*The Official January 2016 MCAT*

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Medaholic Dr

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Hello guys,
I don't see any thread made for January 2016 MCAT test date, so I thought to create one. I'll be graduating by the end of this year and will be giving my MCAT on January 2016. I had my test date set for September of this year, but something came up and I won't be able to dedicate myself to studying for the MCAT fully. So, let us make this thread rich with all the discussions about the MCAT. Let us support each other and make taking MCAT a pleasurable experience, so I think. Let's go.......

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Just a heads up, I feel a lot of desired locations (at least in my state) in January are filling up quickly. I saw 3-4 spots for my most ideal location for the Jan. 22/23rd weekend and thankfully I was able to snag the last spot available at the location on the 22nd.

If you haven't signed up yet and are planning to, I recommend doing it as soon as possible.
 
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Okay - who's with me.

Let's start with Orgo. On Saturday? Wanna review Strecker? How about passage type questions from like Khan or other free resources?

I have gone through the Kaplan book once and will do so again, highlighting anything that I don't know cold.

After that? Physics. Do NOT groan. I love physics :) [Ne]RdS UNiTe :D
 
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YES!!! Got a seat for 1/22!
Voided twice this year - old version 1/23 and new version 9/23, so I figured a differently numbered date might be the trick. Third time's the charm right?
 
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Okay - who's with me.

Let's start with Orgo. On Saturday? Wanna review Strecker? How about passage type questions from like Khan or other free resources?

I have gone through the Kaplan book once and will do so again, highlighting anything that I don't know cold.

After that? Physics. Do NOT groan. I love physics :) [Ne]RdS UNiTe :D

I love physics and will talk about physics to you all day :biglove:

Today is my first CARS class with TPR and after skimming over the assigned chapters, I'm probably not going to like it. I guess I never understood why there are all of these passage ranking and mapping strategies when all I do is read the passage and answer the questions :confused:

I'm also going to try to use Anki for the first time! There was a ridiculous amount of stuff from biochem that I've completely forgotten already, even though I just took it over the summer!
 
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@enchantediris - we had CARS on Sunday and Chem/Physics yesterday. I'm going a little off-script with them; using the class for the videos and special course materials (emphasis on psych/soc and biochem).

Doing the orgo tonight on my own; will put up rekaps on Sat/Sun for people.

Let's do this!!!:banana:
 
@enchantediris - we had CARS on Sunday and Chem/Physics yesterday. I'm going a little off-script with them; using the class for the videos and special course materials (emphasis on psych/soc and biochem).

Doing the orgo tonight on my own; will put up rekaps on Sat/Sun for people.

Let's do this!!!:banana:

Well our instructor didn't show up tonight so I guess I'm reviewing biochem and prepping for physics! :grumpy:
 
What are the chances of people dropping their seats a month before the examination date? I screwed myself over for not registering early.

Likely but you should check everyday to see if it does open up. Also depends if it's a highly desired spot in your state.
 
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I'm a retaker from August and plan to retake end of January. I'm in my final year at my university and am finding it very difficult to find time to study for the MCAT with everything else going on. Anyone else in a similar situation?
 
I'm a retaker from August and plan to retake end of January. I'm in my final year at my university and am finding it very difficult to find time to study for the MCAT with everything else going on. Anyone else in a similar situation?
I'm in that exact situation. It's tough with other classes, but I usually get in 10-12 hours a week of mcat studying
 
@LakridsA yes, I completely agree with you. Test weeks put me so behind on my schedule. However, its an easier semester for me so I have a lot of time to catch up.
 
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I love physics and will talk about physics to you all day :biglove:

Today is my first CARS class with TPR and after skimming over the assigned chapters, I'm probably not going to like it. I guess I never understood why there are all of these passage ranking and mapping strategies when all I do is read the passage and answer the questions :confused:

I'm also going to try to use Anki for the first time! There was a ridiculous amount of stuff from biochem that I've completely forgotten already, even though I just took it over the summer!

I love love LOVE anki. I have 2700 cards in my collection (MCAT and some non-related vocabulary ones) and it has been SO helpful in learning and remembering the material. When you review and review and review you actually retain the material and it comes second nature on many of the passages. You'll have to share what you think of it once you really start using it!
 
how many hours a day have you guys been putting in, especially with school work?

