The Official Sept 1, 2012 MCAT Thread

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MAnne

MAnne

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I was registered for May 31, but was not ready so I changed my date. With having a family, work, and volunteering, I underestimated the amount of time I needed. I started studying in February and took 2 AAMC's in April and was rudely awakened. I am taking Orgo 2 Lab and a 1 credit research course during July-mid August so I figured this date would give me enough time to get the content down.

Where is everyone at in their journey?

~M
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About a month in. Working on practice problems then toward the end of the month I'll begin introducing more passages/FL's.

Also, somebody else made a 9/1/2012 thread lol. We have two official threads now! :D
 
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I'm applying next (2013) but I want to get the mcat out of the way to free up my junior year for ec's and whatnot.
 
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Big N Tasty said:
About a month in. Working on practice problems then toward the end of the month I'll begin introducing more passages/FL's.

Also, somebody else made a 9/1/2012 thread lol. We have two official threads now! :D
Click to expand...
I made the other thread :) But no responses :( lol. I'm applying next cycle as well. Im about 3 weeks into studying. Still snailing over TBR content, about halfway done.
 
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Oops sorry. I did do a search but couldn't find it. I'm actually gonna submit this cycle and see what happens. Why not. I know chance are slim but It's not completely unheard of. I'm redoing the SDN 3-month schedule again and not using the EK1001's for PS, just confuses me with all that damn math. Sticking to BR. I do like EK 1001 Bio despite what some say on here.
 
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Well I took my MCAT in March, didn't get the score I wanted so here I am again hoping Sept will be better for me. I am following the 3 month guide here on SDN and I am also enrolled in the Kaplan Advanced online class since it was free... Too hopeful?
 
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For those of you who are retaking, any advice for us first-timers? Maybe something you wish you'd have done/known/been prepared for the first time around?
 
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Looks like there's a decent amount of people applying for next cycle taking the MCAT on this date. I am applying next year as well.

I am using a modified version of SN2ed with more practice exams. Currently taking a summer class for two more weeks so doing a decent amount of studying but haven't gone into intense studying mode yet, just working through my study schedule as of now. I wanted to jump in on this thread if we are using it as the official thread (posted in the other one also).
 
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Scored a 9 BS, 11 VR and 9 PS last year. Retaking and applying this cycle as well. Two weeks into studying and finally starting to build some endurance.

My best advice for first time takers - find a place to study with 0 distractions. No computer, no cell phone, no internet. It makes a world of difference.
 
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Finishing up content review by August 10th (includes reviewing notes and finishing TBR passages), then taking a practice test every two days before the test.
 
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Took my first FL today (AAMC 3) and just broke the 30 mark with balanced subscores :D Nice to finally have a baseline though. Hopefully I'll be able to keep improving my averages from here!
 
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Big N Tasty said:
Took my first FL today (AAMC 3) and just broke the 30 mark with balanced subscores :D Nice to finally have a baseline though. Hopefully I'll be able to keep improving my averages from here!
Click to expand...

Nice score! Especially for your first test.
 
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I am taking the test on this test date as well, I've only taken one FL so far and that was about 2-3 weeks into content review.

AAMC#3: PS 6/ VR 4/ BS 7 (granted I did't take VR seriously at the time, but I am not now, and I hadnt done much bio)

I've completed my content review for physics and chem (got 1 chapter left in each), finshed every problem in TBR Chem book 2, and aiming to do the same for physics 1/chem 1 this week. While going over some bio.
(let me add that I didnt learn a thing in Chem2, not sure how I passed, I basically had to relearn everything from scratch, but I am proud to say that TBR does a fine job teaching chem)

AAMC#4 in about a week!

LETS DO THIS!
 
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Godric said:
I am taking the test on this test date as well, I've only taken one FL so far and that was about 2-3 weeks into content review.

AAMC#3: PS 6/ VR 6/ BS 6 (granted I did't take VR seriously at the time, but I am not now, and I hadnt done much bio)

I've completed my content review for physics and chem (got 1 chapter left in each), finshed every problem in TBR Chem book 2, and aiming to do the same for physics 1/chem 1 this week. While going over some bio.
(let me add that I didnt learn a thing in Chem2, not sure how I passed, I basically had to relearn everything from scratch, but I am proud to say that TBR does a fine job teaching chem)

AAMC#4 in about a week!

