September 2015 MCAT Thread

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DAF16

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Registration for the September MCAT opens up soon, so I thought I would make the thread.
Who else will be taking the test in September?
 
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FutureD.O said:
For anyone taking the 9/12 mcat, are you guys incorporating any break days into your last month of studying? I have not had any planned days off all summer (roughly 4-5 days off from mid-may) and feel as though I am burning out a little in this last month of studying due to increased intensity/hours of study.
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Any advice for burnout, anyone?
 
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@Future D.O -
Personally, I rewarded myself with a new pair of comfy pants (on awesome sale) for MCAT day, play with my bugg dog, and watch Mr.Robot, my new fav show!!!!!
1. Organize things-like bookmark what needs done when your concentration improves, file your notes, etc. It's not studying, but it contributes to MCAT prep.
2. Do something to remember why you're doing this (like watch an episode of Boston EMS or Boston Trauma, or an old 24 Hours in A&E, or ORlive online).
3. Rest and eat protein rich foods
4. Read something funny
5. Browse your local library for something "fun".
 
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drbeat14 said:
@Future D.O -
Personally, I rewarded myself with a new pair of comfy pants (on awesome sale) for MCAT day, play with my bugg dog, and watch Mr.Robot, my new fav show!!!!!
1. Organize things-like bookmark what needs done when your concentration improves, file your notes, etc. It's not studying, but it contributes to MCAT prep.
2. Do something to remember why you're doing this (like watch an episode of Boston EMS or Boston Trauma, or an old 24 Hours in A&E, or ORlive online).
3. Rest and eat protein rich foods
4. Read something funny
5. Browse your local library for something "fun".
Click to expand...

Rewards are the best! I agree with number 1 a lot. I'm starting to feel the burnout too but feel too nervous/guilty to take a whole day off.
If you're feeling burned out with doing questions just take some notes or write up flashcards or enter things you need to do in to your calendar (plus then you get the satisfaction of crossing them off 😀)

I find taking little breaks instead helps too. So for instance, when you eat dinner just take your time and watch an episode of a tv show or retire to bed/wake up an hour early or late and just read a good book. Doing that a few times a week has helped me. Also when you're doing something like cooking dinner or cleaning use that as a break, turn on some music in the background and don't let yourself think of the MCAT.

And remember to SLEEP! According to our psych books you need that REM for memory consolidation so take an extra hour or two in bed and use external attribution to blame it on Kaplan Behavioral Science Review chapter 3.
 
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I'm really confused with this question: http://prntscr.com/86jvxa
Are they asking "which if these will be zwitterionic/neutral at pH of 8" or "which of these will have at least a positive and a negative charge at pH of 8"? I assumed that the question was referring to zwitterionic amino acids, so I chose glycine and tyrosine, but apparently that's wrong.
Here is the explanation they gave and the correct answer: http://prntscr.com/86jzjr
Thanks
 
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Jennzilla said:
I'm really confused with this question: http://prntscr.com/86jvxa
Are they asking "which if these will be zwitterionic/neutral at pH of 8" or "which of these will have at least a positive and a negative charge at pH of 8"? I assumed that the question was referring to zwitterionic amino acids, so I chose glycine and tyrosine, but apparently that's wrong.
Here is the explanation they gave and the correct answer: http://prntscr.com/86jzjr
Thanks
Click to expand...

The question simply asks if there are the presence of positive and negative charges in the amino acid, nothing more. The solution indicates that the correct response was the one that considered and applied that all of the amino acids had a protonated amine group and a deprotonated carboxylic acid group at pH 8, thus satisfying what the question was asking for. Despite Arginine and Glutamate bearing net positive and negative charges, they still comply with what the question is asking.

A bit convoluted wording though. Which test was this from?
 
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NS #2.
And thanks for your response! The way they worded the question made it seem like they were asking for amino acids that have equal amounts of positive and negative charges (therefore neutral). Perhaps I am reading way too into this.
 
