*Official MCAT September 9, 2017 Thread*

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
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Raavenclaw

Raavenclaw

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I didn't see a thread for this test date, so I figured I would make one. If this thread already exists, let me know and I'll delete it.

I hope we can motivate and support each other! What have you guys been using to study, and how has it been going?
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Surprisingly finished early, got there as the first few people and got started like 30 minutes before smart time. Had plenty of time in every section except bio section (a lot of pathways to figure out).

Overall it was a strange.

Physical sciences/biochem section: was a lot of biochem, didn't do any calculations except 2-3. Orgo was not traditional orgo but what you'd expected it to be, blended in w/ the biochem.

CARS section: Used old examkrackers and TPRH, from pre-2015 MCAT and the two practice exams (3 if you count the unscored one) from AAMC. If you need material the old pre-2015 staples are still good. Honestly it was very rhetoric orientated aka you had to reason out some of the meaning. The questions & passages were similar to old MCAT practice from EK and TPRH, especially in the variety of topics. The overall section questions just felt weird, can't explain it.

Bio section: Very straight forward, some of the discretes were total give me's. I said this was the longest section in terms of timing personally b/c understanding experiments and understand what the test makers want is always tricky.

Psychology: confusing b/c all the terms were all slightly similar. Probably felt like I did the worst here but finished quickly because this section is never hard timing wise. Just know what the ever loving judas some of the terms mean (b/c you can study a psychology text book but they'll throw something new at you regardless).

Overall: thought it was fair, some parts were hard. I thought some of the passages were pointless like psychology there'd be 1 passage and 3 questions that went with it but took me 10 minutes to read the passage.

For future test takers: I was surprised by the amount of biochem, so know your amino acids. All the subjects get blended in together, so you might see concepts from physics in the bio sections. There was a random bio subject in psychology/soc for me. Know your biochem.

Good luck. 520 for all please.
 
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Raavenclaw said:
That was harder than AAMC FL 1&2
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I concur

C/P - It was fair but I'm kicking myself because I forgot an equation and couldn't even use the units to figure it out. Also I was running out of time towards the end so couldn't check my marked ?s - fair but difficult for me

B/B- I struggled with this section, wasted my time on a lot of the questions so even though I finished I burned through the last few questions and didn't really get a chance to go back to marked ?s. There were fewer graph analysis questions than I thought there'd be but the questions were still tricky nonetheless. I'd say this section was the hardest much like the section banks.

CARS- I can't believe I'm saying this but this felt simple compared to the other sections. I finished with time to go back and check answers. I hope for the best.

P/S- Holy crap, some stuff I just literally guessed on because I didn't know the definition and I didn't recall coming across it in my studies. It sucks but that's apparently the new normal for this section. Timing not an issue here.
 
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I felt like I did more guessing during CP and BB than I did during practice FLs. CARS seemed straightforward. PS had a lot more experimental design questions, which is fine but we memorized all that vocab...
 
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Raavenclaw said:
I felt like I did more guessing during CP and BB than I did during practice FLs. CARS seemed straightforward. PS had a lot more experimental design questions, which is fine but we memorized all that vocab...
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oh I see, did the chem phys section have a lot of the common stuff like intermolecular forces and redox reactions, you know stuff we're used to seeing?
 
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C/P: Seemed pretty fair for the most part, but there were a handful of questions that were kind of random (2 needed a random formula). Very Biochem heavy. Overall, I went in expecting C/P to be the hardest section, but it was not too bad. Very similar to the full lengths and Altius.

CARS: I thought the questions were pretty brutal/unusual. The passages were easy to understand but the questions had kind of a weird vibe to it. Not feeling very confident about this section.

B/B: Caught myself spending 10+ minutes on a single passage before even getting to the questions. Didn't have a lot of time to review my marked questions, but I answered everything. It was pretty biochem heavy too with a lot less physiology questions than I expected. Pretty similar to SB and Altius FL.

P/S: Nothing like third party exams (Altius & NS). This was very similar to the SB/FL1&2. Some questions were worded really funny. Had a hard time distinguishing some questions. I see what people mean when they call this section CARS 2.0.

