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Here is the official fixed version of the 09/12/08 MCAT Club.
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09/12/08 MCAT Club
- Thread starter BloodySurgeon
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Last VS passage was about mere-exposure and preference (I remember since I'm a psych major!). Overall, I agree with everyone. BS was different and therefore harder than the practice tests. PS was a little strange to me, but not that bad. VS was alright.
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AH! preference.. yes that was an easy one (and interesting too)... then i think i still agree that most of them were pretty easy except for the "milton's satan" one..
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I am going to be completely honest. I want to get a "competitive score" above 27. I am applying D.O., so I know that I don't have to get a score in the high 30's or anything, I just want the personal satisfaction of getting a decent score. Low 30's and I am fine.
My practice scores were in the low 30's so I felt decent going into the test. The test threw me. I felt waaaay rushed, confused by some of the passages.
1.) Almost all bio passages were REALLY hard and hard to decifer. The questions were left field and seemed to require some weird prior knowledge. Honestly, I felt like I guessed on a whole lot of them, maybe the majority.... God, I can't think about it.
2.) The verbal was okay. Agree that the Milton passage was really vague!!!! I think that if I had read Paradise Lost I would have been more prepared. Some of the moon stuff was odd, as well.
3.) The first passage in physical really threw me off. The other passages were much clearer. Did anyone think the first passage was difficult? Or am I just incompetent when it comes to the photoelectric effect.
In general I felt rushed and confused alot of the time. The words began to blur together. I was on the verge of panic but tried to pull it together so I would at least finish. After the test I called my boyfriend and cried. Only a minute or so, but still, I don't often cry. Maybe just a release or maybe a premonition that I F'd up majorly. After all that I have gone through to get to this point, I hope I didn't total bomb it. I will feel like such a failure.
Thanks for listening. I know only you guys know what it is like, so thanks for listening.
My practice scores were in the low 30's so I felt decent going into the test. The test threw me. I felt waaaay rushed, confused by some of the passages.
1.) Almost all bio passages were REALLY hard and hard to decifer. The questions were left field and seemed to require some weird prior knowledge. Honestly, I felt like I guessed on a whole lot of them, maybe the majority.... God, I can't think about it.
2.) The verbal was okay. Agree that the Milton passage was really vague!!!! I think that if I had read Paradise Lost I would have been more prepared. Some of the moon stuff was odd, as well.
3.) The first passage in physical really threw me off. The other passages were much clearer. Did anyone think the first passage was difficult? Or am I just incompetent when it comes to the photoelectric effect.
In general I felt rushed and confused alot of the time. The words began to blur together. I was on the verge of panic but tried to pull it together so I would at least finish. After the test I called my boyfriend and cried. Only a minute or so, but still, I don't often cry. Maybe just a release or maybe a premonition that I F'd up majorly. After all that I have gone through to get to this point, I hope I didn't total bomb it. I will feel like such a failure.
Thanks for listening. I know only you guys know what it is like, so thanks for listening.
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I am the inverse of everyone here. I feel like I tanked on PS and did really well biology. The highest I got on a PS practice test was a ten, but I was too damn slow in doing the calculations. Nothing was particularly difficult, and I knew that, I was just calculating everything too slowly. I had to guess on a quiet a few because I ran out of time. My pacing was okay, but I didn't get to all the chemistry calculations, and the ones I did get to, I got answers that were not right. They were not options, so I know I screwed up. I picked the answer that was most likely the answer based on what the procedure for calculating it would be. Thinking back on it now, I got the questions wrong because I was nervous and could not think straight. There are more calculations on the AAMCs than on the practice tests. They are not particularly difficult, but they require you to calculate things quickly. It feels like a retake, just because of physical sciences. Verbal was fine, averaged an 11 on my AAMC test, predicting a 10-11 on this.
As for Biology, I thought it was a difficult because of the length/wording, but the questions/topics themselves were fine. The much discussed "upper level biology classes" really helped me, just because I was familiar with all the terminology,and had covered that specific material in class. What classes? I guess physiology would help the most, but I saw stuff on there that was in my Neuroscience I and II, Biochemistry, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology,on and on. In short, all I am saying is I felt good about Biology because of my exposure to it. What would be the most helpful class? A physiology class that covers the topics on a molecular level as well. If I had to pick two? Physiology and genetics. I do feel that biology section is unfair for people who don't know that much biology, because how can you be expected to digest/answer all that? Hence, the MCAT is a difficult test.
