The Official September 18, 2014 MCAT Thread

[litokhmaikid]

Where the rest of my September 18th homies at ? I just started Sn2ed's 4 month schedule (customized with some extra Kaplan material).

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[DannySCR]

Hi DannySCR! How was the July 24th exam? Also, how closely did you follow the 3month schedule??

Thanks!

Hey! The July 24th exam was... tricky. The PS section was incredibly hard. There were 2 passages that had me guessing a few times. I felt the verbal passages were easy to follow, but the questions were tricky. The same goes for the BS section.

A big thing that I noticed is that those 10 minute breaks that you have... aren't 10 minutes. You need to sign in and out every time you leave the testing room so it chews up a chunk of your break time. The most helpful thing for me was going into that exam knowing it was gonna be incredibly hard. By doing that, I was able to keep my cool when dealing with very hard questions.

Regarding the SN2ed 3 month schedule, I felt that it was extremely helpful in that I would never have used BR to study. I followed it relatively closely but I fell behind at the start due to finals and I didn't do as many hat tricks or bio passages that I should've then when I had the chance. I think the 3 month schedule is an INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT blueprint for how you should study for the MCAT, but each person has their own way of studying, so I would recommend for one to follow it closely, but not religiously. Don't fall behind because it's very hard to play catch-up! I also wanted to mention to not take Bio for granted. It's very easy to just skip the bio passages because you know the content but there's a strategy to them. I think I suffered a bit because of that, and had to focus intensely on it in the final weeks!

If there's anything else please don't hesitate to ask or message me. I love helping out and who knows, we could form a support group for dealing with various topics.

 

[mr.karp]

Hey! The July 24th exam was... tricky. The PS section was incredibly hard. There were 2 passages that had me guessing a few times. I felt the verbal passages were easy to follow, but the questions were tricky. The same goes for the BS section.

A big thing that I noticed is that those 10 minute breaks that you have... aren't 10 minutes. You need to sign in and out every time you leave the testing room so it chews up a chunk of your break time. The most helpful thing for me was going into that exam knowing it was gonna be incredibly hard. By doing that, I was able to keep my cool when dealing with very hard questions.

Regarding the SN2ed 3 month schedule, I felt that it was extremely helpful in that I would never have used BR to study. I followed it relatively closely but I fell behind at the start due to finals and I didn't do as many hat tricks or bio passages that I should've then when I had the chance. I think the 3 month schedule is an INCREDIBLY EFFICIENT blueprint for how you should study for the MCAT, but each person has their own way of studying, so I would recommend for one to follow it closely, but not religiously. Don't fall behind because it's very hard to play catch-up! I also wanted to mention to not take Bio for granted. It's very easy to just skip the bio passages because you know the content but there's a strategy to them. I think I suffered a bit because of that, and had to focus intensely on it in the final weeks!

If there's anything else please don't hesitate to ask or message me. I love helping out and who knows, we could form a support group for dealing with various topics.

Hey Danny, was the EK101 book useful practice for the verbal section?

 

[DannySCR]

Hey Danny, was the EK101 book useful practice for the verbal section?

Hey Mr. Karp! I started using the EK101 and then switched to TPR Hyperlearning Verbal. I really liked it, in part because I thought it was challenging, and also because SN2ed praised it immensely, causing me to value it more I guess. I did a few EK101 Verbal passages and they aren't bad. To be honest I'm probably going to use the Ek101 to study for this exam!

 

[BigEinstein]

Am probably going to join you guys, taking the real deal this Saturday but I will void.

 

[avdentes]

@Tonkahat Hey, i was schedule to take the 8/27 exam but reschedule to this date, I just didn't feel comfortable with the material but the extra weeks took off a lot of stress about finishing sn2's schedule. I hope you changed your date because the deadline to do so is in a couple hours from now.

 

[Tonkahat]

Hey Danny,

I heard there are breaks between the sections and people like scribble formulas down or notes, does that help? is this something you did?

And Avdentes,

I changed my date a few days ago! Glad I did, literally made me feel like i could breathe, more took me really long to get used to the schedule, and working/sickness screwed me over. now im just a few days behind so im not worried cause im finishing everything i need to finish, and wont be having break days till im caught up. A little worried because i start school in september.

 

[DannySCR]

Hey Danny,

I heard there are breaks between the sections and people like scribble formulas down or notes, does that help? is this something you did?

