The 1/26/08 MCAT Club

[pingouin]

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Welcome, all January 26, 2008, MCATers!!!!

This is your official place to stress, vent, hang out, party, cry, yell, or whatever else you need to do in the week before and just after your MCAT.

As a reminder, when your test is done, you are welcome to come here and discuss your experience with it. Discussing general passage topics is OK- ie, "I had PS passages on circuits, thermodynamics, and optics." However, you are NOT allowed post specific questions or answer choices from your test. Any posts which contain specific information will be deleted, and a 2-week post hold will be placed on your account. Look here for more information on this.

to each and every one of you!!!!!!!

 

[pingouin]

Guys- there have been multiple infractions and post holds in this thread regarding posting prohibited MCAT content.

You are not allowed to:
**mention any specific test questions
**mention any specific answer choices
**solicit information from other users regarding test questions or answer choices, or ask them which answer they chose
**give specific passage information

You are allowed to:
**mention the passage topics that were on your test
**discuss the perceived difficulty/ease of the topics and/or the whole test
**talk about test center issues (center climate, noise level, computer issues)
**plan your after-party

Edit: Link to specific examples of specific versus general posts.

 

[masterblaster11]

haha. I just remembered that I had a VR passage about how insignificant IQ (~standardized) testing is...I remember thinking 'Jeez, I realize the MCAT is a waste of time and measures nothing but do they really have to give us a passage showing that the inventor of standardized testing thinks the same way'
hahaha

And about the monitors, mine was at least 10 years old (those cheap 90's HP's) They flickered like crazy and made me dizzy. After PS I had to set the brightness to 0. That helped with the flickering but then it was hard to see the screen well.

 

[brainiak4431]

For some reason I thought that the verbal reasoning was the hardest section on the test. These questions seemed so subjective and I could have argued for multiple answers to a questions. I dont know how I feel about everyone else saying that they did so well on the verbal. The physical sciences was by far the easiest section on the test....easily a 12 or higher. Biological sciences a little bit tougher but probably got a 11 or higher. For verbal im guessing between 5-9. Writing was pretty bad because I had a massive headache by the time I got to that section. But im finally glad its over because the day after the MCAT (today) is my birthday. But i dont think I will be doing a lot of celebrating. I will just stay depressed over the fact that I didnt do as well as i wanted.

 

[armybound]

For some reason I thought that the verbal reasoning was the hardest section on the test. These questions seemed so subjective and I could have argued for multiple answers to a questions. I dont know how I feel about everyone else saying that they did so well on the verbal. The physical sciences was by far the easiest section on the test....easily a 12 or higher. Biological sciences a little bit tougher but probably got a 11 or higher. For verbal im guessing between 5-9. Writing was pretty bad because I had a massive headache by the time I got to that section. But im finally glad its over because the day after the MCAT (today) is my birthday. But i dont think I will be doing a lot of celebrating. I will just stay depressed over the fact that I didnt do as well as i wanted.

well happy birthday and don't worry about people saying they did so well on VR. people never know what they actually got right or wrong. VR is consistently my best section (I usually get 1-2 wrong in a 45 question practice) and I thought it was pretty difficult.

 

[bozz]

I was one of those people who found verbal a little "easier" than the AAMCs... doesn't mean anything though... it's curved.. if everyone found it easy, we're all screwed haha

the BS discreets were no giveaways either.. I had to think long and hard to get them right. Honestly, anatomy helped me bigtime.. something I never expected at all. I thought the MCAT was more physiology-oriented.

 

[da8s0859q]

haha. I just remembered that I had a VR passage about how insignificant IQ (~standardized) testing is...I remember thinking 'Jeez, I realize the MCAT is a waste of time and measures nothing but do they really have to give us a passage showing that the inventor of standardized testing thinks the same way'
hahaha

And about the monitors, mine was at least 10 years old (those cheap 90's HP's) They flickered like crazy and made me dizzy. After PS I had to set the brightness to 0. That helped with the flickering but then it was hard to see the screen well.

