September 2015 MCAT Thread

[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?

 

[Jennzilla]

Hmm I can't decide whether to take the AAMC FL on Wednesday (I have one class on Wednesday from 2-3, so I'll have to cut the test short and resume it once class is finished, but this will give me more time to review weak areas that I got wrong on the AAMC Fl) or on Saturday (no interruptions, more time to review any content/notes before taking the AAMC FL, but less time to review weak areas). I can't take the AAMC FL on either Thursday or Friday because I have classes from morning to 3pm.

I write on 9/12.
Please help me, my potential future co-workers. 😕

 

[BluMist]

just tried AAMC FL today, looks unbalanced, and I need to do more content review in bio ... 😕

%: 76/91/64/78
translates roughly to 127/131/124/127
~509 using the spreadsheet (using bio scale for psych section)

 

[dahmsom]

September mcat friends .. Do we need to memorize amino acids fate?? Thank you

 

[Biswas]

Alright, posting again cuz no one replied to my first post :/
Have some more results tho so hoping y'all can help me out!

Aiming for 510+

Results:
TPR 1 - 499
TPR 2 - 502
TPR 3 - 499
TPR 4 - 506
TPR 5 - 505
TPR Complete 1 - 507
TPR Complete 2 - 507
TPR Complete 3 - 504
TPR Demo - 504
AAMC FL - 75%/72%/86%/83% (messed up badly on Chem/Phys :/ )
Bio 1 Q Pack - 84%
Bio 2 Q Pack - 74%
Chem Q Pack - 86%
Physics Q Pack - 84%

Still gotta do the CARS. Btw I'm not really that good at CARS (as you can tell by the 72%!). On the TPRs my CARS scores have been 124-126, never higher. Really don't know how to improve, hoping that these last weeks of practice will get me to a 126 on the real one! But please, what are my chances at a 510? Thanks!

 

[swollcat]

Alright, posting again cuz no one replied to my first post :/
Have some more results tho so hoping y'all can help me out!

Aiming for 510+

Results:
TPR 1 - 499
TPR 2 - 502
TPR 3 - 499
TPR 4 - 506
TPR 5 - 505
TPR Complete 1 - 507
TPR Complete 2 - 507
TPR Complete 3 - 504
TPR Demo - 504
AAMC FL - 75%/72%/86%/83% (messed up badly on Chem/Phys :/ )
Bio 1 Q Pack - 84%
Bio 2 Q Pack - 74%
Chem Q Pack - 86%
Physics Q Pack - 84%

Still gotta do the CARS. Btw I'm not really that good at CARS (as you can tell by the 72%!). On the TPRs my CARS scores have been 124-126, never higher. Really don't know how to improve, hoping that these last weeks of practice will get me to a 126 on the real one! But please, what are my chances at a 510? Thanks!

Whens your test?

 

[Kariim]

Based on what I've heard from my friends who did actually take the real thing:

1. They all agreed that the AAMC FL is definitely easier than the real thing.
2. Some said Kaplan/TPR were easier than the real thing. Others said they were more difficult. Others said that they're incomparable due to completely different formats.

I don't know how to feel considering that I've only solved Kaplan and TPR FLs.

 

[Kariim]

View attachment 195672

September mcat friends .. Do we need to memorize amino acids fate?? Thank you

I'd say yes. It's not really that difficult anyways.

Step 1 is always deamination. Amino group is converted into urea at the level of the liver via the urea cycle.
The remaining carbon skeleton can feed into either ketogenesis or gluconeogenesis.
If the R group is neutral/acidic, it feeds into ketogenesis or gluconeogenesis.
If the R group is basic, it is converted to urea.

Glucogenic amino acids are all except for those whose name starts with an L (Leucine and Lysine).
I personally did not memorize what the ketogenic amino acids are.
Note than an amino acid may be exclusively ketogenic, exclusively gluconeogenic, or both keto- and gluconeogenic.

 

[geronimo11]

Supposed to be taking a FL today soon, planning to start at 9 but really feel like I would rather be doing review of notes and passages. but I've only taken 5 FLs so far and that doesn't seem like enough... sigh

 

[Jennzilla]

If you would rather review content and passages, then do that instead if that will boost your confidence. No one is forcing you to take 5 million FLs.

 

[Kariim]

I just completed Bio1 of the Q packs. I'm really disappointed. Although I got 91% (11 mistakes), more than half of them were due to not properly reading the question and answers, and they could've been easily avoided. I guess I'd probably be more focused doing the real thing though.