And Avdentes,

I changed my date a few days ago! Glad I did, literally made me feel like i could breathe, more took me really long to get used to the schedule, and working/sickness screwed me over. now im just a few days behind so im not worried cause im finishing everything i need to finish, and wont be having break days till im caught up. A little worried because i start school in september.

You can stay inside the testing room and do whatever you'd like. If you really want to you can scribble down the formulas before you take the test during the time period that it's showing you how the test works. I'm sure most of us already know how it works so those first 10 minutes are just sitting down and calming down.

With that said, I didn't write down any formulas becuase I knew that if I was forgetting one, I would get worked up and stress over it. I've been studying for a while now... these formulas should just come intuitively when I need them and that's my outlook towards it.

Regarding your schedule, just wake up early one morning and do 1 day, grab lunch and relax a bit, then do the 2nd day in the late afternoon. That's how I was able to catch up.

 

[Tonkahat]

You can stay inside the testing room and do whatever you'd like. If you really want to you can scribble down the formulas before you take the test during the time period that it's showing you how the test works. I'm sure most of us already know how it works so those first 10 minutes are just sitting down and calming down.

With that said, I didn't write down any formulas becuase I knew that if I was forgetting one, I would get worked up and stress over it. I've been studying for a while now... these formulas should just come intuitively when I need them and that's my outlook towards it.

Regarding your schedule, just wake up early one morning and do 1 day, grab lunch and relax a bit, then do the 2nd day in the late afternoon. That's how I was able to catch up.

man, in all honesty i definitely think i relax for a large chunk of the day and study really hard the other part of the day so im sure its doable, but how long does it take you to get through one chapter of berkeley review (if thats what your using) for content review? and then do all the 1/3 problems?

 

[DannySCR]

man, in all honesty i definitely think i relax for a large chunk of the day and study really hard the other part of the day so im sure its doable, but how long does it take you to get through one chapter of berkeley review (if thats what your using) for content review? and then do all the 1/3 problems?

in the schedule it says to read the chapter and then do 1/3. I would do that in about 3 hours or so. It really depends on the subject on the days that you complete the 2nd 1/3 I would check the answers as soon as I finished the passage, but that's just my way of studying. It's hard to catch up but you're so much more relived when you do.

 

[Shewillcreate]

Thank you so very much for answering all of our questions DannySCR! I think all of your advice has helped us keep our cool.

Ummm... so another question.. How were you doing on TBR passages at the end of each chapter? They are all really challenging but I've been able to maintain about 76% on them..I'm really hurting by missing 1 or 2/passage. Any advice??

Thanks a mil!

 

[maxn]

Took the July 24th...tentatively planning to retake on this date pending my score. I've already done all of the AAMC CBTs. Anyone have recommendations for other FL tests? I've heard gold standard has good PS practice but their verbal is lacking

 

[DannySCR]

Thank you so very much for answering all of our questions DannySCR! I think all of your advice has helped us keep our cool.

Ummm... so another question.. How were you doing on TBR passages at the end of each chapter? They are all really challenging but I've been able to maintain about 76% on them..I'm really hurting by missing 1 or 2/passage. Any advice??

Thanks a mil!

It's my pleasure to be able to help everyone. As always feel welcome to ask!
You have to keep your head up. I went through a stretch that I was getting 3/6, 3/7 4/8, and it definitely hurts seeing you get nothing from the work you put in. I think a big factor, especially with physical, is timing. I usually finished the PS section on practice tests with 15 mins to spare, and I used that time to make sure in passage that I wasn't making a dumb mistake. Try seeing where you are making the mistakes and try finding a pattern. Once you find a pattern you can target it and you'll be more alert with regards to it.

The biggest factor when it comes to this test is KEEP YOUR HEAD UP. It's a terrible test, the actual test is a test in and of itself, and you just need to accept that fact. The sooner you accept that the exam will be hard, the colder you become towards it and the more focused you're able to get. It's very easy to burnout, especially because BR is tricky. Just keep a clean mind and try to find the true meanings of questions. The devil is in the details

1 thing that I think really helped me in studying was to develop study habits. I never drank coffee before studying for the MCAT and I started drinking it before I studied and then again on test day. Your body will recognize that it's time to focus and get things going.

I'm anxiously awaiting my results from that July 24 test. I really don't know how I did since the PS was very challenging and it was tricky overall. Let's see what the curve shapes out to be.

 

[hitormiss8]

On day 47 of sn2ed here. I was doing well until about two days ago, now the burnout is real.

