MCAT studying diary Exam 8/2/2013. Journey to a 45? ha?

[onedirection]

I have made public accountability stuff in the past in order to get things done and keep up with what I have to do

Anyway I'm going to graduate 2014 from College. I have taken nearly all of the pre-med requirements. I only became recently interested in medicine and basically crammed 7 pre-med classes into the past 3 semesters I had. That was not fun...needless to say I only did alright in my classes. I'm a social sciences major. I think talent/intelligence wise I might be a bit better than what's normal? Memory wise, I might be a bit worse than what's normal?

I'm going to post daily what I'm doing. Obviously the goal is to get to the 45

Took my first diagnostic, kind of took it spur of the moment on some Saturday morning, it was given by Examkrackers. I had gone out the previous night and it was early. Got something like a 20 on it. From that point forward I knew I had some work cut out for me. Honestly the exam frustrated me and I found myself walking out partway through biology


Overall Goal: Go big or go home. 45!! (15/15/15)

Tests taken so far
05/01/2013 Diagnostic Exam Krackers: 20: 6/9/5
Started Studying: 5/8/2013
6/07/2013 AAMC 3 Composite: 31: 10/11/10
6/17/2013 Princeton Review Hyperlearning Practice test: Composoite: 33 12/12/11

Other AAMC Scores: 37/39/36

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[Platonic]

The thread has degenerated rather quickly. Chill out inycepoo, it really isn't that serious. I will say, though, that OP's refusal to post a screen shot of his e-MCAT page does little to quell my suspicion. And I agree with a previous poster who said that many of the study habits he posts in this thread seem dangerous and counterproductive. It would be a shame if some pre-meds read this thread and follow OP's strategy if indeed the OP is exaggerating and lying.

 

[deleted393595]

I pay 2k a year, and that's because the mandatory health insurance costs $1000. (I'm uninsured otherwise.) Two years ago when I enrolled, I paid $1,600 on my initial bill. I'll probably pay less for all four glorious years than what you did for one year of undergrad, even at a state school (unless you were a full rider as well). Your ass was so eager to make a jab at Ivies that you forgot they're filthy rich and about a little concept called financial aid. It's time to drag that behind back to reality.

Are you required to do work-study as part of your scholarship?

 

[inycepoo]

Are you required to do work-study as part of your scholarship?

Yeah, of course. But my Ivy is weird (not sure if this applies to all Ivies) in that yes, the student job is part of the package, but I pay everything lump sum in one bill, so it's up to the parents and child to divvy up who pays what. My parents cover around 50% of what I need to earn because that's how it works out, and the only job I have/want/will ever have/am interested in doing is peer tutoring at $16.50/hour. Many people don't work at all for various reasons, and their parents simply pay it all for them, so it's not quite what the federal work-study program is at other institutions according to my knowledge.

 

[deleted393595]

Yeah, of course. But my Ivy is weird (not sure if this applies to all Ivies) in that yes, the student job is part of the package, but I pay everything lump sum in one bill, so it's up to the parents and child to divvy up who pays what. My parents cover around 50% of what I need to earn because that's how it works out, and the only job I have/want/will ever have/am interested in doing is peer tutoring at $16.50/hour. Many people don't work at all for various reasons, and their parents simply pay it all for them, so it's not quite what the federal work-study program is at other institutions according to my knowledge.

$16.50 an hour?

My campus pays us minimum wage for tutoring.

If you don't mind me asking, do you think you would have had a better experience at a state-school? Because I thought of going to an Ivy, but decided not to since I got a full ride to my local school without work-study commitments (The work-study thing was part of the reason why I decided not to). Just wondering if that was the right call on my part.

 

[inycepoo]

$16.50 an hour?

My campus pays us minimum wage for tutoring.

If you don't mind me asking, do you think you would have had a better experience at a state-school? Because I thought of going to an Ivy, but decided not to since I got a full ride to my local school without work-study commitments (The work-study thing was part of the reason why I decided not to). Just wondering if that was the right call on my part.

Yeah our minimum wage is $12. The only job that pays higher than peer tutoring is another type of tutoring lol. We are extremely, extremely lucky.

