Official 5/19/2012 MCAT thread

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I figured since it seems there is a thread for all the other recent and upcoming test dates, I'd start one for us 5/19ers.

Two weeks to go, getting close.
 
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38R!!!!!!

13 VR 13 PS 12 BS

There were moments on the test that I felt like I was unbelievably screwed (trying to think of what to write for the second essay, stuck on the 3rd passage of bio with over half my time gone) but I kept my cool, worked through it, and all of the practice I'd done over the past four months paid off.
 
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shoenberg3 said:
I am extremely relieved (because I seriously thought I would get 33 or below) but at the same time not very happy (1-2 points higher would have made my day).

With GPA around 3.25 (albeit at a top institution) and having being faced acad. probation for not meeting units requirements -- and this also being a retake (my old was 30) -- I was aiming EXTREMELY high because I needed to. I am also Asian and california resident so those things are also against me...

I got a 36 (12-13-11). That BS really did turn out to be killer... I Know it may sound crazy, but I am considering a retake.... I don't think with these stats, I would have a shot at even at the lowest out-of-state medical schools (California schools are out of the question for sure).

BTW, this score is around 1-2 lower than my AAMC averages.
Click to expand...

You're honestly testing your luck if you retake. It's not worth it. The difference between a 36 and a 38 for admissions isn't all that much.
 
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shaboobly said:
My tests actually ranged from 6-9, with a lot of them being 7's and 8's. i used the kaplan strategy at first when i started studying, but then like mid way through i discovered this site and agreed with most of the people that kaplan's strategy is pretty bad.. so i invented a new strategy which was to pick the answer that i thought was most explicitly stated in the passage lol

i just bought the EK101 book because i read that it's the best. i have plenty of free time over the next month so i plan on doing a lot of this and prob end up taking the test again early august before the semester starts back up
Click to expand...

Use the exam krackers strategy. It focuses on the main idea. I have a feeling it will help you quite a bit.
 
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I guess most of that passage was experimental 😛

I would have done better in bio if I hadn't spent 15 minutes on it. Seriously. I had to scramble for everything else haha. Looks like it worked out though!
 
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Mother of god.......why was everybody freaking out when this thread first started? Lol With the numbers I hve I will hopefully snag an acceptance somewhere!

Nice seeing Everybody who was here originally doing well (so far) we were all freaking out so badly.
 
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hopefulMD9 said:
Mother of god.......why was everybody freaking out when this thread first started? Lol With the numbers I hve I will hopefully snag an acceptance somewhere!
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The bio was very very hard.

It was different than what I'd seen and it shocked me. I did worse than I had done in practice. I had a few 13's on earlier exams, but did get an 11 on BS in AAMC 11 so...
 
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ridethecliche said:
The bio was very very hard.

It was different than what I'd seen and it shocked me. I did worse than I had done in practice. I had a few 13's on earlier exams, but did get an 11 on BS in AAMC 11 so...
Click to expand...

Oh I 100% agree. Its just funny seeing how well everybody did in spite of that concern.
 
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shoenberg3 said:
I am extremely relieved (because I seriously thought I would get 33 or below) but at the same time not very happy (1-2 points higher would have made my day).

With GPA around 3.25 (albeit at a top institution) and having being faced acad. probation for not meeting units requirements -- and this also being a retake (my old was 30) -- I was aiming EXTREMELY high because I needed to. I am also Asian and california resident so those things are also against me...

I got a 36 (12-13-11). That BS really did turn out to be killer... I Know it may sound crazy, but I am considering a retake.... I don't think with these stats, I would have a shot at even at the lowest out-of-state medical schools (California schools are out of the question for sure).

BTW, this score is around 1-2 lower than my AAMC averages.
Click to expand...


Academic probation - elaborate.

Asian/california resident working against you - elaborate.

There is no "sound crazy". It is crazy. 36 is quite competitive enough to get into any school provided you're well-rounded.

Regards,
Vlad
 
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This is my first time posting- I was so nervous when I checked my score; I thought I was going to vomit. My AAMC average was a 28.6 across AAMC 3, 10, 7, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 3 (that was the order I took them in). My diagnostic was TPR 1 and I scored a 21.

Real thing: 31S!! (10PS / 10 V / 11 BS)

My highest practice test was AAMC 9: 11P/ 11V / 10BS= 32
I took AAMC 3 a week before the real thing and scored 11/10/10= 31

I know I have heard people comment that AAMC 3 was super easy compared to the real thing, but I ended up doing the same, so who knows.

