aamc 3r???? tell me i'm not alone!!!

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poppytart

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I just got done with the test and my score went down a good six points from when I took 4r a few days ago...i didn't even do this poorly on those much more difficult tpr practice exams. I know some people thought it was easy??? I'm totally freaking out...sorry I can't help it :( . Please tell me that my crap score is not representative of the way mcat tests are written now....i knew I should've listened to my friend and not taken this test because it was too old...i'm bummed :( . The style of writing is different from more recent tests, right?

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poppytart said:
I just got done with the test and my score went down a good six points from when I took 4r a few days ago...i didn't even do this poorly on those much more difficult tpr practice exams. I know some people thought it was easy??? I'm totally freaking out...sorry I can't help it :( . Please tell me that my crap score is not representative of the way mcat tests are written now....i knew I should've listened to my friend and not taken this test because it was too old...i'm bummed :( . The style of writing is different from more recent tests, right?

You are not alone, it was my worst mark too, I took it as a confidence boost and was shocked at how bad I did! I too found the style of writing very different and wish I did not take it. I actually did post this on SDN about two weeks ago titled "AAMC 3R wierd or what" and some people said they did not do so hot on it either, some did amazing.

Anyways, the consensus seemed to be, like any other test, just review the answers, try to learn from them and move on!!

Good Luck :cool:
 
P.S.,

just out of curiosity, how did you find 4R? I was debating whether or not I should take it b/c it is old too and I do not want the same experience as I had with 3R. I am wondering if I should just focus on AAMC 5-9?

How did you find 4R and have you taken any of 5-9?

;) :) :oops: :D
 
bambina01 said:
How did you find 4R and have you taken any of 5-9?

;) :) :oops: :D
This link accurately expresses my experience with 3R-8:
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/ptfaqs.htm#howold
aamc said:
How old are the MCAT Practice Tests, and which one is best?

The current offerings of MCAT Practice Tests were administered as "live" forms in the mid 1990's through 2000. The dates they were administered, however, is really not important. Each test is representative of the current MCAT, updated with the 2003 changes and revised scoring tables. Because they are all authentic MCATs, they are all good examples of MCATs.
 
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poppytart said:
I just got done with the test and my score went down a good six points from when I took 4r a few days ago...i didn't even do this poorly on those much more difficult tpr practice exams. I know some people thought it was easy??? I'm totally freaking out...sorry I can't help it :( . Please tell me that my crap score is not representative of the way mcat tests are written now....i knew I should've listened to my friend and not taken this test because it was too old...i'm bummed :( . The style of writing is different from more recent tests, right?

Dood, so gald you posted this. I just took 3r today also as a confidence booster and I definitly did worse on it than my last two practice tests. I'm not freaking out yet but it does make me feel better that other people are in the same boat as I am.

moral of the story: don't listen to SDNers talk about how easy and hard certain tests were. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. At least I hope.
 
bambina01 said:
P.S.,

just out of curiosity, how did you find 4R? I was debating whether or not I should take it b/c it is old too and I do not want the same experience as I had with 3R. I am wondering if I should just focus on AAMC 5-9?

How did you find 4R and have you taken any of 5-9?

;) :) :oops: :D


I took 4r and I found it to be actually pretty easy...which is opposite of what most people are posting on SDN. Many people consider it one of the toughest out of the aamc tests. I, however, found aamc 8 to be extremely difficult. I feel that 8 is the all-knowing predictor of what my real mcat scores are going to be. I took the mcat last august and did much better on 4r-7r and crashed when it came down to test 8. Unfortunately, test 8 was closest to my actual score. I think you should go ahead and take 4, but be careful, the verbal scale is very very steep. Good luck! Hopefully you'll find your test results for 4r more pleasing than 3r!
 
poppytart said:
I took 4r and I found it to be actually pretty easy...which is opposite of what most people are posting on SDN. Many people consider it one of the toughest out of the aamc tests. I, however, found aamc 8 to be extremely difficult. I feel that 8 is the all-knowing predictor of what my real mcat scores are going to be. I took the mcat last august and did much better on 4r-7r and crashed when it came down to test 8. Unfortunately, test 8 was closest to my actual score. I think you should go ahead and take 4, but be careful, the verbal scale is very very steep. Good luck! Hopefully you'll find your test results for 4r more pleasing than 3r!


thanks poppytart and good luck to you too! Although, now I am more nervous to take test 8!! did you also find that reading comprehension plays more of a factor in test 7-8? did notice a difference in 7-8 v.s. 4-6?
i.e. 7-8, more info is actually in the passage?

:D :D :D
 
bambina01 said:
thanks poppytart and good luck to you too! Although, now I am more nervous to take test 8!! did you also find that reading comprehension plays more of a factor in test 7-8? did notice a difference in 7-8 v.s. 4-6?
i.e. 7-8, more info is actually in the passage?

:D :D :D

Honestly, my performance on tests 4r-7r were about the same...it was just 8r that took a big dip (and turned out to be one point off from my actual score). Now, this was last year around August. This year, I have only take 3r and 4r so far and all the TPR practice exams. My performance on the TPR ranged between a 22 (1st test) to a 27 (last test). Those exams were really hard! Then I took 4r and did really well, almost in the 11s for the sciences. Everything was going great up until I hit 3r haha. Well, I am taking 8 this weekend at the actual Princeton center...and this, to me, will let me know where I really stand. I will let you know how it goes and cross your fingers that it is good news!

