The Official October 21, 2014 MCAT Thread

[DoctorInASaree]

Hi!

As of today, we are less than three months away from writing one of the most important exams in our lives.

What are your studying strategies? How are you feeling about the MCAT?

We're all in this together, so let's get this discussion started!

And remember, October 21st, save the date!

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[The Boatox]

@Liegh5 Don't worry.. I scored 13 points less on the real MCAT than my average AAMC practice exams...


ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS..of what I can do?

Thanks! <3

My advise is not to take the score you received as a reflection of your intelligence. Understand that you are capable of scoring your, well-deserved, average on the real thing. Take the extra time to quickly review what you know, work on your weaknesses, and come back stronger than ever. You can do it.

 

[Traumweber]

@Liegh5 Don't worry.. I scored 13 points less on the real MCAT than my average AAMC practice exams...


ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS..of what I can do?

Thanks! <3

With that huge a difference, I am guesing it is nerves. You know what to expect the next time around so you will be alright!

 

[ForeverHumbled]

Can I ask what you did differently that helped you boost up your verbal score? I know for a lot of people this section is hard to improve in (ESL or not).

I actually adjusted my strategy a bit. I am a slow reader, so I usually guess on the last passage from running out of time. However, after numerous practice tests I noticed that I always got Natural Science/Technology practice passages 80-100% correct. So just like PS and BS, I did the passages I knew were my strengths first - this would maximize my points. Then I did the Humanities and Social Science Passages. This way I would never guess on a Natural Science/Tech passage.

Also, practice practice practice. I used EK 101 and TPR Hyperlearning passages and tests. I would also suggest just reading a book you absolutely love for about 30-60 minutes a day. Though you may not think it - this alone will improve your reading speed and comprehension subconsciously.

 

[BactiDoc]

@Liegh5 Don't worry.. I scored 13 points less on the real MCAT than my average AAMC practice exams...


ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS..of what I can do?

Thanks! <3

 

[JMMTB]

Going back through this thread, I think we just got fed a bad test. Only a couple of people scored their average or higher (yes I already know that the sample size is really small). Most were at least 2 points below their average. Sounds like a repeat of the Aug 15th takers who were all scoring below their average. To those that are retaking, this test was just a fluke. Y'all know the content and will score better on the next test. The nerves are gone and y'all are going to destroy it!

 

[Liegh5]

Going back through this thread, I think we just got fed a bad test. Only a couple of people scored their average or higher (yes I already know that the sample size is really small). Most were at least 2 points below their average. Sounds like a repeat of the Aug 15th takers who were all scoring below their average. To those that are retaking, this test was just a fluke. Y'all know the content and will score better on the next test. The nerves are gone and y'all are going to destroy it!

But it is all on a curve so shouldn't it have made up for that?

 

[HCHopeful]

Just took a Kaplan test this morning and got a 34 (10/12/12). So amazingly confused as to how I can take a month off and score that well, but oh well.

 

[Liegh5]

Just took a Kaplan test this morning and got a 34 (10/12/12). So amazingly confused as to how I can take a month off and score that well, but oh well.

when is your exam

 

[HCHopeful]

when is your exam

January 8th!

 

[Liegh5]

January 8th![/QUOTE

lucky. my scores are no where near that ... and im on dec 6

 

[HCHopeful]

lucky. my scores are no where near that ... and im on dec 6

Don't worry! You got this!

 

[Liegh5]

Don't worry! You got this!

I am now worried about my verbal. I used to do so well on verbal. 10-11 range. But lately I have been 8/9 range. However, I have no more AAMC material to use or EK1001. I feel like I just cannot do well on Kaplan/GS/TPR verbal. I am not sure if my ability is just not there or because the style is different.

 

[HCHopeful]

I am now worried about my verbal. I used to do so well on verbal. 10-11 range. But lately I have been 8/9 range. However, I have no more AAMC material to use or EK1001. I feel like I just cannot do well on Kaplan/GS/TPR verbal. I am not sure if my ability is just not there or because the style is different.

I understand that completely. About a month before the October test date I was scoring 11's pretty consistently, but then it started becoming 9's and 10's towards my test. I have been known to over think things quite a bit. I think I was just not allowing myself to read and just got caught up in what my score would be. Today I made sure to get "lost" in the passage and not let my mind wander. I scored a 12, so I think it worked a little bit. Kaplan has some really lenient scales, though, so I'm taking that 34 lightly.

