Can't believe I am posting here after visiting this thread countless times. Surreal!
1) Your individual scores and composite score.
May 18 test
PS 12
Verbal 13
BS 14
MCAT total 39(still in disbelief)
2) The study method used for each section.
I tried doing Sn2ed's schedule. It was tough...and I'm on my gap year so I don't even have classes! It's tough because it's a lot...and if you're DOING IT RIGHT, YOU WILL FALL BEHIND. Yes. You will. (Well I guess, 90% of us will). This is because not all topics are created the same. Some will be harder for you and you will take longer to go through them. Don't treat this schedule as a checklist that you must tick off...it's just a guide. Know thyself and adjust if need be. I skipped the 1001 questions because it took too much time. I decided that I will do them if I'm having trouble with a particular concept. I also decided not to do the re-reads after every week... because it's kinda IMPOSSIBLE I did write on a notebook though when I'm going through a chapter...I have always been the kind of person who takes USEFUL NOTES (the operative word here is useful) when I studied as an undergrad, so I kept doing that. Useful notes is not the same as regurgitating the TBR text. I often made flowcharts and tables to hammer in key differences or similarities (ex. mitosis v. meiosis, sympathetic vs. para). Give yourself a few extra weeks before starting Sn2ed's schedule. See if it works and adjust if you must.
PS I am a bit weak in physics and I'm also around three years out from my physics 1 class. Although I can get A's on physics, it doesn't come naturally to me as it would other people. I thought Gchem was pretty easy during undergrad so I wasn't too worried about that. However, when I started doing prep, it turned out that Gchem wasn't as easy as I thought! Anyway, onto my prep..
TBR Gchem and Physics is your BESTFRIEND and WORST ENEMY. It will scar you, but it will be worth it. I feel like my physics improved so much because of TBR. More importantly, I really benefited from their POE (process of elim.) and TURBO short-cuts. How come we, as undergrads, were never taught to do math that way? But that's besides the point. Seriously, though. Eat this up. I know my PS grade is not amazing, but a 12 is solid. I don't think I would have gotten a 12 without TBR. Also, during my MCAT, I felt pretty confident after the PS section because I feel like I was able to answer everything and nothing stumped me. I knew I still made mistakes, but that initial boost of confidence is oh so crucial in maintaining my momentum.
Verbal Admittedly, I didn't prep for verbal as much as I should. More like...I didn't prep much at all. I tried a few passages from EK 101 and TPR, and I was scoring pretty okay. (Two to three wrong on a difficult passage, perfect on some, one wrong here and there). I decided to focus on PS and BS because of this. My main practice for verbal was the AAMC practice exams pretty much!
BUT, please don't do this.
I scored pretty well but I think that's because I love to read and have pretty good comprehension and critical thinking skills. As a Women's Studies minor, I read tons of dense material towards the end of my undergrad, and was used to reading verbose articles from the humanities. AAMC tests were a good resource though. I went over the things I got wrong and was really able to get a feel of how AAMC wants you to answer verbal (ultimately, they dictate what the right answer is!)
BS I might be in the minority here because I adored TBR Bio. I know, I know. It's way too detailed...but I feel like the details made sense. It fit with other concepts, and they constantly hammer certain stuff on you, which I think is really helpful. Also, I come from a strong research background, so again, I maybe in the minority when I say that I love research-based Bio passages. I think that's why I got that 14 in Bio. Still can't believe it though!
I was a few years out from Ochem, and was very intimidated by it...but...the Ochem they will test you on is quite basic. Make it your friend. Say hi to Ochem. Know sn2, sn1, e1,e2 COLD. Know the conditions that favor each. Look at AAMC's topic list on Ochem and know all the reactions. You don't have to memorize the mechanisms, just look at the reactions and have a feel of what the product will look like. If you know Ochem, then you know that certain mechanisms are just different iterations of the protonate this-this gets charged-this one leaves scenario.
3) What materials you used for each section?
TBR (except verbal) - amazing, amazing resource.
AAMC official guidebook - to get a feel of AAMC questions...especially for Bio!
EK 101 and TPR verbal (barely.. like I said, I didn't prep as much as I should)
TPR hyperlearning books (used it for content, since I'm non-trad and a few years out from my other pre-reqs)
4) Which practice tests did you use?
