***August 6th Mcaters***

[andexterouss]

Hey guys,
I'm wondering how many of us are out there and how are we doing so far. I was scheduled to take it on May 11th but had to switch for personal reasons. I'm determined to take this time. I'm not as anxious I was before(maybe because I'm tired of studying and just want to get the damn thing over with!). I'm in the final stretch of my AAMC practice(7-10).I'll take the CBT 7 this week and 8 the next week. I'm guessing I'll be done with them three days before the test day. That should give me some time to kick back and rest my brain.

Latest Practice test:
AAMC 6 CBTS(11) BS(9) VR(10)--->30.My lowest BS ever! Not too worried though. I'm glad my VR went from 7--->10.

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[SpartanBlueJay2]

I'm retaking on 8/6. I took my first MCAT on 5/31, and did well on the sciences but bombed VR. I feel I am capable of increasing my PS score 1-2 points and VR at least 3-4 points (I got a 7 on the 5/31 test I was averaging 10-11 on VR on practice tests).

 

[andexterouss]

I'm retaking on 8/6. I took my first MCAT on 5/31, and did well on the sciences but bombed VR. I feel I am capable of increasing my PS score 1-2 points and VR at least 3-4 points (I got a 7 on the 5/31 test I was averaging 10-11 on VR on practice tests).

I'm glad you're looking ahead positively. What VR method did you use? Have you tried the TPR method? It seems to be working for me although I'll know more when I take my CBT test either tomorrow or friday.

 

[Tussis]

August 6th-er here.

No CBT tests yet, but I have scheduled 5 in the near future on my study schedule (reviewing right now).

I'm would 'say' I'm using the VR method since I have no idea what other methods are out there. Then again, I'm just reading the passages and answering the stupid questions; scoring around a 10 right now on all EK practice material.

Good luck all... hunkering down time!

 

[queenofjungle14]

i took my first MCAT on 5/31 as well...did 5 points lower than my avg aamc tests! i got a 7 in PS
haha, 8/6 will be MUCH better for all of us retakers...i've got a good feeling

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

I'm glad you're looking ahead positively. What VR method did you use? Have you tried the TPR method? It seems to be working for me although I'll know more when I take my CBT test either tomorrow or friday.

i took my first MCAT on 5/31 as well...did 5 points lower than my avg aamc tests! i got a 7 in PS
haha, 8/6 will be MUCH better for all of us retakers...i've got a good feeling

We're in the same boat, queenofjungle! I too did 4-5 points lower than my average, and 2 points lower than my lowest practice!

andexterouss, I took the Kaplan course. I didn't like passage mapping so much, it took too long. I know that no matter what method I used, I did not prepare for VR as much as I should have considering it was my weakest area. I felt that since I was consistently scoring 10-11 on practice tests (with no score lower than a 9) that I would be okay, but I felt like I was run over by a Mack truck after the 5/31 VR. Right now I'm doing EK 101 verbal, which has been going really well (11-12 on 3 tests), but I'm also doing combinations of PS and VR section tests from Kaplan to simulate the real exam. The PS section of the real exam really drained me mentally, and so I am trying to get more comfortable with doing VR when I am tired and trying to stay focused through the whole VR section.

 

[andexterouss]

Hey guys, was wondering if there has been any new developments in your studies and practice tests. We have less than 3 weeks b4 the test! So far my highest practice score has been from aamc 4 13BS PS12 7VR---->32.I really wanna get my score up there in the mid to upper 30s before the test day.

I bought the EK full-length exams :1g,2f,3g. The 2f was very tricky and conceptual...not much calculation.I'm wondering if i should still continue with them and how realistic are they.

 

[J ROD]

We're in the same boat, queenofjungle! I too did 4-5 points lower than my average, and 2 points lower than my lowest practice!

andexterouss, I took the Kaplan course. I didn't like passage mapping so much, it took too long. I know that no matter what method I used, I did not prepare for VR as much as I should have considering it was my weakest area. I felt that since I was consistently scoring 10-11 on practice tests (with no score lower than a 9) that I would be okay, but I felt like I was run over by a Mack truck after the 5/31 VR. Right now I'm doing EK 101 verbal, which has been going really well (11-12 on 3 tests), but I'm also doing combinations of PS and VR section tests from Kaplan to simulate the real exam. The PS section of the real exam really drained me mentally, and so I am trying to get more comfortable with doing VR when I am tired and trying to stay focused through the whole VR section.

What was your Kaplan average?

I just took the FL1 and the PS was supposed to be hard (what I heard) but I got a 12!! because of the curve.

What does everyone that has took the actual MCAT think about the curve?

I did not think the test was that much harder than the AAMCs. Just more calculations.

The Kaplan sectionals are way harder!! More like PS juiced!!

I am trying to gauge the difficulty of the actual PS, my worst section.

Thanks,

 

[J ROD]

Oh yeah, I think the Kaplan LSAT book is very good way to increase your verbal score.

The only real strong suit I have is reading comp and when I used that book I thought it was the hardest and made me analyze the most. It gets you in a good verbal mindset.

I just want a 10+ on the verbal. I average a strong 12 b/t Kaplan, AAMC, EK.

I just have to finish the section since the passages are now longer.

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

What was your Kaplan average?

