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mwsapphire said:
Oh okay, thanks. Yeah I know it's really variable, but I just wanna know whether to like expect a 510+ making about 80% or more correct, or if that's like a 501, you know? Just rough MCAT score brackets, so I know what to aim for when studying. If I need a 95% or higher to make a 510+ score, that would be a different story.
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No, 95% is a solid 520+ in almost all cases
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mwsapphire said:
Oh okay, thanks. Yeah I know it's really variable, but I just wanna know whether to like expect a 510+ making about 80% or more correct, or if that's like a 501, you know? Just rough MCAT score brackets, so I know what to aim for when studying. If I need a 95% or higher to make a 510+ score, that would be a different story.
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The threshold for percent correct to get a 512+ is actually fairly low. If you have taken all of the prereqs and did well in them, you almost have to try to do poorly.
 
samualjhatfield said:
The threshold for percent correct to get a 512+ is actually fairly low. If you have taken all of the prereqs and did well in them, you almost have to try to do poorly.
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It’s actually scaled so that it’s easier to move up in the middle and gets more difficult as you get up the scale. One or two questions can be the difference between 130/131/132.
 
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Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
It’s actually scaled so that it’s easier to move up in the middle and gets more difficult as you get up the scale. One or two questions can be the difference between 130/131/132.
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Oh yah, most certainly. 500 - 510 is a spectrum of 30% ranks but probably spans 66% to 80% questions correct. And then 510 to 520 is only a span of 10% ranks but is the same amount increase in questions right.
 
samualjhatfield said:
Oh yah, most certainly. 500 - 510 is a spectrum of 30% ranks but probably spans 66% to 80% questions correct. And then 510 to 520 is only a span of 10% ranks but is the same amount increase in questions right.
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Yeah I know when I was taking my FLs I was getting like 2-3 wrong and getting 131s. But in psych I’d be getting 126-128 with basically the same changes in amount wrong lol.
 
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Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Yeah I know when I was taking my FLs I was getting like 2-3 wrong and getting 131s. But in psych I’d be getting 126-128 with basically the same changes in amount wrong lol.
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That is why my study plan was focused on the whole diminishing returns thing...I got 519 on FL2 and decided “Cool, let’s coast.” Could I have put in 3X the effort I already was and likely been solid 525 material? Probably. Is the difference in value (at least to the types of schools I will be applying to) between a 519 and 525 worth the increased effort, burnout and time away from wife/child? Abso-flipping-lutely not.
 
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samualjhatfield said:
That is why my study plan was focused on the whole diminishing returns thing...I got 519 on FL2 and decided “Cool, let’s coast.” Could I have put in 3X the effort I already was and likely been solid 525 material? Probably. Is the difference in value (at least to the types of schools I will be applying to) between a 519 and 525 worth the increased effort, burnout and time away from wife/child? Abso-flipping-lutely not.
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Same. Especially with a family, I just didn’t think putting in the extra effort to get above a 520 was necessary. I was at a 515 average on my FLs, and I was satisfied with a 512-518 range. The contentment really helped me relax, which is probably part of why I did so well on the real deal.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Same. Especially with a family, I just didn’t think putting in the extra effort to get above a 520 was necessary. I was at a 515 average on my FLs, and I was satisfied with a 512-518 range. The contentment really helped me relax, which is probably part of why I did so well on the real deal.
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I am waiting on results (May 1st I get the back from Friday MCAT) but comparing how I felt about the test to how others on r/ MCAT felt I would say I am solid 512+.

I am in the same boat feelings wise as you were. It may just be because I know my ECs are spectacular (and it was probably the same for you from Navy) but my go to has just been “I will be happy with a 510, I want a 512, anything more than 514 is brownie points.”
 
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samualjhatfield said:
I am waiting on results (May 1st I get the back from Friday MCAT) but comparing how I felt about the test to how others on r/ MCAT felt I would say I am solid 512+.

I am in the same boat feelings wise as you were. It may just be because I know my ECs are spectacular (and it was probably the same for you from Navy) but my go to has just been “I will be happy with a 510, I want a 512, anything more than 514 is brownie points.”
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Yep! I also was not planning on applying to any of the notorious stats ******. And I knew my ECs would help me a lot, which they did. I’m sure the MCAT helped a lot though. I’m very thankful for my score. Praying you get a great score!
 
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Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Yep! I also was not planning on applying to any of the notorious stats ******. And I knew my ECs would help me a lot, which they did. I’m sure the MCAT helped a lot though. I’m very thankful for my score. Praying you get a great score!
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The primary core differences between our apps are I was reserved but my job was clinical and I’ll be applying to 20 schools not 6 lol The only Stat ****** I will apply to Are Stanford, UCSF and Mayo (assuming >515 MCAT) because they value reinvention.
 
samualjhatfield said:
The primary core differences between our apps are I was reserved but my job was clinical and I’ll be applying to 20 schools not 6 lol The only Stat ****** I will apply to Are Stanford, UCSF and Mayo (assuming >515 MCAT) because they value reinvention.
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lol yeah. My jobs were clinical too, but I only applied to 6 schools to start with. I ended up applying to 4 DO schools out of panic, but I got a couple of acceptances like right after I got interviews from them and then had to cancel them all lol. So in total, I applied to 10 (6 MD/4 DO) even though I didn't even need the DO apps in the end, and I didn't even follow through with them lol.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
lol yeah. My jobs were clinical too, but I only applied to 6 schools to start with. I ended up applying to 4 DO schools out of panic, but I got a couple of acceptances like right after I got interviews from them and then had to cancel them all lol. So in total, I applied to 10 (6 MD/4 DO) even though I didn't even need the DO apps in the end, and I didn't even follow through with them lol.
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I have nothing against DO and were I a consistently 502-508 student/applicant, I would be more than happy applying DO. But primary care is not necessarily where I want to end up and I am a consistently >512 student...So MD it is

