The Official June 2015 MCAT Thread

Boost your MCAT score by 12 points or more.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Abraxas305

Abraxas305

Bark Bark
7+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2014
Messages
366
Reaction score
152
So we can talk about all things MCAT 2015.
Just registered too!
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I've started working on practice tests but have run into an unforeseen problem and am looking for advice. I've been self-studying with the Kaplan books/KA videos, and bought one TPR book and one NS book for the free added FLs. So I've been running through the Kaplan, TPR, and NS free practice tests (with middling success), and was then planning on buying the standalone 8 TPR practice tests for a few hundred dollars (rather than paying thousands for a course). I had bookmarked the URL to purchase the 8 TPR tests, but when I visited the site for the first time in a month or so to actually buy the TPR tests, the page redirected and I cannot find the standalone tests for purchase. Did they decide to stop selling them? I'm really hoping I'm missing something. Thanks for the help.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jordan222 said:
I've started working on practice tests but have run into an unforeseen problem and am looking for advice. I've been self-studying with the Kaplan books/KA videos, and bought one TPR book and one NS book for the free added FLs. So I've been running through the Kaplan, TPR, and NS free practice tests (with middling success), and was then planning on buying the standalone 8 TPR practice tests for a few hundred dollars (rather than paying thousands for a course). I had bookmarked the URL to purchase the 8 TPR tests, but when I visited the site for the first time in a month or so to actually buy the TPR tests, the page redirected and I cannot find the standalone tests for purchase. Did they decide to stop selling them? I'm really hoping I'm missing something. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Don't buy 4 tests for $300. You get 4 tests with their big all-subject book. So add to that 3 EK tests and one AAMC test and you are great to go.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
nomdeplume1234 said:
Yea but 4 tests is 4 tests. Where else can he/she get all that practice regardless of the price?
Click to expand...
You only get 3 with the TPR book, and I've read elsewhere on SDN that supposedly the 8 FLs were different than these 3. As above, I'm more worried about not having enough FL practice since practicing 7-hour endurance is quite a task. I guess the only alternative is buying 3 EK tests at $50 each and/or buying 5 NS tests for $150. Neither seem as highly reviewed so I don't love that option. There just aren't a lot of FL options out there at any price.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nomdeplume1234 said:
Yea but 4 tests is 4 tests. Where else can he/she get all that practice regardless of the price?
Click to expand...

o_O There are probably close to 20 FLs out there.

And no you only get 4 exclusive tests in that bundle and no they aren't rated higher than EK.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FYI a ton of spots just opened up for June! (Probably from all the people pushing back to the later dates that opened today)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Most likely rescheduling for July. Nowhere near ready, especially after hearing how the new exam went.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
ag9124 said:
Since the Kaplan behavioral sciences book is so content review heavy without anything i would consider MCAT style practice, i decided to supplement with NextStep's MCAT Psychology and Sociology: Strategy and Practice. Its arriving on Friday. It looks like it'll have plenty of passages to work on. I'll let you guys know what i think of it.
Click to expand...
I am doing this same exact thing. Whats your thoughts so far?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Whats the word on the April takers? Did they say is way really hard...did they get crushed? Most of the people I know are taking it June with me or July I don't know anyone that had the stones to take it in April.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DoctorSexy said:
Whats the word on the April takers? Did they say is way really hard...did they get crushed? Most of the people I know are taking it June with me or July I don't know anyone that had the stones to take it in April.
Click to expand...
There's an April thread, check it out. Mostly crushed souls but I think I remember at least one person saying that it wasn't really harder than the last exam, just much much longer. The psych/sociology section also seemed to be a universal mind f***.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think everyone should keep in mind that since no preliminary scores have been realized yet, most people don't actually know how they did...Just because someone thought they didn't perform well (which is EXTREMELY common in the MCAT) doesn't mean you should drastically alter your study materials, habits, or delay your date just because you study in a similar manner.

Everyone is different. If you're doing great in your studying, good job, keep it up! Don't worry too much about what the April people have said until they get their scores back. Take their reports with a grain of salt, and only push back your date if you decide that you're not ready.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
Same! I'm giving myself an MCAT break until finals are over. I allotted time in my study schedule so I could start studying for finals now and pick up on MCAT later.