People will hound me for being elitist and arrogant, but I doubt I would've had a better experience at a state school. But this is speculation at best. My high school girlfriend went to a state school, and through the tutoring I did for her freshman fall, the classes aren't as intellectually stimulating as I've found mine to be. I knew I wanted the broad liberal arts education with my premed studies (yes, I want to learn "useless" things, leave me be). Also, a non-private school just didn't appeal to the high school me as much, with my aspirations for a PhD and work in policy. This is a very minor point, but I ain't gonna lie; Ivies have a slight advantage in any graduate admissions process, and I wanted that edge as well.

But most importantly, the finances worked out. After a bit of bargaining, I was able to secure the fantastic package I have today. I would've paid 3x as much for the next cheapest Ivy, and up to 5x as much (plus loans) to my favorite state school (NY is poor, okay lol).

There's no saying how your experience would've turned out, as we're all different. Nor should you really care. You are where you are now, and as long as you make the best of your situation and work hard, everything will be fine. That being said, a full ride is a full ride. Never turn those down.

But a word on fin aid: not all Ivies are made the same. HYP does not offer the same moolah that Cornell and Penn, for example, can afford to. This is from personal experience. The schools' endowment allocations differ widely, and HYP definitely leads the pack by a mile because they're just durrrrrty with that $£¥€££$$$$

 

[mehc012]

Yeah our minimum wage is $12. The only job that pays higher than peer tutoring is another type of tutoring lol. We are extremely, extremely lucky.

People will hound me for being elitist and arrogant, but I doubt I would've had a better experience at a state school. But this is speculation at best. My high school girlfriend went to a state school, and through the tutoring I did for her freshman fall, the classes aren't as intellectually stimulating as I've found mine to be. I knew I wanted the broad liberal arts education with my premed studies (yes, I want to learn "useless" things, leave me be). Also, a non-private school just didn't appeal to the high school me as much, with my aspirations for a PhD and work in policy. This is a very minor point, but I ain't gonna lie; Ivies have a slight advantage in any graduate admissions process, and I wanted that edge as well.

But most importantly, the finances worked out. After a bit of bargaining, I was able to secure the fantastic package I have today. I would've paid 3x as much for the next cheapest Ivy, and up to 5x as much (plus loans) to my favorite state school (NY is poor, okay lol).

There's no saying how your experience would've turned out, as we're all different. Nor should you really care. You are where you are now, and as long as you make the best of your situation and work hard, everything will be fine. That being said, a full ride is a full ride. Never turn those down.

But a word on fin aid: not all Ivies are made the same. HYP does not offer the same moolah that Cornell and Penn, for example, can afford to. This is from personal experience. The schools' endowment allocations differ widely, and HYP definitely leads the pack by a mile because they're just durrrrrty with that $£¥€££$$$$

Agreed...I've had a similar experience (not at an Ivy, but at a school with equivalent ranking, finaid, and hiring recognition factor, though not 'public' recognition factor.' I will say this...don't forget the small schools with the deep pockets. They often have more money per student than the larger ones. I was fortunate that, at the time I all applied to m my school, they had a no-loan finaid policy, meaning that EVERY single person who got in, paid only their EFC. No loans, no outside scholarships. And since they counted travel expenses and personal money in the budget, some people got a check when they arrived! There was work study, but it wasn't mandatory (just was counted in your contribution) and was hard capped at 6hrs/week. The only 'merit' scholarships went to 2 people who were already on finaid, promising to cover 3 years of postgraduate education at the same rate as undergrad. This school ended up being cheaper for me than my in state "public Ivy" with a merit scholarship, full finaid, and no room/board (could have stayed at home), and for some of my friends, ended up being cheaper than the HPY option. Now I'm looking into med and the temptation of moving to TX for those sweet sweet tuitions is overwhelming.

