*The Official January 2016 MCAT*

[Medaholic Dr]

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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[maydaymalone]

Are you guys making flashcards for psych terms, or for all other subjects?

 

[maydaymalone]

Why would the answer be A, and not D?

 

[inthemaking1]

D invalidates the octect rule- it is showing 10 electrons surrounds N.
A has delocalization of charge, a property of resonance.

 

[maydaymalone]

Oh you're right. I kept counting formal charge on Nitrogen for some reason and got 0, which i thought was right. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[US_backpacker7]

Are you guys making flashcards for psych terms, or for all other subjects?

I'm making them mostly for psych/soc but also some for when I answer practice problems incorrectly...trying to tailor to my weaknesses!

 

[enchantediris]

Are you guys making flashcards for psych terms, or for all other subjects?

I'm making flashcards for everything, haha! I used AP credit for physics, gen bio, and gen chem, and it's been 4-5 years now since I took those classes in high school, so I guess I need the extra reinforcement!

 

[queenoftheclouds]

How's everyone's progress in content review? I just finished OChem and Gen Chem review... About to start on Bio/biochem review, then physics, and last of all psych/soc.

I feel behind.

 

[narvik2016]

How's everyone's progress in content review? I just finished OChem and Gen Chem review... About to start on Bio/biochem review, then physics, and last of all psych/soc.

I feel behind.

Maybe try mixing up the subjects and doing a chapter of each at a time instead of one subject? That helped me feel like I was getting a more comprehensive review.

I am done with content review and just starting practice passages... currently using Khan Academy and EK lecture quizzes. Will probably do another full length soon!

 

[US_backpacker7]

How's everyone's progress in content review? I just finished OChem and Gen Chem review... About to start on Bio/biochem review, then physics, and last of all psych/soc.

I feel behind.

I don't think you're behind! We have 12 weeks, so just make sure you have a good plan for getting through content while also doing corresponding practice problems to make sure it's active review.

I agree with narvik2016 in that maybe you could mix up the subjects a bit.

Also, I'm currently taking a day every week to just do and review practice problems in TBR, Kaplan, and Khan academy. I'm not even close to half way done with content yet but am trying to speed it up a bit to be done hopefully by the beginning of but no later than mid December and then transition only practice problems/reviewing weak areas.

 

[QuentinT88]

I'm doing a combined content review along with practice passages using Khan and TPR. I switch up from subject areas each day. So far its been a better method than just content review.

Also, I'm not doing flash cards per se, but I am making a review sheet for each subject for areas that I previously didn't not master. Its my own "cheat sheet" that I review frequently in order to reinforce the material learned. I like it bc it also allows me to diagram and draw out concepts as opposed to just using words.

I've surprisingly already done more practice problems combined in the past month than I did when I originally started studying in August. Practice under timed conditions is key. As is spaced memorization of concepts.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco]

Is anyone using the Kaplan online course?

I'm still 75% through content and got a 503 on Kaplan FL 2.

Does anyone know how that compares to Kaplan tests on the spreadsheet? Since this is on the "new scale"

 

[maydaymalone]

What are you guys using for verbal practice? I have a terribly low verbal score and I have been using EK 101 where I have been getting 4/7 right on each passage which is god awful.

 

[nolookpass]

So there are 9 passages for verbal so an average of 5-6 questions per passage. What score would one get with getting one question wrong per passage so a 44/53?

Correct me if any of this is wrong.

 

[US_backpacker7]

So there are 9 passages for verbal so an average of 5-6 questions per passage. What score would one get with getting one question wrong per passage so a 44/53?

Correct me if any of this is wrong.

Each passage is supposed to have 5-7 questions according to the OG. One of my prep resources says that 44/53 (NS verbal practice book) would be around a 128, though it's a rough approximation!

 

[maydaymalone]

@US_backpacker7 how is the next step verbal book? anything similar to AAMC material? Is it supposed to be better than EK 101?

