me to call it a "bad morning". I can't imagine having 2 kids on top of that. Much applause to you!

I think the SN2 schedule has me starting full-lengths on December 4th. Let's hope my content review is solid at that point and I can switch focus. This is my first time for it, and God help me if I, or anyone else, has to start studying for the new 2015 exam.
 
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My cat meowing at 6 AM is enough for me to call it a "bad morning". I can't imagine having 2 kids on top of that. Much applause to you!

I think the SN2 schedule has me starting full-lengths on December 4th. Let's hope my content review is solid at that point and I can switch focus. This is my first time for it, and God help me if I, or anyone else, has to start studying for the new 2015 exam.
 
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My cat meowing at 6 AM is enough for me to call it a "bad morning". I can't imagine having 2 kids on top of that. Much applause to you!

I think the SN2 schedule has me starting full-lengths on December 4th. Let's hope my content review is solid at that point and I can switch focus. This is my first time for it, and God help me if I, or anyone else, has to start studying for the new 2015 exam.


:)
 

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Haha! We have a kitten and she is more needy than both my boys!

I think you will do great! I'm planning on starting to study for the new MCAT immediately following this one and will be taking it in May before I start summer semester (taking off spring due to giving birth in March haha). If my GPA is too low to get into med school, I will have to get my masters so I need a more recent MCAT so might as well. :)
 
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Multitasking today!! Boys & I have a sinus cold so they are in my bed watching Super Why on Netflix while I watch Khan Academy MCAT videos on my phone with headphones!! Once my headache eases up, I'll be reading Kaplan. Today is physics day (my least favorite subject) so I have to really force myself to study instead of napping or resting! It'll all be worth it soon!!
 
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Would love to know:

Have y'all taken the MCAT before? If so, how did you do?

I took it in July and made a 26 (7-11-8)

How are you studying for this test and what's your goal score?

I'm reading content from Kaplan books and testing it with EK books. Planning on taking AAMC exams next month. My ultimate goal is 38-40 but I'll be happy with mid 30s!

Hi there, I took the MCAT in May, gave myself a little break and started up again last month. I got a 28 my first time around (10/7/11). I am hoping to jump up to around a 35, and my verbal so far is looking a lot better (except for today, which sucked). Otherwise, I am using TBR for questions and breezing through the parts I am good at (just doing the questions for physics and making sure I am understanding for chem/bio/ochem). I am also supplementing my reading with youtube videos - specifically brightstorm for chem/physics (maybe khanacademy) and Armando Hasudungan for physiology stuff. However, TBR questions seem wayy too hard for biology (I'm a neuroscience major and I was like wtf for a few questions... ended up getting like a 75% on that section). Good luck! Also, I have always felt like doing questions is better than just reading. You learn by making mistakes!
 
Hi there, I took the MCAT in May, gave myself a little break and started up again last month. I got a 28 my first time around (10/7/11). I am hoping to jump up to around a 35, and my verbal so far is looking a lot better (except for today, which sucked). Otherwise, I am using TBR for questions and breezing through the parts I am good at (just doing the questions for physics and making sure I am understanding for chem/bio/ochem). I am also supplementing my reading with youtube videos - specifically brightstorm for chem/physics (maybe khanacademy) and Armando Hasudungan for physiology stuff. However, TBR questions seem wayy too hard for biology (I'm a neuroscience major and I was like wtf for a few questions... ended up getting like a 75% on that section). Good luck! Also, I have always felt like doing questions is better than just reading. You learn by making mistakes!

Hey!! Great job in May! I had to take a long break too because I was so burnt out by the time I took it in July!
I think you can definitely hit your goal! Verbal is my favorite and my favorite way to practice it is the EK 101 verbal passages. I do one every morning first thing and one every night before bed.
Thanks for the youtube suggestions! Awesome major & that should totally help on the MCAT! I agree that questions are great but if you don't understand the material, it can kill your self-esteem so I prefer to be fairly confident on content before doing questions!! But practice makes perfect!! Good luck!!!
 
