The Official November 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

[M.D.orbust]

Hey all! I am signed up for this date. 8:00 a.m. Yikes!!! I am aiming hard to make 40+ my reality so hence me making this thread so early. A former lab- mate and current medical student had a ton of MCAT prep stuff she gave to me. So I have the Examcrackers set, Hyperlearning set, regular Princeton Review, audio osmosis, and practice MCAT tests from a variety of sources I also do the MCAT questions a day through email and on my phone (to help with super quick recall). I am officially studying legitimately now. Currently starting with Examcrackers. I'd love to hear from you all doing the same. Let's do this!!!

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[baxt1412]

update: AAMC 8

PS: 15
VR: 14
BS: 15

total: 44!!!! highest score yet!! so ecstatic can't even describe how I feel about this!

I used more POE on this FL than I have on the previous ones. Also this time I trusted my gut instinct and didn't change any of my answers and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised!

i hate you right now lol. happy for you though! i honestly think you may pull off a 38+ (i think it may be a 40+, but the difference up there is usually so miniscule that anything can happens sometimes)

 

[BigEinstein]

update: AAMC 8

PS: 15
VR: 14
BS: 15

total: 44!!!! highest score yet!! so ecstatic can't even describe how I feel about this!

I used more POE on this FL than I have on the previous ones. Also this time I trusted my gut instinct and didn't change any of my answers and I have to say I am pleasantly surprised!

Are you some spirit walking amongst the living? Your scores don't exist amongst the living so please if you are an alien then go back to where you came from.

 

[lazyindy]

i hate you right now lol. happy for you though! i honestly think you may pull off a 38+ (i think it may be a 40+, but the difference up there is usually so miniscule that anything can happens sometimes)

haha thanks and I'm here to help you guys anytime! I honestly think it comes down to not overthinking the questions and having a little bit of luck on your side as you pointed out. There were definitely some questions today in ALL of the sections that I could have potentially overthought and chose the wrong answer due to an attractive alternative interpretation of the question or a misreading of the passage which one can easily do. You sort of have to take this test as the SHARPEST IDIOT ever; meaning take what's given to you in the passage and interpret it at face value (don't overthink for even one bit), then use the most basic background knowledge of the subject in hand and try that first!! for answering the questions in the PS and BS sections. For VR I think it's just understanding the passage, and a little bit of luck

 

[John Q]

With the amount of people that score 35+ in here, you'd think everyone would get into medical school...

 

[lazyindy]

Anyone else planning to do the new practice test AAMC posted? I feel like some of the questions we might see on test day will be similar in style...

 

[BigEinstein]

Anyone else planning to do the new practice test AAMC posted? I feel like some of the questions we might see on test day will be similar in style...

Oh wow didn't know about them. Going to buy them at least and try my hands on them. Where do I get them?

 

[texan2414]

Finished with AAMC 7 and I am ecstatic!!!

14 PS / 10 VR / 13 BS for a 37!!!!!!!!!!!

I could not in my wildest dreams had hoped for a 35+ as my previous AAMCs have ranged 31-33........The VR left me feeling pretty demoralized as I thought it was tough and passages were really dense. A lot of Application and Incorporation of Info questions that hampered with my timing on some passages, but overall, the results seem fruitful. I thought the PS was most straightforward in its presentation. The Bio was pretty unexpected as it had THREE orgo passages, but I suppose it prepares you well for the unexpected orgo-heavy BS section on real test.

Could not be more pumped for next Friday. My scores are peaking at the right time!!!! This certainly has been a rollercoaster ride and I sincerely wish everyone else well. I hope the practice exams you take reflect the best of your abilities and I really wish you all the best for next Friday.

Over and out.