As for the reading comprehension...I felt that 3r had a lot of reading comprehension as opposed to 4r (well, maybe except for some of those bazaar biology passages). I can't really remember for the other tests, but I believe that they are all about the same. As soon as I retake 8 I will let you know more, right now I can't remember much from those others tests except for my scores!

Which exams have you taken so far and how have your scores been? Are you planning on taken test 9? I am planning on taking 9 next Wednesday! Good luck with everything too!
 
poppytart said:
Honestly, my performance on tests 4r-7r were about the same...it was just 8r that took a big dip (and turned out to be one point off from my actual score). Now, this was last year around August. This year, I have only take 3r and 4r so far and all the TPR practice exams. My performance on the TPR ranged between a 22 (1st test) to a 27 (last test). Those exams were really hard! Then I took 4r and did really well, almost in the 11s for the sciences. Everything was going great up until I hit 3r haha. Well, I am taking 8 this weekend at the actual Princeton center...and this, to me, will let me know where I really stand. I will let you know how it goes and cross your fingers that it is good news!

As for the reading comprehension...I felt that 3r had a lot of reading comprehension as opposed to 4r (well, maybe except for some of those bazaar biology passages). I can't really remember for the other tests, but I believe that they are all about the same. As soon as I retake 8 I will let you know more, right now I can't remember much from those others tests except for my scores!

Which exams have you taken so far and how have your scores been? Are you planning on taken test 9? I am planning on taking 9 next Wednesday! Good luck with everything too!


I have taken 5R, 6R, and 3R and got 22, 26, 18-boo on 3R. I'm not the typical SDN er getting 35,36,37 on everything (though I wish I was), I am a mature student and have been out of school for quite some time.

My focus is not so much on number of practice tests, but quality. I took TPR course last year and found it really really detailed and did terribbly on the MCAT last summer, so I am staying away from Princeton this year. I have mainly been using EK and Princeton to help clarify (they do explain things well). I am hoping to reach a 30.

Just from reading SDN a lot, (study procrastinating), I think its good to focus on the horses mouth- that is the AAMC exams-I want to take them and go over my answer choices thoroughly. I am planning to take 7R this Friday and 8 and 9 the following two Fridays. Now I will try to squeeze 4R in there somewhere. I'll let you know in this thread how that goes and you let me know how 8 and 9 go too.

Good Luck :luck: and lets hope we smoke it :cool: (sorry, those symbols brighten up the boring MCAT studying..... ;)
 
Yeah guys... I can definately relate. I took PTest 8 today and did horrible. I took 4R and got an 18. Then, I took 5R and got a 21. 6R was the highest with a 22. 7 was a 20 and a 19 for P8. I just wanted hit the low 20's but as of now I am definately scared about April. Also, my major shock was in PS which I though was super hard. Does anyone whose taken the 2005 APRIL MCAT last year and practiced with Test#8 have any correlations with real MCAT score? I am studying hard for PT9, but i dunno....it looks like it only gets harder... :-(

PS- i was also a former kaplan student last summer... they left me lost.



bambina01 said:
I have taken 5R, 6R, and 3R and got 22, 26, 18-boo on 3R. I'm not the typical SDN er getting 35,36,37 on everything (though I wish I was), I am a mature student and have been out of school for quite some time.

My focus is not so much on number of practice tests, but quality. I took TPR course last year and found it really really detailed and did terribbly on the MCAT last summer, so I am staying away from Princeton this year. I have mainly been using EK and Princeton to help clarify (they do explain things well). I am hoping to reach a 30.

Just from reading SDN a lot, (study procrastinating), I think its good to focus on the horses mouth- that is the AAMC exams-I want to take them and go over my answer choices thoroughly. I am planning to take 7R this Friday and 8 and 9 the following two Fridays. Now I will try to squeeze 4R in there somewhere. I'll let you know in this thread how that goes and you let me know how 8 and 9 go too.

Good Luck :luck: and lets hope we smoke it :cool: (sorry, those symbols brighten up the boring MCAT studying..... ;)
 
ks2005 said:
Does anyone whose taken the 2005 APRIL MCAT last year and practiced with Test#8 have any correlations with real MCAT score?

Dont mean to scare anyone.......but 7/8 were most like last years April MCAT in my opinon. The earlier ones were way easier, I scored 3-4 points better on those than my actual MCAT wheras PT 7/8 were both within one point of my actual score. Those other ones just seem to easy, and I wish they didnt even publish them anymore. I was mad after the MCAT last april due to the lack of correlation with the earlier practice tests and the actual dificulty of the test, specifically the physical sciences section.
 
1SwtWrld said:
Dont mean to scare anyone.......but 7/8 were most like last years April MCAT in my opinon. The earlier ones were way easier, I scored 3-4 points better on those than my actual MCAT wheras PT 7/8 were both within one point of my actual score. Those other ones just seem to easy, and I wish they didnt even publish them anymore. I was mad after the MCAT last april due to the lack of correlation with the earlier practice tests and the actual dificulty of the test, specifically the physical sciences section.

