The Official November 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

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M.D.orbust

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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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Ok people use your critical thinking skills ( they will help if you need to retake), the hysteria, will last up until scores are released, below the score release dates for the most recent tests:
October 21, 2014No Trial Section release Nov. 25, 2014
October 25, 2014No Trial SectionNov. 25, 2014
November 7, 2014No Trial SectionDec. 9, 2014
December 6, 2014No Trial SectionJan. 6, 2015
So Nov 25 a bunch of seats will open from people who did better than they thought, and were holding seats for later days! And if you can wait to see yours, both dec 9 and Jan 6 are days with higher chances of open seats than now when everyone still in panic!!
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/reserving/355164/scorereleaseschedule.html

my 2 cents !
 
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Just got my acceptance letter! WHOOOOO! A month of anxiety just turned into a month of awesome!

Good luck guys! See you on the other side!
 
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anyone have any idea why we still have to wait 30 days for scores? there is no writing section anymore. so dumb. probably just so people will sign up for a later test date and then hopefully the scores won't come out until they are already past the refund deadline or something lol.
 
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I woke up yesterday to find dozens of spots throughout several states on Dec. 6th. 2 hours later, they were all gone and only Guam was left. Debated on the cost/benefit of Guam vs new MCAT/extra classes, but Guam locations were gone also lol. Pick your poison basically.
 
anyone have any idea why we still have to wait 30 days for scores? there is no writing section anymore. so dumb. probably just so people will sign up for a later test date and then hopefully the scores won't come out until they are already past the refund deadline or something lol.

The PCAT gives you an unofficial score when you finish the test. I see no reason the MCAT cannot do something similar. They could at least tell you what percent you answered correctly.
 
The PCAT gives you an unofficial score when you finish the test. I see no reason the MCAT cannot do something similar. They could at least tell you what percent you answered correctly.

Can you imagine the chaos in the testing center if you got instant results (some crying, some yelling)? I do think they could send you an email about the raw score though. 4 weeks is outrageous for a multiple choice, computerized exam.
 
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yeah it's honestly BS. it must come down to making more money somehow. i mean i understand it to a certain point, since the AAMC is a business at the end of the day... but 4 weeks truly is just stupid.

hell, i'd be happy with a week.
 
^It must be also due to the number of test questions they can write also. Imagine if you had money and took every single test date available, voided on every single one, until you found a test that you absolutely rocked. Then again, they can give you a grade instantly, but put a 1 month wait time until you can reschedule.
 
^It must be also due to the number of test questions they can write also. Imagine if you had money and took every single test date available, voided on every single one, until you found a test that you absolutely rocked. Then again, they can give you a grade instantly, but put a 1 month wait time until you can reschedule.

don't they max you at 3 tests per calendar year?

i can see your point though. they could still let you know your score, but not let you register for another for a month. that would almost encourage proper prep too, if you weren't happy with the score you got, you probably need at least a month or so to prep further.
 
^I didn't know about the x3 per year thing, guess my theory is out the window. The money theory holds true though, so someone should sue AAMC : ). Come on, if that guy can win against Redbull, surely some pre-med is smart enough. There're so many ex-lawyers in the non-trad section!
 
Can you imagine the chaos in the testing center if you got instant results (some crying, some yelling)? I do think they could send you an email about the raw score though. 4 weeks is outrageous for a multiple choice, computerized exam.

I can see some monitors being hurled thru windows.
 
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anyone have any idea why we still have to wait 30 days for scores? there is no writing section anymore. so dumb. probably just so people will sign up for a later test date and then hopefully the scores won't come out until they are already past the refund deadline or something lol.

We have to wait because the MCAT is based off of a curve, so they're probably taking their time figuring that out.
 
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We have to wait because the MCAT is based off of a curve, so they're probably taking their time figuring that out.

it's not curved. it's standardized. meaning it doesn't matter if every other person besides you got a 10 on their MCAT, if you scored at a certain percent, you will still get a 9 in the section, etc. hope that makes sense.

standardized meaning an 8 on the nov 7 exam is equivalent to an 8 on a january 15 exam. your scores are not dependent on how anyone else did on your day, during the same test year, etc.

even if it was curved, all of those calculations are done electronically in a matter of minutes, not weeks.
 