LETS DO THIS!
Click to expand...

I like the enthusiasm lol. AAMC 4 for me today. Fingers crossed!
 
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I'm retaking, and what I wish I knew the first time I took it is:
Study everything! Treat each concept as it were a high yield topic.
Use your intuition heavily and don't second guess your answer without solid proof (first guess is almost always correct)
 
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Some updates!

I took AAMC #3 a little while back,
PS: 6 / VR: 4 / BS: 7 (not sure how it could be a 7 because I havent completed bio review)

I took AAMC #4 today
PS: 7 / VR: 8 / BS: 6

-I did review of my physics, even though I didnt finish it, it really helped me!
-My VR score WENT UP! I'll keep doing VR passages on a daily basis
- For bio I am reading EKBio and I'll probably reread it and also make flashcards or some small notes on things I need to memorize
-I've done a write of questions I got wrong, and an analysis of the questions I got right. I've only done PS so far, but its helping me see errors Ive made, I'll be starting the BS section in a few minutes
-My BS went down a point, and my PS went up a point, the PS going up a point, I feel is an accurate representation.

Plans for this week,
-Keep reading Bio
-Practice passges for physics/bio
-target weak areas shown by FL
-TAKE TBR FL#1 and on the weekend take AAMC# 5
 
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Godric said:
Some updates!

I took AAMC #3 a little while back,
PS: 6 / VR: 4 / BS: 7 (not sure how it could be a 7 because I havent completed bio review)

I took AAMC #4 today
PS: 7 / VR: 8 / BS: 6

-I did review of my physics, even though I didnt finish it, it really helped me!
-My VR score WENT UP! I'll keep doing VR passages on a daily basis
- For bio I am reading EKBio and I'll probably reread it and also make flashcards or some small notes on things I need to memorize
-I've done a write of questions I got wrong, and an analysis of the questions I got right. I've only done PS so far, but its helping me see errors Ive made, I'll be starting the BS section in a few minutes
-My BS went down a point, and my PS went up a point, the PS going up a point, I feel is an accurate representation.

Plans for this week,
-Keep reading Bio
-Practice passges for physics/bio
-target weak areas shown by FL
-TAKE TBR FL#1 and on the weekend take AAMC# 5
Click to expand...


Keep posting things like this Godric. very inspirational and it helps me to mold my study plan
 
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I have been taking the FL practice tests from TPR. However, I notice that I sort of lag when it comes to reviewing. I view the questions that I got wrong.... then try to read the explanation or if I missed the details from the passage (which seems to be the case majority of the time). For the questions from PS or BS that I missed, I go back to the chapters and get distracted reading and finding all that I can about the reason why. I end up taking about 20+ minutes for one question. How do you guys make it through analyzing and actually learning/ understanding through the wrongs?
 
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Got a 8/8/9 on aamc#3 last week. I reviewed it and was really mad at myself for the dumb mistakes. Im will rape aamc4 tomorrow!
 
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Can't wait to start taking practice test like everyone else. I'm still on content review, I'm going to have to compress my last 3 weeks to 2. Alot has been going on for me.
 
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So here's a bit of an update. I'm exactly halfway through with my content review (following the EK 10 week schedule) and I just took AAMC 5. Scored a 34 and I am super excited going forward. It was 13/11/10 PS/VR/BS. Hopefully my bio scores will improve as I review physio so here's to hoping I can score close to this on the real deal! :)
 
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No problem! It actually helps me a little to have some where to share how/where I am.
For reviewing a FL, I have guidelines I follow, and questions I get wrong I have to write them and the choices, and answer 7 questions, you can see the questions I answer if get a question right/wrong. I just taped the papers to the wall infront of me lol. Hope it helps.
2qdtldd.jpg



SCX1 said:
Got a 8/8/9 on aamc#3 last week. I reviewed it and was really mad at myself for the dumb mistakes. Im will rape aamc4 tomorrow!
Click to expand...

