I need to hear some MCAT success stories.

[EECStoMed]

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I need to hear some MCAT success stories because I"m sooo tired, sooo bored, sooo nervous, sooooooo scared. I need to hear some inspirational stories to boost some morale. Let's hear it guys/gals!

 

[quiksilver87]

Ive been practicing verbal and havent been getting anywhere...
Thats my success...

 

[bunnybop]

Ive been practicing verbal and havent been getting anywhere...
Thats my success...

try reading the questions first... do it quickly... No more than 30 40 seconds max... However, this comes with a caveat. You have to be smart and know if you can read the questions... For example... You may come across a passage were the questions are long, like paragraphs, there is no reason to try and read that. This is going to be a doozy of a passage so get your head straight and try to dig in. The three or four you may get correct on that passage could make you...

Why does reading the questions help so much... Because when you read, you begin to see the BS that they put in the passage and you can almost skim around it. You begin to see things they are asking so chunks of info they are giving you know right away is "filler" you can breeze through that and focus on the hearty information that you will need to answer the question...

I was doing passages in 7 minutes totall and for passages like the one I was describing above I spent maybe 9 or more minutes on because they were obviously more difficult...


*****************
Oh and here is a success story, A person who took the MCAT felt horrible afterward and took a minute or two contemplating voiding the exam... She didn't and ended up with a 36 on her score...

that is encouraging to me...

 

[scotties123]

try reading the questions first... do it quickly... No more than 30 40 seconds max... However, this comes with a caveat. You have to be smart and know if you can read the questions... For example... You may come across a passage were the questions are long, like paragraphs, there is no reason to try and read that. This is going to be a doozy of a passage so get your head straight and try to dig in. The three or four you may get correct on that passage could make you...

Why does reading the questions help so much... Because when you read, you begin to see the BS that they put in the passage and you can almost skim around it. You begin to see things they are asking so chunks of info they are giving you know right away is "filler" you can breeze through that and focus on the hearty information that you will need to answer the question...

i think reading the questions beforehand is easily the biggest waste of time on verbal. not only can u NOT remember the questions enough to look for the answer correctly, but u also end up screwing urself over because instead of looking for the main idea, like u shud be doing, ur looking for specific answers, and thus completely miss out on the entire purpose of verbal.

 

[ilovelucy]

where are the inspirational stories? I need some too!

 

[go lakers]

first time 26, second time 33

*shrugs*

🙂

 

[randomized1df374d41]

First post yes, but far from first read. I have lurked here since January this year looking for advice or a cure for boredom.

Jan 2007 first practice test:
6 PS
9 VR
5 BS
-Ouch, my ego


Two most recent:
AAMC 8 CBT (a week ago)
13 PS
11 VR
11 BS

AAMC 4 CBT (yesterday)
12 PS
12 VR
11 BS

I have never taken organic chem, I taught myself (TPR too I loove them 2 profs had PhDs) as much as possible (worst experience ever). Yes I am registered for next year (Im going to be a senior and didnt want to wait a year). Im an econ major, just 6 labs.

The score increases have been steady, these last two must have put my total practice exams near 20. The only advice I have is "go balls deep" in your study habits. I would say Im a generally smart guy, I get perfect grades but I need to study, I cant just show up and pwn tests. Hope this is inspirational enough, it certainly boosts the ego to prep me for friday.

 

[majik1213]

once upon a time there was a young lad named Toby. Toby had grown up in the tuff life, but his parents, although very, very poor, wished him the best every day. All Toby ever wanted to do was to help the sick and the injured. Toby wasn't very bright in school, but he chugged and he chugged ever so hard. He made it all the way to college with a full blown high school diploma (GPA-2.0;SAT=800/2400). But Toby said, "Now momma and pappa i'm gonna make you so proud i'm gonna be a doctor!!" Toby worked for one FULL week ploughin the farmlands and reading Archie comics to improve his vocabulary (parents could afford only one comic, actually, so he kept re-reading it). Toby took the MCAT then, and got a perfect 45! Go, Toby, Go, said the world!

