*Official MCAT January 2017 Thread*

[Singerpremed]

Hi, I know there are many people who are also studying for the MCAT in January and I would like to connect with you guys and get insights. I'm currently taking a live online Kaplan MCAT course. I go to the University of Florida.

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[DrivenAndDangerous]

Fawning over the Jan 28th test-takers. Anxiety is setting in.

-Fellow Jan 19-er

 

[Carmiche]

I'm taking it Jan 28th, so far my full lengths:
Kaplan #1: 507
EK #1 : 71% (sucked on phys/chem)
Kaplan #2: 509
Kaplan #3: 509

Feeling pretty good considering what other people have scored on the practice tests compared to the real thing. AAMC #1 next weekend

Yeah you're going to be fine. I got worried because I got a 503 on Kaplan FL#1, but the Kaplan tests are fairly unrepresentative of AAMC material.

I just took the AAMC sample and this is how I compared:

Kaplan #1: 59/77/79/71 (NOTE these are the percent correct on each section for comparison to the AAMC sample)

AAMC Sample: 75/89/90/86 (values in percentage correct)

I took these tests a little less than a week apart, so some increase in score may be due to studying the areas in which I struggled, but I did put less time into studying this past week as it was Christmas.

The major shortcomings I noticed with Kaplan is that a lot of the scenarios their test posed were either 1) vague (for example, when I looked over psych/soc questions, I would get an answer wrong and their description would be a completely different interpretation of a very briefly-described scenario) or 2) more detail-oriented & greater emphasis placed on calculations. The Kaplan tests also do not do an adequate job of testing amino acids. Kaplan tends to use the full written-out name whereas AAMC frequently uses one-letter or three-letter abbreviations.

Anyways, best of luck this weekend!

 

[Kayce]

I would say to reserve judgment until after your first FL, however, a 500 seems like a very achievable score. For physics, there are only so many concepts/equations that are usually tested on the exam so I think it's something you could study as you go along.

• fluids: Bernoulli's equation, f = Av, faster fluid velocity = lower pressure on arteries
• simple optics: v=lambda*f, E = hf, I have yet to see anything on mirrors or lenses
• radioactive decay: alpha, beta+, beta-/proton capture, half-life
• forces: friction (f = mu*normal force), torque (F = rFsin(theta)), F = ma, Newton's laws
• conservation of energy: PE = KE (usually mgh = 1/2 mv^2), W = change in kinetic energy
• circuits: resistors/capacitors in series and parallel, V = IR, Q = CV, P = IV
• electricity and magnetism: F(e) = qE, F(b) = qvB (although I honestly haven't seen this yet)
• kinematics
• basic exponent multiplication and division: multiplication = add together, division = subtract (note that having a negative exponent in the denominator = adding)

Not really an exhaustive list, but that's the extent to what I've seen on practice exams so far. You could look up Kaplan's quick sheet on physics for a better summary haha. Metabolic pathways are a little more complicated, but I would focus on: what goes in, what comes out, where this all happens, and any limiting steps. Why does the body have this pathway? When is the pathway activated? Some people memorize the structure of every intermediate in the pathways, but I'm not sure if that's a very good use of time.

Thanks for your response!!
That information is extremely helpful! Should I focus on just doing the 6 FLs at this point or should I also be doing questions/passages from Berkeley Review + Khan Academy? Thanks!

 

[Kayce]

31 Days left. Metabolic pathways aren't that big of a deal, focus the most on enzymes and amino acid stuff. Just know general concepts of each pathway. 6 FL's in the last month seems a little much, but shouldn't be too bad. Will depend on your FL scores if you should push back or not.

Thanks for the response! Should I be focusing on these 6 FLs primarily or should I be doing questions/passages also from Berkeley Review + Khan Academy? Thanks!!

 

[enchantediris]

Fawning over the Jan 28th test-takers. Anxiety is setting in.

-Fellow Jan 19-er

You're always going to feel like you could do better, if only you had more time... I fell in this trap last year, when I was originally planning on taking the MCAT in January, then postponed to April, and then postponed to May. I didn't have enough time to prepare while I was taking classes, and I completely freaked out a week before my May exam and ultimately decided to take a gap year instead of applying (my ECs, PS, and LORs were all complete at that point).