Why did you only apply to 6?
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
lol yeah. My jobs were clinical too, but I only applied to 6 schools to start with. I ended up applying to 4 DO schools out of panic, but I got a couple of acceptances like right after I got interviews from them and then had to cancel them all lol. So in total, I applied to 10 (6 MD/4 DO) even though I didn't even need the DO apps in the end, and I didn't even follow through with them lol.
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And are you still active? I guess 7 years means you probably have 1 year left on contract that your commander is signing you out of for HPSP
 
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samualjhatfield said:
And are you still active? I guess 7 years means you probably have 1 year left on contract that your commander is signing you out of for HPSP
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I’m still active. I have 3 years on my current contract, but it’s about to get erased when I commission. I’m stationed at USUHS for a premed bridge program so the whole goal is to get us to med school. The three years on my contract were the safety net in case I didn’t get accepted anywhere.
 
samualjhatfield said:
I have nothing against DO and were I a consistently 502-508 student/applicant, I would be more than happy applying DO. But primary care is not necessarily where I want to end up and I am a consistently >512 student...So MD it is

Why did you only apply to 6?
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There is essentially no bias in the mil med system so I didn’t care one way or the other (though the schools at the top of my list were all MD anyway). I didn’t apply DO until November when I already had my MCAT. But I applied to only 6 schools and hadn’t heard anything from the ones I had interviewed at. I’m impatient basically lol.

I have a wife and two small children. We’ve been stationed in isolated places before and it blows. Wanted to avoid being too far from family. Could have applied to a lot more MDs but just didn’t have the money at the time.
 
samualjhatfield said:
Oh yah, most certainly. 500 - 510 is a spectrum of 30% ranks but probably spans 66% to 80% questions correct. And then 510 to 520 is only a span of 10% ranks but is the same amount increase in questions right.
Click to expand...

Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Yeah I know when I was taking my FLs I was getting like 2-3 wrong and getting 131s. But in psych I’d be getting 126-128 with basically the same changes in amount wrong lol.
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Is it the same curve for every section though? I feel like for BBS 80 percent correct should be like a 128, but for Chem/Phys or CARS shouldn't a 128 be something like a 70-75 percent? Only because those sections are almost always harder for most students- there is less background in chem and physics for the majority of pre med students? CARS is universally kind of a crappy section? Like I feel the curve for BBS and Psych/Soc would be less forgiving such that you need 80%+ for a 128 but the same curve in Chem/Phys and CARS should be more forgiving such that 75% should earn a 128? Especially with the " easier to move in the middle of the curve" thing.
 
mwsapphire said:
Is it the same curve for every section though? I feel like for BBS 80 percent correct should be like a 128, but for Chem/Phys or CARS shouldn't a 128 be something like a 70-75 percent? Only because those sections are almost always harder for most students- there is less background in chem and physics for the majority of pre med students? CARS is universally kind of a crappy section? Like I feel the curve for BBS and Psych/Soc would be less forgiving such that you need 80%+ for a 128 but the same curve in Chem/Phys and CARS should be more forgiving such that 75% should earn a 128? Especially with the " easier to move in the middle of the curve" thing.
Click to expand...

It’s not really a curve. It’s scaled. There’s a difference. But it varies from section to section and test to test.
 
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@tessellations @ekmf27050 @Ms Procrastinator @impendingdoom @mwsapphire bump!

022019_BrainTriestoRelax.png
 
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Why don't we have game threads like the vet forum?
 
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@ Other NHL Fans:

Ya'll can "suck it!!!" :laugh:

#GoBolts #StanleyWantsATan #BeachTownDoesHockey :claps:

(I should have scheduled MCAT for July)

257505
 
Thoughts on good shows (preferably on netflix) to watch before starting medical school? I've got a lot of free time and want to take advantage!
 
It's on Amazon, but look for Code Black. One of the better ER based shows made.
 
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The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley is an HBO movie about a defunct biotech start-up, Theranos, and founder Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes dropped out of Stanford after her freshman year, and apparently without much more than Chem 1, she developed a delusion that she solved some problems that scientists working in the field of lab medicine/biotech had not solved despite decades of work.

Her company, Theranos, was at one time valued at $9 billion. The company's device, the Edison, was purported to diagnose nearly 200 conditions through a pinprick of blood. She amassed a board of directors that included such heavyweights as Henry Kissinger, James Mattis, Sam Nunn, William Foege (former CDC director), William Frist (Surgeon and US Senator).
 
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Not a show, but a movie - Butter

It is an allegory for the 2008 Obama v. McCain presidential race, just told through the lens of a Wisconsin butter sculpting contest.
 
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The Ranch
Sex Education
Fuller House

I’m actually a big fan of the Netflix originals. Don’t know why some people are so against them :confused:

Although I can definitely understand that most of them are geared towards millennials!
 
If you are looking for medical shows I would suggest Three Rivers (Amazon), St. Elsewhere (HULU), or Nurses Who Kill (Netflix). Non Medical and on Netflix Santa Clarita Diet, The Twilight Zone (original series), Mad Men, The IT Crowd. I know some of my suggestions are older but you will find everything to be interesting.
 
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C Smith said:
If you are looking for medical shows I would suggest Three Rivers (Amazon), St. Elsewhere (HULU), or Nurses Who Kill (Netflix). Non Medical and on Netflix Santa Clarita Diet, The Twilight Zone (original series), Mad Men, The IT Crowd. I know some of my suggestions are older but you will find everything to be interesting.
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Great list! Twilight Zone is brilliant...
 
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