All in all, I'll probably retake in Jan/Dec.
As for Biology, I thought it was a difficult because of the length/wording, but the questions/topics themselves were fine. The much discussed "upper level biology classes" really helped me, just because I was familiar with all the terminology,and had covered that specific material in class. What classes? I guess physiology would help the most, but I saw stuff on there that was in my Neuroscience I and II, Biochemistry, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology,on and on. In short, all I am saying is I felt good about Biology because of my exposure to it. What would be the most helpful class? A physiology class that covers the topics on a molecular level as well. If I had to pick two? Physiology and genetics. I do feel that biology section is unfair for people who don't know that much biology, because how can you be expected to digest/answer all that? Hence, the MCAT is a difficult test.
All in all, I'll probably retake in Jan/Dec.
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Finallly done with this thing. I really hope I don't have to retake.
Like most people, PS was ok except I think I got confused with some of the acid/base questions on which one defined the acceptor/donator of the oxide ion thing.
VR was ok. Got through in time, though am always unsure of how I did on these things.
BS was LONG like everyone said. So much reading and random stuff I hope I guessed right on.
Oh well. I am just so excited that this is over and life can go on much more fully again. Now we join the waiting game!!
Like most people, PS was ok except I think I got confused with some of the acid/base questions on which one defined the acceptor/donator of the oxide ion thing.
VR was ok. Got through in time, though am always unsure of how I did on these things.
BS was LONG like everyone said. So much reading and random stuff I hope I guessed right on.
Oh well. I am just so excited that this is over and life can go on much more fully again. Now we join the waiting game!!
Looks like most people feel the same way I do.. I've taken quite a few practice tests and a real one back in July and... yeah.. wow.
PS = At the beginning I felt better about this section than any other I've done. Towards the end it started getting more difficult for me. Calculations that felt I didn't have enough time for.
VS = Haha.. Was surprised they had Paradise Lost on there.. I read that this summer for a history class, so I got lucky on that one.. Section felt typical aamc.
BS = Wat the hell were they thinking.. Complete different spin from any other one I've taken. Especially the one in July (obviously).. Long passages, felt like I was doing another VS. Edmund process? Big focus on genetics and hardly any physiology at all.
Should have VOIDed it.. Couldn't bring myself to click submit, so I sat there thinking about it and just let it time out.. Now I'm totally screwed.
Anyone wanna make a support group hah?
PS = At the beginning I felt better about this section than any other I've done. Towards the end it started getting more difficult for me. Calculations that felt I didn't have enough time for.
VS = Haha.. Was surprised they had Paradise Lost on there.. I read that this summer for a history class, so I got lucky on that one.. Section felt typical aamc.
BS = Wat the hell were they thinking.. Complete different spin from any other one I've taken. Especially the one in July (obviously).. Long passages, felt like I was doing another VS. Edmund process? Big focus on genetics and hardly any physiology at all.
Should have VOIDed it.. Couldn't bring myself to click submit, so I sat there thinking about it and just let it time out
.. Now I'm totally screwed.Anyone wanna make a support group hah?
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PS: I found the photoelectric passage hard. Rest of it was decent.
WS: Typical
VR: Kind've on the easy side.
BS: A lot of bioverb, had to read the passages carefully and didn't rely a whole lot on base knowledge really.
WS: Typical
VR: Kind've on the easy side.
BS: A lot of bioverb, had to read the passages carefully and didn't rely a whole lot on base knowledge really.
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Man I'm sort of the opposite of everyone also...
PS- I didn't think PS was horrible but I definitely didnt think it was easy. Lot of questions where I could get it down to two and have to try and reason thru it. I spent a little too much time on the beginning sections, I think, even though I didnt think it was too bad. The oscillation passage/ acids passage/photoelectric passage I found especially difficult, with some other hard qs spread out on some of the other passages.
VR- who the hell knows, seriously....I finished..thats all i can say.