This time around, I can already hear the voices in my head saying that I could do even better, if only I had more time. But honestly, unless you're severely lacking in content review, I don't think an extra couple of points is necessarily worth your sanity. I think I ultimately may score maybe 3-5 points higher than I would have last year, but at that point I would have been studying for the MCAT on and off for over a year.

Thanks for your response!!
That information is extremely helpful! Should I focus on just doing the 6 FLs at this point or should I also be doing questions/passages from Berkeley Review + Khan Academy? Thanks!

At this point, I think it's the most helpful to focus on official AAMC material to get a better feel for their reasoning (especially in CARS).

 

[SangriaSalsa]

Yeah you're going to be fine. I got worried because I got a 503 on Kaplan FL#1, but the Kaplan tests are fairly unrepresentative of AAMC material.

I just took the AAMC sample and this is how I compared:

Kaplan #1: 59/77/79/71 (NOTE these are the percent correct on each section for comparison to the AAMC sample)

AAMC Sample: 75/89/90/86 (values in percentage correct)

I took these tests a little less than a week apart, so some increase in score may be due to studying the areas in which I struggled, but I did put less time into studying this past week as it was Christmas.

The major shortcomings I noticed with Kaplan is that a lot of the scenarios their test posed were either 1) vague (for example, when I looked over psych/soc questions, I would get an answer wrong and their description would be a completely different interpretation of a very briefly-described scenario) or 2) more detail-oriented & greater emphasis placed on calculations. The Kaplan tests also do not do an adequate job of testing amino acids. Kaplan tends to use the full written-out name whereas AAMC frequently uses one-letter or three-letter abbreviations.

Anyways, best of luck this weekend!

We are pretty similar on Kaplan #1, my percentages were similar. My AAMC Sample was 73% but that was a month ago, you killed it!
I also seem to struggle the most on psych and chem/phys, so that's where I'm focusing the most the last month.
Yeah I agree, some of the Kaplan questions I was just like "what?"
Thanks man! Hoping for 510+ on AAMC #1, want a 515+ on the real thing to help out my unimpressive GPA (3.5)

 

[BWM95]

Has anyone taken AAMC practice exam 1 (2015) and the AAMC Official guide questions? Just wondering what people's opinions were in regard to the difficulty of each in comparison to each other

 

[Groggs]

Has anyone taken AAMC practice exam 1 (2015) and the AAMC Official guide questions? Just wondering what people's opinions were in regard to the difficulty of each in comparison to each other

I have taken both. I thought the guide questions were far harder than practice exam 1. The guide did a better job of having passages with questions that required you to analyze the data to figure it out.

 

[Tiffafi]

I've been doing only Kaplan FLs so far and started feeling pretty defeated until I saw what everyone's been saying about them in comparison to AAMC. I just started working through the AAMC chemistry Q pack and now I see what you guys are talking about! Would it be a good idea to give up on the Kaplan FLs and switch to AAMC material and maybe a NS FL?


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[Carmiche]

I've been doing only Kaplan FLs so far and started feeling pretty defeated until I saw what everyone's been saying about them in comparison to AAMC. I just started working through the AAMC chemistry Q pack and now I see what you guys are talking about! Would it be a good idea to give up on the Kaplan FLs and switch to AAMC material and maybe a NS FL?


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile

Yeah, once you feel comfortable with most of the content from Kaplan then **** 'em. If you're taking the test Jan 28th it would probably be most beneficial to just switch over to purely AAMC. If you buy the 11-item package for $200 it comes with three full-length tests, and a bunch of other question and passage packages. In total it's about 2,000 questions; AKA enough to last you a month.

 

[Carmiche]

We are pretty similar on Kaplan #1, my percentages were similar. My AAMC Sample was 73% but that was a month ago, you killed it!
I also seem to struggle the most on psych and chem/phys, so that's where I'm focusing the most the last month.
Yeah I agree, some of the Kaplan questions I was just like "what?"
Thanks man! Hoping for 510+ on AAMC #1, want a 515+ on the real thing to help out my unimpressive GPA (3.5)

I definitely feel that man...

Chem/phys is my absolute bane. Physics and general chemistry (essentially applied physics) have always been my least favorite subjects, so that's what I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into this next month.

Best of luck to you my friend.

