*Official June 2016 MCAT Thread*

[aalamruad]

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Hey there everyone! Figured I'd start this thread since I recently started preparing for the June 18th MCAT. For those of you who are taking the June 2nd MCAT, June 18th MCAT, or still considering one of those two dates, feel free to post here with any questions, comments, concerns, or support you have to offer!

Good luck to you all! Let's crush it.

 

[MI2015]

I worked through the C/P section bank at a reallyy slow pace, looking up things that I didn't understand and watching a video on the topic/redoing the problem when I missed it. I also worked through the chemistry and physics question packs twice because I felt weak on content and those questions help for memorizing equations. C/P has always been my weakness so I've really focused on it. Just doing lots of practice problems should help you! I'm terrified after what you said about your test that got shut down tho... Maybe I shouldn't be giving advice haha. 😉

See that's what i'm worried about too! Didn't mean to worry you though, but I felt really good about C/P on my exam, and i'm scared that A) It will be super hard this time and i'll feel discouraged and B) More random stuff will pop up. It's frustrating because the random stuff is basic enough that you know you learned it sometime in your college career, but can't recall it.

 

[MI2015]

Also, I'm doing NS #1 this week, just to keep my head in the testing mode. Anyone have thoughts on that exam? Did all EK exams (70% average and killed me mentally) and AAMC scored and unscored, Qpacks, section banks, and all of khan academy passages.

 

[Haiba]

"The oxidation number of an element is the number of electrons that need to be added to the element to make a neutral atom."

The above rule is something I learned in organic chemistry. Common example: carbon needs 4 bonds to be electrically neutral, so it has an oxidation state of +4 (including the elements in that group). Phosphorous is in the group to the right, so it requires 3 bonds to make it electrically neutral --> oxidation # = +3. I'm assuming they are positive if they are attached to more electronegative atoms, otherwise if they themselves are the more electronegative atom they would be (-). This would only be true if the P was monoatomic (no bonds) though, so let's keep moving.

I attached a list of rules for assigning oxidation numbers that I got out of the Kaplan gen chem book. According to these rules, the sum oxidation number for pyrophosphate is -4 because of its charge. O's are ALWAYS -2, and there are 7 of them --> 7*-2 = -14. We need to get to -4 (total charge) and there are 2 P's. Simple algebra --> each P = +5

Hope this helps! (And I sincerely hope I'm right)

Edit: I wasn't right the first time around

Thanks you! I appreciate it. The attachment was so clear that I copied it all in my notebook 🙂
People like you are awesome. Thanks again and good luck

 

[aalamruad]

Can someone please convert my AAMC unscored or tell me how to do it?
Chem/Phy: 69%
CARS: 85%
Bio/Biochem: 66%
Psych/Soc: 73%
Average: 73.25%

Thank you!

509 I believe

 

[beOncogene]

~89% on P/S. Finally I am officially done with these section banks. After going through what I have completed, I saw that I have already taken the scored way back. I just don't know how I could have forgotten that. Now, I don't know what to do for tomorrow. Either take Ek4 (my last one) or go over section banks and review high yields stuff.

 

[vernhart]

Can someone please convert my AAMC unscored or tell me how to do it?
Chem/Phy: 69%
CARS: 85%
Bio/Biochem: 66%
Psych/Soc: 73%
Average: 73.25%

Thank you!

I have access to a few different scales (no i can't distribute, per my contract), but I can tell you I have you at an average of

Chem: 126 (verge of 125)
CARS: 128 (verge of a 129)
Bio: 125
Psy: 126
Total: 505

 

[pewpew95]

I couldn't fall asleep yesterday, can't fall asleep now... 🙁 everytime i close my eyes i think of oxaloacetate or some random bs like that

on another note, got an email from my professor (also an admin officer at the local med school) to kick some MCAT ass; i hope his blessing reaches each and every one of you

 

[aalamruad]

I couldn't fall asleep yesterday, can't fall asleep now... 🙁 everytime i close my eyes i think of oxaloacetate or some random bs like that

on another note, got an email from my professor (also an admin officer at the local med school) to kick some MCAT ass; i hope his blessing reaches each and every one of you

Wake up extra early on Friday so that you'll be really tired at night and won't have to struggle to fall asleep, that's what I'm gonna do!

