Official August 27th 2014 MCAT Thread

Started by HaitianMD
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HaitianMD

HaitianMD

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I might as well get one started. I'm taking it in August but prepping now! Haven't seen my Sciences in YEARS so I'm starting early. Join as you will.
 
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Tonkahat said:
wowww im finished chapter 4 orgo 2/3 passages, looks like i have to completely stop working and lose the break days for the next while, or maybe postpone..? Im not sure.
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I'm in the midst of Ch 5s, also working fulltime. It'll work out. No break days when working f/t, though 🙁 🙁
 
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Just took TPR Cracking practice test #1 and got 9/11/10. It really highlighted some weaknesses in gen chem and bio but overall I think it's pretty decent, and definitely more reflective of my verbal skills than the Kaplan test I took last week. Looking forward to reviewing it and strengthening the subjects I did poorly in. What's the general consensus on difficulty of TPR practice test?
 
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Hello all!
Just found the thread and in major need of some other pre-meds to keep me going in a MAJOR MCAT slump. keep telling myself that this is it I've only got to study for 2 more months stay focused THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IF I BECOME A DOCTOR OR NOT!
but still Im human and still lacking motivation! ):
Anyways details on my- rising junior. first time test taker. just completed Kaplan course, but fell WAY behind because i felt like the workload was WAY too much!
So now i am trying to go back over to cover the chapters that I wasn't able to get to.
Is anyone else still on content review? (I know that a bunch of ppl are posting FL scores, so that why I ask)
Also it seems like lots of ppl are following the SN2ed method, any out there who aren't like myself?
Finally- What books have y'all found that are the best and worst for these subjects. It was too difficult for me to compose the perfect set of study materials, especially once I started the Kap class. I've got- All Kaplan books, EK 101 VR, EK Bio. Sometimes i just feel like they're missing stuff or skimming over stuff thats wayy more detailed and important.

longest.post.ever. haha. Greetings! 🙂
 
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6crew said:
Hello all!
Just found the thread and in major need of some other pre-meds to keep me going in a MAJOR MCAT slump. keep telling myself that this is it I've only got to study for 2 more months stay focused THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IF I BECOME A DOCTOR OR NOT!
but still Im human and still lacking motivation! ):
Anyways details on my- rising junior. first time test taker. just completed Kaplan course, but fell WAY behind because i felt like the workload was WAY too much!
So now i am trying to go back over to cover the chapters that I wasn't able to get to.
Is anyone else still on content review? (I know that a bunch of ppl are posting FL scores, so that why I ask)
Also it seems like lots of ppl are following the SN2ed method, any out there who aren't like myself?
Finally- What books have y'all found that are the best and worst for these subjects. It was too difficult for me to compose the perfect set of study materials, especially once I started the Kap class. I've got- All Kaplan books, EK 101 VR, EK Bio. Sometimes i just feel like they're missing stuff or skimming over stuff thats wayy more detailed and important.

longest.post.ever. haha. Greetings! 🙂
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I use a lot of online TPR stuff, as well as Berkeley, at the moment. I'm going to try and do all of TPRH before the test once I'm finished doing every Berkeley passage, which should be before the end of this month. I strongly suggest you get a copy of Berkeley bio, if nothing else, because EK bio is pretty lame and mostly recalling facts as opposed to critical thinking
 
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6crew said:
Hello all!
Just found the thread and in major need of some other pre-meds to keep me going in a MAJOR MCAT slump. keep telling myself that this is it I've only got to study for 2 more months stay focused THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IF I BECOME A DOCTOR OR NOT!
but still Im human and still lacking motivation! ):
Anyways details on my- rising junior. first time test taker. just completed Kaplan course, but fell WAY behind because i felt like the workload was WAY too much!
So now i am trying to go back over to cover the chapters that I wasn't able to get to.
Is anyone else still on content review? (I know that a bunch of ppl are posting FL scores, so that why I ask)
Also it seems like lots of ppl are following the SN2ed method, any out there who aren't like myself?
Finally- What books have y'all found that are the best and worst for these subjects. It was too difficult for me to compose the perfect set of study materials, especially once I started the Kap class. I've got- All Kaplan books, EK 101 VR, EK Bio. Sometimes i just feel like they're missing stuff or skimming over stuff thats wayy more detailed and important.

longest.post.ever. haha. Greetings! 🙂
Click to expand...
I'm exactly halfway my content review as of today. I think that puts me substantially behind (what say ye, other SN2ed'ers?), but many people will not hit FLs until the final month. :shrug:

TPRH = gold for VR. I cut out all of the other texts, and plan to just switch to AAMC material (self-assessment package, MCAT guide, etc.) when I run out of TPRH.
Other than that, I'm doing TBR for all content (including Bio) and passages, as well as a brief read through TPRH to review the material after doing my intense studying from TBR.
No complaints with those sources 'skimming', lol!
 
