August 26 MCAT Club!

[meddocapplicant]

I didn't see a post for the 8/26 MCAT, so I'm wondering if anyone is taking it on August 26? Have you started taking practice exams? Are you still reviewing the material? Is this your first MCAT?

I just started reviewing and will be taking my first practice MCAT tomorrow. Good luck everyone!!

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[kish180]

34Q here, PS12 VR10 BS12

I know you all are gonna talk me down but I really do not feel good about this score... I know its a good enough score but I expected higher, I was scoring 38+ on the last few AAMC's I took..... I think I just got caught up with nerves on PS and way too many art passages on VR
god just one more point and i would have been happy with my score, now i dont know if i should retake and try to get a high 30s which is unlikely, or just let it go

 

[Ozzz]

34Q here, PS12 VR10 BS12

I know you all are gonna talk me down but I really do not feel good about this score... I know its a good enough score but I expected higher, I was scoring 38+ on the last few AAMC's I took..... I think I just got caught up with nerves on PS and way too many art passages on VR
god just one more point and i would have been happy with my score, now i dont know if i should retake and try to get a high 30s which is unlikely, or just let it go

Yah I really know what you mean by "1 more point and i would have been happy". In my opinion though, I think you should just let it go... unless you have your mind set on getting acceptance to top ivy league schools and nothing else. I mean even then, if your GPA is decent, you should have a good shot. I'd say you forget about the mcat for now unless you feel like you shoulda scored a 40+ but something happened during the exam. Hope this helps... I got a 31 and i had a 35 aamc average and indeed 1 more point and I woulda been happy.

 

[tncekm]

edit: nm, scores are up for you guys

 

[wrathofgod64]

34Q here, PS12 VR10 BS12

I know you all are gonna talk me down but I really do not feel good about this score... I know its a good enough score but I expected higher, I was scoring 38+ on the last few AAMC's I took..... I think I just got caught up with nerves on PS and way too many art passages on VR
god just one more point and i would have been happy with my score, now i dont know if i should retake and try to get a high 30s which is unlikely, or just let it go

kish i'm sort of in a similar situation as you. I was scoring 38-40 on the Kaplan practice tests, and 36-39 on the AAMCs, and ended up with a 34T. I know it's an amazing score, objectively speaking, but I am setting my sights on top 10 schools, and I know I can do it. Looking at the averages of students accepted to those schools from my college, and at the MSAR, a 34 just isn't competitive. I'm almost 99% sure I'm going to retake, which sounds crazy, but i know just 3 more points can make a heck of a lot of difference.

 

[AnabolMD]

V:8 B: 10 V: 11 - 29P

highly disappointed but was expected. I def knew my MCAT material but that incredibly difficult test owned me. I was scoring around 33 on my AAMCs but this was WAYYY harder than any of those. Definitely need to retake. Im a junior with a 4.0 GPA and i know if i can test to my full potential i can get a great score. Study this semester and retake in January?
Any advice??????????

 

[jesed_s]

Well.. i finally mustered up the courage to get my score.... Coming out of the test.. i felt i bombed PS... felt avg about VR... and felt i bombed BS..

Predictions
PS: 9
V: 9
BS: 10
Writing: ?

Actual Aug/26
PS: 11
V: 9
BS: 12
Writing: R

32R... no complaints.

 

[0Complications]

kish i'm sort of in a similar situation as you. I was scoring 38-40 on the Kaplan practice tests, and 36-39 on the AAMCs, and ended up with a 34T. I know it's an amazing score, objectively speaking, but I am setting my sights on top 10 schools, and I know I can do it. Looking at the averages of students accepted to those schools from my college, and at the MSAR, a 34 just isn't competitive. I'm almost 99% sure I'm going to retake, which sounds crazy, but i know just 3 more points can make a heck of a lot of difference.

I think you've lost perspective. You are in the 90th+ percentile. If you retake you risk doing worse, which is just a fools errand. If your application is strong elsewhere I don't see why you would even consider it. If you do retake I wish you well, but only if you don't take it when I do...