AAMC practice tests
3- (11,12,10) 33
4- (10,13,11) 34
5- (10,11,13) 34
7- (10,11, 12) 33
8- (10,11,11) 32
11- (10,10,12) 32
This is when I started to panic. Yes, 8 and 11 are harder tests but I also found that most of my mistakes in PS is due to lack of content knowledge (as in not knowing the equations). I felt like I don't want to come in to the test not knowing that (rho x v x g) is different from (rho x g x h). I know 32 is still a solid score (although I'm hoping for 34+) but I also knew that a 32 on a practice exam could mean a 30 on the actual..or less than that. So, I decided to postpone from April 26 to May 18...
I spent the next few days relaxing actually... (felt like I was too stressed when I took the 8 and 11 AAMCs).. and solidified my physics content as much as I could..
9- (13,11,11) 35
10- (12,11,12) 35
Real MCAT (12, 13, 14) 39
I am as shocked as you are. I was dreaming of a 36, but know that a 34 is more likely. I am still in disbelief. I think I performed well under pressure and the post-game analysis I did on my tests were successful. I wish I could say that there was a big secret behind the jump in my score, but there's none. I didn't prep perfectly, but I prepped smartly. Towards the end, I hammered on my weaknesses because I feel like I got the other things down. My background in research helped me immensely in Bio...and I did my best to remain excited for every passage during verbal.. I was literally forcing a smile every passage and acted like that passage is the best thing I've read in ages.
Word of caution: I do feel that certain TBR chapters "prep" you for the AAMC practice tests. If you master TBR, you will see crazy high scores on certain AAMC sections. I distinctly remember certain experiments or question stems that are pretty similar between TBR and AAMC practice tests. Hence, some people might get some inflated scores on their practice tests. Yes, there is a chance that you will see the same styles of questioning on the real MCAT, but seeing the same experiments? I doubt it. Hence, when studying using TBR, don't just memorize the experiment-- understand the concepts behind it.
5) What was your undergraduate major?
Bio major, Women's Studies minor
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
It will be tough. Expect that you will fall behind, you will get crappy practice scores, and you will break down from time to time. It's fine. It's normal. Have a strong support system (boyfriend, girlfriend, family, etc.) and let them know what you're going through. They won't completely understand (why are you studying too much? you'll be fine!) but it helps if they know.
If you are down, take a break. I didn't take the required breaks when I first started the schedule because I was a bit behind. Since I'm trying to catch up and was not taking breaks...I just broke down and was not very productive for weeks. Have someone police you and keep you back on track if this happens. You are not a robot, you're human, so give space for human-like detours. If you're having difficulties on a chapter, look for a youtube video on it... if it's physics or gchem, do more practice problems. It will start to stick.
I didn't "get" most physics chapters until I was doing 3/3 (the last 1/3 of the question set). Seriously. It took me that long. It's fine. You will be fine. However,
don't skip on a concept and simply wish that it won't be on your MCAT. My MCAT focused on a very narrow set of topics for PS... remember, everything is fair game, and they can ask 5 questions about a topic that you skipped on because you felt like it was too hard and would never come up anyway.
The most important piece of advice:
TAKE IT WHEN YOU'RE READY*. I have a 3.9 gpa and strong ECs, and all that's left is my MCAT. If I rushed, I would have gotten a 32 or 33...which is fine, but pretty average for California. Because I took my time, and took it when I was ready, that 39 is now opening more doors for me! If you prep wisley, it's worth it.
*You will never feel completely ready. The scope is too wide and everything is fair game. But if you covered everything and finished all TBR practice questions, all AAMCs, and went over them... you're as close to ready as can be.
P.S. Don't do what I did for Verbal. I think I got that score through years of developing solid critical thinking skills. Since I already had that, all I had to do was understand how AAMC wants me to answer certain questions. I think that's why I got that jump in my verbal score. That and making funny faces so I remained excited for every passage.
7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
On and off for a year! Graduated June 2012...started reading some TPR content around Sept and Oct, took a break Nov, did some reading again on Dec. This is because I'm a non-trad and took some of my prereqs at least 3 yrs before. Started doing Sn2ed's sched on Jan 2013...fell behind...picked myself up around March 2013. Realized that I won't make it to the April 26 test.. postponed to May 18...and it's GOLDEN!