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6crew said:
Hello all!
Just found the thread and in major need of some other pre-meds to keep me going in a MAJOR MCAT slump. keep telling myself that this is it I've only got to study for 2 more months stay focused THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IF I BECOME A DOCTOR OR NOT!
but still Im human and still lacking motivation! ):
Anyways details on my- rising junior. first time test taker. just completed Kaplan course, but fell WAY behind because i felt like the workload was WAY too much!
So now i am trying to go back over to cover the chapters that I wasn't able to get to.
Is anyone else still on content review? (I know that a bunch of ppl are posting FL scores, so that why I ask)
Also it seems like lots of ppl are following the SN2ed method, any out there who aren't like myself?
Finally- What books have y'all found that are the best and worst for these subjects. It was too difficult for me to compose the perfect set of study materials, especially once I started the Kap class. I've got- All Kaplan books, EK 101 VR, EK Bio. Sometimes i just feel like they're missing stuff or skimming over stuff thats wayy more detailed and important.

longest.post.ever. haha. Greetings! 🙂
Click to expand...

Hey 6crew, I like the way you think--trying to get more motivation through a community--because that's what I'm doing too!

Also, "THIS IS WHAT WILL MAKE THE FINAL DECISION IF I BECOME A DOCTOR OR NOT!" When I read this, I was like, damn right! I'm still on content review, a follower of sn2ed, and (if i were on schedule) we would be taking the practice tests in around 3 weeks.

BR Review except for BR bio because it's so detail oriented and I think it would be better time spent to focus on the main concepts and learn to apply because isn't that what the MCAT is ultimately testing us for.
 
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Just finished the gen chem self assesment and got 80% which is kind of lame. I get wrecked in electrochem which I already knew was a major weakness. How is everyone's studying going
 
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How's everyone spending their last two months? I've been doing content review and practice exams (not FL) for the last month. Planning on just taking a FL every other day starting on Monday. Need to work on my stamina and focus :/
 
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hi, i've been doing content review and practice exams. my only weak points are electrochemistry, optics and waves, does anybody have any suggestions of how to master these topics?
 
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had the flu for a solid week ughh could not move...so now just getting back into the groove of things, im starting ochem chapter 5..so super behind 🙁 think studying home has been a big downfall, so im going to starbucks and going to start pumping through 2 physics chapters a week rather than 1 because its doable and im more comfortable with the later material.

also going to probably forget the hattricks later on in sdned schedule and just do all the princeton workbook questions for my trouble spots.

i am nervous cause it looks like i wont take my first practice test till 3 weeks before then testdate.... i do okay on all the 1/3 and 2/3 consistently in 10-11 section..for now.. i just dont know how i feel about taking a practice test without finishing all the content, has anyone done that.
 
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Break day today! This is the first in a while.

Also, a little over one more week until I am done with content review! (Well, at least until I get through all of the TBR books). I am going to follow that up with going through the AAMC study outline.
 
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Tonkahat said:
had the flu for a solid week ughh could not move...so now just getting back into the groove of things, im starting ochem chapter 5..so super behind 🙁 think studying home has been a big downfall, so im going to starbucks and going to start pumping through 2 physics chapters a week rather than 1 because its doable and im more comfortable with the later material.

also going to probably forget the hattricks later on in sdned schedule and just do all the princeton workbook questions for my trouble spots.

i am nervous cause it looks like i wont take my first practice test till 3 weeks before then testdate.... i do okay on all the 1/3 and 2/3 consistently in 10-11 section..for now.. i just dont know how i feel about taking a practice test without finishing all the content, has anyone done that.
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I would definitely recommend not studying at home. I've been driving 25 minutes each way just to get to a nice library for my studying; it makes a big difference in your (my) productivity, I think. I took a couple practice tests so far, and will be taking my next on Tuesday. I'd say go for it.
 