 

[TheMightyTexan]

Don't worry about the burnout i've found it only lasts a day or so! If i have a burn out day i will keep trying what i need to do, if i can't focus ill just break form and do something easier but still productive, when its gone the next day or two, pick back up the pace! I feel super anxious though, like the test is tomorrow. Everyday more so.. Idk if this is good or bad -_-

 

[hitormiss8]

Don't worry about the burnout i've found it only lasts a day or so! If i have a burn out day i will keep trying what i need to do, if i can't focus ill just break form and do something easier but still productive, when its gone the next day or two, pick back up the pace! I feel super anxious though, like the test is tomorrow. Everyday more so.. Idk if this is good or bad -_-

There's nothing wrong with a little anxiety as long as you're staying productive!

 

[mr.karp]

It seems like the majority here are following the sn2ed schedule, hopefully it pays off!

 

[mr.karp]

Are any of you using FLs other than the AAMC's?

 

[confuciastt]

On day 47 of sn2ed here. I was doing well until about two days ago, now the burnout is real.

It'll pass we've all been there before

Are any of you using FLs other than the AAMC's?

Nope - just not enough time. If the next exam date weren't over a month after this one, I would have considered it.

 

[DannySCR]

Are any of you using FLs other than the AAMC's?

It'll pass we've all been there before

Nope - just not enough time. If the next exam date weren't over a month after this one, I would have considered it.

Since I already did all the AAMC FL's I'm going to be doing the Gold Standard tests. I've heard that they are pretty representative when it comes to PS and BS and that's what matters to me since I've been doing fine( >10) in verbal for the most part! Already made a mini schedule last night for myself composed mostly of reviewing BR and doing the EK 1001s

 

[mr.karp]

Since I already did all the AAMC FL's I'm going to be doing the Gold Standard tests. I've heard that they are pretty representative when it comes to PS and BS and that's what matters to me since I've been doing fine( >10) in verbal for the most part! Already made a mini schedule last night for myself composed mostly of reviewing BR and doing the EK 1001s

Oh ok then, I'm aching to practice the AAMC's to finally see how everything comes together. I need to see my weaknesses too.

 

[DannySCR]

Oh ok then, I'm aching to practice the AAMC's to finally see how everything comes together. I need to see my weaknesses too.

Like I've been saying. Just tackle every problem and don't get distraught. It's a hard test. On my AAMC's I went form 28-30-28-30-28-32-32-32 and it was definitely hard to go from a 30 down to a 28, but you gotta keep it up.

 

[Shewillcreate]

Sooo for extra practice, I've been doing TBR biology passages and they're a bloody pain in my A$$!! They're pretty rough...it kinda makes me feel bad. Is anyone else doing this or am I just a masochist?

 

[DannySCR]

Sooo for extra practice, I've been doing TBR biology passages and they're a bloody pain in my A$$!! They're pretty rough...it kinda makes me feel bad. Is anyone else doing this or am I just a masochist?

The TBR Biology passages kill me, but I'd be nothing without them. They get me so used to the passages and the reasoning behind them. It hurts taking them but at the end of the day it really helps

 

[Dreamstoo]

Sooo for extra practice, I've been doing TBR biology passages and they're a bloody pain in my A$$!! They're pretty rough...it kinda makes me feel bad. Is anyone else doing this or am I just a masochist?

Some are just too ridiculous but I would agree that some of them provided great practice. However, based on their scales I was still getting 12-13s. Bizarre passages.

 

[livinitup]

I'm Sept 10! I just finished a Kaplan class and finished up my content. I'm doing the 1001 series in Physics to work on my weak areas and I've done about 5 exams already...time to continue! Good luck to everyone!

 

[Gandalf0222]

I'm taking Sept 10 and currently using the 3 month schedule. I am about 15 days behind (started late) and I have to take aamc 3 in 4 days. and plus I can't reschedule my test date. What is the best and most productive thing I can do now before I take AAMC 3? I am mostly on chapter 7 in the BR books. Should I just finish content and first 1/3 of the passages or try to add in the second 1/3? Or should I continue to do content and passages after AAMC 3 (take the AAMC without finishing content)? What will be the best option for me?

BTW I am caught up with verbal, even though my scores are pretty mediocre...

 

[jrhuynh94]

Since I already did all the AAMC FL's I'm going to be doing the Gold Standard tests. I've heard that they are pretty representative when it comes to PS and BS and that's what matters to me since I've been doing fine( >10) in verbal for the most part! Already made a mini schedule last night for myself composed mostly of reviewing BR and doing the EK 1001s

what are your strategies for VR?