That is slightly ironic, isn't it?

Also had the crappy HP monitors.

 

[PRodulous]

Do any of the test centers have LCDs? Because I would certainly travel a bit further just for that.

My testing center had LCDs. I took it at the 20 N. Clark Street location in Chicago, IL.

Won't the curve be totally messed up & unrepresentative since no one did well?

That's what I'm hoping, but if you compare the scores of the AAMC practice tests, variations only fluctuate maybe 1 or 2 questions for a point difference. For example, a 10 in the VR section can be 31-33, 29-32, 32-32, etc. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope they give us all 15's.

I didn't take the 1/26 MCAT but I'm a humanities major and I have no idea what a Western blot is =D.

Did the passage explain how to read the blot? If it didn't, I'd be very screwed.

It didn't give the exact process, you had to connect the dots from what was given to you.


As for my opinion of the test:

I came at 11:30 and wasn't seated until 12:30... kinda lost my buzz just sitting around.

PS - I agree with others that the Tuning Fork and roller coaster passages were somewhat difficult. When taking physics and TPR courses, I excelled at electromagnetics. Perhaps I didn't go thoroughly through the passage, but I finished those passages feeling sucker punched.

VR - The VR section is well... the VR section. Here's where I've struggled a bit in the past. The passages were straightforward, with the exception of a couple (egg laying birds).

BS - Surprisingly, lots of genetics, o-chem, and microbiology. I think the questions of the fly mutations, bacterium, and chromosome splitting were in similar difficulty to the tuning fork and roller coaster of the PS section. This being my strongest section, I figured that they could be answered from the information in the passage (charts, graphs, pictures). Prior knowledge definitely helped in the fly mutation passage.

WS - Was it fun for anyone else? Never studied this section since in TPR classes several months ago, but the question stems were straightforward and could be worked in many ways.

Congratulations everyone!

 

[da8s0859q]

Question for those of you that thought that mammajamma was harsh (like I thought):

Why did you elect to have your exam scored? I'm having mine scored (would hate to be wrong about my performance prediction / blow $210), but I was curious as to how much of a detriment one low MCAT is on THx if it's offset by another higher MCAT come application season.

Can't believe I have to twiddle my damn thumbs until ~02/26.

[edit - and how the hell might I be able to see if my city has any open seats for April/May dates? Can't do it on the MCAT login since my 01/26 registration is just sitting there.]

 

[PRodulous]

Why did you elect to have your exam scored? I'm having mine scored (would hate to be wrong about my performance prediction / blow $210), but I was curious as to how much of a detriment one low MCAT is on THx if it's offset by another higher MCAT come application season.

You can void your score just in case you bombed the test (e.g. Had to use the bathroom and it caused you to miss half the verbal section. Van Wilder anyone?). As for your second question, not exactly sure. It all comes down to the admissions board and what side of the bed they woke up when they view your application.

 

[bozz]

is anyone in the chatroom.. I tried getting on

 

[da8s0859q]

is anyone in the chatroom.. I tried getting on

Works for me.

 

[bozz]

I don't think anyone mentioned it so far, but did anyone have a passage about bacteria living inside macrophages?

 

[Jug]

I was wondering if anyone could point me to a link that explains exactly how the MCAT is scored?

I'm really curious since this horrid test was my last shot to get in the class of 2012. Here I was thinking that I would be more than prepared since I wasn't just getting out of surgery like last time, and then I think I got hit in the face with a shovel or something, because yesterday feels like a bad dream.

 

[PRodulous]

I was wondering if anyone could point me to a link that explains exactly how the MCAT is scored?

http://www.e-mcat.com/info.aspx?cmd=score
That's a list of the scores of the practice MCATs. This what you're looking for?

I don't think anyone mentioned it so far, but did anyone have a passage about bacteria living inside macrophages?

that's the one i was referring to earlier. A tad bit confusing, yea?

