September test-takers' thread

[RoadRunner17]

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Less than three weeks until the first September test (the 7th). How are preparations coming along? What are your plans for the coming weeks leading up to the big day? Comments, concerns, practice scores and advice welcome in this thread. 👍

 

[axlaxl1]

I have one question. Anyone taking this for the third time?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Finished all My major reviewing with examkrackers and Kaplan

Practice scores in order taken
GS 1 8 PS 9VR 8 BS 25 Total
AAMC 3 9 11 10 30
AAMC 4 10 9 11 30
GS 2 8 8 10 26
AAMC 5 10 10 11 31
GS 3 10 8 11 29
GS 4 8 12 9 29
Kaplan 1 11 10 11 32
Kaplan 2 10 10 10 30
GS 5 10 8 10 28
AAMC 6 12 11 12 35 !!!! wooohooo this is my goal
Kaplan 3 11 10 12 33 1 ? in each section away from a 36
gs 6 10 9 10 29


So obviously the GS exams are much harder, but judging by the recent posts from the july and august MCAT takers they are probably much easier than the exams they sat for. So I really dont know what to think. Im pretty happy with my last few AAMC and Kaplan tests, and I pray that I can score within that range on the real one, but only time will tell!!!! good luck everyone!!!!😀

 

[RoadRunner17]

Not a lot of September test takers reading SDN this time of the month. Looks like we have some hard workers here! I'm just as uncertain as you guys are about the upcoming MCAT.

Started reviewing 7/7/07

Kaplan FL1: 12PS, 13VR, 12BS, 81% (diag of sorts after a week of Kaplan's Comprehensive Review, this one was in the back of said book)
AAMC CBT3: 12PS, 11VR, 12BS, 87%

After two weeks of intensive review... started taking practice tests 8/9/07

Kaplan FL5: 12PS, 12VR, 12BS, 81%
Kaplan FL?: 11PS, 12VR, 13BS, 84%
(this was the first FL from the Kaplan Practice tests book, can't ID it)
Kaplan FL2: 14PS, 13VR, 14BS, 89%
Kaplan FL6: 13PS, 12VR, 12BS, 81%
Kaplan FL7: 13PS, 13VR, 12BS, 84%

Most recent one, this past Monday:
AAMC 4R: 12PS, 12VR, 13BS, 92%

Comments: My main issue is eliminating those mistakes that are really dumb, in hindsight. Those mistakes usually are because I failed to make a connection between something in the passage and base knowledge, not because I didn't understand the information at hand. I also think I browse SDN too much. Also, I am just about to subscribe to the school of thought that there is little difference in terms of raw scores in determining whether you get closer to a 10 or to a 15, especially on the AAMCs. And that worries me some, but the only thing one can do is to continue to hone test-taking skills as well as proper pacing. It helps to have relatively consistent scores here as well.

Will probably end up doing AAMC 5R-7R, and CBTs 8-10 at a pace of one every other day before the test. I don't think I'll take Kaplan FLs 8-11, but perhaps I'll work on the science sections on off-days. That's the plan for now. I don't think I'll finish the entire TPR science workbook (have done all of physics, 1/4 of biology and 1/4 of gen chem), but perhaps use them as a resource to work on any weaknesses that I identify from exams from this point on. I haven't gotten around to doing the TBR Orgo books, but given the results of Kaplan FL7 (I had some difficulty with Orgo 2 topic-related passages), I will probably at least read the chapters on carbonyls, carbohydrates and lab techniques and work out some problems. At this point, I am not sure what else I can do to prepare outside of working through practice tests, which seem to mainly establish consistency. Suggestions welcome.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Road Runner, Looks to me like your doing super well, what with scores of 37+. I have read that once you get that high scoring higher is all a matter of luck, with whether you get topics your strong in, make a lucky guess here and there. I am pretty confident that your gonna place in the top 5 %.


Does anyone have any suggestions for me to move me up from the 11s and into the 12s and up, how do i make sure to get that extra 1 and 2 questions right? thank you

And good luck all with your mcat!!!

 

[Psychotropic]

I have one question. Anyone taking this for the third time?

