Official 7/14/2012 MCAT Thread

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rjosh33

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I haven't seen this date posted yet, but I know I can't be the only one taking it on this day. It's almost exactly two months away, and hopefully everybody's prep is productive so far. I've been doing a lot of practice tests, and, at the advice of others, ordered a quarterly subscription to The Economist to try and help out with Verbal (jury's still out on that one). My target score is going to be tough to reach, and I still have a lot of work to do to get there. We'll see how it goes in about 60 days.

Any other "7/14ers" out there?
 
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HalMoose88 said:
Has anyone re-taken the MCAT in a 3 week period? I'm thinking about re-taking in September but don't know if that's adequate time from now until September 6th to review/ study or even a good idea? I got a 26 on this July MCAT. Thanks!
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I didn't retake in a 3-week period, but I did only study for my retake for 3 weeks (I retook over a year later).

First MCAT: practice average ~33, actual MCAT 29
Second MCAT: practice average 34.5, actual MCAT 31

As you can tell, I can never seem to do as well as my practice average! But 3 weeks for me was enough time to raise it 2 points.
 
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pretty bummed about my VR score of 7! Do you guys think I should retake?

I'm applying this cycle and so I would only have a few weeks to study before the last possible testing day sometime in September... I'm afraid it would drop my BS and PS drastically, both of which I'm completely fine with (14 and 10, respectively).

I just don't know what I should do... :/
 
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HalMoose88 said:
Has anyone re-taken the MCAT in a 3 week period? I'm thinking about re-taking in September but don't know if that's adequate time from now until September 6th to review/ study or even a good idea? I got a 26 on this July MCAT. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I did, check my previous posts.
 
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1st MCAT Average Practice Score: 27
1st MCAT Actual : 27P

2nd MCAT Average practice Score : 30.5
2nd MCAT Actual (7/14): 11V 10P 10B Q = 31 Q


Its been a good day.
 
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7PS/11VR/12BS
I'm not quite sure what to do, I feel like I definitely should retake because of the 7 in PS. I just can't believe it's so low I never got below a 10 on that section in any of my practices. I know a 30 isn't a bad overall but that 7 makes me really nervous. And it's also late to retake in September, but is it worth it to study for the next three weeks and retake sept 6?
 
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hopefulmed3 said:
7PS/11VR/12BS
I'm not quite sure what to do, I feel like I definitely should retake because of the 7 in PS. I just can't believe it's so low I never got below a 10 on that section in any of my practices. I know a 30 isn't a bad overall but that 7 makes me really nervous. And it's also late to retake in September, but is it worth it to study for the next three weeks and retake sept 6?
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I'm right there with you. Not sure if I sould retake 9/7/12.. never got below a 9 for VR on any practice tests =\

I'm registered for the sept 7th test, but I'm not sure if it's worth pushing my app back another 2 months for maybe 2-3point gain after 3 weeks of studying. 3.5s gps 3.6c gpa.. thoughts?
 
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Whats the general consensus about the writing section? O is middle of the pack, will it hurt at top schools?
 
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Actual MCAT: 10/11/12 = 33N

AAMC FL average: 31.4 (or 32.7 if you throw out the 28 I made before completing my content review)

Last year's actual MCAT: 8/9/10 = 27O

I likely could have done better if I hadn't had a nervous breakdown during the first 10 minutes of the PS section. Still, that's part of it, and I'm not about to complain. I know it's not an Ivy League score, but it sure suits me.

hopefulmed3 said:
7PS/11VR/12BS
I'm not quite sure what to do, I feel like I definitely should retake because of the 7 in PS. I just can't believe it's so low I never got below a 10 on that section in any of my practices. I know a 30 isn't a bad overall but that 7 makes me really nervous. And it's also late to retake in September, but is it worth it to study for the next three weeks and retake sept 6?
Click to expand...

I hope my scores show that improvement can be made if you go back and study. However, as you say, you still made a 30. That's pretty good. Also, as you say, it's late in the app cycle to be waiting on a score. Were it me, I would probably just roll with it this year and try again next year if need be. I don't know if you can afford to wait a year or not though. You'll probably get some more opinions here, but that's my two cents.
 
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5/20 - AAMC 3: 9/4/9 (22) ~ about half way into content review
7/8 - AAMC 9: 11/4/9 (24)
7/10 - AAMC 10: 10/6/10 (26)

AAMC Average: 24
Prediction: 26-28
Goal: Before I started studying I told myself I would be happy with anything over 30.
Actual: 30L (PS:11 VR:9 BS:10)

Very happy about my verbal score, always seemed to keep me down. I ran out of time with content review and decided to hold off on taking anymore AAMCs in preparation for a retake. I'm not surprised with the L since I didn't spend anytime on writing but I was at least hoping for an M. Should I be worried about this? Overall I am ecstatic with my score based on the circumstances.
 
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SoMinty said:
Whats the general consensus about the writing section? O is middle of the pack, will it hurt at top schools?
Click to expand...