 

[da8s0859q]

I don't think anyone mentioned it so far, but did anyone have a passage about bacteria living inside macrophages?

Yep...

that's the one i was referring to earlier. A tad bit confusing, yea?

... and yep.

 

[nepatslvr]

So, I know I'm joining in a little late but just wanted to say I pretty much agree with what everyone has been saying. Here are my thoughts:

PS- Had the rollercoaster, tuning fork, uranium, etc test and thought it was pretty much on par with the aamc tests. Although I do agree that the amount of calculations involved seemed to be a bit excessive. Pretty much I was just happy about the low amount of physics since that's my worst subject
V- This is the one I find hardest to judge. The passages definitely weren't too difficult to read and understand, but the questions were just frustrating sometimes! I could see myself doing anywhere from really awful to amazing depending on how well I decided between the two answers that both seemed to be right on so many of the questions.
W- Definitely not bad topics to write about. Had plenty of directions you could go with both questions, so no complaints here.
BS- Wow, this was just absolutely awful. BS has been my strongest subject in all practice exams, so getting something as hard as this was just really heartbreaking. The passages were just not at all what I was expecting and it feels like all this hard work I put in over the past few months really didn't help one way or another. Very disappointing. Basically the only good thing I can say about this section is thank goodness it was last because had this been the first section on the test, I would have been totally knocked off for the rest of it.

So overall, I'd have to say I'm pretty disappointed and already trying to mentally prepare myself for the possibility of re-taking it in the summer. However, the optimistic part of me is hoping that the curve will be generous to all of us 😀 Oh, and one of the posters above asked if the 1/25 and 1/26 tests would be scaled off of the same curve or separate ones. I am also curious if anyone knows the answer to this. Thanks!

 

[runner898]

The bacteriophage passage kind of threw me off too. I found myself guessing on a lot of those questions. I am also glad to see that several people found themselves choosing between 2 answers on a lot of the verbal. I thought I was the only one! I marked so many of them because of that exact reason and when I went back, I still couldn't choose! 👎

By the way, my test center was awesome (Jefferson City, MO). This was my second time taking the MCAT at the same location, and both times they were excellent. This time, I arrived at 11:15 and started at 11:40! The room only held 8 people, so not a lot of pecking keyboards and clearing throats, etc. That also made for fast check in/out during breaks because there was no waiting in line to get back in. Also, I had a nice big LCD monitor this time and last time. My mouse had a scroll wheel on it. The room was a nice warm comfortable temp and they had individual fans on each work space in case you were warm. Amazing! I couldn't ask for better test conditions. 👍

 

[runner898]

Oh, and one of the posters above asked if the 1/25 and 1/26 tests would be scaled off of the same curve or separate ones. I am also curious if anyone knows the answer to this.

I don't understand how the two could be scaled off of the same curve. They were different versions. I thought they were only curved off of the same version???

 

[Leathaface2g]

I don't understand how the two could be scaled off of the same curve. They were different versions. I thought they were only curved off of the same version???

I agree, it wouldn't make any sense to scale different tests off different curves. I'm expecting it to be different...

 

[ComicBookDude]

I don't understand how the two could be scaled off of the same curve. They were different versions. I thought they were only curved off of the same version???

According to my pre-med advisor (and others), each test form is curved individually. I'm assuming that the AAMC wouldn't give identical test forms on different dates.

 

[nepatslvr]

I don't understand how the two could be scaled off of the same curve. They were different versions. I thought they were only curved off of the same version???

runner898, I completely agree with you and originally thought this would be the case. However, another poster brought up the possibility that they would go off the same curve and that made me freak out a little bit. I guess I was just hoping that someone could confirm that they would be separate to set my mind back to rest (or well, as much to rest as it can possibly be after the nightmare that was that bio section, lol)

 

[armybound]

it's my understanding that they also curve the test based on the difficulty of passages/questions, so that might be able to compensate for the harder questions.

