September 2015 MCAT Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
DAF16

DAF16

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2015
Messages
53
Reaction score
22
Members do not see this ad.
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?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
misterwiggles said:
@El-Rami


Well I did some digging up. Apparently for a long time, they used to give your score right away but a lot of reported suicides were reported. They implemented a policy that makes students wait a month so their emotions calm down and they are more rational with their decisions post-hearing their score.
Click to expand...

ITS MY SCORE AND I WANT IT NOW!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
anyone have a good tutorial on calculating pka's.. for the AAMC sample (spoiler) I didnt know how to calcluate the charge of arginine 🙁.. without knowing the pka's
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
there was a psychology and sociology study guide on here and reddit but can't seem to find it now? any idea where it is or if someone can post it here please
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Msg me your email address. I'm not sure how to actually post it esp from my phone but I did d/l it last week. Printed it out today - it's huge.

Also I think Kham added some new videos since the person made the guide b/c some things aren't in there like the whole human develop section. Just FYI.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pediateix said:
there was a psychology and sociology study guide on here and reddit but can't seem to find it now? any idea where it is or if someone can post it here please
Click to expand...
I posted someone's KA notes. They did a pretty good job with everything:
WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot said:
A really nice person on reddit posted all of their Khan Academy notes. Scanning this should save you some time!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/comments/3i1yq5/all_psychologysociology_notes_from_khan_academy/

ETA: KA goes over everything in the outline, but previous test-takers have said they were still thrown terms and people they had never heard of (even 4th year Psych majors). So if that happens just stay calm and try to reason it out :luck:
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
^I keep waking up in the middle of the night in a panic about my score. I remind myself that what's done is done, it will unfortunately always be on my record, but hopefully it's not that bad. I know that sounds so much worse but it actually helps me go back to sleep!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LOL, I'm writing (probably), on the 23rd. I had a nightmare that my meanest high school teacher was proctoring the MCAT-seriously it's been ten years since high school for me, this is ridiculous!

Again, thank you everyone for advice about my AAMC FL, lol; taking everyone's advice about the timing and such the next few days. I'm going to continue to assume I am going to take it, and then spend 1 hour on Monday evening making a final decision. I'll update you all if anything interesting happens, ha.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
@drbeat14 - let your logic dictate your decision. There is no harm in not taking it. You have a LOT on your plate and if you decide to postpone until January, you already have a comrade in arms.

Let me know what I can do to help!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just took OG. P/C 83% CARS 80% B/B 67% P/S 67% I think I need to improve fundamental understanding of some concepts in B/B and P/S. Taking 23rd and hoping for 508 🙁
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think I've finally accepted my current state. The fact of the matter is that I am not in any shape to score well on the 23rd in my estimation. Not making excuses for myself, and I know everyone is different.

I started studying on August 3rd ( less than 7 weeks), and I don't feel prepared for the real exam yet. I really feel like I made the decision at the time to get it "over with" so that I wouldn't have to study in the fall for the MCAT.

Well, I was wrong guys. I'm aiming for a 510-514, and right now, I'm not close to being there. I've accepted that I will probably be taking this beast again in January, but I'm still going to work hard and give it my best shot next week.

The good thing is that I feel comfortable with the most of the material, but there are specific areas in Bio, Physics, Chem, Psychology, and Orgo that I've still yet to master. In addition, I still need to work on my timing with CARS passages along with experimental passages. Cheers to more studying (I guess)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
. I realized today that I've been approaching the exam mentally in the wrong way. I've pretty much let it consume and at times overwhelm me. I actually do enjoy studying and learning, but the seclusion, the stress, the time pressure, and difficulty of the mcat zapped my enthusiasm these past 6 weeks. I approached from the point of view that I'm only taking it once, and never again.

The more I've come to realize is that the process really is a marathon and not a sprint. So what if I have to study more in the fall? After all, as aspiring medical students and physicians, we have to get used to this lifestyle of constant studying. It's just the beginning of a long journey.

