Hardest PS or BS Sections

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Hey Guys,

Just wanted to get a rough census of who thought which FL (AAMC, Kaplan, EK, or TPR) had the most difficult PS/BS Section.

 

[gotgame83]

Im slightly bias at the present moment but I thought Kaplan FL 4's PS and BS were challenging

 

[booji]

Thanks for the response gotgame. I ha e also heard that Kaplan FL6's PS section was quite challenging. Any other inputs?

 

[Engin]

FL#2 PS was relatively decent and I think closer to the real thing since they wer e less calculations and the conversion chart was closer to the aamc breakdowns. It was the first time ever that I though that the Bio section was harder than the Physics section (I got the same score though).

FL #6 PS was same ol same ol from kaplan. The bio was decent.

WTF was with the PS on FL 7? Holy crap. I only got 30/77 right and I got an 8. I'm a bit embarrassed by that but I didn't finish two sections and rushed through one. They were calculations up the arse on this one that just killed my time and I forgot that I need to rush on some of these kaplan tests because teh insane amount of calculations. Also, it seemed to heavily test all my weaknesses: electrcity, magnestism, fluids, work/momentum.. WTF. Seriously, WTH is wrong with Kaplan sometimes? Stop giving so many calculations. The BS was pretty solid.

 

[perfectmoment]

question about kaplan's calculation heavy PS section...

when you took the real thing, did you find there to be anywhere near as many calculation questions? i took one of the practice tests from the kaplan practice test book and was just blown away by how many calculation questions there were, and moreover, by how hard they were. some of those questions have just the most obscure values, and even with rounding, the numbers were really quite difficult to handle. i've taken 3r-5r and the PS sections on those exams had nowhere near as many calculations. what can i expect on the real thing?

as well, when people say that kaplan's PS most resembles the real mcat's in terms of difficulty, do they mean in term of conceptual type questions, or by the fact that they have to slog their way through kaplan's calculations, thus being pressed for time for the rest of the section?

 

[SensesFail]

I think Kaplan's PS sections are the hardest. However, TPR Tests A-D come a close second, and I think their BS sections are harder.

Verbal's really a toss-up. Personally, after going through EK, TPR and Kaplan's Verbal, I find Kaplan's later Section Tests (like, 8-13) the hardest freakin' Verbal tests around. Unfortunately, there are no scales for these tests so even if you get like 30/60 it could still be an 8 or something.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Kaplan was hard and sadly it was very much like the real thing. A week before the MCAT I took AAMC 7 PS section and got a 10. On the real thing, I got an 8. I found it much harder than the AAMC's.

 

[perfectmoment]

but in what way was the real thing hard? i don't mind the conceptual, analytical stuff, cause that doesn't fluster me anywhere near as much as seeing some crazy calculation question. everytime i see kaplan's calculation stuff, i try to do them, realize it's worthless, and just guess after 3 or 4 minutes, which really destroys me for time cause i ended up guessing anyway. should i expect something like that for the real thing?

 

[Unch]

I took the April MCAT and got an 8 on the PS because I found that section (at least the end of it) to be brutal. The first half tested a lot of Newtonian mechanics and relatively easy stuff. Then the second half had a few horrendous passages (electrodynamics, magnetism etc.) with difficult formulas (complex, negative exponents...) I too had managed the odd 10 on AAMC practice tests. Notice I am not even commenting on the chemistry since it always seems to be the physics that gets me.

BTW, much more important than the material itself is your overall preparation. I worked so hard on taking practice tests in full practice environment, building up my stamina and getting ready for the actual day. Then I was able to pace myself well and never get freaked, answer every question with just the right amount of time etc. So it paid off for the rest of the sections-- BS10 VR11 T. (I even enjoyed the writing a bit!)

 

[frankrizzo18]

My section of physical was pretty ridiculous. Instead of a pendulum passage, I had Tarzan and Jane jumping onto a pendulum. Instead of having a guitar string being plucked so you have to determine the freq., wave, speed etc I had waves in a new cosmological world with different constants. There was no straight-up acid-base passage. There was acid-base chemistry which helped create energy for a car battery, which ended up having questions about density. I had a thermodynamics passage with a circuit and a refrigerator, fan, etc. I also had a passage about some mission to mars where a community was being built up with a different atmosphere (meaning different concentrations of atmospheric molecules and different gravity material). There was nothing straight-forward. Kaplan prepares you to handle those new situations by making you master the basics. Fortunately, the PS section is not always that hard. This summer will probably have a immpossible verbal or biological section. Do not think about it anymore. Get frustrated now so on test day you are trying to squeak out extra points. Stay hungry!!

but in what way was the real thing hard? i don't mind the conceptual, analytical stuff, cause that doesn't fluster me anywhere near as much as seeing some crazy calculation question. everytime i see kaplan's calculation stuff, i try to do them, realize it's worthless, and just guess after 3 or 4 minutes, which really destroys me for time cause i ended up guessing anyway. should i expect something like that for the real thing?