When is everyone beginning full lengths? And what do you do with full lengths once you complete them to work towards improvement?
 
When is everyone beginning full lengths? And what do you do with full lengths once you complete them to work towards improvement?
I'm not doing my first one until Dec 10th after my school finals are over and exactly one month before MCAT. For my July MCAT: I would take the full-length then put it away. The next day I grade it and go through every single question to go over if I got it right or wrong and why I got it right or wrong and then the wrong ones I would note the topic it was or why I got it wrong (read it wrong, rushed through, miscalculation,etc) and would focus on those the next day. After that I didn't ever look at it again. Just moved on to the next one. That's what I did. :)
 
Yeah that's what I am doing. I am trying to finish all of my Kaplan stuff. Before I dabble in the AAMC stuff. Also. I am totally over this test. Lol. I can't remember a time...where I did nothing on my days off........seems so so long ago.

Dude weren't you supposed to take the Nov 7th test with the rest of us 'cool guys'? How dare you betray us!! haha JK :p

but this is a gif for you

xgL4eSV.gif
 
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Dude weren't you supposed to take the Nov 7th test with the rest of us 'cool guys'? How dare you betray us!! haha JK :p

but this is a gif for you

xgL4eSV.gif

Thanks for the laughter! Sounds like you have the MCAT tomorrow so GOOD LUCK TO YOU!
And feel free to share your experience sometime down the line! Would appreciate it!
 
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Hey!! Great job in May! I had to take a long break too because I was so burnt out by the time I took it in July!
I think you can definitely hit your goal! Verbal is my favorite and my favorite way to practice it is the EK 101 verbal passages. I do one every morning first thing and one every night before bed.
Thanks for the youtube suggestions! Awesome major & that should totally help on the MCAT! I agree that questions are great but if you don't understand the material, it can kill your self-esteem so I prefer to be fairly confident on content before doing questions!! But practice makes perfect!! Good luck!!!

Do you have any advice for the verbal? Seeing as you got an 11? I thoroughly enjoy reading the verbal passages. I'm going to try not writing down stuff this time, and see if the speed helps me remember stuff more. I am using EK101, on practice test 6, and have gotten 9/18 on the first three passages. Idk if it's just harder than the other tests or if I'm reverting back to my old self of doing badly on verbal.
 
Do you have any advice for the verbal? Seeing as you got an 11? I thoroughly enjoy reading the verbal passages. I'm going to try not writing down stuff this time, and see if the speed helps me remember stuff more. I am using EK101, on practice test 6, and have gotten 9/18 on the first three passages. Idk if it's just harder than the other tests or if I'm reverting back to my old self of doing badly on verbal.

My biggest issue with verbal was getting bogged down in details and not seeing the big picture. So now I highlight details (names, numbers, quotes, definitions, etc) and after I read a paragraph I immediately jot down a 1-6 word summary like for test 6 passage 3 I put "1) school violence increasing 2) expel dangerous students 3) expelled students need help 4) worth $$ to help 5) alternate education programs 6) description of alternate program 7) importance of behavior modification". This helps me to get the big picture of each paragraph and the passage as a whole. Then if a question asks for a detail, I know where to look based on my summary & highlighting. Also try not to generalize answers to questions. I have noticed that MCAT verbal questions are very literal & I tend to fall prey to the overgeneralization answers.
I did badly on the first two test 6 passages so I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Review questions and determine where you went wrong. Then try to apply that to your next passages until it becomes habit. Hope that helps!!
Ps don't try to remember anything!! Your brain needs that space for science content. Get a general idea of what the passage is about and you can always look up anything you need. Remembering will get you into trouble. Write down as much as you need (you will have scratch paper test day!). I would get to a solid place score wise before you start timing yourself. Need to build good habits first. You will go faster on test day bc of adrenaline anyways!! I was making 11s consistently before I started timing myself. Now I'm trying to get to a 13-14 before timing again.
 