BS- I didnt think this was too bad for some reason...got through it with a couple of mins left over. I mean I definitely didn't get them all right, but I didnt think it was too bad. Thought a lot of the stuff was in the passage or could be inferred from the passage.
WS- My essays were Pullitzer Prize material
PS- I didn't think PS was horrible but I definitely didnt think it was easy. Lot of questions where I could get it down to two and have to try and reason thru it. I spent a little too much time on the beginning sections, I think, even though I didnt think it was too bad. The oscillation passage/ acids passage/photoelectric passage I found especially difficult, with some other hard qs spread out on some of the other passages.
VR- who the hell knows, seriously....I finished..thats all i can say.
BS- I didnt think this was too bad for some reason...got through it with a couple of mins left over. I mean I definitely didn't get them all right, but I didnt think it was too bad. Thought a lot of the stuff was in the passage or could be inferred from the passage.
WS- My essays were Pullitzer Prize material
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Well, I may have totally effed up my BS, but I thought it was totally reasonable. Easier than a lot of my TPR passages....
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Huh... weird. Laughing? I don't know which one you're talking about. I think the last one was Preference.
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Wait a minute.... calculations?! I think I did 2 calculations the whole time. It was almost all conceptual... did you do full calculations for proportions and stuff?
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I'm so glad this thing is over. I thought it was easier than most practice tests (TPR) that I've taken.
PS - my weakness. Highest score I got was a 10 on AAMC9. I think I pulled a 10. I don't recall having more than a few, "what the hell are they talking about?" moments. I had enough time to review all my answers and felt confident on most. Relieved there wasn't any optics or serious electromagnetism... VERY conceptual. Didn't need any of my memorized equations.
VR - totally doable. Not any worse than the majority of TPR passages and AAMC practice tests. Made a stupid mistake and skipped a passage and only realized it with 5 minutes to go. Oops! I guess those 5 minute drill exercises were put to good use!!
BS - not too bad. Almost all of the material was in the passages. That one about glomerular damage kinda stunk. One passage on biochem, one passage on OChem. More chemistry and genetics than I expected, but those were my strong suits, so I'm happy.
Does anyone know if they really intend on making us wait until Oct 14? (per AAMC spreadsheet)
PS - my weakness. Highest score I got was a 10 on AAMC9. I think I pulled a 10. I don't recall having more than a few, "what the hell are they talking about?" moments. I had enough time to review all my answers and felt confident on most. Relieved there wasn't any optics or serious electromagnetism... VERY conceptual. Didn't need any of my memorized equations.
VR - totally doable. Not any worse than the majority of TPR passages and AAMC practice tests. Made a stupid mistake and skipped a passage and only realized it with 5 minutes to go. Oops! I guess those 5 minute drill exercises were put to good use!!
BS - not too bad. Almost all of the material was in the passages. That one about glomerular damage kinda stunk. One passage on biochem, one passage on OChem. More chemistry and genetics than I expected, but those were my strong suits, so I'm happy.
Does anyone know if they really intend on making us wait until Oct 14? (per AAMC spreadsheet)
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Overall...I don't know.
PS: Much simpler than expected. The general trend lately has been a warning to expect a lot of calculations and non-AAMC like PS but I dont think there were many calculations on my test. I remember there being like 3 calculation questions overall. It was straightforward. I finished early and went over my answers....felt like a good start.
VR: yes, the passages were easy to read. and I had no real problems with the Milton one bc I actually wrote a paper on Paradise Lost once. BUT thats not the point! The point is whether you answered the questions correctly, not whether the reading was enjoyable. I generally don't have trouble reading VR passages but I still struggle in that section bc the answers are not what I think they are. So I really don't know. I started out reading slowly and over-analyzing everything; only to screw up my timing. I ended up having to read quickly thru the last 2 or 3 passages in order to finish on time. so whatever.
WS: pretty good.
BS: wtf indeed. I knew to expect verbal-like BS but I had NO idea it was going to be so deep. I felt like "where the hell are the discretes?!" lol. And to make it worse, I think the bad passages had a lot of questions attached to them. The cell-cell adhesion one was a killer. For this section, what was key was knowing how to extract information quickly and efficiently from dense passages. In terms of orgo, there were 2 passages and 1 discrete.
Btw, does anyone know if experimental questions come only in the form of discretes or can they be passage based as well? I really hope some of those BS ones were experimentals.