I agree...for some reason I do way better on 4-7 then I did on test 8. I took test 8 today and scored a 24, and I feel like crap :( . My test 8 score last august was one point away from my actual score and by far the most indicative, in my opinion. A 24 sucks. I too felt that the physics was sooo hard! I only scored a 9 on the physics...especially passage x. Just review the test carefully...thats what I've been doing so far.

Has anyone taken test 9? How is it compared to 8? Was the physics section a killer like 8? Good luck everyone!
 
bambina01 said:
I have taken 5R, 6R, and 3R and got 22, 26, 18-boo on 3R. I'm not the typical SDN er getting 35,36,37 on everything (though I wish I was), I am a mature student and have been out of school for quite some time.

My focus is not so much on number of practice tests, but quality. I took TPR course last year and found it really really detailed and did terribbly on the MCAT last summer, so I am staying away from Princeton this year. I have mainly been using EK and Princeton to help clarify (they do explain things well). I am hoping to reach a 30.

Just from reading SDN a lot, (study procrastinating), I think its good to focus on the horses mouth- that is the AAMC exams-I want to take them and go over my answer choices thoroughly. I am planning to take 7R this Friday and 8 and 9 the following two Fridays. Now I will try to squeeze 4R in there somewhere. I'll let you know in this thread how that goes and you let me know how 8 and 9 go too.

Good Luck :luck: and lets hope we smoke it :cool: (sorry, those symbols brighten up the boring MCAT studying..... ;)


Test 8 still sucks even though it is my second time through! Did you take any practice tests this week? I hope yours are looking better than mine! :)
 
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The only practice I did last week was with P7. forgot to mention I scored 2 more pts higher in the physical sciences section of that test than on the P8 that i took yesterday......
i hope the test is not like P8 at all, but resembles P7 more.

poppytart said:
Test 8 still sucks even though it is my second time through! Did you take any practice tests this week? I hope yours are looking better than mine! :)
 
poppytart said:
Test 8 still sucks even though it is my second time through! Did you take any practice tests this week? I hope yours are looking better than mine! :)

Wow, this is really wierd. I took PT7 Friday and scored 21 (all sevens across the board)!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I am a little surprised b/c my verbal is usually higher than everything else and I always seem to be a point or two down in phys and bio (with phys being the hardest). I did feel the verbal chapters were very dense and convuluted, but a 7? :scared:

Now I'm a little worried to take PT 8, but honestly guys, all we can do is review the answers and try to learn as much as we can.

I agree PT 5,6, seem to be easier now, so maybe just focus on learning as much as possible from PT 7, 8, 9. Seriously, what else can we do? the exam is just less than three weeks away.....

I plan on doing PT 8 this Friday, lets hope to God there is an increase!!
I will post my results here, in the meantime, back to reviewing PT 7 (which now that I am reviewing it, it seems a lot easier..I guess we should just try to stay as calm as possible...

Good Luck to all and I'll be back soon :idea: :D :smuggrin:
 
Hey Bambina-

I just finished taking 7 today and I am in complete shock...this is the best I've ever done before. I scored a 11P, 8V, and 12B. Yeah, the eight in verbal needs improvement. I've been hitting the books hard and maybe thats why my score improved, or maybe it could be that test 7 hit all my strong points. If this were the real deal I would be more than satisfied. I guess not I can finally say that I "hit" the 30! Good luck with everything and your test this friday. The most helpful tip that I've gotten so far was to not read the passages on the physics section. Thanks to that advice is how I've actually been able to finish the section and score higher. Let me know how it goes!
 
poppytart said:
Hey Bambina-

I just finished taking 7 today and I am in complete shock...this is the best I've ever done before. I scored a 11P, 8V, and 12B. Yeah, the eight in verbal needs improvement. I've been hitting the books hard and maybe thats why my score improved, or maybe it could be that test 7 hit all my strong points. If this were the real deal I would be more than satisfied. I guess not I can finally say that I "hit" the 30! Good luck with everything and your test this friday. The most helpful tip that I've gotten so far was to not read the passages on the physics section. Thanks to that advice is how I've actually been able to finish the section and score higher. Let me know how it goes!

Hey Poppytart!

Congratulations on hitting that 30!!! that must feel awesome....I am hoping that I will hit it too with PT8-thought I'm a bit nervous...

When you say you have been hitting that books hard do you mean reviewing? practice questions? looking over old stuff? It seems like whatever you did worked well!!

You really found that NOT reading the Physics passage helped? I have heard this before, but from my memory of PT7, wern't some of the questions sort of from the passage? Or do you mean that you are going back to the passage only if you need to?

I was supposed to take PT8 this Friday, but something has come up, I have to postpone it to either Sat or Mon. But I will post my results here when I do..

What is your strategy for the next two weeks? I still have to do PT 9-when are you doing that?

Good Luck with everything.....I'll be back soon.....PRAYING I somehow hit that magical 30....... :smuggrin: (I love that little symbol)...
 