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Tonkahat said:
had the flu for a solid week ughh could not move...so now just getting back into the groove of things, im starting ochem chapter 5..so super behind 🙁 think studying home has been a big downfall, so im going to starbucks and going to start pumping through 2 physics chapters a week rather than 1 because its doable and im more comfortable with the later material.

also going to probably forget the hattricks later on in sdned schedule and just do all the princeton workbook questions for my trouble spots.

i am nervous cause it looks like i wont take my first practice test till 3 weeks before then testdate.... i do okay on all the 1/3 and 2/3 consistently in 10-11 section..for now.. i just dont know how i feel about taking a practice test without finishing all the content, has anyone done that.
Click to expand...

Im in the same boat as you kind of except that I am going back through the content i wasn't able to get through in my Kaplan course. I have taken one FL and i got a terrible score when i was maybe half way through the content. But i really am going to make an effort to do a 1 FL a week starting this week I think. Because it is all about building that stamina!! Yes DO NOT STUDY AT HOME!! I know EXACTLY how you feel. It never bothered me before with homework and stuff but MAN do i get extremely inefficient with my time management and work ethic!! Now i am making an effort to drive out to the library everyday as well!

Also does anybody else feel like this?
I sit in front of the content for a solid 4-5 hours everyday but i just feel like i am soooo inefficient with my time and i hardly get through any material at all!!
I feel like I'm in a major rut and am starting to panic as test day is only 45 freakin days away!! (AHHHHHHH!!)

BR users- Which books would you recommend from the set? I am going to buy them 2nd hand to go through the specific spots i have a lot of trouble with, but instead of buying them all i wanted to know which ones you'd say!
 
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6crew said:
BR users- Which books would you recommend from the set? I am going to buy them 2nd hand to go through the specific spots i have a lot of trouble with, but instead of buying them all i wanted to know which ones you'd say!
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Just pirate the entire set. Even if you aren't going to use them all for content review there's a lot of good practice passages in there
 
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6crew said:
BR users- Which books would you recommend from the set? I am going to buy them 2nd hand to go through the specific spots i have a lot of trouble with, but instead of buying them all i wanted to know which ones you'd say!
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This is a ridiculous question...if you're just getting them for your problem spots, obviously you should get the ones that, you know, cover your problem areas.
Otherwise, I see no point in reviewing half of the material, so I would never recommend a partial set.
 
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It's been too long guys, how is everyone doing in their studies? Today, I took TBR test #3, and scored a 13/9/13 for a 35. verbal has killed me on the last couple tests I have taken! I scored a 9 on TBR 2 (I missed the last 12 questions from poor time management though), and also on the last couple TPRH tests, if memory serves me correctly. Yikes. Nevertheless, I was pleased with how today's turned out. Perhaps some of us are finishing up content review sometime soon? What have you guys been up to?
 
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Ochem Chapter 5 was soo overwhelming, the passages were probably the worst I have done to date :| i heard that the second BR ochem book is not as important as the 1st...i hope thats the case!
 
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i have the aamc official guide to mcat wit 146 problems from actual mcats of the past. for anyone whos done self-assesment is this essentially gonna be like the self assesment questions if so id rather get through the 142 problems and not bother with self assesment
 
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Tonkahat said:
i have the aamc official guide to mcat wit 146 problems from actual mcats of the past. for anyone whos done self-assesment is this essentially gonna be like the self assesment questions if so id rather get through the 142 problems and not bother with self assesment
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I don't know what the official guide is but why not do everything? The more practice the better
 
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Hey I'm from NJ and wanted to know if anyone here is planning on rescheduling their date so I could potentially take their seat. I'm currently scheduled to take the Aug. 15th mcat but do not feel adequately prepared for it. I decided to push it back but the only problem is the fact that the next available seat is Sept. 6th for NJ residents. So please if you're from NJ and planning on rescheduling the Aug 27th MCAT, I will gladly take your seat. Thank you in advance if this works! 🙂
 
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anyone know any good verbal books. i only have like 14 passages left on princeton hyperlearning, which ill run out of in a week and i find ek101 to be a little more simple maybe im just underestimating it because princeton hyperlearning is so good...
 
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Tonkahat said:
anyone know any good verbal books. i only have like 14 passages left on princeton hyperlearning, which ill run out of in a week and i find ek101 to be a little more simple maybe im just underestimating it because princeton hyperlearning is so good...
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Ivy hall review is very good they have fifty passages
 
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rescheduling to september 18, i was worried because school starts in september for me, but figured atleast id be doing practice tests and not content review so its fine. good luck guys!
 