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Is anyone stuck at a score range? I originally had my test planned for aug 22 but then changed it to Sep 12.
I ve been at 503 on avg (502, 504, 506, 508, 500, got them all) for Kaplan and around 503 too for Princton Review. I also got a 503 on NS diagnostic and just recently got 507 on NS FL 1 and 506 on Kaplan 6 ( but w 1.5 the amt of time) I m retaking from a 29.... So I REALLY need this to be good, or at least, god bless not worse O.O but I seem to be stuck below the 510 line, LIKE I cant afford to risk it now that im on my sec try.

for the AAMC Q packs I ve been getting
Bio 1 84%
Bio 2 86%
CARS 1 69%
CARS 2 82%
Chem 86% And I keep missing dumb things like did not see the part the passage that literally answers the question, or somehow guessed an impossible answer tho i knew the other was more plausible >>Sigh ANYOE HAVE sUGGEStIONs???
 
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My amino acid method in jpg.

"But isn't it easier just to memorize stuff? And faster?"

Yeah probably, but this works for me.

And I like writing with markers...
 

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Chosey said:
Is anyone stuck at a score range? I originally had my test planned for aug 22 but then changed it to Sep 12.
I ve been at 503 on avg (502, 504, 506, 508, 500, got them all) for Kaplan and around 503 too for Princton Review. I also got a 503 on NS diagnostic and just recently got 507 on NS FL 1 and 506 on Kaplan 6 ( but w 1.5 the amt of time) I m retaking from a 29.... So I REALLY need this to be good, or at least, god bless not worse O.O but I seem to be stuck below the 510 line, LIKE I cant afford to risk it now that im on my sec try.

for the AAMC Q packs I ve been getting
Bio 1 84%
Bio 2 86%
CARS 1 69%
CARS 2 82%
Chem 86% And I keep missing dumb things like did not see the part the passage that literally answers the question, or somehow guessed an impossible answer tho i knew the other was more plausible >>Sigh ANYOE HAVE sUGGEStIONs???
Click to expand...
are those scores on kaplan's new scale? they are pretty solid!
 
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@jimmypod its interesting your %was higher on the second half-maybe you got use to doing them and the % got better? Looks like you're doing great on CARS to me. 🙂

Does anyone have the second volume of questions? What do you think of those? Worth it to do them too?
 
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HopefulPilot said:
Those scores are pretty solid. Go look at the July thread for several examples of people with low 500s on kaplan fl's scoring 510+. Focus on your weak areas and keep practicing! Try not to stress out too much about it (Yerkes-Dodson) 🙂
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Thanks Guys! R the spreadsheet score jump reliable though? I d be Thrilled to get that trend too on the real thing but i dont know what they re doing to get those jumps? Cause its a retake and my last chance at this thing ( just dont wanna have to do this again ..sigh) i m not sure ho wmuch i can rely on those trends XD
 
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Chosey said:
Is anyone stuck at a score range? I originally had my test planned for aug 22 but then changed it to Sep 12.
I ve been at 503 on avg (502, 504, 506, 508, 500, got them all) for Kaplan and around 503 too for Princton Review. I also got a 503 on NS diagnostic and just recently got 507 on NS FL 1 and 506 on Kaplan 6 ( but w 1.5 the amt of time) I m retaking from a 29.... So I REALLY need this to be good, or at least, god bless not worse O.O but I seem to be stuck below the 510 line, LIKE I cant afford to risk it now that im on my sec try.

for the AAMC Q packs I ve been getting
Bio 1 84%
Bio 2 86%
CARS 1 69%
CARS 2 82%
Chem 86% And I keep missing dumb things like did not see the part the passage that literally answers the question, or somehow guessed an impossible answer tho i knew the other was more plausible >>Sigh ANYOE HAVE sUGGEStIONs???
Click to expand...