Right here, buddy. My sciences are at about a 12/13 level and I'm currently hovering around 10/11 for verbal (from practice tests). I'm trying to make sure I can keep up a double digit verbal score. Currently applying to med schools.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Your retaking a 33??? Well I guess its up to you, but if you do figure out that key let me know!!! good luck in a few weeks

 

[MunnaMBBS]

Not a lot of September test takers reading SDN this time of the month. Looks like we have some hard workers here! I'm just as uncertain as you guys are about the upcoming MCAT.

Started reviewing 7/7/07

Kaplan FL1: 12PS, 13VR, 12BS, 81% (diag of sorts after a week of Kaplan's Comprehensive Review, this one was in the back of said book)
AAMC CBT3: 12PS, 11VR, 12BS, 87%

After two weeks of intensive review... started taking practice tests 8/9/07

Kaplan FL5: 12PS, 12VR, 12BS, 81%
Kaplan FL?: 11PS, 12VR, 13BS, 84%
(this was the first FL from the Kaplan Practice tests book, can't ID it)
Kaplan FL2: 14PS, 13VR, 14BS, 89%
Kaplan FL6: 13PS, 12VR, 12BS, 81%
Kaplan FL7: 13PS, 13VR, 12BS, 84%

Most recent one, this past Monday:
AAMC 4R: 12PS, 12VR, 13BS, 92%

Comments: My main issue is eliminating those mistakes that are really dumb, in hindsight. Those mistakes usually are because I failed to make a connection between something in the passage and base knowledge, not because I didn't understand the information at hand. I also think I browse SDN too much. Also, I am just about to subscribe to the school of thought that there is little difference in terms of raw scores in determining whether you get closer to a 10 or to a 15, especially on the AAMCs. And that worries me some, but the only thing one can do is to continue to hone test-taking skills as well as proper pacing. It helps to have relatively consistent scores here as well.

Will probably end up doing AAMC 5R-7R, and CBTs 8-10 at a pace of one every other day before the test. I don't think I'll take Kaplan FLs 8-11, but perhaps I'll work on the science sections on off-days. That's the plan for now. I don't think I'll finish the entire TPR science workbook (have done all of physics, 1/4 of biology and 1/4 of gen chem), but perhaps use them as a resource to work on any weaknesses that I identify from exams from this point on. I haven't gotten around to doing the TBR Orgo books, but given the results of Kaplan FL7 (I had some difficulty with Orgo 2 topic-related passages), I will probably at least read the chapters on carbonyls, carbohydrates and lab techniques and work out some problems. At this point, I am not sure what else I can do to prepare outside of working through practice tests, which seem to mainly establish consistency. Suggestions welcome.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

HEY ROADRUNNER your doing really good man, keep it up. I was wondering if you applied KAPLAN or EK techniques for verbal? i cant get my verbal up man. i would greatly appriciate your response.

Thanks
and Good luck on 7th.

 

[jdla]

Are you guys applying this cycle or next?

 

[RoadRunner17]

Road Runner, Looks to me like your doing super well, what with scores of 37+. I have read that once you get that high scoring higher is all a matter of luck, with whether you get topics your strong in, make a lucky guess here and there. I am pretty confident that your gonna place in the top 5 %.


Does anyone have any suggestions for me to move me up from the 11s and into the 12s and up, how do i make sure to get that extra 1 and 2 questions right? thank you

And good luck all with your mcat!!!

Appreciate the good words. I'm glad I'm being consistent and doing well with practice scores, but the only test that matters is the one on September 7! You can do better or worse than your practice scores. So I'm not content to rest on my laurels and wait for the big day.

I used to be in that same situation of sorts. What you need to do is to identify why you're getting problems wrong. For me, it used to be not knowing the background information. When I did my "diag", I got -23 or -24 wrong in the PS and still got a 12. Anywhere else, it would be a single digit score. It was an overly generous curve (probably because FL1 is the first FL the students take after the diag), and most of what I got wrong were the ones where I didn't know the requisite material. For instance, I didn't really go over acid-base chemistry or redox reactions, and so predictably those passages wiped the floor with me.