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Hi. Long time lurker.

The date is quickly coming up, and I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. I took practice test 3, got a dismal 28. Recalibrated and took practice test 4 two days later, got a slightly-less dismal 31. There should be ample time to pull that up significantly, right? The last two months I've done only content review, no practice in terms of practice mcats until now. Otherwise I'm going to reschedule to give myself more time.
 
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tkcm said:
Hi. Long time lurker.

The date is quickly coming up, and I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. I took practice test 3, got a dismal 28. Recalibrated and took practice test 4 two days later, got a slightly-less dismal 31. There should be ample time to pull that up significantly, right? The last two months I've done only content review, no practice in terms of practice mcats until now. Otherwise I'm going to reschedule to give myself more time.
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You just started the practice tests man, you have plenty of time to get better. Trust me, the real studying starts when you start taking practice test and going over your mistakes.

I currently got destroyed by kaplan FL non cbt (the old ones with 77questions/passage) while I got a 30 something on TPR CBT. It's all relative to the test you are taking, the AAMC average however from all the test should be much more accurate of your score +/- 2. We're all in the same boat man, keep working hard!

edit: 2 weeks out , if your not scoring in your desired range, reschedule.

Read this, was from a Kaplan instructor :

Granted, any analogy may only be taken so far. It seems, though, that if you study all the review materials Kaplan gives you and participate in the classes, the easy problems are the ones you'll have down pat. Why bother wasting time doing those? The idea in presenting a large proportion of the hard problems is to make you comfortable with them so they don't throw you so much when you get to test day. You'll look at the passage and think, "Oh, this is a gold foil passage," or, "Oh this is an RC-circuit with a spring and voltaic cell passage, la dee dah, I've done these before." With PS, there are really only so many types of passages they CAN pick from, and you can become familiar with the biggies. And to generalize a bit more, they tend to pick the classics for PS and BS passages, they'll just change the questions or the math. Being familiar with the classics gets you half way to the answer before you even take the test.
For instance, they seem to really like Griffin's experiments w/mice & pneumococcus. If you have had a genetics course or a biochem course, you'll probably have read about these experiments. They like a lot of the heredity classics like that. Although, on one test, they'll probably have just one such passage. Anyways, just an example...
The big thing I keep seeing is this fear of psyching yourself out. If you let your ego get involved, your test prep won't be as productive as it could be. You're the one sitting there with the practice test, and this is the time to be brutally honest with yourself. You have to be your own worst, most precise critic, because knowing your weaknesses is essential to improving your performance. Pride getteth in the way of a good MCAT score, folks. If you don't want other people to know how you're doing don't tell them. But don't avoid taking practice tests just to avoid being honest with yourself. I know how depressing it can be to be brutally honest -- believe me, there was almost nothing I DIDN'T need to work on at first. But topic by topic, I started to get things down, and the tests helped me narrow the scope of my review.
I'm not going to sit here and defend the quality of Kaplan's materials -- I don't work for them anymore, and I have no stake in their performance. I will say, though, that I used their materials last year and improved from 10V-8P-10B before Kaplan to 11V-13-P-11B after. And I studied my butt off for the first one, too. I'm not saying Kaplan's materials were the only factor, but I will tell you they were the major factor.
Best wishes to you all!!!
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Hey everyone! Just switched my MCAT to this date! Kind of panicking since I still haven't finished my content review but hopefully will be done in the next 3-4 days! Good luck to everyone!
 
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^^^Dude that is epic I WISH I WAS IN YOUR SHOES!!!
still on content review. trying to just sprinkle FL in between-> i have access to all the kaplan and aamc ones, does anyone know the rec order to be taking them?
also i am FREAKING OUT i feel like i KNOW NOTHING because well I DONT!!!!!!
and the 2 prac tests i have taken are terribly disappointing!! GOSH DARN YOU TIMING!!
I am hacving a lot of trouble rem the content i reviewed at the beg of my studying.

also-- any tips and tricks for rem the menstral cycle, Physics and Chem equations in general how are you remembering them nnot a fan of notecards!, endocrine, and c. respiration?
thanks all!-sendg + vibes your way!!
 
