- Joined
- Jul 8, 2008
- Messages
- 180
- Reaction score
- 0
So i took my first one in July (FRAP) and got an 18 AA so i figured to follow through with my re-take since i indicated it in on AADSAS even though ive already received 3 interviews (WVU, Pitt, Ohio State) so hopefully the improvement will help me out!
I got piano'd and you know what, wasn't that bad since i play the piano!
July / Oct
PAT 19 / 19
RC 18 / 19
BIO 18 / 19
GC 17 / 18
OC 18 / 18
QR 15 / 17 (yay, went up! i just flew as fast as i could)
TS 18 / 18
AA 18 / 19
GPA 3.5
Sci 3.45
sure they were just minor improvements but at least i didn't drop in any section (esp math!)
For my July test i used ONLY Kaplan Online and kind of payed the price so this time around i used it again with the heralded Destroyer, and old notes...
I would definitely recommend using destroyer, its kind of pricey so i would recommend getting one used: speaking of which i'm willing to sell mine, it's the March 2008 version...not too old for $80 if anyone wants ($150 + shipping if you buy it brand new)
basically if i had to do it over again, i'd definitely save some money and recommend to anyone don't buy kaplan online, maybe get the bluebook to start off (b/c kaplan is great for the basics, but beyond that meh), maybe destroyer, and some combo of examcrackers / top score / achiever to get the form of the test down, maybe spend about $300-500 total instead of the whopping 1200 that the kaplan online costs...it's good stuff, just very expensive!
so now for the breakdown:
BIO: pretty straight forward; again random as everyone has said, a lot of plant / kingdom questions actually. Not as much circulatory system questions that i got on the first test
GC: really straight forward. calculations were kept simple / to a minimum and i ate up the conceptual thermo questions
OC: HARD! man this section was a downer! my July one was SO much easier and i just couldn't understand why the one i was taking was so much harder, oh well...i guess out of the 3 sciences, i spent the least amount of time reviewing organic bc of overconfidence DO NOT overlook and DO FOCUS on the organic in destroyer! roadmaps are youre friend!
PAT: usual stuff, i've always thought kaplan does a great job with this section except for maybe the angle rankings (which is supposed to be the easiest) which are ridiculous! seems like some of them are only 1 degree apart! I think a lot of this and the RC section tho is based on the individuals skills and can't really be learned / taught
RC: aspirin / piano / cell communication were the sections - pretty basic straight forward - i can see however how ppl can hate the piano section, but i've played the piano since 3rd grade so i didn't think it was a big deal, just approach these as you normally would; i even had 7 extra minutes AFTER i had gone through all my marked answers once!
QR: everyone's FAVORITE section as well all know 😉 It's all about your approach - i knew going in that this was gonna be a toughy so my advice is to just move as fast as you can, if you can't figure it out within 1.5 minutes, it's time to make a guess, mark it, and move on. Don't be afraid to even guess right off the bat... if one jumps out at you, more likely than not it's probably the correct answer. Just move and don't overthink! I only did about the first 60 problems in destroyer as preparation and i escaped w/ a 17! so don't worry too much about this section, just try to keep a light mind about it and move quickly...
so yeah, that's pretty much it, the best breakdown i can give you guys. if ANYONE has questions pls post or PM me i'd be more than happy to talk about things. And just a word to everyone out there worrying / waiting for interviews: THEY WILL COME! i had an 18AA going into this cycle and i thought it was completely over...and boom i have 3 interviews! so everyone keep your heads up and just wait, good things will come i promise! i hope my story will give us 18 AAers hope..
PS DAT Destroyer March 2008 for sale $80 let me know if youre interested!!
I got piano'd and you know what, wasn't that bad since i play the piano!
July / Oct
PAT 19 / 19
RC 18 / 19
BIO 18 / 19
GC 17 / 18
OC 18 / 18
QR 15 / 17 (yay, went up! i just flew as fast as i could)
TS 18 / 18
AA 18 / 19
GPA 3.5
Sci 3.45
sure they were just minor improvements but at least i didn't drop in any section (esp math!)
For my July test i used ONLY Kaplan Online and kind of payed the price so this time around i used it again with the heralded Destroyer, and old notes...
I would definitely recommend using destroyer, its kind of pricey so i would recommend getting one used: speaking of which i'm willing to sell mine, it's the March 2008 version...not too old for $80 if anyone wants ($150 + shipping if you buy it brand new)
basically if i had to do it over again, i'd definitely save some money and recommend to anyone don't buy kaplan online, maybe get the bluebook to start off (b/c kaplan is great for the basics, but beyond that meh), maybe destroyer, and some combo of examcrackers / top score / achiever to get the form of the test down, maybe spend about $300-500 total instead of the whopping 1200 that the kaplan online costs...it's good stuff, just very expensive!
so now for the breakdown:
BIO: pretty straight forward; again random as everyone has said, a lot of plant / kingdom questions actually. Not as much circulatory system questions that i got on the first test
GC: really straight forward. calculations were kept simple / to a minimum and i ate up the conceptual thermo questions
OC: HARD! man this section was a downer! my July one was SO much easier and i just couldn't understand why the one i was taking was so much harder, oh well...i guess out of the 3 sciences, i spent the least amount of time reviewing organic bc of overconfidence DO NOT overlook and DO FOCUS on the organic in destroyer! roadmaps are youre friend!
PAT: usual stuff, i've always thought kaplan does a great job with this section except for maybe the angle rankings (which is supposed to be the easiest) which are ridiculous! seems like some of them are only 1 degree apart! I think a lot of this and the RC section tho is based on the individuals skills and can't really be learned / taught
RC: aspirin / piano / cell communication were the sections - pretty basic straight forward - i can see however how ppl can hate the piano section, but i've played the piano since 3rd grade so i didn't think it was a big deal, just approach these as you normally would; i even had 7 extra minutes AFTER i had gone through all my marked answers once!
QR: everyone's FAVORITE section as well all know 😉 It's all about your approach - i knew going in that this was gonna be a toughy so my advice is to just move as fast as you can, if you can't figure it out within 1.5 minutes, it's time to make a guess, mark it, and move on. Don't be afraid to even guess right off the bat... if one jumps out at you, more likely than not it's probably the correct answer. Just move and don't overthink! I only did about the first 60 problems in destroyer as preparation and i escaped w/ a 17! so don't worry too much about this section, just try to keep a light mind about it and move quickly...
so yeah, that's pretty much it, the best breakdown i can give you guys. if ANYONE has questions pls post or PM me i'd be more than happy to talk about things. And just a word to everyone out there worrying / waiting for interviews: THEY WILL COME! i had an 18AA going into this cycle and i thought it was completely over...and boom i have 3 interviews! so everyone keep your heads up and just wait, good things will come i promise! i hope my story will give us 18 AAers hope..
PS DAT Destroyer March 2008 for sale $80 let me know if youre interested!!
