Are YOU terrified?

[JulianCrane]

I dunno about the rest of you, but I am really scared of getting these MCAT scores back in a month. I think I did alright, but then again, I did have the evil form FK. I told myself that I was not ever gonna take this test again. Geez, I really don't want to. Anyone else feel the same way?

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[efex101]

Me too, I was doing well on TPR and AAMC practice exams, but I had sucky form CK (tons and tons of gen chem), the bio was super hard, and I am scared as hell. I put in tons of hours, 11 full practice exams and then the 101 verbal! People always say if you put in the time, well, we will see. I really believe this exam is not about putting time into it, there are too many other factors involved, like what form you get, your attitude that *one* day, etc. I wish that it was truly curved, meaning everyone has the same form.

 

[usmaple]

Remember, the more evil the form, the better the curve. Mine was pretty rough too (especially verbal), but I worked my (insert body part here) off to prepare for it, and now I can just sit back and say that I did all that I could and hope for the best.

If it turns out you bombed it, deal with that when you get the scores. But from talking to others, it seems that most people get within about 2 points above or below what they were averaging on the last few practice tests that they took, so if you were doing well I wouldn't even worry about it.

 

[JulianCrane]

I am in a catch-22. I have a good GPA (~3.8) and do lots of stuff, but I think my MCAT score will be at least 27. How will this be perceived my medical schools?

 

[efex101]

I hear you, I am now sitting on a 4.0 and hope to get above a 27. I have talked to various adcoms and they all said, that although the MCAT *is* important, it is not the *only* factor taken into consideration. They look at everything that makes up your application. So the bottom line is that you really will not know until you apply and see what happens. Everyone here is always bent on stating that you need a 30 plus to get in, but that is not true. The average MCAT is about 24 give or take, and the average for accepted students is about 27 give or take, so that said, some people are getting in with below and above 27. Look at Lola for instance, she just got accepted with less than a 30 to a good school, so obviously they looked at her whole package and determined that she was med school material. I will apply to medical school as long as I get somewhat around or above the average of those that took the MCAT, so if I get a 24 or above I am applying period. Now, I hope to do better, I was doing much better on my practice exams, but you never know. I really felt like I bombed the ps and bio sections, but we will see....

 

[usmaple]

Do you guys think that you got a 27 because you felt that you bombed it even though you were doing much better on practices? Seriously, if you were doing much better than 27's on the practice tests, you'll probably do better than a 27 on the real deal. And if you did get a 27 (or even a 24), it's not going to kill you as long as you have good grades (which you both do), experiences, rec's, etc.

 

[JulianCrane]

On my practice tests, I 26-28 territory. I did practice test 5 as study, not taking it under real conditions, and I ended up getting a 32. I just hope that I didn't bomb it. I felt ok when I left the test, but my anxiety is getting the best of me. The Sunday after the test, I got out my human phys book and looked up some questions I had and realized just what I got wrong. But, what I realized some of the ones I got wrong were ones I had already thought I got wrong anyway. My Bio section was killer. I think I'll have a good curve because no one was pleased with FK.

 

[efex101]

I was also in the high 20's and 32 on the last AAMC (VI), my bio sections were always solid in the 10-11 range, verbal was okay in the 9-10, and ps was the worst in the 8-9 range. I do hope to do better or just as good as the practice ones but you never know. I have to say that my bio section was much much more difficult than any of the practice exams I took. The verbal was like the EK 101, and the PS was not too bad but I had much more chem than phys, and I got hung up somewhere and had to bubble in guessing for about 15 questions, ahhh! Many folks that thought they bombed it in previous exams did really well, but some that thought they did not do well in fact did not do well. I just hate the wait, I wish they would give scores 30 days after taking it, you would think that would be enough time to grade the freaking thing! Anyways, I am hoping that if I did not get 30 or above that my gpa, ec's, research, pub, will "round out" the whole picture and some med school will take me.

 

[Echinoidea]

I had MCAT nightmares all last night. I kept getting different score reports. One said PS 4, VR 10, BS 5, and then I got another one but it was all garbled and illegible. I can't believe we have more than a month to go before scores will be released.

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by Echinoidea
I had MCAT nightmares all last night. I kept getting different score reports. One said PS 4, VR 10, BS 5, and then I got another one but it was all garbled and illegible. I can't believe we have more than a month to go before scores will be released.

Ha ha, me too. Aren't we sad? On my nightmare I ended up getting a "B" on the writing sample. I know there isn't even a B, but the dream implied I wrote my essay so badly it was off the charts on the wrong end.

Time for me to get my mind off this thing.