So I took care of the background knowledge issues by doing Berkeley Review's Gen Chem and Physics books in those two weeks of intensive study. I strongly recommend these books, as I realized what a joke my understanding of topics like acids and bases, electrochemistry were. Now I find that I can easily reason through novel situations presented in new passages, as opposed to just regurgitating mnemonics. They even give you loads of passages to work on in the end of each section. That's where Berkeley Review's PS books are unmatched, in my opinion. My %'s in Gen Chem have increased, and I am no longer intimidated by chemistry passages. In any case, I think that's the best kind of preparation you can do regardless of where you stand.

I think there's a fine line between using current understanding and using the passage information. There are some questions that seem conceptual in nature, especially for Physics. Now, if you can't reconcile your current understanding of the concepts with what is explained in the passage to get the answer, then go with what's in the passage. I find that the majority of the time, if I had done that, I would have gotten the answer correct. It's good for 1 or 2 problems in PS each time around.

The rest, given that your fundamental knowledge is sound, is probably chalked up to the little mistakes. I'm working on that myself, so I can't really say definitively how to reduce those other than to continue to practice and work on reasoning skills.. you guys will be the first to know if I find an applicable solution though.

As a side note, jdla, I am applying next cycle. I am thinking that if I find this test incredibly hard and leave passages blank and such, I'll void and take again in January.

 

[RoadRunner17]

HEY ROADRUNNER your doing really good man, keep it up. I was wondering if you applied KAPLAN or EK techniques for verbal? i cant get my verbal up man. i would greatly appriciate your response.

Thanks
and Good luck on 7th.

Hey man,

I was in the same boat for a bit before. I am still getting 11's and 12's on EK's 101 VR passages book. I don't recommend using Kaplan techniques for verbal reasoning, as I looked at it in 2005 when I used their class materials to prepare. A lot of what they tell you is simply wasteful. Mapping the passage in particular is something I recommend you don't do. EK to a lesser extent is the same way.. prep companies want to tell you that there is something for you to just pick up and use for verbal reasoning, which is not the case.

Personally, I chose to eschew those prep company strategies and just figure out what worked best for me. Best recommendation I'll make is that one spend more time reading and understanding the passage, and spend less time doing questions. Looking back in the passage is okay as long as you know roughly where you need to go.. but try not to do that too often as it eats up valuable time. That's why you want to read and understand the passage in the first pass. That's my general strategy - more reading, less answering questions.

The second best suggestion I can offer is to use NO prior knowledge to answer questions. All the information you need is in the passage. 99% of the time, using prior knowledge is an easy way to bomb questions in a passage. So I would avoid doing that unless there's an explicit reason for doing so.

Can't really offer much else - the rest comes down to your ability to read and understand the passages in a short amount of time. So that's where practice comes into play - keep reading, but don't overanalyze when you read. I'm no VR guru (I'm still getting 11's and 12's on EK VR and AAMC tests) but those are the best suggestions I can give you.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Im applying to Wake Forests Early Assurance program this year, and if i dont get in, Imma apply to other schools next year.

 

[Psychotropic]

Your retaking a 33??? Well I guess its up to you, but if you do figure out that key let me know!!! good luck in a few weeks

The best scores from the two tests combined is a 33. I got a 31 on each individual test. If my goal were to just get into med school, then I'd stop, but I want to be sure I'm happy wherever I go and I'm not sure I'd be so happy given my current situation so my best bet is to retake to help provide myself with more options.

 

[Psychotropic]

Hey man,

I was in the same boat for a bit before. I am still getting 11's and 12's on EK's 101 VR passages book. I don't recommend using Kaplan techniques for verbal reasoning, as I looked at it in 2005 when I used their class materials to prepare. A lot of what they tell you is simply wasteful. Mapping the passage in particular is something I recommend you don't do. EK to a lesser extent is the same way.. prep companies want to tell you that there is something for you to just pick up and use for verbal reasoning, which is not the case.

