The Official May 8, 2014 MCAT thread

[southpawcannon]

Yep, that just happened. And no, I'm not studying tonight. Are you cray cray? Just watching college football and opening my box from Berkeley Review that finally arrived. Prep commences tomorrow!

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[naz123786]

State?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Texas

 

[naz123786]

how much of an improvement is this score from first attempt? I think you still have a shot in mid and low tier MD schools if everything else is good..if i were you, i would apply broadly and quickly.

5 point improvement. And I plan on submitting apps this week itself.

 

[sparos]

.

 

[uvrsol]

Test Date: 5/8/14
AAMC Average: somewhere between 28 and 32
Post-test expected score: 28-31
Actual Score: 30 (11/9/10)
Comments: Happy with the 30. This was my third attempt (prev 22, 26) and perhaps a last shot at breaking the big three-o. Absolutely CANNOT believe that I pulled an 11 out of physics after nearly deciding to quit after the first section. Improved my physics score by 5 in 3 months, so it can be done. I will be applying this cycle to low-tier allopathic schools, hopefully I get some interviews (my state school is UWashington so that's just perfect).

Nice!! did your verbal improve a lot between 3 attempts? I also took my third attempt on june 5th due to my poor verbal performance!

 

[sparos]

.

 

[GameOfBones]

Well, I exhausted all the practice materials, including the AAMC tests. I burned through TPRH, EK, TBR, Kaplan. I only have Kaplan sectionals left so I guess I will just do problems. Content is still fresh in my mind.

Check out Gold Standard. I have a somewhat dated copy that seemed to be a little closer in style to the May 8 test.

 

[GameOfBones]

Texas

YES! I had spine surgery last month (the day after the MCAT!!) that led to some interesting conversations for me. My neurosurgeon went to UT Austin for undergrad and scored a 29 on his MCAT. He got into UT Southwestern and other good ones and ended up going to UTHSCSA. He's a well-respected, totally sought-after neurosurgeon now.

Don't be the one that tells you no, dude.

 

[Z K]

<<< has finally stopped drinking. =)

 

[SpringButterfly]

Don't fret, I too had a really strange occurrence of events that is making me scratch my head.

Beginning of practice: 5/7/8
Right before May 8th: 6/7/7

Actual: 7/9/...4

I have no idea what the bloody hell happened. I'm obviously retaking for the 21st and am currently standing on:

7/10/10

I have no idea what my deal is. I swear I'm smart. I've even been taking 12's lately for EK bio sections.

/roflcopter

*edit*

Any advice number crunchers? At all? I just need a 25+

I signed up for the 21st as well .... I have no idea how to prepare for this thing other than having a really really really good night of sleep. The Test I've seen on 5/8 did not need any content review ... honestly I really felt a wasted a month + 1 week in content for nothing ... not to mention the breakdown moments that I had of so many things to review ... I should have spend that time improving my test taking skills instead .. I'm smart & I know that ... everyone was expecting me to hit the 40! I hope I do on the 21st!

 

[SpringButterfly]

Whats your deal? These people just got their scores back and some of them are really disappointed. Do you really think it's the right time to crack a joke about going to the Carribean?

I didn't understand his joke to be honest ... I really thought there is a school in the U.S. that accept low scores & I was about to look it up, but reading your comment stopped me from searching about it.... I mentioned European schools in one of my previous comments to someone as I'm thinking of it as an option, I apologize if that was considered rude as well! I don't take that as rude comments personally as I'm already an international student & the only reason that made me leaving my home is to be a physician, so if the US is not going to give me the opportunity to be an MD, I'll definitely go somewhere else but not the Caribbean though ... Don't be discouraged to leave the US ,, as an international, I can tell you for sure my studying abroad experience has taught me more than my school education, look at the bright side. Accomplish your dream & be a physician, & at the same time meet people from all over the world & learn about different cultures .... Although I signed up for June 21 MCAT but it will be my very LAST shot & at the same time I'm searching about English European schools ... I would love to stay at my school (BU) but their median MCAT is 34! .. If I don't get into US schools, I'll move on & won't be discouraged by a test that everyone knows it is not a representative of your intellectual abilities!