 

[viscous]

yes, for a couple of seconds, the thoughts of retaking the test also lingered in the sullen dungeons of my mind. Simply my VR of 9 does not show my capabilities. I was targetting at least a 10 in VR. But if I rewrite, I risk loosing a 14 in BS AND a 9 in VR as well because pratice aamc VR were giving me 11-13 range . Not to mention a R in WS. aah, I wuldnt DIE if I dont get into ivy league but it wouldnt hurt to get in.

Am I competitive for top-middle tier schools as an international student with a 35 R?
my cgpa so far hovers around 3.8ish with hopefully a publication/s on genetic therapies for HIV as well?? ...

 

[jesed_s]

all this rewrite talk makes me want to rewrite too now...
im worried about by 9 in VR as well...
Is a 32R (11PS, 9VR, 12BS) competitive enough? Particularly for Canadian schools..?

 

[jcodyhedge]

V:8 B: 10 V: 11 - 29P

highly disappointed but was expected. I def knew my MCAT material but that incredibly difficult test owned me. I was scoring around 33 on my AAMCs but this was WAYYY harder than any of those. Definitely need to retake. Im a junior with a 4.0 GPA and i know if i can test to my full potential i can get a great score. Study this semester and retake in January?
Any advice??????????

It sounds like we are in the same boat. I scored 3 points lower than my average on Physics(got a 9, scored 12 or 13 on almost every practice test I ever took). I just ran out of time...which really sucks on my strongest section. Does anyone have advice on how to increase your speed? I thought I worked at a good pace...but obviously not.*Sigh*

Felt money on Verbal and did quite average... not sure what to think about that or what to change for next time. I felt that my POE was justified and felt confident... clueless.

Ill def be retaking in January.

Congrats to everyone who did so well...there are some truly amazing scores being posted. I hope Ill get there next time.

 

[JasonE]

if you want to improve speed, try practicing short hand math. look for different scenerios (ex. square of 2 goes down, but square root of .2 goes up). know all these little tricks so you dont waste time on calculations.

the way i see it, if you can approximate very well, you can carry out every calculation on the test is less than 30secs.

 

[MilkmanAl]

36S, broken down as:
PS: 11
VR: 12
BS: 13
W: S

Composite looks good... I think... but I'm a bit worried about PS, esp since my BCPM GPA was hurt by my physics and math courses (eg, got two Cs in upper level math courses) and I was hoping to make up for that with the MCAT

You're seriously worried about a balanced 36? Your PS is excellent. I see nothing wrong with your score at all. I don't think you really need to "make up" for C's in upper-level math. Those are some seriously hard classes.

 

[JC2]

Okay some people SERIOUSLY need to put things into perspective.

To the person with 35R, 3.8 and a pub wondering if he's competitive at Ivy's as an international: yes, you are. You could be MORE competitive {though everyone in theory could be more competitive} but you are competitive. You can apply. You won't be turned down because of your MCAT score... maybe your paranoia.

To the person wondering if his 32 or w/e is competitive at Canadian schools: yes, it is. Only because Canadian schools don't care as much about the MCAT. Don't apply to Western though they require a 10V. Is your GPA at least a 3.8? You should worry about that instead.

 

[kish180]

kish i'm sort of in a similar situation as you. I was scoring 38-40 on the Kaplan practice tests, and 36-39 on the AAMCs, and ended up with a 34T. I know it's an amazing score, objectively speaking, but I am setting my sights on top 10 schools, and I know I can do it. Looking at the averages of students accepted to those schools from my college, and at the MSAR, a 34 just isn't competitive. I'm almost 99% sure I'm going to retake, which sounds crazy, but i know just 3 more points can make a heck of a lot of difference.