Personally, I chose to eschew those prep company strategies and just figure out what worked best for me. Best recommendation I'll make is that one spend more time reading and understanding the passage, and spend less time doing questions. Looking back in the passage is okay as long as you know roughly where you need to go.. but try not to do that too often as it eats up valuable time. That's why you want to read and understand the passage in the first pass. That's my general strategy - more reading, less answering questions.

The second best suggestion I can offer is to use NO prior knowledge to answer questions. All the information you need is in the passage. 99% of the time, using prior knowledge is an easy way to bomb questions in a passage. So I would avoid doing that unless there's an explicit reason for doing so.

Can't really offer much else - the rest comes down to your ability to read and understand the passages in a short amount of time. So that's where practice comes into play - keep reading, but don't overanalyze when you read. I'm no VR guru (I'm still getting 11's and 12's on EK VR and AAMC tests) but those are the best suggestions I can give you.

RoadRunner, your advice is excellent! I agree completely. You will do great on your MCAT.

 

[axlaxl1]

could you post on my thread and let me know what you think?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=438191

 

[RoadRunner17]

Im applying to Wake Forests Early Assurance program this year, and if i dont get in, Imma apply to other schools next year.

Just curious but does that count as a single AMCAS "application"? So if you don't get accepted to WF this year, does it mean that the AAMC will consider you a reapplicant? Good luck with WF though. I kind of wish I was a NC resident, as I would like having a shot at WF and UNC, both great schools.

Also, does anyone know where you can get the nebulously defined "passage-based" practice material? All of the recent comments imply that it would be good to practice on those types of materials. However, I don't quite know what they mean by that, and I'm not sure that I would recognize a "passage-based" passage/questions if it kicked me in the balls and took my money. After a while, all the Kaplan and AAMC test items blur together, and I just focus on the particular problem at hand. So I don't really know what more people can do to prepare for the newest incarnation of the MCAT outside of taking more upper-level classes.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Thats a good question, Honestly I think it will probably count me as a reapplicant, but i dont see it effecting my chances next year. I think the opportunity of saving thousands of dollars and lots of worry vs the chance of being a reapplicant is def worth the risk.

I have no idea about the new passage based stuff. I think im just gonna stick with taking all the topical tests and practice tests i can, It couldnt hurt

 

[DrKendrickLamar]

I have been scoring 11's in both PS and BS in AAMC #5 & #6.
With verbal, I have scored a 7 and 8. This is a huge improvement from my kaplan diagnostic of a 17 with (PS5, VR4, BS8), haha.

Anyway, I am still aiming to score higher. In the science sections, I made flashcards on material that I lack a complete understanding. With verbal, I have been following the EK strategy, which I agree with most of the test-takers as the best vr strategy.

My plan was to take AAMC FL #9 this saturday and #10 next saturday. During next week, I will just be breaking up AAMC #7 and some kaplan exams into individual sections to practice. I'll do VR on MWF and PS on MWF and BS on TR.

Any advice of what else I should keep doing for the next 15 days, 22 hours, and 48 minutes? What did you do to improve from an 11 to a higher score on the sciences?

 

[RoadRunner17]

Read some of the previous posts in this thread, I made a few suggestions for improving certain aspects of your sciences.. but given that there are two weeks to go, I don't really know what people can do aside from focusing on test-taking skills and making less mistakes.

Those are things that come from continually applying yourself and then analyzing your mistakes and what you could have done differently (and be honest with yourself about whether you should have gotten this question). Did you miss something from the passage, fail to make a connection between a passage item and outside knowledge, or was it something that was outside knowledge and you didn't know? Those are the kind of questions we can look at and answer at this point in time. You are looking pretty good with the sciences though. Just make sure you're consistent; that's all you need aside from a good test day experience.

Edit: That reminds me, I better call up the Thompson Prometric center and ask about whether they have CRTs or LCD monitors so I know what to prepare for. Crossing my fingers that the Prometric center on Walnut St in Philadelphia has the LCDs that I am so used to.

 

[DrKendrickLamar]

thanks. i appreciate the advice.
what's the difference with the screens? i never seemed to see a difference.