Feels f*cking good to be done.
 
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Marsay said:
oh I see, did the chem phys section have a lot of the common stuff like intermolecular forces and redox reactions, you know stuff we're used to seeing?
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CP was a blur. I think there are multiple versions of the exam, but mine was more orgo heavy than I expected. I needed a few random equations I couldn't even remember. I don't think I encountered too many freebie questions like IMFs or redox. I don't mean to say it went horribly, but that test was no joke
 
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I can't even tell how I feel after this test.

Chem/Phys: Mostly biochem oriented. I finished around 10 minutes early and had time to go back and check answers. Didn't think this section was too bad.

CARS: Personally, this section is my worst. Honestly feel like I didn't do well in this section at all; there were at least two passages where the passages/questions completely drained my brain.

Bio/Biochem: Lots of pathways described; one technique I've used is the second i notice that they're talking about long pathways, I immediately start writing out the pathway because 9 times out of 10 there will be a couple, if not more questions about that pathway. I finished with about 5 minutes to spare (usually finish like 20 minutes early)

Psych/Soc: I used the khan academy 100 page note and then did this anki flashcard deck that someone posted on Reddit (who scored a 132 on the section). Honestly, I started the notes literally 5 days before my test, did the Anki flashcards all day yesterday and the night before, and during the week I did like 70 khan academy psych passages (talk about cramming). Was so worth it. Nothing was new to me besides a couple of things.

Overall, I don't know how to feel. I think CARS will make or break my score. Anyways, glad to finally have my life back. Congrats you guys!
 
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bioislife said:
I can't even tell how I feel after this test.

Chem/Phys: Mostly biochem oriented. I finished around 10 minutes early and had time to go back and check answers. Didn't think this section was too bad.

CARS: Personally, this section is my worst. Honestly feel like I didn't do well in this section at all; there were at least two passages where the passages/questions completely drained my brain.

Bio/Biochem: Lots of pathways described; one technique I've used is the second i notice that they're talking about long pathways, I immediately start writing out the pathway because 9 times out of 10 there will be a couple, if not more questions about that pathway. I finished with about 5 minutes to spare (usually finish like 20 minutes early)

Psych/Soc: I used the khan academy 100 page note and then did this anki flashcard deck that someone posted on Reddit (who scored a 132 on the section). Honestly, I started the notes literally 5 days before my test, did the Anki flashcards all day yesterday and the night before, and during the week I did like 70 khan academy psych passages (talk about cramming). Was so worth it. Nothing was new to me besides a couple of things.

Overall, I don't know how to feel. I think CARS will make or break my score. Anyways, glad to finally have my life back. Congrats you guys!
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do you have a link to the anki set for psych?
 
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Marsay said:
do you have a link to the anki set for psych?
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Don't know the rules to linking but pretty sure other user was referring to this: Comprehensive P/S Quizlet Set From a 132 Scorer • r/Mcat

I highly recommend AGAINST using other people's flashcards until after you're done content reviewing and have material down. Why? best way to learn is put things in your own words. I memorized glycolytic pathway&citric acid cycle, w/ enzymes, limiting steps products...etc in a day because I had my own made up dirty mnemonics. You have to study your own way that works best for you. If you're pressed for time, sure, but it's not as effective in retaining info.
 
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greatbigduck said:
Don't know the rules to linking but pretty sure other user was referring to this: Comprehensive P/S Quizlet Set From a 132 Scorer • r/Mcat

I highly recommend AGAINST using other people's flashcards until after you're done content reviewing and have material down. Why? best way to learn is put things in your own words. I memorized glycolytic pathway&citric acid cycle, w/ enzymes, limiting steps products...etc in a day because I had my own made up dirty mnemonics. You have to study your own way that works best for you. If you're pressed for time, sure, but it's not as effective in retaining info.
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that makes sense, which is actually what I figured would be best at this point.
 
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AsepticTechnique said:
C/P: Seemed pretty fair for the most part, but there were a handful of questions that were kind of random (2 needed a random formula). Very Biochem heavy. Overall, I went in expecting C/P to be the hardest section, but it was not too bad. Very similar to the full lengths and Altius.