 

[Liegh5]

I understand that completely. About a month before the October test date I was scoring 11's pretty consistently, but then it started becoming 9's and 10's towards my test. I have been known to over think things quite a bit. I think I was just not allowing myself to read and just got caught up in what my score would be. Today I made sure to get "lost" in the passage and not let my mind wander. I scored a 12, so I think it worked a little bit. Kaplan has some really lenient scales, though, so I'm taking that 34 lightly.

yeah i will be taking the self assessment verbal package tomorrow so that will give me a real estimate of where i stand. hopefully it's back at my 10 average, and i am just not used to the style of kaplan/gs/TPR

 

[connie95]

So I just saw how so many people scored waaay below their averages on this test...I don't get it…how can people do so bad on the 21st MCAT? Even if it was a super hard test, what happened to the "curve?" Did AAMC get rid of that or something? This scares me because it seems to show that luck plays more of a role than I thought =(

 

[HCHopeful]

So I just saw how so many people scored waaay below their averages on this test...I don't get it…how can people do so bad on the 21st MCAT? Even if it was a super hard test, what happened to the "curve?" Did AAMC get rid of that or something? This scares me because it seems to show that luck plays more of a role than I thought =(

There is a curve, but it's set beforehand. That's how standardized tests are done. I think it's rather obvious from a lot of our scores that the curve may have been a bit more unforgiving than usual. It happened in August, too. So yes, be wary. In the end, though, there is nothing you can do but try your butt off. So, don't spend too much time worrying about it.

 

[JMMTB]

But it is all on a curve so shouldn't it have made up for that?

Yeah it should have, but I feel like if you ranked the passages as easy/medium/hard we had only one easy and the rest were hard (looking at PS). Even if the curve were preset by previous test takers, lets say they had 2 easy and only one hard (the ones that we saw) that would have given them more time to spend on the hard passage and get a couple more questions right. Fast forward to our test date and they throw all hard passages at you with the same allotted time and everyone will do worse. So they may curved the questions, but they didn't account for a consistent difficulty level.

 

[Liegh5]

Yeah it should have, but I feel like if you ranked the passages as easy/medium/hard we had only one easy and the rest were hard (looking at PS). Even if the curve were preset by previous test takers, lets say they had 2 easy and only one hard (the ones that we saw) that would have given them more time to spend on the hard passage and get a couple more questions right. Fast forward to our test date and they throw all hard passages at you with the same allotted time and everyone will do worse. So they may curved the questions, but they didn't account for a consistent difficulty level.

Do you think that will be the trend until Jan? Or do you think we just had a fluke. I am just hoping that I dont get hit with that again on Dec 6. I just hope they aren't being extra brutal with the exams because we are the last ones to take the old one

 

[JMMTB]

Do you think that will be the trend until Jan? Or do you think we just had a fluke. I am just hoping that I dont get hit with that again on Dec 6. I just hope they aren't being extra brutal with the exams because we are the last ones to take the old one

I have pretty mixed feelings about it. Part of me says that they are making these exams harder to force students to take the new exam and quickly make the adjustment-especially for next cycle. But another part of me says that flukes just happen randomly and so was the case with our test. I hope for the latter and that Dec 6th you are tested on your strengths.

 

[Liegh5]

I have pretty mixed feelings about it. Part of me says that they are making these exams harder to force students to take the new exam and quickly make the adjustment-especially for next cycle. But another part of me says that flukes just happen randomly and so was the case with our test. I hope for the latter and that Dec 6th you are tested on your strengths.

Well the 25th's results came out pretty good right? better than ours I heard.

 

[Ho0v-man]

As much as I hate to say it, Im glad I'm not the only person who got stomped by this test. This was my first attempt at the MCAT and I scored 5 points below my average. Ironically, I was down only one point on PS from my average and BS stayed the same. VR, which was always a 10 for me (even on my diagnostic starting out exam) was a 6! A frickin' 6! It was the only section I never worried about. I got about the score that I was expecting, but I thought it would be due to bombing PS. I have to take the 2015 test now bc I got blindsided by what I've always considered to be "the easy section." Wtf?

 

[JMMTB]

Well the 25th's results came out pretty good right? better than ours I heard.

Yep, just going through the numbers you'll see that a lot more people hit their average or even higher. Here I only saw 1-3 that did that. I personally think that verbal and BS were closer to the late AAMC practice tests. It was PS that I felt was way off and because it came first it really messed everyone up.

 

[HCHopeful]

Yep, just going through the numbers you'll see that a lot more people hit their average or even higher. Here I only saw 1-3 that did that. I personally think that verbal and BS were closer to the late AAMC practice tests. It was PS that I felt was way off and because it came first it really messed everyone up.

I completely agree with that last statement. It was the only section where I was more than 1 point off my average.

 

[Liegh5]

I completely agree with that last statement. It was the only section where I was more than 1 point off my average.

Did you guys do well with the verbal? I thought it was easy but I got a terrible score. But then again I probably wasn't thinking clearly after literally crying in the bathroom after PS. You cant really compose yourself after that no matter how well you think you have.

 

[JMMTB]

I completely agree with that last statement. It was the only section where I was more than 1 point off my average.

Yeah that was the subsection that really brought my score down below my average (3 points )

Did you guys do well with the verbal? I thought it was easy but I got a terrible score. But then again I probably wasn't thinking clearly after literally crying in the bathroom after PS. You cant really compose yourself after that no matter how well you think you have.

I did pretty good on verbal mainly because I thought I had done alright on PS (which I realized after the test that I had messed up on several simpler questions) and had really worked on not thinking about the previous section during my practice tests. I found that when I could focus on the verbal passages and stop thinking about how I did on the calculations of the PS section my score jumped up 1-2 points.