My biggest issue with verbal was getting bogged down in details and not seeing the big picture. So now I highlight details (names, numbers, quotes, definitions, etc) and after I read a paragraph I immediately jot down a 1-6 word summary like for test 6 passage 3 I put "1) school violence increasing 2) expel dangerous students 3) expelled students need help 4) worth $$ to help 5) alternate education programs 6) description of alternate program 7) importance of behavior modification". This helps me to get the big picture of each paragraph and the passage as a whole. Then if a question asks for a detail, I know where to look based on my summary & highlighting. Also try not to generalize answers to questions. I have noticed that MCAT verbal questions are very literal & I tend to fall prey to the overgeneralization answers.
I did badly on the first two test 6 passages so I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. Review questions and determine where you went wrong. Then try to apply that to your next passages until it becomes habit. Hope that helps!!
Ps don't try to remember anything!! Your brain needs that space for science content. Get a general idea of what the passage is about and you can always look up anything you need. Remembering will get you into trouble. Write down as much as you need (you will have scratch paper test day!). I would get to a solid place score wise before you start timing yourself. Need to build good habits first. You will go faster on test day bc of adrenaline anyways!! I was making 11s consistently before I started timing myself. Now I'm trying to get to a 13-14 before timing again.

Thanks. I will try to do that. I end up writing what I think are the important parts whenever they come up. I'll try just writing down just main ideas of the paragraphs instead. And I have been working on just getting questions right. I just time myself to know where I'm at, getting an idea, and I usually spend around 9 - 10 minutes per passage. I know I can get my time down; that's not what I'm worried about. I've been consistenly getting 10s on the last two VR tests. I thoroughly enjoy doing the verbal sections (mainly because it gives me knowledge about other stuff than science), so hopefully I'll get it up to a 10/11 constantly! Thanks again for the advice!
 
Thanks. I will try to do that. I end up writing what I think are the important parts whenever they come up. I'll try just writing down just main ideas of the paragraphs instead. And I have been working on just getting questions right. I just time myself to know where I'm at, getting an idea, and I usually spend around 9 - 10 minutes per passage. I know I can get my time down; that's not what I'm worried about. I've been consistenly getting 10s on the last two VR tests. I thoroughly enjoy doing the verbal sections (mainly because it gives me knowledge about other stuff than science), so hopefully I'll get it up to a 10/11 constantly! Thanks again for the advice!

You are welcome!! 10s are great!! Keep practicing and you will get it even higher! I also really enjoy Verbal and practicing it is my favorite part of MCAT studying! It's interesting & a confidence boost for me! Hoping to get really high verbal score to balance out any science issues I have (rusty on content bc I took the courses 8 years ago!). Oh and I got an 8 on practice test 5 so you got me beat there!! :)
 
Studying! Day off today. Man oh man.. I gotta finish all this Kaplan quizzes! How is everyone doing???
 
60 more days until our MCAT!! I am reviewing Optics & Light, then I will take a few Kaplan quizzes because I'm behind on those. Oh and I have to remember to do a couple passages for verbal! ...I'm only doing like maybe 4 passages a week so I need to step it up and build some friggin stamina.
 
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60 more days until our MCAT!! I am reviewing Optics & Light, then I will take few Kaplan quizzes because I'm behind on those. Oh and I have to remember to do a couple passages for verbal! ...I'm only doing like maybe 4 passages a week so I need to step it up and build some friggin stamina.

Yes practice! I highly recommend, Kaplan (for practice), EK and PR! I am gonna start EK passages today.
 
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I'm doing alright & staying on track with SN2ed's schedule. Rather than taking a full day off I'm taking two days for the weekly review day instead of one. Feeling some relief finally done with reviewing physics I topics. For some reason I just have a harder time with kinematics, work, torque, etc. I'm making sure I take enough breaks and exercise everyday. It's easy for me to just study all day long inside. But then I can feel myself getting burned out so I have to be really careful of that.