What was AAMC smoking when they wrote the verbal section for 7R??? The high road/low road passage, atonality, moral responsiblilty, decline and fall passages ALL SUCKED HARD. I wrote in august and i do not remember reading passages this dense. I pray that I don't get screwed with a verbal section this tough.
 
sweetstuff25 said:
What was AAMC smoking when they wrote the verbal section for 7R??? The high road/low road passage, atonality, moral responsiblilty, decline and fall passages ALL SUCKED HARD. I wrote in august and i do not remember reading passages this dense. I pray that I don't get screwed with a verbal section this tough.


For real...that verbal was really hard! I thought I was finished with that high/low road passage and filled in the bubbles only to turn the page to realize that I had another four questions to go!
 
i posted this before, but the actual one i had talked about robotic tuna and all kinds of random junk that confused me. but i guessed well that day and it worked out.
 
bambina01 said:
Hey Poppytart!

Congratulations on hitting that 30!!! that must feel awesome....I am hoping that I will hit it too with PT8-thought I'm a bit nervous...

When you say you have been hitting that books hard do you mean reviewing? practice questions? looking over old stuff? It seems like whatever you did worked well!!

You really found that NOT reading the Physics passage helped? I have heard this before, but from my memory of PT7, wern't some of the questions sort of from the passage? Or do you mean that you are going back to the passage only if you need to?

I was supposed to take PT8 this Friday, but something has come up, I have to postpone it to either Sat or Mon. But I will post my results here when I do..

What is your strategy for the next two weeks? I still have to do PT 9-when are you doing that?

Good Luck with everything.....I'll be back soon.....PRAYING I somehow hit that magical 30....... :smuggrin: (I love that little symbol)...

Thanks! I just wish that was the real test! Well, as for hitting it hard...I bought the EK 1001 books on every subject and decided that I would finish them. In the beginning i didn't like them because I thought they were too detailed...but I have nearly exhausted all the practice material that TPR gave me. So, I have been doing questions from every section everyday. I really think that the biology 1001 book is good. Their answer explanations are really helpful. Outside of that, I review everything before I go to bed for about 20 minutes.

My plan for the next two weeks is this...I have 3 more aamc tests to take-5, 6, and 9. I am taking 6 on the Monday before the mcat...to keep up my endurance and as a booster (that was my highest score the last time I took it!). I plan on doing a verbal test everyday, since this is my weak spot. I also do 3 verbal passages at night before I review. I make sure to go over my mistakes very carefully. I am going to finish all those 1001 books one week before the test. So, the week leading up to the mcat I will be purely reviewing everything...especially the old aamc tests, 1001 books etc.

I am taking 9 this Sunday...hopefully my scores won't fluctuate because that worries me! Good luck with everything and hope this helps. I know it seems like a lot to do all in one day, but I feel its crunch time right now and I can still improve my score if I don't give up. I've worked way to hard now to stop! And besides, I am actually finally starting to see some progress! Good luck with test 8 and 9! :)
 
ismelllikepoop said:
i posted this before, but the actual one i had talked about robotic tuna and all kinds of random junk that confused me. but i guessed well that day and it worked out.


Wait, did you take it in August? I remember people complaining about that passage! I had two killer passages with ten questions each...well at least it felt like it! I just need to be focused on the real day. All this practice won't help unless you are in the right mindset the actual day of the test.
 
poppytart said:
Thanks! I just wish that was the real test! Well, as for hitting it hard...I bought the EK 1001 books on every subject and decided that I would finish them. In the beginning i didn't like them because I thought they were too detailed...but I have nearly exhausted all the practice material that TPR gave me. So, I have been doing questions from every section everyday. I really think that the biology 1001 book is good. Their answer explanations are really helpful. Outside of that, I review everything before I go to bed for about 20 minutes.

My plan for the next two weeks is this...I have 3 more aamc tests to take-5, 6, and 9. I am taking 6 on the Monday before the mcat...to keep up my endurance and as a booster (that was my highest score the last time I took it!). I plan on doing a verbal test everyday, since this is my weak spot. I also do 3 verbal passages at night before I review. I make sure to go over my mistakes very carefully. I am going to finish all those 1001 books one week before the test. So, the week leading up to the mcat I will be purely reviewing everything...especially the old aamc tests, 1001 books etc.

I am taking 9 this Sunday...hopefully my scores won't fluctuate because that worries me! Good luck with everything and hope this helps. I know it seems like a lot to do all in one day, but I feel its crunch time right now and I can still improve my score if I don't give up. I've worked way to hard now to stop! And besides, I am actually finally starting to see some progress! Good luck with test 8 and 9! :)

Hey Poppytart,

Good Luck! That sounds like a great plan! Thanks for the study info re: now and the next two weeks.... ;)

WOW, I am amazed that you are able to get through all the 1001 books, I have them and found them way too detailed, so I left them too, but now, I just won't have the time to go throught them. :idea:

I think doing PT6 the Monday before the MCAT is a great idea, that was my highest mark too so far, so it will be a good confidence boost. :cool:

Again, I think the most important thing all of us can do is review all answer chioces thoroughly...