At least the good thing is that I was extremely calm throughout the entire test and even in face of difficult questions I did not stress at all. I guess maybe thats bc I knew I could retake in January if anything goes wrong since I'm not applying this cycle. We'll see in a month....
PS: Much simpler than expected. The general trend lately has been a warning to expect a lot of calculations and non-AAMC like PS but I dont think there were many calculations on my test. I remember there being like 3 calculation questions overall. It was straightforward. I finished early and went over my answers....felt like a good start.
VR: yes, the passages were easy to read. and I had no real problems with the Milton one bc I actually wrote a paper on Paradise Lost once. BUT thats not the point! The point is whether you answered the questions correctly, not whether the reading was enjoyable. I generally don't have trouble reading VR passages but I still struggle in that section bc the answers are not what I think they are. So I really don't know. I started out reading slowly and over-analyzing everything; only to screw up my timing. I ended up having to read quickly thru the last 2 or 3 passages in order to finish on time. so whatever.
WS: pretty good.
BS: wtf indeed. I knew to expect verbal-like BS but I had NO idea it was going to be so deep. I felt like "where the hell are the discretes?!" lol. And to make it worse, I think the bad passages had a lot of questions attached to them. The cell-cell adhesion one was a killer. For this section, what was key was knowing how to extract information quickly and efficiently from dense passages. In terms of orgo, there were 2 passages and 1 discrete.
Btw, does anyone know if experimental questions come only in the form of discretes or can they be passage based as well? I really hope some of those BS ones were experimentals.
At least the good thing is that I was extremely calm throughout the entire test and even in face of difficult questions I did not stress at all. I guess maybe thats bc I knew I could retake in January if anything goes wrong since I'm not applying this cycle. We'll see in a month....
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Seriously, me too...doe anyone else not remember a laughing passage? Because I sure as hell don't. I do recall paradise lost, complexity, plato, liscencing, sun/moon, preference...I dont think I skipped one, but i cant for the life of me recall the other passage
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same here. I didn't have any "laughing" passage and I have NO clue my 7th passage was. so weird.
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PS-I really didn't like this section. I thought the photoelectric passage and simple harmonics passage were tricky and very conceptual. I barely did any calculations and didn't use any of my formulas throughout the test. Sometimes I just found myself taking a step back and trying to figure things out logically without thinking of formulas. PS seemed harder to me than any of the aamc practice tests (i took all of them).
VR- i never know with this section. it seemed okay. the hardest one for me was the paradise lost passage about satan.
writing--it was fine. i don't care too much about this section. i was able to write two good essays in the time given and thats all i wanted.
bs- this was by far the best section in the test. i was worried for ochem but was pleasantly surprised. i thought the biology was tricky but very doable. it really made you think and after getting through it i felt really proud of myself. although, i found out later that i made one stupid mistake. i missread the question. i seem to be going against the crowd on this section. i thought ps was much harder than this one. ya there was a lot of reading but lots of the answers could be gathered from the passage and other times you didn't even need the passage to answer the questions.
overall impression, i took the test in los angeles and while it was going on there was some train accident near by so during my test there were lots of ambulances and fire trucks driving by. the noise cancelling headphones didn't do much for me. they were annoying if anything. i think my main issue was that i wasn't as focused as i wanted to be during ps. about 25 minutes into the test it hit me that this is the real thing and i need to focus.
im really hoping it turns out for the best. i hope everyone achieves their goals. i hope none of us ever have to go through this experience ever again. good luck to all!
VR- i never know with this section. it seemed okay. the hardest one for me was the paradise lost passage about satan.
writing--it was fine. i don't care too much about this section. i was able to write two good essays in the time given and thats all i wanted.
bs- this was by far the best section in the test. i was worried for ochem but was pleasantly surprised. i thought the biology was tricky but very doable. it really made you think and after getting through it i felt really proud of myself. although, i found out later that i made one stupid mistake. i missread the question. i seem to be going against the crowd on this section. i thought ps was much harder than this one. ya there was a lot of reading but lots of the answers could be gathered from the passage and other times you didn't even need the passage to answer the questions.
overall impression, i took the test in los angeles and while it was going on there was some train accident near by so during my test there were lots of ambulances and fire trucks driving by. the noise cancelling headphones didn't do much for me. they were annoying if anything. i think my main issue was that i wasn't as focused as i wanted to be during ps. about 25 minutes into the test it hit me that this is the real thing and i need to focus.
im really hoping it turns out for the best. i hope everyone achieves their goals. i hope none of us ever have to go through this experience ever again. good luck to all!
