*Official June 2016 MCAT Thread*

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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.
 
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Scrubs101 said:
To add onto that does anybody have a good mnemonic for acid/basic/neutral AAs?


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Click to expand...
basic:HKR- Hong Kong Rocks!
acidic- ED- EDucation
nonpolar- FAMILVWGP (FAMIL👍, V(olks)W(agen) and G(ee)P for jeep)--- got this from one review book and it definitely helps me remember the non polar ones.
 
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I'm writing the AAs as a "cheat sheet" during my tutorial period. I never had to memorize them for biochem, and so I started practicing memorization last week. I memorized them as a 5x4 grid. Row 1 are the odd nonpolar ones and the aromatics: MPFYW, Row 2 are bases and acids: HKRED, Row 3 are the polar ones: STQNC "stick nick", and the final row are the simple nonpolar ones, which all have fairly intuitive letters that match their names and similar properties: GAVLI. I always draw them at pH 7. I'm a fairly visual learner and having them organized in this way really helped. It felt impossible to learn these but it only took me drawing them about 3 times to have them completely memorized.
 
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I also memorized the pKa of the amino acids, makes it much easier to think about it.

So R and K have a pKa around 11/12, and histidine is the lowest, which is around 6. They will be positive below it and NEUTRAL below it.

D,E pKa is around 4, so they will be negative above it and neutral below it (because their side chain gets protonated).

acid = lots of H's that attach, and basic, lots of Oh's that snatch the hydrogens. When I think about it, it makes more sense like that and helps in solving such problems.
 
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Do you guys have a mental cheat sheet as well? I'm doing AAs, two kinematics equations, a few unit conversions, the common sugars, and the nucleobases. I've been considering writing down the unit circle as well, because I don't know that off the top of my head and don't want to miss something just because I don't know sin or cos. I can write all of that down in about 4:30.

Realizing now that this sounds like a ton of stuff. After practicing it a few times I've come up with different encoding systems so that all of this is about half a page of writing.
 
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What kind of stuff do we have to know pKa and pH-wise for Amino Acids? Do we have to know all of their pKas and what charge they are at neutral pH or what?
 
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BlastedHeath said:
Do you guys have a mental cheat sheet as well? I'm doing AAs, two kinematics equations, a few unit conversions, the common sugars, and the nucleobases. I've been considering writing down the unit circle as well, because I don't know that off the top of my head and don't want to miss something just because I don't know sin or cos. I can write all of that down in about 4:30.

Realizing now that this sounds like a ton of stuff. After practicing it a few times I've come up with different encoding systems so that all of this is about half a page of writing.
Click to expand...
Could you share the unit conversions that you're memorizing? This is a weakness of mine haha.
 
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Thanks everybody!!! Y'all are so helpful, I think I'm gonna go the cheat sheet tutorial period path so it takes less time to recall.




Titus Andromedon said:
Does anyone else feel sickly nervous? I don't usually get test anxiety so this is freaking me out.
Click to expand...

And yes x100 I've been trying to study and I constantly get distracted by thoughts of "i can't do this I can't do this I can't do this". Just gotta power through it, we really do got this!!




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beOncogene said:
basic:HKR- Hong Kong Rocks!
acidic- ED- EDucation
nonpolar- FAMILVWGP (FAMIL👍, V(olks)W(agen) and G(ee)P for jeep)--- got this from one review book and it definitely helps me remember the non polar ones.
Click to expand...

Nice, I use something similar but with one slight addition

DeNied -- Aspartic acid ~ Asparagine
EQuality -- Glutamic acid ~ Glutamine
 
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sleepyhead22 said:
Could you share the unit conversions that you're memorizing? This is a weakness of mine haha.
Click to expand...
Relatively basic stuff.
N=kg*m/s2
J=N*m=W*s=C*V=Pa*m3 (not sure about that last one but I saw someone else write it down and figured why not)
C=A*s
M=mol/L
m=mol/kg (always confuse these last two)

I figure I can derive a lot of these from what I have or what might be in the question/problem, but if anyone has any other suggestions I'd love them.

Realizing now that these are more unit definitions than unit conversions. My brain feels broken haha.
 
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upload_2016-6-1_11-15-43.png
how i feel.
 