 

[geronimo11]

If you would rather review content and passages, then do that instead if that will boost your confidence. No one is forcing you to take 5 million FLs.

Did just that! Definitely makes me feel more in control/confident, should of thought of this before I spent the $50 on EK but oh well 😛

@Kariim That's an excellent excellent excellent score. Fretting over something so positive is only going to add un-needed negativity in your life, most of your mistakes seem easily fixable and you'll be much more focused on test day. Focus on the positive, you have lots of it!

 

[jimmypod]

Literally what is the EK 101 verbal book. I have never seen such a dense collection of trick questions designed so that mistakes were so commonplace ._.

I guess it's time to read even more meticulously. GAAAHHHH

Very annoying.

EDIT: Perhaps it's a better idea to just use the old AAMC tests for verbal practice... with 2 weeks left the EK 101 might not even be worth it in comparison. Thoughts?

 

[Biswas]

Whens your test?

Sept 12!

 

[Biswas]

Biswas, those are good scores. Stay relaxed and knock it out of the park.

For CARS, I've heard many people suggest the ek method/book

Alright! I bought the EK CARS book in May but stopped doing passages lol. I just don't like CARS.

 

[orgogogo]

Is it me or is TPR CARS just generally more difficult than the CARS presented by other test prep companies...

I hope this is true... I've been primarily using TPR and can't seem to ever score higher than 126 on the CARS section of their FLs...

For anyone who has taken the AAMC FL already, which test prep company's CARS passage are most similar?

 

[torontopharm]

Is it me or is TPR CARS just generally more difficult than the CARS presented by other test prep companies...

It's difficult in a good way though i think. It's not Kaplan difficult where i was asked more detail-oriented questions rather than the big picture questions. Gonna try EK once i'm done the TPR verbal workbook.

 

[Gibbward]

Hey everyone! Just finished the NS FL1 and I got a surprising 508 (127/125/128/128). I'm incredibly dubious with this score though just because a the raw score for each section were around even or even lower than what I was getting for TPR, but the percentile score was higher... I got absolutely destroyed in the C/P (raw score of 61%) because the questions were so math heavy, unlike TPR. Also, CARS was just a blood bath today... It's discouraging too since I've been doing really well with the AAMC Q-Packs, but I just can't seem to get over the hump when I'm doing FLs. Blegh... But will review this tonight, touch up on my weaknesses during the week, and then take the AAMC FL next Sunday! It's close to crunch time, and I'm getting pretty nervous ahh!!!

And to those who hit a rough patch recently (in one way or another), my thoughts are with you. Just gotta keep pushing through, and it'll all be worth the trouble in the end!

 

[Ad2b]

@Gibbward - rough patch is truth! lol - plugging away but really distracted. 🙁

 

[sfkniner81]

wooooooof this bio 1 qpack is getting me on stupid mistakes! so frustrating

 

[PooshBag]

Finished chem pack 1. 93%. Hopefully this is representative of something at all.

 

[sfkniner81]

Finished chem pack 1. 93%. Hopefully this is representative of something at all.

awesome job!!

 

[El-Rami]

TPR Complete 1 CARS was horrible. Not all of the passages were bad (they were easy), but there were a couple that I felt were difficult to understand at all. I ended up finishing the last question of the block within the final 20 seconds. Glad to see that there's some consensus that TPR FL CARS tends to be on the difficult side.

 

[sfkniner81]

wooooooof this bio 1 qpack is getting me on stupid mistakes! so frustrating

ended up finishing with an 80% on Bio 1 Qpack (did much better in the second half of the questions). still so frustrating to see dumb mistakes - usually bio is my strongest subject! :/

 

[El-Rami]

Just got 506 (127/125/126/128) on TPR Complete 1.

 

[waitaminute]

Finished chem pack 1. 93%. Hopefully this is representative of something at all.

Me too! I would be ecstatic if the real thing was anything like the Qpack 🙂

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

I hope this is true... I've been primarily using TPR and can't seem to ever score higher than 126 on the CARS section of their FLs...

For anyone who has taken the AAMC FL already, which test prep company's CARS passage are most similar?

I found both EK 101 and TPRHL helpful for CARS, but neither of them were representative IMO. You can still learn the proper techniques from them, don't get me wrong, but the AAMC questions were different. The Qpacks are the most representative of the AAMC FL.

 

[swollcat]

Does anyone have an opinion on Berkeley Review and Kaplan's full lengths? I'm currently enrolled in the Princeton Review class and the exams are not very representative of the heavy research based, cause and effect type of questions this new test is apparently known for. Don't get me wrong; I'm still doing their FL's because of their emphasis on content, but something more critical would be nice.