So mainly, I'm just planning on changing my day to day habits, and routines that revolve around studying.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
@dushash Those percentages aren't bad! As long as you get to review topics you don't feel comfortable with, you should be fine next week!

@QuentinT88 If it makes you feel any better, I don't think anyone feels prepared for taking the MCAT. I've been studying since June and I'm still not confident that I'll get my target score of 508 next week! At this point, it's all about stress and anxiety management, and figuring out how to stay focused so we can do our best on Wednesday.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just took the AAMC FL and scored a predicted 505.... how well does this compare to the actual? Taking it on the 23rd
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Podman16 said:
Just took the AAMC FL and scored a predicted 505.... how well does this compare to the actual? Taking it on the 23rd
Click to expand...

According to the guys in the August thread, ~90% of the data points in the AAMC predictor spreadsheet scored within the "Narrow" range. Based on that, you might score whatever your "narrow" range is.
Keep in mind that's just statistics though...obviously not set in stone. My predicted was 506 i'd honestly be happy with anywhere near that range.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Going over the FL now and not understanding one of the questions...

#49 in C/P shows the structure of pantothenate and it has a carboxylic acid group which would be negatively charged at phys pH. Then it asks what AA is likely to be found in the enzyme active site to stabilize pantothenate, and the answer is...aspartate?!?! Wouldn't that be a clashing of negative charges? Can't figure out why one negatively charged carboxyl group would stabilize another. Went back to the passage to see if there was anything funky I was missing and couldn't find anything. I picked arginine thinking using a positively charged residue to stabilize a negatively charged substrate.

???

The crazy thing is, I went back to my notes of when I first took the AAMC FL (in April) and apparently I had no issue with this question the first time around. Feel like I'm just missing something on that question this time around. Any thoughts?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RaspberrySlushy said:
Going over the FL now and not understanding one of the questions...

#49 in C/P shows the structure of pantothenate and it has a carboxylic acid group which would be negatively charged at phys pH. Then it asks what AA is likely to be found in the enzyme active site to stabilize pantothenate, and the answer is...aspartate?!?! Wouldn't that be a clashing of negative charges? Can't figure out why one negatively charged carboxyl group would stabilize another. Went back to the passage to see if there was anything funky I was missing and couldn't find anything. I picked arginine thinking using a positively charged residue to stabilize a negatively charged substrate.

???

The crazy thing is, I went back to my notes of when I first took the AAMC FL (in April) and apparently I had no issue with this question the first time around. Feel like I'm just missing something on that question this time around. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I answered it reading the last sentence of the passage that says "stabilization is achieved by OH group of pantothenate and a carboxylate group of PanK3". So i just chose the amino acid that would give the carboxylate group.
Perhaps we're not supposed to assume pantothenate would be negatively charged at phys pH? :shrug: The earlier question in the passage where we had to figure out the charge of pantothenate outright stated "to find the charge at pH 7". This one didn't so i just i assumed i'll go by the last sentence of the passage.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The answer to this question is based on reading the sentence in the last paragraph about a carboxylate group stabilizing the C-2 and C-4 hydroxyl groups of pantothenate. It may seem counter intuitive initially, but if you think about it the substrate will stretch along the entire active site. The negatively charged side of it could definitely be interacting with a positively charged amino acid, but it may also not. It could also interact with another small molecule that makes it neutral, and will thus be surrounded by nonpolar amino acids. The passages doesn't really mention anything about that. On the other hand, the passage clearly states data showing that the other side of the substrate interacts with a carboxylate group, so you gotta go with Asp.

RaspberrySlushy said:
Going over the FL now and not understanding one of the questions...

#49 in C/P shows the structure of pantothenate and it has a carboxylic acid group which would be negatively charged at phys pH. Then it asks what AA is likely to be found in the enzyme active site to stabilize pantothenate, and the answer is...aspartate?!?! Wouldn't that be a clashing of negative charges? Can't figure out why one negatively charged carboxyl group would stabilize another. Went back to the passage to see if there was anything funky I was missing and couldn't find anything. I picked arginine thinking using a positively charged residue to stabilize a negatively charged substrate.

???