 

[US_backpacker7]

@US_backpacker7 how is the next step verbal book? anything similar to AAMC material? Is it supposed to be better than EK 101?

It's a little hard to say at this point...I haven't looked through the AAMC material a whole lot yet. I just did my first FL CARS section using the NS book (it has 12 FLs) and I'm using EK passages (as well as TBR and TPR) a little more regularly in mini tests. My average EK scores are about equal to how I did on the NS FL, so I think they're both decent practice. The passages are pretty long in NS. Also, the book doesn't come with a computer version, so it's all on paper, which isn't ideal.

Overall, I think NS is good practice in the early stages of prep at the very least! Sorry to not have super clear ideas on this yet. I'll update as the differences between the sources become more apparent.

 

[focusshots]

what scores should someone get around on TPR/Kaplan to pretty much solidify a 500 or higher on the real thing? Im asking because I saw instances where people averaged 500-505 and got around 510 or higher? I just took my first one with TPR and got a 496, should I be worried? Also it wasnt the free online practice exam it was apart of their test package.

 

[narvik2016]

what scores should someone get around on TPR/Kaplan to pretty much solidify a 500 or higher on the real thing? Im asking because I saw instances where people averaged 500-505 and got around 510 or higher? I just took my first one with TPR and got a 496, should I be worried? Also it wasnt the free online practice exam it was apart of their test package.

I can't comment about TPR or Kaplan because I have not used those resources, but I would try not to get too worried about your first FL score. I took one of the old AAMC FLs from the old MCAT about half or 3/4 through my content review and I got a 24, which I think is like a 498 or something. I was annoyed with myself, but it's only the first one and you definitely have to get used to it and get a feel for how they are asking the questions, so try not to be worried!

 

[Rousey]

what scores should someone get around on TPR/Kaplan to pretty much solidify a 500 or higher on the real thing? Im asking because I saw instances where people averaged 500-505 and got around 510 or higher? I just took my first one with TPR and got a 496, should I be worried? Also it wasnt the free online practice exam it was apart of their test package.

I'm shooting for 503 and I'm in a similar boat as you. From what I've read, most prep companies (including TPR) either make their exams harder or deflate their scores. I've taken 3 TPR's so far and have gotten 493, 495, and 496. I'm improving slowly but surely! Don't get discouraged. From what I've seen people that can crack 500 on TPR usually get 507+ on the real thing

 

[enchantediris]

what scores should someone get around on TPR/Kaplan to pretty much solidify a 500 or higher on the real thing? Im asking because I saw instances where people averaged 500-505 and got around 510 or higher? I just took my first one with TPR and got a 496, should I be worried? Also it wasnt the free online practice exam it was apart of their test package.

Try going through this Google Doc! It's a compilation of MCAT 2015 scores and the scores they got on TPR, Kaplan, EK, and AAMC FLs. In general, it seemed like most people averaging around 500 on test prep FLs scored around 510, and those who averaged around 510 scored 515+. However, there were also a couple people who scored right around their average (especially around 505-510), and all the data should be taken with a grain of salt due to reporting bias. It's super interesting though -- I spent way too much time looking through that and the thread about SAT/ACT and MCAT correlations to make me feel better about taking the MCAT. I should have just spent the time studying

 

[LakridsA]

What is considered a good/acceptable score for DO schools if one has an average gpa

 

[inthemaking1]

What is considered a good/acceptable score for DO schools if one has an average gpa

I think anywhere between 500-508 is acceptable for DO. Of course, the greater the score the better your chances are.

 

[focusshots]

What is considered a good/acceptable score for DO schools if one has an average gpa

I'd say 503 or higher

 

[Rousey]

Saturday MCAT lectures blow

 

[narvik2016]

Anyone else HATE the format of the Khan Academy passages? WHY? I cannot complain... they are free and some are really tough and it's great practice, but I just do not understand why you have to answer one question at a time and cannot go on without viewing the answer.

