Bombed the C/P section on the AAMC FL#1

[KiddCo]

I took my first AAMC Full length today (#1), and I did much worse on the Chem/Physics section than I projected.

Scored: 123/128/125/127 (503)

I was getting at least a 125 on the Kap and NS exams and average about ~70% on the question packs.

i know that less than a 125 indicates content issues, so I'll be going back to some reviewing in the books.

I feel like the questions were much harder than what I've been seeing. Has anyone who has taken the real thing and FL#1 know if they are comparable in terms of difficulty?

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[jaggabrotha]

I took my first AAMC Full length today (#1), and I did much worse on the Chem/Physics section than I projected.

Scored: 123/128/125/127 (503)

I was getting at least a 125 on the Kap and NS exams and average about ~70% on the question packs.

i know that less than a 125 indicates content issues, so I'll be going back to some reviewing in the books.

I feel like the questions were much harder than what I've been seeing. Has anyone who has taken the real thing and FL#1 know if they are comparable in terms of difficulty?

When are you registered to take the actual exam?
Great job on CARS, but don't stop practicing.
Bottomline - practice practice practice. You can do better on the BB section. My actual exam was way harder than the FL1, it was more like the section bank. My advice is to try and get used to section bank type of questions.

 

[KiddCo]

When are you registered to take the actual exam?
Great job on CARS, but don't stop practicing.
Bottomline - practice practice practice. You can do better on the BB section. My actual exam was way harder than the FL1, it was more like the section bank. My advice is to try and get used to section bank type of questions.

Thanks, CARS has been my strong section.

I sit for the exam on Jan 18th. Luckily I have pretty much the whole time to improve my chem/physics.

I was a bit distracted during the BB by phone calls from the parents and the dog needing to go out. I normally score above 125. But maybe I'm just making excuses.



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[toedrag]

Make sure you know everything about all of the amino acids. I used the amino acid sporcle quiz online (google it) and did the 3 letter, 1 letter, and picture quizzes daily until I could finish all 20 in <20 seconds. It sounds unreasonable right now but you want to get to the point where you can answer the amino acid questions on both C/P and B/B sections in ~15 seconds so you can use that extra time elsewhere. These questions are the most high yield questions on the MCAT..period. You want to know the nuances of how all the structures are similar/ different, etc.

Obviously, memorize all of the equations and understand how certain equations relate (and their respective units). I.e. know that V=IR but also q/t=I, and be able to plug that "I" value into that previous equation. You really want to be comfortable substituting equations.

Also make sure you can quickly convert between scientific notation. A lot of people get thrown off when they see some crazy number in SN divided by another funky number in SN. Learn how to simplify it to an easy number so that you can eliminate other answer choices. Make sure that you know the prefixes giga, tera, mega, kilo, etc. Lower yield but this goes hand and hand with the SN questions.

Don't get bogged down by organic chemistry. Learn the nomenclature, stereochemistry, SN1/Sn2 mechanisms, how to identify common molecules like carbs/ fats/ lipids, etc, and most importantly, experimental techniques! Know the basics of chromatography, fractional distillation, simple distillation, crystallization, and know them cold. A lot of passages are based on these techniques.

The AAMC exams are pretty spot on with how you'll perform on the real deal. Generally you'd have a +/- 2 bandwidth on each section. Hope this helps. Lastly, change your profile picture.

 

[toedrag]

Thanks, CARS has been my strong section.

I sit for the exam on Jan 18th. Luckily I have pretty much the whole time to improve my chem/physics.

I was a bit distracted during the BB by phone calls from the parents and the dog needing to go out. I normally score above 125. But maybe I'm just making excuses.



Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile

Go somewhere where you can simulate actual testing conditions...

 

[KiddCo]

Make sure you know everything about all of the amino acids. I used the amino acid sporcle quiz online (google it) and did the 3 letter, 1 letter, and picture quizzes daily until I could finish all 20 in <20 seconds. It sounds unreasonable right now but you want to get to the point where you can answer the amino acid questions on both C/P and B/B sections in ~15 seconds so you can use that extra time elsewhere. These questions are the most high yield questions on the MCAT..period. You want to know the nuances of how all the structures are similar/ different, etc.

Obviously, memorize all of the equations and understand how certain equations relate (and their respective units). I.e. know that V=IR but also q/t=I, and be able to plug that "I" value into that previous equation. You really want to be comfortable substituting equations.

Also make sure you can quickly convert between scientific notation. A lot of people get thrown off when they see some crazy number in SN divided by another funky number in SN. Learn how to simplify it to an easy number so that you can eliminate other answer choices. Make sure that you know the prefixes giga, tera, mega, kilo, etc. Lower yield but this goes hand and hand with the SN questions.

Don't get bogged down by organic chemistry. Learn the nomenclature, stereochemistry, SN1/Sn2 mechanisms, how to identify common molecules like carbs/ fats/ lipids, etc, and most importantly, experimental techniques! Know the basics of chromatography, fractional distillation, simple distillation, crystallization, and know them cold. A lot of passages are based on these techniques.

The AAMC exams are pretty spot on with how you'll perform on the real deal. Generally you'd have a +/- 2 bandwidth on each section. Hope this helps. Lastly, change your profile picture.

Lots of great information there, thanks for the reply!

Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile

 

[Hi_I'mPaul]

I took my first AAMC Full length today (#1), and I did much worse on the Chem/Physics section than I projected.

Scored: 123/128/125/127 (503)

I was getting at least a 125 on the Kap and NS exams and average about ~70% on the question packs.

i know that less than a 125 indicates content issues, so I'll be going back to some reviewing in the books.

I feel like the questions were much harder than what I've been seeing. Has anyone who has taken the real thing and FL#1 know if they are comparable in terms of difficulty?

C/P on the real deal has a lot of biochem interwoven in it. I scored a 130 on the section and all I really did was watch all the Khan Academy videos, read Kaplan books, and practice practice practice. The AAMC FLs were somewhat representative imo, maybe a little easier (but there's a better "curve" on the real deal). I feel like C/P was the easiest section to predict the types of questions the AAMC was going to ask and what the answer would be. With enough practice, you'll be able to do that as well. I bolded the word predict because you should always be trying to predict answers before reading the answer choices if you're not doing that already. It's a great habit to get into.

Also take practice exams in pure conditions, put phone away.