 

[aalamruad]

I have access to a few different scales (no i can't distribute, per my contract), but I can tell you I have you at an average of

Chem: 126 (verge of 125)
CARS: 128 (verge of a 129)
Bio: 125
Psy: 126
Total: 505

Very secretive

 

[tavokeri9]

I'm applying this cycle regardless of my score. I got a 509/510 on the AAMC tests, and from what the May test takers have posted- most people seem to be doing better on the actual test. Obviously, response bias is at play, but still. I already submitted TMDAS and will be submitting AMCAS next week.

Ah, okay. So you're definitely not going to retake real fast this cycle in case you score lower than hoped?

 

[theonlytycrane]

"The oxidation number of an element is the number of electrons that need to be added to the element to make a neutral atom."

The above rule is something I learned in organic chemistry. Common example: carbon needs 4 bonds to be electrically neutral, so it has an oxidation state of +4 (including the elements in that group). Phosphorous is in the group to the right, so it requires 3 bonds to make it electrically neutral --> oxidation # = +3. I'm assuming they are positive if they are attached to more electronegative atoms, otherwise if they themselves are the more electronegative atom they would be (-). This would only be true if the P was monoatomic (no bonds) though, so let's keep moving.

I attached a list of rules for assigning oxidation numbers that I got out of the Kaplan gen chem book. According to these rules, the sum oxidation number for pyrophosphate is -4 because of its charge. O's are ALWAYS -2, and there are 7 of them --> 7*-2 = -14. We need to get to -4 (total charge) and there are 2 P's. Simple algebra --> each P = +5

Hope this helps! (And I sincerely hope I'm right)

Edit: I wasn't right the first time around

#handWritingGoals

 

[MI2015]

Ah, okay. So you're definitely not going to retake real fast this cycle in case you score lower than hoped?

Honestly, and this is just my opinion, I think it's risky. My GPA is decent enough that I don't need a super high MCAT score. July is cutting it really close, especially since TMDAS opens earlier and starts the process earlier.

 

[Ryomagoku]

how do you guys review your FL? hand write or typed? I didn't have time so I'm only going to take and review sample and scored Fls.

I should probably do section banks as well. How long does it take to do entire section bank?

sank q

 

[pewpew95]

how do you guys review your FL? hand write or typed? I didn't have time so I'm only going to take and review sample and scored Fls.

I should probably do section banks as well. How long does it take to do entire section bank?

sank q

Are you testing this Saturday? Just wondering cause doing all that will be tough in just 3 days...I don't take notes when reviewing my full lengths (idk if I should be tbh), but I do write down a list of topics to review and usually relearn those topics while I'm going through the review. Section banks took me 1.5 days to do because I was simultaneously reviewing content and going over unscrew sample test. Will be reviewing all 3 section banks tomorrow and expect it to take a good 10-12 hours.

 

[Ryomagoku]

Are you testing this Saturday? Just wondering cause doing all that will be tough in just 3 days...I don't take notes when reviewing my full lengths (idk if I should be tbh), but I do write down a list of topics to review and usually relearn those topics while I'm going through the review. Section banks took me 1.5 days to do because I was simultaneously reviewing content and going over unscrew sample test. Will be reviewing all 3 section banks tomorrow and expect it to take a good 10-12 hours.

actually I am writing on saturday.

I figured my weakness is on psych/soc so I am going to focus on that more. Bu,t I plan on reviewing section bank well and the FLs.

I shall start section right now and finish tomorrow I guess.

Do you have a suggestion of psych/soc?

 

[pewpew95]

actually I am writing on saturday.

I figured my weakness is on psych/soc so I am going to focus on that more. Bu,t I plan on reviewing section bank well and the FLs.

I shall start section right now and finish tomorrow I guess.

Do you have a suggestion of psych/soc?

Good luck!! You'll be on a really tight schedule but as long as you stick to it you can manage. I'm actually a psychology major and i've taken a few sociology courses so i didn't formally review anything for P/S except random topics that popped up. Heard khanacademy is good for reviewing terms, and if you go back a few pages in the thread someone posted a link to a 250 pg packet on p/s terms but i think that would be exhausting to go through in such limited time

If you could only choose a few things to learn for P/S in the next 3 days, I'd suggest it be the following:
-Kohlberg's theory of moral development
-Piaget's theory of development
-Freud's theory of psychosexual development as well as his theory on id, ego, superego
-Maslow's hierarchy of needs
-Attribution theory
-Demographics (demographic transition models for 3rd world to developed nations)
-Theories of emotion (James-Lange, Schacter-Singer, and Cannon-Bard)
-Regions of the brain and their functions
-Types of memory (declarative, semantic, explicit, implicit, etc.)
-Theories on language acquisition
-Operant vs. classical conditioning

That's not an exhaustive list but all of those topics popped up on p/s section bank or unscored sample

 

[UTHealth007]

All finished, I'll try and do this within reason of my restrictions.

