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September 2015 MCAT Thread
Started by DAF16
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I got them through the course
hahaha at least I'm not alone. I delayed because I think I spent a little too much time doing content review and need this next month to do a lot of practice problems / exams. how are everyone's FL scores? i haaaaate going over them thoroughly
those are great! are those your averages or from a specific FL?
I love how I used to be such a longtime lurker of SDN but I finally decided to come out and talk haha. way too intimidated at first by the community!
they are rising but I am VERY inconsistent still... one minute I'm on the top of the moon, the next I feel thick as a plank (to quote my favorite Princess of all time)
Do you take the Kaplan course @sfkniner81 ?? I just found a possible solution for the CP issue 😀
Do you take the Kaplan course @sfkniner81 ?? I just found a possible solution for the CP issue 😀
Dude those are great numbers!
Thanks but they are not FL ... let me repeat that is NOT on a FL; it was from sections that Kaplan pulled out of the FL so I could work those individually. I'm not excited ... very, very stressed as the CP just will not budge
Again from mcatjelly table NS 507 is roughly 499 Kaplan and that is roughly 507 on real test. E.g. NS=Real thing. But take it wit big grain of salt. Table data pool is not anywhere enough to be statistical.
I took it day 1 of my studying and got a 495, took again about 2.5 months later and got a 513. Some of the stuff was confusing, especially the CARS, but overall the second time around I didn't think it was too crazy. Not as tough as Kaplan or TPR!
Kaplan likes to 
our butts, then 
while telling us we didn't understand appropriate the 1-2-5-methyl-3ethyl-epo-tonilated-4ol-4ene-666-propran-3al was hit with PCC to make a carboxylic acid 
I'm looking at one of the questions in the section test and I *still* do not understand wth they are asking.
our butts, then while telling us we didn't understand appropriate the 1-2-5-methyl-3ethyl-epo-tonilated-4ol-4ene-666-propran-3al was hit with PCC to make a carboxylic acid I'm looking at one of the questions in the section test and I *still* do not understand wth they are asking.
So, to my fellow AA and list loving SDN users thought I'd post this here.
Is this good, am I missing anything? (other than 1 & 3 letter abbreviations and structures) Likewise, is there anything I should add?
Grouping
Nonpolar, non aromatic
Hydrophobic (found in protein interior)
• Ala (A)
• Leu (L)
• Val (V)
• Ile (I)
• Phe (F)
Hydrophilic (found on protein periphery)
• Asp (D)
• Glu (E)
• Arg (R)
• Lys (K)
• His (H)
~ Side chain pKa
• Tyr (Y): 10.5
• His (H): 6.0
• Cys (C): 8.4
• Asp (D): 3.9
• Gly (G): 4.0
• Lys (K): 10.5
• Arg (R): 12.5
Isoelectric point
• Acidic AA’s (D, E)
• Acidic AA have (–) charge
• Histidine – Can act as buffer in physiological range
• Cysteine- Disulfide linkages, prone to oxidation
• Methionine – Start AA
• Proline- Can introduce ‘kinks’ into structure
• Glycine- Achiral
Is this good, am I missing anything? (other than 1 & 3 letter abbreviations and structures) Likewise, is there anything I should add?
Grouping
Nonpolar, non aromatic
o Gly (G), Ala (A), Val (V), Leu (L), Ile (I), Met (M), Pro (P)
• Aromatico Trp (W), Phe (F), Tyr (Y)
• Polaro Ser (S), Thr (T), Asn (N), Gln (Q), Cys (C)
• Acidico Asp (D), Glu (E)
• Basico Arg (R), Lys (K), His (H)
Hydrophobic (found in protein interior)
• Ala (A)
• Leu (L)
• Val (V)
• Ile (I)
• Phe (F)
Hydrophilic (found on protein periphery)
• Asp (D)
• Glu (E)
• Arg (R)
• Lys (K)
• His (H)
~ Side chain pKa
• Tyr (Y): 10.5
• His (H): 6.0
• Cys (C): 8.4
• Asp (D): 3.9
• Gly (G): 4.0
• Lys (K): 10.5
• Arg (R): 12.5
Isoelectric point
• Acidic AA’s (D, E)
o pI around 3
• Basic AA’s (R, K, H)o Lys and Arg around 10
o His around 8
• Uncharged AA'so His around 8
o pI around 6
What has a charge at physiological pH• Cys, Asn, Phe: 5-5.5
• The rest: 5.5-6
• The rest: 5.5-6
• Acidic AA have (–) charge
o Asp (D), Glu (E)
• Basic AA are (+) chargedo Arg(R), Lys (K)
Special characteristics- Note: His is uncharged NOT charged at physiological pH due to it's side chain pKa being around 6
• Histidine – Can act as buffer in physiological range
• Cysteine- Disulfide linkages, prone to oxidation
• Methionine – Start AA
• Proline- Can introduce ‘kinks’ into structure
• Glycine- Achiral
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yeah I did take the kaplan course!