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

So are you definately applying if you get a 24?? I'm sure you'll do better but I'm preparing for the worst too...and then you would say you are taking in august on the application? let me know whats up efex.

Originally posted by efex101
I hear you, I am now sitting on a 4.0 and hope to get above a 27. I have talked to various adcoms and they all said, that although the MCAT *is* important, it is not the *only* factor taken into consideration. They look at everything that makes up your application. So the bottom line is that you really will not know until you apply and see what happens. Everyone here is always bent on stating that you need a 30 plus to get in, but that is not true. The average MCAT is about 24 give or take, and the average for accepted students is about 27 give or take, so that said, some people are getting in with below and above 27. Look at Lola for instance, she just got accepted with less than a 30 to a good school, so obviously they looked at her whole package and determined that she was med school material. I will apply to medical school as long as I get somewhat around or above the average of those that took the MCAT, so if I get a 24 or above I am applying period. Now, I hope to do better, I was doing much better on my practice exams, but you never know. I really felt like I bombed the ps and bio sections, but we will see....

 

[soonerpillow]

I had MCAT nightmares all last night.

I've been having MCAT dreams too, but they're usually about getting my scores back and they're good. Before I took the test, I dreamed I got a 43! woohoo! But then I woke up. After I took the test, I dreamt I got a 38. woohoo! Great score, but for some reason, down 5 points. But then I woke up......hopefully I have prophetic dreams!

 

[efex101]

Yeah, I will apply if I get a 24 or higher. I know that it sounds crazy but for some schools with entering students with averages of 27 there must be some that got in with about 24. Hopefully I will do better, after all that time spent reviewing and taking practice tests, I would hope so. How about you? what score will you apply with? and no I will probly not retake in Aug. I will apply and see what happens. I am not ruining my summer and I will be doing research so I will be busy...

 

[Steinway]

I have this nagging fear in the back of my head that I misbubbled on the physical sciences section since I skipped a few questions, which I normally don't do. Oh well guess we'll have to wait a month to find out what really happened.

 

[dodo2]

I started working on MCAT on a little late, on 7th of April. Was doing reasonably well on practice tests. I need to get at least 34. I too am getting nervous as the D day approaches.

 

[loomis]

i was pretty panicky about the exam for the first week after the exam but i've chilled out a bit...however, i am sure i will be thinking tons about the exam as the scores come up. i had form CN. i thought PS broke me in two; i usually like gen chem but we had some weird passages that i got smoked on. good luck everyone!

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

Originally posted by efex101
Yeah, I will apply if I get a 24 or higher. I know that it sounds crazy but for some schools with entering students with averages of 27 there must be some that got in with about 24. Hopefully I will do better, after all that time spent reviewing and taking practice tests, I would hope so. How about you? what score will you apply with? and no I will probly not retake in Aug. I will apply and see what happens. I am not ruining my summer and I will be doing research so I will be busy...

Hey Efex,

Yeah, I'm sure there are some peeps who get in with a 24....but it is definately pretty tight. I will most likely still apply if I get a 26 or 27, and then consider taking in august. Probably anything below a 26 I wouldn't apply...I would just be afraid of wasting all that money...its a tough call though. Anything above a 27 is a definite green light and no need to retake (in my opinion). And I know what you mean by being busy for the summer, I'm taking 3 or 4 classes (i'm on a 4 quarter system) and might work a couple days of the week. Which leaves not as much time to study as I had for april. Gosh this stuff is driving me nuts. Anyways, I'm sure you'll be all good efex!

BDF

 

[woolie]

Add me to this list, I keep having these awful mood swings where I am mostly in the dumps thinking I should have done this or that, and why didn't I do whatever ...

Since it was my second time I really tried to cover so much more ground and spent most of my time since November methodically (or so I thought) working thru problems and filling in the cracks. I guess it didn't help that the economy here is so awful and I spent alot of time looking for work, etc. Still, when I sat down yesterday and added up a conservative estimate of hours I worked studying for this test, I thought holy cow, am I dumber than I realize that I could work so hard and my scores just hovered around 30? (Max was 31).

Like I mentioned somewhere else, the first time I took it I ended up guessing on like, 12 + questions PER section (except Bio) and couldn't even finish PS and Verbal. This time I was calm and more confident taking the test but dang! reading all these contrary posts of people's expereinces I just don't know what to think. People feel they flunked and get a 10, or think they did well and get a 7; or they score 6 points higher that their Kaplan, or 6 points lower than their Kaplan. Argh ... ! I don't know what to think ....