 

[inycepoo]

Agreed...I've had a similar experience (not at an Ivy, but at a school with equivalent ranking, finaid, and hiring recognition factor, though not 'public' recognition factor.' I will say this...don't forget the small schools with the deep pockets. They often have more money per student than the larger ones. I was fortunate that, at the time I all applied to m my school, they had a no-loan finaid policy, meaning that EVERY single person who got in, paid only their EFC. No loans, no outside scholarships. And since they counted travel expenses and personal money in the budget, some people got a check when they arrived! There was work study, but it wasn't mandatory (just was counted in your contribution) and was hard capped at 6hrs/week. The only 'merit' scholarships went to 2 people who were already on finaid, promising to cover 3 years of postgraduate education at the same rate as undergrad. This school ended up being cheaper for me than my in state "public Ivy" with a merit scholarship, full finaid, and no room/board (could have stayed at home), and for some of my friends, ended up being cheaper than the HPY option. Now I'm looking into med and the temptation of moving to TX for those sweet sweet tuitions is overwhelming.

TX med schools are top-notch for IS and their tuition basically seals the deal. *jealous NY fuming*

Thing with HYP, though, is that they're not large. Princeton especially. Has the highest $$/student ratio ever. The size of a LAC (undergrad pop, that is), horsepower of an Ivy.

 

[mehc012]

TX med schools are top-notch for IS and their tuition basically seals the deal. *jealous NY fuming*

Thing with HYP, though, is that they're not large. Princeton especially. Has the highest $$/student ratio ever. The size of a LAC (undergrad pop, that is), horsepower of an Ivy.

They have 4x as many students as an LAC...their faculty population is closer to that of an LAC than their undergraduate population is!

I mean, sure...they're not state-school sized, but they're not exactly tiny! My LAC's endowment has decreased over the past 5yrs, but when I started there, they actually DID have the largest endowment/student in the country (now they've dropped quite a bit for various reasons, and are now lower than HYP but higher than the larger Ivies).

All I'm saying is that, yes, full ride and good finaid is a HUGE factor when looking at schools, and HYP tends to have that...but don't forget about the other schools who are as good if not better on that front; never hurts to remember the other options!

 

[deleted393595]

After a bit of bargaining, I was able to secure the fantastic package I have today. I would've paid 3x as much for the next cheapest Ivy, and up to 5x as much (plus loans) to my favorite state school (NY is poor, okay lol).

I'm surprised by just how expensive tuition is in NY even though they that insane income tax. Here in Texas, we have no income tax but instead have only a 8-8.75% sales tax, yet our most expensive school, UT Austin, charges only $12k for tuition and is a public Ivy. My own school's tutition is <$10k, but I don't have to pay for it thanks to my scholarship.

But my college is also extremely stingy with its budget, which is part of the reason why we don't get paid that much for tutoring - we've been trying to get a raise for years but that money is just not available.

 

[inycepoo]

I'm surprised by just how expensive tuition is in NY even though they that insane income tax. Here in Texas, we have no income tax but instead have only a 8-8.75% sales tax, yet our most expensive school, UT Austin, charges only $12k for tuition and is a public Ivy. My own school's tutition is <$10k, but I don't have to pay for it thanks to my scholarship.

But my college is also extremely stingy with its budget, which is part of the reason why we don't get paid that much for tutoring - we've been trying to get a raise for years but that money is just not available.

True dat. But is $12k for everything, or is that just tuition? Binghamton (SUNY has no flagship, but Bing is considered the best by many) is $21k for everything IS. And they are not close to a public Ivy.

 

[onedirection]

This notes compression for Chem is honestly taking forever. I'm not even halfway done with it yet.


Side note, this is what's a notes compression is
http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/05/...of-one-of-the-worlds-most-efficient-studiers/

 

[deleted393595]

True dat. But is $12k for everything, or is that just tuition? Binghamton (SUNY has no flagship, but Bing is considered the best by many) is $21k for everything IS. And they are not close to a public Ivy.

EDIT: See: http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/basics/finances

It's apparently 25-27k if you're a Texas resident. Thought it was lower...

I also commute from home. I really didn't want to live in a dorm where Nazis (aka RA's) demand that you maintain your room in a certain way, and because I didn't want to share my room with someone else (or my bathroom). That was another factor in why I did not want to go out of town.

 

[inycepoo]

EDIT: See: http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/basics/finances

It's apparently 25-27k if you're a Texas resident. Thought it was lower...

I also commute from home. I really didn't want to live in a dorm where Nazis (aka RA's) demand that you maintain your room in a certain way, and because I didn't want to share my room with someone else (or my bathroom). That was another factor in why I did not want to go out of town.

