The 07/18/08 MCAT Club

[supafield]

Unless I'm inept at finding threads it looks like there is no threads for this date or most of the July ones...

So good luck to all of you writing, this is my second go of it... and I want to do really well.... and am happy to offer advice about the whole process from my first time around.... feel free to ask

take care

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[requeim]

good advice supafield. that's exactly what i would have said.

for verbal, i would just do as many passages as possible and do heavy post-game and see WHY you're getting the questions wrong, much like what you're doing for the FLs.

 

[Quantum Chem]

I took my first AAMC test, #3, (yeah I know, kinda late) and I got a 28 (11, 7, 10). A little lower than I've been doing on the Kaplan ones, but at least now I have done one that is closer to the real thing. I still need to greatly improve that VR score and I know that its not going to happen overnight so guess I'm going to have to read even more passages than I'm doing now.

 

[radxbandit]

i'm having a real hard time juggling studying with going to the track olympic trials. pole vaulting just sounds so much better than physics...

 

[dazed1980]

Umm hello all. I too am scheduled to take the exam on July 18th for the first time. I am currently taking the Kaplan course and following their schedule as much as possible. We took an exam last week and I got 7's all around.

So sitting at a 21 and aiming for a 30 makes me feel as though I should push my exam back lol. July 4th is the last day to switch the date! What do you guys think???

Thanks a bunch!

Hey DOC804, u are not the only one agonizing. I took my fourth practise test and got 22. I am feaking out cos my scores keep going down. It was 30, then 27, then 26, now 22. What IS GOING ON? also thinking about pushing my date firther but won't have a chance to practise again before july 4th.

Goodluck to you.

 

[PrinceAli2786]

Hey DOC804, u are not the only one agonizing. I took my fourth practise test and got 22. I am feaking out cos my scores keep going down. It was 30, then 27, then 26, now 22. What IS GOING ON? also thinking about pushing my date firther but won't have a chance to practise again before july 4th.

Goodluck to you.

Hey, if your scores keep going down, that could be a sign of burnout, I would def. recommend taking a day off of studying to relax, then go back to studying, trust me a lot of people have had the same problem and done the same thing, hopefully it works for you. Good luck

 

[coffeebeanjenn]

i'm having a real hard time juggling studying with going to the track olympic trials. pole vaulting just sounds so much better than physics...

Multitask! Calculate your trajectory as you run toward that hole in the ground you jam the pole into (I'm not up on the pole vaulting lingo). That should count for kinematics at least.

Oh, and if you're serious, good luck! USA! USA!

On a third read, I realize that you could just be a spectator. In that case, you could be the weird dude who brings his MCAT flashcards with him and studies between competitors. I'm frequently that person at the post office, at the pharmacy, at the laundromat, etc. etc.

 

[dazed1980]

Hey, if your scores keep going down, that could be a sign of burnout, I would def. recommend taking a day off of studying to relax, then go back to studying, trust me a lot of people have had the same problem and done the same thing, hopefully it works for you. Good luck

Thanks Prince. I will do just that. a day off sounds like heaven!

 

[Libtech]

I took my first AAMC test, #3, (yeah I know, kinda late) and I got a 28 (11, 7, 10). A little lower than I've been doing on the Kaplan ones, but at least now I have done one that is closer to the real thing. I still need to greatly improve that VR score and I know that its not going to happen overnight so guess I'm going to have to read even more passages than I'm doing now.

I swear Verbal's a shot in the dark. I averaged 8 on my practice tests, changed my strategy the sunday before my test (2 days from) and ended up doing better than any of my practice verbal sections.

But just give you hope, your verbal CAN literally improve overnight!

Good luck to you 7/18'ers!

 

[requeim]

verbal is just like that for me...hit or miss

 

[StarStup]

Just got my MCAT scores back from 5/31...26...so definitely retaking on the 18th...stupid PS-7, oh well, at least now I have some motivation to study for this thing!