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Also guys I just want to say that I am so glad I found this thread. Each and every one of you is so kind and supportive to everyone else. I am also super glad that we can all wallow in misery together :laugh:

On another note, is the June MCAT a retake for anyone? If so, how did you do on your first/second/etc one?
 
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Ryomagoku said:
You give me hope lol

I actually believe doing Kaplan is a good thing lol

I still have psych to finish reading 🙁
Click to expand...

I hope the low diagnostic/FLs from Kaplan are deflated like everyone says they are... Because I do not want a 23/24 on my MCAT D:
 
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Test takers for tomorrow! I recommend trying to hydrate as much as possible today.

bisonbison said:
I hope the low diagnostic/FLs from Kaplan are deflated like everyone says they are... Because I do not want a 23/24 on my MCAT D:
Click to expand...

Kaplan is just unrepresentative, simple enough. It's still good because it's content review, and ultimately good content knowledge will always score you "well enough."

Back at it I go!
 
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bisonbison said:
Also guys I just want to say that I am so glad I found this thread. Each and every one of you is so kind and supportive to everyone else. I am also super glad that we can all wallow in misery together :laugh:

On another note, is the June MCAT a retake for anyone? If so, how did you do on your first/second/etc one?
Click to expand...
Same here! This is my second time, but I'm a weird person in that my first time was 8 years ago....
 
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sleepyhead22 said:
Same here! This is my second time, but I'm a weird person in that my first time was 8 years ago.... I got a 24 after barely studying which was 50th percentile. I chose to do grad school rather than retake and as time went by I kept regretting it so here I am haha. Have studied at least 100x more than the first time so it's going to go better. 🙂 worried that my old grade will be averaged but I'd be happy with DO so my old score isn't the end of the world (I hope!).
Click to expand...

Ah okay! With medical school, I've found that nobody's personal time line is "weird". As my volunteer coordinator says, "All roads lead to Rome!"
Did you do masters or doctorate? I have thought about grad school if I don't get in but I have no idea what I'd want to do. I did like micro a lot.
I've heard that different schools treat multiple scores differently so it might be something to look into! I haven't really thought about it yet, I'll admit. I'm sure you'll be fine! 🙂 How have you been doing on FLs?
 
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bisonbison said:
Ah okay! With medical school, I've found that nobody's personal time line is "weird". As my volunteer coordinator says, "All roads lead to Rome!"
Did you do masters or doctorate? I have thought about grad school if I don't get in but I have no idea what I'd want to do. I did like micro a lot.
I've heard that different schools treat multiple scores differently so it might be something to look into! I haven't really thought about it yet, I'll admit. I'm sure you'll be fine! 🙂 How have you been doing on FLs?
Click to expand...
Doctorate. Maybe work as a technician in a lab first to get your own perspective tho since everyone is different! It's so different from medicine, you hardly get to talk to people and know one thing very well but the rest not so much. I really want to be able to apply research rather than just doing it.

So far on my full lengths I've been getting 508+ so this time around is looking much better. I think I only did 1 practice test my first time, and my score was close to it. I'm hoping since it's very expired it won't be averaged, but who knows. It's kind of a gray area on schools' websites. Only thing I can control right now is the current test so I've just got to rock it.
 
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sleepyhead22 said:
Doctorate. Maybe work as a technician in a lab first to get your own perspective tho since everyone is different! It's so different from medicine, you hardly get to talk to people and know one thing very well but the rest not so much. I really want to be able to apply research rather than just doing it.

So far on my full lengths I've been getting 508+ so this time around is looking much better. I think I only did 1 practice test my first time, and my score was close to it. I'm hoping since it's very expired it won't be averaged, but who knows. It's kind of a gray area on schools' websites. Only thing I can control right now is the current test so I've just got to rock it.
Click to expand...
Wowza, that's great! What type of FLs have you taken? EK, PR, Kaplan, AAMC, etc?
Ah okay you might be able to call? Not sure! I'll have to answer those questions myself in a few months haha.
 
