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SN2'd first day

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TexasSurgeon

TexasSurgeon

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EDIT: This was supposed to be a thread about the first day of SN2. However as with all intelligent life, things evolve. This thread has now become a support page for people following the SN2 plan. You can think of it as Alcoholics Anonymous for people studying to take the MCAT using the SN2 plan.

EDIT July 1, 2014:
If you are interested in @mehc012's Anki Deck, DO NOT SEND A PM. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7if6wgaif98rkoa/mehc012 SN2edCh4s.apkg
**A NOTE: @mehc012 and several others (myself included) want to tell you guys that studying from another person's deck will probably not be as beneficial to you as creating your own cards. Yes you can take advantage of @mehc012's generosity, but you won't get the same advantage. Study the material. Create cards as you go along. You will find it more helpful to your studying. **

EDIT July 22, 2014:
The following is @TBRBiosadist's official MCAT Verbal Reasoning Strategy:
@TBRBiosadist's strategy that got [him] from a 7 average to scoring 13-15 average..

Spend the bulk of your time reading. Up to 3 minutes per passage.
  • Read the first and last paragraph thoroughly to begin with. Understand what the authors main point will be because 90% of questions require nothing more than a general idea.
  • After this, read the entire passage slowly enough where you dont feel like you need to reread sentences for understanding.
Next is just answer questions, there is a few tricks here that work about 90% of the time
  • Unless the passage is asking you about a specific detail, dont look back. READ EVERY ANSWER THOROUGLY AND THEN Answer what makes sense from the general point of the passage. Its very easy to prove a wrong answer to be somewhat correct if you dig hard enough, dont. Answer what your gut says and move onto the next question, dont contemplate to much. With that being said...
  • Answer like you were dropped on the head as a child. Alot of times if Im arguing between two answers, there is the answer that is 100% correct, and one that is 90% correct. Be an idoit and choose the one that seems like it is correct. However.....
  • "Always" is a word to avoid. If an answer uses this word, or definites like it, it is something to avoid. I would say 80% of the time the wishy washy answer is more correct then the highly affirmative one. This leads to my final point....
  • 100% of the time you are not actually looking for the "right" answer in verbal, this isnt PS or BS where 1+1 almost always equals 2 (unless we are talking about the different sedimentation values for Ribosomes). In verbal you are looking for the answer that isnt wrong. Often times an answer will seem very "right" but one aspect of it is clearly wrong, as compared to an answer that isnt wrong, but doesnt seem as right as that answer, these are meant to fool you. Choose the answer that isnt wrong.
I understand that I few of these tips may be at odds with each other. Ultimately you must adjust slightly for each passage, but it comes down to one thing. Read thoroughly. Read every sentence in the passage. Read every question. Read every answer. Then the correct answer will be fairly obvious. This may seem like it takes longer, but it takes much less time than skimming, and then trying to find the correct information later.

Or to summarize in one sentence

Understand what the hell the author is arguing

EDIT July 26, 2014:
@DoctorInASaree uploaded a guide to Verbal Reasoning. If you're interested, it's worth a look. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2byivymmqwlvjms/MCAT VR Primer DRSAREE.pdf

EDIT 2, July 26, 2014: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/sn2d-first-day.1074344/page-52#post-15510851
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Just finished the first day of SN2...man is it long and exhausting.

The first day is BR physics chapter (translational motion) + 1/3 of the passages. I felt like I wasn't able to apply the stuff I read into the stuff I was tested on.

Has anyone felt this way when following the schedule? It just seems like the contents of the chapter didn't really stick in my head when I took the practice passages. Will this improve over time?

EDIT 3, March 4, 2015:

For verbal, if you are feeling lost and confused, I highly highly recommend you to look into the MCAT Strategy Course by @Jack Westin. I've been working with him, and nothing comes close to his course and teaching. It's a strategy course, so it will cover everything, not just the VR/CARS section.
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
Anyone else realize that 8 hours of studying usually really means about 4-5 hours of actual productive studying?
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Productive studying, at least as far as I'm concerned, is solving MCAT passages. I get upset if I spend too much time learning/reviewing TBR content.

My brain and my heart don't get along too well.

Edit: I put in a minimum of 10hours/day.
 
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and out of the hardest passage on my Kaplan quiz I manage to get the question wrong that asks about determining stereochemistry. #iswearitwasR
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
Anyone else realize that 8 hours of studying usually really means about 4-5 hours of actual productive studying?
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3 hours here, I'm so easily distracted. #redditfacebooknetflix. Doesnt help I do most of my studying on a computer. I've cranked out some of the longest days in less than 4 hours just because I needed to before
 
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SN2ed recommends using EK for biology content and TBR for passages, so how is everyone choosing which passages to do? I've noticed that EK does not cover the necessary content to do these passages.
 