I'm making flash cards using Anki for every question I get wrong. Problem was the deck got too big to go through. So yesterday I broke it up and created a new deck of just the cards that are covered in the AAMC content outline. BR has a lot of special cases that are great for showing weaknesses but I'm guessing they are pretty low yield. So I put those lower yield cards in another deck to go over at a later time.

Still need a lot of work on my timing. I've seen a little improvement but still taking 1.5-2x longer than I need to.
 
Hi there, I took the MCAT in May, gave myself a little break and started up again last month. I got a 28 my first time around (10/7/11). I am hoping to jump up to around a 35, and my verbal so far is looking a lot better (except for today, which sucked). Otherwise, I am using TBR for questions and breezing through the parts I am good at (just doing the questions for physics and making sure I am understanding for chem/bio/ochem). I am also supplementing my reading with youtube videos - specifically brightstorm for chem/physics (maybe khanacademy) and Armando Hasudungan for physiology stuff. However, TBR questions seem wayy too hard for biology (I'm a neuroscience major and I was like wtf for a few questions... ended up getting like a 75% on that section). Good luck! Also, I have always felt like doing questions is better than just reading. You learn by making mistakes!
I'm happy that you are doing great I think TBR are the best ... I was scheduled to take the MCAT on Nov 7th and because of my verbal scores and orgo weakness i did not pass 27 on my practice exams so chose to reschedule to jan 10th.... any tips on how to do better in verbal? and orgo?
 
I also really enjoy Verbal and practicing it is my favorite part of MCAT studying!
Yea me too! I was a social science major and humanities minor so I actually look forward to reading those verbal passages. I just have to be extra careful not to bring in any of my outside knowledge/experience with the content. Sometimes it's hard because I've read many of the authors or are at least familiar with them. It's the total opposite from what you are supposed to do with the science passages, where outside knowledge of the topic not provided in the passage can significantly help.
 
any tips on how to do better in verbal? and orgo?
EK, BR, and TPR all have their unique verbal strategies. There's also some posted at http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...al-guide-for-those-who-cant-read-good.509702/ and http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/mcat-verbal-reasoning-explanations-thread.223930/ that I found helpful.

I had trouble with verbal at first and found a mixture of different strategies that worked for me. I think it's just a matter of practicing and experimenting. Good luck!
 
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I'm happy that you are doing great I think TBR are the best ... I was scheduled to take the MCAT on Nov 7th and because of my verbal scores and orgo weakness i did not pass 27 on my practice exams so chose to reschedule to jan 10th.... any tips on how to do better in verbal? and orgo?
Also, are you categorizing your wrong answers to identify weaknesses? For example, failure to remember specific content or trouble with a specific skill like synthesis or inference.
 
Also, are you categorizing your wrong answers to identify weaknesses? For example, failure to remember specific content or trouble with a specific skill like synthesis or inference.
yeah I go back to the each passage and review it and see why i got the answer wrong... the problem is more synthesis and inference... I came to USA in 2008 and sometimes just cause its worded in a weird way i don't fully understand the ideas the author referring to or over generalize it something like that.. when I first started verbal i used to take very long per passage now the timing is better but often times i score below 7 and its really bad :(
 
yeah I go back to the each passage and review it and see why i got the answer wrong... the problem is more synthesis and inference... I came to USA in 2008 and sometimes just cause its worded in a weird way i don't fully understand the ideas the author referring to or over generalize it something like that.. when I first started verbal i used to take very long per passage now the timing is better but often times i score below 7 and its really bad :(

Keep practicing, reviewing your mistakes is the key! And I highly suggest Kaplan passages (helps you build some confidence plus extra practice, EK verbal(best one out there) and TPRH.
 
