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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[azor ahai]

Does anyone else dream of words from their MCAT books like literally chasing after them?

Ha, this happens to me all the time when I'm cramming. I spent a day going over buoyant force and fluids, and I had a dream that was identical to that of Noah in Darren Aronofsky's Noah. Where the entire earth is flooded and all of the animals float up. I was trying to figure out the rates at which they were floating up.

I'm going to take AAMC FL 11 and one of the TBR's today. I'm going to do some unit conversion problems before hand because I really hate unit conversions.

 

[JMMTB]

Bah! I just got back from my drive and it's 1 hr & 45mins ONE WAY. #jealous
Totally worth the drive though - it was great to actually see the room, look at the seats/computers/lockers/etc. . .

I just read "look at the seats/computers..." as "look at the seat-belts." and I started thinking, wow they strap you down for the exam? I guess I need to take a good long break tonight so I can remember how to read tomorrow.

 

[Kayce]

YESSS, THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! GOOD LUCK MY MCAT FAMILY! HOPE YA'LL DO SUPER AMAZING! KILL EMMM!




But, please...don't get arrested for murder tommorrow

 

[patellati]

Hey!!!!
Finally...

 

[patellati]

Lets hope for best!
Good luck friends...

 

[BigEinstein]

I have my gloves on ready to battle this beast till it surrenders and begs for making my summer hell!

 

[texan2414]

I have my gloves on ready to battle this beast till it surrenders and begs for making my summer hell!

Don't beat it to a pulp just yet!!!
Leave that job for us Nov 7 testers!

 

[BigEinstein]

Don't beat it to a pulp just yet!!!
Leave that job for us Nov 7 testers!

Lol okay I will take it easy sir

 

[I Can and I WILL]

Best wishes to you all, peace love and light!

 

[Kayce]

Lol okay I will take it easy sir

Don't listen to him
Get those gloves and boots on.

 

[BigEinstein]

Don't listen to him
Get those gloves and boots on.

Ayy am recharged, in fact it is going to be war tomorrow lol. Good luck guys, put your all in it and God will see us all through. God bless y'all

 

[Herewego5]

Hello fellow Oct., 21st test takers! I've been a long time lurker on this forum and wanted to wish everyone good luck tomorrow morning. Let's get this beast behind us. Here's hoping that all the stars align in our favor tomorrow!!

 

[lazyindy]

Nov 7ther dropping in to say good luck everyone!! get a good night's sleep and STOP cramming!

 

[lostnconfused]

Good luck to everyone tomorrow!!!

 

[azor ahai]

Just took my first FL since July.

AAMC #10 PS: 11; V: 10; BS: 10 Composite: 31

Oh well. Hope I get up in time tomorrow.

 

[Kayce]

@azor ahai Look at you! 31 is hella good!

I just took two FL exams today!
AAMC #11 (morning)- 7P, 8V, 7B (23)
AAMC #10 (evening)- 9P, 10V, 8B (27)
-----------------------------------------------------------
AAMC #3 (average)- 8P, 9V, 8B (25)

Looks like we both took last minute full-lengths! Good luck tomorrow!!!

 

[DoctorInASaree]

All the best to everyone writing today

 

[azor ahai]

Just took it. Here are my thoughts:

PS: There were about 5-6 questions that I couldn't solve that I had marked, but there was a passage that I found difficult so that ate up the time I had hoped to reserve for those marked questions. So there's at least 6 questions that I completely guessed on (without eliminating any choices) due to time running out. This was frustrating and I tried to work out some of them in the break period after PS. I also used to break period to remind myself that I used to run out of time in this section with 3 entire passages left, so it's still an improvement and I regained composure for the next two sections.

VR: I can generally relax on the VR sections. I read incredibly fast, and I really like the highlighting feature on the CBT. I did notice one passages that was pretty abstract and I had a hard time applying the concepts mentioned in the passage questions. I did not do any VR prep, but I should look into it for those particular question stems. Finished with ~4m left like usual.

BS: I'm drawing a blank as to passages from this entire section. I do remember marking about 6 questions that I didn't fully understand. Overall I was running ~2m behind, and guessed (with some elimination) those marked questions.

Overall: It's exactly as I expected. I only took AAMC 10 yesterday night, slept for like 3 hours, and took this one so it's all kind of melding together. I felt very calm because I did a lot of content review these past few weeks, so there wasn't anything that caught me off guard.

I am just waiting for these 48 hrs. to pass so I can schedule for the next (and final) one that I'll take before I'm through with this test forever. Going to take advantage of this momentum like a synchrotron.