I think there is some sort of curve that takes into account the bell curve distribution of scores for each section, but your're in that they would know the final calculated scores within a few minutes of the last test being finished. In other words, yeah, total BS for them to not release the scores for four weeks.
 
I think there is some sort of curve that takes into account the bell curve distribution of scores for each section, but your're in that they would know the final calculated scores within a few minutes of the last test being finished. In other words, yeah, total BS for them to not release the scores for four weeks.

Each question is based on a pre-set curve.This I found out from the AAMC MCAT study guide. Someone can correct me if I am wrong. I might have not understood what they were saying
 
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I'm really late on this, but I wanted to have something I could refer back to when the actual test score comes out on December 9th.

PS - First passage definitely hurt my confidence. I ended up skipping it and as I progressed through the section I started to regain some self-confidence back because I kept catching all the "tricks" AMCAS likes to play. However, towards the end I became pressed for time and realized that the easier passages/questions were in the latter part of section. I ended up having to guess on a few questions, can't remember how many but I would say 4-6. I'm hoping for an 8/9.

VR - Not sure what happened here, this is generally my weakest section but I felt great. I usually would have 10 minutes remaining with two passages left but I finished 6/7 of the passages and still had 5 minutes left to work on the last one. Last time I was under similar circumstances in terms of timing and general perspective as to how I was doing, I pulled an 11 so I am expecting a score close to that.

BS - I was surprised how easy the orgo content was. Don't get me wrong, there were a few questions that had me stumped but overall it wasn't terrible. I skipped 3 bio passages that were back to back to back(you know which ones I'm talking about) and figured I would tackle those last. I completed the last question with 20 minutes remaining so I decided to do the first of the three passages that seemed the most difficult(hint: Chinese). This is where I messed up, I figured I would have to map this one out so I spent a good 10 minutes on this one damn passage. I ended up having to skim and make educated guesses on the other two passages.

Prediction: 8/12/10 (30)

I just wanted to say that regardless of what score you will receive, know that you tackled one of the most difficult admissions exam in the country. Be proud of yourself for having the courage to face an exam such as this one.
 
  1. I did have my first dream about the MCAT. I had three consecutive dreams. The second one was about me going to some random house that had a baking oven with bread already made. The last dream was about this girl I see around who I don't know. She was walking around some place.
 
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  1. I did have my first dream about the MCAT. I had three consecutive dreams. The second one was about me going to some random house that had a baking oven with bread already made. The last dream was about this girl I see around who I don't know. She was walking around some place.

Cryptic lol
 
I'm really late on this, but I wanted to have something I could refer back to when the actual test score comes out on December 9th.

PS - First passage definitely hurt my confidence. I ended up skipping it and as I progressed through the section I started to regain some self-confidence back because I kept catching all the "tricks" AMCAS likes to play. However, towards the end I became pressed for time and realized that the easier passages/questions were in the latter part of section. I ended up having to guess on a few questions, can't remember how many but I would say 4-6. I'm hoping for an 8/9.

VR - Not sure what happened here, this is generally my weakest section but I felt great. I usually would have 10 minutes remaining with two passages left but I finished 6/7 of the passages and still had 5 minutes left to work on the last one. Last time I was under similar circumstances in terms of timing and general perspective as to how I was doing, I pulled an 11 so I am expecting a score close to that.

BS - I was surprised how easy the orgo content was. Don't get me wrong, there were a few questions that had me stumped but overall it wasn't terrible. I skipped 3 bio passages that were back to back to back(you know which ones I'm talking about) and figured I would tackle those last. I completed the last question with 20 minutes remaining so I decided to do the first of the three passages that seemed the most difficult(hint: Chinese). This is where I messed up, I figured I would have to map this one out so I spent a good 10 minutes on this one damn passage. I ended up having to skim and make educated guesses on the other two passages.