Random question: do y'all know if the new MCAT verbal is the same as the current one? I don't know whether to save some EK verbal practice tests in case I have to retake?!
 
thank you so much I will do that ..

Good good! Seriously, get to work. And lemme know...! I have improved hella a lot! By simply just doing practice passages....!!! :) I use to not be able to digest and would have to go back to the passage a lot. Now due to so much damn practice, I don't have to go back to the passage as much. When they say PRACTICE makes perfect for the MCAT they are right!
 
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i don't fully understand the ideas the author referring to or over generalize it something like that.. when I first started verbal i used to take very long per passage now the timing is better but often times i score below 7 and its really bad :(
I've heard the recommendation to not worry about timing until you find some techniques that work for you. It sounds like you could improve on comprehension. Sometimes I find the the Kaplan mapping strategy helpful to breakdown those confusing passages. Similar to what's posted at http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...o-raise-my-verbal-score.894010/#post-12207340
Also the EK verbal strategy of finding clues from the question itself helped me a lot as well. Let us know how it goes!
 
yeah I go back to the each passage and review it and see why i got the answer wrong... the problem is more synthesis and inference... I came to USA in 2008 and sometimes just cause its worded in a weird way i don't fully understand the ideas the author referring to or over generalize it something like that.. when I first started verbal i used to take very long per passage now the timing is better but often times i score below 7 and its really bad :(

I have the same problem with it. I came to the U.S. in 2009.
I had to guess a lot.
 
Random question: do y'all know if the new MCAT verbal is the same as the current one? I don't know whether to save some EK verbal practice tests in case I have to retake?!
I bought the 2015 MCAT.
I think there are 9 passages in VR. They seem the same. You can buy it and practice with VR, even some BS (they were experimental heavy).
I did PS+VR+BS (skipped Socio and Psy)
 
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I'm doing alright & staying on track with SN2ed's schedule. Rather than taking a full day off I'm taking two days for the weekly review day instead of one. Feeling some relief finally done with reviewing physics I topics. For some reason I just have a harder time with kinematics, work, torque, etc. I'm making sure I take enough breaks and exercise everyday. It's easy for me to just study all day long inside. But then I can feel myself getting burned out so I have to be really careful of that.

I'm making flash cards using Anki for every question I get wrong. Problem was the deck got too big to go through. So yesterday I broke it up and created a new deck of just the cards that are covered in the AAMC content outline. BR has a lot of special cases that are great for showing weaknesses but I'm guessing they are pretty low yield. So I put those lower yield cards in another deck to go over at a later time.

Still need a lot of work on my timing. I've seen a little improvement but still taking 1.5-2x longer than I need to.

Anki is good:) I am falling behind SN2ed's schedule, didn't even finish first 1/3 of chap 3-5 stuff in all subjects. Maybe because I spent that time took these FLs- follow the order of the tests PS, VR, BS:
AAMC FL3: 25 (9, 5, 11);
Kaplan #2: 29 (13, 6, 10);
Kaplan #3: 25 (9, 5, 11);
Gold Standard #1: 25 (9,8,8). I don't know what happened to my BS in gold standard? It seemed hard to me. I guessed so much (are they harder in Biology?)

keep getting 25....my VR is bad!!! except GS.
 
Anki is good:) I am falling behind SN2ed's schedule, didn't even finish first 1/3 of chap 3-5 stuff in all subjects. Maybe because I spent that time took these FLs- follow the order of the tests PS, VR, BS:
AAMC FL3: 25 (9, 5, 11);
Kaplan #2: 29 (13, 6, 10);
Kaplan #3: 25 (9, 5, 11);
Gold Standard #1: 25 (9,8,8). I don't know what happened to my BS in gold standard? It seemed hard to me. I guessed so much (are they harder in Biology?)

keep getting 25....my VR is bad!!! except GS.

Your sciences are great!!! If you can focus on verbal and bring it up 3-5 points, you will be solid!! Keep it up!
 
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