 

[Dreamstoo]

Does anyone know when AAMC is releasing the new Psych/Soc Q pack and the new FL? I remember reading that it was supposed to be released sometime in November.

 

[focusshots]

Is it just me but are EK exams harder than princeton/ just hard in general? Kind of discouraging.

 

[aymar]

My semester ended up being WAY harder and more time consuming than I was expecting, and I've barely cracked content review. If I'm able to spend all of December and January working my butt off, do you think it will be enough? Starting to panic and consider rescheduling...

I'm currently taking biochemistry and psychology so hopefully those two will require little additional content review, but I was still expecting to be way further ahead by November than I am

 

[focusshots]

My semester ended up being WAY harder and more time consuming than I was expecting, and I've barely cracked content review. If I'm able to spend all of December and January working my butt off, do you think it will be enough? Starting to panic and consider rescheduling...

I'm currently taking biochemistry and psychology so hopefully those two will require little additional content review, but I was still expecting to be way further ahead by November than I am

Thats kind of tough to answer because its ALOT of content man and I dont know if a month and a half is long enough even if you studied 8+ hrs a day.

 

[US_backpacker7]

My semester ended up being WAY harder and more time consuming than I was expecting, and I've barely cracked content review. If I'm able to spend all of December and January working my butt off, do you think it will be enough? Starting to panic and consider rescheduling...

I'm currently taking biochemistry and psychology so hopefully those two will require little additional content review, but I was still expecting to be way further ahead by November than I am

Super hard to know...I agree with focusshots...it's probably best to STILL work your butt off in December/January and push back to April if practice passages/exams aren't going as well as you'd like them to be going by the last date to reschedule (about two weeks before the test date, I think?). DO NOT rush this!! It's really not worth it. Also, I think schools you apply to can now see if you void a test, so you'll definitely want to reschedule as opposed to take and void if possible.

If you really don't want to reschedule, you could try to order the topics you're studying from most difficult/least familiar to least difficult/most familiar so you'll get through the most challenging topics sooner and have more time to become comfortable with them.

 

[inthemaking1]

@tpow it all depends on your weakness/strengths. you may have most of the content down and might need to just brush up in a one or two subjects.

 

[enchantediris]

How is everyone's content review going? In my TPR class, we're just getting to the point where we're passing more basic science review so I'm excited to review/learn/patch some gaps in my knowledge! The class ends at the end of December, so I'll have about 3 weeks to solely review and do practice exams (I was planning on taking the first AAMC practice test right after content review, then use EK 1-4 and the new AAMC FL 1 that came out today a week before January 23, eek!). Until then, I'm also planning on taking around 5 more practice MCATs (about once a week whenever I have a free Saturday) just to get used to how long it is! Hopefully the next time I take it (next week), I will have caught up on some more basic content so my score rises!

Also, AAMC released their new FL 1 today! It's fully scaled with percentiles, and you can apparently take it with complete MCAT timing so that's exciting. Hopefully it'll take out some guesswork with predicting scores!

Good luck with continuing to slog through content review

 

[enchantediris]

Also I'm really sorry about all the exclamation points. Usually I have to edit my posts/emails to regulate my excessive use of exclamation points...

 

[Cad12]

Does anybody else feel like an they are on an emotional roller coaster while studying for this test (lol)? I find some days I am focused and driven, whereas other days I feel very discouraged, easily distracted, and convince myself that I am not scientifically minded enough to be able to retain all this information and to be able to quickly and intuitively recall in application for the test. I am a non-trad applicant so I am basically relearning most topics. Anybody have any words of encouragement, or is anybody feeling the same way?

 

[inthemaking1]

@Cad12 yup you're not the only one

 

[narvik2016]

Does anybody else feel like an they are on an emotional roller coaster while studying for this test (lol)? I find some days I am focused and driven, whereas other days I feel very discouraged, easily distracted, and convince myself that I am not scientifically minded enough to be able to retain all this information and to be able to quickly and intuitively recall in application for the test. I am a non-trad applicant so I am basically relearning most topics. Anybody have any words of encouragement, or is anybody feeling the same way?