 

[funkydrmonkey]

I forgot to post about the testing center.
I arrived at 11 at Gardena, CA and I signed in, and then the lady saying that you cannot study in the building and you have to go outside!😱,
But I started the test at 11:19, and it was nice cuz I was done by 4:30. The place had CRTs, which I laughed at in my mind, because I do not think I have seen a CRT monitor for a while. But the testing center people were really nice.
I really hope that I do not have to take it again. Everyone keeps mentioning how they thought the verbal was really easy, but I found it pretty difficult, and that is not good. I am usually consistent in my verbal scores, so I hope it turns out okay.
to all who are twiddling their thumbs until the 26th.

 

[seven87]

Here's my two cents.

PS- 3/4 of it was about what I expected in terms of difficulty, 1/4 was like umm what😕😱😕? For one of them I was convinced the right answer wasn't given. It was calculation heavy which left me pressed for time, which was unexpected- I usually finish with ~15-20 mins left.

VR- First passage was really dense, lit review or something. I thought it was overall more difficult than practice exams and EK 101. Didn't enjoy it, took too long on the 4th passage which left me scrambling a little on the 5th to make up for lost time.

WS- Quite similar to AAMC's practice exams. Gave me a headache though after a while of reading and re-reading my answers.

BS- 3/4 was alright, the Ochem was overall as expected difficulty. 1/4 of the BS left me quite confused, western blot was 😕😕. Kinda lame there was so little physiology... but what can ya do?

Luckily from SDN, the general consensus is that it was hard, although it seems I found VR a little harder than most. The way I see it is: if the SDN crew thought PS and BS was hard, just like I did, we're probably going to do alright.

Also, some of the crazy questions are possibly questions that aren't counted. They test out a few questions on each exam that aren't counted toward our score. I figure the poorly worded or ambiguous ones could possibly fall in the not counted category. That thought helps me to relax. All we can do now is wait!

 

[bertz413]

i have to say, personally i didn't think the PS section was anything like the aamc practice tests. I was constantly wondering what the F*** was going on. I came out of the ps section thinking i was going to VOID the test.
After vr and bs i started to get my confidence back. I honestly didn't think bs was that bad. But ps almost bit my nuts off. Do you guys think there will be a better curve than aamc tests?

the physical science section kicked my sorry white ass, ripped it off and then handed it to me on a platter....nice.

absolutely devastated, i thought i was going to do ok.....😕

 

[bertz413]

me too, worriedtodeath...
hey, maybe we took the wrong test! We took the test that was for future roller coaster operators of America with evil female woodpeckers in their back yards who are going to be veterinarians and inoculate fly eyes with antibiotic after they recover from getting hit in the head by the airbag due to the crash sustained when they paid too much attention to the painting of the European map as they were driving! yeah, it's all clear now! I took the wrong test! Someone handed me my butt, that's all I remember.

how true!! I took that test, too! Damn we all took the wrong test!!!

 

[Uncle Bob]

I forgot to post about the testing center.
I arrived at 11 at Gardena, CA and I signed in, and then the lady saying that you cannot study in the building and you have to go outside!😱,
But I started the test at 11:19, and it was nice cuz I was done by 4:30. The place had CRTs, which I laughed at in my mind, because I do not think I have seen a CRT monitor for a while. But the testing center people were really nice.
I really hope that I do not have to take it again. Everyone keeps mentioning how they thought the verbal was really easy, but I found it pretty difficult, and that is not good. I am usually consistent in my verbal scores, so I hope it turns out okay.
to all who are twiddling their thumbs until the 26th.

Is it just me or for the California people is there like a crazy shortage for test centers for this test????????????????

I took the test yesterday 60 miles away from my house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........

and i was to lucky to get that seat there.........there were only about 10 or 12 people at my test center taking the test!!!!!!!!!!

I asked the guy and he said that the bigger ones at most hold 25 if thats multiplied by about 18 test centers total in cali.....that comes out to 450 if every test center had 25 which it doesnt so its probably about 400 seats only!!!!!!!!!!!! each test date which is nothing they need more sites..........