The crazy thing is, I went back to my notes of when I first took the AAMC FL (in April) and apparently I had no issue with this question the first time around. Feel like I'm just missing something on that question this time around. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Thank you!! I knew I had to be missing something! I just kept rereading the question and the first paragraph where it talked about pantothenate and PANK3.

Good reminder that the answer IS in the passage and if you don't find it in one spot, keep looking.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
isnt chloride ion smaller than a sodium ion? AAMC question D:? i thought it goes smaller from left to right ;(?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dahmsom said:
isnt chloride ion smaller than a sodium ion? AAMC question D:? i thought it goes smaller from left to right ;(?
Click to expand...

Na+ ions are smaller than Cl- ions.
Chlorine atoms are smaller than Sodium atoms based on the atomic radius trend (what you're thinking of).

I got this wrong too:annoyed:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RaspberrySlushy said:
Thank you!! I knew I had to be missing something! I just kept rereading the question and the first paragraph where it talked about pantothenate and PANK3.

Good reminder that the answer IS in the passage and if you don't find it in one spot, keep looking.
Click to expand...
I remember I did literally the exact same thing as you, and after I went back noticed I just didn't read the passage carefully enough, just like someone else mentioned :cat:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It's the same atomic radius trend that you know. What's tricky is that Na is different from Na+. Na+'s electron configuration is 1s2 2s2 2p6, so its atomic radius is more similar to Ne, than solid Na. On the other hand, Cl-'s electron configuration is [Ne]3s2 3p6, making it more like Ar than just plain old Cl. Now, based on the periodic trend for atomic radius, when you move down a group, atomic radius increases. Thus, something like Ne will be smaller than Ar, and Na+ will be smaller than Cl-.

dahmsom said:
LOL SON OF A @#$#@ what the trends for ions then ??
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1442551640.958795.jpg
how do you determine phosphates hydroxyl group pka? ? At ph 7 it's deprotonated really??? im having trouble figuring out the Pkas of carboxylic acids that are not amino acids
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I would assume a carb acid is deprotonated at phys pH. I think that's a pretty safe bet b/c their pKas are low.

As for phosphates, I just always leaned in biochem that they're deprotonated at phys pH. And it makes some sense. There is so much resonance for the negative charges.

So basically I'd assume carb acids and phosphates are deprotonated at phys pH.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
i've notice the new mcat is heavily reading experiment passages and interpreting data. does anyone know a good scientific journal besides pub med where you could read data that is similar to the mcat?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Also someone posted a good mnemonic somewhere where you could memorize the letter of the amino acids easily 🙁.. did anyone have that?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Try and find the Khan passages that have experimental passages instead. Unless you've been reading journals consistently for a long time, reading them now would take too long and take up time that you could use to review topics you are weak on and to do practice problems.

dahmsom said:
i've notice the new mcat is heavily reading experiment passages and interpreting data. does anyone know a good scientific journal besides pub med where you could read data that is similar to the mcat?
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Besides AAMC FL and OG - what P/S passages can I take in the last remaining couple of days? Closest to the real thing that is. Thanks.

P.S. Does anyone have a link to B/B doc file with all the terminology etc from Khan or elsewhere, similar to that of P/S that was posted earlier?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dushash said:
Besides AAMC FL and OG - what P/S passages can I take in the last remaining couple of days? Closest to the real thing that is. Thanks.

P.S. Does anyone have a link to B/B doc file with all the terminology etc from Khan or elsewhere, similar to that of P/S that was posted earlier?
Click to expand...

Khan Academy is decent for B/B and Psych, they also have CARS. Physics on khan is sketchy imo. I also have old AAMC Verbal in PDF, if u want the extra practice
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey everyone!

I have been following this thread and want to introduce myself as a fellow test taker. My TPR scores have been consistently between 498-502 which has been very discouraging (6 in total). My friends all did significantly better on their real test than their TPR tests. At this point (in life in general), I will not be recommending TPR. I thought it was great until I saw what Khan Academy offers. I love Khan and just wish I had found it sooner and they are free!