 

[TheMightyTexan]

I'm taking Sept 10 and currently using the 3 month schedule. I am about 15 days behind (started late) and I have to take aamc 3 in 4 days. and plus I can't reschedule my test date. What is the best and most productive thing I can do now before I take AAMC 3? I am mostly on chapter 7 in the BR books. Should I just finish content and first 1/3 of the passages or try to add in the second 1/3? Or should I continue to do content and passages after AAMC 3 (take the AAMC without finishing content)? What will be the best option for me?

BTW I am caught up with verbal, even though my scores are pretty mediocre...

I would say just take it from wherever you are at in your content. AAMC 3 is an easier test anyways and it is acceptable to take a test even when you don't feel "ready" in my opinion. With that being said, you shouldn't go and crack them out when your not prepared enough (don't waste them), but you want to take one early on enough to either boost your confidence or light a fire under your a**. Its good to take one early enough to get yourself familiar with what is expected.

 

[Gandalf0222]

I would say just take it from wherever you are at in your content. AAMC 3 is an easier test anyways and it is acceptable to take a test even when you don't feel "ready" in my opinion. With that being said, you shouldn't go and crack them out when your not prepared enough (don't waste them), but you want to take one early on enough to either boost your confidence or light a fire under your a**. Its good to take one early enough to get yourself familiar with what is expected.

okay thank you for the reply! I feel that cramming the last 3 chapters of the BR books in like 3 days isn't the best thing to do.

 

[Gandalf0222]

Am I the only one here who is really behind on the schedule?

 

[DannySCR]

what are your strategies for VR?

My advantage in verbal is timing. I usually finish a Verbal section with around 15 minutes to spare. Knowing that gives me the chance to look back into the text a few times. Also keep in mind the big picture/whats mentioned most when they ask you what is the purpose.

 

[DannySCR]

Am I the only one here who is really behind on the schedule?

I was behind on my SN2ed schedule but I managed to catch up before starting the FL. I would recommend that because the risk of burnout increases if you procrastinate a lot!

 

[Tonkahat]

definitely not alone i was a week behind when i switched to this date and im still a week behind. -___- and I know I need to find a day to learn Circulatory well. It was soo easy learning it on EK Bio but once I did the BR passages MYOHMY! Did anyone else think the BR Circulatory passages were brutal??? I thought I understood it all till doing those passages.

super sad because my last 2 days of verbal passages have been bad, been getting 2 and 3 wrong on average, which is crazy cause i used to get 1 wrong maximum. I slowed down a bit because i realized i would run out of verbal practice (14 pass left on PR and 27 left on EK101 but only because i slowed down a lot the last 2 weeks). Anyone out there really good at verbal, before i hit this slump i was still doing around 10-11 on passages. I need to get back to 10-11 so im gonna stop timing for a week and re-learn how to understand a passage, then go back to timing.

 

[Shewillcreate]

42 days left

definitely not alone i was a week behind when i switched to this date and im still a week behind. -___- and I know I need to find a day to learn Circulatory well. It was soo easy learning it on EK Bio but once I did the BR passages MYOHMY! Did anyone else think the BR Circulatory passages were brutal??? I thought I understood it all till doing those passages.

super sad because my last 2 days of verbal passages have been bad, been getting 2 and 3 wrong on average, which is crazy cause i used to get 1 wrong maximum. I slowed down a bit because i realized i would run out of verbal practice (14 pass left on PR and 27 left on EK101 but only because i slowed down a lot the last 2 weeks). Anyone out there really good at verbal, before i hit this slump i was still doing around 10-11 on passages. I need to get back to 10-11 so im gonna stop timing for a week and re-learn how to understand a passage, then go back to timing.

I've struggled off and on with verbal, one thing that helps is to force yourself to be completely engaged in and mentally aroused by the passage. Fool yourself into believing you're interested In what the author is trying to say (basically fake it until you make it). This has totally done wonders for me! I hope this helps, good luck!

 

[anisidi1985]

Hey everyone! New to this thread but will be taking the MCAT with all you folks. Am also following SN2ed's schedule (3 month) but a little modified. I fell behind (which seems pretty normal) and to catch up I made an executive decision not to do the review of the 2nd 1/3rd problems at the end of each set of chapters. To make up for it I'm hoping to just do way more practice problems when I've finished my content review (in about a week!) which gives me about a month to do all the AAMC's + practice problems (on alternating days of course). Does this sound like a good plan? just want some validation that I'm not entirely screwed over by not doing the 2nd 1/3 and reviewing each week.