 

[BigEinstein]

I honestly think this test was easier than AAMC 11 and mostly on par with AAMC 10 but I had to void. My computer messed up with time running and I lost so much time I didn't see the relevance of continuing. Now I have to wait for 48 hours to reschedule. FML Why the **** does the time even run when computer shuts? It is not my damn fault!

 

[popopopop]

I honestly think this test was easier than AAMC 11 and mostly on par with AAMC 10 but I had to void. My computer messed up with time running and I lost so much time I didn't see the relevance of continuing. Now I have to wait for 48 hours to reschedule. FML Why the **** does the time even run when computer shuts? It is not my damn fault!

Did you tell the proctor? I would raise hell if this happened to me! Sucks .

 

[BigEinstein]

Did you tell the proctor? I would raise hell if this happened to me! Sucks .

Yeah they didn't give one damn. AAMC just announced they will be adding more seats so fingers crossed for Nov 7th

 

[Jumb0]

Yeah they didn't give one damn. AAMC just announced they will be adding more seats so fingers crossed for Nov 7th

That is beyond ****ed up if you ask me, man...So you didn't even recoup any of the money you spent on the exam? Not that that is the main issue here by any means...but damn, the least they could do is give you a partial refund for the trouble. AAMC sucks.

 

[lumberjack89]

No lie, I thought the exam today felt pretty terrible, but I didn't void. After 5 months of studying I didn't know what else to do... I've never been pressed for time on all three sections, but today I was: I got to the last passage in all three sections with about 4-5 mins left, which was never an issue in the 20 or so full lengths I took as practice. It wasn't blind guessing, but it was close. Even on the BS section I was a little short on time - I normally have a full 12-15 mins extra on BS to check over my answers, sometimes more, so this was really jarring and makes me wonder what went wrong. I'm not quite sure what to expect, but overall the test felt bad. My hope at this point is that it felt as weird/bad for everyone else and there's a nice meaty curve on both PS and BS, hahaaaa.

PS - Basically none of my strengths were featured here. Obviously I can't list particular topics, but there were a lot of themes in physics/gen. chem. that simply didn't get ANY face time on this exam, and that was surprising. This section felt the worst to me, by far. Projected score: 9 plus or minus 1pt.

VR - This felt like a normal VR section, approximately. Like I said, I was crunched for time, which is very unusual for me, so that threw me off: I had to skim the last passage without really reading it properly and mostly faked my way through the answers to that passage as a result. All in all nothing too weird here, though. Projected score: 12 plus or minus 1pt.

BS - Fairly typical as far as concepts go, but all in all I thought it was kinda hard - not as bad as PS, but definitely a bit nasty. A couple of the stand-alones felt like I had never seen a question like that before. Projected score: 10 plus or minus 1pt.

Overall projected score: 31 +/- 3pts

 

[bunnyg]

I completely bombed the PS section, I ran out of time and had to guess on quite a lot of them!


The next two sections were okayish... (knock on wood)

 

[YJ268]

I felt like time was an issue for me as well. I had to quickly guess on quite a few in the ps.
Missed an entire passage on the verbal, I skipped it because it looked looks it was the most difficult, and spent most of my time referring back to the passage on the easier ones.
Bs seemed about normal for me. Don't think i did as well as practice tests because of time.

My projected score is 9/8/10

 

[BigEinstein]

That is beyond ****** up if you ask me, man...So you didn't even recoup any of the money you spent on the exam? Not that that is the main issue here by any means...but damn, the least they could do is give you a partial refund for the trouble. AAMC sucks.

Nothing and what annoys me is the fact that they told me I had finished the test according to their system when I hadn't even started yet. It just shut down after the tutorials. I just pray a seat opens or am screwed

 

[azor ahai]

I honestly think this test was easier than AAMC 11 and mostly on par with AAMC 10 but I had to void. My computer messed up with time running and I lost so much time I didn't see the relevance of continuing. Now I have to wait for 48 hours to reschedule. FML Why the **** does the time even run when computer shuts? It is not my damn fault!

I feel you, man. The first time I took this exam back in July, I had run out of time in the PS without having even read the last 3 passages so I voided and got the hell out of there. In hindsight, I would've still voided but read through each of the other sections because that's essentially an AAMC FL that you can't get elsewhere.


It seems like most of us feel bad about this one. I don't have much riding on it because it's really just my 'test run' and I still have plenty of FL's and passages to do. For those of you who have exhausted your supplies, and are busy with schoolwork and applications - I salute you, and wish you the best.

edit:
@BigEinstein
Are seats really all filled up? I want to take it again in December or January. That will give me enough time to duly prepare and actually raise my score. If you can't get a seat Nov 7th, why don't you take it those later months?