Apparently Ivy average for accepted is around 35.1, though that might be wrong. So I think 34 is competitive. It's not good, but it's not terrible and they won't toss your application when they see it or anything like that. It's pretty much a 'meh' score doesnt say anything good or bad about you. I wanted a 'wow' score and thought for sure I had it, which is what is frustrating, but like someone mentioned retaking is not a great idea because you run the risk of doing worse which is catastrophic. Also schools expect like a 2 point spread so you're basically trying for a 37-38+ which is impossible to get with any sort of assurange. Anyway I decided not to retake but good luck if u do

 

[shnuffles]

I love you guys. Seriously. I've been pretending to be happy for the last day with my parents, teachers, friends about my 33 (since they would probably throw me off a bridge if I even said the word "retake") but inside im agonizing over it. Like a lot of you, I have been scoring solid 37s going in, and I feel like that 4pt drop makes a huge difference in whether you're even going to be looked at by top schools.

Since its too late to retake for this cycle, what should I do? Is it even worth submitting secondaries to top schools? I do have a 4.0 and tons of ECs/leadership/research/clinical experience but I'm really worried that they won't even get that far in my application before throwing it out.

I want the truth! I've already spent enough money/time on these apps...don't want to waste any more!!!

congrats to all who did well ITS DONE!

 

[wrathofgod64]

How bent are you on going to a top school? I feel with your stats, the only "weakness" in your app might be your MCAT score. I just browsed MDapplicants.com, and there are a ton of people with 4.0s and 33s who got into top med schools. My problem is that I don't quite have the 4.0, so I was hoping my MCAT would offset my GPA. I think that if everything else in your app is solid you should apply, but it's def your call. I'm still a junior, so I'm planning a retake in January.

 

[shnuffles]

I'm not completely set on going to a top 10 school, however, I want to make sure I get into a school that keeps my options open throughout my career. I don't know exactly how to explain that without getting too into too many details/stats. Lets just say I've never even considered applying to Harvard, however, I certainly want my pick of solid schools. I guess more than anything its just hard to accept that regardless of how hard I work...I'm just not the "best of the best" (yay for us perfectionists!)

Good luck with the retake! If you're a science major, I'm guessing you'll be taking some classes this year that will make a lot of the material second nature. I have no doubt that you'll nail it!!

ps- just sent my amcas to four more schools today when I realized that..omg I might actually be in med school at this time next year!!!!!haha.

 

[Caesar]

I think you've lost perspective. You are in the 90th+ percentile. If you retake you risk doing worse, which is just a fools errand. If your application is strong elsewhere I don't see why you would even consider it. If you do retake I wish you well, but only if you don't take it when I do...

Woah when did YOU start using SDN again?!

 

[kish180]

I love you guys. Seriously. I've been pretending to be happy for the last day with my parents, teachers, friends about my 33 (since they would probably throw me off a bridge if I even said the word "retake") but inside im agonizing over it. Like a lot of you, I have been scoring solid 37s going in, and I feel like that 4pt drop makes a huge difference in whether you're even going to be looked at by top schools.

Since its too late to retake for this cycle, what should I do? Is it even worth submitting secondaries to top schools? I do have a 4.0 and tons of ECs/leadership/research/clinical experience but I'm really worried that they won't even get that far in my application before throwing it out.

I want the truth! I've already spent enough money/time on these apps...don't want to waste any more!!!

congrats to all who did well ITS DONE!

IMO, a 33 definitely isn't a toss-out score. it probably will be on the negative side of your application but the 4.0 and EC's could definitely compensate. so i would definitely suggest submitting secondaries if you want to go to those schools

 

[jat76]

Hey, do you guys think I have a decent shot at any of the UCs?
Im a california resident and the cost difference is astronomical, not to mention all the UCs are great med schools. My top choice is UCLA(I know somewhat of reach with what I have), my MCAT...
33R
V-11
PS-11
BS-11

I have a 3.6 science GPA, and about 3.7 cum, plus some solid ECs, lots of research experience, and hopefully a publication by the end of October.

 

[ApoK]

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[ApoK]

Also, JC2 ... you scared the **** out of me when you said you thought the PS was so easy!!! I thought I had failed for sure afterwards ... I even convinced myself that I might have gotten something like 29 and would have to retake the damn thing again!

