The Official November 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
M

M.D.orbust

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
3
Reaction score
1
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!!!
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Sort by date Sort by votes
itsjennOyo said:
Hi All, I am new here as well! The AAMC website is currently down. Can anyone confirm for me what the absolute last test date is for the old MCAT? I was under the impression that any January 2015 test dates would be administering the new MCAT, but after reading through this entire forum, it seems that maybe that is not the case?
Click to expand...
Take this with a grain of salt, but if I remember correctly, Jan. 23 is the last test date of the old MCAT. I thought the same thing as you until recently...so I had thought 2014 was the last year of old MCAT administration, but it seems like the new MCAT begins in April. Can anyone give me a second to be sure?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Yeah, I have work every weekend. I'll also be doing physician shadowing weekly and occasionally volunteering. You?
Click to expand...
Oh wow, yes I usually work only weekends as well but soon I will have to take on more hours as I am going absolutely broke. I am just wondering how I would be able to get a sig amount of studying done while also working more.
John Doughnut said:
A full-time job in order to survive. -------->Hi, my name is Workhorse. #nosunlight #mcatbeast
Click to expand...
How do you do it? don't you feel exhausted juggling all of it at once?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
3655 said:
Oh wow, yes I usually work only weekends as well but soon I will have to take on more hours as I am going absolutely broke. I am just wondering how I would be able to get a sig amount of studying done while also working more.
Click to expand...

I feel you. That's the exact same reason why I need to work on weekends, all day starting next week. I have loans repayment (beginning in November), rent, utilities, phone bill, groceries, etc. that I need the money for and I can't rely on my family for all that because I come from a really low-income family. My plan is to sleep early, wake up early and begin studying as soon as I can each morning whether it be content review or practice. I have every Friday at 8am craved out for a practice test. I'm mixing in sectional tests and EK practice problems throughout the week. I'm trying to make sure I do some outside reading everyday whether it be from the Economist or a philosophical book recommendation that I find on SDN. I'm also determined to use my ClearFocus app to make sure I am staying focused at times when I need to study and am taking the breaks in between that I may need to avoid fatique. I live really close to my alma mater and my fraternity brothers are going to be very active with their activities as they usually are every year...I'm just getting myself mentally prepared to say no whenever I can't join them and trying to be okay with that...haha, I expect it's going to be tough because I love doing things with them. It's so much fun.

What are your current thoughts and plans for yourself when your work schedule picks up?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Gandy741 said:
Thats def not bad from what I hear. How long did it take you to get your TBR books by the way? I sent an overnight mail request to TBR and also ticked the 3 day shipping option so I dont think there was any way to ensure a faster
delivery.
Click to expand...

I sent out the order form in May because I wanted to get them early. It took approximately 2 weeks I believe. I sort of slacked in the beginning so I had to postpone my date to nov 7th.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
3655 said:
Oh wow, yes I usually work only weekends as well but soon I will have to take on more hours as I am going absolutely broke. I am just wondering how I would be able to get a sig amount of studying done while also working more.

How do you do it? don't you feel exhausted juggling all of it at once?
Click to expand...

The "how" becomes easier when you have no other choice but to work. And, yeah, I do get exhausted. Often. The funny thing is, I don't feel that I am at a huge disadvantage. Indeed, some people become dysfunctional without adequate time for R&R. Believe me - I can certainly resonate with how that goes. But I'm a little bit further along in the game now. Now in my mid-20s, I feel as though my life is taking a natural turn towards being very work-oriented. In fact I think I probably get most of my satisfaction out of productivity, whereas, before, I enjoyed time with friends the most. Priorities change in this stage. I was resistant to it at first, but now....let's just say now is different.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
John Doughnut said:
The "how" becomes easier when you have no other choice but to work. And, yeah, I do get exhausted. Often. The funny thing is, I don't feel that I am at a huge disadvantage. Indeed, some people become dysfunctional without adequate time for R&R. Believe me - I can certainly resonate with how that goes. But I'm a little bit further along in the game now. Now in my mid-20s, I feel as though my life is taking a natural turn towards being very work-oriented. In fact I think I probably get most of my satisfaction out of productivity, whereas, before, I enjoyed time with friends the most. Priorities change in this stage. I was resistant to it at first, but now....let's just say now is different.
Click to expand...
That's awesome that you've figured out what works for you cuz hey to he his own! Some people do better woth busier schedules, some with lighter. Have you taken any practice tests yet? If so, how are you doing with those compared to your target score if you don't mind sharing?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
3655 said:
Are any of you working or have any other commitments throughout this whole process?
Click to expand...