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

Originally posted by woolie
Add me to this list, I keep having these awful mood swings where I am mostly in the dumps thinking I should have done this or that, and why didn't I do whatever ...

Since it was my second time I really tried to cover so much more ground and spent most of my time since November methodically (or so I thought) working thru problems and filling in the cracks. I guess it didn't help that the economy here is so awful and I spent alot of time looking for work, etc. (being unemployed gave me alot of time off, tho except it was pretty stressful ... ) Still, when I sat down yesterday and added up a conservative estimate of hours I worked studying for this test, I thought holy cow, am I dumber than I realize that I could work so hard and my scores just hovered under 30? (Max was 31).

I guess I really wanted to do well for myself and I feel I have maybe let myself down by (here we go!) not doing such and such or this or that ... Yes I would do it differently studying but then who wouldn't? So yes, I am terrified too.

Your feelings are shared woolie (sort of weird, one of my buddies back home we used to call woolie). I keep pondering what I would do differently, but the thing is, I felt like I studied a lot for this test and if I have to take it again, I don't think I would have as much time since I will be either taking a class load or working. I guess if I do have to retake I'll just have to find enough time, but will it be enough to improve (max 28 on AAMC). ??? I guess realistically I'm just hoping it isn't going to be less than a 27 because with a 27 at least I feel as though I have a decent shot and down from there it gets tight. Anyways, hang in there everyone. Even though this type of conversation has be frequent of late, please share if you want.

BDF

 

[woolie]

Hey BobbyDylanFan, I just finished editing my post and see your quote! I guess my feelings get all over the place with this topic and so I went back to edit whereas I think I like the original post more.

This is what anxiety and insecurity do to me, I mean it's only my future goals and plans we're talking about here ... I have got to relax about this

I chose the name Woolie because I liked the sheep farms in Britain and thought it was a pretty decent life, a friendly dog by your side and a big flock of sheep - nice!

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

That is creative! We called our friend woolie because his last name was woolever....not because he was real hairy or anything... Anyways, alls good...hopefully we will all do two points higher than our practice exams. Did you guys all see Jon Orsay's response about the april 03 exam on the EK site. He was saying (according to credible sources, the physics wasn't any harder)...I find that to be a somewhat untrue...every single person I talked to, including people who have taken the mcat more than once (althouh a few i knew said it wasn't TOO bad) and had the same forms said it was harder than the practice tests .

BDF

 

[JulianCrane]

I guess all we have to do is just what and hope for the best. Whatever happens, happens, right?

 

[coredump]

Count me in. I wouldn't be as nervous about my scores had it not been for some stupidity during the PS section: running out of time and leaving answers blank. I'm real scared that that may have caused me to misbubble. That whole "no timer" thing really threw me off for the PS (as if the difficulty of the section wasn't enough).

I agree that reading about the experiences of other posters isn't much comfort. Sure, you can go +/- 2 points, but for mere mortals, that's a big deviation. It could mean the difference between applying and sitting out.

It's just real hard fighting the "so much is riding on this test" feeling. I think I'm even more scared of getting a borderline score. That would simply mean I'll be applying and playing this "waiting game" for the entire year. This month has been long enough - can't imagine doing this for an entire year.

 

[deez4life]

i've come to a resolution about this godforsaken test...

like many others, i too was worrying myself to death about how the april mcat went... why did i freeze up on 3 not-so-tough bio questions with a couple minutes to go? what if i misbubbled? what if i totally missed the point of a passage and got it entirely wrong? :rollseyes:

then i realized that it doesnt matter... the mcat, amcas, everything... if i **** it up, so what, i'll go get an mba... really, in the grand scheme of things, i found that stressing about something already out of my control is useless... i am satisfied and grateful in knowing that life will go on and i'll be alright, regardless of what test score comes to my mailbox in june...

i know its hard to look at the big picture, but try it... the mcat is just test... your happiness and sanity is more important

 

[JulianCrane]

It still annoys me that this test is not truly curved! Just wait, I'll get the test where the curve is most brutal. Then I'll apply and have to play the waiting game. . .gosh, isn't life great when you're waiting for the next shoe to drop?

 

[efex101]

See that is what also ticks me off big time! It is not truly a curved exam...oh well we will just have to wait and see.

 

[BushBaby]

Originally posted by efex101
... above the average of those that took the MCAT, so if I get a 24 or above I am applying period.

DITTO!!!