Take what I say with a grain of salt as it's simply just my own experience with the MCAT, but I got a 516 on the real exam while my TPR practice scores leading up to the test (took three practice tests about 2 weeks before the exam) were all between 500-503! So I want to say that you're in wonderful shape so far!!! I'd spend the next few weeks truly visualizing success and spending your study time just really zoning in on your weaknesses and turn those into your most confident topics!! And refine your test taking by always analyzing why you got a question wrong (read too fast? misunderstood a question? second guessed yourself? etc.) so that you make that mistake less and less 🙂

I used TPR's practice exams to just show me what topics I needed work in rather than an actual score estimate so, try looking at it that way if you think it'll help! Best of luck 🙂
 
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wavvvvvves123 said:
Take what I say with a grain of salt as it's simply just my own experience with the MCAT, but I got a 516 on the real exam while my TPR practice scores leading up to the test (took three practice tests about 2 weeks before the exam) were all between 500-503! So I want to say that you're in wonderful shape so far!!! I'd spend the next few weeks truly visualizing success and spending your study time just really zoning in on your weaknesses and turn those into your most confident topics!! And refine your test taking by always analyzing why you got a question wrong (read too fast? misunderstood a question? second guessed yourself? etc.) so that you make that mistake less and less 🙂

I used TPR's practice exams to just show me what topics I needed work in rather than an actual score estimate so, try looking at it that way if you think it'll help! Best of luck 🙂
Click to expand...

I have a question about the TPR post-exam review that you did. How the heck did you get by with the test page closing due to "inactivity" every 5 minutes? It is so damn annoying when I am trying to review all the questions and the solutions.
 
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drbeat14 said:
@jimmypod its interesting your %was higher on the second half-maybe you got use to doing them and the % got better? Looks like you're doing great on CARS to me. 🙂
Click to expand...

Haha I'd love to think so, but the difficulty definitely adjusted in the second half. The answer choices were a lot easier to discern right/wrong, despite the passages themselves being of approximately equal difficulty to comprehend

@PooshBag Thanks for the words of encouragement! I hope I can finish this MCAT stage of my life with this test in September and then go back to focusing on some artwork. I've been drawing some cadavers this summer and it's making my illustration hand itch so hard...!!

@HopefulPilot Definitely one of the hardest/convoluted CARS sections for sure :C
 
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wavvvvvves123 said:
Take what I say with a grain of salt as it's simply just my own experience with the MCAT, but I got a 516 on the real exam while my TPR practice scores leading up to the test (took three practice tests about 2 weeks before the exam) were all between 500-503! So I want to say that you're in wonderful shape so far!!! I'd spend the next few weeks truly visualizing success and spending your study time just really zoning in on your weaknesses and turn those into your most confident topics!! And refine your test taking by always analyzing why you got a question wrong (read too fast? misunderstood a question? second guessed yourself? etc.) so that you make that mistake less and less 🙂

I used TPR's practice exams to just show me what topics I needed work in rather than an actual score estimate so, try looking at it that way if you think it'll help! Best of luck 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks!!!! That helps alot. Ever since the 29 i got I ve been reli scared to take it cause i dont want the score to come out mediocre again. I reli just need a 512 around 90th percentile, but it just makes worry that all the practice tests r coming out int the 70 ish!!( around the ame as my 29 xD)
 
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Chosey said:
Thanks!!!! That helps alot. Ever since the 29 i got I ve been reli scared to take it cause i dont want the score to come out mediocre again. I reli just need a 512 around 90th percentile, but it just makes worry that all the practice tests r coming out int the 70 ish!!( around the ame as my 29 xD)
Click to expand...
im in the exact same boat - got a 29 on my first exam and was avg much higher than that on the AAMC's before that so hoping this test goes a lot better. We have really similar Kaplan scores as well! Taking FL8 tomorrow :0
 
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sfkniner81 said:
im in the exact same boat - got a 29 on my first exam and was avg much higher than that on the AAMC's before that so hoping this test goes a lot better. We have really similar Kaplan scores as well! Taking FL8 tomorrow :0
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\0.0/ Good Luck!!!! i havent taken the AAMC FL yet, i want to cause I feel like Kaplan s harder than it needs to be, but then I wanted to save it to " predict" my score xD not sure if thats a good idea or not. Did u take the full length already? I just took FL 6 the day be4 yesterday and I only have 7 and 8 left for kaplan ( did the rest as sections) I just hope it gets beter from here on, not worse, feeelibg slightly burned out just sligtly. XD
 
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I need a word of advise. I'm taking the MCAT on September 3rd. So far, I've only completed 3 Kaplan FLs. As much as I'd like to solve many FLs by Test Day, I don't want to burn myself out and solve a FL every single day.