 

[RoadRunner17]

Some people have noticed that older CRTs tend to flicker a lot. If you're not used to that, your eyes are going to kill you. I don't know what effect that'll have, but it doesn't hurt to know ahead of time what you're up against. And so the testing center I'll be taking the test at has CRTs. I don't expect to have too much trouble with it; it seems like its a well-maintained test center in downtown Philadelphia.

 

[chad5871]

Some people have noticed that older CRTs tend to flicker a lot. If you're not used to that, your eyes are going to kill you. I don't know what effect that'll have, but it doesn't hurt to know ahead of time what you're up against. And so the testing center I'll be taking the test at has CRTs. I don't expect to have too much trouble with it; it seems like its a well-maintained test center in downtown Philadelphia.

Yeah the CRTs at my site flickered so much it was almost hypnotic.

 

[waterbuffalo]

I am taking the Sept. 7th MCATs!! I'm going to take my AAMC #3 today!! I've taken the MCAT before, but I really wanted to pound the basic sciences into my head again before I started practicing.

Does anyone know where I can find the Gold Standard practice tests??? Are they very good?

I have used Kaplan practice tests, and they were alright. I think that I'll trust the EK practice tests more than any of the other prep companies. The TPR practice tests are infamously difficult.

Are you all taking the CBT practice tests or are you timing yourself with the extra long (old) practice tests?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

www.mcat-prep.com for the GS tests. I find that the science questions arent really passage based. On average im scoring about a 28 or 29 on the GS tests, and my Kaplan and AAMCs have ranged from 32-36.

The GS tests have a ridiculous curve like i missed 7 on verbal on one of the tests and got an 8?!?!

 

[RoadRunner17]

AAMC 5R: 13PS 11VR 13BS 91%
AAMC 6R: 13PS 12VR 12BS 91%

The PS on these sections don't seem quite as challenging.. I can see how people don't think they adequately prepare them for the real thing nowadays. Can't see much else I can do. Going to refer back to the EK manuals for a quick review in the next two weeks to keep fresh on materials that I haven't been tested very much on in the practice exams.. hoping to see if I can boost my VR scores on the remaining AAMCs.. since the one thing they are definitely good for is indicating how well you're doing on VR.

At this point, CBTs are going to feel like a breeze in terms of timing and testing stamina compared to having taken paper FL's for the last 2 weeks.. just need to get used to the format and the always-visible ticking clock. Tests left to do: 7R, CBT8-10. Perhaps some Kaplan or TBR FL science sections.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Just took AAMC 7. Another 33,(10Ps, 11Vr, 12BS) suprise suprise. For some reason I found the PS section of this one to be a little hard, but I thought the bio section was easy.

Any thoughts?

 

[RoadRunner17]

I'll be taking AAMC 7R tomorrow. I'll let you know if there seems to be anything out of ordinary. Need to work on VR from hereon.

 

[BrokenGlass]

Just took AAMC 7. Another 33,(10Ps, 11Vr, 12BS) suprise suprise. For some reason I found the PS section of this one to be a little hard, but I thought the bio section was easy.

Any thoughts?

I thought #7 was one of the easier ones (13 PS, 11 VR, 13BS). If it weren't for careless mistakes, I would have been in the 40s.

It doesn't matter if you are hitting 33 or 35 on your practice tests. If you are getting 10+ on each section, you are ready. You may even get a 40, who knows? There is no big difference in knowledge, reasoning skills, etc. between someone who scores 10s and someone who scores 15 on the MCAT science sections. Eliminate careless mistakes, take better guesses and your scores should be in the mid 30s consistently. It worked for me on the practice tests.

Sadly, the real thing was a totally different ballgame.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Yeah I guess its all a matter of how well I concentrate on test day, and hope God is on my side.

 

[IRas]

I hope god is on your side👍

 

[Chowdder]

September 8th *waves* 🙄

I've been locked up in the library for the past 2 months.........

^ Hey I've taken TPR tests too and yeah I agree they are hard. I get 28-30 on TPR test while on AAMC test I get 32-38s. Strange, the hardest TPR test I've done was Online Diagnostic 8, it was insanely hard. I got 8/7/9......crazy....