John's Hopkins dropped MCAT requirement in 1985 but don't know what year they required it again!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4023702

 

[anaxx]

I didn't understand his joke to be honest ... I really thought there is a school in the U.S. that accept low scores & I was about to look it up, but reading your comment stopped me from searching about it.... I mentioned European schools in one of my previous comments to someone as I'm thinking of it as an option, I apologize if that was considered rude as well! I don't take that as rude comments personally as I'm already an international student & the only reason that made me leaving my home is to be a physician, so if the US is not going to give me the opportunity to be an MD, I'll definitely go somewhere else but not the Caribbean though ... Don't be discouraged to leave the US ,, as an international, I can tell you for sure my studying abroad experience has taught me more than my school education, look at the bright side. Accomplish your dream & be a physician, & at the same time meet people from all over the world & learn about different cultures .... Although I signed up for June 21 MCAT but it will be my very LAST shot & at the same time I'm searching about English European schools ... I would love to stay at my school (BU) but their median MCAT is 34! .. If I don't get into US schools, I'll move on & won't be discouraged by a test that everyone knows it is not a representative of your intellectual abilities!

John's Hopkins dropped MCAT requirement in 1985 but don't know what year they required it again!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4023702

Are you considering US DO schools as an option?

 

[Glaustice]

I signed up for the 21st as well .... I have no idea how to prepare for this thing other than having a really really really good night of sleep. The Test I've seen on 5/8 did not need any content review ... honestly I really felt a wasted a month + 1 week in content for nothing ... not to mention the breakdown moments that I had of so many things to review ... I should have spend that time improving my test taking skills instead .. I'm smart & I know that ... everyone was expecting me to hit the 40! I hope I do on the 21st!

The May 8th test totally felt like it required less content review. I felt like studying for the bio was almost a waste.

I'm going through random EK section tests and so far for bio at least I'm getting 10's and 12's...lowest has been 8.

I'd really like to know how the hell I managed to gracefully pull off a 4...

My guess is test taking skills. Go practice in the most obnoxious place possible...


If you can dodge a wrench; you can dodge a ball...

 

[SpringButterfly]

Are you considering US DO schools as an option?

No as I want to get into neurosurgery residency later .. I'm afraid getting into DO would not accomplish this for me later. The reason for me to get into med school is to be a neurosurgeon, if that won't be accomplished by DO school, then I would have worked hard for 4 years without accomplishing my ultimate goal!

 

[Glaustice]

No as I want to get into neurosurgery residency later .. I'm afraid getting into DO would not accomplish this for me later. The reason for me to get into med school is to be a neurosurgeon, if that won't be accomplished by DO school, then I would have worked hard for 4 years without accomplishing my ultimate goal!

<----DO school applicant, gunning for neurology. Promise you I'll make it, and so will you if you love the brain as much as I do.

 

[orangetea]

The May 8th test totally felt like it required less content review. I felt like studying for the bio was almost a waste.

I'm going through random EK section tests and so far for bio at least I'm getting 10's and 12's...lowest has been 8.

I'd really like to know how the hell I managed to gracefully pull off a 4...

My guess is test taking skills. Go practice in the most obnoxious place possible...


If you can dodge a wrench; you can dodge a ball...

I honestly think it's more about extrapolating information from charts/graphs/experiments. Have you tried TBR bio section? also TPRH is a good resource as well! I personally feel like other material test more so on content regurgitation. I had the exact same problem but with a little practice it will shoot up dramatically!

 

[SpringButterfly]

<----DO school applicant, gunning for neurology. Promise you I'll make it, and so will you if you love the brain as much as I do.

You will ... I'm just afraid to be disappointed later after all of this hard work to be neurosurgeon!

 

[DrPibble]

No as I want to get into neurosurgery residency later .. I'm afraid getting into DO would not accomplish this for me later. The reason for me to get into med school is to be a neurosurgeon, if that won't be accomplished by DO school, then I would have worked hard for 4 years without accomplishing my ultimate goal!

I shadowed in the neurosurgery dept at Children's hospital Los Angeles for awhile.... 2 out of the 5 residents were DOs! If you really want it, and you work for it, you can do it.

 

[Glaustice]

I honestly think it's more about extrapolating information from charts/graphs/experiments. Have you tried TBR bio section? also TPRH is a good resource as well! I personally feel like other material test more so on content regurgitation. I had the exact same problem but with a little practice it will shoot up dramatically!

I've noticed that from the AAMC practice tests. I got into the nasty habit of not reading the passages as deeply because of that (frak me right?). I managed to get my paws on TBR, I'm skeptical but everyone and their mother is hoo-rahing for it.

Personally, I've found that treating the bio section like a verbal section increases my score significantly (3-6 points).

 

[Glaustice]

I've noticed that from the AAMC practice tests. I got into the nasty habit of not reading the passages as deeply because of that (frak me right?). I managed to get my paws on TBR, I'm skeptical but everyone and their mother is hoo-rahing for it.

