Bio Section Frustration

[theA1doctor]

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Took the MCAT once already, went in feeling fine.I had great grasp on the concepts but the bio section I had felt so convoluted, it felt i was jumping though hoops just to understand the question. This section was something totally different from what I had practiced with. I think only AAMC 11 came somewhat close but mine was harder than that. How in the world do I prepare for something like that?
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[kgpremed11]

Took the MCAT once already, went in feeling fine.I had great grasp on the concepts but the bio section I had felt so convoluted, it felt i was jumping though hoops just to understand the question. This section was something totally different from what I had practiced with. I think only AAMC 11 came somewhat close but mine was harder than that. How in the world do I prepare for something like that?
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Wish I cold tell you. Bio gets harder every year

My bio score 2011=10 2012=6 . I was like WTF.

 

[mcloaf]

Took the MCAT once already, went in feeling fine.I had great grasp on the concepts but the bio section I had felt so convoluted, it felt i was jumping though hoops just to understand the question. This section was something totally different from what I had practiced with. I think only AAMC 11 came somewhat close but mine was harder than that. How in the world do I prepare for something like that?
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A molecular biology/biochemistry major. I'm not really sure how they expect non-majors to be on equal footing for those types of questions. 😕

 

[Captain Sisko]

Took the MCAT once already, went in feeling fine.I had great grasp on the concepts but the bio section I had felt so convoluted, it felt i was jumping though hoops just to understand the question. This section was something totally different from what I had practiced with. I think only AAMC 11 came somewhat close but mine was harder than that. How in the world do I prepare for something like that?
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haven't taken aamc 11 yet, but how do they compare to say, tbr bio passages?

 

[nisarg2010]

haven't taken aamc 11 yet, but how do they compare to say, tbr bio passages?

TBR bio sucks. The passages are too detail oriented. That's not what the actual MCAT or AAMC 11 is like. They focus on giving you information in a convoluted way and asking you to make convoluted interpretations of the information. Its very much like reading something published in science or nature and interpreting that material.

 

[slz1900]

A molecular biology/biochemistry major. I'm not really sure how they expect non-majors to be on equal footing for those types of questions. 😕

This scares me.

 

[Captain Sisko]

TBR bio sucks. The passages are too detail oriented. That's not what the actual MCAT or AAMC 11 is like. They focus on giving you information in a convoluted way and asking you to make convoluted interpretations of the information. Its very much like reading something published in science or nature and interpreting that material.

just looked at a nature article for the first time. i see how this is different. thanks.

 

[darklabel]

A molecular biology/biochemistry major. I'm not really sure how they expect non-majors to be on equal footing for those types of questions. 😕

Agreed, as a Microbiology/Bacteriology major, I don't know how I would've answered some of those questions if I didn't take some of the classes I do (Molecular Genetics and such)

 

[Mehd School]

I'm a Bio major, and when I took my test last august (voided due to bio), roughly 30% of the material on the bio section were on things I'd never heard of.

People were crying after that section. It was crazy.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

A molecular biology/biochemistry major. I'm not really sure how they expect non-majors to be on equal footing for those types of questions. 😕

I was a neuroscience major and neglected everything in biology that wasn't relevant to the nervous system. Most of my classes in college were psych and neuro classes. I found the bio section to be pretty easy when I took it.

What I DID have though was four years of very productive research experience, two research methods classes, four classes with large statistics components, a seminar/journal club course, and a graduate neuro course that threw 100-300 pages of journal articles at us per week. With that level of research exposure I found the experiment-based passages (ie the whole section) to be a joke.

If a person still has at least a semester to go before they need to take the MCAT, I would highly recommend joining a journal club and being very active in the discussions. That should teach you how to critically read research, and it will make you happy that the MCAT focuses so much on critical thinking and experimental passages instead of detail oriented recall.

 

[Dynamo24]

I was a neuroscience major and neglected everything in biology that wasn't relevant to the nervous system. Most of my classes in college were psych and neuro classes. I found the bio section to be pretty easy when I took it.

What I DID have though was four years of very productive research experience, two research methods classes, four classes with large statistics components, a seminar/journal club course, and a graduate neuro course that threw 100-300 pages of journal articles at us per week. With that level of research exposure I found the experiment-based passages (ie the whole section) to be a joke.