 

[TerryLo]

god...i don't know what is going on...i go over all the content stuff...and i end up doing worse on the practice exams than i did without studying...what the eff man?!?! took 4 exams so far...can't seem to break 30??? aaaaaaah! what to do??

 

[supafield]

god...i don't know what is going on...i go over all the content stuff...and i end up doing worse on the practice exams than i did without studying...what the eff man?!?! took 4 exams so far...can't seem to break 30??? aaaaaaah! what to do??

Have you gone over your review quickly since finishing your initial content review.... It took me 1 month and a half to do my first read of all the material... and after I was hardly any better in orgo, and forgot tonnes of physics equations.... after my first review it wasn't until I took a day or two to do a quick study of all the stuff I just read (I typed up quite condensed notes) during the review... and that quick refresher has been what really brought it all together...

So maybe something to give some thought to?

 

[markps]

Sixteen study days left and I'm stuck in a rut with my PS scores. Lame.

Latest AAMC (#7): 32 = 9PS-13V-10B

Time to hit the QBank and see if it makes a difference. I have to get past these really idiotic mistakes!

Good luck to all of you... 2+ weeks should be enough time to iron out remaining issues in time for the 18th!

 

[jdeng87]

hey what are you guys all aiming for? if you guys are retaking can you list your previous score(s). im thnking about retaking but not sure.... just got my may31 back and am not too happy. thanks

 

[supafield]

Retaking From August 06...

preface, Applying in Ontario.... very strict cut-offs to get interviews at a few schools.... so much so that a 9 prevents you from interview in a few instances.

So AAMC 7: 29
AAMC 8: 31
AAMC 6: 33
AAMC 9: 31

Real MCAT 31 (11,11,9) 9 in bio was my first 9 in bio after starting the AAMC's and unfortunately prevents me from what otherwise are my 2 best chances at med school.

So far this time around....

AAMC 7: 32 (10,11,(11!!))
AAMC 3: 33 (12,10,11)
AAMC 4: Friday
AAMC 5:
AAMC 8:
AAMC 10:

Real thing July 18th .... Won't retake with a 10,10,10
Think a 33-34 is reasonable... 35+ attainable on a good day with some luck...

 

[QMeister]

Wow Supafield, I would love to get what you got on the actual. This will be my first time...and I am just hoping to break 30.

I just realized that I've graded my Kaplan FL's wrong. I used the AAMC conversion charts and not the Kaplan ones... this ups my score..but I'm afraid to believe it... I don't want to have false hopes...

Ok chugging along.. back to the books. GL all!! Keep the steam going...

 

[coffeebeanjenn]

All right... I'm shooting for a 35. I took the MCAT in August 2003 and got a 37Q, but unfortunately my scores expired. In the intervening years I've had some great experiences and got married, so while I really really wish it was still valid, I don't regret letting it lapse.

 

[auroraboy]

So I took AAMC 7R this past weekend and scored the following:
PS-12 (one question away from 13!)
VR-7 (This one really bothers me, just when I though I was improving...apparently not)
BS-12 (again, one question away from 13)

As much as I was excited about sciences, verbal really pulled me down...I was making 9's consistently on other AAMC tests..was hoping for >10 haha

any ideas to improve on verbal??

 

[markps]

I'm retaking a 28Q from August 2007.

My goal is 34 or higher but it's going to take some serious crunching and a lot of good luck on the 18th to make that happen

 

[unsung]

What's up guys? Took AAMC #6 today. Thought it was the hardest yet that I'd taken (3, 4, & 5), but somehow managed to get my highest score! Woot! I thought I was going to get killed on that verbal... bio seemed really "different" as well from the earlier ones. Definitely more "passage-based". But, it's taught me definitely do NOT trust how I feel taking the test So I think on the real thing, I'll be more worried if I feel "good" coming out of it.