Anyway, I know my score isn't stellar, especially compared to some of you all, but I am very happy (and relieved) with my score, as my goal score was a 32.

I am a nontraditional applicant as I graduated in 2009. I worked in an Immunology lab for a year at the med school, and just finished doing TFA where I taught high school (college prep and speech/ writing). I have a ton of EC's, leadership experience, and life experiences so I hope this will help me get in somewhere. My cGPA is 3.7, but my sGPA is only about a 3.4, albeit from a top 10 school (why don't Psych course count!!?? ahh), so I'm hoping this will be good enough to get me into a few places.

Anyway, congrats to everyone!!! The waiting is finallllly over 🙂
 
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2506785 said:
This is my first time posting- I was so nervous when I checked my score; I thought I was going to vomit. My AAMC average was a 28.6 across AAMC 3, 10, 7, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 3 (that was the order I took them in). My diagnostic was TPR 1 and I scored a 21.

Real thing: 31S!! (10PS / 10 V / 11 BS)

My highest practice test was AAMC 9: 11P/ 11V / 10BS= 32
I took AAMC 3 a week before the real thing and scored 11/10/10= 31

I know I have heard people comment that AAMC 3 was super easy compared to the real thing, but I ended up doing the same, so who knows.

Anyway, I know my score isn't stellar, especially compared to some of you all, but I am very happy (and relieved) with my score, as my goal score was a 32.

I am a nontraditional applicant as I graduated in 2009. I worked in an Immunology lab for a year at the med school, and just finished doing TFA where I taught high school (college prep and speech/ writing). I have a ton of EC's, leadership experience, and life experiences so I hope this will help me get in somewhere. My cGPA is 3.7, but my sGPA is only about a 3.4, albeit from a top 10 school (why don't Psych course count!!?? ahh), so I'm hoping this will be good enough to get me into a few places.

Anyway, congrats to everyone!!! The waiting is finallllly over 🙂
Click to expand...

Don't worry about all the uber MCAT-geniuses on here, you're score is quite good! Good job!

Regards,
Vlad
 
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GorgeousBorges said:
View attachment 20054
Click to expand...

This this this. DO NOT retake anything above a mid, even low thirty. If you go down, kiss your chances at top/mid tiers goodbye.

I'm very impressed by how well everyone did! Most of us are scoring 28's+, that's MD acceptance boys and girls! Shine up them apps and polish those letters, we got medical schools to attend 😉

And to think, I was going to post this this morning, but then my scores were up!

oh-noes-everybody-panic.gif


PS:
Crazy amounts of 36+, am I wrong? Very well done ya'll.
 
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Vladimir B said:
Academic probation - elaborate.

Asian/california resident working against you - elaborate.

There is no "sound crazy". It is crazy. 36 is quite competitive enough to get into any school provided you're well-rounded.

Regards,
Vlad
Click to expand...

I had to withdraw from classes and even got NP of some of them because I just wasn't feeling that well for 2-3 quarters, so I didn't meet the 12 unit requirement and got placed under probation.

Being Asian is sort of like affirmative action working against you. From what I hear around me (I live where there are a lot of Asians), we have a much harder time getting into schools even with comparable scores. Being Cali. resident is also pertinent, because this means that I would not be able to take advantage of applying to in-state schools, since all California schools are extremely competitive.

And I am NOT well-rounded with GPA< 3.35
 
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If a normal member of the pre-med population were to come on this thread, ecstatic after scoring the 80th percentile, they would think it was the end of the world seeing people complaining about 31's, 33's, and 36's.
 
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GeauxTime said:
If a normal member of the pre-med population were to come on this thread, ecstatic after scoring the 80th percentile, they would think it was the end of the world seeing people complaining about 31's, 33's, and 36's.
Click to expand...

Hey, if I had a GPA 3.5 or higher, I would be ecstatic with my score. But, unfortunately, the circumstances don't allow for that kind of celebration....
 
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shoenberg3 said:
I had to withdraw from classes and even got NP of some of them because I just wasn't feeling that well for 2-3 quarters, so I didn't meet the 12 unit requirement and got placed under probation.

Being Asian is sort of like affirmative action working against you. From what I hear around me (I live where there are a lot of Asians), we have a much harder time getting into schools even with comparable scores. Being Cali. resident is also pertinent, because this means that I would not be able to take advantage of applying to in-state schools, since all California schools are extremely competitive.

And I am NOT well-rounded with GPA< 3.35
Click to expand...

Don't retake, even scoring significantly higher on your MCAT will hardly improve your chances.