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It does not so you just have to take the battle wounds and learn from them 🙂
The first few are tough but it made me do extra research/brush up on topics. The nervous system/micro stuff is super on point. I also did more passages from TPRH and it helped a lot more.
 
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orangetea said:
It does not so you just have to take the battle wounds and learn from them 🙂
The first few are tough but it made me do extra research/brush up on topics. The nervous system/micro stuff is super on point. I also did more passages from TPRH and it helped a lot more.
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Awesome, thanks. 🙂
 
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Just did EK bio chapter 6 30 minute test, and I swear their third passage was something right out of the worst of tbrbio. I did worse on this section than I did in the tbrbio section
 
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Idk about TBR bio. It's a love hate thing. I majored in bio and absolutely feel like most of this stuff is review (except for metabolism which I didn't really care for). May need to brush up on meiosis and mitosis and genetics but Idk honestly.

Overall, and honestly I strongly believe this from my experiences these past few weeks....


I don't think there is ANY set way to study for this test lol


It literally depends on the passages you get and the clues that are in the passages mixed with a little bit of stuff you may recall from content review....


oh.. and luck. Can't forget luck. 🙂

Ima go back to eating some bomb-ass chicken tikka masala and some garlic naan and hit dese damn books doeeee! Hope everybody has a bomb-ass weekend!
 
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QueenJames said:
Idk about TBR bio. It's a love hate thing. I majored in bio and absolutely feel like most of this stuff is review (except for metabolism which I didn't really care for). May need to brush up on meiosis and mitosis and genetics but Idk honestly.

Overall, and honestly I strongly believe this from my experiences these past few weeks....


I don't think there is ANY set way to study for this test lol


It literally depends on the passages you get and the clues that are in the passages mixed with a little bit of stuff you may recall from content review....


oh.. and luck. Can't forget luck. 🙂

Ima go back to eating some bomb-ass chicken tikka masala and some garlic naan and hit dese damn books doeeee! Hope everybody has a bomb-ass weekend!
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As an Indian, I will tell you that Chicken Tikka masala + Garlic naan will require you to replace your plumbing if you eat that stuff regularly
 
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QueenJames said:
LMAOOO

Dude... Chicken tikka and naan = happiness. Makes MCAT studying semi-enjoyable lolzz
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I make that stuff on a daily among other Indian cuisines and thai food. #atleastillbedomesticated

ALSO. I agree with no set way.. I feel like I change my routine or test taking skills day after day -__________-
 
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Feeling soooo discouraged after going through my BR Physics scores again. I'm averaging 40-50%. 🙁 Definitely seeing and learning from post-analysis, but anyone else struggling with Physics? I did really well in Physics in undergrad too, but the first semester worth of stuff is just so conceptually challenging for me..
 
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avenlea said:
Feeling soooo discouraged after going through my BR Physics scores again. I'm averaging 40-50%. 🙁 Definitely seeing and learning from post-analysis, but anyone else struggling with Physics? I did really well in Physics in undergrad too, but the first semester worth of stuff is just so conceptually challenging for me..
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I'm having the same problem too. Although, I feel a bit better doing the EK 1001's.
 
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Ughhh starting to feel the drain of this schedule. Outside work and exercise I have not socialized at all. Glad I didn't have a gf going into this
But Ya Know What They Say:
Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed.
 
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avenlea said:
Feeling soooo discouraged after going through my BR Physics scores again. I'm averaging 40-50%. 🙁 Definitely seeing and learning from post-analysis, but anyone else struggling with Physics? I did really well in Physics in undergrad too, but the first semester worth of stuff is just so conceptually challenging for me..
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I also did really well in undergrad physics but struggle with BR physics. It's weird because BR physics doesn't seem to go as in depth as their other books do. I'm thinking of making some slight adjustments in my schedule later on once I'm almost done with content review in order to compensate for my weakest spots.
 
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Day 5 of this schedule while working ~25 hours part time. I don't even know my name anymore, that's how intense the sleep deprivation is right now (yes, partly because I'm really only getting 4 hours of productive studying in an 8hr session... good to see I'm not alone!). Also totally agree on changing techniques every other day. I've become a hoarder of MCAT material... And friends/social life?? What are those again?? It ain't pretty, folks.

Anyone have ideas on tackling the dreaded beast that is Orgo? Seems like it's worth only going over main MCAT focus/high yield material because no flippin' way I have time to read, remember, review and practice all the BR material when it isn't worth as much.