 

[texan2414]

haha thanks and I'm here to help you guys anytime! I honestly think it comes down to not overthinking the questions and having a little bit of luck on your side as you pointed out. There were definitely some questions today in ALL of the sections that I could have potentially overthought and chose the wrong answer due to an attractive alternative interpretation of the question or a misreading of the passage which one can easily do. You sort of have to take this test as the SHARPEST IDIOT ever; meaning take what's given to you in the passage and interpret it at face value (don't overthink for even one bit), then use the most basic background knowledge of the subject in hand and try that first!! for answering the questions in the PS and BS sections. For VR I think it's just understanding the passage, and a little bit of luck

What an amazing score.........Sweeps the floor lol.
I absolutely agree with you - the more simply you answer a question on MCAT, the more likely you are correct. I think this is due to the fact that so many people are taking the test so they have to standardize the concepts in the most basic, simplistic way.

Also, I generally feel that more AAMC exams I do, the more wary I am of the pitfalls of distracting answer choices. There are certainly questions that require heavy analysis but they are far outnumbered by questions who are disguised as intimidating questions but are rather unbelievably and stupidly simple. A great example is this: http://puu.sh/cvs2x.png (from AAMC 7).

 

[texan2414]

Drake's eqn seems like perfect AAMC test material to me. What do you think?

The Drake equation is:

where:
N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which radio-communication might be possible (i.e. which are on our current past light cone);
and
R* = the average rate of star formation in our galaxy
fp = the fraction of those stars that have planets
ne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets
fl = the fraction of planets that could support life that actually develop life at some point
fi = the fraction of planets with life that actually go on to develop intelligent life (civilizations)
fc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space
L = the length of time for which such civilizations release detectable signals into space


I posted this just for laughs.......I hope we never get this......

Lol this is quite amusing!!!
I remember watching on of Neil deGrasse Tyson's interviews and he mentioned The Drakke equation. Would be funny if it makes its way to PS section next week.

BUT EVEN IF IT DOES............Don't lose yourself. The questions probably will be very simple like what the most inclusive variable for civilization classification, etc.

 

[texan2414]

Anyone else planning to do the new practice test AAMC posted? I feel like some of the questions we might see on test day will be similar in style...

Did you mean the 2015 version of the practice test? If so, yes I do plan on going through that - probably untimed; also going to finish all the questions in the 2015 official guide (these online questions you can buy for $10 on AAMC website).

 

[lazyindy]

What an amazing score.........Sweeps the floor lol.
I absolutely agree with you - the more simply you answer a question on MCAT, the more likely you are correct. I think this is due to the fact that so many people are taking the test so they have to standardize the concepts in the most basic, simplistic way.

Also, I generally feel that more AAMC exams I do, the more wary I am of the pitfalls of distracting answer choices. There are certainly questions that require heavy analysis but they are far outnumbered by questions who are disguised as intimidating questions but are rather unbelievably and stupidly simple. A great example is this: http://puu.sh/cvs2x.png (from AAMC 7).

I chuckled a little when I got to that question because the intention behind providing extensive information in a simple DNA question was so obvious..Oh AAMC .

Congrats on hitting the 37 mark! really happy for you .Btw how did you like that earthquake passage in PS? takes you on a little teleportation journey into verbal and then back eh? haha..

 

[texan2414]

I chuckled a little when I got to that question because the intention behind providing extensive information in a simple DNA question was so obvious..Oh AAMC .

Congrats on hitting the 37 mark! really happy for you .Btw how did you like that earthquake passage in PS? takes you on a little teleportation journey into verbal and then back eh? haha..

Thanks!
Yeah the Earthquake passage is where I made my two errors lol. It was definitely VR-like. However, I am probably expecting something like this next week where they are describing some multiple concepts in a phenomenon. Wasn't hard at all tbh.

 

[khan112794]

Reading this makes me wanna cry. Can't break 30. Feeling sooo lifeless now.

 

[MelloTangelo]

Reading this makes me wanna cry. Can't break 30. Feeling sooo lifeless now.