You have to focus on two things, your MCAT is set:
(1) Boost your ECs if you haven't already.
(2) Boost your GPA

Either way, with your current stats you're looking at ~50% chance of acceptance. Include a higher GPA and good ECs and you're gonna be looking at 75-100% if you're well rounded, even if you're Asian. A 36 is a great score.

shoenberg3 said:
Hey, if I had a GPA 3.5 or higher, I would be ecstatic with my score. But, unfortunately, the circumstances don't allow for that kind of celebration....
Click to expand...

Be ecstatic! A 36 has your foot in the door. The only thing you are going to logically improve is your GPA/EC on your app. Get after it, you'll be just fine.

If you need to, jump into an overloaded semester with some LA classes or something and send some update letters. You could even drop your job/ECs for just GPA boosting courses if you had to. But honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned in your shoes, you'll be fine. Be happy, there's not a reason to not be with that score! Retaking will not only delay your application (which really hurts for unbalanced applications), it will also open another chance for you to shoot yourself in the foot.
 
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Yeah, based on the overwhelming advice on SDN, I am leaning towards not retaking -- I would really hate to go through that hell again too...
I suppose at least I don't have to worry about the MCAT anymore, yet I still face stormy seas ahead...
 
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PreMedOrDead said:
Don't retake, even scoring significantly higher on your MCAT will hardly improve your chances.

You have to focus on two things, your MCAT is set:
(1) Boost your ECs if you haven't already.
(2) Boost your GPA

Either way, with your current stats you're looking at ~50% chance of acceptance. Include a higher GPA and good ECs and you're gonna be looking at 75-100% if you're well rounded, even if you're Asian. A 36 is a great score.



Be ecstatic! A 36 has your foot in the door. The only thing you are going to logically improve is your GPA/EC on your app. Get after it, you'll be just fine.

If you need to, jump into an overloaded semester with some LA classes or something and send some update letters. You could even drop your job/ECs for just GPA boosting courses if you had to. But honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned in your shoes, you'll be fine. Be happy, there's not a reason to not be with that score! Retaking will not only delay your application (which really hurts for unbalanced applications), it will also open another chance for you to shoot yourself in the foot.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate the advice. I am taking another year to boost up my GPA from that horrendous 3.1 or so and applying next cycle. Let's hope that luck is also on my side when I apply.
 
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Don't lose sight of the big picture. The average MCAT is a 24. About half of all test-takers fall below that. You all did AMAZING. A heartfelt congratulations to all.
 
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shoenberg3 said:
I had to withdraw from classes and even got NP of some of them because I just wasn't feeling that well for 2-3 quarters, so I didn't meet the 12 unit requirement and got placed under probation.

Being Asian is sort of like affirmative action working against you. From what I hear around me (I live where there are a lot of Asians), we have a much harder time getting into schools even with comparable scores. Being Cali. resident is also pertinent, because this means that I would not be able to take advantage of applying to in-state schools, since all California schools are extremely competitive.

And I am NOT well-rounded with GPA< 3.35
Click to expand...

You are blowing the Asian thing out of proportion. You are not URM so being Asian isn't to your advantage, but its not gonna hold you back.

Yea Cali sucks because in-state is super competitive. Just apply broadly, get an MSAR and avoid schools that only take in-state.

I think you are better off focusing on ECs and GPA. Your MCAT is solid.

If you have decent ECs and you apply broadly i think you will atleast get interviews somewhere.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk
 
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Ravizzle said:
You are blowing the Asian thing out of proportion. You are not URM so being Asian isn't to your advantage, but its not gonna hold you back.

Yea Cali sucks because in-state is super competitive. Just apply broadly, get an MSAR and avoid schools that only take in-state.

I think you are better off focusing on ECs and GPA. Your MCAT is solid.

If you have decent ECs and you apply broadly i think you will atleast get interviews somewhere.

Sent from my Galaxy S2 via tapatalk
Click to expand...

I agree with the above poster's (and another above poster's) assessment. To make your application well-rounded, you need to boost your GPA and/or extracurriculars and/or something else unique. You can at least check the MCAT off your list.

Good luck!
Vlad
 
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I got my average -2. I thought Bio would have been better and Verbal a lot worse, but with my gpa I should get in somewhere!!
 
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PS 11/ VR 10/ WS Q/ BS 11= 32Q

+2 from my practice test average
Really wondering if the whole BS section was experimental... I really thought I got a 3 on that section.

Phew!!! Now planning to have a sacrificial bonfire for all my MCAT books.
 