I took Kaplan FL#9 two days ago and got a horrible score overall (worst than diagnostic). I don't know how that even happened (I was actually seeing an upward trend). Lol! My lowest was on C/P...which I actually thought was easy.
Great list! I think that will prove helpful to a lot of people. The only thing I can see after a quick look through is that His is NOT charged at physiological pH, even though it's basic. It's side chain pKa ~6, so at pH=7.4 it'd be deprotonated and uncharged.
Good list. I would also recommend focusing more on side chain pKas vs. pI though. When it comes to analyzing enzyme-catalyzed mechanisms or protein structures, knowing the side chain pKas would be more useful. Also, you could quickly derive the pI of your AA or peptide if you know the pKas of the side chains.
@bfkniner81 - did you find all the videos on the more resources tab?
With the print out of my section scores and associated topics, I went to the more resources, clicked on "Teach Me" and then watched the Kaplan videos on those topics.
Correlated exactly to what I did wrong on section test. Let me know what you think!
With the print out of my section scores and associated topics, I went to the more resources, clicked on "Teach Me" and then watched the Kaplan videos on those topics.
Correlated exactly to what I did wrong on section test. Let me know what you think!
TY!I take my exam on September 3rd... I started studying last week... maybe I'm a bit late to the game........ What is my best study plan? Review? Tests? I don't really want to move my date back...
You must deal with server issues INfrequently. I find Kaplan to be solid with their technology and willingness to help students.
I'm going to try a practice test today and see how I do...
Arrrgh, IF this is true, then I am f*cked because I got a 503 on the latest NS that I took. 40-50% was my lowest range (P/C), and then everything else was 50-70%. This is not looking good for me. I feel like I've forgotten almost all of the content that I've learned this summer and I don't know if my CARS will improve in time. Right now I'm tied between re-studying the content versus continuing with FLs.
oh @Doctor Dream didn't even catch that! I'll go ahead and change it and put that note in as well in case anybody else was just immediately categorizing it as charged because it is basic.
Hi @Gibbward I was going to add that but pka actually kind of confuses me. Isn't it mostly just 2 & 10 for the carboxy and amino group? Or do we need to be more specific? I know there is a few special ones where I actually see the side chain pka stated but the rest don't have anything listed so do we not need to know those? I added the few I've found so check it out and let me know if you see any discrepancies!
great idea! I'll go ahead and try that
Do you guys have any opinion on the NS practice books? harder easier the same? Is there a "rough conversion" table anywhere?
Oh nice! I was taking it and I have to say that the initial impact is a little more jarring for each passage (the feeling of "here we go again") than for Kaplan or TPR, where each passage's concepts are perhaps a bit more clear.
Also this is infuriating:
What are even strategies to combat easy questions? I feel like overanalyzing everything on this test...
In my opinion, the NS Strategy and Practice questions are harder than what I've seen with the AAMC Official Guide questions.
You are correct. For most AAs, they would only have pKas for the amino and carboxyl groups because they don't have a side chain with a removable proton. I think it's important to know just incase you're asked to calculate the pI for a peptide or figure out its charge at certain conditions. It's also good for knowing if a side chain is protonated or not so you could tell how it could contribute to the reaction mechanism that the enzyme is catalyzing (ie. is there a proton that could act as an acid for the reaction, or is a proton there for some hydrogen bonding purposes, etc.).
There are also the hydroxyl group side chains of S and T, which have a pKa of ~13.
You might also want to keep track of which AAs are most likely going to be phosphorylated, glycosylated, etc.
There are also the hydroxyl group side chains of S and T, which have a pKa of ~13.
You might also want to keep track of which AAs are most likely going to be phosphorylated, glycosylated, etc.
Hey all. Thought I'd drop in quick! Hope everyone is doing, well, AMAZING!! About 22 days left for myself.
On vacation right now, but have taken 2 EK exams this week. Took EK FL1 today and thought half of the explanations were BS, did alright. Was really hoping for a 90%+ on an EK exam but honestly, feel like it is not humanly possible at this point. Some of the explanations to why one answer is wrong and the other is right seem like BS (there are quite a few questions where you're just thinking "Are you ******* KIDDING ME?"). I still have EK3 left and will let y'all know but thus far, my subjective difficulty rating is: EK1>EK4>EK2. Highly subjective rating of course, but just thought I'd throw it out there.
Also, all of the EK exams are fairly difficult, I'd say honestly even harder than TPR and Kaplan in most aspects, in that they ask many more wild critical reasoning/logic questions which are simply unmatched by TPR and Kaplan; both of which seem to test content much more. Also, EK CARS is a whole nother' ball game compared to TPR and Kaplan, again IMO. The passages are easier to read than TPR/Kaplan, but decently longer and many of the question/answer choices are pretty nuts.
Anyhow, plan for the next 22 days is: finish/redo old AAMC 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (for CARS practice these are simply AMAZING!), official guide questions as a half-length, and all the question packs (~700 questions I think?). Then finish off with EK 3, NS 4 +5, AAMC FL, and probably all 3 TBR exams; or some gold-standard. IDK yet.
Last 4 days will be strictly content review and no practice exams; only Khan passages if that.