CARS: I thought the questions were pretty brutal/unusual. The passages were easy to understand but the questions had kind of a weird vibe to it. Not feeling very confident about this section.

B/B: Caught myself spending 10+ minutes on a single passage before even getting to the questions. Didn't have a lot of time to review my marked questions, but I answered everything. It was pretty biochem heavy too with a lot less physiology questions than I expected. Pretty similar to SB and Altius FL.

P/S: Nothing like third party exams (Altius & NS). This was very similar to the SB/FL1&2. Some questions were worded really funny. Had a hard time distinguishing some questions. I see what people mean when they call this section CARS 2.0.

Feels f*cking good to be done.
Click to expand...
I'm glad to hear that the chem/phys section is similar to Altius because I did several of their practice tests and hoping for similarity with that section.
 
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I'm reading this, and feel like I've taken a different test. This one was my retake. My first MCAT was Physics heavy, so I was focusing on physics more this time. But this time, it was was more orgo and gen chem heavy, so I personally was struggling with this section.
I can never predict how I did on my CARs, but the passages were weird.
Biology and Psyh were rather easiER this time. I had no problems understanding the processes discussed in the passages, and knew all the terms for P/S. I did use ANKI to study.
 
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YaraDelMar said:
I'm reading this, and feel like I've taken a different test. This one was my retake. My first MCAT was Physics heavy, so I was focusing on physics more this time. But this time, it was was more orgo and gen chem heavy, so I personally was struggling with this section.
I can never predict how I did on my CARs, but the passages were weird.
Biology and Psyh were rather easiER this time. I had no problems understanding the processes discussed in the passages, and knew all the terms for P/S. I did use ANKI to study.
Click to expand...
I agree was this...chem/phys was pretty rough for me. same with CARS. psyc/socy i didn't know all the terms but was okay. bio/bchm was better for mecuz I was focusing on that section to improve
 
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YaraDelMar said:
I'm reading this, and feel like I've taken a different test. This one was my retake. My first MCAT was Physics heavy, so I was focusing on physics more this time. But this time, it was was more orgo and gen chem heavy, so I personally was struggling with this section.
I can never predict how I did on my CARs, but the passages were weird.
Biology and Psyh were rather easiER this time. I had no problems understanding the processes discussed in the passages, and knew all the terms for P/S. I did use ANKI to study.
Click to expand...
Was the psych session mostly vocab stuff we should know or experimental stuff? I take mine the 19th
 
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wmd95 said:
I hope so. Are the Florida retakers on Going to be put in the curve?
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No curve. The test according the AMA on reddit is already scaled before we sit.

I did ask Prometric if the 19th was the last date for this cycle and it was confirmed despite that much of the gulf side of FL is still without power and likely to remain that way for another week in some areas.

Marsay said:
Was the psych session mostly vocab stuff we should know or experimental stuff? I take mine the 19th
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FYI: remember that no one area gets the same test; what that person got on theirs, is possibly/not al all/unlikely to be the same as wherever you take your test.

The best advice I can give you is this: go over the 100+ page doc from the AAMC and make sure you can cross the bulk of all the line items the document lists. IF you can do that, it won't matter who got what on which day in some part of the world.
 
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BlackSquirrelMed said:
So how's everyone dealing with the wait?
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not too worried about my scores, gonna do some traveling, that should take my mind off things....I actually didn't feel like there were any surprises on the test, some psychology terms got me confused
 
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Ad2b said:
I just realized today that scores from the 9/19 test come out next Tues (the 10th) ... we are packaged with the 9/9 folks (we're the hurricane refugees :D )
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really?? When I looked at the schedule I checked for September 19th since that ended up being the date we got rescheduled for. It said Octer 23rd. So you're saying we should look at the dates the September 9th scores come out? did you call them and find out?
 