So far, my Kaplan scores have been as such.
FL1: 492 (I think this is an outlier because I hadn't completed content review at the time I conpleted it)
FL2: 504
FL3: 508

Would it be enough to solve 10 FLs in total? (3 Kaplan, 1 AAMC, and 6 others)? Amongst the 6, which combinations of EK, TPR, or NextStep would you recommend? I've heard EK are the best, but I just need to make sure.
 
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@jimmypod That is beautiful work! Do you do them all by hand or on a tablet or mixed? You guys should totally check out @jimmypod's artwork during a break!

I feel like the more studying I'm doing the more "creative" things I want to do as well! The more stimulated and busy my brain is-the more it seems to want to add stuff on! I miss playing music, my flute. I plan to reward myself after the MCAT by starting again. 🙂
 
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Alright this is my first post on here lol. Made an account just for this tbh. So I've seen a lot of people out there posting their TPR FL scores and the general responses have been that the TPR FLs are more difficult than the actual AAMC real exam. I've also heard the released AAMC practice FL is easier than the real thing. Can somebody validate these statements pls?

Onward, here are my scores on the TPR FLs:
TPR No.1 - 499
TPR No.2 - 502
TPR No.3 - 499
TPR No.4 - 506
TPR No.5 - 505
*TPR No.6 - 507
*TPR No.7 - 507

*These are TPR "Supplemental" Exams, whatever that may mean.

I take the exam on September 12 and am planning to have the remainder of the TPR FLs + released AAMC Exam + All AAMC question packs done by the week before the exam. Now, I go through periods of time throughout the day where I am content with these scores I am getting because I have been told that TPR exams are difficult. However, there are many times I feel that my scores aren't that good -even for TPR. I've basically been on a roller coaster of emotions, as I'm sure many others are on. So, I'm literally posting this to gain some feedback as to where it looks like I'm standing (23 days before the big day).

Tbh idk how this works lol, I'm a total noob at using forums and stuff.

Thanks!
 
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drbeat14 said:
@jimmypod That is beautiful work! Do you do them all by hand or on a tablet or mixed? You guys should totally check out @jimmypod's artwork during a break!

I feel like the more studying I'm doing the more "creative" things I want to do as well! The more stimulated and busy my brain is-the more it seems to want to add stuff on! I miss playing music, my flute. I plan to reward myself after the MCAT by starting again. 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you! I use a combination of both, and my process isn't exactly refined. How I approach every painting is very random, but I'm working to create an effective algorithm for commercial work. And I absolutely feel you there. Thankfully I can doodle on my scrap paper when I get that itch, but I can imagine that having to get out your flute to play during breaks is a little more difficult haha

---
Just finished the the first half (60Q) of the AAMC Physics Pack and scored 97%
 
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Kariim said:
Any idea if we can use CTRL+F during the MCAT? It makes CARS so much easier.
Click to expand...

Just take a 2 second browse through the questions prior to reading the passage, and write down a specific keyword onto your scrap paper if they want you to interpret it. Saves you the time, and it's basically a proactive ctrl+f 🙂
 
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update for anyone who cares lol, just did Kaplan FL8 and got a 505 (126 P/C, 126 CARS, 127 B/BC, 126 Psych/Soc).

feel like my scores are stagnating 🙁 , really wanting to get 510+ on my kaplan exams.
 
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PhysM said:
Does anyone know anything about the difficulty of TPR FLs in relation to the real thing?
Click to expand...

Well, I know the tests are pretty hard compared to the real thing. On the TPR Demo (diagnostic), I scored 503 (125/125/124/129). CARS was my strongest score on the AAMC FL (94%) but I got my ass handed to me on the Demo test on all sections but P/S. The P/S was super easy for some reason. On the AAMC FL, my P/S score was okay but nothing to celebrate over.
 