I will be taking PT8 this Monday and PT9 the Monday before the MCAT (the same day you are doing PT6).....I agree, lets hope there is no fluctuation and its all up from here....

Back to the books....and "attitude is everything for success" : we will succeed!! :smuggrin: :smuggrin: :smuggrin:

P.S., let me know how PT 9 goes on Sunday.... :luck:
 
sweetstuff25 said:
What was AAMC smoking when they wrote the verbal section for 7R??? The high road/low road passage, atonality, moral responsiblilty, decline and fall passages ALL SUCKED HARD. I wrote in august and i do not remember reading passages this dense. I pray that I don't get screwed with a verbal section this tough.

Thank goodness, I thought it was just me, thats the lowest I have ever scored on verbal that bloody PT7 but I'm surprised the scale does not reflect how hard we thought it was, shoould we not have got a better mark? :confused:

I have yet to do PT8 and PT9, I hope the verbal is better.....
 
I haven't taken 9 yet, but the VR section on 8 is MUCHHHHH better than that on 7.
 
did you all buy the aamc exams off the website? If so.. after buying it, does the site allow you to print them out (hardcopy)? Thanks!
 
Teerawit said:
I haven't taken 9 yet, but the VR section on 8 is MUCHHHHH better than that on 7.

Phew, :cool:

last thing I need is to be deomoralized on what is my strength just before the test! good luck!
 
kev1n said:
did you all buy the aamc exams off the website? If so.. after buying it, does the site allow you to print them out (hardcopy)? Thanks!

I just bought them as hardcopies (paper and pencil), but if you but them off the web, I am PRETTY sure you are able to print them asa PDF file, just call them, but I have seen other people post on this site that they could be printed- good luck!! :luck:
 
on one more note about the structure of the actual MCAT.. will the passages for the sections be page AFTER page or will the passages be back TO back with the questions.. the reason i ask is becasue on the printed mcat exmas that i have.. the verbal passage is on one side of the page while the questions are on that same page's back (other) side.. and thus is very inconvenient having to shuffle back and forth.. i hope it's not like that on the real mcat but please let me know. thanks!!
 
kev1n said:
on one more note about the structure of the actual MCAT.. will the passages for the sections be page AFTER page or will the passages be back TO back with the questions.. the reason i ask is becasue on the printed mcat exmas that i have.. the verbal passage is on one side of the page while the questions are on that same page's back (other) side.. and thus is very inconvenient having to shuffle back and forth.. i hope it's not like that on the real mcat but please let me know. thanks!!

for the most part they are on the same side...but i believe that if a passage has two pages of questions, there is a possibility that they may be on opposite sides...i really can't remember for sure though. I know what you are talking about about with the printing...I always try to make sure that my verbal section is printed so that the majority of the passages have one side with the passage and the questions on the other side. it would just be cruel of aamc to structure their test so we would have to constantly be flipping back and forth!

Have you been working the EK 1001 verbal book as well?
 
bambina-

I forgot to mention...about not reading the passages...I don't read any of the physics passages but definitely DO refer back to them when asnwering questions. You kinda get a knack for which questions require going back to the passage. I find however that when i don't know the answer to a question, it is usually almost always mentioned somewhere in the passage. The reason why I do this is because i am horrible with the timing in physics, and now I can actually finish in time! I don't do this for the biology section though...I think its more helpful to read before...but I have tried it a few times and you can stll answer a lot of questions without reading the passage. I almost never read the orgo because it just explains the mechanism that is illustrated...but, if its like hypothesis A and B type passages and pertinent info about the mechanism than I do read it. Hope this didn't confuse you! I've been trying a lot of different methods to see which one works I am most comfortable with these strategies! You kinda gotta just pick and choose which works best with you through trial and error :)
 
poppytart said:
bambina-

I forgot to mention...about not reading the passages...I don't read any of the physics passages but definitely DO refer back to them when asnwering questions. You kinda get a knack for which questions require going back to the passage. I find however that when i don't know the answer to a question, it is usually almost always mentioned somewhere in the passage. The reason why I do this is because i am horrible with the timing in physics, and now I can actually finish in time! I don't do this for the biology section though...I think its more helpful to read before...but I have tried it a few times and you can stll answer a lot of questions without reading the passage. I almost never read the orgo because it just explains the mechanism that is illustrated...but, if its like hypothesis A and B type passages and pertinent info about the mechanism than I do read it. Hope this didn't confuse you! I've been trying a lot of different methods to see which one works I am most comfortable with these strategies! You kinda gotta just pick and choose which works best with you through trial and error :)

Hey Poppytart,

thanks for the clarification re: physical section, its true, some of the questions you can do wothout reading the passage, I guess I get a bit nervous, thinking I'll miss something.... :eek:

I am taking PT8 right now, I am on the lunch break, so far it seems intense, little scared to score it, told myself I would wait until the whole test is over.... :D

How did PT9 go?

:smuggrin: :smuggrin: :smuggrin: (this symbol cracks me up...)