If a person still has at least a semester to go before they need to take the MCAT, I would highly recommend joining a journal club and being very active in the discussions. That should teach you how to critically read research, and it will make you happy that the MCAT focuses so much on critical thinking and experimental passages instead of detail oriented recall.

I'm a neuro major, too. When did you take the MCAT? I felt my studies in neuroscience REALLY helped me in about half of my EK bio book. Taking a genetics class helped, too.

 

[Back 5]

How does Princeton Review bio passages compare?

 

[kgpremed11]

How does Princeton Review bio passages compare?

It would be nice to know what Bio material was closest to AAMC 11

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I'm a neuro major, too. When did you take the MCAT? I felt my studies in neuroscience REALLY helped me in about half of my EK bio book. Taking a genetics class helped, too.

I took it last August.

 

[random1234]

I'm a Bio major, and when I took my test last august (voided due to bio), roughly 30% of the material on the bio section were on things I'd never heard of.

People were crying after that section. It was crazy.

Lol...I took the test in August and voided (I was planning on that from the getgo anyway), but a person who finished soon after me was walking up the stairs to the door and I guess he didn't realize I was waiting for my ride on the top floor because he started banging his fists against his head, he was so angry and he was yelling and cursing to himself about the test o.0...I have never seen anyone react like that after an exam. I saw him walk outside and he was still doing that until he got close to the street. He was Asian.

 

[kgpremed11]

Lol...I took the test in August and voided (I was planning on that from the getgo anyway), but a person who finished soon after me was walking up the stairs to the door and I guess he didn't realize I was waiting for my ride on the top floor because he started banging his fists against his head, he was so angry and he was yelling and cursing to himself about the test o.0...I have never seen anyone react like that after an exam. I saw him walk outside and he was still doing that until he got close to the street. He was Asian.

lol

 

[maybemed2013]

I know BS left me in shock, what also shocked for me was that I got the orgo passages completely wrong even though it was so easy, I was so shock from the rest of the passages I couls not think straight for BS section. Maybe I should of done the passages backwards, it would of helped a lot.

There is nothing we can do now, except study for a retake.

Also I think PR ICC bio passages come close to the real deal.

 

[kgpremed11]

I know BS left me in shock, what also shocked for me was that I got the orgo passages completely wrong even though it was so easy, I was so shock from the rest of the passages I couls not think straight for BS section. Maybe I should of done the passages backwards, it would of helped a lot.

There is nothing we can do now, except study for a retake.

Also I think PR ICC bio passages come close to the real deal.

I have that book and sadly, its not similar.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

I'm a Bio major, and when I took my test last august (voided due to bio), roughly 30% of the material on the bio section were on things I'd never heard of.

People were crying after that section. It was crazy.

This makes me feel better about my own performance on biology sections.

 

[BABSstudent]

Took the MCAT in 2011 and got a 10 on Bio. I retook it in 2012 and got an 11 despite intense prep. There were two passages on complex experiments involving biochem topics and asking me questions I didn't feel were in the passage. I feel like those passages were the reason I only got an 11 when I was averaging 13.4 before the test.

 

[SKaminski]

Took the MCAT in 2011 and got a 10 on Bio. I retook it in 2012 and got an 11 despite intense prep. There were two passages on complex experiments involving biochem topics and asking me questions I didn't feel were in the passage. I feel like those passages were the reason I only got an 11 when I was averaging 13.4 before the test.

If the topics arn't covered in their PDF discussing which Biology points can be questioned, and it isn't covered in the passage information, I thought they weren't allowed to quiz you.

I know that the AMCAS is essentially a monopoly, but what sort of Accountability do they have? Is there anything we can do to assert that this isn't fair? Somebody shouldn't get screwed over (score wise) because there school was too small and their biochemistry classes filled up. That's not right.

 

[Mehd School]

If the topics arn't covered in their PDF discussing which Biology points can be questioned, and it isn't covered in the passage information, I thought they weren't allowed to quiz you.

I know that the AMCAS is essentially a monopoly, but what sort of Accountability do they have? Is there anything we can do to assert that this isn't fair? Somebody shouldn't get screwed over (score wise) because there school was too small and their biochemistry classes filled up. That's not right.