@Cad12 yup you're not the only one

Same here! Feeling particularly discouraged today

 

[nvrsittingstill]

Does anybody else feel like an they are on an emotional roller coaster while studying for this test (lol)? I find some days I am focused and driven, whereas other days I feel very discouraged, easily distracted, and convince myself that I am not scientifically minded enough to be able to retain all this information and to be able to quickly and intuitively recall in application for the test. I am a non-trad applicant so I am basically relearning most topics. Anybody have any words of encouragement, or is anybody feeling the same way?

Joining you on the "nontrad" band wagon--at least to the extent that I was never pre-med and have been out of school for a few years. I'm just nearing the end of my content review (I've been hitting Kaplan with the 3x pass method + anki decks since August + an occasional science passage and more frequent CARS EK) and will now be approaching some hard core "practice exam" time all the way till January. I don't know, that whole actually taking the FL's to see where I'm at in my studying I find to be an awfully frightening event in my future....

 

[Ad2b]

As someone who has quasi been at this for over a year, @narvik2016 @Cad12 - when the times come where you are discouraged, or dizzy or ... whatever, give yourself 5 minutes to regroup.

If that doesn't happen, walk away. Seriously, get up from the chair, walk away do something else for at least an hour. Maybe two. Eat a snack. DRINK water!! Then come back to it.

If it's still not working, then stop what you're doing, go to something you're comfortable with and start from there. Don't spin your wheels. Trust me on that.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco]

I am not really a nontrad, (I recently graduated and am retaking a 30 from last year) but I too am having a similar problem but in a different vein. I am currently on fellowship in Asia, and experience daily the cognitive dissonance of "should I be studying OR should I be traveling?" Instead of letting the cognitive dissonance coping mechanisms from affecting my behavior...

I've split my days into study in the AM, travel in the PM! It has been working very well. But again somedays I my willpower is weakened, and which leads me to take therapeutic impulse trips for an afternoon or weekend.. which I feel is essential for anyone studying no matter where you are!

 

[focusshots]

So I just finished the new AAMC test, its def harder than the 1st and probably just as hard as a princeton test but the scaling is weird? If my test was scaled according to princeton, NSP, or Kaplan I would of received a 502 but instead I got a little lower? anybody noticed this? then again AAMC is always right?

 

[Cad12]

Thanks for the positive words guys, nice to know I'm not the only one feeling this way. This test is so demoralizing.

 

[itsallgood92]

So I just finished the new AAMC test, its def harder than the 1st and probably just as hard as a princeton test but the scaling is weird? If my test was scaled according to princeton, NSP, or Kaplan I would of received a 502 but instead I got a little lower? anybody noticed this? then again AAMC is always right?

How'd you do in comparison to the old AAMC FL? (i.e. like percentage wise?)

Also is anyone doing NS FL's for prep? I'm an august re-taker and finally started studying again. Trying to figure out what practice exams to do and if NS has gotten better since they first released their exams and stuff.

 

[focusshots]

How'd you do in comparison to the old AAMC FL? (i.e. like percentage wise?)

Also is anyone doing NS FL's for prep? I'm an august re-taker and finally started studying again. Trying to figure out what practice exams to do and if NS has gotten better since they first released their exams and stuff.

Im a re-taker as well but I dont remember because I haven't retaken yet for this upcoming test but I did better on this new one than the old one I know that for sure. This one I averaged a 64% percent (which is still horrible) but it's improvement nonetheless and I still have 2.5 months till my exam so its ok for now. I'm using princeton both aamc and the exam krackers for my practice FLs

 

[rraidermd]

Is anyone using the Kaplan online course?

I'm still 75% through content and got a 503 on Kaplan FL 2.