 

[sfkniner81]

was determined to do better on Bio 2 qpack and finished with a 92%. went a little too fast at times but happy to have a good result 🙂

hope everyone's studies are going well! I've been putting classes on the back burner a bit

 

[El-Rami]

was determined to do better on Bio 2 qpack and finished with a 92%. went a little too fast at times but happy to have a good result 🙂

hope everyone's studies are going well! I've been putting classes on the back burner a bit

Don't worry too much about your classes; they'll turn out fine. I know that I am very type-A with my classes and try to put in 120% effort, but studying for the MCAT makes me realize that there are things you need to prioritize over other things. Putting in less energy into your classes isn't a huge deal as long as you can get your assignments done and try to give your professors the impression that you give a damn.

 

[dahmsom]

how is bio 2 question pack.. is it reused OLD AAMC test questions?. cause bio question 1 pack is reused question ive seen when prepping for the old mcat...lol .noone has answered me on the forum yet

 

[Kariim]

Just completed the Chem Q pack.

Did AAMC choose extremely easy questions, or was this the actual difficulty level of the old MCAT?

 

[ChrisMack390]

Just completed the Chem Q pack.

Did AAMC choose extremely easy questions, or was this the actual difficulty level of the old MCAT?

The chem pack was strangely easy right? Much more than the bio, phys, or cars ones...

 

[Kariim]

The chem pack was strangely easy right? Much more than the bio, phys, or cars ones...

It was way too easy. I didn't even have to read the passage for most questions.
Kind of makes me sad to see how easy it was to get a really high score on the old MCAT vs. the current MCAT. Should've been born a year earlier.

 

[orgogogo]

@HopefulPilot @brenasuarus Thanks! I'm planning to do the qpacks this week so I'll see how it goes...

 

[swollcat]

It was way too easy. I didn't even have to read the passage for most questions.
Kind of makes me sad to see how easy it was to get a really high score on the old MCAT vs. the current MCAT. Should've been born a year earlier.

More like born 15 years earlier. I took AAMC 3-11 aka the Q packs and they were nothing like the real thing given in 2014 (except for maybe to an extent AAMC 11). Those questions that you just completed were from MCAT's given over 10 years ago. Word has it that AAMC 3 was a test administered in the late 90's/early 00's....

AAMC 2015 FL is and will always be king until the second one is released in the fall. To answer the question if there ever was one - ya the test was definitely easier back in the day in that it was more or less a memory dump/calculation free-for-all than the critical thinking beast it is today.

 

[Gibbward]

@Ad2b You got this my friend! Slow and steady until you get back to your usual rhythm! Or I guess as slow as your test date will allow haha

 

[FutureD.O]

I am going to be asking a few questions regarding the aamc to people who have completed it! DON'T LOOK if you haven't completed the aamc fl!

For #7 on the c/p section, how is sodium smaller than chloride/chlorine? Doesn't the size decrease as you move up and to the right of the p table?

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

I am going to be asking a few questions regarding the aamc to people who have completed it! DON'T LOOK if you haven't completed the aamc fl!

For #7 on the c/p section, how is sodium smaller than chloride/chlorine? Doesn't the size decrease as you move up and to the right of the p table?

That question tripped me up. Draw out the electron configuration for sodium ion and chloride ion - you'll find that sodium is more like Ne in size due to the loss of an electron, and chloride is more like Ar due to gaining an electron. Thus Na+ is essentially a whole period higher than the chloride ion, and the periodic trend makes sense.

 

[FutureD.O]

I actually remember doing a BR passage with a similar question and just went and reviewed that. @brenasuarus had the right approach, I had just completely let that info slide over the past couple months! @HopefulPilot haha! I find simple tricks (even if they aren't entirely correct) like yours always help me! I am surprised that I didn't think of that myself.

Can someone explain number #52 for c/p? The equation is E=hf ( and I got the answer correct, but when going over it I am not sure what I did the the value of e=1.6x10^-19 C), and you make it f=E/h. My issue is I don't know what I did with the e value to properly plug and chug values..in other words I don't know how I derived E from e.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Considering doing the same. I wasn't surprised by my first FL score last week - Kaplan FL 1, 494 - but it was still disheartening to see 31%ile... and it took me forever to review because I was deficient in so many areas. The deadline to reschedule is Monday so I'm taking a FL today and one Sunday so I have more data before deciding!