Also as a side note, TPR complete Full-lengths are definitely easier than review Full-lengths.
My difficulty rating is: EK>Kaplan>/=TPR>NS thus far.
Anyhow, later tonight + tomorrow I will be whipping up a biochemistry summary; a quick (well maybe not so quick, I suppose it will probably end up being 10+ pages) "cheat sheet", if you will, including: glycolysis, PDC, krebs cycle, ETC + Gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis, glycogenesis, beta-oxidation, FA synthesis, pentose phosphate pathway, cholesterol synthesis, ketone bodies, and urea cycle.
I'll throw in a bit about enzymatic inhibition as well.
I'll be including all the key enzymes in each process, and a solid amount of details about each pathway. I tend to get carried away with all things biochemistry so hopefully it doesn't end up being too long 🙂. I'll throw it up here when I'm done. Until then!
On vacation right now, but have taken 2 EK exams this week. Took EK FL1 today and thought half of the explanations were BS, did alright. Was really hoping for a 90%+ on an EK exam but honestly, feel like it is not humanly possible at this point. Some of the explanations to why one answer is wrong and the other is right seem like BS (there are quite a few questions where you're just thinking "Are you ******* KIDDING ME?"). I still have EK3 left and will let y'all know but thus far, my subjective difficulty rating is: EK1>EK4>EK2. Highly subjective rating of course, but just thought I'd throw it out there.
Also, all of the EK exams are fairly difficult, I'd say honestly even harder than TPR and Kaplan in most aspects, in that they ask many more wild critical reasoning/logic questions which are simply unmatched by TPR and Kaplan; both of which seem to test content much more. Also, EK CARS is a whole nother' ball game compared to TPR and Kaplan, again IMO. The passages are easier to read than TPR/Kaplan, but decently longer and many of the question/answer choices are pretty nuts.
Anyhow, plan for the next 22 days is: finish/redo old AAMC 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (for CARS practice these are simply AMAZING!), official guide questions as a half-length, and all the question packs (~700 questions I think?). Then finish off with EK 3, NS 4 +5, AAMC FL, and probably all 3 TBR exams; or some gold-standard. IDK yet.
Last 4 days will be strictly content review and no practice exams; only Khan passages if that.
Also as a side note, TPR complete Full-lengths are definitely easier than review Full-lengths.
My difficulty rating is: EK>Kaplan>/=TPR>NS thus far.
Anyhow, later tonight + tomorrow I will be whipping up a biochemistry summary; a quick (well maybe not so quick, I suppose it will probably end up being 10+ pages) "cheat sheet", if you will, including: glycolysis, PDC, krebs cycle, ETC + Gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis, glycogenesis, beta-oxidation, FA synthesis, pentose phosphate pathway, cholesterol synthesis, ketone bodies, and urea cycle.
I'll throw in a bit about enzymatic inhibition as well.
I'll be including all the key enzymes in each process, and a solid amount of details about each pathway. I tend to get carried away with all things biochemistry so hopefully it doesn't end up being too long 🙂. I'll throw it up here when I'm done. Until then!
Do you find the S&P books helpful?
I would definitely appreciate that! I have had some issues with memorize all the steps/key enzymes for respiration! Hope your break was enjoyable!
when did you all graduate and what else are you doing while studying? told my self this time I'm not going to do anything...i was stressed about shadowing which is why when i took the april test i shadowed. but now that i have enough hours, i want to give it all for the more than one time for the mcat. which test should it ale first? tpr?
I graduated in May, and pretty much been studying from June until now. I was doing 6 hours of volunteering a week, but other than that not much else aside from studying and general chilling/enjoying the unemployed life. I really wanted to get all my content review done before I started working again (which actually happened this week haha) because I feel like it'll be easier to balance practice passages/FLs and working vs. doing content review and working. If you can afford to only study for a solid month or so, I would definitely recommend it.
So today I paid a visit to my testing site and although I couldn't go in the actual computer lab where the exam is given, the secretary told me there's only FIVE computers there. That's so much smaller than what I was thinking, I was expecting at least 15-20 people would be taking it with me!
That's really small class. It may even throw me off a bit - I mean only 5 people writing. For some reason I was imagining a huge auditorium full of computers with like 200-300 people writing it.
I guess when it comes to Residency exam - there will be only you writing it. Creepy. 🙂
If you see an easy question that you feel you know the answer to right away, go with what your gut instinct is. There are a lot of questions that are like that. Contrary to popular belief, the MCAT isn't a "gotcha!" test even though these questions may exist. It's just testing reading comprehension and application of knowledge within the scope of a passage for the most part.
Just made my account, I took the EK course and am now in my studying/practice phase. I take the exam on the 12th.
Where can I find a table to compute my practice FL percentiles into actual scores?
Where can I find a table to compute my practice FL percentiles into actual scores?
I did! They're great for practicing. My study buddy and I used them, and at this point he is scoring pretty consistently 510+ on Kaplan and TPR practice tests. I'm getting there I hope (His test is the 22nd of Aug)
I just took my aamc practice test... anywhere I can find rough conversions?