Wow, can't believe the exam is so close now.....is anyone getting any sleep?
I'm afraid of burnout, I want to do as much as possible, but I don't want to burn out before the exam? any thoughts? :idea: :scared: :sleep:
 
bambina01 said:
I just bought them as hardcopies (paper and pencil), but if you but them off the web, I am PRETTY sure you are able to print them asa PDF file, just call them, but I have seen other people post on this site that they could be printed- good luck!! :luck:

The tests can be printed but the answers cannot be.
 
kev1n said:
on one more note about the structure of the actual MCAT.. will the passages for the sections be page AFTER page or will the passages be back TO back with the questions.. the reason i ask is becasue on the printed mcat exmas that i have.. the verbal passage is on one side of the page while the questions are on that same page's back (other) side.. and thus is very inconvenient having to shuffle back and forth.. i hope it's not like that on the real mcat but please let me know. thanks!!

it kind of varies with BS and PS...but i recall that (in VR at least), you open the book and the passage is on the left and related questions start either at the bottom of that page or at the top of the next page. if there are many questions (and the AAMC likes to put 1-2 passages with 10 questions each), they will go on to the back of that page, and then they skip a page so as to start the next passage on the left again.

hope that helps.
 
Okay! I just took test 9 today...and I got a 10P 9V 10B. I am happy that it didn't fluctuate! Especially after my test 8 fiasco. I thought the physics and verbal were definitely doable...but the biology I struggled this time. It was a lot of reading comprehension. I felt like I was doing another verbal section. Overall, I know its not steller like some of the 30++ scores that people have been posting, but for me, I am pretty darn happy :) If I keep it up, I can hopefully boost up the scores a lil here and there!

How did you do on test 8 bambina?
 
poppytart said:
Okay! I just took test 9 today...and I got a 10P 9V 10B. I am happy that it didn't fluctuate! Especially after my test 8 fiasco. I thought the physics and verbal were definitely doable...but the biology I struggled this time. It was a lot of reading comprehension. I felt like I was doing another verbal section. Overall, I know its not steller like some of the 30++ scores that people have been posting, but for me, I am pretty darn happy :) If I keep it up, I can hopefully boost up the scores a lil here and there!

How did you do on test 8 bambina?

Hey Poppytart,

Congratulations on your great score, you are definitely getting that 30 on April 22!! :) ;) :idea:

As for me, today was a bad day..I scored one point lower in all sections of PT8 than PT 7: I got 6P, 6V, 6B...I was about ready to fall apart when I was scoring...I'm not sure what went wrong, I thought it was okay when I was doing it, I can't seem to figure out why it was so much harder...I have been reviewing all week, so I was expecting to do better.... :eek: this has really shook my confidence... :confused:

Now I'm pretty scared to take PT9, because its my last one and I was hoping for an upward trend, but I seem to be fluctuating.. :scared:

Good luck with studying this week, I guess all I can do is keep reviewing and moving on..... :(
 
bambina01 said:
Hey Poppytart,

Congratulations on your great score, you are definitely getting that 30 on April 22!! :) ;) :idea:

As for me, today was a bad day..I scored one point lower in all sections of PT8 than PT 7: I got 6P, 6V, 6B...I was about ready to fall apart when I was scoring...I'm not sure what went wrong, I thought it was okay when I was doing it, I can't seem to figure out why it was so much harder...I have been reviewing all week, so I was expecting to do better.... :eek: this has really shook my confidence... :confused:

Now I'm pretty scared to take PT9, because its my last one and I was hoping for an upward trend, but I seem to be fluctuating.. :scared:

Good luck with studying this week, I guess all I can do is keep reviewing and moving on..... :(

hey b...don't worry too much about 8. most everyone i've talked to said that they felt 8 was significantly harder than test 7. i found that the VR and BS were definitely harder. fluctuating scores is ok...esp. b/c some tests feature your weak areas while others feature your strong areas. just try your best to review carefully and understand why you made the mistakes you did so that you don't make them on test day! :)

good luck...i am also taking PT 9 this weekend. We can do it@!!!!! :-D
 
scentimint said:
hey b...don't worry too much about 8. most everyone i've talked to said that they felt 8 was significantly harder than test 7. i found that the VR and BS were definitely harder. fluctuating scores is ok...esp. b/c some tests feature your weak areas while others feature your strong areas. just try your best to review carefully and understand why you made the mistakes you did so that you don't make them on test day! :)

good luck...i am also taking PT 9 this weekend. We can do it@!!!!! :-D

Thanks Scentimint, I'm glad that others found it really hard too...

I am giong to try to put the actual score out of my mind and just review.....
Your point about the score fluctuation is very valid, there was a lot of g-chem on this one and obviously I need to review it!!

Good luck on PT 9 this weekend and soon it will all be over..... :luck:
Your right: attitude is everything for success: we will succeed :cool:
 
bambina01 said:
Thanks Scentimint, I'm glad that others found it really hard too...

I am giong to try to put the actual score out of my mind and just review.....
Your point about the score fluctuation is very valid, there was a lot of g-chem on this one and obviously I need to review it!!

Good luck on PT 9 this weekend and soon it will all be over..... :luck:
Your right: attitude is everything for success: we will succeed :cool:

Hey Bambina! Don't worry about test 8...it was really hard! Just learn from all the mistakes and don't be discouraged when taking test 9. The physics is better than test 8 in my opinion. Try to see if there are any apparent patterns to your mistakes. Keep on reviewing and doing practice problems...it sucks big time but I think it really makes a drastic difference in the end. When are you planning on taking test 9?
 