 

[HCHopeful]

Did you guys do well with the verbal? I thought it was easy but I got a terrible score. But then again I probably wasn't thinking clearly after literally crying in the bathroom after PS. You cant really compose yourself after that no matter how well you think you have.

I got a 9 in verbal. I knew it was worse than any verbal I'd ever done. Not because it was more difficult, but because I was worried about how bad PS was.

 

[654964]

Lots of spots opening up for January exams in various states if anyone's still interested in retaking.

 

[faith hopelove]

I actually adjusted my strategy a bit. I am a slow reader, so I usually guess on the last passage from running out of time. However, after numerous practice tests I noticed that I always got Natural Science/Technology practice passages 80-100% correct. So just like PS and BS, I did the passages I knew were my strengths first - this would maximize my points. Then I did the Humanities and Social Science Passages. This way I would never guess on a Natural Science/Tech passage.

Also, practice practice practice. I used EK 101 and TPR Hyperlearning passages and tests. I would also suggest just reading a book you absolutely love for about 30-60 minutes a day. Though you may not think it - this alone will improve your reading speed and comprehension subconsciously.

I like that idea of going to the passages I am stronger in first. I will try this. I just fear that I would leave out a passage or something towards the end. I am also a slow reader. But thank you!!

 

[faith hopelove]

after doing 2-3 verbal passages a day, people say they take a verbal section test. What material are they using for this section test?

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

I have to retake and I got a seat in MD. I have a 9BS, 8PS, and 5VR
I don't know how I got an 9 in BS if I did not even answer 6 questions, and I guessed on one orgo passage. Which means I didn't even answer 10 to 11 questions. I felt the most confident in PS section, and my avg in VR was a 5.9 to 6.3, so I am not surprise. Anyone knows how to increase VR. I am almost finish with EK VR, but I find out that when I time myself I always screw up and get frazzled when reading.

 

[aj018]

I jut checked my score and all I can saw is WTF!!! I haves studied my ass off for months prepping for this test!! Not only did I do worse than the last test I took but scored 9 points below my average FL aamc practice tests. I don't know what to do. I did well in all my science classes and upper level bio classes yet I can't pass this test. Never in my life have I felt so defeated.
I always felt that hard work pays off but this test does not reflect it. I have studied from EK, Kaplan, & TBR. I focused more on PS which was my weakness & my score went up. However, I went down in both verbal and BS despite reviewing.
So defeated. So miserable. And so exhausted.

 

[Liegh5]

I jut checked my score and all I can saw is WTF!!! I haves studied my ass off for months prepping for this test!! Not only did I do worse than the last test I took but scored 9 points below my average FL aamc practice tests. I don't know what to do. I did well in all my science classes and upper level bio classes yet I can't pass this test. Never in my life have I felt so defeated.
I always felt that hard work pays off but this test does not reflect it. I have studied from EK, Kaplan, & TBR. I focused more on PS which was my weakness & my score went up. However, I went down in both verbal and BS despite reviewing.
So defeated. So miserable. And so exhausted.

how were your nerves?

 

[aj018]

My sister just got diagnosed with breast cancer a week prior but I thought my nerves were better. It's been a hard year b/c the last mcat I took I found out that my uncle had stage 4 pancreatic cancer days prior. No one in my family has ever had cancer before. It was really hard mentally to refocus but I thought I was able to. I studied nonstop 5-6 days a wk for months. I can't believe the drastic difference between my FL aamc test average & the real test.

 

[Liegh5]

I know I am smart enough to score well, I have been taking gold standard exams and scoring 29s consecutively
.

I hear ya. Exactly how I feel. I have been scoring 29 minimum on EVERYTHING. I dropped 8 points on the real exam. We just need to get our nerves in check for next time.

 

[Kayce]

My advise is not to take the score you received as a reflection of your intelligence. Understand that you are capable of scoring your, well-deserved, average on the real thing. Take the extra time to quickly review what you know, work on your weaknesses, and come back stronger than ever. You can do it.

Thank you so much for your kind words! I am going to have to start studying for the May MCAT! Yikes. Any study suggestions?

With that huge a difference, I am guesing it is nerves. You know what to expect the next time around so you will be alright!

Thank you so much! I sure hope so!

Right there with you. No idea how. It was literally 9 points lower than my previous score and 13 lower than my average.

Yeah, it is extremely disappointing. I understand I took this exam on a whim (1 month of 20-30 hours of studying). A part of me is glad I got the score I got because I know that I have to work MUCH HARDER. I want to be a doctor & I KNOW THAT. The next 5-6 months I am going to have to bust my ass of for this dream of mine!

Like what @The Boatox said..the score you receive shouldn't be a reflection of your intelligence! We are capable of so much more! Own this exam. You got this. Message me if you want to discuss

 

[SMag06]

I feel have to add: I actually got a few points higher than my average. I was mostly in the 27-30 range with the majority of my Kaplan and AAMC tests a 27/28. I got a 30 on the real thing.