 

[RoadRunner17]

Never took TPR tests, mostly because there wasn't much consensus on SDN about the usefulness of TPR tests, as opposed to Kaplan (whose paper FL booklets I got from a friend who took the class years ago). So can't really comment on TPR tests, except that they are supposed to be pretty tough.

Just took AAMC 7R today. My schedule got jumbled up today because of some unforeseen circumstances so I took it later in the day, with BS after dinner. So here's my take on 7R: I was surprised with how my scaled scores ended up since VR and BS seemed quite tricky. What I mean by tricky is that there were quite a few questions where I didn't absolutely know the answer, but had a good understanding of the passage and underlying material, and had to choose between two answer choices.. lots of uncertainty, and I expect that on the real MCAT. So it's good to know that I can pull through even when I'm not completely certain of my answers.

VR surprised me, because I thought I got raped on that giant passage about the "high road" with 10 questions. When I look back at it, 7 of the 10 had question marks next to them (to signify that I wasn't 100% sure of my answer). It figures the one I got wrong didn't have one of these question marks. Same thing for the "atonal" passage; all 5 questions had the ?, and I got one wrong. I just could not understand the language referring to music theory at all. 😡 I feel pretty lucky, but I think I pulled through because I was able to guess in a non-haphazard manner. I wouldn't even go as far to call it guessing; more like choosing the best answer of the two. I just have to be more confident in my ability to do that. All in all, I am pleased with this go-around for VR.

However surprising VR was, BS was the craziest section. Maybe its because I took it after dinner when I was feeling the effects of food consumption. But I have a lot of ?'s next to questions. And some of my mistakes are of the "WTF?" variety. For instance, question 148 regarding the myoglobin in the urine - I knew it would be damaged kidney but it never occurred to me that it could also come from damaged muscle. Question 205, I had no idea what it was asking, so I just guessed neuronal cells. Doh. Or, question 189 about which organelle most resembles the Golgi apparatus - I didn't quite know how to answer this, and I ended up guessing between plasma membrane and smooth ER.. hindsight is 20/20 but as you might have guessed, I chose plasma membrane. Fortunately that was the worst mistake I ended up making. So I can see that I should be focusing on BS in the stretch run... most of my ? came on Orgo passages but I was able to reason through them using my understanding of Orgo, which is kind of the point. I am displeased with my inability to recall how Grignard reagents are made, though.

As a side note, PS was a breeze. I didn't feel particularly challenged by the topics presented in both chemistry and physics. In fact, I feel like most of the stuff was touched on in the passages in the Berkeley Review books. I do have an annoying tendency to forget the relative frequencies/wavelengths of different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (wtf, I got question 32 wrong). I suppose it was just one of these tests where most of the topics tested are my stronger ones.

Anyway, some issues I have in the BS section (two questions) that don't affect my scaled score but was wondering about...

Question 166 about the embryonic mouse cells: key says D, but the answer explanation (which isn't even the official AAMC one.. I blame the guy I bought this from) contradicts this and supports my own answer which is B. Seven divisions, so 2^7 is 128, hence B. Did I miss something?

Question 171 about hydroxyl/carbonyl absorptions: the key I have says B, but I understand it to be D. Hydroxyl groups (alcohols) are found in the 3300-3500 cm^-1 range, while carbonyls are found in the 1600-1800 cm^-1 range. So it would be D, not B. Or have I completely lost my marbles?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

yeah I had issues with those two, the key has to be wrong unless im just missing something major here. Idk why it was for me, i guess i just had a bad PS day when i took that one, O well i guess I gotta move on. And with regards to verbal there was one passage that killed me, the one about atonality for some reason i found it very difficult to follow (and ive been in music for 12 years go figure!).

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I also had a problem with 28 on PS, the one about molar absorptivitiy of Bromine, I cant seem to figure out why it isnt B(.820) instead of c (1.22)


Doesnt A= 1cm * 198M-1cm-1*(4.14*10^-3)= .820??

 

[RoadRunner17]

Yeah, I'm going through the PS 1 by 1. I have the same issue with question 28. Regardless, it doesn't affect my scaled score so I'm going to go with what I did (which was the same as your reasoning; calculations tell me its B), and leave it marked wrong.. unless I were to find another question that I marked wrong but was right. Then I'd jump up a point. Haha.