Not sure if you're serious or not. American schools put next to no stock in the writing score. An O won't hurt your application at all.

BTW, good job on the 39. That's a great score.
 
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pure skill said:
Actual MCAT: 10/11/12 = 33N

AAMC FL average: 31.4 (or 32.7 if you throw out the 28 I made before completing my content review)

Last year's actual MCAT: 8/9/10 = 27O

I likely could have done better if I hadn't had a nervous breakdown during the first 10 minutes of the PS section. Still, that's part of it, and I'm not about to complain. I know it's not an Ivy League score, but it sure suits me.



I hope my scores show that improvement can be made if you go back and study. However, as you say, you still made a 30. That's pretty good. Also, as you say, it's late in the app cycle to be waiting on a score. Were it me, I would probably just roll with it this year and try again next year if need be. I don't know if you can afford to wait a year or not though. You'll probably get some more opinions here, but that's my two cents.
Click to expand...

Ideally I wouldn't like to put off applying, since I'm already out of college (graduated 2011) and have since been working as a research technician in a genetics lab. I just need to decide if I am going to go through with the retake, and if I think I'll be able to raise my scores successfully in that short of time. Right now I'm feeling pretty discouraged. It wouldn't be the end of the world to be a reapplicant next year, but definitely not what I imagined.
 
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AAMC average: 30-31
Kaplan FL [took only a handful of these and grades were all over the place]average: 32-33
My prediction: 25
MCAT the real mother: 33Q, triple 11.

I am pleasantly surprised. After the test I felt like I took a dive into the abyss with the guessing on it like I have never guessed before. People say AAMC practice tests are closest thing to your real score and I got a few points over that.
 
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AAMC average: 25
Prediction: 23-27
Actual: 30O: V9 PS10 BS11

I thought I got a 7 on the BS because of "that" passage. PS I felt less than a 10, and Verbal I always averaged 7 or 8. Maybe I performed better or it could just be I happened to know some of the discrete questions which might helped the score. But anyway, I have got nothing to complain about this score :laugh: Actually made me regret a little bit cuz I only studied for 6 weeks, averaging 2hrs/day, and almost gave up at the end. Maybe if I studied a bit more I could hit a higher score 🙄 Good luck to everybody!
 
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rjosh33 said:
Not sure if you're serious or not. American schools put next to no stock in the writing score. An O won't hurt your application at all.

BTW, good job on the 39. That's a great score.
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I was serious so thanks for answering. And thank you.
 
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farnell said:
Honestly, I just changed the way I've been reading the passages...you don't need to understand what every single sentence means - like you said, if you understand the point of the passage you can get pretty much every question right. At the end of each paragraph, I summarize in my head what the "point" of that paragraph is, and then at the end i ask myself (literally) "why did the author write this?" The only time I don't do this is when I get a natural sciences passage, for those I try to understand every detail because questions can be specific.

On a related note, I very rarely go back to read the passage while trying to answer a question. I think sometimes you can have an idea what the right answer is, but going back to the passage can really distract you from choosing the right answer. I predict what I think the answer will be in my head and then just go with my gut in picking the answer closest to that.

Lastly, if I don't know the answer after 30 or so seconds of thought, I pick one and move on. If you don't know the answer after 30 seconds of thought, you probably wont know it after 2 minutes. Last year I was always tight on time and it was because I spent too much time on the questions i was unsure of.

I've seen these strategies posted a bunch of bunch of times, but it wasn't until I actively started trying them that my scores improved...hope some of this helps
Click to expand...

This is solid advice right here. This type of method took me from 8s and 9s on practice to 10s and 11s, then I finally busted out a 12 on the real verbal. Heed this and your verbal woes can be eliminated.
 
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degi said:
Just curious, what did you do between this test and last test to feel more confident (especially for the bio)?
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HalMoose88 said:
Has anyone re-taken the MCAT in a 3 week period? I'm thinking about re-taking in September but don't know if that's adequate time from now until September 6th to review/ study or even a good idea? I got a 26 on this July MCAT. Thanks!
Click to expand...

AAMC: 26-28

Actual: 32.
bazinga, mcats! 11 PS / 11 VR / 10 BS

moi! i took the 7/14, felt destroyed, and proactively retook on 8/3. thought it was the best idea, since the info would be fresh & could take the time to develop a deeper understanding of the material and the connections between all of it. i did not do any additional practice tests.

for bio, which i thought i tanked, i bought the human body book by richard walker, which has some really incredible illustrations if you are a visual person (better than most of what i've seen in undergrad, kaplan, and EK) and superficial explanations of the organ systems that helped take a step back and see the big picture. they also had a disorders section for each system, which described different things that can go wrong and what is affected, which helped me get in a good mindset for the critical thinking required of bio passages.

can't comment on the effectiveness of this though. 3 more weeks til score time!
 