 

[Jubiaba]

Time has never been an issue for me either, and today it definitely was, when I realized how little time I had left in PS, I started to freak out but then managed to calm myself down so that I could finish without guessing on every question. With that being said, I thought the verbal was on par with the AAMC practice tests, but I was still pressed for time. I felt like BS was on the more difficult side, but it still seemed fair. Overall, I don't think that the test really played to my strengths other than the orgo, and I definitely had a difficult time with the PS. And I agree with lumberjack about the nearly blind guessing, that was a little unsettling.

 

[BigEinstein]

I feel you, man. The first time I took this exam back in July, I had run out of time in the PS without having even read the last 3 passages so I voided and got the hell out of there. In hindsight, I would've still voided but read through each of the other sections because that's essentially an AAMC FL that you can't get elsewhere.


It seems like most of us feel bad about this one. I don't have much riding on it because it's really just my 'test run' and I still have plenty of FL's and passages to do. For those of you who have exhausted your supplies, and are busy with schoolwork and applications - I salute you, and wish you the best.

edit:
@BigEinstein
Are seats really all filled up? I want to take it again in December or January. That will give me enough time to duly prepare and actually raise my score. If you can't get a seat Nov 7th, why don't you take it those later months?

That is what I am hoping for. A December or January date. I needed this one so bad to apply this cycle but I guess am screwed as am already late in the game

 

[detu]

I was just wondering if anyone voided their score? I didn't feel confident this time around, voided the score and continued onto the survey. After the survey, my exam window closed and I thought I was done. However, the proctor told me it was just a computer error and restarted my exam so I could complete the last screen (which was a page saying that I was not eligible for the trial section and the only option was to click yes).

Is this normal? Worried my score wasn't actually voided due to the glitch. Thank you!

 

[fortheloveofbob]

I completely bombed the PS section, I ran out of time and had to guess on quite a lot of them!


The next two sections were okayish... (knock on wood)

I felt the same way! I felt like I had so much less time on PS for some reason. I don't know if it was nerves or if it was my own pacing, but it was definitely off! I guessed on a lot too. Hopefully the curve will be kind to us

 

[dannybht]

This was my retake from January....I got at 12 on PS on my January mcat, 12 and 13s on AAMC 10 and 11 but this PS was atrocious. I guessed on so many...and never have I felt this destroyed in PS...hopefully i get at 9 or 10 at least..

 

[ChaseLV]

I get a sense the feeling across the board was PS was ridiculous, verbal was fair, and BS was definitely more difficult than anticipated.

If these assumptions are true then I feel slightly better because that's exactly how I felt

 

[azor ahai]

That is what I am hoping for. A December or January date. I needed this one so bad to apply this cycle but I guess am screwed as am already late in the game

Is it really that hard to get a seat for December or January? I suppose it depends on your location. I'm in NYC, so that means more testing locations (but also more test-takers). I can't imagine those dates being filled.

I was just wondering if anyone voided their score? I didn't feel confident this time around, voided the score and continued onto the survey. After the survey, my exam window closed and I thought I was done. However, the proctor told me it was just a computer error and restarted my exam so I could complete the last screen (which was a page saying that I was not eligible for the trial section and the only option was to click yes).

Is this normal? Worried my score wasn't actually voided due to the glitch. Thank you!

Don't feel too bad about voiding your score. It wasn't your fault (for me, it was my fault), but it is better than a poor score that gets reported to AAMC. It sucks in that you lose money, as well as one of your maximum three registrations per year, but think about the momentum you've gathered as that test date approached. I always strive to study with the test date looming over me, and wish there was some outside force that says "psyche! it's actually next week" so I can just burst through that previous maximum.

My plan for the MCAT was to take it three times (max.), and take advantage of the momentum gained from each exam to propel me into prep for the subsequent exam. Slowly, but surely, short-term memory enters long-term memory as larger systems become internalized so focus can be drawn to the nuanced stuff.

6 months ago I started from scratch (I graduated in 2010 - didn't pick up a book for 4 years; had a very wild lifestyle), and it was excruciating to sit down and read for 30 minutes. I actually timed myself. It was discouraging, but the only way. I kept it up, though sporadically, and right now at this moment I actually want to go to the library and study. It's more than habitualized. It's just a comfort that you have with the material - not necessarily, acing every question - but just being in a calm and reliable head space. It's almost austere, like the library is a monastery.