I took my test yesterday and VOIDED it I was crying a river............

After the PS for some odd reason looking at everyone elses replies thought was actually really easy and had a lot of confidence after it i felt i got no less than 14 or 15 seriously!!!!!!!..............it matched a lot of my TPR passages and a few of the AAMC ones.........so i thought i was rockin after this........

the VR..........GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!.............😡😡

--------was it just me or did the stupid passages seem like they were all friggin a lot longer than the AAMC ones i did or even TPR's...........they were super long and took forever to read............and on top of that..............for me at least the 1st 3 or 4 passages were ridiculously hard for me to understand they were so convoluted it was insane.........i literally guessed on every single question on the 1st 3 passages........after this one i actually took a 10 min break thinking ok maybe it wasnt bad trying to convincemy self otherwise so i can still do well on BS........

Now comes BS.............all i can say is that this section LITERALLY De-moralized my Bio skills completely..........the O-chem i thought was decent not too hard but not easy..........the BIO was all Genetics and genes it was crazy..........for me i was soo frustarated with the BIO passages i was like whats going on is this a diffeent exam..........then for me the last passage was that killer passage that a lot of you were talking about THE CRAZY ANTIBODY ONE...holly **** that was like grad level passage nothing like any MCAT Bio passage i had ever seen.........

-----BUT Halfway thru that passage i said to myself this has to be the EXPERIMENTAL passage that MCAT throws in to every exam bc no way anyone could have remotely understood that without having prior GRAD level knowledge which MCAT not supposed to test......i litereally put ALL B's for that section and knew from there I was VOIDING THIS ****ER!!!!!.........GRRRRRR😡

So that was my horrible experience..........thoughts?

Im trying to register for April or MAy but it still has my exam date from yesterday on there when can we register again.......

I'm so pissed i gotta go trhough this again............🙁

The things we do to become Doctors all i can think is that this will pay off at then end when im a practicing doctor HOPEFULLY>>>>>😀

 

[nycfella]

Is it just me or for the California people is there like a crazy shortage for test centers for this test????????????????

I took the test yesterday 60 miles away from my house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........

and i was to lucky to get that seat there.........there were only about 10 or 12 people at my test center taking the test!!!!!!!!!!

I asked the guy and he said that the bigger ones at most hold 25 if thats multiplied by about 18 test centers total in cali.....that comes out to 450 if every test center had 25 which it doesnt so its probably about 400 seats only!!!!!!!!!!!! each test date which is nothing they need more sites..........

I took my test yesterday and VOIDED it I was crying a river............

After the PS for some odd reason looking at everyone elses replies thought was actually really easy and had a lot of confidence after it i felt i got no less than 14 or 15 seriously!!!!!!!..............it matched a lot of my TPR passages and a few of the AAMC ones.........so i thought i was rockin after this........

the VR..........GRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!.............😡😡

--------was it just me or did the stupid passages seem like they were all friggin a lot longer than the AAMC ones i did or even TPR's...........they were super long and took forever to read............and on top of that..............for me at least the 1st 3 or 4 passages were ridiculously hard for me to understand they were so convoluted it was insane.........i literally guessed on every single question on the 1st 3 passages........after this one i actually took a 10 min break thinking ok maybe it wasnt bad trying to convincemy self otherwise so i can still do well on BS........

Now comes BS.............all i can say is that this section LITERALLY De-moralized my Bio skills completely..........the O-chem i thought was decent not too hard but not easy..........the BIO was all Genetics and genes it was crazy..........for me i was soo frustarated with the BIO passages i was like whats going on is this a diffeent exam..........then for me the last passage was that killer passage that a lot of you were talking about THE CRAZY ANTIBODY ONE...holly **** that was like grad level passage nothing like any MCAT Bio passage i had ever seen.........