Actually, on the MCAT all of the other premed students, who were sharper than Toby's plough, anihilated Toby, who ended up with a 4. Toby now flips burger's for Burger Queen, although he has been known to say a little prayer after each flip to wish the customer only the best health.

 

[swim2006]

1st time 27, second time 28, third time 33

 

[AWhitehair]

1st time 27, second time 28, third time 33

What did you do differently the third time?

 

[mrmilad]

Started my studies last sunday June 3rd and I took my first real MCAT, started my studies on monday studied all through the week, took another test today June 9th. Real test is on Aug 14, hopefully I can kee pushing it up.

June 3rd: 25
PS:7
VR:7
BS:11

June 9th: 29 😳
PS:9
VR:10
BS:10

hard work, hard work..

 

[meowkat444]

now, granted, i haven't taken the thing yet, i started in early march with a diag score of 28. i took kaplan. i have been working full time and taking physics and bio with lab, but i have WORKED MY BUTT OFF on this stupid test. my orgo is old (4 years) and i've never taken some of the physics at all, so i had to learn/relearn material.

my last 3 practice tests have been above 40, and the two before that were both 38. i'm taking it for real on friday.

you can bring your score up a lot. make sure you know the material well first (you could use like a kaplan review book, the standalone one) and then buy aamc practice tests and just practice. make sure you go over the test you just took right away so you can make little improvements all the time.

 

[mongrel]

first practice ~26

Was scoring 30-32ish on practice tests up until the date.

Was "sooo tired, sooo bored, sooo nervous, sooooooo scared" too but I focused on CHILLAXING OUT 😉 before the test and scored a 36.

 

[swim2006]

What did you do differently the third time?

I spent a lot of time really trying to understand the concepts and I did alot of practice questions more so than taking practice exams. and i started trying to read more because I was not a fast reader.

 

[overthinker2]

here's a REAL inspirational story from a REAL person

first diag----> 17

lowest AAMC---> 23

average AAMC---> 28

real thing---> 31

moral of the story...u can get a horrible diag score....u can get low AAMC practice scores...u can get an OK average...BUT u can end up with a pretty good score (the highest u've ever gotten on any practice)

 

[Flaxmoore]

Okay, you want an inspirational one...

I got rocked by OChem as a sophomore in college. 2 Cs, a C and a C+ in the labs. Took the diagnostic MCATs before the real thing, and started plowing into it as hard as I could. 29Q- 12PS, 8BS, 9 VR.

Denial to medical school. Close, they said, but you need something more to finish off.

Went back and decided to hit even harder. Registered for my MS, which started the Monday after the August '06 MCAT. I knew that would be my last shot at it without the Master's work around it, so off to work. I went through the Kaplan book page by page, I'd retaken OChem, and lived and breathed the MCAT for three months.

The score reports showed during a lecture break. 11PS... not bad, lost one somewhere. 12VR... whoa! Picked up a quick three. 10BS... w00t! Snagged 2 more. 33. 😀

I got into my first-choice school, and I've no intention of looking back.

 

[viper2fast505]

I know how to make your score higher by at least 3 points, STAY OFF OF SDN AND STUDY. Take a break from studying by doing something else instead of reading about other peoples success (good for them) but now is time for you to study and take care of yourself.

 

[randomized1df374d41]

I know how to make your score higher by at least 3 points, STAY OFF OF SDN AND STUDY. Take a break from studying by doing something else instead of reading about other peoples success (good for them) but now is time for you to study and take care of yourself.

I dont think that is necessarily true. SDN is good for breaks because it initiates the process self loathing and the feeling of your impending doom. Without SDN, I wouldn't have known how neurotic my competition was (whom I need to trample in my quest for MCAT glory) and how much effort is required.

 

[swifteagle43]

I dont think that is necessarily true. SDN is good for breaks because it initiates the process self loathing and the feeling of your impending doom. Without SDN, I wouldn't have known how neurotic my competition was (whom I need to trample in my quest for MCAT glory) and how much effort is required.