I use anki though so I'll just be doing my notecards every day for about 30 minutes, but thats it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm finding that it's helpful to use the khan academy videos on double time for days that I can't get a lot of studying in. Listen to it while you're making food, folding laundry, or just laying in bed. I think it's a great tool for reviewing concepts. Finals are coming up for me too and it sucks not being able to put as much time in for mcat as I wanted too. How are you guys doing on application related things? Like PS, work/activities stuff..?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I agree with Khan Academy videos on 2x. It's nice to review the content in a different medium after having read so many textbook pages. I've done most of the biomolecule videos so far and on 2x they are excellent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
nsharma23 said:
I'm finding that it's helpful to use the khan academy videos on double time for days that I can't get a lot of studying in. Listen to it while you're making food, folding laundry, or just laying in bed. I think it's a great tool for reviewing concepts. Finals are coming up for me too and it sucks not being able to put as much time in for mcat as I wanted too. How are you guys doing on application related things? Like PS, work/activities stuff..?
Click to expand...

Is there a template on SDN that talks about what we should write for the work/activities and extra-curriculars section?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
After having missed ~two weeks of MCAT prep due to a bunch of final midterms (I still have true finals left) I'm back at it..

I think the month after classes is going to be clutch to doing well on the exam, I don't like banking my chances on the last month of prep though.

Has anyone else considered taking the test as a void and then finding a spot for July? It would certainly be decent practice, and gives an extra month to study. I'm not sure if it's worth the late application, though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Holy shizzznap, did you guys see the thread with reviews on each content review set from the April takers? EK got Almost all bad reviews so I asked a friend to borrow their berkeky set and God damn the content review in them seems so much better....I mean after every section in each chapter they give you practice problems that correlate with what you just read and it seems like the material isn't conjested like EK. I'm thinking About switching from EK to tbr after reading those reviews and seeing first hand how well written the books are. those that are studing from EK what do you feel about the books? I feel dumbfounded right now and not confident in EK.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Qamar3212 said:
Holy shizzznap, did you guys see the thread with reviews on each content review set from the April takers? EK got Almost all bad reviews so I asked a friend to borrow their berkeky set and God damn the content review in them seems so much better....I mean after every section in each chapter they give you practice problems that correlate with what you just read and it seems like the material isn't conjested like EK. I'm thinking About switching from EK to tbr after reading those reviews and seeing first hand how well written the books are. those that are studing from EK what do you feel about the books? I feel dumbfounded right now and not confident in EK.
Click to expand...

I'm using EK as my primary source of content review (TPR for psych/socio, however), but I'm using TBR's passages to really learn the material. I honestly think TBR gives you way more detail than you'd ever need to know to perform well on the MCAT, and I'm doing just fine on their practice passages between what I've read in EK and TBR's answer explanations.

Also, remember that those April test takers don't yet have their scores back and are only a very small sample of everyone who took the test that day, so their commentary should be taken with a grain of salt.

If you're interested in supplementing EK with TBR passages, I made a study schedule that's in my post history which matches up TBR passages to EK lectures.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
mcatjelly said:
I'm using EK as my primary source of content review (TPR for psych/socio, however), but I'm using TBR's passages to really learn the material. I honestly think TBR gives you way more detail than you'd ever need to know to perform well on the MCAT, and I'm doing just fine on their practice passages between what I've read in EK and TBR's answer explanations.

Also, remember that those April test takers don't yet have their scores back and are only a very small sample of everyone who took the test that day, so their commentary should be taken with a grain of salt.

If you're interested in supplementing EK with TBR passages, I made a study schedule that's in my post history which matches up TBR passages to EK lectures.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind, can you please post it here?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
mcatjelly said:
I'm using EK as my primary source of content review (TPR for psych/socio, however), but I'm using TBR's passages to really learn the material. I honestly think TBR gives you way more detail than you'd ever need to know to perform well on the MCAT, and I'm doing just fine on their practice passages between what I've read in EK and TBR's answer explanations.

Also, remember that those April test takers don't yet have their scores back and are only a very small sample of everyone who took the test that day, so their commentary should be taken with a grain of salt.

If you're interested in supplementing EK with TBR passages, I made a study schedule that's in my post history which matches up TBR passages to EK lectures.
Click to expand...


i just feel like after reading some of the reviews EK is definetly not sufficient. For example EK states do not memorize amino acids and their structures but on the MCAT Someone stated they had many questions regarding amino acid and their chemical properties. This sucks because I'm in too deep into the content review and its nerve racking thinking that the books will not prow are me at all. Tonight I am going to start doing passages and questions in the tbr that correlate to the specific EK chapters to see if EK provides enough information/content for me.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
FutureDoc3094 said:
If you don't mind, can you please post it here?
Click to expand...