-----BUT Halfway thru that passage i said to myself this has to be the EXPERIMENTAL passage that MCAT throws in to every exam bc no way anyone could have remotely understood that without having prior GRAD level knowledge which MCAT not supposed to test......i litereally put ALL B's for that section and knew from there I was VOIDING THIS ****ER!!!!!.........GRRRRRR😡

So that was my horrible experience..........thoughts?

Im trying to register for April or MAy but it still has my exam date from yesterday on there when can we register again.......

I'm so pissed i gotta go trhough this again............🙁

The things we do to become Doctors all i can think is that this will pay off at then end when im a practicing doctor HOPEFULLY>>>>>😀

This is exactly how I felt about the individual sections!

 

[123880]

I'm posting my thoughts MUCH later than the rest of you guys but the sentiment is the same. I drove 3.5 hours to take this test, after sleeping about 2hrs. I DO NOT recommend this approach.

BS=what we all know it stands for. Not Biological Sciences. I got all the random passages the majority of the rest of ya'll did. Almost fell asleep during the woodpecker passage. And one other but I couldn't even tell you which one.

PS=I expected more Physics. Was surprised by the amount of GenChem. Think I did well. Only the next 29 days will tell.
VR=who knows. Most of my practice tests were amazing. Because I feel so good about this section means I probably f'd it all up.

Overall-
The Testing Center was in Memphis (U of). I had a nice 17" LCD monitor with pretty blue scratch paper booklets and an amazing testing center staff. I got to start my test at 11:30ish rather than 12. There were only 8 of us in the room, at individual cubicles that were spaced out so you didn't have to disrupt anyone when you went on break.

The Test-I'm already planning on taking the April test, if there are any locations open in my area when I get online to register again. *fingers crossed*

The one big thing that I was upset over was time. In all of my practice tests, I had plenty of time left to review each section. The only section that I ended with > 2 minutes remaining was VR. I didn't count on this. I think I let the harder passages stump me more than I should have. I got involved in those passages, trying to figure out what I missed. I completely forgot to watch my time. I guess. 😕

I hope everyone has a smooth transition back into their normal lives.

🙂

 

[kmf42]

question - are all the passages on a given exam date the same for everyone? I do -not- remember a passage on bacteria inside macrophage and now I'm terrified that I somehow missed a passage.

 

[bigman225]

I did not have a passage on bacteria living inside macrophages. I did have a passage on bacteria living inside of bladder epithelial cell intracellular vesicles.

The western blot passage was really easy for me because i have lab experience, but they definitely did a pretty poor job of explaining the technique

 

[olemissbabydoc]

there are different forms of the test given on the same day, so therefore you may not have the same passages as someone else...

 

[mouseben]

question - are all the passages on a given exam date the same for everyone? I do -not- remember a passage on bacteria inside macrophage and now I'm terrified that I somehow missed a passage.

In VS, I did not have the passage on bacteria inside macrophage either. Instead, I got one about language symbol and another one about companies. Do not worry, you did not missed a passage. I also worried about the same thing until I finally recalled all my 7 passages....😀

 

[Fp02c]

Did you guys think that the OCHEm material was more from organic 1 or organic 2

 

[armybound]

Did you guys think that the OCHEm material was more from organic 1 or organic 2

there was a little from both, but the hard ones were from 2

 

[SBK]

the physical science section kicked my sorry white ass, ripped it off and then handed it to me on a platter....nice.

absolutely devastated, i thought i was going to do ok.....😕

Love that response... the first thing i did was to respond to all my friends' text saying, "I just got sodomized"

 

[SBK]

Did you guys think that the OCHEm material was more from organic 1 or organic 2

Did anyone else get the 7 or 8 step OChem passage as the FIRST passage and immediately press "Skip" ??!!

 

[Jug]

Did anyone else get the 7 or 8 step OChem passage as the FIRST passage and immediately press "Skip" ??!!

I didn't skip it, but it was definately the kind of problem that made my jaw drop. What a way to start the bio section. (Ochem is my weakest subject)

 

[PRodulous]

Did anyone else get the 7 or 8 step OChem passage as the FIRST passage and immediately press "Skip" ??!!