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bisonbison said:
Wowza, that's great! What type of FLs have you taken? EK, PR, Kaplan, AAMC, etc?
Ah okay you might be able to call? Not sure! I'll have to answer those questions myself in a few months haha.
Click to expand...
When did you take it before if you're also retaking? I've done 2 EK, 2NS, AAMC unscored, and saving the AAMC scored for this upcoming weekend! 🙂
 
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Also, y'all! I had an awesome application of MCAT material today during shadowing. I shadow an orthopedic surgeon and today was a clinic day so I got to see a lot of injections. I've been shadowing this physician for almost two years and had never even thought to ask why he asks patients if they are diabetic before giving them cortisone shots. It clicked to me today that cortisone raises blood glucose... which is bad for diabetics (DUH, self.) I commented on it and he was like "Exactly! What pathways does it activate in the body?" and he quizzed me and stuff on gluconeogenesis which was AWESOME. I was surprised that he even remembered that stuff.
 
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Ryomagoku said:
Do you guys think khan academy psych soc is enough?
Which FLs should I do?
Click to expand...
Probably is enough.
For full lengths, general consensus is AAMC>EK=NS>>any other companies. EK are really really difficult and you don't get a scaled score. NS are a bit easier IMO but still very challenging and it's nice to get a scaled score so you have an idea of where you're at. Aamc materials are the best and should be treated like gold. Scored test has very close correlation to performance on the real thing. Unscored is good but CARS is easier than most.
 
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So I have one last tip for CARS that I figured may be useful a bit. Look and see if they have an author at the bottom of the passage and try and read the passage like the author is speaking to you. Pretend the author is very passionate and you find that a boring passage isn't that bad. Good luck everyone!!!! I'm finishing up reviewing the eye and kidney and then the formulas one last time.
 
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Ryomagoku said:
Anyone did really poorly on Kaplan diagnostic test? Ughhhhhh doomed
Click to expand...

Yes but don't be scared!! I got a 484 on the diagnostic a few months back, and just got a 504 on the second full length! This is honestly a miracle because I've only been studying for the last 3 weeks, so you can definitely pull it up if your date is June 18th!

sleepyhead22 said:
Probably is enough.
For full lengths, general consensus is AAMC>EK=NS>>any other companies. EK are really really difficult and you don't get a scaled score. NS are a bit easier IMO but still very challenging and it's nice to get a scaled score so you have an idea of where you're at. Aamc materials are the best and should be treated like gold. Scored test has very close correlation to performance on the real thing. Unscored is good but CARS is easier than most.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you would have any expertise on this, but my date is June 18th and as mentioned above I'm using Kaplan full lengths and also have access to AAMC qpacks and scored/unscored exams. Do you think it would be worth my time to purchase the EK/NS practice exams and take those instead of Kap? I purchased my Kap materials last year before I saw any of this info regarding the quality of prep companies...

Also good luck to everyone testing tomorrow! 🙂
 
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I reviewed kidneys and muscles this morning. Tonight I will skim the Kaplan quicksheets and my psych/soc notes and make peace with my current level of knowledge and preparation.

One last thing, does anyone know of a good quick summary of lab techniques to look over, particularly the different chromatography types?
 
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BlastedHeath said:
I reviewed kidneys and muscles this morning. Tonight I will skim the Kaplan quicksheets and my psych/soc notes and make peace with my current level of knowledge and preparation.

One last thing, does anyone know of a good quick summary of lab techniques to look over, particularly the different chromatography types?
Click to expand...

For the kidneys, what do you think is the main thing we need to know about the glomerulus? I keep messing up with that :/
And do you feel that hearing/ears will be high yield?
 
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Lola222 said:
For the kidneys, what do you think is the main thing we need to know about the glomerulus? I keep messing up with that :/
And do you feel that hearing/ears will be high yield?
Click to expand...
For kidneys, I mostly focused on how blood pressure is regulated and tubular reabsorption. I thought the Khan Academy videos were decent. I don't think ears are very high yield, but there was a question on one of the practice tests I took. I'd know that the sound goes from pressure wave in the air to bone to liquid, and the hair cells that receive the signal create an action potential mechanically by being bent against something. Also that the cochlear is for sound and the semicircular canals are for detecting movement.
 
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maheenk said:
Yes but don't be scared!! I got a 484 on the diagnostic a few months back, and just got a 504 on the second full length! This is honestly a miracle because I've only been studying for the last 3 weeks, so you can definitely pull it up if your date is June 18th!