What's a RA? We don't have that at my school. Ah, the good life.

 

[deleted393595]

What's a RA? We don't have that at my school. Ah, the good life.

Resident Assistant/Grand Dictator Overlord

Btw, at most schools, are you allowed to live off campus? Or do you have to go with their on campus housing?

 

[inycepoo]

Resident Assistant/Grand Dictator Overlord

Btw, at most schools, are you allowed to live off campus? Or do you have to go with their on campus housing?

lol I know what an RA is, (just driving in the point that we don't have them) though their strictness definitely varies by school and policy.

Are you asking me? It depends a lot on the school and their policy once again. Most students I know at Ivies don't move off campus because our facilities are bomb and it's like "why would I want a decrease in standard of living," but moving off-campus seems to the norm junior year and beyond at many other schools I've heard of as well.

 

[inycepoo]

This notes compression for Chem is honestly taking forever. I'm not even halfway done with it yet.


Side note, this is what's a notes compression is
http://calnewport.com/blog/2011/05/...of-one-of-the-worlds-most-efficient-studiers/

Quoted from site: "...he had the ability to score top grades without needing to study much."

I stopped reading there. My BS meter is way off the chart already.

(Check my signature.)

 

[inycepoo]

How come my signature only shows up when it feels like it?!?!?!?

 

[mehc012]

How come my signature only shows up when it feels like it?!?!?!?

I think it shows like the first time you post on a thread/page or something...probably so people with massive ones don't end up generating 85 bajillion extra inches per page!

 

[inycepoo]

^ Makes sense. Hey but more inches gives the illusion that the thread is more popular than it really is!

:troll:

 

[deleted393595]

I guess this guy may have a point about TBR Physics not being that on-the-mark since some of their answer explanations ask you to rely on your physical intuition rather than depending on equations.

For example, take a look at #28 on Physics Section 5 for the Practice Exam. The best way to get this question right 100% of the time is to break up the motion of the pendulum into quarter cycles and realizing that the quarter cycles on the side of the nail are half those on the right side by solving the period-length-stuff equation. Once you add up the times for your quarter cycles to get a full cycle, it becomes apparent that the period is much less than without the nail.

But then again, onedirection might be putting himself at a big disadvantage since he thinks that just reading the answer explanations are going to help him out a bunch

 

[onedirection]

Jesus Chem notes compression is actually taking forever...I have one final topic left to add onto this, solutions and then I'm done

At least I had Orgo part way done already. I'll go finish Gen Chem in the morning; do another EK 101 test; and then start hacking away at Orgo to finish that compression up...I'll probably stop at some point to do some a practice PS Section.

Honestly organizing notes takes forever

I have random hand notes that I took from books like TBR and EK and then I have a wrong answer notebook for every topic where I compile some more notes of stuff I got wrong. It has really added up...so this has been pretty burdensome...I should've tackled this a bit earlier but whatever

 

[onedirection]

AAMC 4

PS: 12
Verbal: 13
BS: 12

Overall: 37

 

[Temperature101]

AAMC 4

PS: 12
Verbal: 13
BS: 12

Overall: 37

Will u postpone since you are not near that 45 goal? Lol...

 

[inycepoo]

Will u postpone since you are not near that 45 goal? Lol...

He already postponed, remember?

 

[onedirection]

Will u postpone since you are not near that 45 goal? Lol...

I actually already postponed to the 15th because I had something come up the day of my test


Verbal was annoying, I got all of my questions wrong on a single passage...Also I really think EK 101 must have longer passages or something because I'm finishing much more quickly with the CBTs than in that book

I'm pretty sure I read faster on paper than I do on the computer screen

 

[sakabato93]

Also I really think EK 101 must have longer passages or something because I'm finishing much more quickly with the CBTs than in that book

I think so too. The passages in the Official Guide to the MCAT Exam are definitely shorter than EK 101.

 

[Temperature101]

I actually already postponed to the 15th because I had something come up the day of my test


Verbal was annoying, I got all of my questions wrong on a single passage...Also I really think EK 101 must have longer passages or something because I'm finishing much more quickly with the CBTs than in that book

I'm pretty sure I read faster on paper than I do on the computer screen

EK does not have longer passages; I think you are probably spending longer time in EK passages because their questions are so ambiguous and convoluted.