Here.

Qamar3212 said:
i just feel like after reading some of the reviews EK is definetly not sufficient. For example EK states do not memorize amino acids and their structures but on the MCAT Someone stated they had many questions regarding amino acid and their chemical properties. This sucks because I'm in too deep into the content review and its nerve racking thinking that the books will not prow are me at all. Tonight I am going to start doing passages and questions in the tbr that correlate to the specific EK chapters to see if EK provides enough information/content for me.
Click to expand...

True, but that's kind of why you should be following along with AAMC's outline, which does state the importance of amino acids, and AAs covered on the sample FL/official guide. Also, AAMC updated their outline after prep companies were already printing their books, so none of the prep companies' books will be as comprehensive as the outline.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm sure it's been asked before, but I've tried to look, and I don't have the additional time/energy to go through the threads to find the answer. Has anyone taken the NextStep diagnostic? How did you find it relative to the other FL exams if you've taken more than one? I just took it, and scored pretty well, but it seemed pretty easy, particularly since I still have a lot of work, etc. to do. I'd just like to get a feel for how I'm doing relative to others. Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
soccergurl1987 said:
I'm sure it's been asked before, but I've tried to look, and I don't have the additional time/energy to go through the threads to find the answer. Has anyone taken the NextStep diagnostic? How did you find it relative to the other FL exams if you've taken more than one? I just took it, and scored pretty well, but it seemed pretty easy, particularly since I still have a lot of work, etc. to do. I'd just like to get a feel for how I'm doing relative to others. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I took it, it was harder than the actual AAMC test, but from what I've read easier than other test prep companies tests.

How did you score on it?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
514 (128, 129, 128, 129). I've still got 2 Chapters left for EK psych, and there's a lot of content I need to go over again and memorize. I think I understand most of the mjor concepts, but there are structures/reactions/terminology etc. that I just flat out don't know yet. I also need to minimize stupid mistakes. I can't stand when I look the exam over and I've got at least 1-2 very silly mistakes per section.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took an exam and I'm mentally toasted however the guilt of not doing passages the last 2 days (because I was preparing for my exam) is heavy right now. Don't feel like I deserve to leave school so I'm sitting in the student center with a blank look on my face. Nothing really important to contribute to this thread... justing throwing it out there.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What is everyone using for biochem review? I heard you are pretty much screwed if you don't know every detail.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Selectively reading from a textbok for Biochem.

I'm thinking once I'm done with finals, give myself about 2 more weeks to fully finish content then do the AAMC FL and go from there. I'll probably take around 12 ish FL's after, then do the AAMC FL again a week out from the exam.

EDIT: tfw all you wanna do is MCAT but you have other priorities like finals
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Aside from the AAMC FL what FL's have you guys taken/will be taking?

So far I'm only working with old TPR books/workbooks and the khan academy passages and it's really not enough.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I bought the nextstep FLs, and I haven't taken any yet but I hear they are real dense, real tough. I also took a free diag from Kaplan, TPR, and the aamc office guide questions. My scores were NS: 498, TPR: 501 Kaplan: 504 AAMC: I have no score but I got 70% or better right in all 4 sections. Since no one knows what the curves will be I think we are just stuck with at best, educated guesses. My plan is to take the AAMC exam last, with a review of the office guide Qs the weeks before and my 5 practice fl's. the half exams are exhausting enough, so I "cant" wait till the full lengths :(
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Don't get bogged down on your scores guys! whenever you're taking a test focus on your test taking strategy, thats what the FL's are most useful for. Don't worry about if you don't know the content. Deep breaths, be calm, collective, time conscious, think cerebrally about what you're doing, analyze the data presented, and apply it to what you know. We all can do it! Let's not worry about how little practice we have, but make the most out of it!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
Sup guys June 19th test taker here! its coming up...I'm flying to La Isla del Encanto ...Puerto Rico to see my family and bang this exam into a COMA. Studying 6+hours a day and trying to enjoy the process as much as possible. Good luck to everyone one. Rise and grind we are all gonna make it. God Bless
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
ELcapEtan said:
Sup guys June 19th test taker here! its coming up...I'm flying to La Isla del Encanto ...Puerto Rico to see my family and bang this exam into a COMA. Studying 6+hours a day and trying to enjoy the process as much as possible. Good luck to everyone one. Rise and grind we are all gonna make it. God Bless
Click to expand...