 

[enchantediris]

We are pretty similar on Kaplan #1, my percentages were similar. My AAMC Sample was 73% but that was a month ago, you killed it!
I also seem to struggle the most on psych and chem/phys, so that's where I'm focusing the most the last month.
Yeah I agree, some of the Kaplan questions I was just like "what?"
Thanks man! Hoping for 510+ on AAMC #1, want a 515+ on the real thing to help out my unimpressive GPA (3.5)

I definitely feel that man...

Chem/phys is my absolute bane. Physics and general chemistry (essentially applied physics) have always been my least favorite subjects, so that's what I'm going to be putting a lot of effort into this next month.

Best of luck to you my friend.

Let me know if y'all have any questions in physics or psych/soc! I would love an excuse to procrastinate

 

[star_7]

Hello guys! I am using EK book for the psych/soc prep and also went thro' Khan notes. Still I am missing some content for these two. Any other suggestion for psych/soc prep?

 

[enchantediris]

Hello guys! I am using EK book for the psych/soc prep and also went thro' Khan notes. Still I am missing some content for these two. Any other suggestion for psych/soc prep?

TPR is pretty in depth, and it also helps to look up any terms that come up on practice FLs that you don't recognize. No matter what, you will probably come across terms on the actual MCAT that you haven't seen before so it's also good to be comfortable making your best guess.

 

[ch91]

Has anyone tried out the PR practice exams? I have 3 free ones and am wondering how difficult they are compared to Kaplan, NS and AAMC. Not sure what order I want to do them in/which company to start with.

 

[DrivenAndDangerous]

Took first (Kaplan) FL yesterday, got a 504 (125/127/127/125) and had roughly 30 min left on each section, with the exception of CARS, which I had about 5 min. I'm reviewing today... I'll be able to see where I'm missing and figure out how to use all of that time left to my advantage. Averaging a 70-80% on AAMC material (so far only the flashcards and question packs)... Hoping to end up with a 515+ on the real deal... Got a few loose ends to tie up, and more FL's to come (AAMC Sample, Kaplan FL 2, maybe 3, then of course AAMC I & II)

I don't know about you guys but chem calculations involving titrations, Ksp, etc confuse the hell out of me. I've been trying to find some sort of practice material with just those types of questions. Any ideas?

Also - Speaking of practice... I feel like I'm lacking practice in the biochemistry realm... I don't think I'll buy another book this close to T day, but what are people saying about Khan's practice passages for biochem? Anything? I guess they're all I've got for the time being. I've heard memorizing amino acids is essential, and I've got those down. I'm fresh out of a biochemistry course so I have a decent grasp on the metabolic pathways... other than that... anything else?

18 days left....

 

[enchantediris]

@Groggs Just took the AAMC FL 1 and scored the same as you (slightly different subsections). This along with our similar NS scores makes me conclude that we're the same person

To anyone who is starting to freak out about how they're doing in relation to how much time is left before their exam, I highly recommend you take the AAMC FL 1 if you haven't already. I think a lot of you will be pleasantly surprised with how far you've come along since the beginning of your studying. Even if you don't do as well as you're hoping, it will give you a firm result rather than endless worrying and uncertainty.

One thing that I learned is that I completely suck at predicting how well I've done on a section. The section that I thought I did the worst in (C/P, as always) happened to be the best, even though I felt like I was shaky on the material. And even though I've worked on memorizing so much for the B/B section, it is still my weakest -- those heavy experimental passages still get me.

 

[DrivenAndDangerous]

@Groggs Just took the AAMC FL 1 and scored the same as you (slightly different subsections). This along with our similar NS scores makes me conclude that we're the same person

To anyone who is starting to freak out about how they're doing in relation to how much time is left before their exam, I highly recommend you take the AAMC FL 1 if you haven't already. I think a lot of you will be pleasantly surprised with how far you've come along since the beginning of your studying. Even if you don't do as well as you're hoping, it will give you a firm result rather than endless worrying and uncertainty.

One thing that I learned is that I completely suck at predicting how well I've done on a section. The section that I thought I did the worst in (C/P, as always) happened to be the best, even though I felt like I was shaky on the material. And even though I've worked on memorizing so much for the B/B section, it is still my weakest -- those heavy experimental passages still get me.