 

[onedirection]

EK does not have longer passages; I think you are probably spending longer time in EK passages because their questions are so ambiguous and convoluted.

Touche

 

[tttgo]

AAMC 4

PS: 12
Verbal: 13
BS: 12

Overall: 37

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1019637

???
Also, what happened to your avg?

 

[inycepoo]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1019637

???
Also, what happened to your avg?

HAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OP is full of **** more than we'd thought HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AAMC 4 first go: 10/13/8. AAMC 4 second go a week later: 12/13/12. Post better retake score ITT to give impression of 35+ ability.



The only thing I've seen more full of **** than OP is this: http://www.poopsenders.com.

45? Try Carib...at least you'll be above average there and can brag about things to your low 20s peers.

P.S. Retaking an AAMC in a week and only scoring a 37 is pretty sad.

 

[mehc012]

Or, you know, there was a typo of some sort. No need to jump to the worst when there are plenty of reasonable explanations and there's no disadvantage for you on going along with it.

 

[onedirection]

I took AAMC 4R and did the passages not on the CBT 4 and extrapolated from there based on my percentages. I took the CBT 4 itself today for the first time

 

[inycepoo]

Oh I'm sure there are many "reasonable explanations" for this. It doesn't matter. This is still a great example of showing that OP's full of ****, contrary to what those going against Platonic, Person0715, and me have said.

Hopefully my outrageous post is enough to discourage other future readers from taking this thread seriously.

 

[inycepoo]

I took AAMC 4R and did the passages not on the CBT 4 and extrapolated from there based on my percentages. I took the CBT 4 itself today for the first time

Sure, sure. That means you did, what, 3 passages per section and "extrapolated" percentages? (That sounds dumb and mathematically inefficient in and of itself.) Sure didn't sound like it in your plead for help thread over there.

How did you know what passages and discretes are in the current CBT if you didn't take the CBT until today? Do you think we're all that thick and stupid to buy that? AYFKM.

 

[loveanswers]

Btw just so you know.. those "extra" passages from 4R actually showed up on the SA. For whatever that is worth.

 

[inycepoo]

Also, I believe I spelled out exactly why there's an advantage to proving he's full of cockadoody poo before already. There are some unreasonable study habits and behavior reflected ITT, and with the number of views it's been getting, it's important for the future MCAT takers and readers to know whether this is effective, or full of stinky ****.

There's no disadvantage for me to play along because I'm not buying his tactics, but there are plenty of disadvantages for those who may follow some of his outrageous advice for studying and do poorly if he's bragging/lying.

 

[Platonic]

like I said before, one direction. Show a screen shot of your e-MCAT to silence the skepticism. If you fail to do so, that indicates that you are probably lying.

 

[onedirection]

This is pointless because the thread was made for my own use so it really doesn't matter who believes me

I did do 3 SA and an AAMC exam over the course of 24 hours.
The only one I ever retook was AAMC 3 that was a month after I had my first score [edit make that 2]

 

[inycepoo]

like I said before, one direction. Show a screen shot of your e-MCAT to silence the skepticism. If you fail to do so, that indicates that you are probably lying.

He (and his supporters) will say that he's not interested in proving us wrong and showing that he's not lying.

SO WHOOPS THERE AIN'T NO WAY OF TELLING FOR SURE NOW

 

[inycepoo]

This is pointless because the thread was made for my own use so it really doesn't matter who believes me

I did do 3 SA and an AAMC exam over the course of 24 hours.
The only one I retook was AAMC 3

Called it right outta his mouth.

Now how about the percentages? I can do all 5 SAs in 10 minutes and score 17% on them all (by guessing one answer).

 

[Platonic]

thanks. Your credibility just took a major jump in my eyes.

 

[inycepoo]

You should be thanking us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "public accountability" what you were after?

Here we are holding you accountable for proving the claims of the studying you are doing. It is for the benefit of not only future readers, but yourself as well! We don't want you lying to yourself about your progress any more than you are to others. We are trying to help!