I am liking the attitude! Still a good score on #3.
 
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Just took aamc 4. I got a 26 :( (9/6/11). Gd it verbal!! I rushed through the later 5 passages because I wanted time to review the first 2, which I thought I did horribly because I didn't "absorb" those 2 passages. I think that caused me to rush through the questions of the later 5 passages that I thought I understood well.
 
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Just finished my FL2 from Kaplan, only thing that improved was my verbal score :S
6-->8

Everything else stayed the same, honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I should just do the AAMC instead of the Kaplan Full lengths now. The BS was killer in FL2.

Any advice?
 
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I took the MCAT July 14th, but I voided it. I'm now retaking it September 1st and I'm applying this cycle. Is anyone else who's taking the exam on this date applying for this cycle like me?
 
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BurntFlower said:
I took the MCAT July 14th, but I voided it. I'm now retaking it September 1st and I'm applying this cycle. Is anyone else who's taking the exam on this date applying for this cycle like me?
Click to expand...

I took the June 21st mcat and I am retaking Sep first
my advice is to try to get your practice score to where you want your actual score to be
 
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For those of you who did the AAMC self-assessment package, how long did it take you to finish each section? I'm trying to decide when I should do it and how long it would take.
 
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osprey099 said:
For those of you who did the AAMC self-assessment package, how long did it take you to finish each section? I'm trying to decide when I should do it and how long it would take.
Click to expand...
I second this, I am about to get it in a few days!
 
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Godric said:
Some updates!

I took AAMC #3 a little while back,
PS: 6 / VR: 4 / BS: 7 (not sure how it could be a 7 because I havent completed bio review)

I took AAMC #4 today
PS: 7 / VR: 8 / BS: 6

-I did review of my physics, even though I didnt finish it, it really helped me!
-My VR score WENT UP! I'll keep doing VR passages on a daily basis
- For bio I am reading EKBio and I'll probably reread it and also make flashcards or some small notes on things I need to memorize
-I've done a write of questions I got wrong, and an analysis of the questions I got right. I've only done PS so far, but its helping me see errors Ive made, I'll be starting the BS section in a few minutes
-My BS went down a point, and my PS went up a point, the PS going up a point, I feel is an accurate representation.

Plans for this week,
-Keep reading Bio
-Practice passges for physics/bio
-target weak areas shown by FL
-TAKE TBR FL#1 and on the weekend take AAMC# 5
Click to expand...



How was AAMC#4? I'm planning on taking it on Tuesday.
 
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I am about 1.5 months into studying and to be honest, I didn't take studying seriously until about 2-3 weeks ago. I am done with going over content but am gonna review more chem and physics before attempting the FLs. I was wasting my time with TPR and would forget everything I read. EK is much better!!
30+ MCAT dust to everyone!!
 
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One more month!

Just wondering how everyone is doing?

I just finished AAMC #7 and My BS score finally went up!
Did anyone find the Verbal to be really difficult in this practice exam for the people that did it?
 
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I am reaaally depressed today. I didnt want to take any FL until I was done going over material at least once. I didnt wanna take the AAMC to save them till later but today I took TPR Practice Test 2 and except for Bio, I went down in PS and VR compared to my diagnostic for which I didnt study at all! PS I got a 4!!!!
On EK 30 min exams I was getting 10+

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
 
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hsaid said:
I am reaaally depressed today. I didnt want to take any FL until I was done going over material at least once. I didnt wanna take the AAMC to save them till later but today I took TPR Practice Test 2 and except for Bio, I went down in PS and VR compared to my diagnostic for which I didnt study at all! PS I got a 4!!!!
On EK 30 min exams I was getting 10+

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...

Don't bring yourself down too much! I felt the same way when I did my first practice test and then it slowly increased every time I took one. You'll be fine
 
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Nice job! Keep grinding!

I think I have figured out the verbal section. I got a 10 on aamc5, up from a 6 from aamc4. Hopefully I can keep it at this range. My BS went down 2 points! I blame it on the kids that keep on distracting me during the section. My PS stayed the same but it shall improve on the next one. I will break 30 on aamc7!
 