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I got a 28K, I'm pretty mortified by my writing score, I have no idea how it's possible to do that awful. Especially since I thought the prompts were just fine and I took the test last year twice right after a bout with mono and I got a Q both times no problem. Do you guys think I should retake because of my latest writing? I thought if you at least adequately addressed the 3 writing prompts you would do better than a K. I'm sure I saved it over and over :/
 
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Mar3 said:
AAMC AVG: 32
Actual: V8/ 9P/ B 12 (29)

totally devastated..... I was also hoping to apply to Calgary.. ( Im from Edmonton)
Do u think the the 8 will do me in? do i still have a chance?..
I know im out of the runnning for US MD but i have decided to look into DO for this application cycle.
Is it to late for DO for this cycle?
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AAMC Avg: 30
Actual score: 30Q - 6V/11P/13B

Super super sad about my verbal score. I was usually in the 7-9 range and was expecting an 8 on the low side but 6 in verbal is very disappointing and heart breaking. I'm planning to apply in the Alberta region as well, and am not sure if I should be retaking for a more balanced score. Pretty sure I'll be retaking next summer if I do take it but is it worth waiting for another year and not applying this year? Or will an unbalanced 30Q get me in?

P.S. Hey there another Edmontonian!
 
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AAMC avg: 32-33
Prediction: 31-34
Actual: 32Q -> 10P, 10V, 12B
so happy and so glad it's all over! all I wanted was to get a 32 or higher! good luck to everyone and congrats!
 
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theiintig said:
AAMC Avg: 30
Actual score: 30Q - 6V/11P/13B

Super super sad about my verbal score. I was usually in the 7-9 range and was expecting an 8 on the low side but 6 in verbal is very disappointing and heart breaking. I'm planning to apply in the Alberta region as well, and am not sure if I should be retaking for a more balanced score. Pretty sure I'll be retaking next summer if I do take it but is it worth waiting for another year and not applying this year? Or will an unbalanced 30Q get me in?

P.S. Hey there another Edmontonian!
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I'm sorry theiintig, but the UofA requires a 7 or better in each category and since MCAT VR is worth 10% of the UofC application, I would say you don't have little chance until you retake. You could try for a september sitting though.
 
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AAMC FL Average: 26.8
Prediction: 22-25
Actual: 9/11/9 (29M)

Much better than I thought, but taking it Friday to hopefully break 30. Wish me luck!!!
 
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Congratulations to everyone! All your hard work paid off. 🙂

I took this exam and voided it, but hopefully I'll do better by September 1st.
 
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theiintig said:
AAMC Avg: 30
Actual score: 30Q - 6V/11P/13B

Super super sad about my verbal score. I was usually in the 7-9 range and was expecting an 8 on the low side but 6 in verbal is very disappointing and heart breaking. I'm planning to apply in the Alberta region as well, and am not sure if I should be retaking for a more balanced score. Pretty sure I'll be retaking next summer if I do take it but is it worth waiting for another year and not applying this year? Or will an unbalanced 30Q get me in?

P.S. Hey there another Edmontonian!
Click to expand...

aww trust me i know exactly how u feel. i was consistently getting 9-11 on VR and PS and averaging around 31/32 and this just sucks! I was hoping to be one of those that either make their ave or beat it but crappy luck got in the way. lol But what are you gonna do right? after spending the day self loathing, crying, screaming and yelling I have decided to retake for sept 6/7/11 when ever I can get a seat. (They are all full right now so just patiently waiting..). I will use my sept score for U of C mostly and mabey U of A so I will only be studying Verbal.. ( I saw someone on premed101 get into calgary with a 22M - 11Verbal... so yeahhhh).

In the mean time I have decided to go for D.O. so im currently just working on that app.

I think an unbalanced 30 might be a problem for you but then again u wont know if u dont apply. I would say just apply with it and see how it goes and prepare to retake either sept or next summer. Lets both keep our fingers crossed! good luckk!!
 
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theiintig said:
AAMC Avg: 30
Actual score: 30Q - 6V/11P/13B

Super super sad about my verbal score. I was usually in the 7-9 range and was expecting an 8 on the low side but 6 in verbal is very disappointing and heart breaking. I'm planning to apply in the Alberta region as well, and am not sure if I should be retaking for a more balanced score. Pretty sure I'll be retaking next summer if I do take it but is it worth waiting for another year and not applying this year? Or will an unbalanced 30Q get me in?

P.S. Hey there another Edmontonian!
Click to expand...

Hey I'm on the same boat as you are.
I was scoring like 8/9's on my practice so I thought I would at least hit an 8 or higher but this really sucks. I'm trying to figure out what to do too :scared:
 
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AAMC average: 33
Prediction: 29-33
Actual: 29L: 11/8/10

I've been depressed about my score, its on the lower end of what i anticipated and this was my second time taking the mcat. I want to take it again in September because I think I can improve a few points with a few weeks of intense preparation. Do you think that's a good idea? I know it may make my application late.. but is it worth the risk? Can I still get interviews with a 29? Help! Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!
 
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