I know how that feels. I was there last year, but don't give up! We've still got a little while left, and if that isn't enough to get the score you want, there's still a chance of getting a January test date (since I believe AAMC will be adding a few more seats). You've got this! Even if it takes a little longer than you would like!

 

[khan112794]

I know how that feels. I was there last year, but don't give up! We've still got a little while left, and if that isn't enough to get the score you want, there's still a chance of getting a January test date (since I believe AAMC will be adding a few more seats). You've got this! Even if it takes a little longer than you would like!

thanks for the kind words mate. wish everyone luck.


BTW anyone driving more then 2hr to take the test, Idk if i should dump 60$ on motel.

 

[nystin]

thanks for the kind words mate. wish everyone luck.


BTW anyone driving more then 2hr to take the test, Idk if i should dump 60$ on motel.

I would definitely... Spend the night near the place. Driving two hours is just risky. Not to scare you........ Also motel, make sure its a good one. Not some dirty, drug, crime infested place. Lol

 

[baxt1412]

get the motel.

 

[MelloTangelo]

Not quite two hours away, but my testing center's an hour's drive from where I live, and I've already gotten a hotel room booked. Having to wake up super early, and then drive an hour to take the 8:00am MCAT does not sound good.

 

[ciestar]

Just finished AAMC 8. 31 (10/10/11) Needless to say, Im pleased.

 

[getfat]

Just Finishihed AAMC 9R and got a 27
10/7/10;
For some reason my verbal is just not budging between 7-8,
does anyone have any tips on anything i can do for the week before for verbal????????????????

 

[ciestar]

What really helps me is ranking passages. It uses up a minute at most and I do the strongest ones first. Meaning I avoid humanities.

 

[baxt1412]

What really helps me is ranking passages. It uses up a minute at most and I do the strongest ones first. Meaning I avoid humanities.

lol

 

[ciestar]

lol

Got a 65% on the humanities passages I just did!! I just can't grasp it lol

 

[baxt1412]

Got a 65% on the humanities passages I just did!! I just can't grasp it lol

we're scientists for a reason lol

 

[BigEinstein]

What really helps me is ranking passages. It uses up a minute at most and I do the strongest ones first. Meaning I avoid humanities.

Lol that is me right there. I read questions first to get an idea of the passage type. The moment I see it is on humanities I skip, spend more time on the remaining 6 and guess randomly if i have no time remaining.

 

[popopopop]

I'm a fool for signing up for 8 a.m. test. I wish I signed up for the 2pm, not change my sleeping habit and not have anxiety about a catastrophic accident in morning Dallas traffic causing me to be late for my test lol.

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

I'm a fool for signing up for 8 a.m. test. I wish I signed up for the 2pm, not change my sleeping habit and not have anxiety about a catastrophic accident in morning Dallas traffic causing me to be late for my test lol.

I registered in March for my tests and they didn't have any 1pm slots so I had to take the 8am in my city

 

[basicallyno]

I'm a fool for signing up for 8 a.m. test. I wish I signed up for the 2pm, not change my sleeping habit and not have anxiety about a catastrophic accident in morning Dallas traffic causing me to be late for my test lol.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one to feel like this. What are you guys' plans on sleep? Adjust next week? Or just keep your sleep schedule and wake up extra early?

Im planning on waking up at 530! an hour to get ready, and another to get to the test center....

 

[baxt1412]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one to feel like this. What are you guys' plans on sleep? Adjust next week? Or just keep your sleep schedule and wake up extra early?

Im planning on waking up at 530! an hour to get ready, and another to get to the test center....

i already get up at 6 to be able to leave for work by 7:15 so it won't be much of a difference for me. just going to try and go to sleep a bit earlier all of the nights leading up.

 

[basicallyno]

Have you guys ever felt like the stupidest thing when post-gaming? I am going over the PS of AAMC7 and found two stupid mistakes where I moved decimal digits wrong!!

ARGH hope practice now makes perfect next Friday!