8 hours of school, ~9 month old puppy (standard poodle), a cat, and a boyfriend (starting his polymer engineering track). If this is what you were interested in. ;D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
I'm also determined to use my ClearFocus app to make sure I am staying focused at times when I need to study and am taking the breaks in between that I may need to avoid fatique. I live really close to my alma mater and my fraternity brothers are going to be very active with their activities as they usually are every year...I'm just getting myself mentally prepared to say no whenever I can't join them and trying to be okay with that...haha, I expect it's going to be tough because I love doing things with them. It's so much fun.
Click to expand...

Could you explain ClearFocus to me? I have never heard of it!

And I completely understand a weakness for saying no to fraternity/ sorority functions! I went alum last semester to be able to focus on the MCAT without mandatory distractions! But my boyfriend (who is a junior) is still active in his Fraternity and he is finding it difficult to split time between them and me (now that I can't hang out as much as I used to). But he is extremely social and I suffer from severe social anxiety, so it is a lot harder for him. But this is also his first semester as a science major (coming from business), so he never quite understood the time commitment of a science major.

He is in his very first gen chem! It's so cute. He is all nervous. Haha.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
PhysicsFailure said:
I'm just going to die of jealousy right now... Don't mind me.
Click to expand...

haha orgo is killing me right now. Never really liked it in undergrad and certainly not fond of it at the moment. Just hope the real deal focuses more on Bio on the BS section :cool:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
lazyindy said:
haha orgo is killing me right now. Never really liked it in undergrad and certainly not fond of it at the moment. Just hope the real deal focuses more on Bio on the BS section :cool:
Click to expand...
watch out with orgo ! it drove me crazy last night you would be surprised how much **** TBR does and doesnt explain it detail ..
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
PhysicsFailure said:
Could you explain ClearFocus to me? I have never heard of it!

And I completely understand a weakness for saying no to fraternity/ sorority functions! I went alum last semester to be able to focus on the MCAT without mandatory distractions! But my boyfriend (who is a junior) is still active in his Fraternity and he is finding it difficult to split time between them and me (now that I can't hang out as much as I used to). But he is extremely social and I suffer from severe social anxiety, so it is a lot harder for him. But this is also his first semester as a science major (coming from business), so he never quite understood the time commitment of a science major.

He is in his very first gen chem! It's so cute. He is all nervous. Haha.
Click to expand...
Yeah, no problem! It's an Android-app. There might be an app available on iPhones. Pretty much what it does is, you tell it how many minutes you want to work/study for, how many minutes for a short break, how many minutes for a long break, how many study sessions do you want to finish before the long break starts. It has options to disable internet and/or sound to help minimize distractions. On days when I know distractions are getting to me a lot, I use this and tell myself, "You can watch TV after you stay focus for 20 minutes" and then I do whatever I want during the short break, and get right back to work and have the same mindset.

Aww... I too imagine the time my boyfriend and I will spend will be shortened a lot, but I hope we (and you guys, too) will make the most of the limited but quality time you'll have together :) I can't believe how similar we are. Haha, my boyfriend is also younger than me (a senior now) and is also head of Membership in our fraternity this year so he's going to have his hands full! May I lend a suggestion? Maybe you can use your scheduled breaks to spend time with him. Or study around each other while he's doing his sciences, you'll take care of MCATs :p You two sound so cute hehe kudos :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Has anybody else had a hard time motivating themselves to do Verbal practice?
I have been pushing back doing EK 101 Verbal practice passages for ages because I know from FLs and past practice passages, how much thought and energy is required for each passage.