 

[perfectmoment]

My section of physical was pretty ridiculous. Instead of a pendulum passage, I had Tarzan and Jane jumping onto a pendulum. Instead of having a guitar string being plucked so you have to determine the freq., wave, speed etc I had waves in a new cosmological world with different constants. There was no straight-up acid-base passage. There was acid-base chemistry which helped create energy for a car battery, which ended up having questions about density. I had a thermodynamics passage with a circuit and a refrigerator, fan, etc. I also had a passage about some mission to mars where a community was being built up with a different atmosphere (meaning different concentrations of atmospheric molecules and different gravity material). There was nothing straight-forward. Kaplan prepares you to handle those new situations by making you master the basics. Fortunately, the PS section is not always that hard. This summer will probably have a immpossible verbal or biological section. Do not think about it anymore. Get frustrated now so on test day you are trying to squeak out extra points. Stay hungry!!

my god, that just sounds down right cruel. how were the questions on those passages? just as hard as the passages make them out to be i presume.... oh man, i am officially scared now.

 

[Mister Pie]

I hope you're wrong about VS or BS. Those are my weaker areas, too much trouble there could lead to disaster. I'd rather have harder physics passages (cause that's closer to where my major lies).

Watch me eat my own words when the PS gets too difficult.

 

[MDhopeful023]

My section of physical was pretty ridiculous. Instead of a pendulum passage, I had Tarzan and Jane jumping onto a pendulum. Instead of having a guitar string being plucked so you have to determine the freq., wave, speed etc I had waves in a new cosmological world with different constants. There was no straight-up acid-base passage. There was acid-base chemistry which helped create energy for a car battery, which ended up having questions about density. I had a thermodynamics passage with a circuit and a refrigerator, fan, etc. I also had a passage about some mission to mars where a community was being built up with a different atmosphere (meaning different concentrations of atmospheric molecules and different gravity material). There was nothing straight-forward. Kaplan prepares you to handle those new situations by making you master the basics. Fortunately, the PS section is not always that hard. This summer will probably have a immpossible verbal or biological section. Do not think about it anymore. Get frustrated now so on test day you are trying to squeak out extra points. Stay hungry!!

HA! I had the same passage... I was like WTF JANE AND TARZAN IN A PENDULUM! OMG!!! THEN I had that crazy fan passage with resistors and capacitors that is suppose to be one of my strong points but it really wasnt

YUP Physical was very VERY brutal!

THUS... a wonderful score much lower than my practice exams... 🙁

 

[scrubsRcomfy]

i agree... i hate how miserably difficult kaplan is for PS...

but the difficulty of the difficult passages is definitely reflective of some ofthe hard stuff on the realy thing 🙁

i think the real thing has more variety-- like kaplan seems to give you passages that range from medium to ohnutsthissucksballs, where as the real thing is easy to omgi'mnevergettingintomedicalschoolihatemystupidity.

i really like the 1001 series from EK, but it has to be used in conjunction with more difficult stuff like kaplan, otherwise you might get overconfident.

 

[Tinker Creek]

My section of physical was pretty ridiculous. Instead of a pendulum passage, I had Tarzan and Jane jumping onto a pendulum. Instead of having a guitar string being plucked so you have to determine the freq., wave, speed etc I had waves in a new cosmological world with different constants. There was no straight-up acid-base passage. There was acid-base chemistry which helped create energy for a car battery, which ended up having questions about density. I had a thermodynamics passage with a circuit and a refrigerator, fan, etc. I also had a passage about some mission to mars where a community was being built up with a different atmosphere (meaning different concentrations of atmospheric molecules and different gravity material). There was nothing straight-forward. Kaplan prepares you to handle those new situations by making you master the basics. Fortunately, the PS section is not always that hard. This summer will probably have a immpossible verbal or biological section. Do not think about it anymore. Get frustrated now so on test day you are trying to squeak out extra points. Stay hungry!!

I think I need prozac.

 

[gotgame83]

I think I need prozac.

hahahahah, i wonder if docs can prescribe prozac to themselves??

 

[booji]

The darn Kaplan PS Sections...I try to finish them on time, but I am not able to and I get frusturated with the time pressure that I start missing easy questions...any suggestions?

 

[Rupert Pumpkin]

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