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Was it the space ladder one?
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Yes! Halleluja! You are a saint my friend!
Man, Im really surprised I forgot that one, it was one of the more fun ones..maybe i got it confused with a physics passage lol
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!! That ladder thing was so weird and the voice of the narrator was really unique... like hard to analyse b/c it was so dorky, it was hard to take the passage seriously~
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okay now i'm getting worried. space ladder???? what?? maybe there's a third version or am i just not remembering...
maybe there's a third version or am i just not remembering...- Joined
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There's waaaayyyy more than 3 versions...so don't worry w2e! I'm sure you finished all the passages!okay now i'm getting worried. space ladder???? what??
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haha. Thanks berken! So I'm the only one here who didn't have a space ladder passage or a laughing passage, and who still can't figure out what the hell she had! amazing
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haha totally true. It was such a change of pace from all the other serious passages about literature, society, and those obscure psychological concepts. Man, maybe i actually forgot about it because i enjoyed it..enjoying an mcat passage???? *shudder* what are things coming to.....
hey dont sweat exhale, if you were watching your time, i'm sure you didn't miss one. dont worry soon enough someone will post it on here and youll breath a sigh of relief...trust me, theres no way u missed one
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Just wondering what percentage do people feel they guessed on. Even educated guessing
Ps 35%
Vr 30%
BS 40-60%
HA!!!!!!
Ps 35%
Vr 30%
BS 40-60%
HA!!!!!!
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This is what is freaking me out... I've had a couple practice tests where I guessed and educated guessed on a lot of questions, and got extremely lucky with relatively decent scores. I've had tests that worked the other way around. So even if you feel comfortable with your educated guess, you can never be 100% sure otherwise it won't be an educated "guess." I keep thinking I'll end up with bad luck, and getting the wrong answer of the two I was able to eliminate it to.
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man, I really hope not. Forgetting an entire passage especially on VR ,with its notoriously horrible scale, would be really really bad. If someone posts what my "missing" passage was that would be awesome. I'll try to keep thinking and I'll post it if I figure it out.
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I did most of my guessing in VR and BS.
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I don't know per section... I'd say I was comfortable with 80% overall. The rest I got down to (what I thought was) the best two.
Who knows... God, I can't wait for my scores...
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I felt like I guessed more than the normal AAMC practice tests, but was almost always able to eliminate a couple for each one. Hopefully I got lucky.
Here is what i think:
Took my test at the fremont,ca center. if anyone plans on taking it there in the future the testing center was really good. no problems.
PS - Being the first section got a little nervous on the discretes but generally was alright and very much like the AAMCs EXCEPT for the lack of CALCULATIONS... this irritated me since i'm good with that..
VR - Fewer Humanities passages which IMO are my weakness so that was good but EXACTLY like AAMC. i recommend practicing with only AAMC and leave Kaplan and EVEN EK out.
WR- Bs'ed them... turned my brain half off.. i dunno if that was a good idea..
BS - Very long passages, agreed with everyone.. material didn't seem to difficult thou... seemed more passage based and less discretes / psedo-disretes... the edmans was hard...
All we can do is hope for the best. May you all get 45T =P
Took my test at the fremont,ca center. if anyone plans on taking it there in the future the testing center was really good. no problems.
PS - Being the first section got a little nervous on the discretes but generally was alright and very much like the AAMCs EXCEPT for the lack of CALCULATIONS... this irritated me since i'm good with that..
VR - Fewer Humanities passages which IMO are my weakness so that was good but EXACTLY like AAMC. i recommend practicing with only AAMC and leave Kaplan and EVEN EK out.
WR- Bs'ed them... turned my brain half off.. i dunno if that was a good idea..
BS - Very long passages, agreed with everyone.. material didn't seem to difficult thou... seemed more passage based and less discretes / psedo-disretes... the edmans was hard...