 

[supafield]

What's up guys? Took AAMC #6 today. Thought it was the hardest yet that I'd taken (3, 4, & 5), but somehow managed to get my highest score! Woot! I thought I was going to get killed on that verbal... bio seemed really "different" as well from the earlier ones. Definitely more "passage-based". But, it's taught me definitely do NOT trust how I feel taking the test So I think on the real thing, I'll be more worried if I feel "good" coming out of it.

6 was the same way for me regarding bio.... thought it felt tough but did well... and really well on the orgo compared to my norm.

 

[twinnie]

I am shooting for a 35 but I really dont think I will make past a 30 on the real thing. It seems like sometimes your score (once you hit around a 10), doing really well just depends on the particular test and your own personal strengths. I really dont know... How is everyone else hanging in there?

 

[StarStup]

I'm shooting for above a 30 as well. I took the 5/31 test and got a 26 on it...but have been studying since then and took AAMC 4 the other day and got a 30 on it!
Today I spent the day typing up chem notes and bio notes. Tomorrow I am going to go over the AAMC test...how is everyone going over their tests? Do you make lists of concepts you got wrong?

 

[QMeister]

It took me a whole day to go over my test that I took yesterday. Are you guys spending that much time on looking at results? I feel like it's taking sooo long. I'll never finish all my FLs this way...

Took an EK 101 test today and got an 8. .. Boo!

 

[supafield]

I'm shooting for above a 30 as well. I took the 5/31 test and got a 26 on it...but have been studying since then and took AAMC 4 the other day and got a 30 on it!
Today I spent the day typing up chem notes and bio notes. Tomorrow I am going to go over the AAMC test...how is everyone going over their tests? Do you make lists of concepts you got wrong?

I bought a 100 page notebook and have been recording every mistake I make in the princeton science workbook and on the aamc's and why I think I made the mistake.... haha you'll see a few times in there in very bold writing, READ the F'in QUESTION CAREFULLY.... lol I think it's helping and after my last mock exam.... my final few days are going to involve studying all my mistakes.

 

[twinnie]

i honestly dont even really go over my tests. i am not really sure how to. i just look at the answers i got wrong (and sometimes right) and try and see what concepts i was missing. it takes me no longer than an hour. should i look over them more? also, i am kinda inconsistent on aamc tests ( i range between 27-34). what do you guys think about that?

 

[requeim]

you should pay more attention to the mock exams. going over what you got wrong makes sense, but not in the amount of time you are saying. you should sit there and ANALYZE why you got the question wrong and WHAT you were thinking at that point. you should do the same thing for the questions you got right to make sure you were thinking on the same page as they expect you too. as a general guideline spend ~3 hours reviewing (1 hr on average for each section) and see how that affects your scores

 

[StarStup]

I'm expecting to spend about 8 hours today reviewing AAMC 4. Writing down all the concepts I missed...going through all the problems, even if I didn't get them right (I'm a good guesser so I need to actually know how to do the problems!) I was reading some threads on how others have reviewed their exams and one person had an idea of making note cards for questions you got wrong...or at least the concepts...I think I will try this- I am obsessed with note cards! Seriously I have about 800 for the MCAT- all organized into different categories though

 

[dwc929]

question regarding secondaries...if we're taking the test on the 18th, scores won't be released until mid-August and even if you submit a secondary from now until then, you will be put on hold? so does that mean there's no point in turning in secondaries until mid-Aug? Thanks

 

[requeim]

I'm expecting to spend about 8 hours today reviewing AAMC 4. Writing down all the concepts I missed...going through all the problems, even if I didn't get them right (I'm a good guesser so I need to actually know how to do the problems!) I was reading some threads on how others have reviewed their exams and one person had an idea of making note cards for questions you got wrong...or at least the concepts...I think I will try this- I am obsessed with note cards! Seriously I have about 800 for the MCAT- all organized into different categories though

organization is key.

