Is it really that difficult?

[almo88]

---

Members do not see this ad.

One of my physics classmates just took the MCAT about 3 weeks ago and said that it really wasn't as hard as everyone had told her. She said that she didn't study at all for it!! So, I'm trying to decide if she was telling the truth, or if she is just another gunner trying to knock out the competition. Now, keep in mind, she isn't a "genius" or anything!!!

So what do you think? Is she a gunner, or do I have weird ideas about the MCAT? 😕

 

[RaVen777]

I'm pretty sure it really is that hard. 😉

 

[almo88]

I'm pretty sure it really is that hard. 😉

DaYum! Sucks for her then.

 

[J ROD]

Harder than I expected.

 

[mindquick]

the questions themselves are not hard, but it's hard to do really well on it.

 

[thechairman]

the questions themselves are not hard, but it's hard to do really well on it.

ditto. sometimes it comes down to luck too. you get the passages you understand, and the topics that you are most familiar with.

 

[franniemeow07]

Not only is the amount of material a reason to study, think of everyone else that is taking the test. No doubt that they are studying their asses off. Since this test is curved, you would be insane not to study.

 

[jochi1543]

Just take a practice exam and see for yourself.

 

[Kaydubz]

The AAMC exams really aren't that hard. But the curve is.

 

[almo88]

Just take a practice exam and see for yourself.

I've taken a practice exam, and did pretty badly (19). I thought it was really tough, but I was afraid I was just stupid. lol. Anyway, she's a total gunner. 🙄

 

[wcbcruzer]

Just because she thought it was easy doesn't mean she did well. 😉

 

[brianoflee]

It's different for everyone, where some find it easy-ish and some find it hard. I highly agree with mindquick in that the questions themselves aren't that hard, but the combination of stress, time limits, and serial mental exhaustion make it difficult to score well.

But irrespective of how hard or easy it is, remember that your score's based on how you did compared to everyone else that's taken the test on that day and on similar questions in the past (there's a thread with the official reply from the AAMC about on what the curve is based). For a 35, for example, you'd need to score better than about 93-95% of the others taking the test.

That said, I think that most people who call the MCAT easy are either exceptionally good test-takers... or FOS 🙄

 

[deeelin]

i took it for the first time without studying (just took most of the prereqs) just to see what it was like and i was blown away about how mentally demanding it was. (granted i never took the real one - just a practice one offered in the same conditions.) my problem was that it became real hard to sit still and focus after an hour or two into the exam.

i find it very hard to believe that someone who didnt prepare for it at all could get a good score.

 

[awnodirp]

I think the test itself is not that difficult. Time constraints and test anxiety are the biggest hindrances to a top score. We all would have a raw score at least 5% points higher if given an extra five minutes on each section. If you are the type of person that can sit down and read a book and/or study for 7-8 hours straight, then this test should be surprisingly reasonable. The questions are not hard, but the length is exhausting for some people. Keep in mind that the paper/pencil exam was about three hours longer. CBT people have it easy.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

If you can do well on VR, then you should be able to do well on BS and PS. ALl you have to do is put in the time. I envy you!!!. haha just put in the time and youll ace it possibly 40+

 

[jochi1543]

Just because she thought it was easy doesn't mean she did well. 😉

And just because she said it was easy doesn't mean she thought it was easy.

 

[jochi1543]

I've taken a practice exam, and did pretty badly (19).

Hehe, that's not too far off from my Kaplan diagnostic test score like 2 months into my studying. I had like a 24.

 

[FutureeMD]

I don't think its as hard as everyone makes it out to be, but it can be somehow tricky to do well on it. People get so neurotic about it that they spread it to everyone around them.

 

[mindquick]

there's been a lot of variability in the MCAT ever since they introduced the CBT tests. some sittings are just so much harder than others, while others are much easier. so it is hard to say if the MCAT is difficult, because it depends on what test you get that day.

 

[west nile]

ugh, I hate when people lie to sound cool.

 

[jochi1543]

ugh, I hate when people lie to sound cool.

Not to mention, perception is nothing....there's a ton of "traps" on the MCAT where the answer sounds perfect, but it's just a trick answer and it's not the correct one. So you come out of there thinking you did awesome and then totally bomb it. You could wait to hear what she actually got on the test, but then again, she'll probably lie anyway, so it won't matter.

 

[almo88]

Not to mention, perception is nothing....there's a ton of "traps" on the MCAT where the answer sounds perfect, but it's just a trick answer and it's not the correct one. So you come out of there thinking you did awesome and then totally bomb it. You could wait to hear what she actually got on the test, but then again, she'll probably lie anyway, so it won't matter.