Personally, I've found that treating the bio section like a verbal section increases my score significantly (3-6 points).

 

[orangetea]

I've noticed that from the AAMC practice tests. I got into the nasty habit of not reading the passages as deeply because of that (frak me right?). I managed to get my paws on TBR, I'm skeptical but everyone and their mother is hoo-rahing for it.

Personally, I've found that treating the bio section like a verbal section increases my score significantly (3-6 points).

yes I am the SAME way.. and it just kicks me in the booty because some of the answers are actually in the test.. I highly recommend TBR.. they will be hard but worth it. Good luck

 

[anaxx]

No as I want to get into neurosurgery residency later .. I'm afraid getting into DO would not accomplish this for me later. The reason for me to get into med school is to be a neurosurgeon, if that won't be accomplished by DO school, then I would have worked hard for 4 years without accomplishing my ultimate goal!

I want to get into surgery residency too and I am actually considering DO schools since I didn't do as well as expected on this mcat. I know many DO surgeons and from what I heard if you work hard and stand out you can def make it happen.

 

[SpringButterfly]

I want to get into surgery residency too and I am actually considering DO schools since I didn't do as well as expected on this mcat. I know many DO surgeons and from what I heard if you work hard and stand out you can def make it happen.

I'll see how my June 21st MCAT come out & will consider DO as an option along side with Europe ... I need to double check with my scholarship program if DO degree is acceptable as I'm suppose to practice at my home country & we don't have DO degrees back home. On the list of accredited schools in their website, only MD is listed so probably DO is not accredited. So, if it's not accredited, I have no options other than the MD! I'm worried about Europe as my scholarship is for a US school & you must have a VERY STRONG reason to ask for transferring to a different country! There is NO way on earth that I would afford paying for med school without my scholarship, so I either do well & get into a US school or hope that taking the MCAT multiple times without doing well will be considered as a strong reason to transfer my scholarship to Europe!

 

[The Milkman]

how much do adcoms like to see a balanced score??

 

[SB14]

Hey guys,

Congrats on you guys that got your desired score and for those who didn't, hang in there and kill it if you're gonna retake!

So I'm taking the MCAT June 21st (for the second time) and I've done all the AAMC tests last year. I was planning on doing four more tests in the 10 days I have left and decided on doing AAMC #10 and 11 and two Gold Standard tests. Can you guys give suggestions on which GS tests were closest to the actual MCAT and would be most beneficial to me?

Thanks!

 

[Zongzi]

Back to studying for me. :/ Congratulations to those of you who don't have to take this test again.

 

[anaxx]

Who's retaking July 12?

Me! Hope the PS section isn't as bad as the May 8 one.

 

[Dr.Wink]

Test Date: 5/8/14
AAMC Average: 29.5
Post-test expected score: 27
Actual Score: 31 (10/9/12)
Comments: Absolutely elated with this score. This was my second attempt (first was a 25 in 2012), and I put a lot more effort into studying this time around. You guys have all been great; cheers.

 

[Alex Schmidt]

Just stating this right out. The scale or curve for PS must have been massive. I was looking at my practice exams and I'm certain they curved the crap out of it. Curve was probably better than aamc 11.

Absolutely. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I guessed wildly on at least 10 questions and probably missed a ton I actually spent time thinking about because they were so... unique. I rushed to answer two incomplete questions (I thought I left none incomplete) with less than 20 seconds left. I never did these things on the fl's, where usually if you miss ONE OR TWO questions, you score 14. And I scored a 14.

Massively friendly scale, lots of experimental questions, probably both.

 

[Alex Schmidt]

Or they flat out mixed my test up with someone else's. I'm seriously still dumbfounded by the PS section and my score. I'm ecstatic, don't get me wrong, but feel strange about the whole process too.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Absolutely. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I guessed wildly on at least 10 questions and probably missed a ton I actually spent time thinking about because they were so... unique. I rushed to answer two incomplete questions (I thought I left none incomplete) with less than 20 seconds left. I never did these things on the fl's, where usually if you miss ONE OR TWO questions, you score 14. And I scored a 14.

Massively friendly scale, lots of experimental questions, probably both.

Alex may I ask what your AAMC average breakdown was? I wish I can one day get that score

 

[Alex Schmidt]

Alex may I ask what your AAMC average breakdown was? I wish I can one day get that score

Including the first diagnostic (e-mcat 3, which I did before content review), it was PS 12 / VR 11 / BS 12 for a 35.

You can do it. A big part of my score was luck, but mainly hard work, which literally everyone can do.