P.S. (No not physical sciences)
How sad is it that while watching OITNB, all I could think about was how nice it would be to have all that spare time like they do in prison (to study for MCAT, of course).
Slowly descending in madness...
 
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DreamofDerm said:
Day 5 of this schedule while working ~25 hours part time. I don't even know my name anymore, that's how intense the sleep deprivation is right now (yes, partly because I'm really only getting 4 hours of productive studying in an 8hr session... good to see I'm not alone!). Also totally agree on changing techniques every other day. I've become a hoarder of MCAT material... And friends/social life?? What are those again?? It ain't pretty, folks.

Anyone have ideas on tackling the dreaded beast that is Orgo? Seems like it's worth only going over main MCAT focus/high yield material because no flippin' way I have time to read, remember, review and practice all the BR material when it isn't worth as much.

P.S. (No not physical sciences)
How sad is it that while watching OITNB, all I could think about was how nice it would be to have all that spare time like they do in prison (to study for MCAT, of course).
Slowly descending in madness...
Click to expand...

Welcome to the club! If you struggle with o-chem I would focus more on the material in the first book of BR. Having a strong foundation (the majority of first semester o-chem) is definitely going to be more helpful than memorizing a bunch of reactions.
 
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DreamofDerm said:
Day 5 of this schedule while working ~25 hours part time. I don't even know my name anymore, that's how intense the sleep deprivation is right now (yes, partly because I'm really only getting 4 hours of productive studying in an 8hr session... good to see I'm not alone!). Also totally agree on changing techniques every other day. I've become a hoarder of MCAT material... And friends/social life?? What are those again?? It ain't pretty, folks.

Anyone have ideas on tackling the dreaded beast that is Orgo? Seems like it's worth only going over main MCAT focus/high yield material because no flippin' way I have time to read, remember, review and practice all the BR material when it isn't worth as much.

P.S. (No not physical sciences)
How sad is it that while watching OITNB, all I could think about was how nice it would be to have all that spare time like they do in prison (to study for MCAT, of course).
Slowly descending in madness...
Click to expand...




LOL THAT'S HILARIOUS ABOUT OITNB... I thought the SAME thing .. I was like I wonder if they allow academic books in there because I would LOVE that time to study. Hang in there though it will pay off!!
 
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The schedule does take a toll on your entire life I totally agree and no one else really understands unless they are in the same exact desk every morning taking passages.

As far as the percentages go I would really recommend learning from them as you all have been doing and then coming back to them in a few days and seeing if you can solve the problems over again. I do that just so I can access if I forgot the concept or not. It doesn't matter if you know that the answer is C but do you remember "why" it's C? I feel like that's been helping me out a lot more because when I see the same concept again I don't feel so lost.

I keep telling myself this is one mistake I am not going to make on the exam because I made it already on this passage. Don't give you guys!! It will be over soon. I just tell myself to keep on swimming.. :doctor::clap:
 
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Dat feeling when it's break day...
leostrutoriginal.jpg
 
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Haha ok

TexasSurgeon said:
Just finished the first day of SN2...man is it long and exhausting.

The first day is BR physics chapter (translational motion) + 1/3 of the passages. I felt like I wasn't able to apply the stuff I read into the stuff I was tested on.

Has anyone felt this way when following the schedule? It just seems like the contents of the chapter didn't really stick in my head when I took the practice passages. Will this improve over time?
Click to expand...
 
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orangetea said:
Verbal Explanation: "The correct answer is in the fourth paragraph, but it's not in there so we can just infer from the information given."

really.........................................
#Kaplanforthewin
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We're right because. Your answer is wrong and you should feel bad. You'll find that in the future that if you answer more of our questions correctly you will get a higher score on our questions.
 
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orangetea said:
The schedule does take a toll on your entire life I totally agree and no one else really understands unless they are in the same exact desk every morning taking passages.

As far as the percentages go I would really recommend learning from them as you all have been doing and then coming back to them in a few days and seeing if you can solve the problems over again. I do that just so I can access if I forgot the concept or not. It doesn't matter if you know that the answer is C but do you remember "why" it's C? I feel like that's been helping me out a lot more because when I see the same concept again I don't feel so lost.

I keep telling myself this is one mistake I am not going to make on the exam because I made it already on this passage. Don't give you guys!! It will be over soon. I just tell myself to keep on swimming.. :doctor::clap:
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This is great advice and I'm definitely going to use it. Thank you!!



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DreamofDerm said:
Day 5 of this schedule while working ~25 hours part time. I don't even know my name anymore, that's how intense the sleep deprivation is right now (yes, partly because I'm really only getting 4 hours of productive studying in an 8hr session... good to see I'm not alone!). Also totally agree on changing techniques every other day. I've become a hoarder of MCAT material... And friends/social life?? What are those again?? It ain't pretty, folks.