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Just took TBR PT 1.... my bs went up by 3, PS by 2, and Verbal by 1..... can only get better from here. Where is Godric, my online motivational buddy?
 
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SCX1 said:
Nice job! Keep grinding!

I think I have figured out the verbal section. I got a 10 on aamc5, up from a 6 from aamc4. Hopefully I can keep it at this range. My BS went down 2 points! I blame it on the kids that keep on distracting me during the section. My PS stayed the same but it shall improve on the next one. I will break 30 on aamc7!
Click to expand...

Wow! A 10 on VR is great. Good motivation for me since I'm going to do AAMC#5 this Saturday. I also got distractions as well, there's construction on my street and it's really distracting!
 
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EpikSasuke said:
Wow! A 10 on VR is great. Good motivation for me since I'm going to do AAMC#5 this Saturday. I also got distractions as well, there's construction on my street and it's really distracting!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I just just read it slowly and making sure I digest it and I wasn't afraid to re-read (unlike what examkracker said). I always finish with 5-10 mins in verbal so I knew I have time. I still finished the same time when I read slowly. Now I just gotta nail the sciences...both were 9s.

Good luck to you sir, let us know how you did.
 
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Great job!
Trying to follow the EK review does freak me out so maybe I should try to slow down too.
Good luck!
Im doing content review again and taking next FL Tuesday.
Im also fasting (no food no water til sunset)....thats my distraction. :rolleyes:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
 
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hsaid said:
Great job!
Trying to follow the EK review does freak me out so maybe I should try to slow down too.
Good luck!
Im doing content review again and taking next FL Tuesday.
Im also fasting (no food no water til sunset)....thats my distraction. :rolleyes:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...

SAME! Asalamaliekum!:D not sure when im taking my next full length though maybe sat xD
 
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I won't be taking my first AAMC FL until 8/15..I still wanna hammer concepts into my head and finish practicing with TBR passages. I also have to finish the verbal self-assessment and TPR Hyperlearning..should be done in less than 2 weeks.

Come on guys we got this :) !!
 
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hmania said:
Just took TBR PT 1.... my bs went up by 3, PS by 2, and Verbal by 1..... can only get better from here. Where is Godric, my online motivational buddy?
Click to expand...
Haha nice to know I am missed. I've been busy, bogged down with passages alll day long/night long.

Updates:

I took the PS section of AAMC 5, and my score was 8! Thats a 1 point increase from the last FL I took.

I've also been trying to nail a good strategy for verbal, prior to last night I didnt have one, but I am following PasRoasts now. my VR trend so far,

AAMC 3 (at the start of studying): 4
EK 1: 6
EK 2: 8
EK 3: Lost Paper
EK 4: 6
AAMC #4 (pretty much done with content): 8
EK 5: 7
EK 6: 7
------Tried PanRoasted VR Strategy---------------
EK 7: 10
Ek 8: 10

I noticed that I sort of plateaued in VR and so I looked for ways to improve, and so far the best I've found is PanRoasted VR Strategy. I take and go over 1 EK VR test a day, I'll soon be moving onto TPR VR!

I've mentioend before that I have weak physics/chem background so I spent a lot of time on both of subjects, and neglected a lot of my bio, so to make up for that I've been reading about 1 chapter of EK Bio to refresh topics, making lists of things I should have in memory.

I've also been working at the TPRH WB Biolgy section, I ve got 60/87 passages left (done about 20 so far). They serve as a good learning tool, especially on the passages where I am like WTF. I do at least 7 passages a day/review those.

I also started the mcat assessment, since I've spent a great deal of time on chem, I knew what topics I didnt know as well, and the assessment proved me right. I got a 61% on gen chem! I'll be doing the write up for all the wrong questions/review for right questions each day, while working on physics assessment as well.

@hmania good job on the increase! every point, every question counts!

@EpikSasuke I have family and a younger brother who keeps going and out, and running all over and the tv to deal with, sometimes I wear headphones, I am going to get ear plugs and start wearing those, I believe you can wear them to your test as well
 
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Registered back in June. Just finished my PRH course. Now I'm just reviewing material and taking every AAMC test. So far my most recent score is a 32, shooting for at least a 35 come test day.
 