 

[STLMako91]

Can anybody explain how I guessed flat out on some 15 questions on PS and half-assed the rest and ended up with 11 on it? Whereas I was pretty confident I did well in BS and VR, and ended up with mediocre 8 on each. I'm not even sure what to target for the July 24 retake. Mind you, I have never scored lower than 10 on BS and VR.

I feel like God's own middle finger came down from the sky and jabbed me in the face.

That's the golden mystery of the MCAT. The only reasonable explanation is how heavy the curves were. For your test date, the PS section must have had a huge curve while the VR and BS sections had a large curve against you that left no room for error whatsoever. The first time I took my MCAT, I thought I got a 13 on my BS but only ended up with a 10. It was a little disappointing since I was only unsure of 2-3 questions total. In my opinion, it's also a poorly written test with a lot of variation that can affect people's scores, especially on the sections that are outrageously difficult on the real thing.

 

[orangetea]

 

[Theseus]

That's the golden mystery of the MCAT. The only reasonable explanation is how heavy the curves were. For your test date, the PS section must have had a huge curve while the VR and BS sections had a large curve against you that left no room for error whatsoever. The first time I took my MCAT, I thought I got a 13 on my BS but only ended up with a 10. It was a little disappointing since I was only unsure of 2-3 questions total. In my opinion, it's also a poorly written test with a lot of variation that can affect people's scores, especially on the sections that are outrageously difficult on the real thing.

And I was so confident about my answer choices in VR and BS. I finished with 15 minutes to spare in BS and about 8 mins on VR. Q_Q

 

[Inygma]

And I was so confident about my answer choices in VR and BS. I finished with 15 minutes to spare in BS and about 8 mins on VR. Q_Q

Same here, I thought I easily had a 13-15 on VR. Wish we could see our mistakes, I am quite dumbfounded at my entire score. Saying I got 1 point better in VR than PS when I guess on so many PS and felt so confident on VR...I have no words..

 

[Theseus]

Same here, I thought I easily had a 13-15 on VR. Wish we could see our mistakes, I am quite dumbfounded at my entire score. Saying I got 1 point better in VR than PS when I guess on so many PS and felt so confident on VR...I have no words..

It was probably like this: since VR and BS were relatively easy, 1 question wrong probably reduced your sectional score by 1 point every time.

 

[Inygma]

It was probably like this: since VR and BS were relatively easy, 1 question wrong probably reduced your sectional score by 1 point every time.

Usually VR is like that always for the first 3-5 points.. I just thought I missed 2-3 TOPS. Obviously I was wrong, but meh.

 

[Theseus]

Usually VR is like that always for the first 3-5 points.. I just thought I missed 2-3 TOPS. Obviously I was wrong, but meh.

May I ask, what was your AAMC practice average? Just curious.

 

[STLMako91]

Same here, I thought I easily had a 13-15 on VR. Wish we could see our mistakes, I am quite dumbfounded at my entire score. Saying I got 1 point better in VR than PS when I guess on so many PS and felt so confident on VR...I have no words..

Like I was saying earlier, if you were really confident about the verbal, it meant that the verbal was relatively easier and thus the test makers created a scale that leaves no room for error. Maybe 7 questions wrong will bring you down to a 12. The first time I took the MCAT, I thought I did really well on the verbal, but did terrible. The second time, I thought I did worse than anyone's ever done (and I still did relatively bad), but it was still 3 points higher than I expected. It's all about the how they curve each section and not about how you felt afterwards.

 

[Inygma]

May I ask, what was your AAMC practice average? Just curious.

35. Never below 12 in verbal, never below 11 in PS from AAMC 7-11. Really think a retake would get me at least a few more points, but I am fine with DO or MD in my area and would be happy at either, I also already submitted. I am non-trad so I think applying now is more important than a few points, but we will see.

 

[Inygma]

Like I was saying earlier, if you were really confident about the verbal, it meant that the verbal was relatively easier and thus the test makers created a scale that leaves no room for error. Maybe 7 questions wrong will bring you down to a 12. The first time I took the MCAT, I thought I did really well on the verbal, but did terrible. The second time, I thought I did worse than anyone's ever done (and I still did relatively bad), but it was still 3 points higher than I expected. It's all about the how they curve each section and not about how you felt afterwards.

I understand the concept. I am saying I felt I only got 1-3 wrong total on VR, which would have put me at a 12 if I got my maximum wrong. It had nothing to do with the curve, more so me obviously being crazy in the head after that PS section haha.