 

[Herewego5]

I feel awful about this test..

PS: my timing was all off and I felt like it didn't hit on any of my strengths. I ran out of time and had to answer at least 9 questions quickly.

VR: I usually score a 10 in this section on practice tests but I ran out of time on this section as well. I had to read passage 5 & 6 really fast and I didn't even get to read passage 7.

BS: Timing was alright on this one. There were about 5 I wasn't 100% sure on but I felt ok on this section. Experience tells me that feeling ok on a section doesn't necessarily translate into me getting a good score.

I probably should have hit void but I chose to score it. In a couple of days I'm going to see if there are any available seats in January and work on timing.

 

[BigEinstein]

Is it really that hard to get a seat for December or January? I suppose it depends on your location. I'm in NYC, so that means more testing locations (but also more test-takers). I can't imagine those dates being filled.




Don't feel too bad about voiding your score. It wasn't your fault (for me, it was my fault), but it is better than a poor score that gets reported to AAMC. It sucks in that you lose money, as well as one of your maximum three registrations per year, but think about the momentum you've gathered as that test date approached. I always strive to study with the test date looming over me, and wish there was some outside force that says "psyche! it's actually next week" so I can just burst through that previous maximum.

My plan for the MCAT was to take it three times (max.), and take advantage of the momentum gained from each exam to propel me into prep for the subsequent exam. Slowly, but surely, short-term memory enters long-term memory as larger systems become internalized so focus can be drawn to the nuanced stuff.

6 months ago I started from scratch (I graduated in 2010 - didn't pick up a book for 4 years; had a very wild lifestyle), and it was excruciating to sit down and read for 30 minutes. I actually timed myself. It was discouraging, but the only way. I kept it up, though sporadically, and right now at this moment I actually want to go to the library and study. It's more than habitualized. It's just a comfort that you have with the material - not necessarily, acing every question - but just being in a calm and reliable head space. It's almost austere, like the library is a monastery.

I am in NYC too. So where did you take yours today?

 

[cmarino12]

asd

 

[RamAttack]

PS first passage was doable then it took a turn for the worse lol...kept my cool and let it ride out although i made like 4 educated guesses.

Biology I feel like I only missed one orgo question and like 3/4 bio questions. Upper level bios gave me a reading advantage to dissect passages.

 

[haleyjay]

@detu If you didn't get to participate in the trail section, your exam was voided correctly. I voided mine too and had a screen that said I wasn't eligible to participate.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought PS was difficult. And was it just me or did it favor one of the two PS topics a LOT more than the other one?? A couple passages I think I did okay on. But then I had 2 or 3 where I was completely lost. I skipped them entirely and came back at the end to try to work through them. Ended up having to guess on a handful of questions due to time constraints. (Can they really not give us just FIVE more minutes for this section?? Geez.) I know we are supposed to be prepared for everything, but I was expecting to see some other topics for passages and not so much of what we had. Don't even know what to estimate. Would be lucky to get a 6. I knew after this section I was going to void but I continued on for practice.

Verbal is my strong area. There was one passage that was a little trickier than the others for me in connecting the ideas but I thought they were pretty fair passages and questions. I am usually fine on time and today I was ahead by a couple minutes. Estimate 10+.

Bio was what I expected. Once I learned how to tackle experimental passages and the passages where you have to trace enzymes interactions and pathways I finally got the BS section down. I get tripped up by the specific rote memorization questions. Definitely were a handful of questions I wasn't sure about but overall my normal performance. I usually can get through this at a comfortable pace which was how it was today. Estimate 8-10.

If the PS had gone differently I would have submitted. Its too bad AAMC won't just use the $300 they get from you either way and score it for you anyways just to see how you really did. Now just PRAYING that I can get in a January seat somewhere. Anywhere. I will fly across the country if it means not having to take the new version.

Good luck to those who submitted your exams. Wish you all the best in a month when scores are back. For those that voided, good luck in finding a seat. We'll knock it out of the park this next time.

 

[atp1994]

PS: The first half was doable and then BAM the last half just smacked me across the face.
VR: Doable.
BS: Really easy.

This was my retake, so since I felt like I screwed up PS, I voided my score. Good luck, guys!

 

[haleyjay]

PS first passage was doable then it took a turn for the worse lol...kept my cool and let it ride out although i made like 4 educated guesses.

Biology I feel like I only missed one orgo question and like 3/4 bio questions. Upper level bios gave me a reading advantage to dissect passages.

Lol exactly what I thought too. I saw the first passage and was like "oh hell yeah I know this stuff I'm about to dominate this exam"….all downhill from there.