Does anyone know how that compares to Kaplan tests on the spreadsheet? Since this is on the "new scale"

whenever kaplan changed their scales they said that it wouldn't change dramatically, it would only be +/- 1 point on sections. I would just look at the percentage you are scoring for each section. I think 80% or higher correct would put you in a good position for the real thing hopefully. I just took Kaplan FL 3 and I scored around 68% correct overall so I still have a long ways to go but I'm confident I can get it up there!

 

[enchantediris]

The results of my second TPR FL: 503 (124/127/125/127). I continue to feel horrible about myself as a physics major.

My Thoughts: It's definitely getting easier to stomach how long the MCAT is, so if anything FL's are good practice for stamina. It's been two weeks since the first time I took a practice MCAT, but I don't feel like I've learned much content wise. In my TPR class, we are just starting to cover content that I really need review on (or never learned in the first place), so I hope that the next FL I take ~1.5 weeks from now will show more improvement in CP and BB. There are still 6 more weeks of content review in this class (through the end of December), so I'm definitely optimistic that I can improve my score at least 5 points (to get 127's in CP and BB) once I get a better foundation in those subjects. I looked at my score report and it looked like I got entire passages either correct or incorrect.

@TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco You can always check out mcatjelly's percent correct to scaled score conversion here! Unfortunately it doesn't cover the new PS section. My TPR score converted from 124/127/125 to 124/130/126, so take that as you will.

Overall I'm feeling tentatively optimistic, but extremely confused because I feel like I should be doing worse due to the amount of knowledge gaps I have. I have definitely been slacking off in my TPR class, though, so I'm going to work harder to make flashcards for content and complete the homework outside of class. I may just be psyching myself out?

 

[wragy]

Anyone has any advice as to how to tackle the Psych/soc section? I am retaking from Aug. I was at the time averaging 125-127 in that section, but when i took the real exam it went down to 122, it really hurt my score. I am enrolled in a kaplan program, and I have anki. Thanks in advance, guys.

 

[inthemaking1]

Anyone has any advice as to how to tackle the Psych/soc section? I am retaking from Aug. I was at the time averaging 125-127 in that section, but when i took the real exam it went down to 122, it really hurt my score. I am enrolled in a kaplan program, and I have anki. Thanks in advance, guys.

I think the first thing you should do is assess and understand how the discrepancy lies.
What sources were you averaging 125-127?
Was the Psych/Soc section on the actual MCAT more difficult you feel like or was it your nerves?

 

[wragy]

I think the first thing you should do is assess and understand how the discrepancy lies.
What sources were you averaging 125-127?
Was the Psych/Soc section on the actual MCAT more difficult you feel like or was it your nerves?

I did all the kaplan FL's, my lowest was 124 and my highest 128. I felt like kaplan tested many concepts with scenarios, so I got familiarized with that format. When I saw the exam I had memorized a lot of terms, but the actual MCAT was heavy on research design, and was not really testing the terms I memorized(most of them came from the quicksheets) in the way like scenarios from the kaplan program. I have already focused on the research design, but I dont know how to approach the rest of the section, to be honest. I did feel a little tired but not nervous really.

 

[gigi24]

Anyone has any advice as to how to tackle the Psych/soc section? I am retaking from Aug. I was at the time averaging 125-127 in that section, but when i took the real exam it went down to 122, it really hurt my score. I am enrolled in a kaplan program, and I have anki. Thanks in advance, guys.

Khan Academy passages were a HUGE help. I'm a retaker from Sep (for CARS..grr..) and I felt they were very representative of the real exam especially with research design which I also felt weak on. I only started using them towards the end of studying but I felt that that the few I did helped a lot and so I'll be trying to go through all of them this time around.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyJamesFranco]

Khan Academy passages were a HUGE help. I'm a retaker from Sep (for CARS..grr..) and I felt they were very representative of the real exam especially with research design which I also felt weak on. I only started using them towards the end of studying but I felt that that the few I did helped a lot and so I'll be trying to go through all of them this time around.

I am also retaking because of CARS!

What is your strategy this time around? I am trying to find as many passages as I can..