The AAMC Sample is worth taking, too, right? It's not scored but is it still indicative of where one stands?

 

[Groggs]

@Groggs Just took the AAMC FL 1 and scored the same as you (slightly different subsections). This along with our similar NS scores makes me conclude that we're the same person

You'll have to let me know how your AAMC sample test goes. I took it today and got 89 percent. Wish they gave you more info how this stacks up compared to the real score range.

 

[enchantediris]

You'll have to let me know how your AAMC sample test goes. I took it today and got 89 percent. Wish they gave you more info how this stacks up compared to the real score range.

Since I had been planning on taking the MCAT last spring, I already took it :/ I was around an 80% back then though, so overall I'm glad that I decided to postpone There is a score conversion spreadsheet somewhere, but yeah, I'm not sure why it remains an unscored FL given the number of people who have taken it. I think an 89% in all sections is in the 518-522 range, depending on the percent correct in the different sections. Do you have any advice for bio? I noticed that it was your best section and it is currently the one I need to work on the most.

 

[Groggs]

Do you have any advice for bio? I noticed that it was your best section and it is currently the one I need to work on the most.

I took biochem, cell/mol bio, and general bio lab all this past semester so most of it is fresh on my mind, which has helped a lot. If you're weak in bio content look into Khan Academy, that's what I've done for the areas I struggle in. I don't know how much that one AAMC FL 1 is representative of myslef in bio/biochem though, I got 88 percent in that section in the sample.

 

[star_7]

I did AAMC Practice Exam 1 last week : 520 (129, 130, 131, 130).
Finished the AAMC Section bank now - bio & psych were so difficult. Didn't know many of the terms in Psych/Soc. Scored P/S: 73% C/P: 83% B/B: 75%.

 

[SangriaSalsa]

I did AAMC Practice Exam 1 last week : 520 (129, 130, 131, 130).
Finished the AAMC Section bank now - bio & psych were so difficult. Didn't know many of the terms in Psych/Soc. Scored P/S: 73% C/P: 83% B/B: 75%.

Dang that's a great score, I just took AAMC #1 and got 512, 128 on all sections. Just need to keep going this last month on the AAMC sample pack and fine tune, hoping for 515 on the real deal.

 

[star_7]

Dang that's a great score, I just took AAMC #1 and got 512, 128 on all sections. Just need to keep going this last month on the AAMC sample pack and fine tune, hoping for 515 on the real deal.

That was my only FL so far. I plan to do NS #1, AAMC sample and AAMC #2 before the test date on 19th.

 

[enchantediris]

I did AAMC Practice Exam 1 last week : 520 (129, 130, 131, 130).
Finished the AAMC Section bank now - bio & psych were so difficult. Didn't know many of the terms in Psych/Soc. Scored P/S: 73% C/P: 83% B/B: 75%.

That's awesome! Glad to see that you weren't hindered by your content review Do you have any advice on the B/B section? Especially on tackling the more experimental passages – for some reason, my mind goes blank whenever I see gene names with letters and numbers in them.

Dang that's a great score, I just took AAMC #1 and got 512, 128 on all sections. Just need to keep going this last month on the AAMC sample pack and fine tune, hoping for 515 on the real deal.

Good luck to you too I think that a 515 is definitely possible within a month, especially if you focus on strengthening your weaknesses. That's what I'm aiming to do... I've probably watched like 2 hours of videos on the kidney today

 

[Groggs]

Do you have any advice on the B/B section? Especially on tackling the more experimental passage

I had a hard time with the gene names at first. The first time the passage mentions each gene I highlight the name and what the name actually means/ what the gene does so I can quickly refer back to the more self explanatory definition of the gene.

 

[pfk7]

1/28 test takers, when you guys are taking the Scored 2?

 

[ch91]

1/28 test takers, when you guys are taking the Scored 2?

Taking AAMC 1 on wednesday...

 

[SangriaSalsa]

Taking scored 1 Friday. If no 510-> reschedule

508-510s on NS practice exams, which I suspect are weakly predictive. Low 80s on all the qbanks. Haven't done section banks.