Hello all,

I e-mailed AAMC about whether I receive the exams ordered online, right away but i never got an answer.. I'm just wondering if ordering online in pdf form will allow me to receive it right away or would i have to wait a few days for it? Maybe someone can help me outwith his? Thankss
 
kev1n said:
Hello all,

I e-mailed AAMC about whether I receive the exams ordered online, right away but i never got an answer.. I'm just wondering if ordering online in pdf form will allow me to receive it right away or would i have to wait a few days for it? Maybe someone can help me outwith his? Thankss

they should be active immediately. go to www.e-mcat.com and login with your username and password. you should see the free test 3R and any other tests that you ordered on that main screen. if you don't see that, then you should e-mail AAMC. but they won't send you the test...you have to go to your e-mcat account and download and print the PDF if you want to print it (or you can take it online).

hope that helps.
 
poppytart said:
Hey Bambina! Don't worry about test 8...it was really hard! Just learn from all the mistakes and don't be discouraged when taking test 9. The physics is better than test 8 in my opinion. Try to see if there are any apparent patterns to your mistakes. Keep on reviewing and doing practice problems...it sucks big time but I think it really makes a drastic difference in the end. When are you planning on taking test 9?

Hey Poppytart!

thanks, I'm relieved to hear that PT8 seems to be a really hard one, I was reviewing it and I do feel the questions were a bit wierd, just kinda off the wall.... :mad: I saw patterns in things that seemed to be asked all the time, but not patterns in what I keep getting wrong...it seems to be all over the place.. :mad:

But alas, I will just keep reviewing..... :rolleyes:

Hey have you been doing the EK 1001 Verbal or the 16 minimcats? Seeing as I also went down in verbal, I thought I better practice some verbal btw now and the next ten days, I had only planned to do the AAMC Exams, but maybe I need more practice..any thoughts? :idea:

I am taking PT9 this Saturday (April 15th)- last one! PRAYING that I'll get at least 9's....we'll see, I will post here when I do it...

Good Luck for PT6- that one was a good one-your taking it this weekend right?
 
bambina01 said:
Hey Poppytart!

thanks, I'm relieved to hear that PT8 seems to be a really hard one, I was reviewing it and I do feel the questions were a bit wierd, just kinda off the wall.... :mad: I saw patterns in things that seemed to be asked all the time, but not patterns in what I keep getting wrong...it seems to be all over the place.. :mad:

But alas, I will just keep reviewing..... :rolleyes:

Hey have you been doing the EK 1001 Verbal or the 16 minimcats? Seeing as I also went down in verbal, I thought I better practice some verbal btw now and the next ten days, I had only planned to do the AAMC Exams, but maybe I need more practice..any thoughts? :idea:

I am taking PT9 this Saturday (April 15th)- last one! PRAYING that I'll get at least 9's....we'll see, I will post here when I do it...

Good Luck for PT6- that one was a good one-your taking it this weekend right?

Hey bambina! How'd your test 9 go? Hopefully you didn't find it as difficult as test 8! I just finished taking test 5r...and I got a 11P/11V/10B. Bio used to be my strong point, but it looks like its regressing and I don't know why??? I guess those convulted passages that require some verbal skills are killing me. I do fine on most of the passages missing around 1, at most two, but then there are two passages that hurt me. :( Oh well, if I score anywhere around this for the real exam I will be more than happy...so I can't complain! I hope things are going well for you! Only one week left and it's all over! yay :)
 
I am so glad I found this thread! I just finished taking 3R and I didn't do as well as I thought I would, at all! (6PS 13VS 9BS; 28 overall). It really stressed me out, especially the 6 in physical sciences, but I have decided, after reading this thread and knowing that I took the practice test at 2am that this was not my best work.

Anyways, thanks everyone for sharing your views and good luck!
 
poppytart said:
Hey bambina! How'd your test 9 go? Hopefully you didn't find it as difficult as test 8! I just finished taking test 5r...and I got a 11P/11V/10B. Bio used to be my strong point, but it looks like its regressing and I don't know why??? I guess those convulted passages that require some verbal skills are killing me. I do fine on most of the passages missing around 1, at most two, but then there are two passages that hurt me. :( Oh well, if I score anywhere around this for the real exam I will be more than happy...so I can't complain! I hope things are going well for you! Only one week left and it's all over! yay :)

Hey Poppytart!!