I'm distressed with the other mistakes I made, though which seems simple in hindsight. Oh well, I'll still take it.

 

[RoadRunner17]

Ten days to go. Are you guys pumped?!?! I have to move 700 miles this Friday from Detroit to Philadelphia, so that's my day off this week, and potentially Saturday. From this point on, the only breaks I intend to take are Friday, Tuesday and Thursday. Rest of the days, I'll be taking one CBT and reviewing it.

Funny thing about the CBT is that after you've done 10 paper FLs, the CBTs feel like a breeze in comparison. I'm always surprised when I come to question number 52 and then the review screen pops up. So my testing stamina is definitely at its peak 😉

What do you guys do when you review your tests (been doing that a lot lately) and see mistakes that seem horrendously dumb in hindsight? I've found a lot of those, and being the perfectionist that I am, would like to know how you guys approached the issue of eliminating those mistakes as much as possible.

 

[DrKendrickLamar]

Are cbt's 9 & 10 a pretty good indicator of what the real exam may look like? I plan to take one tomorrow and the other on saturday. Next week, I'll probably take a kaplan exam. Any thoughts?

 

[yousafob]

Ten days to go. Are you guys pumped?!?! I have to move 700 miles this Friday from Detroit to Philadelphia, so that's my day off this week, and potentially Saturday. From this point on, the only breaks I intend to take are Friday, Tuesday and Thursday. Rest of the days, I'll be taking one CBT and reviewing it.

Funny thing about the CBT is that after you've done 10 paper FLs, the CBTs feel like a breeze in comparison. I'm always surprised when I come to question number 52 and then the review screen pops up. So my testing stamina is definitely at its peak 😉

What do you guys do when you review your tests (been doing that a lot lately) and see mistakes that seem horrendously dumb in hindsight? I've found a lot of those, and being the perfectionist that I am, would like to know how you guys approached the issue of eliminating those mistakes as much as possible.

After every Kaplan FL or AAMC test I finish, I will take a 2-3 hour break and then review EACH answer (including the ones I got right) for every PS and BS section. Generally, if I miss the question because of misreading the passage, I will not write anything down. However, if I miss a question because of a concept or correctly guess a right answer without understanding the main concept, I will pretty much paraphrase the question in my notebook with the respective answer/concept. I have yet to review any VR reason question I get wrong because I don't find that an effective method for improving my score.

On a side note, to give some hope for the people who are taking the MCAT within the next week, I managed to improve my Verbal Score from a 5 to a 11 within 1 week! I never score less then a 9 on the Verbal now, and the difference between a 9 and 10 is only two questions. And all I am aiming for is 10 or higher on the VR =]

 

[RoadRunner17]

Are cbt's 9 & 10 a pretty good indicator of what the real exam may look like? I plan to take one tomorrow and the other on saturday. Next week, I'll probably take a kaplan exam. Any thoughts?

Sounds pretty solid. I'm taking the rest of the CBTs (8, 9, and 10) next week, with Tuesday and Thursday off to review certain weaknesses, which I already know to include lens/optics and magnetism. Should be fun. Don't know about taking a Kaplan exam as the last exam before the actual thing. Maybe swap CBT 10 with that Kaplan exam, especially since people are saying that of all the CBTs, 10 is the one closest to the MCAT. Of course, take that with a grain of salt given that there have been a lot of complaints that the actual MCATs don't feel at all like any CBT.

On a side note, to give some hope for the people who are taking the MCAT within the next week, I managed to improve my Verbal Score from a 5 to a 11 within 1 week! I never score less then a 9 on the Verbal now, and the difference between a 9 and 10 is only two questions. And all I am aiming for is 10 or higher on the VR =]

Wow, how'd you pull that off? I'm wondering what else I can do with VR at this point other than to finish the last VR test in EK101VR and the AAMC VR sections.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Hey road runner,or anyone else have you found for your ek 101 scores to be significantly lower than your aamcs??? say 2 pts or so??