You will for sure be above 510 on AAMC #1

 

[SwimmerDoc721]

Did anyone take NS practice exams? Honestly I do SO AWFUL on them (minus CARS, I developed a good strategy for that section), like 50% on Chem/Phys and Bio! However on all the AAMC material (Official Guide, Sample Test, Question Packs... haven't done the 2 FLs yet) I do great, usually in the 80%-90% range. Anyone have similar experiences? I just wanna quit NS and just solely focus on AAMC at this point because I feel like that's the best representation of questions anyway.

 

[Orthopedics101]

Did anyone take NS practice exams? Honestly I do SO AWFUL on them (minus CARS, I developed a good strategy for that section), like 50% on Chem/Phys and Bio! However on all the AAMC material (Official Guide, Sample Test, Question Packs... haven't done the 2 FLs yet) I do great, usually in the 80%-90% range. Anyone have similar experiences? I just wanna quit NS and just solely focus on AAMC at this point because I feel like that's the best representation of questions anyway.

Yeh I took NS 1-4 over a 2 month period (near the beginning of content review to the end of my content review) and scored 510 on all of them (which basically indicates no improvement since I started studying which is unrealistic). Took AAMC sample last week and scored 83%. Test companies' practice tests are mainly for content review/timing practice none of them are as indicative as the AAMC material. Honestly if your test is the 19th you're probably better off just disregarding NS and focusing on AAMC stuff.

 

[enchantediris]

Did anyone take NS practice exams? Honestly I do SO AWFUL on them (minus CARS, I developed a good strategy for that section), like 50% on Chem/Phys and Bio! However on all the AAMC material (Official Guide, Sample Test, Question Packs... haven't done the 2 FLs yet) I do great, usually in the 80%-90% range. Anyone have similar experiences? I just wanna quit NS and just solely focus on AAMC at this point because I feel like that's the best representation of questions anyway.

My average percent correct on NS exams is 69%/79%/72%/75% and my average for AAMC FL 1 was about 10% better on all sections (except C/P, which was like +20% haha -- I seem to have a timing problem for NS C/P). AAMC does seem more straight forward with their question and answer choices, but I didn't think NS was that bad. Obviously, the my percentages were not that great but I always find new terms or concepts that I'd forgotten so it's been a helpful process for review. You can do whatever you want for review and AAMC material is the closest you'll get to the real MCAT. However, you might also want to check out why you're only hitting 50% on C/P and Bio -- are you running out of time or unsure of any of the content?

 

[Carmiche]

I did AAMC Practice Exam 1 last week : 520 (129, 130, 131, 130).
Finished the AAMC Section bank now - bio & psych were so difficult. Didn't know many of the terms in Psych/Soc. Scored P/S: 73% C/P: 83% B/B: 75%.

Out of curiousity, what percent correct did you get on each section for FL 1? Overall percent correct?

 

[pewpew95]

Joining you all for the 19th. Tomorrow is the last day to reschedule and I'm so nervous :/ Already took the exam once last summer and want to score 3-4 points higher (mainly to balance out C/P and CARS with B/B and P/S), but I did not start studying until after finals ended a few weeks ago. Took my first Kap FL today and scored one point lower in each section compared to my real exam score from last year.

Any advice on what I should use to practice these next two weeks? I've already taken the AAMC FLs as well as Kap FLs 1-5 and 9-10 for my first go. I only have 3 more Kap FLs left - should I purchase a few more from EK or NS? I already have the practice books from NS for both verbal and science questions, as well as access to all of the AAMC materials.

We shall see how this goes. Senioritis is kicking in and I need some serious motivation!

 

[star_7]

That's awesome! Glad to see that you weren't hindered by your content review Do you have any advice on the B/B section? Especially on tackling the more experimental passages – for some reason, my mind goes blank whenever I see gene names with letters and numbers in them.

@enchantediris---I highlight all of the numbers as I read along with details about inhibitors (which I predict to often come up in questions), I also skim over graphs until there's a question about them and then I look back. For gene names and numbers, I just ignore the specific letters and just think of them as the first letter so when I read in my head I don't get bogged down. I only think extra when there is a mutation or a deletion. Maybe you already know this but something like gene_nameR###L means that the gene "gene_name" had a point mutation at locaiton ### from amino acid R (arginine) to amino acid L (leucine)--this kind of detail in the passage is something I definitely highlight because I have seen many questions about the effects of mutations. I hope this is helpful!

