509: 128/124/130/127
CARS can kindly get out of my life now
Kaplan tests: 496, 498, 500, 502
AAMC Practice: 508
Rushed myself/didn't give myself enough time on a passage and a half on CARS and being a biochem major/working in a lab helped exponentially in B/B.
I think timing threw me off and I spent too long on questions.. I blindly guessed on 3-4 questions for chem and bio.. Verbal passages were longer. The topics were also harder for me personally than the scored test.
I don't mind
From what I understand, Adcoms generally value the sections (in descending order): B/B, CARS, C/P, P/S. However, apparently they weight each section the same.
I also heard some schools don't even look at the breakdown
I'm sorry I haven't
my Prehealth advisor told me my balanced score might not mean much
To my knowledge, applications aren't sent out to schools until July 15th
yeah i've gotten university of michigan and FIU
what is the difference between course test, complete test, and review test?
what is the difference between course test, complete test, and review test?
If you have a strong MCAT score, I would sell them. Although, you could also wait until ~October - November when acceptances come out before you make a decision to get rid of them.... Not sure if this reply is particularly helpful lol
Depends on what you think will be better
When was your first test? I'll be honest, 50-60% is a little low, but if it's been a while since your content review, that might be a factor. The good news is you should have plenty of time to get those percentages up before January!
What was your breakdown? I agree with @Eleithyia on reviewing EVERY question, whether you got it right or wrong. If you get it wrong, make sure you know why (content issue, critical thinking error, missed important info in the passage, etc.) and if you get it correct, make sure that you got it right for the correct reasons. This is going to take up a lot of your time, but I promise it will be worth it in the end. Personally, I used TPR and took their exams (Core 1-5, Review 1+2, Complete 1-3) and strongly recommend doing the complete tests at least for P/S prep if you don't get through all of the full-lengths. TPR's FLs, like almost all of the other test companies, are extremely content heavy, however, strengthen your critical thinking skills in my opinion. Lastly, become familiar with published articles for B/B (as Eleithyia said). Im not sure about other members on SDN, but my B/B section was EXTREMELY data-heavy - we're talking 3 large graphs of experimental data and 2 tables for a 4-question passage. Get used to the language researchers use and create your own system for keeping track of abbreviations. My B/B, and many other people's B/B section from what i've heard, had a TON of abbreviations for experimental groups, each with a missing/added gene, protein, tag, etc. Make sure you can keep track of them or it will be a nightmare continually going back to the passage to check what was missing/added in XYZ13fq097D protein on test day. For reference, I scored 515 (131,125,131,128) so I won't be much help for CARS, but I can do my best if you need some tips for C/P & B/B. Good luck!
And sorry, I realized I didn't really answer your question. I don't mean any disrespect, but 50-60% is pretty low. However, one of my friends from undergrad consistently scored 60-65% on the Q banks and ended up with a 29 (equivalent to a 506 in terms of percentiles). I would see how you do on the section banks, rather than the Q banks - these questions/passages are most similar (in my opinion) to the difficulty you will see on test day (in my experience, the students that take the SB's 2-3x each and review all of the questions, right or wrong, are the most successful). It's not uncommon for people to score 60% on the section banks and still score 507+, but you really should be scoring ~75-80% on SB's if you want that 510+ score.
I also got a 515, slanted the opposite way (126/131/128/130). Between the two of us we probably have some good advice
what are the odds lol AgreedI also got a 515, slanted the opposite way (126/131/128/130). Between the two of us we probably have some good advice
I also got a 515, slanted the opposite way (126/131/128/130). Between the two of us we probably have some good advice
I got a 520 (130,130,130,130) so I think I have the most solid advicewhat are the odds lol Agreed
Would love last minute tips for C/P and B/B for my sept 10th test date!
Yes, I have Kaplan and AAMC passages!
Thank you so much!
C/P: Master acids & bases and related concepts such as the ionization of an aa or molecule (e.g H2SO4) based on pKa, pI, etc. Also, memorize all 20 aa structures (which I'm sure you have already) and their properties: non-polar, polar, polar acidic, etc. and relative pI values - ~6 for non-polar+polar neutral, <6 for polar acidic and >6 for polar basic. Of course, the actual pI values are much different than those numbers, but those ranges will be sufficient to arrive at the correct answer. Im willing to bet you will encounter at least 6 questions between C/P & B/B that will test your knowledge of them in some way.
Thank you so much! You're a life saver!