Not sure if you would have any expertise on this, but my date is June 18th and as mentioned above I'm using Kaplan full lengths and also have access to AAMC qpacks and scored/unscored exams. Do you think it would be worth my time to purchase the EK/NS practice exams and take those instead of Kap? I purchased my Kap materials last year before I saw any of this info regarding the quality of prep companies...

Also good luck to everyone testing tomorrow! 🙂
Click to expand...
I'm not an expert, but seems like just taking practice tests is more important than the source of the practice tests. Kaplan along with the AAMC materials is probably plenty! Kaplan scores are really deflated, so don't get too down about your actual score. At most I'd consider purchasing one EK exam, but that probably wouldn't be the best use of your time if you still have the AAMC materials to use! Just focus on those tests and get the section banks (not the question packs which are old questions) if you don't have access to them. Most ppl say they're the single best preparation for the real thing.
 
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walloobi said:
I think you're referring to the thread called "Charts predicting MCAT Scores"
and I think you missed one step in the calculation. You used the right formula, but you're supposed to add 6.22 to the 513, so @believe <3 would actually have a predicted score of 519.
Click to expand...

Wait, what? No way! That seems to be way too high of a score for me to get!

Here are my percentages once again. Can someone please confirm what the actual score would be?

AAMC unscored percentages:

C/P - 83%
CARS - 98%
B/B - 81%
P/S - 86%


To be more conservative about my score range, and since the sample test is supposed to be easier than the real deal, I'm going to decrease my percentages. So, lets say I got:

C/P - 78%
CARS - 88%
B/B - 75%
P/S - 83%

What would this score be?
 
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maheenk said:
Yes but don't be scared!! I got a 484 on the diagnostic a few months back, and just got a 504 on the second full length! This is honestly a miracle because I've only been studying for the last 3 weeks, so you can definitely pull it up if your date is June 18th!



Not sure if you would have any expertise on this, but my date is June 18th and as mentioned above I'm using Kaplan full lengths and also have access to AAMC qpacks and scored/unscored exams. Do you think it would be worth my time to purchase the EK/NS practice exams and take those instead of Kap? I purchased my Kap materials last year before I saw any of this info regarding the quality of prep companies...

Also good luck to everyone testing tomorrow! 🙂
Click to expand...
I took the diagnostic test and got 486... When I took the Altitus I scored 503... Mannn I hope so lol I am just gonna do passages from now on after finishing psych soc... And use old MCAT flash cards from Kaplan to refresh my brain with the concepts
 
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Finished the AAMC Unscored Sample test
Percentages: 69%/83%/71%/69%--overall 73%
Predictions: 128/127/128/127--overall 509
Not sure I feel about the score predictor, but the narrow range is 508-511, and I'd say I'm easily going to be below that, around 506.
CARS was way too easy and P/S (my strength) for the first time ever was hard! My brain is mush, so that's all for today and review tomorrow

Get some rest for tomorrow test! Happy thoughts and good memories to all of you. Can't wait to completely kill any good vibes when they report back to us tomorrow😛
 
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TXhopeful said:
Finished the AAMC Unscored Sample test
Percentages: 69%/83%/71%/69%--overall 73%
Predictions: 128/127/128/127--overall 509
Not sure I feel about the score predictor, but the narrow range is 508-511, and I'd say I'm easily going to be below that, around 506.
CARS was way too easy and P/S (my strength) for the first time ever was hard! My brain is mush, so that's all for today and review tomorrow

Get some rest for tomorrow test! Happy thoughts and good memories to all of you. Can't wait to completely kill any good vibes when they report back to us tomorrow😛
Click to expand...

Do you really think that you'll get a 506? My range has been 508-511 as well, and this scares me!
 
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believe <3 said:
Wait, what? No way! That seems to be way too high of a score for me to get!

Here are my percentages once again. Can someone please confirm what the actual score would be?

AAMC unscored percentages:

C/P - 83%
CARS - 98%
B/B - 81%
P/S - 86%


To be more conservative about my score range, and since the sample test is supposed to be easier than the real deal, I'm going to decrease my percentages. So, lets say I got:

C/P - 78%
CARS - 88%
B/B - 75%
P/S - 83%

What would this score be?
Click to expand...