I work full time at a pretty "interesting" job ... and have a UD bio class now. Between that, maybe 1 hour a day; but that's deceptive. I started studying a year ago; I'm just doing the content books for review now, will start FL exams in 2 weeks, and then q-packs every week until I know them cold.
 
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I tried to get a test date in California for January 2016 but the MCAT registration site isn't showing any test locations available in California for January. Does anyone know if there were test locations for January that were available in California but all the spots filled up? Or is there just no testing in California this January? Or (hopefully!) are there plans to put California test locations for January in the MCAT registration site in the future?
 
@light-faded I signed up for a spot in CA for a Jan test date so I think there are tests being offered in CA at that time. I'm not sure if there are any plans to add more locations, but I really hope it's a glitch or something and that the spots didn't all fill up... I hope you're able to register on the date and location that you prefer! :(
 
How's everyone's orgo today?

Let's talk

Primary OH - can get to -al and -one by?
Secondary OH - can get to - al and -one by?
Tertiary OH - can get to ... what?!?!?

Why does H-bonding affect BP/MP?

How do you get tosy/mesy? why do you want them?

Talk to me about Mr. Jones and his reaction?

Last, but not least, why are quinones important? :)

That's it! We're gonna rock this MCAT thing!
 
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Primary OH - can get to -al and -one by? .........................................can be oxidized to -al by PCC
Secondary OH - can get to - al and -one by? ......................................can be oxidized to -one by PCC, CrO3 etc...
Tertiary OH - can get to ... what?!?!? .................................................cannot be oxidized bc there is H on the C that is attached to OH

Why does H-bonding affect BP/MP?................................................H bonding increases BP and MP because of strong intermolecular forces.

How do you get tosy/mesy? why do you want them?........................ they are good leaving groups

Talk to me about Mr. Jones and his reaction?................................ it's a strong Oxidizing agent, can convert primary -OH into carboxylic acid, and converts secondary -OH to ketone

Last, but not least, why are quinones important? :)................... need to review this... i remember something about them being involved somewhere in the Electron transport chain.

EDIT 10/31: while reviewing ETC. ubiquinone (aka CoA aka Coenzyme A) is the electron acceptor in Complex I and Complex II. In complex I, ubiquinone (CoA) accepts electrons from NADH. In complex II, ubiquinone accepts electron from succinate. when ubiquinone accepts electrons it gets reduced to ubiquinol. (ketone gets reduced to 2ndary alcohol).

In complex III, ubiquinol/reduced CoA donates electrons to cytochrome c.
Complex IV, cytochrome c donates electrons to Oxygen, the final electron acceptor.
 
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Tertiary halide - via HX (SN1)

Tertiary halide, yes but not OH. It's too bound up by other stuff for anything to get to it.

is the basic building block of quinone, everyone knows quinoa is good for you

:rofl::poke::rofl:

Quinones are complex I, II, III carriers in ETC and also make good medicines as well as Vit K1, Vit K2.

@InTheMaking - +1 :) Good job!!
 
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9/23 just got their scores back today.... Meaning we are next. It's gettin' real! Hope studying is going good for everybody. I can't wait for classes to end in December so I can hammer passages for a month
 
Keepin at it day by day so far... Its coming, slowly but surly. Pretty happy that I didn't take the exam on 9/23 and am waiting until Jan. I would've probably been disappointed today with the score release.

@Rousey I would recommend giving yourself more than a month to work on passages & FLs. This beast of a test is no joke lol
 
Keepin at it day by day so far... Its coming, slowly but surly. Pretty happy that I didn't take the exam on 9/23 and am waiting until Jan. I would've probably been disappointed today with the score release.