 

[star_7]

Out of curiousity, what percent correct did you get on each section for FL 1? Overall percent correct?

88%, 91%, 95%, 93%

 

[star_7]

Dang that's a great score, I just took AAMC #1 and got 512, 128 on all sections. Just need to keep going this last month on the AAMC sample pack and fine tune, hoping for 515 on the real deal.

515 -- definitely possible. I also plan to do sample pack soon... Good luck!

 

[star_7]

1/28 test takers, when you guys are taking the Scored 2?

I am 1/19 test taker and plan to take the AAMC scored 2 by 14th.

 

[Thoth]

Freaking out here. Am I the only person left who isn't done with content review???? Taking the 28th.

Plus side: I have 13 days left (including today) before D-Day (M-Day? T (test)-Day?) where I have zero work or anything - just studying. (I am taking 9 days vacation. Loser alert!) Also, I have done several practice tests already - NS 1 and 2, EK 1 and chem section from EK 2, Kaplan 1, 2, 3, and AAMC 1. So that is good.

Please make me feel more normal :'(

 

[syk111]

Freaking out here. Am I the only person left who isn't done with content review???? Taking the 28th.

Plus side: I have 13 days left (including today) before D-Day (M-Day? T (test)-Day?) where I have zero work or anything - just studying. (I am taking 9 days vacation. Loser alert!) Also, I have done several practice tests already - NS 1 and 2, EK 1 and chem section from EK 2, Kaplan 1, 2, 3, and AAMC 1. So that is good.

Please make me feel more normal :'(

I am also freaking out and I am still going over some content review! I don't know if this is normal either. How have you been doing on the practice exams? I am seriously considering postponing to March...

 

[Thoth]

I am also freaking out and I am still going over some content review! I don't know if this is normal either. How have you been doing on the practice exams? I am seriously considering postponing to March...

506 - 508. This makes me feel like I will be ok because I still have some big sections to do - genetics, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, lights/optics, waves and sounds. A lot of the qs I've missed have been on these. So hopefully I will be doing better.

I'm camped at a Starbucks right now knocking out gen chem and physics. Biochem and bio are my strengths because I already have a Pharm.D and do that crap all day every day. Actually I even use orgo at work sometimes (I know, bet you never thought you'd hear anyone except a Ph.D say that...).

 

[ch91]

Freaking out here. Am I the only person left who isn't done with content review???? Taking the 28th.

Plus side: I have 13 days left (including today) before D-Day (M-Day? T (test)-Day?) where I have zero work or anything - just studying. (I am taking 9 days vacation. Loser alert!) Also, I have done several practice tests already - NS 1 and 2, EK 1 and chem section from EK 2, Kaplan 1, 2, 3, and AAMC 1. So that is good.

Please make me feel more normal :'(

Also taking the 28th and haven't finished physics or Ochem content...freaking the f out. You aren't alone!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[SwimmerDoc721]

My average percent correct on NS exams is 69%/79%/72%/75% and my average for AAMC FL 1 was about 10% better on all sections (except C/P, which was like +20% haha -- I seem to have a timing problem for NS C/P). AAMC does seem more straight forward with their question and answer choices, but I didn't think NS was that bad. Obviously, the my percentages were not that great but I always find new terms or concepts that I'd forgotten so it's been a helpful process for review. You can do whatever you want for review and AAMC material is the closest you'll get to the real MCAT. However, you might also want to check out why you're only hitting 50% on C/P and Bio -- are you running out of time or unsure of any of the content?

Running out of time mostly... the passages also seem much more convoluted with information unnecessary for questions, and I feel like the answers tend to be unclear. I also get really flustered on NS because the questions consistently seem impossible to answer with the timing (obviously a bad habit I am working to get rid of).
I just took the AAMC Sample Test and scored 88%/81%/75%/73%... projected score 514 (based on SDN data) and I am aiming for a 515+ (not done total content review for psych, im letting my practice tests teach me whats pertinent lol). I think at this point I may just stick with AAMC like @Orthopedics101 said... its the most reliable and my test date is 19th and that gives me confidence I need anyway. Going to do the AAMC FLs in the next two weeks, would be happy to be 85% at least in all sections. Think it's doable!
Good luck everyone! I know you're all working hard!