There were numerous thing on my test that I found to be outside the scope of AAMC's content outline. However, the process to file a claim is quite arduous, and at the end of the day the question was most likely experimental. I have my reasons to believe that some of the left field topics on my test weren't experimental, though.

 

[positivityrocks]

I was a neuroscience major and neglected everything in biology that wasn't relevant to the nervous system. Most of my classes in college were psych and neuro classes. I found the bio section to be pretty easy when I took it.

What I DID have though was four years of very productive research experience, two research methods classes, four classes with large statistics components, a seminar/journal club course, and a graduate neuro course that threw 100-300 pages of journal articles at us per week. With that level of research exposure I found the experiment-based passages (ie the whole section) to be a joke.

If a person still has at least a semester to go before they need to take the MCAT, I would highly recommend joining a journal club and being very active in the discussions. That should teach you how to critically read research, and it will make you happy that the MCAT focuses so much on critical thinking and experimental passages instead of detail oriented recall.

Same here! I ended up with a 10 on the BS section last year and didn't study much for that part (I think I listened to examkrackers a bit the week before, and maybe skimmed their book too).

I felt really confident on almost all of the bio questions, but haven't even taken the undergrad bio sequence through my school yet, so was a bit nervous about it beforehand. I think I lucked out with questions that were mostly related to analysis of the info they provided. I do have 5+ years of research experience, tons of psych and neuro classes (both undergrad and grad), which helped a lot. Probably also doesn't hurt that I LOVE analyzing new articles, approaches, significance of results, etc.

Then again, the organic passages I had felt like a whole other language to me. I honestly think I was close to perfect on the bio part, and horrible with organic. Definitely concentrating on doing better on orgo this time around and keeping my fingers crossed for more of the experimental passages!

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

If the topics arn't covered in their PDF discussing which Biology points can be questioned, and it isn't covered in the passage information, I thought they weren't allowed to quiz you.

I know that the AMCAS is essentially a monopoly, but what sort of Accountability do they have? Is there anything we can do to assert that this isn't fair? Somebody shouldn't get screwed over (score wise) because there school was too small and their biochemistry classes filled up. That's not right.

All the bio questions on my test were definitely covered in the AAMC topics. What trips people up is that they think BS is just going to question them over exactly what they've studied; ie, they'll get a passage about the kidneys and then be asked straight forward questions about distal tubule permeability, glomelular filtration rate, etc. In reality what the MCAT does is hand you a topic you've probably never heard of before, give you a quick description of the topic, maybe hand you some data and/or graphs, and then ask you a bunch of questions about the passage that require you to apply what you (should) know towards the passage to figure out what's going on.

AAMC does not want you answering the BS questions from memory. Like the rest of the exam, they expect you to actually have to think in order to arrive at the answers.

 

[maybemed2013]

I have that book and sadly, its not similar.

I have the book as well, took a PR LIveOnline Course and took the 1/24 MCAT and my BS section was very similar to the ICC, in fact I had some of the same topics, and similar questions.

For my retake I been on doing the ICC during the last month inside of the Self Assessments ( I will BE doing the VR S.A. over though) and or Guide.

 

[theA1doctor]

So there is no way to prepare for this unless you a million plus years of research material reading? A little ridiculous that I can't even practice and prepare myself for something like that

 

[Shams al Deen]

This thread is scaring me. EK BIO was easy, then I tried TPRH bio passages and all the experiment-based passages starting kicking my butt. Was the real MCAT BS similar to TPRH? I can't see how they can make them significantly harder than some of those tprh passages. Any harder than that and nobody will be getting over 75% on them right??

 

[Temperature101]

This thread is scaring me. EK BIO was easy, then I tried TPRH bio passages and all the experiment-based passages starting kicking my butt. Was the real MCAT BS similar to TPRH? I can't see how they can make them significantly harder than some of those tprh passages. Any harder than that and nobody will be getting over 75% on them right??

Worst... It is ironic that O-chem questions can be freebies in comparison to these bio questions in BS since many hated O-chem in undergrad...Let me say that again. DO NOT neglect O-chem like I and most people did.