I asked my boyfriend tomorrow to nag and push me to get it done. I'm starting off tomorrow going over the answers and explanations of the first practice Verbal test I did and take another one un-timed for these first few, and then I need to begin timed Verbal tests in the near future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Has anybody else had a hard time motivating themselves to do Verbal practice?
I have been pushing back doing EK 101 Verbal practice passages for ages because I know from FLs and past practice passages, how much thought and energy is required for each passage.

I asked my boyfriend tomorrow to nag and push me to get it done. I'm starting off tomorrow going over the answers and explanations of the first practice Verbal test I did and take another one un-timed for these first few, and then I need to begin timed Verbal tests in the near future.
Click to expand...

I actually like Verbal....for me it requires the least energy. No outside knowledge. But you better get your butt in gear!!! Test is not very far away!! I was doing timed tests but I realized... I didn't have enough practice doing untimed....so I am back to doing untimed verbal passages for a little while until I return to doing timed
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
nystin said:
I actually like Verbal....for me it requires the least energy. No outside knowledge. But you better get your butt in gear!!! Test is not very far away!! I was doing timed tests but I realized... I didn't have enough practice doing untimed....so I am back to doing untimed verbal passages for a little while until I return to doing timed
Click to expand...
Thank you for that kick in the a** lol but in all seriousness, you're beyond right. I need to get myself started on that practice NOW. I have been avoiding it like the plaque and just taking the easy route by only reading articles for verbal practice, BUT it IS due time to take things to the next level. Cue Pampers commercial: "I'm a big girl now~" I will keep you guys updated on my progress if any of you are curious..haha you will all be in the back of my head
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Thank you for that kick in the a** lol but in all seriousness, you're beyond right. I need to get myself started on that practice NOW. I have been avoiding it like the plaque and just taking the easy route by only reading articles for verbal practice, BUT it IS due time to take things to the next level. Cue Pampers commercial: "I'm a big girl now~" I will keep you guys updated on my progress if any of you are curious..haha you will all be in the back of my head
Click to expand...

Yup. I am redoing TBR verbal book first untimed....woo. I feel like there's not enough hours in the day...seriously. :(
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
lazyindy said:
haha orgo is killing me right now. Never really liked it in undergrad and certainly not fond of it at the moment. Just hope the real deal focuses more on Bio on the BS section :cool:
Click to expand...

I just like never learned anything in organic. Like it's a real sad situation.

What are you doing about alkenes?

learn it or not?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Yeah, no problem! It's an Android-app. There might be an app available on iPhones. Pretty much what it does is, you tell it how many minutes you want to work/study for, how many minutes for a short break, how many minutes for a long break, how many study sessions do you want to finish before the long break starts. It has options to disable internet and/or sound to help minimize distractions. On days when I know distractions are getting to me a lot, I use this and tell myself, "You can watch TV after you stay focus for 20 minutes" and then I do whatever I want during the short break, and get right back to work and have the same mindset.

Aww... I too imagine the time my boyfriend and I will spend will be shortened a lot, but I hope we (and you guys, too) will make the most of the limited but quality time you'll have together :) I can't believe how similar we are. Haha, my boyfriend is also younger than me (a senior now) and is also head of Membership in our fraternity this year so he's going to have his hands full! May I lend a suggestion? Maybe you can use your scheduled breaks to spend time with him. Or study around each other while he's doing his sciences, you'll take care of MCATs :p You two sound so cute hehe kudos :D
Click to expand...

That app sounds super helpful! I will look into for for my iPhone or my Mac (if they would even do that for Mac). haha.

After deactivating my Facebook, focusing has become easy.

He just doesn't quite understand the studying for science classes yet. He thinks I should just be able to like "do" and be "done". I think he thinks of it like spelling in elementary school. On Monday, you write them 3x, then Tuesday, you use them in a sentence, etc. And at the end of each "activity" you are done and can move on. But these classes require you actually understand the material and apply the material, not just regurgitate. But, I think he will understand more when the semester gets going a little bit more. Not that I hope he struggles at all, because I don't, and I can help him. Let's just say poor Bubby has never written a procedure in a real lab book before. ;D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Has anybody else had a hard time motivating themselves to do Verbal practice?
I have been pushing back doing EK 101 Verbal practice passages for ages because I know from FLs and past practice passages, how much thought and energy is required for each passage.