Prediction: 8/12/10 (30)

I just wanted to say that regardless of what score you will receive, know that you tackled one of the most difficult admissions exam in the country. Be proud of yourself for having the courage to face an exam such as this one.

I know exactly what you mean on the BS. I was -44% or something on my assessment before studying this summer. It was definitely a shocker.
 
HI! Just wanted to check in on how everyone is doing?! I took the past week off and am planning on rebooting this weekend- hope I get the motivation soon! I've been pretty relaxed- going out with friends to dinner and movies and just finally being able to enjoy myself. How are you guys?
 
Because I am set that I'm not finding another date after looking for a week (don't worry still check every hour), I decided to watch 3 movies in one day. I felt more useless than I ever felt EVER! Almost the same kind of feeling after the MCAT, it felt like jellloooo!
 
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Because I am set that I'm not finding another date after looking for a week (don't worry still check every hour), I decided to watch 3 movies in one day. I felt more useless than I ever felt EVER! Almost the same kind of feeling after the MCAT, it felt like jellloooo!

I watched all of the Scream movies this weekend because I bought the blu-rays recently and now I feel like I need to do something with my life.
 
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Is anyone here planning on applying to summer research programs in 2015? or the NIH IRTA program?
I've never made a cover letter before and have to do so for some of these programs lol. If you have ever made a cover letter for something, please PM me to help :)
 
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Because I am set that I'm not finding another date after looking for a week (don't worry still check every hour), I decided to watch 3 movies in one day. I felt more useless than I ever felt EVER! Almost the same kind of feeling after the MCAT, it felt like jellloooo!

Seats will open up around the time of the score releases for the two October MCATS which is November 20-25 (not sure which exact date)
 
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Its really weird how much time you have on your hands after the MCAT. I just randomly spent the entire afternoon making an initial rough draft for my personal statement.
 
I'm pretty late on this discussion, but I've just been giving zero ***** lately.

PS: I thought was pretty decent. I finished with 5 extra minutes and double checked a few things. It seems like people here thought that the PS was pretty difficult, so I'm hoping for a 12.
VR: I thought I was doing fine for the first four passages. But then the last three took up a lot of time and I ended up having to skim the last one and guess on some of the questions. I think I'm anywhere between an 8 and a 10.
BS: I thought this one was a little harder than usual. I was averaging 12.5 during practice tests and was hoping for a 13, but I marked more questions than I thought I would. I'm still hoping for a 13, but we'll see.

Reply with any thoughts you guys have.
 
Its really weird how much time you have on your hands after the MCAT. I just randomly spent the entire afternoon making an initial rough draft for my personal statement.

I need to do that. I procrastinate like a mofo unless I'm coming up on a deadline.
 
finally back in the gym with a regular schedule after my double interview week last week.

soooo sore. deadlifting tonight will be TOTALLY fun when my body is wrecked from monday still.
 
Does anyone actually miss taking practice exams? I always found them fun. It's like a game where one must constantly aim to beat his high score.
 
I enjoyed the PS and BS sections on the practice exams sadly, but Im a loser and have no life. Now that the mcat is done, there is so much emptiness. Looking forward to studying for boards if all is well.
 
Current feels.

IMG_9800.jpeg
 
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Does anyone actually miss taking practice exams? I always found them fun. It's like a game where one must constantly aim to beat his high score.

Not at all. Ive watched more hours of TV than i can count for the past two weeks.
 
Thanksgiving is coming up!!! What are your plans!!

Who's going black friday shopping? I've got my eye on some 4K TVs in my budget and hopefully will get a chance to snag one of them :)
 
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Not at all. Ive watched more hours of TV than i can count for the past two weeks.
Nothing better than lying in bed watching netflix on my ipad lol. And I feel no guilt, no remorse whatsoever either.... I'm a bit appalled how wonderfully I'm taking the downtime after MCAT lol. Sooo unproductive.
 
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I haven't really had a chance to just relax and be unproductive... Currently in my senior year studying Biomed, taking 5 classes and finals are coming up next week... :blackeye:
 
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