C/P: redonkulously easy compared to section bank and maybe even easier than the FL
CARS: in my opinion on par if not a bit harder than the scored FL
B/B: hardddddddd as ****, similar to section bank For sure
Psych/Soc: on par with the scored in difficulty


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Hi there, what would you say prepared you best for the C/P? It is actually my most dreaded section and would appreciate any pointers!

 

[UTHealth007]

Just came back home from the exam....

C/P: This will always be my weakest section. That being said the questions were not horrible. I finished with some time to check over my answers but then again not expecting miracles on the test....
Verbal: Bruh...half the passages were easy then there were some passages like WTH are you saying....I kinda ran out of time and had to guess on 3 questions.....Again not expecting high score.
Bio: Hard as ****. jesus christ this was hard. Did I mention it was hard? Had a lot of questions where it took too long to understand what was going on in the experiments. Probably the lowest section
Psych: suprisingly not that bad...felt like I did pretty well...

Overall: Need a prayer and Jesus. Hopefully it went OK. If not whatever....

If you don't mind me asking, what were the general topics you saw for the C/P? Thermochemistry, gases, water? Just curious but if you don't feel comfortable divulging the details, what source for content review would you say is most helpful for that section, thanks!

 

[Scrubs101]

Hi there, what would you say prepared you best for the C/P? It is actually my most dreaded section and would appreciate any pointers!

In all honesty I would be the worst to ask for C/P advice, but I found khan academy quite helpful, along with the AAMC section bank & practice exam material to get a fell for the question style


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[TXhopeful]

My newest source of joy is reading through my EK books to reference a topic and they have their little bold red paragraphs by everything:
"Don't worry about the enzymes of glycolysis. It is unlikely they would ask specific questions about them."
"Focus on the bigger picture and try not to worry about the finite details."
Don't memorize this....too specific....they would never ask that."
LOL, it's all on the Section Banks! I really hope EK worked through them before releasing their 10th edition this month.

 

[TXhopeful]

how do you guys review your FL? hand write or typed? I didn't have time so I'm only going to take and review sample and scored Fls.

I should probably do section banks as well. How long does it take to do entire section bank?

sank q

Handwritten in a specific "Incorrect Answers" notebook.
Personally, I'm going to spend much less time reviewing my EK FL 4 from yesterday and spend the majority of it looking at the Section Banks and AAMC material. Get through those Section Banks if you can! Their usefulness and reference for all the recent test-takers cannot be overstated.

 

[TXhopeful]

Also, I'm doing NS #1 this week, just to keep my head in the testing mode. Anyone have thoughts on that exam? Did all EK exams (70% average and killed me mentally) and AAMC scored and unscored, Qpacks, section banks, and all of khan academy passages.

Haha, I think my average was 65%? We will not be beaten down by EK. I think NS 1 was pretty fair, so that would be a good something to take.

 

[sleepyhead22]

My newest source of joy is reading through my EK books to reference a topic and they have their little bold red paragraphs by everything:
"Don't worry about the enzymes of glycolysis. It is unlikely they would ask specific questions about them."
"Focus on the bigger picture and try not to worry about the finite details."
Don't memorize this....too specific....they would never ask that."
LOL, it's all on the Section Banks! I really hope EK worked through them before releasing their 10th edition this month.

I laughed at that the other day too! They really missed the mark on a couple things. They also don't even say to memorize 3 letter and 1 letter abbreviations on amino acids....

 

[sleepyhead22]

actually I am writing on saturday.

I figured my weakness is on psych/soc so I am going to focus on that more. Bu,t I plan on reviewing section bank well and the FLs.

I shall start section right now and finish tomorrow I guess.

Do you have a suggestion of psych/soc?

I think psych/soc is the one section that you can improve dramatically in such a short time because it's a lot of memorization. Another poster answered with high yield topics that I agree with. The P/S section bank will help you because it emphasizes the topics that are high yield. I'd take them with solutions on and really review your answers while you work through it.

I think if you're really low on time you should do the section banks and the scored full length because it was released more recently than the sample so it should be more representative of our test. Good luck!

 

[TXhopeful]

I laughed at that the other day too! They really missed the mark on a couple things. They also don't even say to memorize 3 letter and 1 letter abbreviations on amino acids....

