Regarding BS section on MCAT

[sshung]

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For those of you who took MCAT recently, do you remember how was the passage on experiment presented? Was it just like a normal research paper with abstract, procedure, and conclusion?

My MCAT is in 2.5 weeks and I'm still not sure how to prepare for the BS section. I've been getting 11-13 on the AAMC and 10-12 on TBR but I want to raise the score higher in order to compensate my low verbal score. Should I start reading random research papers or start memorizing random terms on TBR biology books instead?

 

[BB8730]

for those of you who took mcat recently, do you remember how was the passage on experiment presented? Was it just like a normal research paper with abstract, procedure, and conclusion?

You may NOT:
*Share or post the text (full or partial) of a test question and/or a test answer.
*Reconstruct a list of topics tested in a particular section.
*Mention a specific topic that was tested on an exam.
*Outline the steps or process to answer a question.
*Speculate about which passages are field test or experimental items.

How a passage is presented would probably fall into the 4th bullet point above. People who have already taken the MCAT are only allowed to talk GENERALLY about their experience - not talk specifically about how questions are presented.

In my opinion, the best way for you to prepare for the BS section at this point is to just keep taking AAMC FL exams and improving from your mistakes. Reading random research papers or memorizing terms won't help much, although you should know all of the terms associated with the content outline for BS.

 

[shaboobly]

For those of you who took MCAT recently, do you remember how was the passage on experiment presented? Was it just like a normal research paper with abstract, procedure, and conclusion?

My MCAT is in 2.5 weeks and I'm still not sure how to prepare for the BS section. I've been getting 11-13 on the AAMC and 10-12 on TBR but I want to raise the score higher in order to compensate my low verbal score. Should I start reading random research papers or start memorizing random terms on TBR biology books instead?

seems to me as if you know how the science sections are already set up.. maybe you should practice reading instead of relying on only the sciences because it would be easier to take a verbal from a 7 to a 9 or 10 then a 11 to a 13 or 14.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

How a passage is presented would probably fall into the 4th bullet point above. People who have already taken the MCAT are only allowed to talk GENERALLY about their experience - not talk specifically about how questions are presented.

In my opinion, the best way for you to prepare for the BS section at this point is to just keep taking AAMC FL exams and improving from your mistakes. Reading random research papers or memorizing terms won't help much, although you should know all of the terms associated with the content outline for BS.

Chill out man. All of that is referring to giving details about specific questions. If asking general questions or giving general details about a section or topic overall was against the rules both SDN and every test prep company would have been shut down long ago.

 

[nisarg2010]

Chill out man. All of that is referring to giving details about specific questions. If asking general questions or giving general details about a section or topic overall was against the rules both SDN and every test prep company would have been shut down long ago.

+1

I am very interested in hearing the answer to this question from recent test takers.

Good Question OP

 

[BB8730]

Chill out man. All of that is referring to giving details about specific questions. If asking general questions or giving general details about a section or topic overall was against the rules both SDN and every test prep company would have been shut down long ago.

Look at bullet point #3. Even mentioning a topic that was on the exam is against the rules.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

Look at bullet point #3. Even mentioning a topic that was on the exam is against the rules.

That's talking about things like saying "my exam had a passage on the autonomic nervous system with questions about motor units, neurotransmitter types in preganglionic synapses, and some simple stuff about the Nernst equation". What OP is asking is general trends about the section. Merely speculating about topics or types of passages isn't against the rules. If it were even AAMC would be in violation of their own rules considering they put out a PDF with every single topic listed. Likewise test companies say all the time "stuff just like this has been seen on recent exams, be sure to know it". And of course SDNers make no attempt to keep secret all the experimental passages they see on BS or the trend that these days BS is more about molecular bio than physiology.

 

[BB8730]

Merely speculating about topics or types of passages isn't against the rules.

I agree, but the OP asked:

For those of you who took MCAT recently, do you remember how was the passage on experiment presented? Was it just like a normal research paper with abstract, procedure, and conclusion?

That's a bit more than speculating. He's asking what, specifically, we saw on the exam with regards to the format of the BS passages. Here's another support to my case:

As a litmus test, ask yourself the following question before posting:

Will what I am about to post make it easier for another member to answer an MCAT question? Will it give them a specific idea about what to expect on an exam?​

If I were to explain the format of the BS passages I saw on my exam, it would give other people an idea of what to expect on their exam. That's my interpretation of the rules. Feel free to interpret them as you wish. Personally, I would rather err on the side of caution.

 

[somefun]

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[OCDOCDOCD]

I agree, but the OP asked:

That's a bit more than speculating. He's asking what, specifically, we saw on the exam with regards to the format of the BS passages. Here's another support to my case:


If I were to explain the format of the BS passages I saw on my exam, it would give other people an idea of what to expect on their exam. That's my interpretation of the rules. Feel free to interpret them as you wish. Personally, I would rather err on the side of caution.

It seemed to me that he was just asking what the passages were like. A lot of people are concerned about the rumors that the current BS section resembles none of the practice materials out there. Asking for an idea of what the passages are like isnt the same as requesting specific details about the passages people had on their exams.

 

[BB8730]

It seemed to me that he was just asking what the passages were like. A lot of people are concerned about the rumors that the current BS section resembles none of the practice materials out there. Asking for an idea of what the passages are like isnt the same as requesting specific details about the passages people had on their exams.

It's just a grey area that I don't want to go into. If you or anyone else wants to answer his question that's fine by me. I'm just throwing in my two cents that I don't think it's a good idea to talk about the format of the passages on a real exam. As the sticky says, the AAMC actively searches these forums for people disclosing information about their exams. I'm not messing with that. 🙂