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Marsay said:
When I looked at the schedule I checked for September 19th since that ended up being the date we got rescheduled for. It said Octer 23rd. So you're saying we should look at the dates the September 9th scores come out? did you call them and find out?
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This is where I got my info from (it might have changed since the date of the Tweet):

2EZ8DE5.png


DISCLAIMER: I am not ulloa.

EDITED: @Marsay - you were looking at the 2018 test dates which has 10/23 listed for the 9/19 test date.
 
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Ad2b said:
This is where I got my info from (it might have changed since the date of the Tweet):

2EZ8DE5.png


DISCLAIMER: I am not ulloa.

EDITED: @Marsay - you were looking at the 2018 test dates which has 10/23 listed for the 9/19 test date.
Click to expand...
oh crap, guess I was lol
 
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I AM SO NERVOUS! >.< I currently have 2 interviews. I applied with a 499 MCAT and 3.43 cGPA & 3.18 sGPA (after academic update verification: 3.51 cGPA and 3.29 sGPA). I retook the MCAT (sept 19) and I'm waiting on these new scores. I am paranoid because although I was overall scoring higher, the test felt easier and I am scared the curve will not be as good. The only thing I can think about is worst case scenarios. What happens if it's worse or the same or not much different??? >.<
 
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I'm scared ****less for tomorrow. this is my more than once taking this test. I already submitted my primary but holding off on the secondary. I'm so so nervous. this will determine my life pretty much. I've already taken more than one gap year- currently doing my masters. ugh. anticipation is killing me. feel like i failed it again.
 
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Me too. I'm sooo scared. On top of that, working a 12h shift tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the day.
 
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I won't be able to check my score until after work, but at least I'll be occupied until then :/

Good luck everyone!
 
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I wish I had a distraction. Last time I had classes and I had a lab practical. My friend brought me taco bell that day so it helped . But I had to get over it so I didn't mess up my grades (I ended up getting all A's that semester of mostly science courses). This time I don't have work, or class atm. So I'm gonna take a few shots.
 
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Absolutely thrilled - 2nd time taker... 510 w/ 126 in CARS!!! (1st time was 504 w/ 122 in CARS). Good luck everyone! Bless UP!!!!
 
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CJhooper123 said:
Total: 510
CP: 129
CARS: 126
BS: 130
PS: 125
:banana::banana:
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Nice work, and sorry to be so intrusive. I got the same overall and cars score, so I was worried there was a glitch and everyone received the same score (being way too paranoid, I know), but we had a different breakdown for the other sections. :)
 
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PreMed1364 said:
Nice work, and sorry to be so intrusive. I got the same overall and cars score, so I was worried there was a glitch and everyone received the same score (being way too paranoid, I know), but we had a different breakdown for the other sections. :)
Click to expand...

No problem. Congrats on your score!
 
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Very happy. 513 overall with 129/130/127/127 section scores. Score another one for FL predictive power; I got 511 on FL 1 and 513 on FL 2.
 
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Yall I am so happy and shocked!
*New MCAT score: 512*
:):clap::soexcited::banana::highfive:
126/130/126/130
87th percentile
Last time (6/30): 499
124/123/124/128
47th percentile
40 percentile point jump
Tbh I'm seriously proud of that 7 point jump in cars. Can't believe it! Hard work and strategic changes can really make a difference in a little over a month!!
 
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516 (125/131/130/130) and pretty thrilled! wish the chem/phys score was a little better but i had trouble with timing during it on test day and it was always my weakest section so i'll take it :)
 
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522! 131/129/130/132. The test seemed way way harder than the AAMC practice tests, so I was really unhappy coming right out of the test. But it turned out well with the statistics/curve I guess. Psych had usually been one of my worst sections, so was really surprised to see the 132 there.
 
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trackandhp7 said:
Psych was where I saw my lowest score- I broke 130 in all the other three. How did you study for it?
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I made a ton of Anki cards with TPR as a basis. Then continued adding cards when new material came up in NS, EK, and AAMC practice materials. I wish I had been a bit more anal about going into such detail with bio—there were a few questions on the actual exam for which I was not prepared content-wise. I used TBR as my basis for bio and chem/phys. Again, though, I feel like this psych/soc score was a bit of a fluke.
 
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