@Rousey I would recommend giving yourself more than a month to work on passages & FLs. This beast of a test is no joke lol
Oh yeah definitely. I've been doing a FL every 4 weeks (done 2 already). Passages I try to throw in twice a week. I just mean I'm pumped to be able to do passages every single day because I'll have more time once classes end
 
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Kaplan's Orgo book was officially handed off to my son tonight. :clap::clap::clap:

GC up next :)
 
Hey guys, I was going to retake in Jan 23rd but today I got 507. I'm a non native English speaker and English seems straightforward language, but AAMC messes things up in CARS so devilishly that I don't think I have any guarantees that I will score better on CARS. I got 128, 125, 126, 128 (507). So I decided not to retake since this should be enough for me. However, CARS is something that was harder than on AAMC FL - just a heads up, and not because I can't read in English, but it really is hard section to excel in. After CARS was a bit devastated and that resulted in my Bio score. Don't let this happen to you - be prepared to anything. In general this exam is doable, but it requires a good amount of effort and dedication. Good luck to everyone in 2016!
 
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Hey everyone,
I'd just like to say I'm glad I came across this thread because it's encouraging to know you're not alone when it comes to tackling the MCAT. For the past year, I've been intimidated to even attempt studying for the MCAT but the optimism and contributions I came across has given me a drive to do my best! JAN2016 here we come!
 
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@PleaseCallDoc - Do NOT be intimidated by the MCAT. Embrace it. Learn to love it (yes, really).... then in January, dump it on it's proverbial arse and celebrate :)

Welcome!
 
Hey guys, I was going to retake in Jan 23rd but today I got 507. I'm a non native English speaker and English seems straightforward language, but AAMC messes things up in CARS so devilishly that I don't think I have any guarantees that I will score better on CARS. I got 128, 125, 126, 128 (507). So I decided not to retake since this should be enough for me. However, CARS is something that was harder than on AAMC FL - just a heads up, and not because I can't read in English, but it really is hard section to excel in. After CARS was a bit devastated and that resulted in my Bio score. Don't let this happen to you - be prepared to anything. In general this exam is doable, but it requires a good amount of effort and dedication. Good luck to everyone in 2016!
Just to add a quick bit of advice of about CARS to this, IMO the best practice you can get for CARS in the AAMC material, specifically the AAMC CARS practice packs. I had been doing them a few days before my exam, and when I got to the CARS section of the real thing, it literally felt EXACTLY like I was doing another CARS practice pack. Highly, highly recommend buying that, and working your way through it and analyzing everything you possibly can about it.
 
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Just to add a quick bit of advice of about CARS to this, IMO the best practice you can get for CARS in the AAMC material, specifically the AAMC CARS practice packs. I had been doing them a few days before my exam, and when I got to the CARS section of the real thing, it literally felt EXACTLY like I was doing another CARS practice pack. Highly, highly recommend buying that, and working your way through it and analyzing everything you possibly can about it.

Do you know if the CARS question packs from AAMC have different, new passages? Or are they just the verbal passages from the old full length exams?

I am having trouble with CARS and have noticed that practice materials like EK and TPRH do not really add up to the length/difficulty of what is in the AAMC practice tests. I have the old tests though, so I don't want to purchase the question pack if it's just the same thing.
 
Do you know if the CARS question packs from AAMC have different, new passages? Or are they just the verbal passages from the old full length exams?

I am having trouble with CARS and have noticed that practice materials like EK and TPRH do not really add up to the length/difficulty of what is in the AAMC practice tests. I have the old tests though, so I don't want to purchase the question pack if it's just the same thing.

Same as the old exams sadly. If you have all the old exams, I would recommend using them over buying the Q pack.

I will likely start studying sometime this weekend or Monday at the latest.
 
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Retaker here. Looks like I'm restructuring my study plan and going with ol reliable sn2ed. Gonna try out these TBR fls as well. Good luck to all!

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk
 
Almost done with content review. Then it's nothing but practice tests and making sure I have all the nitty gritty stuff memorized from next week all the way until test day!
 
9/23 tester
If I recall correctly
C/P: 128
CARS :123
Bio: 125
Pysch: 124
I am a bio major. I always thought CARS would be most difficult and I was right. I thought the chem/phys and bio sections weren't bad. I shot myself in the foot with bio bc I wasn't too sharp on biochem...last taken 2 years ago. I was rocking with the chem/phys and then after that suddenly hit a wall physically and mentally, probably due to a lack of sleep the night before and bc the density of the CARS passage strained my eyes and gave me a headache. I bought the Kaplan 7 book series and plan to retake in Jan. All advice for CARS and psych/soc is very much appreciated.
 