All we can do is hope for the best. May you all get 45T =P
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I don't recall the 'laughing' pasage in VR.
No ****, I gave a presentation on the "Space Elevator" while as an undergrad. I was still confused due to how they word their passages and answer choices, though.
Me? ...that test chewed me up and spit me out!
What to say, didn't void... am I in trouble?
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MORE...
I'm screwed.
Here is too you Sept. 13th people... your time is coming like creeping death!...
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Figured I'd throw in my 9/12 experience:
I signed up for the test in June, studied with a Kaplan course all summer and unfortunately realized about 1.5 weeks before the test that I wasn't prepared. This was too late to get my $200 back, so I followed SDN advice and sat for the test as practice to void at the end. I still studied regularly up until the test date, and kind of had the urge to not void, but I am glad in the end that I did - know I can do better when I take in Jan:
PS: I thought it was straightforward, but it was my biggest weakness in taking practice tests, and a very tense section because it was the first one and I wasn't used to the testing center etc (though I guess no one is). I thought it was alright though, pretty much like the AAMC.
VR: Not great, but good. I've definitely had VR sections that felt better, but not bad by any means. There were a few passages that were just too long, but none that were out of this world where you can't even make any sense out of the passage.
WS: Great. Good prompts and I've always liked this section because it feels like a break.
BS: GOD!!! I may have voided my test - even if I wasn't planning on it - simply because of this section. I've never had a BS section that was so passage based, it absolutely wiped me out. I also hated the two orgo passages and didn't nail the discrete questions like normal. I know it was probably hard for everyone, but I felt blown away by the bio.
Altogether, I didn't think the test was bad. I've definitely had worse on practice, but the BS was a big shocker. Taking the test to void was the best practice I could ever hope for, and I really know what I need to work on for January.
I signed up for the test in June, studied with a Kaplan course all summer and unfortunately realized about 1.5 weeks before the test that I wasn't prepared. This was too late to get my $200 back, so I followed SDN advice and sat for the test as practice to void at the end. I still studied regularly up until the test date, and kind of had the urge to not void, but I am glad in the end that I did - know I can do better when I take in Jan:
PS: I thought it was straightforward, but it was my biggest weakness in taking practice tests, and a very tense section because it was the first one and I wasn't used to the testing center etc (though I guess no one is). I thought it was alright though, pretty much like the AAMC.
VR: Not great, but good. I've definitely had VR sections that felt better, but not bad by any means. There were a few passages that were just too long, but none that were out of this world where you can't even make any sense out of the passage.
WS: Great. Good prompts and I've always liked this section because it feels like a break.
BS: GOD!!! I may have voided my test - even if I wasn't planning on it - simply because of this section. I've never had a BS section that was so passage based, it absolutely wiped me out. I also hated the two orgo passages and didn't nail the discrete questions like normal. I know it was probably hard for everyone, but I felt blown away by the bio.
Altogether, I didn't think the test was bad. I've definitely had worse on practice, but the BS was a big shocker. Taking the test to void was the best practice I could ever hope for, and I really know what I need to work on for January.
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You know, it's entirely possible that the "laughing" and the "space elevator" passages were experimental for the aamc. It seems that the other 6 passages were on most of everyones' tests... I'm not going to go into great detail but I had the "laughing" passage, which was about laughter in humans and chimps and how we laugh in social situations, etc. Quite an interesting read. I really hope this was the last one I take cuz I can't do this anymore. I hate hate HATE verbal. I seem to always do much better in practices. But anyway, this time I thought it wasn't impossible. Maybe a little on the easy side (which always scares me a little).. but I guess it's better than being on the hard side where I just guess on everything.
Physics is my strong subject. I pretty much breezed through it until the end when I got caught up with a few calculations. I ended up getting them literally in the last minute. Most of the other stuff was straightforward. Lots of conceptual stuff. The chem was much less confusing than it usually is. Lots of "gimmies", which also makes me a little afraid. but whatever.. i didnt void, and speculation is pointless...
W: who cares? i finished my essays, barely, but I never really care about them...