 

[lmaozedong]

Actual
PS: 14 (I still don't know the equation for intensity....)
VR: 12
BS: 14
WS: R (I don't even know how these scores work? I keep trying to find out what the different letters are but it's nowhere on the AAMC website that I can find..)
TOTAL: 40R

BS WAY higher than I thought. Those two passages kicked my butt hard. I did worse than I thought on VR, and my estimated scores were probably like this:

Estimate:
PS: 14
VR: 13
BS: 11

So yeah, I'm pretty happy with my score

If only I wasn't terrible at school...

Anyway, for those who are wondering.. I studied about 6 hours a day for 2.5 months @_@ probably more than I've studied the rest of my life combined.

AAMC scores were as follows, in chronological order:
3: 35 (13, 12, 10)
8: 38 (14, 11, 13)
7: 40 (14, 14, 12)
4: 41 (14, 14, 13)
9: 34 (13, 11, 10)
10: 36 (14, 11, 11)
6: 37 (15, 11, 11)
5: 37 (13, 11, 11)

I feel like looking at my practice tests, there's definitely a luck factor that goes into taking these (what passages happen to come up relative to what you know, etc.), so those of you who didn't get scores you're happy with on the lower end of the scores you've been getting, don't give up! Who knows what might happen next time..

 

[Glennwood]

This was my first MCAT. I wasn't feeling confident with my performance but did comparably well:

PS 11
VR 11
BS 12
WS L
Total 34

However, somehow I got an L on my writing sample!! I refuse to believe this is correct because I am an above-average writer and had no problem responding to the two prompts. (an L corresponds to something like the 3rd percentile). I've already submitted for a rescore. If the L stands, does anyone know what bearing this will have on my application? If I do retake it, I'll just use it as an opportunity to boost my multiple choice score. I wasn't even able to finish the physics section on this one. I left three BLANK and guessed on the previous three. I've scored higher on some of the AAMC practice tests.

 

[lmaozedong]

Yea, that does sound strange. Are you sure you answered all parts of the prompt? I feel like the prompts are very oddly worded and not coherent at all, so I struggled with that when I was first looking at them. Good luck with the rescore! I hear writing samples mean absolutely nothing, but I would ask your pre-professional counselor at your school if it's worth it to retake the MCAT just for the Writing Section... Unless you're in Canada my guess would be that you're fine..

 

[BitingPlates]

Damn anxiety got my ass. I have to do another retake. I am going to talk to a psychiatrist before hand and get something. I scored worst than my first practice test this year, and got the lowest verbal score out of any practice test I ever took. Pretty frustrated right now....

 

[Glennwood]

I was used to the format of the prompts, as I'd written a few practice essays before the exam. And yes, I've also heard that the writing sample doesn't count for much, but I've also heard that some schools have a set, very low cut-off score for the writing sample. And if this is the case, I'm sure an L wouldn't fly, for any school. But I definitely will check with my adviser. Thanks and congrats on the 40!!

 

[kalia]

It's very amusing how in Canada, the cutoff for the WS is as high as R, while in America, it's not worth very much.

That being said, I like the American admissions process much more. I'm sorry Canada, but hard cutoffs suck balls.

 

[sillyrussian]

So i got a 35 R, Stoked. (12 VR 11 PS 12 BS)
I took the test may 07, and got a 29 R. (8 VR 10 PS 11 BS)

But as a side note, can anyone gimme some info on whether the 35 will offset a science GPA of 3.2 and overall GPA of 3.52??

Lots of Shadowing experience, Interning with Psychiatrist, working in an ER in my year off (just graduated in may 08), worked a year in on campus research lab.

Also UPward trend in GPA after 2.93 freshman year.

Thanks!

 

[MilkmanAl]

A 35 won't totally offset a 3.2 BCPM, but it will definitely make you competitive at schools of average-ish selectivity.

 

[DrDre2001]

I thought I'd do the same thing when I had a week to go. It didn't work for me. There I was, at 5pm, right on schedule with a Biochem exam the next day.

...you were right, i couldnt make it. I made it until today though. I took my first exam today, and i got pissed cuz i thought it was pretty hard. I was so pissed that i wasnt really able to study for my virology exam which is tomorrow.

I got a 32 (P9/V11/B12).

The physical sci section was probably due to me running out of time and not getting to 5 questions.