What is your study schedule like? And what materials are you using to study?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I work as a medical assistant/scribe so i work 40+hours a week. I get home usually about 6ish and then that's when the fun starts...quick shower and a bite to eat and im usually hitting the books at around 7 til about 1-2am. I do this Monday through friday and then sleep in on Saturday and work on exam questions. Sunday is usually family time(Church, gatherings, etc.). I've been using the 9th edition EK, along with any and every video I can find on youtube. I've been testing well with the videos as an aid but that's just my learning style. I have the EK 1001 bio questions for practice questions. From what ive read from others it appears the exam is heavily geared towards biology/bio chem. Even the chem and physics is skewed towards biological situations which I'm happy to hear. I hope any of this helps and if you have any information about the new exam, I'm all ears! God Bless
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
how are people doing on the FL by TPR and Kaplan,NS, EK? I know they are not representational of the real test, but they probably atleast test content knowledge.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
libertyyne said:
how are people doing on the FL by TPR and Kaplan,NS, EK? I know they are not representational of the real test, but they probably atleast test content knowledge.
Click to expand...
The only test I've taken is TPR #1 and I scored a 500 (125,124,126,125), this was before content review about 3 months ago. Finals are done after next week, coincidentally along with content review, and I'm gonna be hitting the practice questions and tests hard almost every day for the next 6 weeks or so. (Pumping myself up a bit). I was given TBR, TPRH verbal, and EK 1001 Q's practice materials by a friend. AMMC question packs I'll do first. I have 2 TPR tests left and the AAMC sample test which I'm saving for last because I already got a taste of the new, research/experiment heavy style of the new test from the AAMC Official guide questions that I also took as somewhat of a 1/2 length diagnostic early in content review.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
just wanted to update if anyone's interested.
I was doing EK for content review but have decided it's too concise and lacks on many aspects. I have switched to TBR for chemistry, physics and some organic. For biology I will use the systems book from EK as those topics are fairly simple to comprehend (nervous system, endocrin etc), for biochem/other biology I am going to order Kaplan and for pyscology/sociology I will be using TPR with EK as backup.

I hope I can pull this off before June. If not I'll just become a taxi driver.

:cool::cool:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just finished my first TPR FL...

Not too pleased with a 502.

Breakdown of 123, 126, 124, and 129.

The Psych section was just plain not hard. The PS section I think probably would have been a 124 because for some reason the last 4 questions didn't get tallied.

I'm not sure what happened with Bio.. thats the score that has me nervous.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey is anyone from Texas? If you are did you start applying and going to wait until you get your mcat scores?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took a 6-10pm break for Mayweather v Pacman..going back to hitting the books now. I couldn't study during the fight there was so much hype I had to watch it. Anyone else do this or was I the only bum that decided to lose 4 hours of studying on a boxing match?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DoctorSexy said:
Took a 6-10pm break for Mayweather v Pacman..going back to hitting the books now. I couldn't study during the fight there was so much hype I had to watch it. Anyone else do this or was I the only bum that decided to lose 4 hours of studying on a boxing match?
Click to expand...

Didn't watch the fight, but I'm a huge hockey fan so I've regularly been burning 2-3 hours watching games :p So no, you aren't the only bum burning hours you later feel like you should be studying :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
DoctorSexy said:
Took a 6-10pm break for Mayweather v Pacman..going back to hitting the books now. I couldn't study during the fight there was so much hype I had to watch it. Anyone else do this or was I the only bum that decided to lose 4 hours of studying on a boxing match?
Click to expand...
Pacman should've won
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

M
TMDSAS Application Timeline- Is a June 15th MCAT too late?
Replies
1
Views
94
wysdoc
wysdoc
agentfaithmd
AAMC MCAT Official Prep Complete Bundle Worth It?
Replies
0
Views
513
agentfaithmd
agentfaithmd
The Last Reclaimer
Can I get a 500-503 by June 1st?
Replies
4
Views
680
Sandman23
S
D
Is it possible to get II or acceptances with a late August MCAT? Assuming the primary is submitted in June
Replies
6
Views
1K
gyngyn
gyngyn
PreMedMissteps
May 12 & 13th MCAT results come out today (June 13). Anyone yet get scores?
Replies
1
Views
1K
RocuroniumRedux
R
Top