 

[BigEinstein]

Lol exactly what I thought too. I saw the first passage and was like "oh hell yeah I know this stuff I'm about to dominate this exam"…all downhill from there.

Yeah I remember saying that too, I sailed through it like a boss and then the other half started getting weirder. I guessed on a lot smh

 

[HCHopeful]

Wow, guys. I felt pretty confident going into this exam. Now, I don't know what to think exactly.

Firstly, my AAMC average was a 31 [11/10.5/9.5)

My PS average pretty consistent throughout. I had scored 10 on a couple, 11 on a couple, 12 on one, and 13 on one.

My BS had been 10, 9, 10, 10 on AAMCs 8, 9, 10, and 11 respectively. So, BS was getting stronger with PS dropping a bit.

Verbal had ranged from 10-12, with four 10's, two 11's, and a 12.

I'd just like to say that these are still "post-test feelings" and I admit they may be too pessimistic;however, in my mind, this is how I truly believe I did.

Physical Sciences:
Talk about a blast to my ego. This had been my strongest section throughout practice FL's and it just didn't even feel like a PS section. You all can probably relate to that. There were quite a few topics that I expected to see in some sort that never showed up. And then there were quite a few topics I would have never expected to show up that made up the majority of the test. I honestly don't know how to grade this one, but I will try to be reasonable with my AAMC averages. PS Score Prediction: 9

Verbal Reasoning:
I remember feeling good up until about the fifth section, and then I began thinking about how crazy the Physical Science section has been. Even during practice tests when I lacked concentration I scored a 10, but again, this felt different. I didn't feel as if the passages were hard to understand. Although, I do remember one passage being real boring. VR Score Prediction: 9

Biological Sciences:
DISCLAIMER: I don't have Organic knowledge, so my "good" score is less than most of yours.
I felt pretty good about this section. It seemed to be all fairly straightforward with a bit of trickiness here and there. I thought this was easily the best section for me. Having said that, my best in Biological is not that high. I honestly barely remember any of these passages. BS Score Prediction: 10

Cumulative: 28 [9/9/10]

Honestly, those scores are probably a bit on the high side. In my mind, I can see it being anywhere from a 26-30. It just depends on how well I guessed and what not.

Anyway, it's over for now. I hope you guys all killed it. I really do! Hopefully at least a few of us have good scores that will give the others some confidence that it can be done!

Take care. Get some rest. Enjoy life. We all deserve it.

 

[PeekABoo-ICU]

Does anyone else feel like this MCAT reflected more of the "new" MCAT topics? I feel like there was a significant shift in focus for PS (and to a lesser extent BS). It seemed much more concentrated on certain topics that AAMC hadn't had on their old practice exams. Everything was still fair game, but it seemed very selective on what it asked about.

 

[cmarino12]

@detu If you didn't get to participate in the trail section, your exam was voided correctly. I voided mine too and had a screen that said I wasn't eligible to participate.

asd

 

[RamAttack]

Does anyone else feel like this MCAT reflected more of the "new" MCAT topics? I feel like there was a significant shift in focus for PS (and to a lesser extent BS). It seemed much more concentrated on certain topics that AAMC hadn't had on their old practice exams. Everything was still fair game, but it seemed very selective on what it asked about.

no i dont think so..the new PS incorporates like biological situations that physics and chemistry take place in.

 

[texan2414]

The people conflating voiding and trial section------ if you read the MCAT Registration email, it said that NO trial sections will be given out to testers after Sept 18.

 

[lumberjack89]

Hahahaaaa wow, reading through all these comments since I posted my first "this test sucked and here's why" post is making me feel a lot better. Seems like the consensus is:

PS - Stereotypical topics were not included, more obscure topics favored, passages somewhat poorly defined (mixed concepts in single passages), general agreement on having run out of time or at least feeling rushed.

VR - Most folks agree this was pretty typical.

BS - Seems much better balanced than PS, but still somewhat challenging for most but not all.

 

[lumberjack89]

The people conflating voiding and trial section------ if you read the MCAT Registration email, it said that NO trial sections will be given out to testers after Sept 18.

^ this

 

[Jeremy2019]

I
I feel the PS had limited content detail, focused on a area i had not invested time and effort, completely ran out time and guessed an entire passage. The BS section was ok except time was a big issue too for me, ended up guessing one passage. Verbal section i guessed an entire passage . For now i can only cross my fingers, i am waiting 48hrs to rescedule for January test date, this will be my third time taking thd test, i feel so defeated! My prediction is a 25; PS 9, VR 6; BS 10