Im pretty happy though, after i took the test i was seriously thinking i got like a 25 since it was so much harder than any practice AAMC test ever was.

But now im kinda pumped, so i cant really sit still and study for my virology exam tomorrow.

 

[DrDre2001]

oh yea, you should all help other mcat takers on this board and contribute to my favorite thread on this whole site:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=561455

Its a poll thread that asks how your real MCAT scores compared with your AAMC Practice Test scores.

This thread is the biggest survey of its kind that i know of. If SDN has enough swag to make a swag store, it is because of that thread.

That thread helped me predict my real scores, and should do the same with other users. Please contribute to it, all it will take is one click.

 

[Redgar]

You're seriously worried about a balanced 36? Your PS is excellent. I see nothing wrong with your score at all. I don't think you really need to "make up" for C's in upper-level math. Those are some seriously hard classes.

Thanks man, I hope you're right. They definitely were hard and I took them as a sophomore.

(And as a side note just wanna mention that I don't want to come off as some jerk/psycho/... that's not happy with a 36S (in case I have); like anyone would be I'm happy with it. These are just difficult times and those Cs obviously hurt my BCPM quite a bit.)

 

[w8ting2exhale]

For a test that many complained was extremely hard, I think a lot of you did well. Congrats to all!!! I guess the curve was alright. And to all those who didn't do as well or voided, I offer a huge encouragement and hopes for better luck next time. I'm still waiting for my scores

(took it sept 12)

 

[SN2ed]

Edit: opps wrong thread.

 

[gujuDoc]

kish i'm sort of in a similar situation as you. I was scoring 38-40 on the Kaplan practice tests, and 36-39 on the AAMCs, and ended up with a 34T. I know it's an amazing score, objectively speaking, but I am setting my sights on top 10 schools, and I know I can do it. Looking at the averages of students accepted to those schools from my college, and at the MSAR, a 34 just isn't competitive. I'm almost 99% sure I'm going to retake, which sounds crazy, but i know just 3 more points can make a heck of a lot of difference.

Just to put things into perspective. I have known people with 35+ to be rejected from even the top 10 schools while I knew at least a couple of people who got in a top ivy league school with 31 MCAT score.

one person is now in Upenn and another in Cornell. I also know at least 2 or 3 people with 33 who got into top 20 schools. One is in Upenn and the other is in emory.

Keep these things in mind. U will find people with 34s and even 31s or 33s in Harvard and Hopkins. u don't need to retake. Retaking won't guarantee u an in, in one of these schools.

 

[ApoK]

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[gujuDoc]

I agree completely. It's all about making yourself THAT much more competitive. I got a 37 and was happy enough, given the difficulty, but I don't think that's even close to enough to get into a top school. You have to be an ALL-AROUND great person (not just student) to be a shoo-in at top schools. My score just makes me more motivated to pursue more research and volunteer positions. That's just my opinion though! Best of luck to all on their apps.

But my point is if u retake u risk getting a lower score when you have a high score. Unless u are in canada where there are strict cutoffs I'm not sure it is worth it because esp. once u have used the practice tests before it is hard to predict whether higher scores on them will be due to remembering the questions or really knowing ur stuff.


So eveni f u retake with a 34 be careful not to get over confident because it might backfire on you. If you were arguing a retake with a 30 it would be a different story but a 34 or 35+ to a 38-40+ something is much harder to achieve.

Either way good luck with your decisons.

 

[Vihsadas]

I agree completely. It's all about making yourself THAT much more competitive. I got a 37 and was happy enough, given the difficulty, but I don't think that's even close to enough to get into a top school. You have to be an ALL-AROUND great person (not just student) to be a shoo-in at top schools. My score just makes me more motivated to pursue more research and volunteer positions. That's just my opinion though! Best of luck to all on their apps.

A 37 is definitely competitive enough to get into a top school. No question. At that point, the rest of your app is what is going to make or break you, not your MCAT score.

 

[ApoK]

.

 

[shnuffles]

helloooo! I don't know if anyone will ever check this forum again, but, if you do, and you are applying this cycle, how is it going? Its rough applying late!