Anyone have ideas on tackling the dreaded beast that is Orgo? Seems like it's worth only going over main MCAT focus/high yield material because no flippin' way I have time to read, remember, review and practice all the BR material when it isn't worth as much.

P.S. (No not physical sciences)
How sad is it that while watching OITNB, all I could think about was how nice it would be to have all that spare time like they do in prison (to study for MCAT, of course).
Slowly descending in madness...
Click to expand...
Hey hey hey I felt this way when I started and my biggest life rule that I think has served me well is when you're feeling overwhelmed is when you need a break most. Put the books down and go workout. Take a nap. And then come back to it. I'm pretty used to doing like 12 hour study sessions for my undergrad classes but I just CANT do that for the mcat for some reason. I can out at like 3 hours of studying and there's no point in making yourself miserable and wasting time. Definitely don't do this sleep deprived because I find I do terrible on these passages with no sleep.

I think the mcat is a test of discipline and how hard you can work, but also how you can be flexible with your schedule and not crack under pressure. A good friend who just finished studying for her test told me to not stress about falling a wee bit behind because you WILL get it done. Especially if you're working part time (I am too, and shadowing and volunteering!) 3 productive study hours is better than 6 mildly productive ones. So build in some fun, this test is not worth losing your mind over because that's just gonna hold you back.

Also, I totally gave myself "OITNB time" when season two came out and told myself if I did XYZ I could watch an episode HAHA. motivation, it works.



Posted using SDN Mobile
 
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hv92 said:
Are you using the TBR passages? or TPRSW?
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TBR
I just started doing TPRSW and I'll see how that goes. One thing to mention is that you cannot entirely depend on the BR scale to see whether you're scoring 13-15 or 10-12, etc. because when you do SN2's 1/3 passages, you'll run into passages that have 4 questions, some have 6, some have 8, etc. So when you add up the rights and the wrongs and divide, I get something like a 64% or 70% which equals to like a 9-11 range
 
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Also, you guys may wanna have a running Word doc going for your TPRHSW passages, just so you can jot down general notes and info on questions you've missed. Sometimes rewriting the answer helps
 
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I'm almost done with the SN2ed plan. Initially I went really slow and wasn't doing too well. Each day would take me 2 days and I still wasn't retaining much. After a few weeks though, I got much faster and retention drastically improved. The speed at which I was going through the material probably quadrupled from the first few weeks. I don't know if it's just me, but that was my experience. Good luck! It's an awesome plan, I loved it!
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
I'm almost done with the SN2ed plan. Initially I went really slow and wasn't doing too well. Each day would take me 2 days and I still wasn't retaining much. After a few weeks though, I got much faster and retention drastically improved. The speed at which I was going through the material probably quadrupled from the first few weeks. I don't know if it's just me, but that was my experience. Good luck! It's an awesome plan, I loved it!
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Did your scores go up significantly across the plan, and did your AAMC tests go up as you took them?!
congratulations on finishing! good luck on your mcat
 
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had to go to Costco to buy those super size ziplock bags to fit all my flashcards. I hate electronic flashcards they ruin my eyes 🙂
#mcatproblems.
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
Also, you guys may wanna have a running Word doc going for your TPRHSW passages, just so you can jot down general notes and info on questions you've missed. Sometimes rewriting the answer helps
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I am curious to know what you thought about those passages.. For some topics I feel like they are SUPPER easy and for others I miss like all of them.. but I wanna know if it's because I don't know the topic or the passage is super hard. So keeep us updated 🙂
 
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TexasSurgeon said:
Did your scores go up significantly across the plan, and did your AAMC tests go up as you took them?!
congratulations on finishing! good luck on your mcat
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Well, I just started doing the tests. I took the first one (AAMC #3). I actually made a mistake, I finished day 59, then jumped to day 64 without realizing it. So, now I'm going back and doing days 60-63 (but I'll do them in 2 days instead of 4). So I'll do AAMC #4 next week. So I can't say if they are improving, I guess AAMC #3 is my baseline, but it's supposed to be easier, so I am not sure if I can count that as my baseline or not. Overall though, my accuracy was going up for the sciences, verbal on the other hand, started out as crap, remained crap throughout, and continues to be crap. That's really the only thing I am worried about. I did the whole reading NYT, Washingtonian, Bloomberg, and Economist thing months before the MCAT, and even read books on Philosophy and Law, but no bueno.
 