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Godric said:
Haha nice to know I am missed. I've been busy, bogged down with passages alll day long/night long.

Updates:

I took the PS section of AAMC 5, and my score was 8! Thats a 1 point increase from the last FL I took.

I've also been trying to nail a good strategy for verbal, prior to last night I didnt have one, but I am following PasRoasts now. my VR trend so far,

AAMC 3 (at the start of studying): 4
EK 1: 6
EK 2: 8
EK 3: Lost Paper
EK 4: 6
AAMC #4 (pretty much done with content): 8
EK 5: 7
EK 6: 7
------Tried PanRoasted VR Strategy---------------
EK 7: 10
Ek 8: 10

I noticed that I sort of plateaued in VR and so I looked for ways to improve, and so far the best I've found is PanRoasted VR Strategy. I take and go over 1 EK VR test a day, I'll soon be moving onto TPR VR!

I've mentioend before that I have weak physics/chem background so I spent a lot of time on both of subjects, and neglected a lot of my bio, so to make up for that I've been reading about 1 chapter of EK Bio to refresh topics, making lists of things I should have in memory.

I've also been working at the TPRH WB Biolgy section, I ve got 60/87 passages left (done about 20 so far). They serve as a good learning tool, especially on the passages where I am like WTF. I do at least 7 passages a day/review those.

I also started the mcat assessment, since I've spent a great deal of time on chem, I knew what topics I didnt know as well, and the assessment proved me right. I got a 61% on gen chem! I'll be doing the write up for all the wrong questions/review for right questions each day, while working on physics assessment as well.

@hmania good job on the increase! every point, every question counts!

@EpikSasuke I have family and a younger brother who keeps going and out, and running all over and the tv to deal with, sometimes I wear headphones, I am going to get ear plugs and start wearing those, I believe you can wear them to your test as well
Click to expand...
That is some awsome dedication you have! I felt like I've been a little unfocus this past week. Hopefully i am not burning out. I took a break today (kind of) so hopefully next week will be better
 
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Godric said:
Haha nice to know I am missed. I've been busy, bogged down with passages alll day long/night long.

Updates:

I took the PS section of AAMC 5, and my score was 8! Thats a 1 point increase from the last FL I took.

I've also been trying to nail a good strategy for verbal, prior to last night I didnt have one, but I am following PasRoasts now. my VR trend so far,

AAMC 3 (at the start of studying): 4
EK 1: 6
EK 2: 8
EK 3: Lost Paper
EK 4: 6
AAMC #4 (pretty much done with content): 8
EK 5: 7
EK 6: 7
------Tried PanRoasted VR Strategy---------------
EK 7: 10
Ek 8: 10

I noticed that I sort of plateaued in VR and so I looked for ways to improve, and so far the best I've found is PanRoasted VR Strategy. I take and go over 1 EK VR test a day, I'll soon be moving onto TPR VR!

I've mentioend before that I have weak physics/chem background so I spent a lot of time on both of subjects, and neglected a lot of my bio, so to make up for that I've been reading about 1 chapter of EK Bio to refresh topics, making lists of things I should have in memory.

I've also been working at the TPRH WB Biolgy section, I ve got 60/87 passages left (done about 20 so far). They serve as a good learning tool, especially on the passages where I am like WTF. I do at least 7 passages a day/review those.

I also started the mcat assessment, since I've spent a great deal of time on chem, I knew what topics I didnt know as well, and the assessment proved me right. I got a 61% on gen chem! I'll be doing the write up for all the wrong questions/review for right questions each day, while working on physics assessment as well.

@hmania good job on the increase! every point, every question counts!

@EpikSasuke I have family and a younger brother who keeps going and out, and running all over and the tv to deal with, sometimes I wear headphones, I am going to get ear plugs and start wearing those, I believe you can wear them to your test as well
Click to expand...

Thank god for the ear plugs! I asked the center and they offer it so that's a relief :)
I might try that Verbal strategy, I'm about to do EK#7 tomorrow and hopefully it's an increase from my 8 score on VR.
 
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So whats this PanRoasted VR strategy?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using SDN Mobile
 
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