So true. I guess I need to get used to all these pre-med gunners. Man, they're everywhere! I just talked to her this morning and she said that she just took it for the second time!!! So, I'm guessing it wasn't as easy as she thought! 🙄

 

[BrokenGlass]

So true. I guess I need to get used to all these pre-med gunners. Man, they're everywhere! I just talked to her this morning and she said that she just took it for the second time!!! So, I'm guessing it wasn't as easy as she thought! 🙄

Yeah, she's full of it.

 

[Nikki2002]

yes like a previous poster said--perception means nothing. maybe she thought it was easy b/c she feel for a lot of answer traps. who knows....

 

[ChePibe]

The test is hard. Whenever you have some of the best students from universities across the country study for a month or two for an exam and still not score perfect then I would say that is the definition of hard itself. Only about 1% of students in the in the 42 range. Also consider that practice exams are likely to be nothing like the real deal. In my case I was scoring consistently in the 40s in AAMCs but scored what you see in my MDapps (still great but not near the 40s) and in no way I think the test is easy or would I tell someone it was easy.

 

[Dukhtar]

I definately think that the real test was more like an IQ test than the practice ones. If you're good at that type of test you'll probably do better on the real one - or worse depending...

 

[Daddydoc]

The MCAT really is mostly a thinking/reasoning test. This is what makes it different from any other test you've taken before. The information you need for most of the questions are usually in the passages. There are only a few questions where you need to really "know" specific things. It does help a lot to be familiar with what you are reading and being tested on, though. If you have a broad (but general) knowledge base and pick up well on things you read you'll perform solidly.

I don't know what the CBT is like, but for the written test it also was an advantage to be fast. I had lots of time left over while many taking the test around me were working hard right to the "put your pencils down". Don't waste time on anything. If you know it answer according to your first impression, and if you don't have a clue take a guess and mark it to come back if you have extra time.

 

[nVictus]

the test is hard. like daddydoc said, it's way different from any test youve taken as an undergraduate... so that alone will catch you by surprise. next would be the amount of material you have to understand. after that would be the time constraint they put on you... where you have hardly any time to second guess yourself. and then it will be the length of the test that will get you. a 4 1/2 hour exam will test your mental stamina to the max (especially for me because all my undergraduate exams were 1-1 1/2 hour max)

those are the basic problems people go through for the mcat. you may even be one of the unlucky ones that get sick before the test, get crappy flickering CRT monitors, or have a guy coughing/sneezing every 30seconds right next to you while youre taking the test.

point being, you need to prepare for the mcat and an ounce of luck to do well.

 

[RaVen777]

I had a bit of luck (ie, no problems) and i'm still worried.

you can prepare, do everything right, and the test can still catch you off gaurd.

 

[ETseq]

I thought the test was difficult, and that it (at least the one I took) did not really reflect a "general understanding of basic sciences" so much as a complete understanding of every chemical reaction, products, etc., which I definitely do not have! Even the VR passages were fairly difficult, and I have no clue as to how well I did or if I got tripped up by the answer tricks. If I end up retaking the exam, I will definitely be changing my entire study program as this one did not really do me any favors. That said, I did not feel like the test was that long (the whole endurance thing), so that was a plus.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

So true. I guess I need to get used to all these pre-med gunners. Man, they're everywhere! I just talked to her this morning and she said that she just took it for the second time!!! So, I'm guessing it wasn't as easy as she thought! 🙄

The only person whom I would take their word for really finding the mcat easy is: ISAAC NEWTON,
I am sure he is the only one that can ace any mcat, love that guy,

 

[RaVen777]

I don't know, i think old ISAAC would probably get somewhere in the mid 30's 😛

 

[nVictus]

i dunno... im sure isaac would be on sdn complaining about the verbal section as well 😀

 

[Corpus Callosum]

I don't know, i think old ISAAC would probably get somewhere in the mid 30's 😛

I am sure you meant mid 40's.... 45 or maybe 50/45

 

[Corpus Callosum]

i dunno... im sure isaac would be on sdn complaining about the verbal section as well 😀

why would he, Newton was english and spoke english, what are you trying to say, you speak english better than Newton did ?

 

[almo88]

I am sure you meant mid 40's.... 45 or maybe 50/45

lol. no doubt! 😆

 

[drizzt3117]

After postbac, Issac would nail that test.

I didn't think the test was that hard, but it does require a broad (if not particularly deep) understanding of the entire pre-med curriculum and superior critical thinking skills, which is good because that's exactly what it's supposed to test.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Haha you'd be surprised. He would actually do pretty badly, except on the straight up Physics questions. Their understanding of chemistry and biology was much different than ours, and in fact Newton spent most of his life trying to turn poo into gold.