 

[anisidi1985]

Hey everyone! New to this thread but will be taking the MCAT with all you folks. Am also following SN2ed's schedule (3 month) but a little modified. I fell behind (which seems pretty normal) and to catch up I made an executive decision not to do the review of the 2nd 1/3rd problems at the end of each set of chapters. To make up for it I'm hoping to just do way more practice problems when I've finished my content review (in about a week!) which gives me about a month to do all the AAMC's + practice problems (on alternating days of course). Does this sound like a good plan? just want some validation that I'm not entirely screwed over by not doing the 2nd 1/3 and reviewing each week.

 

[hitormiss8]

Hey everyone! New to this thread but will be taking the MCAT with all you folks. Am also following SN2ed's schedule (3 month) but a little modified. I fell behind (which seems pretty normal) and to catch up I made an executive decision not to do the review of the 2nd 1/3rd problems at the end of each set of chapters. To make up for it I'm hoping to just do way more practice problems when I've finished my content review (in about a week!) which gives me about a month to do all the AAMC's + practice problems (on alternating days of course). Does this sound like a good plan? just want some validation that I'm not entirely screwed over by not doing the 2nd 1/3 and reviewing each week.

I modified the schedule similarly in that I cut out the second 1/3 and just do the first 2/3 for each new day of content. That leaves more time to do practice problems/exams and review for the final month or so.

 

[anisidi1985]

I modified the schedule similarly in that I cut out the second 1/3 and just do the first 2/3 for each new day of content. That leaves more time to do practice problems/exams and review for the final month or so.

Great - I'm planning on doing the last 2/3 in between the full length days. That's reassuring thanks!

 

[mr.karp]

Uh Oh! Got my email from AAMC confirming my exam date, makes it that much more real lol

 

[Shewillcreate]

Uh Oh! Got my email from AAMC confirming my exam date, makes it that much more real lol

So did I!! My heart fluttered when I saw it in my inbox this morning

 

[DannySCR]

So did I!! My heart fluttered when I saw it in my inbox this morning

I was like... OH MAN I really need to get on a bigger grind now!

 

[Shewillcreate]

I was like... OH MAN I really need to get on a bigger grind now!

Hahaha! Those are the thoughts of everyone who read that email this morning. Question is, how does one get on a bigger grind? Where do we find this machine?

 

[DannySCR]

Hahaha! Those are the thoughts of everyone who read that email this morning. Question is, how does one get on a bigger grind? Where do we find this machine?

hahahhaa I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been doing as much as I should. It's really hard to find the motivation to study for another MCAT when I don't even have my scores for the first one!

 

[Shewillcreate]

hahahhaa I'll be the first to admit that I haven't been doing as much as I should. It's really hard to find the motivation to study for another MCAT when I don't even have my scores for the first one!

That's completely understandable. You probably won't need to take it again (I said it here first) haha. Hey, now that you're here, how did you review your FLs? Did you have a method that help you to really solidify information? If so, Did you see an improvement over the course of your FLs using it? I'm getting excited to take my first FL so I'm just looking for some input. Thankya!

 

[DannySCR]

Hahahaha Thanks! I love helping people out on here so always ask any questions that you may have. I think the first thing I would do is look at my score analysis and see what topics I got wrong. I made a mental note of those and reviewed those afterwards. This is specific for some orgo and bio topics. I would usually take a test during the day and review all the questions at night. I feel that I lose some of the information if I re-read it the next day.

I started out with a 28 and it went like this: 28-30-29-28-32-32-32. I forgot the sequence tbh but I know that I got the last 3 FL's 32s so that made me confident!

 

[Shewillcreate]

Alright so you only reviewed the ones you got wrong? Did you review from your notes or did you go back to the books? Also, did you do any extra passages in between? (god that sounds so suicidal). I was reading the July 12th thread, they got their scores back today damn... I'm not looking forward to that.

 

[Dreamstoo]

When's the deadline for rescheduling for the Sept. 18 date?

 

[Shewillcreate]

When's the deadline for rescheduling for the Sept. 18 date?

Gold zone: Aug 19th
Silver zone: Sept 2nd
Bronze zone: Sept 11th

 

[Dreamstoo]

Gold zone: Aug 19th
Silver zone: Sept 2nd
Bronze zone: Sept 11th

Thank you!

 

[DannySCR]

When's the deadline for rescheduling for the Sept. 18 date?

I think it's the 19th of this month, but can't confirm