Haha don't sell yourself short, there's no reason to lower your percentages! And feel free to re-check my calculations, but off the top of my head I'm pretty sure it's something like .7133(87) + 451 + 6.22 = ~519
 
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BlastedHeath said:
For kidneys, I mostly focused on how blood pressure is regulated and tubular reabsorption. I thought the Khan Academy videos were decent. I don't think ears are very high yield, but there was a question on one of the practice tests I took. I'd know that the sound goes from pressure wave in the air to bone to liquid, and the hair cells that receive the signal create an action potential mechanically by being bent against something. Also that the cochlear is for sound and the semicircular canals are for detecting movement.
Click to expand...

So basically when BP is down and Na+ filtration is low, the Angiotensin system activates Aldosterone, which leads to blood vessel constriction and increase blood pressure right? Also if you decrease resistance of the afferent arterioles but increase resistance of efferent arterioles, the blood filtration rate increases? Sorry, but is that the main gist of it?
 
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believe <3 said:
Wait, what? No way! That seems to be way too high of a score for me to get!

Here are my percentages once again. Can someone please confirm what the actual score would be?

AAMC unscored percentages:

C/P - 83%
CARS - 98%
B/B - 81%
P/S - 86%


To be more conservative about my score range, and since the sample test is supposed to be easier than the real deal, I'm going to decrease my percentages. So, lets say I got:

C/P - 78%
CARS - 88%
B/B - 75%
P/S - 83%

What would this score be?
Click to expand...

519, range 517-520 narrow, 513-524
For your real scores

Conservatively
515, 513-516, 509-520

Nice job!!!



Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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Lola222 said:
So basically when BP is down and Na+ filtration is low, the Angiotensin system activates Aldosterone, which leads to blood vessel constriction and increase blood pressure right? Also if you decrease resistance of the afferent arterioles but increase resistance of efferent arterioles, the blood filtration rate increases? Sorry, but is that the main gist of it?
Click to expand...
Angiotension signals constriction(increasing resistance), Na reabsorption(increasing blood volume), release of ADH and Aldosterone. ADH increases water reabsorption and aldosterone leads to further constriction and Na reabsorption. Yes on the second part.
 
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AAMC unscored:

64%/74%/63%/81%

UGH... NEED to get my sciences higher!

Overall though, I'm not TOO upset about this. 70% correct compared to my NSFL2 which was 67% correct. So a little improvement. There's still time to improve...

Quite upset about CARS though. Really felt I could have done better on it. C/P also, considering I spent about 10 minutes on 1 of the discrete questions because I could not wrap my head around it.

TXhopeful said:
Finished the AAMC Unscored Sample test
Percentages: 69%/83%/71%/69%--overall 73%
Predictions: 128/127/128/127--overall 509
Not sure I feel about the score predictor, but the narrow range is 508-511, and I'd say I'm easily going to be below that, around 506.
CARS was way too easy and P/S (my strength) for the first time ever was hard! My brain is mush, so that's all for today and review tomorrow

Get some rest for tomorrow test! Happy thoughts and good memories to all of you. Can't wait to completely kill any good vibes when they report back to us tomorrow😛
Click to expand...

Where'd you get that score predictor? Nice job! Looks like you're just a little bit above where I am at. We got this!
 
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walloobi said:
Haha don't sell yourself short, there's no reason to lower your percentages! And feel free to re-check my calculations, but off the top of my head I'm pretty sure it's something like .7133(87) + 451 + 6.22 = ~519
Click to expand...

Scrubs101 said:
519, range 517-520 narrow, 513-524
For your real scores

Conservatively
515, 513-516, 509-520

Nice job!!!

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...


Lol I still don't believe it for some reason 🤔 I keep thinking there's got to be some mistake. I've been VERY behind on my MCAT study schedule. I haven't even taken a full-length practice test other than the AAMC unscored yet! Plus, I still have some content review to finish, and I've done very little practice. I'm testing on June 18th, and I've been freaking out.

I'm at the stage where I'm giving up hope so this is very surprising to me. I wish to score at least a 512 so hopefully I can reach that!
 
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