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6crew said:
^^^Dude that is epic I WISH I WAS IN YOUR SHOES!!!
still on content review. trying to just sprinkle FL in between-> i have access to all the kaplan and aamc ones, does anyone know the rec order to be taking them?
also i am FREAKING OUT i feel like i KNOW NOTHING because well I DONT!!!!!!
and the 2 prac tests i have taken are terribly disappointing!! GOSH DARN YOU TIMING!!
I am hacving a lot of trouble rem the content i reviewed at the beg of my studying.

also-- any tips and tricks for rem the menstral cycle, Physics and Chem equations in general how are you remembering them nnot a fan of notecards!, endocrine, and c. respiration?
thanks all!-sendg + vibes your way!!
Click to expand...
If you don't like flash cards.... well you should suck it up and download Anki. Really awesome program and I highly suggest using it for memorization. Granted to should understand concepts rather than rely on memorizing facts but with regards to the latter, Anki is second to none.
 
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Hi everyone,
I'm taking the mcat on the 27th. I'm also following( the best I can) the sn2ed method. Does anyone have any advice on how to stay calm during the tests? I think that's what is messing me up and timing because when I review, I find that most of the ones I got wrong were just because of stupid mistakes. I do good on PS, then during verbal I usually get nervous because I don't have enough time, then during BS I'm nervous from verbal. Should I reschedule? Any suggestions??
 
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mimi004 said:
Hi everyone,
I'm taking the mcat on the 27th. I'm also following( the best I can) the sn2ed method. Does anyone have any advice on how to stay calm during the tests? I think that's what is messing me up and timing because when I review, I find that most of the ones I got wrong were just because of stupid mistakes. I do good on PS, then during verbal I usually get nervous because I don't have enough time, then during BS I'm nervous from verbal. Should I reschedule? Any suggestions??
Click to expand...
I don't think rescheduling well help with your nerves.
 
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mimi004 said:
Do you guys have anything that helps you with that? I try to relax and take deep breaths but once I notice the time my brain freaks out on me.
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I am the opposite of you! PS freaks me and then VR too.
I just find that as i progress into the test its important to give it my best shot and move on. I at least don't have time to go back, so I give the passage my all then move on, totally reset. and go on. there is no going back. I have always been told confidence in your self is key!
When i review my test i look at all the ones i got wrong compared to the ones i marked. And in BS and VR at least i find that i mark a lot more than what i got wrong, i am just questioning myself.
hope it helps, i know its really difficult to do, when saying it isn't.
 
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6crew said:
I am the opposite of you! PS freaks me and then VR too.
I just find that as i progress into the test its important to give it my best shot and move on. I at least don't have time to go back, so I give the passage my all then move on, totally reset. and go on. there is no going back. I have always been told confidence in your self is key!
When i review my test i look at all the ones i got wrong compared to the ones i marked. And in BS and VR at least i find that i mark a lot more than what i got wrong, i am just questioning myself.
hope it helps, i know its really difficult to do, when saying it isn't.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the moving on, totally reset part is hard. Hopefully more practice helps but I don't want to waste the aaamc practice tests :/ I'll have to find some tricks I can do for verbal so I can relax a little.
 
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saving the last two for a week before the actual one.


not really it gives me a gauge as to how much i have been improving. i dont want to realize, especially when time in dwindling, that i havent been scoring what i wanted 2-3 wks prior to the actual exam. it would just be way too late to do anything about it.

gonna finish supplementals and probably start doing some questions from the SW.
 
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Made an account just to follow this thread. Followed sn2ed's all summer, taking AAMC 5 tomorrow afternoon.

AAMC 3: 12/10/12 34 (July 25)
AAMC 4: 14/13/13 40 (July 30)

I'm a chemistry major so I have an easy time with all the organic and genchem passages, but im worried i may have a few weaknesses that the AAMC FL's haven't hit me with it (optics....) we'll see how it goes i guess
 
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s3rr8s said:
Made an account just to follow this thread. Followed sn2ed's all summer, taking AAMC 5 tomorrow afternoon.

AAMC 3: 12/10/12 34 (July 25)
AAMC 4: 14/13/13 40 (July 30)

I'm a chemistry major so I have an easy time with all the organic and genchem passages, but im worried i may have a few weaknesses that the AAMC FL's haven't hit me with it (optics....) we'll see how it goes i guess
Click to expand...

Those are great scores! Just out of curiosity, how did you manage to go up to a 13 (AAMC 4) from a 10 (AAMC 3) in verbal? Just wondering because I personally found AAMC 4 verbal to be harder..My score went from an 11 in AAMC 3 to a 9 in AAMC 4 :'(
 
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