Bio I thought was not that bad.. just unconventional. First off, there was a lot of genetics.. stuff that I definitely wouldn't have known if I was not taking this genetics course at my grad school. Seriously, I felt like some of the questions were tailored to my genetics class... I definitely had to concentrate a lot harder than usual... there was a passage about some liver receptor that pretty much threw me until the end. I think there was only one question on that passage that I guess on. Many of the discretes were genetics based: mendelian, pedigrees, population (go figure), and molecular genetics.. Weird that I didnt review any of those except in my molecular genetics class. I was pretty much cruising though this section until about 6 minutes left when these two questions in the liver receptor passage threw me off.. oh well... cant get em all...
I actually took this test with the intention of voiding if I wasnt confident (usually I feel like if it was hard, it was hard for everyone and just stick it out)... this is my 3rd mcat this year btw. the first one I voided and the second one I bombed verbal. But whatever
Physics is my strong subject. I pretty much breezed through it until the end when I got caught up with a few calculations. I ended up getting them literally in the last minute. Most of the other stuff was straightforward. Lots of conceptual stuff. The chem was much less confusing than it usually is. Lots of "gimmies", which also makes me a little afraid. but whatever.. i didnt void, and speculation is pointless...
W: who cares? i finished my essays, barely, but I never really care about them...
Bio I thought was not that bad.. just unconventional. First off, there was a lot of genetics.. stuff that I definitely wouldn't have known if I was not taking this genetics course at my grad school. Seriously, I felt like some of the questions were tailored to my genetics class... I definitely had to concentrate a lot harder than usual... there was a passage about some liver receptor that pretty much threw me until the end. I think there was only one question on that passage that I guess on. Many of the discretes were genetics based: mendelian, pedigrees, population (go figure), and molecular genetics.. Weird that I didnt review any of those except in my molecular genetics class. I was pretty much cruising though this section until about 6 minutes left when these two questions in the liver receptor passage threw me off.. oh well... cant get em all...
I actually took this test with the intention of voiding if I wasnt confident (usually I feel like if it was hard, it was hard for everyone and just stick it out)... this is my 3rd mcat this year btw. the first one I voided and the second one I bombed verbal. But whatever
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hey, i was wondering if ya'll could help me come up with a list of the sci passages. Here is what i remember (not necessarily in order)
Physics:
1. Kinetics
2. was there one about titrations? what was this one generally about
3. Definitions of Acid/Base
4. Enthalpy/entropy rxn
5. Laminar Flow
6. Damped Oscillation
7. Photoelectric, current, intensity, etc.
Biology
1. M. Gravis - disfuntion of ACH receptors
2. Edman Degradation
3. Notch Pathway - Disfunction of Kidney (two protein ligands binding, etc.)
4. Genetics one about fur color
5. JCV virus
6. 2nd orgo one about that big molecule, lol dunno
7. was there one about odor receptors? if so, what was it about, or was that just a discrete
I cant remmeber anything. I was way too nervous.
Physics:
1. Kinetics
2. was there one about titrations? what was this one generally about
3. Definitions of Acid/Base
4. Enthalpy/entropy rxn
5. Laminar Flow
6. Damped Oscillation
7. Photoelectric, current, intensity, etc.
Biology
1. M. Gravis - disfuntion of ACH receptors
2. Edman Degradation
3. Notch Pathway - Disfunction of Kidney (two protein ligands binding, etc.)
4. Genetics one about fur color
5. JCV virus
6. 2nd orgo one about that big molecule, lol dunno
7. was there one about odor receptors? if so, what was it about, or was that just a discrete
I cant remmeber anything. I was way too nervous.
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I remember all those sections. I thought the Notch pathway passage was very difficult. I woke up this morning feeling sick. Really, I don't know how I did. I am going to try to be spiritual about thing... what's meant to happen will... And I am usually more logical than that. But a horrible score will crush me.
I hope everyone did well, or at least are satisfied with their scores. You guys deserve it!!!!
I hope everyone did well, or at least are satisfied with their scores. You guys deserve it!!!!