I just took the FL1 and the PS was supposed to be hard (what I heard) but I got a 12!! because of the curve.

What does everyone that has took the actual MCAT think about the curve?

I did not think the test was that much harder than the AAMCs. Just more calculations.

The Kaplan sectionals are way harder!! More like PS juiced!!

I am trying to gauge the difficulty of the actual PS, my worst section.

Thanks,

My Kaplan average was around a 37 I think. 13-15 on BS, 11-13 on PS, 10-11 on VR. My split on the real exam was 14 BS , 11 PS , 7 VR .

On the 5/31 exam, I though PS wasn't too bad, and I did fine, but I thought my score would be higher considering most people I talked to thought PS was tough. I'm glad that Kaplan PS is tough b/c it makes the real PS seem easy! I felt the PS overall on the real exam was somewhere in between Kaplan and AAMC.

On the remainder of the real test, I thought VR was rough, but considering most other people did too, I thought I'd get maybe a 9 or 10. A 7 never crossed my mind. I'm now training myself to do the EK 101 (old length) VR tests in under 70 minutes because time was definitely a problem on the real VR. I would finish CBT practice VR in ~ 45-50 min, but I barely finished the real one. Today I finished EK 101 test 5 (9 passages) in 66 minutes and scored an 11, so the practice is paying off.

I find that I can't helpfully comment on BS. I have a master's degree (thesis-based) in molecular microbiology and taught graduate anatomy/physiology for 2 years, so outside of a really tough orgo question, there hasn't been too much that stumps me. My biggest problem in BS is reading things too quickly and misreading something, which causes me to answer incorrectly.

 

[J ROD]

My Kaplan average was around a 37 I think. 13-15 on BS, 11-13 on PS, 10-11 on VR. My split on the real exam was 14 BS , 11 PS , 7 VR .

On the 5/31 exam, I though PS wasn't too bad, and I did fine, but I thought my score would be higher considering most people I talked to thought PS was tough. I'm glad that Kaplan PS is tough b/c it makes the real PS seem easy! I felt the PS overall on the real exam was somewhere in between Kaplan and AAMC.

On the remainder of the real test, I thought VR was rough, but considering most other people did too, I thought I'd get maybe a 9 or 10. A 7 never crossed my mind. I'm now training myself to do the EK 101 (old length) VR tests in under 70 minutes because time was definitely a problem on the real VR. I would finish CBT practice VR in ~ 45-50 min, but I barely finished the real one. Today I finished EK 101 test 5 (9 passages) in 66 minutes and scored an 11, so the practice is paying off.

I find that I can't helpfully comment on BS. I have a master's degree (thesis-based) in molecular microbiology and taught graduate anatomy/physiology for 2 years, so outside of a really tough orgo question, there hasn't been too much that stumps me. My biggest problem in BS is reading things too quickly and misreading something, which causes me to answer incorrectly.

Did you try any Kaplan sectionals and if so, what did you think?

Basically, you only dropped in verbal? So, with a normal verbal, you should at least get a 10. I think you should come in around a 34-36.

It really sucks how much variability there is between tests. My in-state school suggest we take it at least two times because of it. I will take it until I get a score that will get me in. (28) is my cut point. 29 is my state schools average.

I have 3.77 overall GPA, 4.0 prereq science, a MBA (3.81) and PharmD (3.91). and some of the EC's. I have several years before I finish my PharmD to work on that. So, my g & o chem and bio are somewhat strong. Phys

I think I will at least be unique.

 

[_T_]

Takin it August 6th..cant wait to get it over with..have been steadily improving in practice exams..hope the trend continues on test day

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

All I have to say to everyone here, and I say this from experience.... Don't burn yourself out! Sometimes more studying is not better. If you're getting lethargic and unfocused, and your practice test scores start dropping, you should give yourself a break. I really wish I had the first time around.

 

[utahjazz]

I just moved my exam from July 24th to August 6th. I feel much better about having a couple extra weeks for practice exams and rest... I agree with the other poster who commented about avoiding burn out as the exam approaches.

 

[MamadP]

retaking on aug 6th, took the May 25th MCAT and got a 13/6?!/10 (PS/VR/BS)

I refuse to believe my reading skills are at the 20th percentile level...

F*ck No! If i can do great in college i can def read better than 20 percent of the test takers...

Good luck to all

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

retaking on aug 6th, took the May 25th MCAT and got a 13/6?!/10 (PS/VR/BS)

I refuse to believe my reading skills are at the 20th percentile level...

F*ck No! If i can do great in college i can def read better than 20 percent of the test takers...

Good luck to all

Amen to that! How is it that I got As in my literature analysis courses in college, but only got a 7 in VR?

 

[andexterouss]

Amen to that! How is it that I got As in my literature analysis courses in college, but only got a 7 in VR?

I got straight A's in all my English and Literature classes. But my verbal fluctuates btw 7 and 10. I think we all have the potential to do well judging from our course grades. We just have to get into the MCAT mode of testing.

 

[andexterouss]

Hey guys, we are next! All eyes on us. How's everyone doing so far? I took a week long break from the books since was having constant migrane. I feel much better now. I took the two full length tests from Kaplan's New MCAT Practice Tests. I got 13s on the PS and 11s on the BS. I was wondering how accurate they are. Anyone else used them? I need to work on my verbal really bad. I'm having time issues.