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orangetea said:
I am curious to know what you thought about those passages.. For some topics I feel like they are SUPPER easy and for others I miss like all of them.. but I wanna know if it's because I don't know the topic or the passage is super hard. So keeep us updated 🙂
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So I've only just finished the first 3 bio passages and I've graded the first one and I missed 2 on the first one. I felt like some topics were definitely easier than others. But more importantly I felt like I still will learn the bio from studying my mistakes and writing them down on the doc. I just can't read a bio and understand as well as I can do passages. But I think most mistakes are a combination of dense reading comprehension required to understand the passage + knowing the science behind the questions. People like to say that all the information is in the passage and it is, but if you don't know the science, you're not going to know how to extract the information

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ts-the-cbt-version.503250/page-6#post-6695902
Biology is like a Modified Verbal Section – The trick to the BS is treating this section a little like the verbal section. You should definitely memorize everything that you possibly can in terms of biology and organic, but, while your are memorizing you MUST think long and hard about the logic of what you are memorizing. For instance, you can memorize all of the favorable and less favorable conditions that lead to Sn2 or Sn1 or E1 or E2 reactions in organic, but, do you have a conceptual understanding of WHY these different conditions favor one type of reaction over the other. This type of conceptual understanding on the bio section is absolutely necessary for the MCAT. Then, you will have to be able to understand the logic that is presented in the passage (because it will be more convoluted than in the PS) and using the logic set down by the passage, apply what you already know.
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SwedishMD2B said:
Well, I just started doing the tests. I took the first one (AAMC #3). I actually made a mistake, I finished day 59, then jumped to day 64 without realizing it. So, now I'm going back and doing days 60-63 (but I'll do them in 2 days instead of 4). So I'll do AAMC #4 next week. So I can't say if they are improving, I guess AAMC #3 is my baseline, but it's supposed to be easier, so I am not sure if I can count that as my baseline or not. Overall though, my accuracy was going up for the sciences, verbal on the other hand, started out as crap, remained crap throughout, and continues to be crap. That's really the only thing I am worried about. I did the whole reading NYT, Washingtonian, Bloomberg, and Economist thing months before the MCAT, and even read books on Philosophy and Law, but no bueno.
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I've heard AAMC is the easiest so it's been curved against you so hard that a low score can result from missing a few questions...
 
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I just compared my raw score against all the other AAMC FL score conversions charts. My score stays the same for PS and BS for all exams except AAMC 10 where they each drop a point, and for VR it drops a point for AAMC 7 and AAMC 10. So AAMC 4-6 and 8-9, and 11 I still got the same score. For AAMC 7 it dropped by a point, and for AAMC 10 it dropped by 3 points. AAMC 10 must be a tough one! So, although AAMC 3 is supposed to be the easiest, it doesn't seem to have been curved against you, at least in make case it didn't appear to be.
 
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SwedishMD2B said:
I just compared my raw score against all the other AAMC FL score conversions charts. My score stays the same for PS and BS for all exams except AAMC 10 where they each drop a point, and for VR it drops a point for AAMC 7 and AAMC 10. So AAMC 4-6 and 8-9, and 11 I still got the same score. For AAMC 7 it dropped by a point, and for AAMC 10 it dropped by 3 points. AAMC 10 must be a tough one! So, although AAMC 3 is supposed to be the easiest, it doesn't seem to have been curved against you, at least in make case it didn't appear to be.
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So I want to take my MCAT earlier and I want to gauge where I am(or I am ready to take the real deal sooner) which one do you think would be the best bet(besides 10 and 11 because I want to save those for a few weeks before the real thing)I was thinking of 7 or 8? lmk .

p.s good job on your consistency 🙂
 
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orangetea said:
So I want to take my MCAT earlier and I want to gauge where I am(or I am ready to take the real deal sooner) which one do you think would be the best bet(besides 10 and 11 because I want to save those for a few weeks before the real thing)I was thinking of 7 or 8? lmk .

p.s good job on your consistency 🙂
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No no. I think you read my posts wrong. I have only taken AAMC 3 so far. What I talking about was about how AAMC 3 is known to be easier, so TexasSurgeon was saying that even though its easier it has a tougher curve, but if I used my raw scores and applied them to the different curves for each exam, my score still remained consistent, so it appeared that for me, AAMC 3 was not graded on a tougher curve. So, since that exam is easier, and possibly not graded on a tougher curve, the score for AAMC 3 is probably not a good indicator of where I am in my studying.

But from my understanding, AAMC 7-11 is supposed to be the best. So if you are saving 10-11, it would leave 7-9. Looking at the curves for the raw score, for those three exams its pretty much the same. Maybe off by 1 or 2 questions. So you should be OK with 7-9 in my opinion.
 
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