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one to feel like this. What are you guys' plans on sleep? Adjust next week? Or just keep your sleep schedule and wake up extra early?

Im planning on waking up at 530! an hour to get ready, and another to get to the test center....

I don't think I'll fix mine... If I wake up at 6:30, I'll wake up and be good for the rest of the day until I have my big fat supper which makes me sleepy lol. 10am-11am is the peak of my sleepyness maybe because my 9:30am-11am class is super boring (I mean the dude is over there talking about ONE slide for 15 mins). When I take a tests sleep never usually gets in the way.

 

[ymartino]

Do you think it would be a good idea to take one (or two?) more FL's this coming week to prepare more? I'm only worried about getting discouraged if I don't get a mid 30's (or at least 30...). Also, is anyone else taking the MCAT in a different state than their own? I'll be driving to Connecticut while I live in NY due to full seats.

 

[basicallyno]

Do you think it would be a good idea to take one (or two?) more FL's this coming week to prepare more? I'm only worried about getting discouraged if I don't get a mid 30's (or at least 30...). Also, is anyone else taking the MCAT in a different state than their own? I'll be driving to Connecticut while I live in NY due to full seats.

Man I would just take one more. perhaps one of the ones from #9 to #11? those are the more representative ones. I took AAMC7 yesterday and man did I feel burnt out. wanted to quit in the middle of PS, felt like crying at the end of verbal cuz it was so convoluted (no joke), and just thought BS was impossible, and ended up with 10/7/11.

So I would suggest just some studying/going over problems while channeling all your energy to do that one last FL!

 

[ymartino]

Man I would just take one more. perhaps one of the ones from #9 to #11? those are the more representative ones. I took AAMC7 yesterday and man did I feel burnt out. wanted to quit in the middle of PS, felt like crying at the end of verbal cuz it was so convoluted (no joke), and just thought BS was impossible, and ended up with 10/7/11.

So I would suggest just some studying/going over problems while channeling all your energy to do that one last FL!

Thanks, will do.

 

[baxt1412]

just took FL 9. plan on MAYBE trying to take 10 and 11 before tuesday.


PS felt alright. pretty meh
VR felt horrendous. i think there were only two passages that i actually liked and there were a couple that i didn't like but weren't terrible, but then like 3 or 4 (maybe?) that were just STUPID.
BS got me kind of fired up. so many questions where i was like... wait what?? the dialysis passage kind of frustrated me a lot and i had no idea what a semilog plot was on the other passage lol.

well ended up getting a 28 which is 1.3 points higher than my previous non-9/10/11 FL AAMC which is good... i think? (or 1 point higher than my average if i don't count in what i think was a burnout test)

i mean you'd think i would be scoring a point or two lower on the 9-11 but oh well

9/9/10 which i would be ecstatic with on test day


the orgo must have been easy because i got 86% of those questions correct

 

[ymartino]

This is a general question for anyone; do you feel rushed when taking this exam (ie: when you start reading that first passage on whichever section, is your mind rushing and or thinking about the precious time ticking away)? I did an entire PS section in more time than permitted (took about 85 min, maybe more) I got about 90% correct, which is much better than the 60-70% I normally get right. I often rush and get simple questions wrong when timed constrained.

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

just took FL 9. plan on MAYBE trying to take 10 and 11 before tuesday.


PS felt alright. pretty meh
VR felt horrendous. i think there were only two passages that i actually liked and there were a couple that i didn't like but weren't terrible, but then like 3 or 4 (maybe?) that were just STUPID.
BS got me kind of fired up. so many questions where i was like... wait what?? the dialysis passage kind of frustrated me a lot and i had no idea what a semilog plot was on the other passage lol.

well ended up getting a 28 which is 1.3 points higher than my previous non-9/10/11 FL AAMC which is good... i think? (or 1 point higher than my average if i don't count in what i think was a burnout test)

i mean you'd think i would be scoring a point or two lower on the 9-11 but oh well

9/9/10 which i would be ecstatic with on test day


the orgo must have been easy because i got 86% of those questions correct

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the semilog question because I love excel (biomed engineering major) and thought there was a trick at first haha. That's a great score, I would do anything for a 9 on verbal haha!