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I just wanted to let people reading this forum that SDN is NOT the average on the MCAT. For everyone complaining about about getting over a 30, you should be proud about your score. I just looked at my score and I did TERRIBLE. This was my second time taking it and I did worse. I'm sure a lot of people who did poorly are afraid to post their score which is why the average seems so high but I'll post mine just to make this place seem more "normal."

I ended up getting a 24R vs my first time where I got a 25S. I got a 7/9/8R. I am extremely disappointed because my first time i got a 10/5/10S and I spent so much time on verbal this time around causing my sciences to suffer. I already have all my apps submitted so I have to really push hard the next two months and retake for my last chance at medicine. It sucks because I never got anything lower than a 29 on AAMCs (averaging low-mid 30s) and PS was actually my strongest where I always scored between 10-12. I actually never scored lower than a 27 on any of the TPR exams which are supposed to be significantly harder.

Anyways, I think time was a huge factor for me. I was also really nervous when I took the exam. I wasn't expecting so many calculation problems on PS which killed my timing and made me guess on a bunch. Although I'm pretty bummed right now, I'm still not going to give up. So those people who didn't do well, keep your chin up and those who did well and beat the beast, congrats to you.
 
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TheAvgPreMed said:
I just wanted to let people reading this forum that SDN is NOT the average on the MCAT. For everyone complaining about about getting over a 30, you should be proud about your score. I just looked at my score and I did TERRIBLE. This was my second time taking it and I did worse. I'm sure a lot of people who did poorly are afraid to post their score which is why the average seems so high but I'll post mine just to make this place seem more "normal."

I ended up getting a 24R vs my first time where I got a 25S. I got a 7/9/8R. I am extremely disappointed because my first time i got a 10/5/10S and I spent so much time on verbal this time around causing my sciences to suffer. I already have all my apps submitted so I have to really push hard the next two months and retake for my last chance at medicine. It sucks because I never got anything lower than a 29 on AAMCs (averaging mid 30s) and PS was actually my strongest where I was always scored between 10-12. I actually never scored lower than a 27 on any of the TPR exams which are supposed to be significantly harder.

Anyways, I think time was a huge factor for me. I was also really nervous when I took the exam. I wasn't expecting so many calculation problems on PS which killed my timing and made me guess on a bunch. Although I'm pretty bummed right now, I'm still not going to give up. So those people who didn't do well, keep your chin up and those who did well and beat the beast, congrats to you.
Click to expand...

Stay confident man. Given your averages I'd say try hard to study and you can get the test scheduled and retaken before you know it. Remember your tests show that you're capable you just need to work on your test taking abilities. It's all downhill from here just keep at it, and make sure to update your apps with your new test date. I'm praying for you.
 
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TheAvgPreMed said:
I just wanted to let people reading this forum that SDN is NOT the average on the MCAT. For everyone complaining about about getting over a 30, you should be proud about your score. I just looked at my score and I did TERRIBLE. This was my second time taking it and I did worse. I'm sure a lot of people who did poorly are afraid to post their score which is why the average seems so high but I'll post mine just to make this place seem more "normal."

I ended up getting a 24R vs my first time where I got a 25S. I got a 7/9/8R. I am extremely disappointed because my first time i got a 10/5/10S and I spent so much time on verbal this time around causing my sciences to suffer. I already have all my apps submitted so I have to really push hard the next two months and retake for my last chance at medicine. It sucks because I never got anything lower than a 29 on AAMCs (averaging low-mid 30s) and PS was actually my strongest where I always scored between 10-12. I actually never scored lower than a 27 on any of the TPR exams which are supposed to be significantly harder.

Anyways, I think time was a huge factor for me. I was also really nervous when I took the exam. I wasn't expecting so many calculation problems on PS which killed my timing and made me guess on a bunch. Although I'm pretty bummed right now, I'm still not going to give up. So those people who didn't do well, keep your chin up and those who did well and beat the beast, congrats to you.
Click to expand...

Don't some med schools combine your best scores on each individual section? In that case, you'd have a 29S, which is okay if the rest of your application is sweet.

People say VR is the hardest to improve, but you improved yours by four points! Now you just have to figure out sciences.
 
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TheAvgPreMed said:
I just wanted to let people reading this forum that SDN is NOT the average on the MCAT. For everyone complaining about about getting over a 30, you should be proud about your score. I just looked at my score and I did TERRIBLE. This was my second time taking it and I did worse. I'm sure a lot of people who did poorly are afraid to post their score which is why the average seems so high but I'll post mine just to make this place seem more "normal."