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Here's an update on my status because I'm sure you're all dying to know!:wacky:

Kaplan FL 1 taken a week and a half ago (before completing all content): 492 (124, 123, 123, 122)
Kaplan FL 2 taken today (most content review done): 497 (125, 124, 125, 123)

Did any of you notice a big jump in your recent Kaplan full length scores?

I know Kaplan adjusted their scoring scales which is scaring me a bit since I can't just resort to "Oh, Kaplan is harder than the real thing". My goal score is a 508. I will barely start doing practice passages this weekend after completing this fl review tonight/tomorrow.
 
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Hello. I have a question regarding Dispersion at the level of a slit-lens system.

In Kaplan Physics Review, it states that the position of the nth dark fringe is given by:
a.sin(theta) = n.labda

However, it doesn't make sense. In such a system, we should be getting a central bright fringe with alternating dark and bright fringes. However, if you take n=0 --> then theta=0, which would correspond to the central bright fringe (rather than a dark fringe).
 
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My score is not improving at all.. I am stuck at 490. Took the first 5 of the Kaplan tests. I haven't taken any of them under real test conditions. I wonder if that's the reason....It's really hard to be concentrated for that long!! Then I moved to AAMC materials. Got 68-70% on AAMC Bio review and 75% on Chem review.
Any suggestions?
 
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Hi all,

I am writing on Sept. 3rd and I just finished the AAMC FL and OG questions.

AAMC FL (Aug 18)
66% Chem/Phys
85% CARS
76% Bio/Biochem
90% Psych/Sosc

*I expected cars and p/s to be my better sections, still working through khan videos as my review for p/s and reviewing ek notes and supplementing with kaplan for physics/chem/bio/biochem review.

AAMC OG (Aug 21)
73% Chem/Phys
80% CARS
80% Bio/Biochem
80% Psych/Sosc

*I was not confident in bio/biochem, thought I did better in chem/phys than bio/biochem but results were different. Felt I did better in cars and p/s than results.

I plan on working through the Question Packs, doing a few more FLs for practicing the length and timing plus more targeted content review. I generally finish P/S with 10+ mins, CARS with 5+ mins and the other two sections just in time.

I find that the science passages--especially the bio/biochem ones tend to disorient me at times and basically I'm wondering what tips people have for reading the passages more efficiently and getting a better grasp of things so I can get more questions correct.

I know practice is key, but what else has helped you? Is there anything in the way that you approach passages, etc.?

Thanks!
 
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are AAMC question packs the same as old AAMC question back or they have added upgraded these? I am wondering if they can be taken again by the same username/password or only one attempt per login? I haven't bought them yet 🙁(

for practice tests, I'm doing EK and NS. Anyone take TBR NEW MCAT tests??
 
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Just finished the first AAMC Bio question pack. Got 82% right. Not sure if that is something to be happy or sad about?
 
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@orangeblue The AAMC question packs are a compilation of questions that have been pulled from the old AAMC exams that were released for practice for the old MCAT. I do not know how they compare to the old question packs, or how log in and attempts work.
 
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Dolly96 said:
Is there anyone taking the September MCAT applying this cycle?
Click to expand...
I think I will apply. Most DO schools will accept mcat from january so Sept is not too late for them. I will start with 3 schools and then add more depending on my score.
 
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Same for me, next cycle. I think I'm going to retake, If I'm honest with myself I don't really feel ready to take this exam in a few weeks even though I've been studying all summer. Which SUCKS but I'm becoming more okay with it every day. I'm going to keep studying and giving it my all though, no point in canceling anymore since it's too late to get money back (or time!) so I figured I might as well just take it as practice and void at the end if I feel the need.
Currently trying to not feel to down on myself or regretful that I 'wasted' my summer because it'll all be worth it the end right?
The feeling sucks now but some wasted months and multiple MCAT attempts will be nothing compared to being able to work your dream job one day.

So to anyone in the same position or anyone that'll have to retake, you're not alone!
 
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