Yeah, had to figure that out the hard way on AAMC Unscored Sample. I think I counted 8 questions I missed between the C/P and B/B section on those suckers

 

[sleepyhead22]

Yeah, had to figure that out the hard way on AAMC Unscored Sample. I think I counted 8 questions I missed between the C/P and B/B section on those suckers

Same! I think that's a big reason why my score has bumped up since the unscored.

Also I'm having such terrible anxiety. Couldn't fall asleep last night, my heart just kept racing thinking about possible topics and questions that might be on our test... I woke up super early today to try to get on an earlier schedule (NBA finals are killing me haha). My stomach just is constantly in knots. I'm shadowing today (not by choice! It was the only day in months that the doctor was available and I need a LOR from him since he's a DO) and wish I could just study all day. :/

 

[TXhopeful]

Same! I think that's a big reason why my score has bumped up since the unscored.

Also I'm having such terrible anxiety. Couldn't fall asleep last night, my heart just kept racing thinking about possible topics and questions that might be on our test... I woke up super early today to try to get on an earlier schedule (NBA finals are killing me haha). My stomach just is constantly in knots. I'm shadowing today (not by choice! It was the only day in months that the doctor was available and I need a LOR from him since he's a DO) and wish I could just study all day. :/

When I was scribing in the ER, the shadows followed us most of the days because some of our physicians had bad tempers with students. Anyway, this one girl (20 years old) was telling me how nervous she was about her MCAT scores coming back that day. The next time she came to shadow she told me she had gotten an awful score and was so upset about retaking. SHE GOT A 38.

 

[sleepyhead22]

When I was scribing in the ER, the shadows followed us most of the days because some of our physicians had bad tempers with students. Anyway, this one girl (20 years old) was telling me how nervous she was about her MCAT scores coming back that day. The next time she came to shadow she told me she had gotten an awful score and was so upset about retaking. SHE GOT A 38.

Maybe just got like a really bad verbal score? Although wouldn't she have had to have gotten an 8? Either way that's insaneeeee.

 

[TXhopeful]

Maybe just got like a really bad verbal score? Although wouldn't she have had to have gotten an 8? Either way that's insaneeeee.

I didn't ask for the breakdown, but it couldn't have been that unbalanced or terrible! There was definitely a cultural norm for her based on the little bit of background information she told me about. In her mind, a 38 was way too many points off from a 45.
I would make some T-shirts and rent one of those planes that have a banner behind it if I got a score close to that.

 

[FCMike11]

When I was scribing in the ER, the shadows followed us most of the days because some of our physicians had bad tempers with students. Anyway, this one girl (20 years old) was telling me how nervous she was about her MCAT scores coming back that day. The next time she came to shadow she told me she had gotten an awful score and was so upset about retaking. SHE GOT A 38.

Hah, wow.

Had an attending I work with tell me I needed to retake because he had never heard of anyone with less than a 35 get into medical school (disclaimer: he didn't actually attend a US medical school).

This kind of info gets perpetuated, somehow...despite admission statistics readily available.

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[NecrotizingFasciitis]

The C/P section bank is manhandling me. 66% after the first 51 questions. At least 6 were complete guesses. So if you count those wrong the percentage is much worse. Lol.

 

[sleepyhead22]

Hah, wow.

Had an attending I work with tell me I needed to retake because he had never heard of anyone with less than a 35 get into medical school (disclaimer: he didn't actually attend a US medical school).

This kind of info gets perpetuated, somehow...despite admission statistics readily available.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using SDN mobile

The PI in the lab I work in asked me how I've been doing on my practice tests. I said "okay" and he was like "oh yeah? In like the 98th-99th percentile?" and I was like "ughhhh".... He's on the admissions committee for the MD PhD program for the medical school associated with the school (top 20 med school) so I guess that's what he's used to seeing? I had a mild breakdown after that conversation haha.

 

[FCMike11]

The PI in the lab I work in asked me how I've been doing on my practice tests. I said "okay" and he was like "oh yeah? In like the 98th-99th percentile?" and I was like "ughhhh".... He's on the admissions committee for the MD PhD program for the medical school associated with the school (top 20 med school) so I guess that's what he's used to seeing? I had a mild breakdown after that conversation haha.

Oh, geez. MSTP programs do have pretty high matriculation stats.

Sitting here with a 80th percentile score and I'm good 😉. Found a friend to give all my books to so i can get them out of my house, permanently.

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[sleepyhead22]

Oh, geez. MSTP programs do have pretty high matriculation stats.

Sitting here with a 80th percentile score and I'm good 😉. Found a friend to give all my books to so i can get them out of my house, permanently.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using SDN mobile

Yeah I'd be very very happy with 80th percentile! I already have a plan for getting rid of all of my books LOL. Can't wait to not look at this stuff anymore....