 

[RoadRunner17]

I actually average close to the same on EK101VR tests as I do on AAMC FL's... which is 11.6 according to my sheet. I've gotten 11's and 12's. Never gotten higher than 12 on EK or AAMC, but have gotten 13's and 14's on Kaplan's VR, which would be nice if it were close to the real thing. Pretty annoying.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Well dang ive scored anywhere from a High 8-11, usually 9 or 10, i was hoping for a 12 on the real thing, but i guess thats out of the question

 

[RoadRunner17]

EK101VR is overrated in my opinion... it's a good source of practice to be sure but sometimes I feel like the passages aren't high-grade. What the hell's up with some of these passages about homosexuality and pimps?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Atleast it makes for an interesting read, but I agree some of ht passages are way to easy to read. Gah, I just want to get that verbal up to match my bio and ps scores.

lol any sure fire methods to go from a 10 to a 12?

 

[RoadRunner17]

I posted a few tips earlier in the thread, see if those help. At this point in the game I don't know how much one can raise a VR score. A little annoying but it could be worse for me, I guess. I'll be stoked if I get above a 12 on the 3 AAMC CBTs that I'll be taking next week though.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Took probably My last Kaplan FL before the Real thing on Sept 8


Kap FL 6- PS -12 BS 12 VR(I substitued EK 101 number 5 for this) 10

I would be happy with the science scores on the real one, but honestly hoping to do a point or two higher in VR. What do you guys think? was kap 6 easy to yall?



Three More Practices before the real Deal AAMC 8R, 9R, and 10 CBT!!!

 

[Malik421]

I am so nervous right now. I am taking it on Sept 7th. I was dumb enough to waste the past 2 months studying. I just started taking Aamc practice exams about 4 days ago and can't seem to do better than a 30! PS 10-11, VR 8-9, BS 11-12. I was really hoping to get my score up to 32 before I took the real thing, but I don't know if its possible with only a week to go. Anyone have any advice about how to approach the next few days. I am getting killed on the verbal, there is not one strategy that seems to be working for me. I have just about given up on it right now. One month ago when I started practicing for verbal I was getting 8's, and I am still getting the same score 😕.

 

[Chowdder]

I am so nervous right now. I am taking it on Sept 7th. I was dumb enough to waste the past 2 months studying. I just started taking Aamc practice exams about 4 days ago and can't seem to do better than a 30! PS 10-11, VR 8-9, BS 11-12. I was really hoping to get my score up to 32 before I took the real thing, but I don't know if its possible with only a week to go. Anyone have any advice about how to approach the next few days. I am getting killed on the verbal, there is not one strategy that seems to be working for me. I have just about given up on it right now. One month ago when I started practicing for verbal I was getting 8's, and I am still getting the same score 😕.

I'm pretty sure there are a lot of advices being thrown around on this forum. I was scoring 5s and 6s three months ago. Now I'm scoring consistent 10s and 11s. I'll give you two pieces of advice that really helped to boost my marks.

1) read a passage like you were reading a news paper. Regardless of the topic, pretend that you're interested in the topic. Would you read a newspaper trying to understand every single detail? Of course not, you read it in order to get the main points, the important facts, and the general outline of the arguments. If you get these three points then you should be able to answer 80% of the questions right off the bat. When I do questions, I only refer back tot he passage if it ask about a specific word or date.

2) Don't highlight! You can highlight if and only if you know it's important and one of the question asks for it. Very few question requires you to know the specific detail in the passage. I find the highlight throws off my concentration and make me read slower. The advantage of highlighting doesn't out weight the disadvantage. Now this might not work perfectly for you, but do try it. My mark went from an 8 to a 10 after I stopped highlighting.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Done with AAMC CBT 10. A little dissapointed

PS- 11 VR-10 BS-11

I made two dumb mistakes in BS that would have put me up to a 13, but o well, ill probably make dumb mistakes on the real one too

Im hoping for a 34+

What kind of chance do you guys give me at that????

Most of my other AAMCs have been in 33 range with one 29(diagnostic), and one 34, and one 35

 

[ChubbyChaser]

O and PS, im proud of myself for the fact that this was the first time I did the wrting portion!!!! haha