 

[SwimmerDoc721]

Yeh I took NS 1-4 over a 2 month period (near the beginning of content review to the end of my content review) and scored 510 on all of them (which basically indicates no improvement since I started studying which is unrealistic). Took AAMC sample last week and scored 83%. Test companies' practice tests are mainly for content review/timing practice none of them are as indicative as the AAMC material. Honestly if your test is the 19th you're probably better off just disregarding NS and focusing on AAMC stuff.

Definitely... thanks for the input. I was 505 range for 3 NS tests and want to be 515+ on the real deal which was the cause for my concern. But with good AAMC percentages I am not too worried... just gotta keep it up for the two FLs.

 

[Groggs]

Does any one know what high scoring examkrackers percentages are? They don't scale their test to 528, you only get a percent correct. I took EK1 today and got a 78% and don't really know if thats good or bad.

 

[star_7]

I have couple of questions on AAMC sample test C/P section. Did you guys understand these two questions?

Question #38: Organic Chemistry mechanism asking which carbons will be labeled. Does anyone understand what mechanism/reaction is happening to see why only the answer’s carbons are labeled? I remember orgo, but I’m really confused on how to answer this.

Second Question: I don’t remember the question number. Why is the sodium cation smaller than the chloride anion? Doesn’t the trend of atomic size increase as you go down and to the left of the periodic table? And aren’t anions smaller than cations?

 

[Go_Pokes_11]

Does any one know what high scoring examkrackers percentages are? They don't scale their test to 528, you only get a percent correct. I took EK1 today and got a 78% and don't really know if thats good or bad.

This is a good score.

 

[Go_Pokes_11]

I have couple of questions on AAMC sample test C/P section. Did you guys understand these two questions?

Question #38: Organic Chemistry mechanism asking which carbons will be labeled. Does anyone understand what mechanism/reaction is happening to see why only the answer’s carbons are labeled? I remember orgo, but I’m really confused on how to answer this.

Second Question: I don’t remember the question number. Why is the sodium cation smaller than the chloride anion? Doesn’t the trend of atomic size increase as you go down and to the right of the periodic table? And aren’t anions smaller than cations?

Do not have the test handy to answer 38, but for your second question: atomic radius increases down and to the left on the periodic table.

 

[enchantediris]

Running out of time mostly... the passages also seem much more convoluted with information unnecessary for questions, and I feel like the answers tend to be unclear. I also get really flustered on NS because the questions consistently seem impossible to answer with the timing (obviously a bad habit I am working to get rid of).
I just took the AAMC Sample Test and scored 88%/81%/75%/73%... projected score 514 (based on SDN data) and I am aiming for a 515+ (not done total content review for psych, im letting my practice tests teach me whats pertinent lol). I think at this point I may just stick with AAMC like @Orthopedics101 said... its the most reliable and my test date is 19th and that gives me confidence I need anyway. Going to do the AAMC FLs in the next two weeks, would be happy to be 85% at least in all sections. Think it's doable!
Good luck everyone! I know you're all working hard!

Sounds like a plan. I think you will be pleasantly surprised when you take the AAMC FLs

Does any one know what high scoring examkrackers percentages are? They don't scale their test to 528, you only get a percent correct. I took EK1 today and got a 78% and don't really know if thats good or bad.

I think a lot of people say that anything in the 60-70% range is good, and 80%+ is amazing. I had a 74% average when I took EK 4, although that was weighed down by CARS (I don't think EK CARS is very good). There are some EK-specific conversion tables on Reddit if you're really interested, but I think that it's safe to say that you'll be doing well on the MCAT in a few weeks! It's probably more helpful to examine the concepts you missed instead of focusing on your actual score.

 

[Groggs]

I have couple of questions on AAMC sample test C/P section. Did you guys understand these two questions?

Question #38: Organic Chemistry mechanism asking which carbons will be labeled. Does anyone understand what mechanism/reaction is happening to see why only the answer’s carbons are labeled? I remember orgo, but I’m really confused on how to answer this.

Second Question: I don’t remember the question number. Why is the sodium cation smaller than the chloride anion? Doesn’t the trend of atomic size increase as you go down and to the right of the periodic table? And aren’t anions smaller than cations?

It is true that atomic radius increases down and left; however, ionic radius doesn't necessarily follow the trend.