 

[UTHealth007]

The PI in the lab I work in asked me how I've been doing on my practice tests. I said "okay" and he was like "oh yeah? In like the 98th-99th percentile?" and I was like "ughhhh".... He's on the admissions committee for the MD PhD program for the medical school associated with the school (top 20 med school) so I guess that's what he's used to seeing? I had a mild breakdown after that conversation haha.

Yes I have been having the same conversation over the past few weeks with my coworkers and PI! Every time they ask, I tell them I am doing better than the last practice exam, haha.

 

[FCMike11]

Yeah I'd be very very happy with 80th percentile! I already have a plan for getting rid of all of my books LOL. Can't wait to not look at this stuff anymore....

I don't think you will have a problem bud, judging by your efforts and scored AAMC.

 

[tetley]

another day, another 505

 

[TXhopeful]

Do you guys ever write down notes during CARS? This is a terrible time to change up strategy, but I was working through the Question Pack CARS and have noticed a major improvement in comprehension and scores with doodling short notes per paragraph. 60-70% to 75-83%.
It doesn't affect my timing at all (surprising), partly because I feel like I can answer the questions faster with confidence.
And by doodling notes I just write the paragraph number and "New education bill = bad" type stuff. Small sentence per paragraph.

 

[TXhopeful]

another day, another 505

Which test did you take?

 

[tetley]

I don't know how I would do CARS without it. It forces me to come up with a general understanding of each paragraph.

Do you guys ever write down notes during CARS? This is a terrible time to change up strategy, but I was working through the Question Pack CARS and have noticed a major improvement in comprehension and scores with doodling short notes per paragraph. 60-70% to 75-83%.
It doesn't affect my timing at all (surprising), partly because I feel like I can answer the questions faster with confidence.
And by doodling notes I just write the paragraph number and "New education bill = bad" type stuff. Small sentence per paragraph.

Which test did you take?

Next Step 3

 

[Scrubs101]

Do you guys ever write down notes during CARS? This is a terrible time to change up strategy, but I was working through the Question Pack CARS and have noticed a major improvement in comprehension and scores with doodling short notes per paragraph. 60-70% to 75-83%.
It doesn't affect my timing at all (surprising), partly because I feel like I can answer the questions faster with confidence.
And by doodling notes I just write the paragraph number and "New education bill = bad" type stuff. Small sentence per paragraph.

Honestly was my favorite technique when it came to cars, probably the only skill I used from test company "MCAT skill lessons"


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[theonlytycrane]

Are the q-packs representative of the old MCAT? I should have done this MCAT-thing a couple years ago

 

[MI2015]

Are the q-packs representative of the old MCAT? I should have done this MCAT-thing a couple years ago

I found the QPacks good practice if you didn't understand the topic, and I believe they are representative of the old exam but not really the new.

 

[aalamruad]

Currently taking my 30-min break after CARS of the AAMC scored FL. Not feeling so great about my score so far, but I tend to be pretty bad at predicting my performance, so who knows.

 

[tetley]

be like you avatar and be happy

positive emotions have been proven to improve cognitive function

 

[aalamruad]

May 14th scores are currently being posted in the May 14 MCAT thread, some good comparisons between practice scores and real scores there that might be useful to check out. AAMC Scored scores seem to be +/- 3 points from the actual thing in most cases

 

[aalamruad]

be like you avatar and be happy

positive emotions have been proven to improve cognitive function

Very true! Also, stereotype boost for the win 🙂

 

[MI2015]

May 14th scores are currently being posted in the May 14 MCAT thread, some good comparisons between practice scores and real scores there that might be useful to check out. AAMC Scored scores seem to be +/- 3 points from the actual thing in most cases

Wow, the deviations from the scored are pretty big on the 14th. On the earlier May test, most people were getting 2 to 3 points higher than what they got on the scored. Most people seem to be getting 3 points lower than their scored. This is scary considering I got a 509/510 on the scored......

 

[Scrubs101]

3/10
Would not suggest checking may 14th thread so far
Definitely scary....


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[MI2015]

3/10
Would not suggest checking may 14th thread so far
Definitely scary....


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I really believe that the MCAT is half preparation/knowledge and half luck. It's really just luck if you get stuff you are good at on your test day. I also noticed that many people esp on reddit were saying that the May 6th test was hard, while the May 14th was a little less arduous. That may not mean anything, but I guess the curve can mess things around.