If I get a 30 on my MCAT I think I will piss myself and cry lol even if I get just an 8 on verbal!

 

[baxt1412]

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the semilog question because I love excel (biomed engineering major) and thought there was a trick at first haha. That's a great score, I would do anything for a 9 on verbal haha!

If I get a 30 on my MCAT I think I will piss myself and cry lol even if I get just an 8 on verbal!

heh the verbal hasn't really improved. i've been around 9s and 10s the whole time. so i can't help there.

i really would cry if i got a 30.

This is a general question for anyone; do you feel rushed when taking this exam (ie: when you start reading that first passage on whichever section, is your mind rushing and or thinking about the precious time ticking away)? I did an entire PS section in more time than permitted (took about 85 min, maybe more) I got about 90% correct, which is much better than the 60-70% I normally get right. I often rush and get simple questions wrong when timed constrained.

ya u gotta be able to work under pressure. the MCAT doesn't care if you'll get a 90 with "unlimited" time. at this point you deifnitely need to be doing everything timed to build your stamina. gotta be able to whip through problems which means triaging. if a problem is going to take a big calculation or lots of mental rotation of an orgo molecule or lots of repeated interpretation of graphs or tables i would mark it and come back to it later. a good idea is to mark it but also put a guess in there in case of a freak accident resulting in you not being able to go back and look at your marked questions. at least at that point you have an answer selected rather than marking and leaving it blank.

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

This is a general question for anyone; do you feel rushed when taking this exam (ie: when you start reading that first passage on whichever section, is your mind rushing and or thinking about the precious time ticking away)? I did an entire PS section in more time than permitted (took about 85 min, maybe more) I got about 90% correct, which is much better than the 60-70% I normally get right. I often rush and get simple questions wrong when timed constrained.

During physical science I'm always in a time crunch around the end and troughout verbal I think about time which is something I never fixed during preparation. Thinking about time too much is a huge distraction so try to keep that in the back of you mind. Kaplan taught me this really nice thing for time. Only check time overy 2 passages and that's it.

For VR: 17 mins/2 passage so every 2 passages you should see 43 mins, 26 mins, 9mins. Now you have 8 mins to do the last passage with 1 minue left over to look over stuff you may have wanted to look over

For BS and PS: 16 mins/2 passage so every 2 passages. I don't use this as much because I don't find it as useful for science because I am in less of a time crunch but the verbal one is nice to know

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

During physical science I'm always in a time crunch around the end and troughout verbal I think about time which is something I never fixed during preparation. Thinking about time too much is a huge distraction so try to keep that in the back of you mind. Kaplan taught me this really nice thing for time. Only check time overy 2 passages and that's it.

For VR: 17 mins/2 passages so every 2 passages you should see 43 mins, 26 mins, 9mins. Now you have 8 mins to do the last passage with 1 minue left over to look over stuff you may have wanted to look over

For BS and PS: 16 mins/2 passages so every 2 passages. I don't use this as much because I don't find it as useful for science because I am in less of a time crunch but the verbal one is nice to know

 

[baxt1412]

edited out AAMC content

 

[TheEngineeringNerd]

hey everybody... had a question on AAMC 9 question # 13

i got the question correct, but i had a different though process and wanted to know if my thought process was another way to get to the same answer or if it was just luck.

My thought process:
The passage states that gasoline w/out additives can be inefficient. So adding in an anti-knock compound will increase efficiency. Then the passage also says that the higher the octane rating, the slower it burns and smoother the piston operates. I took smoother to be less knocking aka more efficient.