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yea i hate mcat, I havent slept since the night before the exam and its the day after the exam now , i was sooooo nervous at the beg. i think thats why i missed most of the ones i did in phys cuz of that, like i realized i added 9+2 = 10 after the time went up, and to make things worse, my ex just happened to be taking the mcat the exact same time as I was, and his seat was next to mine!!! and guess who I saw drop him off...his current bf, the one with whom he had a 3 month anniversary with 2 months after we broke up, so yeahhhhh
, i was sooooo nervous at the beg. i think thats why i missed most of the ones i did in phys cuz of that, like i realized i added 9+2 = 10 after the time went up, and to make things worse, my ex just happened to be taking the mcat the exact same time as I was, and his seat was next to mine!!! and guess who I saw drop him off...his current bf, the one with whom he had a 3 month anniversary with 2 months after we broke up, so yeahhhhh
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i hated that slug passage
VR was harder than in May i thought.
PS was easier than 5/27
BS was a little better than 5/27 in my opinion still B-S!
VR was harder than in May i thought.
PS was easier than 5/27
BS was a little better than 5/27 in my opinion still B-S!
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Btw, I remember now what VR passage it was that I was "missing"!!
I had a passage no one here has mentioned yet: humans and nature. I didnt miss anything afterall.
I had a passage no one here has mentioned yet: humans and nature. I didnt miss anything afterall.
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i had to void it I felt pretty good about PS, but when I got to the verbal.. I just couldn't concentrate. I was seating next to the door, and even though I was wearing headphones nothing helped...unfortunately, other test takers didn't care about anyone else.. they just slammed the door..and some idiot opened the door to the testing room and started to talk to the proctor!!! so everyone could hear him!! I got really mad and just couldn't get myself back together..
Please respect each other!
I guess it was just not my day.. I took mcat on Aug. 26th for the first time. I was pretty confident during the exam, but thought I guessed on too many questions since I was running out of time.. so I decided to retake it in 2 weeks... Bad idea, just wasted 210$ and tons of my precious neurons lol
I looked at the bio section and was kinda happy, cuz it seemed a lot harder than Aug. 26th one.. guess, I would've voided it anyway..
Has anyone else voided this test, ot it was just me who found it hard?
I felt pretty good about PS, but when I got to the verbal.. I just couldn't concentrate. I was seating next to the door, and even though I was wearing headphones nothing helped...unfortunately, other test takers didn't care about anyone else.. they just slammed the door..and some idiot opened the door to the testing room and started to talk to the proctor!!! so everyone could hear him!! I got really mad and just couldn't get myself back together.. Please respect each other!
I guess it was just not my day.. I took mcat on Aug. 26th for the first time. I was pretty confident during the exam, but thought I guessed on too many questions since I was running out of time.. so I decided to retake it in 2 weeks... Bad idea, just wasted 210$ and tons of my precious neurons lol
I looked at the bio section and was kinda happy
, cuz it seemed a lot harder than Aug. 26th one.. guess, I would've voided it anyway..Has anyone else voided this test, ot it was just me who found it hard?
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PS: the titration one was acid/base stuff and I think redox, too...
BS: The second orgo one was the protecting group one with all the O's.
The last one was taste/odor receptors.
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I didn't void my test, but would have if I was under different circumstances. I am post-graduate and unemployeed, so I need to try to get into med school this year. And although I studied for about 4 months, and I have always tested well, I feel like this test may have done me in.
Has anyone ever stayed up for a long time and then tried to read or write something complicated. The words just blur together as if you are reading a foreign language. That is how I felt.
Has anyone ever stayed up for a long time and then tried to read or write something complicated. The words just blur together as if you are reading a foreign language. That is how I felt.
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yea i hate mcat, I havent slept since the night before the exam and its the day after the exam now
Well, try what I did last night. I celebrated it being over. I stuffed my face with a delicious burrito, came home, watched an episode of House, stuffed my face with chocolate and downed 2 glasses of wine. It was amazing. Then I passed out in bed and slept in this morning.
Sorry about the boyfriend stuff...That sucks. I'm sure your score will be fine.
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I ate, watched an episode of lost, complained to my gf (she's already a med student in chicago), then went out in center city philly for the first time in forever
exactly. Didn't it feel great? If I had anyone to go out with on a Thursday night...well, I probably wouldn't have anyway. I'm a glass of wine and go to bed kind of girl
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have all of you guys taken advanced bio classes? I'm a non-traditional student and only took general biology and one semester of human anatomy and physiology. I found the bio section difficult to comprehend in those 70 min..
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