Has ochem material decreased more?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Bdubz12

Full Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
34
Reaction score
0
I just took the AAMC practice test #6 and ochem destroyed me. There was 2 whole passages dedicated to ochem. Is this still typical of the real Mcats or have they reduced Ochem more?

Members don't see this ad.
 
pshhhhh.....i thought ochem wouldn't be too bad and that there would not be a lot of it....that was NOT true! And, the ochem was brutal today (the may 10th exam)!
 
There was a lot of ochem on today's exam. I got an A in orgo both semesters and rocked all the examkrackers orgo practice tests. Today's test was ridiculous, far beyond what I learned in my actual organic class.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
What could you have done to prepare for that level of difficulty?


Nothing really. I feel that ochem is one of my strongest subjects, and I rarely missed any ochem questions on practice tests. But this test was different. There was one ochem passage about sugars which wasn't too bad, but the discretes were out of control
 
I just don't understand how the discrete's could be so difficult... It just doesn't make sense. :(
 
Two weeks. I've spent almost zero time on ochem b/c its generally a strength and the questions have largely been very easy, so it concerns me that they may have difficult questions!

I hate this damn test, and I can't bring myself to study as much as I should be. *sigh* Oh well, finals are over this week so I can just slam myself with MCAT all day for the next couple of weeks and hope I'm not a re-applicant next year!
 
threads like this make me want to give up and become a nurse...
and no offense to the nurses out there--my mom is a nurse, so are two of my aunts as well as my late grandmother.

Ok, I didn't take the MAY 1oth MCAT so I really have no room to talk but from my test experience and from the time I spent studying this test I would advice you not to listen to all this nonsense about the test being so difficult that nothing can be done to prepare for it, or that the material was never seen before. That is exactly what the test writers want you to think when they write the test, but the thruth of the matter is that if you simply calm down and take the time to reason properly, and use the passage when provided, you will find that the questions require nothing but a strong conceptual understanding of the basic science concepts. For example, when I took my test on April 19th, everyone was complaining about the physics and a rocket passage. The passage seemed difficult but all you really needed to answer most of the questions was a good conceptual understanding of the laws of conservation of energy. The MCAT is a couple inches deep and as soon as you try to dig down a couple feet, you often run into trouble.
 
yea u are rite to an extent...but yesterday's test was indeed brutal....orgo is def my strong point...im a TA for orgo at my school and i rarely got any orgo questions wrong on practice exams...i was really looking forward to the orgo passages on the yesterday when i saw that there was 3...but then when i got to them i was like ooo shiiiiiaaat....lol and also, the discreets were rediculous...i would also say that there is little more sum1 could do to prepare for them...for instance...one question was asking abut how many stereoisomers u could have in a starch chain...i didnt and still dont know how to solve this question and never have i seen nething like it...and ive dont many, many questions like this asked in diffeent ways...typically the questions are prtty str8 forward 2^n n being the number ofr stereocenters and then watch out for meso compounds...but i just could not think of how 2 apply it 2 that question...im sure there was some subtlety in the question that i missed..but even after about 5 min spent looking at it i jus couldnt get it...and i dont think there was nething else in my prep that would have prepared me for it..unless i were to have seen a question like it before...
 
I agree....nobody would understand yesterday's test unless they had taken it. It was unlike anything I have ever seen.
 
Last edited:
If all of you guys agree the Ochem was hard, then the curve will take care of it...I had a tough bio section on mine (thought i got 9-10)...the curve saved me...i got an 11

All you can do right now is chill out...
 
I agree....nobody would understand yesterday's test unless they had taken it. It was unlike anything I have ever seen.

yea, well everyone seems to say that. The Aug 20 test was thought to be a massacre. The July 24 was thought to be brutal and so was the Sept 7 test. The Jan 26 was killer as well. the reality is that you guys all think you did much worse than what you'll actually get. If you keep calm, nearly every question can be simplified as mterp said. I honestly believe too many people treat it as a knowledge test and not a reasoning test. Consequently, they get questions right on practice exams more for their knowledge than actually reasoning their way through it. It's official, the BS section has evolved. It's now passage based and unless you actually relied on passages during practices you will get smoked on the exam. I think this post summarizes it well;

I used my friend's 2005 materials. In fact, they may have even been 2004 materials. A lot of the material doesn't really change, so it's definitely a good starting point. I do have a hunch, however, that the AAMC plays a subtle game of cat and mouse with the test prep companies. In other words, the AAMC may be trying to put more new material-based passages on the test to see how well test-takers do with information that's not covered in a test prep course.
he got a 41.

I have a feeling that part of the reason the test seems harder is because the AAMC is playing a game of cat and mouse with the test prep companies. If the test doesn't evolve, you're really just testing people's test prep companies. So, you put in unexpected passages about new material and then ask questions to test the student's ability to apply novel information.

I'm pretty happy.....

PS: 13
VR: 14
BS: 14
WS: S

41S

That matches my highest practice test, CBT 3. It's higher than I expected, but I always try to be conservative in my estimates. I find it makes me happier, sort of like having the clock run 5 minutes fast.

And congrats everybody! The loooong wait is over. Now the next long wait begins.....actually applying to med school.
 
yea, well everyone seems to say that. The Aug 20 test was thought to be a massacre. The July 24 was thought to be brutal and so was the Sept 7 test. The Jan 26 was killer as well. the reality is that you guys all think you did much worse than what you'll actually get. If you keep calm, nearly every question can be simplified as mterp said. I honestly believe too many people treat it as a knowledge test and not a reasoning test. Consequently, they get questions right on practice exams more for their knowledge than actually reasoning their way through it. It's official, the BS section has evolved. It's now passage based and unless you actually relied on passages during practices you will get smoked on the exam. I think this post summarizes it well;

Yes, I completely agree.
 
What did you guys get on the MCAT?

I noticed that none of you used TBR. So even with the less amount of OChem on MCAT CBT, isn't it still a better idea to use the more comprehensive TBR rather than EK for OChem to avoid situations like the one you had?
 
What did you guys get on the MCAT?

I noticed that none of you used TBR. So even with the less amount of OChem on MCAT CBT, isn't it still a better idea to use the more comprehensive TBR rather than EK for OChem to avoid situations like the one you had?

That's the way I'm approaching it. There's no sense in taking anything for granted, unless you don't have much time to prepare or something.
 
Top