I asked my boyfriend tomorrow to nag and push me to get it done. I'm starting off tomorrow going over the answers and explanations of the first practice Verbal test I did and take another one un-timed for these first few, and then I need to begin timed Verbal tests in the near future.
Click to expand...

I think of my VR time as a confidence boost because that is the one area that I am really consistent on and actually make the MCAT scaled score that I would like to see on my official test. I make about 9-10, and hope to see a 10, so as long as I don't see anything lower than that, I know I'm doing OK in life! haha.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
nystin said:
I actually like Verbal....for me it requires the least energy. No outside knowledge. But you better get your butt in gear!!! Test is not very far away!! I was doing timed tests but I realized... I didn't have enough practice doing untimed....so I am back to doing untimed verbal passages for a little while until I return to doing timed
Click to expand...

I agree! I started out timed, but decided I really wanted to see where I need to improve, so I started doing some untimed to hone in on the questions that are particularly tricky for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Brain hurts. Hurt. Hurt. Did a practice Kaplan exam.....Meh. Now to do TBR.... Later and review notes and flashcards.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
That's awesome that you've figured out what works for you cuz hey to he his own! Some people do better woth busier schedules, some with lighter. Have you taken any practice tests yet? If so, how are you doing with those compared to your target score if you don't mind sharing?
Click to expand...

I took aamc 3 and had a rough go at it in the sciences. 8/12/10 in ps/vr/bs respectively. I'm hoping to close the gap a little bit and progressively build up to a balanced, solid score. We'll see how it goes.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dam man 2 months to go and you are scoring so well .. Me thinks me smell a 35+'er KEEP IT UP!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Wow you guys are my motivation. I will think of this group when I start to feel lazy after work!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0 Downvote
poop420 said:
watch out with orgo ! it drove me crazy last night you would be surprised how much **** TBR does and doesnt explain it detail ..
Click to expand...

If you watch Freelance Teacher for any organic topics you don't understand in TBR you WILL understand them after watching those vids.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well, I am going from a 21 (pre-test/ assessment) to hopefully a 30. So, I really need to get a lot of these topics down packed.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Unfortunately, ive been having medical issues lately and put my studies on halt today. Seeing the dr tmrw. Im feeling terribly guilty for not studying, but im just banking on my dr helping me out tmrw so I can get back in gear.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
j9260 said:
Unfortunately, ive been having medical issues lately and put my studies on halt today. Seeing the dr tmrw. Im feeling terribly guilty for not studying, but im just banking on my dr helping me out tmrw so I can get back in gear.
Click to expand...

No worries! I'm sure you will get back on it in no time!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It depends. Some days like 6 hours but other days when I find the content easier such as bio where I barely skim chapters probably about half. Have you been doing the EK 100? I started doing them but kinda have been slacking as of lately.


an aspiring doctor said:
For those that are using SN2 how many hours a day are you spending on it?
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
all these people going back to school is makes me really miss being excited to move into my dorm room and catch up with old friends in undergrad..argh
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0 Downvote
holy **** the new mcat will be 6 hours and 15 minutes long!! http://mcat2015prep.org/

Dog-stare.gif
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

agentfaithmd
AAMC MCAT Official Prep Complete Bundle Worth It?
Replies
0
Views
424
agentfaithmd
agentfaithmd
WildWing
Free Chem/Phys MCAT Webinar: April 11th at 7 PM
Replies
0
Views
377
WildWing
WildWing
K
  • Question
MCAT Retake. Is 7-8 months overkill?
Replies
9
Views
2K
zorcandpals
zorcandpals
M
  • Question
Is 7/30 too late for MCAT retake if I prewrite secondaries?
Replies
4
Views
2K
zorcandpals
zorcandpals
D
  • Question
Taking MCAT 7/17 for MD/PhD programs this cycle, is it too late?
Replies
6
Views
1K
Neuratom
N
Top