So from that I figured, high octane rating = high(er) efficiency. So when the question asked for what uses the least oxygen, I took that as what is the most efficient with oxygen? So I just paralleled them calling a fuel with a high octane rating as efficient with efficiency with oxygen. So I picked EtOH because it had the highest octane rating and thus I thought it had the highest efficiency and highest oxygen-consuming efficiency. Is this valid or just luck?




=======edit=======
also, on specifically #112 (but passage 3 of BS in general), what is the definition of filtration rate? i assumed it was the rate at which "stuff" was filtered out meaning really huge stuff would be "filtration rate"d out a lot aka filtered out a lot. but i'm trying to understand the reasoning and it seems inverse to what i was thinking.

**sorry for the seam, i had to piece together two screenshots**

I did the same thing for that problem but I think it has more to do with the carbon oxygen ratio, like the answer choice explanation states.

Filtration rate is if the rate at which fluid is filtered through something, it is a flow rate. A classic example is filtration through the membrane of the glomerulus into the bowmans capsule. The higher the pressure and less viscous the fluid, the more stuff will be filtered through and the higher the filtration rate.

So we have two sieves, one with larger holes (1) and one with smaller holes (2). You have your fluid with chunks in it. We know that if we put chunkier/bigger stuff through the sieve (increase the molecular weight of stuff going through) it will have a harder time going through. If it is having a harder time going through, we have a smaller filtration rate (less volume going through for a given time). This eliminates A and B.

We know from experience that the sieve with larger holes will allow the fluid through with greater ease. Therefore, it can handle a bigger chunks (larger molecular weight) better with that sieve 2. Now how does this correlate to a chart. The best way is to draw a horizontal line so we can compare at a specific filtration rate. We predict that sieve 1 will take larger molecular weight stuff in comparison to sieve 2 at any given filtration rate. This leaves us with choice D

I hope this makes sense this was my thought process but it might not make sense to you

 

[baxt1412]

edited out AAMC content

 

[sps27]

Just a request folks. A lot of people will be taking AAMC exams this weekend and next week. Probably not a good idea to post AAMC material on this thread. Here is a link which has all the AAMC threads in it. May wanna post it in here....Thanks bud.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ussing-aamc-questions-will-be-closed.1015927/

 

[baxt1412]

Just a request folks. A lot of people will be taking AAMC exams this weekend and next week. Probably not a good idea to post AAMC material on this thread. Here is a link which has all the AAMC threads in it. May wanna post it in here....Thanks bud.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ussing-aamc-questions-will-be-closed.1015927/

didn't know this was a thing! i hadn't looked too hard, apparently. thanks


==edit==

link to my question about AAMC 9 if anyone would be willing to help out

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/aamc-cbt9-and-9r-official-q-a.516258/page-6#post-15842895

 

[lazyindy]

NOOOOOO!!!!!!! my 40+ streak comes to an end

AAMC 9: 14/11/14 - 39

The PS and BS felt really simple but the VR made me want to vomit. Literally had to re-read an entire passage to understand what the hell the author was talking about.

 

[baxt1412]

NOOOOOO!!!!!!! my 40+ streak comes to an end

AAMC 9: 14/11/14 - 39

The PS and BS felt really simple but the VR made me want to vomit. Literally had to re-read an entire passage to understand what the hell the author was talking about.

how can you even live with yourself? lmao

which passage in VR? i hated AAMC 9 VR. not enough science passages lol

 

[khan112794]

faurkkk brahs, this mcat prep is making me antisocial like crazy. who else is sleeping in tonight so they can take another practice test tomorrow morning.

 

[anon5759]

gonna watch a few tv shows tonight, do some light review and hit the library in the morning for an AAMC

 

[MelloTangelo]

One more week to go, but I've just had a hard time concentrating yesterday and today. It's really worrying. Tomorrow's my break day, so maybe that'll help. I was planning on trying to catch up for at least part of the day, so I guess we'll see how that goes. Aaaaahn, just one more week!