 

[STLMako91]

I understand the concept. I am saying I felt I only got 1-3 wrong total on VR, which would have put me at a 12 if I got my maximum wrong. It had nothing to do with the curve, more so me obviously being crazy in the head after that PS section haha.

I know, and I had a similar experience with the Bio section. The thing is, you probably missed a few that you didn't think you missed, and due to the hard curve, that brought you down quite a bit, opposed to having a more generous curve that allows a few mistakes to happen. Again, you know your experience more than I do. I'm just disconnecting the association between how you felt after a section and how you really did.

 

[Inygma]

I know, and I had a similar experience with the Bio section. The thing is, you probably missed a few that you didn't think you missed, and due to the hard curve, that brought you down quite a bit, opposed to having a more generous curve that allows a few mistakes to happen. Again, you know your experience more than I do. I'm just disconnecting the association between how you felt after a section and how you really did.

Ya I hear ya. I don't follow other score threads like this one, so I am extremely biased, but I felt this section was different from others. It wasn't only a "I'm not really sure" on these and I don't feel good, it was more of a "Hmm, this doesn't look anything like AAMC 3-11, PANIC PANIC PANIC, GUESS GUESS GUESS" haha. I am sure most tests are like this, and I am biased because I suffered this one is all. IN the end I didn't get a terrible score, but everyone is disappointed when performing so much lower than their average. I think I will be accepted to at least one school, and that is all you need! I am happy to be done with the MCAT, especially as a non-trad non-science major. I look forward to learning the material tested along my colleagues next year.

 

[cupcakesandcadavers]

I know a lot of people are saying they bombed the PS section, but did anyone feel like they scored very low (~7) but ended up doing okay?

YES. i thought i actually bombed it. walked out of the test when it was over into my car, called my mom and was FUMING. she thought it was funny because i never ever use profanity but the amount that came out of my mouth was unbelievable. walking out of that test i have never been so angry in my life.
i got an 11 on PS. i LOLd

 

[cupcakesandcadavers]

Wow, AAMC average to actual score a jump of 7 points! That's amazing! Why do you think you expected such a higher score than your averages? Did you just feel really good about the test afterwards? My average right now is a 29 for AAMC tests, and my goal is at least a 30. I take it friday and have AAMC 11 left to take tomorrow. You definitely gave me hope for average score improvement on the real deal!

Sorry to eavesdrop, but i was in the same boat as you! averaged about a 29 when the whole 6 months i studied for a 35. i scored 2 kaplans of 33 and one AAMC (i took 7/8 of them) was a 34 and that was the last one i took before my real test. I got a 30 on the real thing. as i was a little disappointed because i was hoping for a miracle, i still did better than i feared. and hopefully you will too!!

 

[dopa-mean]

Couldn't find a spot for July 12, so I signed up for July 24. I wish I could have signed up for 12, though.

I signed up for July 24th too... Are you still applying this cycle? Any ideas on how this will effect our chances if everything else is submitted and schools are only waiting on MCAT scores?

 

[Bowdoin2013]

Test Date: 5/8/14
AAMC Average: Around 30
Post-test expected score: 28-32
Actual Score: 35 (11/11/13)
Comments: Very content with how I scored. This was 3 points higher than any practice test score I ever received (did all of the AAMC tests and several TPR tests as well). I felt like physics was pretty difficult, but I thought verbal and bio were quite straight forward. I kind of wish my verbal had been one point higher at least, but can't complain!

 

[dres145]

Test Date: 5/8/14

AAMC Average: 37

Post-test expected score: 30-33 (Likely insufficient to make up for a poor GPA and thus disappointing)

Actual Score: 39 PS/VR/BS - 14/11/14

Comments: Blown away by the disparity between my expectations and the actual score. On May 9 I put out some pretty melancholic posts onto this thread and received swift replies advising me to chill. I have to thank all of you for keeping me sane over the past month. I checked this thing at least once an hour looking for other posters to share in what I thought would be my outright misery. Congratulations to everyone who met their goals. To those that didn't meet their goals: never, ever, EVER give up. And for those of you waiting for scores, take the advice of 23premes in an earlier post: "Just trust your AAMC average and be patient."

 

[LChristmas]

Test Date: May 8, 2014

AAMC 3: 12/10/12 34
AAMC 4: 12/11/11 34
AAMC 11: 10/10/12 32

Actual score: 11/11/11 33

Prev scores:
May 2012: 8/10/11 29P
May 2013: 8/8/12 28

I'm pretty happy with my score considering how I felt during and after the test. It was a huge weight off my shoulders to know that I am done with the MCAT for good!!

 

[Z K]

Today I submitted my application.