I ended up getting a 24R vs my first time where I got a 25S. I got a 7/9/8R. I am extremely disappointed because my first time i got a 10/5/10S and I spent so much time on verbal this time around causing my sciences to suffer. I already have all my apps submitted so I have to really push hard the next two months and retake for my last chance at medicine. It sucks because I never got anything lower than a 29 on AAMCs (averaging low-mid 30s) and PS was actually my strongest where I always scored between 10-12. I actually never scored lower than a 27 on any of the TPR exams which are supposed to be significantly harder.

Anyways, I think time was a huge factor for me. I was also really nervous when I took the exam. I wasn't expecting so many calculation problems on PS which killed my timing and made me guess on a bunch. Although I'm pretty bummed right now, I'm still not going to give up. So those people who didn't do well, keep your chin up and those who did well and beat the beast, congrats to you.
Click to expand...

What this guy said.

I know there are a lot of you that are reading this without posting your scores because you think you didn't do well. Keep in mind only 1 out of 5 test takers hits 30, and only 1 out of 2 hits 25. Regardless of what you got, keep your head up. If you have to retake, so be it. Not the end of the world 🙂
 
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I'm a bit bummed out. I improved my score by 7 points from when I first took it but i still didn't break 30, which is what I wanted to do.

The first time around I got a 20R (I know, I was shocked too) and now I got a 27S.

Should I sign up for a retake? My gpa is a 3.61.

I'm probably going to sign up for the one in august or late july, but that means my apps go in later, or should i just submit with this score?

I'm really worried, bleh.
 
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HitandRun said:
I'm a bit bummed out. I improved my score by 7 points from when I first took it but i still didn't break 30, which is what I wanted to do.

The first time around I got a 20R (I know, I was shocked too) and now I got a 27S.

Should I sign up for a retake? My gpa is a 3.61.

I'm probably going to sign up for the one in august or late july, but that means my apps go in later, or should i just submit with this score?

I'm really worried, bleh.
Click to expand...
Don't retake. Apply broadly, and apply DO. You should be fine.
 
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mr chievous said:
What this guy said.

I know there are a lot of you that are reading this without posting your scores because you think you didn't do well. Keep in mind only 1 out of 5 test takers hits 30, and only 1 out of 2 hits 25. Regardless of what you got, keep your head up. If you have to retake, so be it. Not the end of the world 🙂
Click to expand...

Yep, which means even assuming SDN is full of overachievers, only 1 out of 3 or maybe 4 readers in each MCAT thread is actually willing to post their score because they've gotten a "good" score.
 
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TheAvgPreMed said:
I just wanted to let people reading this forum that SDN is NOT the average on the MCAT. For everyone complaining about about getting over a 30, you should be proud about your score. I just looked at my score and I did TERRIBLE. This was my second time taking it and I did worse. I'm sure a lot of people who did poorly are afraid to post their score which is why the average seems so high but I'll post mine just to make this place seem more "normal."

I ended up getting a 24R vs my first time where I got a 25S. I got a 7/9/8R. I am extremely disappointed because my first time i got a 10/5/10S and I spent so much time on verbal this time around causing my sciences to suffer. I already have all my apps submitted so I have to really push hard the next two months and retake for my last chance at medicine. It sucks because I never got anything lower than a 29 on AAMCs (averaging low-mid 30s) and PS was actually my strongest where I always scored between 10-12. I actually never scored lower than a 27 on any of the TPR exams which are supposed to be significantly harder.

Anyways, I think time was a huge factor for me. I was also really nervous when I took the exam. I wasn't expecting so many calculation problems on PS which killed my timing and made me guess on a bunch. Although I'm pretty bummed right now, I'm still not going to give up. So those people who didn't do well, keep your chin up and those who did well and beat the beast, congrats to you.
Click to expand...

Don't give up on your dreams! You can do it. You just have to perform on test day like you on your practice exams. PM if you have any questions or need advice.

Regards,
Vlad
 
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ridethecliche said:
So I guess I can make fun of the MCAT and still do okay in essays. Seriously, I had a blast with the essays talking about how inane things were and writing all sorts of ridiculous commentary. Talking directly to the reader, etc.

.Can't paste the image here for whatever reason but.

.05/19/2012 11 12 R 11 34R
05/20/2011 09 11 S 10 30S

VR/PS/BS

Took the tests almost exactly a year apart haha.
Click to expand...


Congratulations dude you rocked it and are done!!!

Congrats to everyone who got the score they wanted, for those who didn't, keep your head up and figure out where to go from here.
 
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