Also as a warning to you January tester, caffeine withdrawal can be a bitch during the 7 hour test where you aren't allowed to leave the center for your normal caffeine fix so be careful and plan accordingly.
 
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9/23 tester
If I recall correctly
C/P: 128
CARS :123
Bio: 125
Pysch: 124
I am a bio major. I always thought CARS would be most difficult and I was right. I thought the chem/phys and bio sections weren't bad. I shot myself in the foot with bio bc I wasn't too sharp on biochem...last taken 2 years ago. I was rocking with the chem/phys and then after that suddenly hit a wall physically and mentally, probably due to a lack of sleep the night before and bc the density of the CARS passage strained my eyes and gave me a headache. I bought the Kaplan 7 book series and plan to retake in Jan. All advice for CARS and psych/soc is very much appreciated.
So I also did bad on CARS the first time around and I fixed it, now im getting 125-127. all I do is read, get a feel for what the author is saying and highlight sparingly. Heres my strategy....
1. MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE FIRST AND LAST SENTENCE OF EACH PARAGRAPH CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY (I can't stress how many more questions I get right just by doing this simple task)
2. after each sentence or two constantly remind yourself what you just read and how it fits in the overall passage....why does the author bring this up?
3. at the end of each paragraph take your time and quickly do mental synopsis of what you just read.
4. Read each question very very slow and make sure you understand what its asking ( this allows you to avoid silly mistakes)
5. Read every single answer choice EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU FOUND THE ANSWER because 60% of the time there IS a BETTER ANSWER.
6. Go back to the passage IF NECESSARY
By doing this you WILL finish each passage on time because you dont have to go back to the passage so often.
 
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also when a shift in a passage is approaching ( and you will know due to transition words) read that sentence very very very very slowly.
 
Took the MCAT on September 23rd, completely bombed it after after my stupid study methods, so I'll be retaking it on January 23rd. I'm starting to get psyched about the number 23 :/
 
Is anyone else struggling to move quickly enough through the content review? I'm worried I'm starting too slowly and will run out of time in the end...I've been reviewing content and doing TBR Phase I passages after reviewing and so far am getting through about one subject/day. I want to review the content carefully so I don't miss too many details (especially for psych/soc, as I've never taken soc) but also want to get through all of it quickly and move on to focusing on weaknesses and practice exams.

Any advice? :)
 
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Is anyone else struggling to move quickly enough through the content review? I'm worried I'm starting too slowly and will run out of time in the end...I've been reviewing content and doing TBR Phase I passages after reviewing and so far am getting through about one subject/day. I want to review the content carefully so I don't miss too many details (especially for psych/soc, as I've never taken soc) but also want to get through all of it quickly and move on to focusing on weaknesses and practice exams.

Any advice? :)

Are you making flash cards? That's a good way to make sure that you're not missing/forgetting details (I've been trying out Anki, which has been pretty great so far). I actually just took my first practice FL today after 1.5 weeks of content review, and I was absolutely surprised at how many concepts were not included. There are only 59 questions in each science section, which is definitely not enough room to test everything that falls within the scope of the MCAT! For example, the only physics review I've done so far is kinematics/free fall, and not a single one of those concepts was even mentioned in the C/P section. So, I guess my advice is to try to go faster, and make flash cards to make sure that you're not forgetting anything? Start doing practice tests early to get a feel of how long the exam is and how questions may be asked (although apparently the majority of FLs aren't particularly representative of the actual MCAT).

In other news, I got a 500 on my first FL (124/125/125/126), and my brain is completely :confused:. At least I'm rather evenly bad at everything? I was rather surprised because I always do well in critical reading, but I think that might be because my brain was already so tired from going through C/P. Some things I learned about timing: I finished with a little over half the time left for CARS and P/S, but didn't have the strength and resolve to go back to check my answers. I finished with maybe 15-20 min left for C/P and B/B, and was able to go back to check some marked questions. Unfortunately at this time in my (almost non-existent) content review, there are a lot of concepts that I know I don't know, so extra time wouldn't have helped so much. I'm mostly just embarrassed because I'm majoring in physics and currently suck at C/P. :oops: I keep telling myself that it's not my fault because I took AP Physics C in high school, which was purely mechanics and E&M so I never learned waves, optics, and fluids, which seem to be more biologically relevant.
 