Well, I've decided not to reschedule because I realized the only way out is through. I got a job (yay! after 8 months unemployed), and they were great in letting me have the next two weeks to study before starting; it would have been weird/flaky to tell them I was postponing and suddenly ask for a Wednesday off. I got 500 on Kaplan FL2 so that's encouraging. I just need to keep working and believe that I can really do this.

I found myself fantasizing this morning having each section test on different days. It is just really jarring to go from focal lengths and galvanic cells to analyzing a critique of so-and-so's synthesis of blahblahblah in 10 minutes!

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

I actually remember doing a BR passage with a similar question and just went and reviewed that. @brenasuarus had the right approach, I had just completely let that info slide over the past couple months! @HopefulPilot haha! I find simple tricks (even if they aren't entirely correct) like yours always help me! I am surprised that I didn't think of that myself.

Can someone explain number #52 for c/p? The equation is E=hf ( and I got the answer correct, but when going over it I am not sure what I did the the value of e=1.6x10^-19 C), and you make it f=E/h. My issue is I don't know what I did with the e value to properly plug and chug values..in other words I don't know how I derived E from e.

Treat e (electrons) just like you would any other unit. This problem is pure dimensional analysis.

E = hf --> f = E/h.

Cool, you have h but you don't have E (but you know the units are Joules, since it's energy. Even if you didn't know this, check the units on h - you need to end up with Hz, since your answer is a frequency).
All you have is electron-volts, but you know that a Volt = J/C, so you have eJ/C. Thus you need to multiply by C/e to get Joules. They give you the handy value of 1.6x10^-19 C/electron. There you go, plug and chug:

140KeV = 140,000eV = 140,000eJ/C

E = (eJ/C)(C/e) = Joules
E = (140,000eJ/C)(1.6x10^-19C/e) = 2.24x10^-14 J

Let me know if I can clarify any of this. This is how my mind works (always dimensional analysis - it'll always get you the right answer!), but it doesn't work for everyone.

 

[GoljansRightBicep]

This is not right. eV is 1.6 x 10^-19 Joules. You should have this memorized. Easy, same as electron charge but in Joules.

I think they put the charge constant in as a friendly reminder. You don't need it to solve the problem.

You just have to multiply 140 KeV by eV charge. Divide by h. That's it.

Also, even if you didn't notice the KeV vs eV, the choices were kind enough to be so far apart that you would still get the question right.

I agree, 1eV = 1.6 x 10^-19 Joules. However, you did not need to have that memorized to solve this problem (if you did, good for you because it was a mega-shortcut. However, dimensional analysis will get you there as well). The AAMC is telling you that you don't need to have this value memorized since they give you the fundamental charge of an electron.

While my answer may be the long way, it's not wrong that I can tell (if you see an error, let me know though). It gives you the exact answer, and units cancel perfectly.

 

[oompaloompadoompadeedo]

Testing Thursday... any last minute tips/things to review? Mnemonics, high yield topics...?

 

[ChrisMack390]

Can we avoid posting practice exam spoilers in here? There are other threads and forums for questions like that...

 

[Kariim]

Is it just me, or do the Physics Q banks contain material that is beyond the scope of MCAT 2015?

 

[Kariim]

It feels like nothing is beyond the scope of the MCAT...

They're too difficult compared to Bio and chem.

EDIT: I just finished physics. I surprisingly did the majority of the questions that I actually solved correctly. The only problem is that there are a couple of passages that I simply can't process for some reason. Maybe that's why it seemed so difficult at first.

 

[Lurid]

I had a breakdown after scoring a 498 on the NS Diagnostic and 497 on TPR 1. Spent the next two weeks with more content review and just scored a 508 on NS 1. Sooo relieved.

 

[californiamed]

random, but is https://services.aamc.org/20/mcat/ and the aamc websites down for anyone? they've been down since the morning =/

 

[younggunner94]

I just finished the aamc practice FL, Ill post my scores on the practice tests Ive taken below...

TPR1-7 501,502,498,503,505,506,506
EK3 (only did C/P and B/B) C/P:66% B/BC: 75%
AAMC OG: (c/p-cars-b/bc-p/s) 25-25-23-24
AAMC FL - 73%/89%/80%/83%

Where does this FL put me at? Im supposed to write on the 3rd (THURSDAY!), and Im hoping to have some idea of where Im sitting at right now... I was hoping to get 510+, am I near that range..?

Thanks!

 

[oompaloompadoompadeedo]

Has anyone done the Kaplan "Chapter X Passage Based Questions" LOL so hard