 

[Catalyst]

I agree with mr. deez over there; although I am still agonizing about my MCAT scores, it is helpful to look at the big picture (although mine does not involve taking the GMAT and pursuing an MBA . My alternative plans would be taking the MCAT next april and working at a nonprofit in NY (establishing residency) while reapplying. I think formulating alternative plans do go a long way in coping with apprehension over one's MCAT scores. If I somehow scored like my Kaplan diagnostic, I'll just make sure that my studying is that much more thorough come next April. Hell, I might actually be better off having a year between college and med school. It helps to know that life is not going to stop if my MCAT scores are low; life is about a lot more than April 26, 2003. In the end, I'll still become a doctor and win the Nobel prize one day

Just my two shillings,

Sachin

 

[draggoon01]

what do you guys mean by saying it's not truly curved?

 

[efex101]

A truly curved exam would entail *everyone* taking the exact same exam but the MCAT is not like that. There are many different forms at least 20 given so hence it will never be a true curve.

 

[JulianCrane]

So much for having a standardized test, right?

 

[deez4life]

even with all those forms, you're still being compared to hundreds, even thousands of other test-takers

so you should still be getting a normalized distribution since the test sample is quite large regardless... you can't really blame the aamc... if they gave everyone the same form, the amount of cheating would be out of control... you'd have people on the west coast getting 40+ scores because they got the scoop from their east coast buddies three hours earlier ... i think the aamc has made the mcat as "standardized" as possible

 

[latinfridley]

u guys need to chill. worrying aint gonna do a thang for ya

 

[Cal_Irish04]

I can tell that I'm subconsciously terrified due to random dreams about getting bad scores. I thought I did pretty well and I usually don't wig out about stuff like this. Oh well, I just wake up and have a good laugh about it. The weirdest part is that I do well on one section and not on the other two. Recent dream...bs 15, ps 6, vr 8. It usually rotates from dream to dream....very strange, hehe.

 

[woolie]

I was told that 30,000 people were taking the exam in April. When I called the amcas people (I kept ketting Nancy on the phone ) which I did actually three times, I asked them how many and that's what I was told. Not that I want anyone to feel the heat of the competition breathing down their neck or anything

So, that has got to be some kind of curve ???

 

[maoeris]

Ok I'm not weird others have been having dreams about their scores. One dream I got an p8 v8 b6. And just yesterday I got a p9 b9 v6 My dreams suck!

 

[maoeris]

The other thing I did that was weird is I went to a psychic to find out if I will get into medical school. The cards seemed to be favorable. My fate rests in a psychis hands.

 

[jintonic5]

so when are we supposed to hear back about our scores? should i start watching my mailbox religiously everyday after work?

 

[maoeris]

Scores supposedly are available June 24th online

 

[soonerpillow]

Originally posted by maoeris
Scores supposedly are available June 24th online

But you can always hope and pray and obsessively watch for the mailperson! That's more fun anyways.

 

[ZigZag]

When I walked out from the room after MCAT I was pretty sure that I didn't do well. I wanted to kill myself right there in Evanston, on the beach of lake Michigan. The thing is that there is always a curve, so you don't really need to get every single question right. All you need to do is to outperform whoever is sitting next to you.
I ended up getting 32 and I am a M2 now.

So... you never know for sure. Relax.

 

[birdie]

Zigzag, were you doing similar on your practice tests prior to the mcat though?
On a side note, I have gotten really impatient lately to know my scores! I can't even plan my year out, b/c I feel so insecure about my performance.

 

[megiro.med]

first time post here, but i've been watching for a while. seems like a lot of good discussion. has anyone heard of g'town's 1 yr masters in physiology program that basically puts you in med school classes and you can then have a masters degrees, then apply to g'town med, and basically be in your 2nd year of med? if so, does anyone know of similar programs on the east coast? if my mcat's not good enough, i've heard that this program is a good option, and if you do well, you're a shoo in for med the next year. i don't know if they take mcat scores though, or if you have to take the gre...anyone know?

 

[WonderBoy]

Originally posted by megiro.med
first time post here, but i've been watching for a while. seems like a lot of good discussion. has anyone heard of g'town's 1 yr masters in physiology program that basically puts you in med school classes and you can then have a masters degrees, then apply to g'town med, and basically be in your 2nd year of med? if so, does anyone know of similar programs on the east coast? if my mcat's not good enough, i've heard that this program is a good option, and if you do well, you're a shoo in for med the next year. i don't know if they take mcat scores though, or if you have to take the gre...anyone know?

You need to have taken the MCAT for the g'town program. I put their link below.

http://www.georgetown.edu/departments/physiology/physios/index.htm


The following is a link to the Finch one year program, similar to g'town.

http://www.finchcms.edu/sgpds/mrp/mis.cfm