Who Hoo!! I am feeling a 32-35 for you on the real deal!! Congratulations on another great score!! :cool: ;)

I am taking PT9 on Monday (April 17), I was supposed to take it this morning, but had to go to a surprise party last night and got home really late and the library only opens in the afternoon tomorrow. I don't want to take the last exam under different conditions, so it'll be Monday, when I can do it first thing in the morning! :D :D :D

I found the bio in 5R a little more convuluted also, but if you can still pull off a 10, you are doing awesome! I can't believe its a week away.....I think I feel a little numb now...like wow, it is time.... :smuggrin:

Good luck with everything this week and I will post Monday evg....Cheers,
Bambina ;)
 
poppytart said:
bambina-

I forgot to mention...about not reading the passages...I don't read any of the physics passages but definitely DO refer back to them when asnwering questions. You kinda get a knack for which questions require going back to the passage. I find however that when i don't know the answer to a question, it is usually almost always mentioned somewhere in the passage. The reason why I do this is because i am horrible with the timing in physics, and now I can actually finish in time! I don't do this for the biology section though...I think its more helpful to read before...but I have tried it a few times and you can stll answer a lot of questions without reading the passage. I almost never read the orgo because it just explains the mechanism that is illustrated...but, if its like hypothesis A and B type passages and pertinent info about the mechanism than I do read it. Hope this didn't confuse you! I've been trying a lot of different methods to see which one works I am most comfortable with these strategies! You kinda gotta just pick and choose which works best with you through trial and error :)

Hey Poppytart!

Just finished PT 9 and am sooo relieved, I went up 8 points from PT8!! :smuggrin: :smuggrin: :smuggrin: I got a 9P, 9V, 8B. I know this is not the typical 11's 12's and 13's everyone on SDN gets, but believe me, I'm really happy with this after the PT8 fiaso, my confidence was shot!

I am aiming for a 30, so I just need a couple of more points, I am really hoping that I can get those magic 10's...There was quite a bit of orgo on this test though, I keep hearing of people who have one orgo passage or three passages, its not really my strength, so I hope I get one!

I hope all your studying is going well and good luck on Saturday!! :luck:
 
bambina01 said:
Hey Poppytart!

Just finished PT 9 and am sooo relieved, I went up 8 points from PT8!! :smuggrin: :smuggrin: :smuggrin: I got a 9P, 9V, 8B. I know this is not the typical 11's 12's and 13's everyone on SDN gets, but believe me, I'm really happy with this after the PT8 fiaso, my confidence was shot!

I am aiming for a 30, so I just need a couple of more points, I am really hoping that I can get those magic 10's...There was quite a bit of orgo on this test though, I keep hearing of people who have one orgo passage or three passages, its not really my strength, so I hope I get one!

I hope all your studying is going well and good luck on Saturday!! :luck:

Wow 8 points?? Thats so awesome :clap: !!! Good job! You have a really good chance of hitting that 30! I'm sure you made some stupid mistakes here and there that if you just eliminate those of saturday you'll be good to go! I'm so happy for you!

I just took 6 today and felt that it was really hard. It's weird...the more that I study and the more that I know I come out of the test thinking its harder than before. I guess before I studied a lot it wasn't difficult for me to let go of questions I didn't know...now I feel guilty when I do because I feel like I should know it. Do you ever feel like this? It's weird...but although I feel unsure after I come out of the test I did score higher today than i have ever scored before. So, I guess the moral of the story is that you never really know how well you do...so don't worry if you come outta saturday feeling like you bombed it...because most likely you didnt!

Well, it looks like we are finally set for saturday...bring it on! Hopefully we'll be all smiles when we see our 30! :D
 
poppytart said:
Wow 8 points?? Thats so awesome :clap: !!! Good job! You have a really good chance of hitting that 30! I'm sure you made some stupid mistakes here and there that if you just eliminate those of saturday you'll be good to go! I'm so happy for you!

I just took 6 today and felt that it was really hard. It's weird...the more that I study and the more that I know I come out of the test thinking its harder than before. I guess before I studied a lot it wasn't difficult for me to let go of questions I didn't know...now I feel guilty when I do because I feel like I should know it. Do you ever feel like this? It's weird...but although I feel unsure after I come out of the test I did score higher today than i have ever scored before. So, I guess the moral of the story is that you never really know how well you do...so don't worry if you come outta saturday feeling like you bombed it...because most likely you didnt!

Well, it looks like we are finally set for saturday...bring it on! Hopefully we'll be all smiles when we see our 30! :D

Hey Poppytart!

If you scored higher on 6R than you ever have, than don't overthink it!! Just take the score and run with it! :smuggrin:

The truth is at this point you want to tell yourself "I have studied really hard and have done my best and I am in great shape for test day". This way, not matter what they throw at you, and bear in mind, they may throw some really wacky hard test passage at you, it does not derail you and you maintain your focus throughout the test. :cool:

I know what you mean though, I found the bio a little hard on 9R, and was just being stubborn during the test to 'figure it out', meanwhile the clock was ticking and I was spending like 12 min on a passage (it was the ob, bone reabsorption passage, which for some reason, 1 only got one right on!).
Thats where your point comes in and I know what you mean. I had just reviewed all of that bone resorption stuff and would not "let the passage go" I felt guilty, like I was throwing away easy points that I should be able to get. But we have to be careful not to get caught in a passage and then run out of time... :eek:

I completely agree that if you feel completely unsure after you come out of a test, take that feeling and throw it out! Because you can still do really well!! It all depends on what version of the exam you got, the curve etc..:D

Alas, I think we are set for Saturday and frankly, I am looking forward to it! Bring on that 30!! GOOD LUCK :luck: :love: :luck:
 
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