 

[supafield]

I just had quite the score jump with aamc 4 cbt.... and I really didn't feel all that great writing it.... especially the verbal.... I really don't know why I improved haha I feel like I'm wasting my luck too early!! Going to look it over and hopefully realize why I did well lol

 

[StarStup]

question regarding secondaries...if we're taking the test on the 18th, scores won't be released until mid-August and even if you submit a secondary from now until then, you will be put on hold? so does that mean there's no point in turning in secondaries until mid-Aug? Thanks

Yeah they will be put in a pile to review...my plan is to send them in as soon as the MCAT is over with...since I will have time after July 18th, if I waited I would be worried that I wouldn't have time to complete them when school start

I just finished going over AAMC 4...I did make some stupid mistakes...I have a habit of not reading the entire question and missing out on some important word! Need to be more careful!

 

[Quantum Chem]

READ the F'in QUESTION CAREFULLY....

I make the same mistakes too. I found that by slowing down and reading the questions more carefully I improved my bs and ps scores by a couple of points and tend to have less of those types of mistakes.

 

[requeim]

I just had quite the score jump with aamc 4 cbt.... and I really didn't feel all that great writing it.... especially the verbal.... I really don't know why I improved haha I feel like I'm wasting my luck too early!! Going to look it over and hopefully realize why I did well lol

yeah. same thing happened to me for some reason.

 

[dwc929]

yeah. same thing happened to me for some reason.

Same w/ me...got a lot of my educated guesses right...definitely thought my score would look a lot worse than it did

 

[supafield]

What did everyone score on 4 compared to the rest of them?

 

[auroraboy]

What did everyone score on 4 compared to the rest of them?

I scored a 33, PS-13, VR-9, BS-11

argh verbal...

how about you?

 

[radxbandit]

What did everyone score on 4 compared to the rest of them?

I got a 32 with the same distribution as the test 3 --> PS 12 VR 9 BS 11

I haven't been able to break into double digits yet for verbal reasoning. Was it just me or were the verbal passages a bit long overall on this particular test?

 

[supafield]

I went form a 10,11,11 on 7 to a 12,12,13 on 4 in 8 days... haha, the change in physical was legit as I worked on that mostly since that last one.... verbal 12 is my high end... the 13 in bio is out of left field though...

 

[StarStup]

Hey! On AAMC 4 I got PS9/VR11/BS10...hoping to bring that PS up to at least 9...on the real thing in May I got PS7/VR9/BS10....so yeah a 4 point increase!
Yesterday I got that Schaum's Genetics Book people were talking about on another thread. I'm planning on going through it today and I'll let you know how it is...anyone else have it?
On a more fun note...what is everyone doing for the 4th of July? I'm going camping up at Niagara Falls...I'll be that person studying my note cards on the Maid of the Mist!

 

[supafield]

Hey! On AAMC 4 I got PS9/VR11/BS10...hoping to bring that PS up to at least 9...on the real thing in May I got PS7/VR9/BS10....so yeah a 4 point increase!
Yesterday I got that Schaum's Genetics Book people were talking about on another thread. I'm planning on going through it today and I'll let you know how it is...anyone else have it?
On a more fun note...what is everyone doing for the 4th of July? I'm going camping up at Niagara Falls...I'll be that person studying my note cards on the Maid of the Mist!

Lol I'm from Niagara Falls! but the Canadian side.... Canada Day is July 1st.... which is also my birthday.... I did science homework in the morning but went out for drinks and to see hancock in the evening...

 

[StarStup]

Lol I'm from Niagara Falls! but the Canadian side.... Canada Day is July 1st.... which is also my birthday.... I did science homework in the morning but went out for drinks and to see hancock in the evening...

That's cool you're from Niagara Falls! We were going to camp on the Canadian side but I don't have a passport and can't find my birth certificate so the US side will have to do. I've never been to Niagara Falls so I'm looking forward to it! That kinda sucks you had to study on your birthday...but at least you got to go out for some fun later on! How was the Hancock movie? It looks pretty interesting!

 

[supafield]

That's cool you're from Niagara Falls! We were going to camp on the Canadian side but I don't have a passport and can't find my birth certificate so the US side will have to do. I've never been to Niagara Falls so I'm looking forward to it! That kinda sucks you had to study on your birthday...but at least you got to go out for some fun later on! How was the Hancock movie? It looks pretty interesting!

