Your individual scores and composite score
PS – 11
VR – 13
BS – 14
38 R
The study method used for each section
Biology: I know I got a 14 here, so some people might be expecting solid advice, but I have none. You can't underestimate the power of taking the core bio classes seriously. We were hit with a cladogram passage on our test administration, and what review book tells you how to read a cladogram? (Okay, it's admittedly not difficult. The length of the lines represents the time of evolution, but I had to dredge that reminder up from the depths of an organismal bio coures I took 2 years ago.) EK is fantastic review for bio. Mostly, I just spent waaaay too much time and effort on my undergrad core classes. If you get those down cold, you'll be good.
Orgo: I still haven't taken 2nd semester ochem yet, so I technically should have put more effort into this, but didn't feel like memorizing all those reactions would be the best use of my time when my Physical Sciences was so weak. The night before the MCAT, I went over the EK Orgo flashcards and still didn't know most of them. Still, I killed my 1st semester ochem class and had the basics down really well. Could've gotten seriously burned if there had been a passage about aldol condensation or whatever, but I just didn't care enough to do a decent prep for that. Clearly got lucky here.
Physics & Gen Chem: TBR, TBR, TBR!! EK is decent (I used both), but doesn't have enough practice material for you to see a benefit. I think there's a direct correlation between the hours you spend on PS, and your score. It's all just a question of doing enough practice problems (and obviously, spending some time understanding your incorrect answers.) I got 13s on most of my AAMC tests after using TBR. (Yeah, I know, I got an 11 on the real thing. I choked under pressure, I guess.)
Math is key and shouldn't be forgotten about just because most review books don't have a section on it. Have no shame about having forgotten simple math. We use calculators for so much that even though I wouldn't describe myself as bad at math (I got A's in both semesters of college calc, no problem), I *am* bad at doing simple math quickly with a pencil and paper! I didn't admit that to myself, and consequently it took me all of TBR Physics to understand that this was the thing that was holding me back in my score. I did enough practice problems, and it slowly came back. TBR has great quick math tips sprinkled all over the place, and those were always helpful.
Verbal:
Do a thorough post-game analysis on why you missed each verbal question. Here's the golden key to the verbal section: THE MCAT WRITERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT.
No, I didn't agree with their answers 7/10 times I got a question wrong. I thought I was right and they were wrong, that it was all just completely subjective. When I talked to other people about verbal, they said the same thing. There was a real chance here that I could have listened to them, verified my feeling that the test is unfair, and given up. That attitude does you no good.
But the MCAT writers are always right. Why? Because they are the only people whose opinion matters. Yours doesn't. When you get a verbal question wrong, think about their correct answer and try to explain it to yourself until it makes sense. You should begin to start seeing a pattern and get an intuitive sense for how they want you to think. The MCAT writers are always right. Make it your VS mantra. Write it on a post-it and stick it to your computer.
Writing Sample: The morning of the test I logged onto the AAMC mcat site and read their sample essays. Then I checked what EK had to say about the format they recommend (thesis, antithesis, synthesis? I think that was it.) and that was it. I figured I'd wing it. The prompts on my actual test were nice and general, and I just supported the statements with interesting examples that I figured would probably be unique. (i.e. I used an example of the backwardness of the human visual system at one point, and Back To The Future [the movie] as well.)
3) What materials you used for each section?
Bio – EK (sort of. I didn't even go through all of their 30 minute tests, but I did read all of the material multiple times). It was great, I just didn't really feel the need to study it. I definitely support the conventional wisdom of using EK for Bio – I really loved how they presented the material, and the color, as lame as it sounds, is amazingly helpful. Their diagrams rock.
Ochem – EK. If I had been more concerned about the BS section, then I would have used TBR. Since I didn't feel like really LEARNING the mechanisms or reactions (instead just interested in memorizing them quickly so I could get some points on discretes), I felt EK did the job for me. I started studying Ochem 2 weeks before the MCAT and did kind of a lousy job. If I had had to retake, TBR Ochem would have been my first step.
PS – EK and TBR. EK got me from a diagnostic 8 to a consistent 10. TBR got me from the 10 to a consistent 13 (in the last 5 AAMC tests). TBR is golden. (Haha, that said, since my ACTUAL PS score was an 11, I can't blame anybody for raising an eyebrow on this one. All I can say is that it happens. I do believe my score would have been closer to an 8 or 9 if I had used just EK, for what it's worth.)
VR – owned both TBR verbal and EK verbal, cracked both of those books exactly once. (This was laziness, not confidence. I got 8s and 9s on the EK verbal practice tests. It was just too discouraging to do that and I felt PS was a bigger priority.)
I really just used the AAMC tests. TBR verbal has some great tips regarding logic, and after learning how the AAMC writers tend to want you to think, I have to agree that logic is super helpful.
I know we all think we're logical and are capable of logical thinking, but there's a reason that there are entire classes in Logic. It's complicated and systematic, and a skill worth learning. If I hadn't happened to do very well in verbal, I would probably reprep for this section while taking a logic class.
4) Which practice tests did you use?
All AAMC tests. (PS/ VR/ BS)
#3: 9 / 10 / 9 (29)
#4: 10 / 12 / 13 (35)
#5: 10 / 13 / 10 (33)
--- at this point I switched from EK to TBR --
#6: 13 / 14 / 11 (38)
#7: 12 / 12 / 11 (35)
#8: 13 / 11 / 12 (36)
#10: 12 / 13 / 12 (37)
#9: 14 / 13 / 12 (39)
5) What was your undergraduate major?
B.S. in cell biology.
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
OWN THE CONCEPTS. Integrate them. Be able to explain, using thermodynamics and equilibrium dynamics, why titrations work the way they do. Use a titration curve. Then use HCO3- buffering in blood.
Be able to explain, using a circuit diagram, why biochemists and physicists label poles oppositely in electrophoresis and batteries. Now do it again using a galvanic cell diagram. (TBR is really helpful for both of these 2 examples, by the way.)
The delta G equation that everyone hates memorizing is exactly the same equation as the Hasselbach-Henderson equation. Think about it. The HH equation is a special case of the delta G equation. Explain it to yourself, figure it out, and you'll always remember both of them.
The MCAT writers expect you to be able to apply the concepts in this way, so you might as well learn how. Besides, every time you integrate 2 concepts, that's 1 less thing you have to have memorized. (i.e., I don't have the Henderson-Hasselbach equation memorized, but it takes me less than 1 second to derive it by thinking about equilibrium dynamics.)
The MCAT writers also seem to purposefully make the list of required topics so long that you simply CANNOT memorize them all. You have to UNDERSTAND them. Sure, memorization of an equation will get you a point on a discrete, and that's enough to take you up to an 8 maybe. A 10 requires understanding, which is lucky because in the end, understanding those concepts is an easier task than memorizing them all. It just requires more creative study strategies than flashcards, that's all.
7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
Haha, way too long. I did several passes of the material on PS and probably that didn't even affect my score.
Started studying in August, taking lots of breaks to focus on acing my biology classes, since they were all covering material that the MCAT tests (genetics, cell bio, physiology). Geared up more during winter break and powered through the spring semester to take the test on 3/28. I don't recommend studying as long as I did, as long as you can take a semester load of 12 credits or less (which I did.)
Best of luck with studying, guys. The MCAT's a beast, the trick is to not become overwhelmed by it. Make yourself think positively!