I did better (I think? who knows?) on the official full length but also ran out of time for the first section. By a lot. I felt crunched on Bio too, but I finished CARS and P/S with 10-30 minutes left over. Very frustrating. Also --- no calculator !!!!!😵

I was so surprised and disappointed to see that they did not provide an actual score for the full length and it just reminded me again that we are coming at this at a unique time. No official tests to practice from that provide real scores - didn't they spend years preparing this new test? Many people say "don't take the test until you are ready." But this year, how are we supposed to know if we are ready?

Overall though I enjoyed the full length. It was the first time I saw just how different this test is from the last one.

While looking for research things to read, I found this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25850120

"All permutations of MCAT scores (first, last, highest, average) were weakly associated with GPA, Step 2 clinical knowledge scores, and Step 3 scores. MCAT scores were weakly to moderately associated with Step 1 scores. MCAT scores were not significantly associated with Step 2 clinical skills Integrated Clinical Encounter and Communication and Interpersonal Skills subscores, Objective Structured Clinical Examination performance or PGY-1 PD evaluations."

I was shocked to read that. I really hope this new test does better. I think it will.
Mostly though, I just want to say thank you to everyone on here who has been so helpful and encouraging :highfive:.

Thank you!
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
dahmsom said:
i've notice the new mcat is heavily reading experiment passages and interpreting data. does anyone know a good scientific journal besides pub med where you could read data that is similar to the mcat?
Click to expand...

EK pretty much pulls most of their experimental passages from PLoS One. Since many have said EK is very similar to the real deal, reading that journal may be helpful.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Spoiler alert: Khan academy Bio question
upload_2015-9-18_16-5-26.png


I picked the 3rd option, thinking that since nucleotides are being deleted, we must've had frameshift mutation as opposed to Point mutation..causing the protein translated to be faulty. But the right answer is the 1st option.
I feel like i'm missing something big here 😱
 

Attachments

  • upload_2015-9-18_16-4-50.png
    upload_2015-9-18_16-4-50.png
    61.9 KB · Views: 58
Upvote 0 Downvote
torontopharm said:
I picked the 3rd option, thinking that since nucleotides are being deleted, we must've had frameshift mutation as opposed to Point mutation..causing the protein translated to be faulty. But the right answer is the 1st option.
I feel like i'm missing something big here 😱
Click to expand...

ex:
original sequence (made-up)
AUCGAUCGAUCG
original codons
AUC GAU CGA UCG
point mutation:
AUC CAU CGA UCG
frameshift mutation:
AUC AUC GAU CG

deleting a multiple of 3 would not affect the codons before or after, therefore framework mutation explicitly refers to deletion of # of nucleotides NOT divisible by 3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frameshift_mutation
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I'm a bit confused on aamc FL B/B #33: it asks "The info in the passage supports the hypothesis that which type of filament is involved in the transport of var genes from heterchromatin to the active var gene expression type?"

They said the answer is microfilaments because the passage discusses the role of actin and actin filaments are microfilaments. I chose "sarcomere thin filaments"
Can't actin also be used as sarcomere thin filaments as well? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ljree1613 said:
I'm a bit confused on aamc FL B/B #33: it asks "The info in the passage supports the hypothesis that which type of filament is involved in the transport of var genes from heterchromatin to the active var gene expression type?"

They said the answer is microfilaments because the passage discusses the role of actin and actin filaments are microfilaments. I chose "sarcomere thin filaments"
Can't actin also be used as sarcomere thin filaments as well? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
sarcomeres have to do with muscles and there is no mention of muscle- my reason for not choosing that answer
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mjo9943
MCAT Advice
Replies
2
Views
3K
Janilla
J
M
Should I retake the MCAT?
Replies
5
Views
2K
Dral
Dral
LMAGZ
MCAT Advice
Replies
2
Views
2K
Rachapkis
Rachapkis
M
MCAT 516 - need advice
Replies
2
Views
742
wysdoc
wysdoc
S
MCAT Study Buddy Houston
Replies
0
Views
1K
scubaanj
S
Top