That's right, he was a committed alchemist. In fact, he wrote over a million words on the subject and considered it more important than his other stuff (you know, minor stuff like inventing a whole branch of mathematics so he could invent a whole branch of physics). Now, of course, we know that you cannot just change poo into gold by heating it up or some such nonsense (he had no idea of atoms, which might prove to be a bit of a hurdle in modern chemistry and organic chemistry).

He would have trouble with the VR section as the new vocabulary and the change of grammatical style that has crept into the English language over three centuries.

Of course, that doesn't say anything about his intellect. Obviously, he was smarter than any person on this board, or alive today, and probably one of the three smartest people to have ever lived (along with Archimedes and Einstein). But I doubt he would do well at all on the modern MCAT.

Now if you are asking how he would do after he had a couple years to 'catch up', then its a different story.

Just through intellect and brilliant quessing, Newton would difinitely score perfect on the mcat, to think he would not do good on VR, Newton,, plain ignorance to claim that, I mean common, Dr. Newton invented calculas.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

After postbac, Issac would nail that test.

I didn't think the test was that hard, but it does require a broad (if not particularly deep) understanding of the entire pre-med curriculum and superior critical thinking skills, which is good because that's exactly what it's supposed to test.

I mean most of the Physics section is about Dr. Newton,if not all,

 

[osli]

Some quantum mechanics memories about "seven slithy toves..." are coming back after reading that last post.

I hope that rings a bell to at least someone here.

 

[FloridaSun]

If the MCAT were so easy, it wouldn't generate this much discussion.😎

 

[almo88]

If the MCAT were so easy, it wouldn't generate this much discussion.😎

I never thought about it that way, but you're right!

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Some quantum mechanics memories about "seven slithy toves..." are coming back after reading that last post.

I hope that rings a bell to at least someone here.

rings many disturbing bells actually,, you know what though, electricity and magnetism was even harder and more peculiar.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Again, brilliant guessing does not make you understand the atomic structure of matter and how molecules interact. He wouldn't know what the terms meant, let alone how to reason with them.

As I said, with a bit of catching up, he'd score about perfect as he (obviously) had exceptional (to put it mildly) reasoning power. But if you don't know what DNA is, or an Atom, or a Molecule, the questions would look like this to him:

Imagine a grunk interacted with a semi-grunk, and the grunkness produced showed x-grunk level of blah blah.

Based on that, if blah blah blah, then:

A) Blah
B) Grunk
C) Blah blah
D) Grunk but not blah


You know what I mean?

and the answer is D,,
I am sure if there is any reason involved in the question Newton would figure it out, even during the test, he would be able to infer what DNA is either from the passage or from the root of the question,
But yes I know what you mean.

 

[almo88]

and the answer is D,,
I am sure if there is any reason involved in the question Newton would figure it out, even during the test, he would be able to infer what DNA is either from the passage or from the root of the question,
But yes I know what you mean.

Because Newton is cool like that. Please, we all know that Newton wouldn't ever even have to take the MCAT. He gets an auto-full ride scholarship to the Ivy of his choice! Don't you people know anything? We're talking about NEWTON here!🙄

 

[mindquick]

i think what makes the mcat difficult is that it is so poorly written. you need good concentration just to figure out what the question is really asking for. Newton would just be confused by modern test-writing.

 

[Blade28]

BTW, to the OP, that's not really an example of a gunner. 🙂

 

[almo88]

BTW, to the OP, that's not really an example of a gunner. 🙂

What is an example then?

 

[Spidey10]

I think we are giving Newton too much credit. I think people were a lot less intelligent back then, so the genius of Newton was over exaggerated because compared to everyone else he was phenomenal. The intelligence level of the human race has risen steadily since the days of Newton and I'm sure someone on this board could invent the contemporary equivalent of calc or classical physics. There are certainly many people in this country right now right up there with Newton, it's just that revolutionary advances are much harder to accomplish nowadays. There are many great scientists working in the life science field today, and what they are working on will blow your mind (those of you in the life sciences will understand me there).

C'mon people, give yourself some credit.

 

[Corpus Callosum]

Because Newton is cool like that. Please, we all know that Newton wouldn't ever even have to take the MCAT. He gets an auto-full ride scholarship to the Ivy of his choice! Don't you people know anything? We're talking about NEWTON here!🙄

Precisely,
I would even go further to say he would be awarded an MD,PhD without going to med school, after god knows how many NOBLE PRIZES he would be carrying had he been alive today, god have mercy on Dr. Newton's soul.