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Hi all, I decided to join this thread. I'm a re-taker from the Jan 15th (old) MCAT. I scored 28 (C/P:8, Verbal:8, Bio:12) but I'm aiming for a higher verbal and Chem/Phys score this time around.

I started content review with the new EK Books. I was planning on doing Khan passages once I was through with content review. Aprox how long do you think it would take to go through all Khan passages? I'm afraid I won't have time to do all of them and all of the AAMC materials by Jan. Time is really flying by!! :(
 
No. I would suggest do the content review first. Then do the q-packs, then the OG, then the FL.

If you start running short on time, make sure you do the AAMC stuff. Suggest: OG one week, then FL the week before exam at the latest (I will be trying to take my FL about 10 days beforehand around the 12th)
 
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Are you making flash cards? That's a good way to make sure that you're not missing/forgetting details (I've been trying out Anki, which has been pretty great so far). I actually just took my first practice FL today after 1.5 weeks of content review, and I was absolutely surprised at how many concepts were not included. There are only 59 questions in each science section, which is definitely not enough room to test everything that falls within the scope of the MCAT! For example, the only physics review I've done so far is kinematics/free fall, and not a single one of those concepts was even mentioned in the C/P section. So, I guess my advice is to try to go faster, and make flash cards to make sure that you're not forgetting anything? Start doing practice tests early to get a feel of how long the exam is and how questions may be asked (although apparently the majority of FLs aren't particularly representative of the actual MCAT).

In other news, I got a 500 on my first FL (124/125/125/126), and my brain is completely :confused:. At least I'm rather evenly bad at everything? I was rather surprised because I always do well in critical reading, but I think that might be because my brain was already so tired from going through C/P. Some things I learned about timing: I finished with a little over half the time left for CARS and P/S, but didn't have the strength and resolve to go back to check my answers. I finished with maybe 15-20 min left for C/P and B/B, and was able to go back to check some marked questions. Unfortunately at this time in my (almost non-existent) content review, there are a lot of concepts that I know I don't know, so extra time wouldn't have helped so much. I'm mostly just embarrassed because I'm majoring in physics and currently suck at C/P. :oops: I keep telling myself that it's not my fault because I took AP Physics C in high school, which was purely mechanics and E&M so I never learned waves, optics, and fluids, which seem to be more biologically relevant.

I have been making flash cards but it takes soooo long! It'll probably be good in the long run though. Just need to speed up a bit.

I'll bet things will go a lot better after you're through all of the content review, but still doesn't seem like a bad start on your practice exams 12 weeks out with incomplete content review at this point! It does seem like the typical physics II concepts are more biologically relevant...I'm thinking about focusing on those sooner than later so that I have enough time to practice them a lot before the exam in case time gets short in Dec/Jan.
 
I have been making flash cards but it takes soooo long! It'll probably be good in the long run though. Just need to speed up a bit.

I'll bet things will go a lot better after you're through all of the content review, but still doesn't seem like a bad start on your practice exams 12 weeks out with incomplete content review at this point! It does seem like the typical physics II concepts are more biologically relevant...I'm thinking about focusing on those sooner than later so that I have enough time to practice them a lot before the exam in case time gets short in Dec/Jan.

I know right, flashcards take absolutely forever to make! Unfortunately, I've already seen how useful they are (and going through them makes me feel better about not forgetting things as I'm going through content review) so I guess I'll slog through it all. More than anything, I think, I'm just a little frustrated because I'm so excited to move on from college, but I can't even begin planning where I want to go without an MCAT score! The rest of my application is coming around nicely, but this darn MCAT and studying is bringing me down. :(:rage: I know, I know, something about patience is a virtue and the need for immediate gratification isn't.
 
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