It was good! the last bit of the movie was a bit blah.... but overall very entertaining

 

[nycanimal]

hey fellow 7/18ers! so after pushing this test back 3 times (4/19-5/31-6/13-7/18 bastards have so much of my money...) i am finally taking it! i'm actually starting to get excited, except about waking up at 6 am.

i just wanted to share my experience the last few weeks. i hadn't taken a practice test in a while and was focusing on individual sections. well confidence was soon smashed to the ground when i got 48% on a kaplan PS section test after scoring 60% on one in feb before i took phys2 and got an A+. started getting 60% on BS after 88% before any review (and i'm a post bac so bio was about 6 years ago). so i studied harder and harder and my scores just kept going down and i started freaking out, wondering where all the pretty science had gone if it was no longer in my head.

so i took a long weekend off to party. seriously insane partying with no studying for a whole 3 days (blasphemous, i know). yesterday i took aamc6 and got a 12PS 13VR 11BS!

everyone please BEWARE THE BURNOUT. if you know you know the material and your scores are dropping STEP AWAY FROM THE REVIEW BOOKS. your brain and future test score will thank you. good luck everyone!

 

[auroraboy]

It was good! the last bit of the movie was a bit blah.... but overall very entertaining

I like all Will Smith movies.. have you seen I am Legend? pretty interesting IMO, how would you rate hancock compared to I am legend?

you're from Niagara falls! I live in Stoney Creek(almost grimsby actually)

 

[supafield]

I like all Will Smith movies.. have you seen I am Legend? pretty interesting IMO, how would you rate hancock compared to I am legend?

you're from Niagara falls! I live in Stoney Creek(almost grimsby actually)

Lol well I'm actually from Wainfleet... but for the sake of any one that doesn't live in Ontario I just say Niagara.... I just was at a wedding for my sister at Liuna Gardens in grimsby/stoney creek.
I liked I am legend, again the ending didn't sit great with me... I'd say they're very comparable movies....

Stay for the credits at hancock... there's a short video during them that's funny and a few people had managed to get out of the theatre by the time it played!

 

[requeim]

::adds to list of things to do after mcat is done::

 

[DrMattOglesby]

hey guys,
im signed up to take the MCAT with you...but today is the last day to decide to drop it or not. I am having trouble deciding what to do.
i have a poll i made in the "what are my chances" thread so if you could just cast a vote in a particular direction, it would help me out a TON!
thanks for any consideration you can offer,
matt

Here is the poll

PS: GOOD LUCK w/ the MCAT in two weeks!

 

[mterp45]

hey guys,
im signed up to take the MCAT with you...but today is the last day to decide to drop it or not. I am having trouble deciding what to do.
i have a poll i made in the "what are my chances" thread so if you could just cast a vote in a particular direction, it would help me out a TON!
thanks for any consideration you can offer,
matt

Here is the poll

PS: GOOD LUCK w/ the MCAT in two weeks!

I didn't do the poll but chose to right you a message instead. If it's D.O you want, dont take it again. If it's MD you want, than take it again. If I was you I would retake it just to have the option of choosing between the two.

 

[StarStup]

hey guys,
im signed up to take the MCAT with you...but today is the last day to decide to drop it or not. I am having trouble deciding what to do.
i have a poll i made in the "what are my chances" thread so if you could just cast a vote in a particular direction, it would help me out a TON!
thanks for any consideration you can offer,
matt

Here is the poll

PS: GOOD LUCK w/ the MCAT in two weeks!

Hey! I'd say if you're not ready for the July 18th test then the last thing you should do is take it. I think you're stats look strong enough that applying a little later isn't going to hurt you. So perhaps you may want to reschedule for august MCAT. I got owned on PS on the 5/31 MCAT...got a 7...and that is why I am retaking. Just study hard and get your revenge on the dang MCAT! Good Luck!