SDN is not self loathing- it is inspiring. To meet people that are excellent forces you to grow...at least I did

 

[Pink08]

Does anyone have a success story that goes something like:

"After I took the test, I felt like the PS was the worst, and that I bombed that section. However, when I got my scores back I rocked out that section"

Cause that's what I need to hear right about now!! Hopefully that'll be my success story to share with everyone after getting my scores tomorrow. good luck to all!

 

[Krisss17]

Okay, you want an inspirational one...

I got rocked by OChem as a sophomore in college. 2 Cs, a C and a C+ in the labs. Took the diagnostic MCATs before the real thing, and started plowing into it as hard as I could. 29Q- 12PS, 8BS, 9 VR.

Denial to medical school. Close, they said, but you need something more to finish off.

Went back and decided to hit even harder. Registered for my MS, which started the Monday after the August '06 MCAT. I knew that would be my last shot at it without the Master's work around it, so off to work. I went through the Kaplan book page by page, I'd retaken OChem, and lived and breathed the MCAT for three months.

The score reports showed during a lecture break. 11PS... not bad, lost one somewhere. 12VR... whoa! Picked up a quick three. 10BS... w00t! Snagged 2 more. 33. 😀

I got into my first-choice school, and I've no intention of looking back.

this is an inspirational one! congrats on getting into your first choice...you showed how much you wanted to get into medical school by pushing ahead and focusing on what you needed to fix. Again, congrats!

 

[Phoenix.]

Does anyone have a success story that goes something like:

"After I took the test, I felt like the PS was the worst, and that I bombed that section. However, when I got my scores back I rocked out that section"

Cause that's what I need to hear right about now!! Hopefully that'll be my success story to share with everyone after getting my scores tomorrow. good luck to all!

A friend of mine who took it on April 7th said that PS was brutal and was really worried about his score. He usually got a 10 on PS on practice AAMC MCATs. In fact, he never got higher than a 10 on any practice test. He ended up with a 12 on PS. Bottom line - remember there's a curve.

I'm taking it on Friday and going to do my best not to get too upset about PS. I'm human though, and I'm sure I'll be freaking out as well if we get a really hard PS section.

 

[AWhitehair]

A friend of mine who took it on April 7th said that PS was brutal and was really worried about his score. He usually got a 10 on PS on practice AAMC MCATs. In fact, he never got higher than a 10 on any practice test. He ended up with a 12 on PS. Bottom line - remember there's a curve.

I'm taking it on Friday and going to do my best not to get too upset about PS. I'm human though, and I'm sure I'll be freaking out as well if we get a really hard PS section.

I hope we don't get a hard VR section. However, starting off with a hard PS puts a big damper on your confidence for the rest of the test. Who else is going into the test without having practiced the WS?

 

[starlight04]

I hope we don't get a hard VR section. However, starting off with a hard PS puts a big damper on your confidence for the rest of the test. Who else is going into the test without having practiced the WS?

oooo meeeee!!!!

 

[SurgMD]

edit

 

[pandulce321]

first time 26, second time 33

*shrugs*

🙂

I am retaking and I got a 24 the first time I took the MCAT. I have been practicing for 7/13 exam and have been getting 32s on my last AAMCs. Did you apply yet with your new score, and if so, was your first score ever a problem in terms of admissions?

 

[Phoenix.]

I hope we don't get a hard VR section. However, starting off with a hard PS puts a big damper on your confidence for the rest of the test. Who else is going into the test without having practiced the WS?

I haven't either. What is the format supposed to be? Three examples for and three against? Does each one need to be fleshed out in its own paragraph? Or is it intro paragraph, one paragraph with three examples for, one paragraph with three examples against, and conclusion? Or is it supposed to be that silly five paragraph format? Hrm. I don't want to spend a lot of time on prepping for this, but at least knowing what they're looking for would be a good idea. I'll have to read through their web site about this again. I did once before, but don't remember the guidelines and am immersed in wave review right now.