 

[inycepoo]

But actually though. Show the scores (or are you Photoshopping them right now??). If they are what you said they were, that is the best thing to shut me up if you have been ticked off by me at any point. (And I've been trying really hard, so don't disappoint me now. )

 

[Punjabi Prince]

inycepoo why the hell are you beating on this kid? He made this thread for himself and to keep track of progression. That and to have positive feedback along the way. Not for some ******* to beat him down and fill him with doubt or make him look like a fool. However, the real fool is you for being such a dbag. Have you nothing better to do with your life then to get on SDN and troll the forums? Leave him be. I dont understand why you wouldnt want the best for this kid? The only reason I can think of is because you are so insecure with yourself that you have to go to a ridiculous extent to make yourself feel better. Srsly, gtfo.

On the other hand I cant really say Onedirection wasnt asking for it, as his title is a tad arrogant and being public. The chances of him getting bashed on were pretty high to begin with.

 

[Platonic]

But actually though. Show the scores (or are you Photoshopping them right now??). If they are what you said they were, that is the best thing to shut me up if you have been ticked off by me at any point. (And I've been trying really hard, so don't disappoint me now. )

I think he's done enough. The scores he has reported aren't unusual on SDN. Mostly in the mid 30's.There are many people who score very high on these boards, I don't doubt his ability to score high. What shocked me, though, is the claim of doing 437 problems in one day. Never heard of such a thing lol. But it seems legit.

 

[inycepoo]

inycepoo why the hell are you beating on this kid? He made this thread for himself and to keep track of progression. That and to have positive feedback along the way. Not for some ******* to beat him down and fill him with doubt or make him look like a fool. However, the real fool is you for being such a dbag. Have you nothing better to do with your life then to get on sdn and troll the forums? Leave him be. I dont understand why you wouldnt want the best for this kid? The only reason i can think of is because you are so insecure with yourself that you have to go to a ridiculous extent to make yourself feel better. Srsly, gtfo.

On the other hand i cant really say onedirection wasnt asking for it, as his title is a tad arrogant and being public. The chances of him getting bashed on were pretty high to begin with.

cognitive dissonance.

Edit: my phone apparently doesn't like caps so there, it's in lowercase.

But hey, Mr. Junior Member there, you'll find that I'm the least of SDN's problems with the other kind of stuff people do on here. Hopefully you'll find something better to do with YOUR time other than hanging out with us on SDN and being disapproving of our trolling.

 

[onedirection]

Called it right outta his mouth.

Now how about the percentages? I can do all 5 SAs in 10 minutes and score 17% on them all (by guessing one answer).

How'd you know that I dropped $120 to buy the 5 SA and AAMC 4 just so that I can do them all in 10 minutes and score a 17% on them and never have access to them again

 

[Punjabi Prince]

Cognitive Dissonance? Really? How is it Cognitive Dissonance if Im telling you that you are insecure, so you run around SDN to look for prey and then state how it was expected for Onedirection to receive this kinda abuse? If anything that makes you look like a bigger rahtard for precisely proving my point by trolling on a thread that was probably going to attract trolls. Not conflicting whatsoever. I think its time for you to read a dictionary.

 

[inycepoo]

How'd you know that I dropped $120 to buy the 5 SA and AAMC 4 just so that I can do them all in 10 minutes and score a 17% on them and never have access to them again

You can take AAMC 4 as many times as you'd like.

But hey, I am just looking to be proven wrong. I've remained skeptical because you ignored all of our clamoring for proof, and just looking for the final piece to shut me up.

Also for validation for the sake of others contemplating your studying tactics. I know I'd be one to adopt your studying methods if I had the time to do so and you were being truthful all along.

 

[inycepoo]

Cognitive Dissonance? Really? How is it Cognitive Dissonance if Im telling you that you are insecure, so you run around SDN to look for prey and then state how it was expected for Onedirection to receive this kinda abuse? If anything that makes you look like a bigger rahtard for precisely proving my point by trolling on a thread that was probably going to attract trolls. Not conflicting whatsoever. I think its time for you to read a dictionary.

Damn bro, you read dictionaries? Is that your VR strategy??? (Is that where you got the PC rahtard from? Because IMO if you really care about offending ******s, you shouldn't use any derivative of the word.)

It's conflicting because you accused me of not having anything better to do than being on SDN and proving people wrong, when you, good sir, are doing exactly the same to me.