I used my left hand to block out that reaction. Made looking at the questions a lot easier. 😀

 

[LordATPSynthase]

.

 

[da8s0859q]

Love that response... the first thing i did was to respond to all my friends' text saying, "I just got sodomized"

I've been saying that a lot.

Have also said "I wonder why the AAMC does not provide a rape whistle," "I should have brought my own lube," and "I muttered 'f*ck' under my breath several times upon starting the PS section so as to not disturb my fellow sodomy victims."

 

[bozz]

So if you guys had to rate the test in order of difficulty what would it be?

for me:

bs > ps > vr

I'm expecting a harsh @$$ curve on Verbal

 

[runner898]

I am so nervous for scores to come out. I wish they cut their release down to 2 weeks like they had proposed last year. I am so impatient! 😱

 

[ComicBookDude]

So if you guys had to rate the test in order of difficulty what would it be?

for me:

bs > ps > vr

I'm expecting a harsh @$$ curve on Verbal

bs > vr > ps > w

Seems like while the BS section was definitely the section most people thought was hardest, I don't think Verbal/PS were that easy, so maybe every section will have a nice curve 🙂

 

[brainiak4431]

verbal hardest
writing not hard but i kind of lost focus
biological pretty easy
physical sciences easiest.


by a harsh @ss curve on verbal do u mean that it will be curved a lot or it wont be curved very much. I hope its curved a lot cuz i absolutely failed it.

 

[ayushman80]

For some reason I thought that the verbal reasoning was the hardest section on the test. These questions seemed so subjective and I could have argued for multiple answers to a questions. I dont know how I feel about everyone else saying that they did so well on the verbal. The physical sciences was by far the easiest section on the test....easily a 12 or higher. Biological sciences a little bit tougher but probably got a 11 or higher. For verbal im guessing between 5-9. Writing was pretty bad because I had a massive headache by the time I got to that section. But im finally glad its over because the day after the MCAT (today) is my birthday. But i dont think I will be doing a lot of celebrating. I will just stay depressed over the fact that I didnt do as well as i wanted.

I completely agree with you. I thought that the physical sciences were not hard at all. Most of the questions were actually very simple (redox, thermo, electronegativity, newtonian mechanics). The bio was a little bit harder, but the more I look up the topics the better I think I did. The verbal section was very difficult. There were almost no passage reference questions and almost all were inference. This is going to be the tough section for me. Hopefully I did average.

 

[da8s0859q]

I am so nervous for scores to come out. I wish they cut their release down to 2 weeks like they had proposed last year. I am so impatient! 😱

You're in good company.

 

[whtlight2121]

I have been reading this forum since I started studying a month ago. I also took the test on the 26th and seem to have had similar questions/passages. To refer to a standardized test as unfair is a little ridiculous. I also thought the biology was hard, however, the aamc did not ever say they were not going to test genetics. Lesson: shame on me for not reviewing more genetics. I studied with exam crackers and did not use any other books. For those of you who use EK you probably realize it was not very genetics heavy. Prob. scored 10-11 on BS or 12-13 if I got lucky on the Western Blot. Also, for those of you who are whining about the western blot, why did you not skip it? I skimmed right over it said F*&# it and went on to the stand alones before I came back. It was one passage out of 7.

Physics on the other hand I thought was straightforward. Conceptual questions were very easy and the calculations were a little time consuming at the most. A few strange gen cem questions, but the wrong answers often seemed way off.

For everyone who claimed that the verbal was super hard and "extra long" I am just wondering how you had time during the 60-minute test to actually compare the length to the aamc practice tests. If it was longer, then it was much easier to read. I suck at verbal, and as always have no clue how I did. This felt better then any of the aamc tests (much better) and my scores were one 8 two 9s and two 10s on those.

It does suck that the aamc doesn't call us the night before to make sure that we all understand the concepts on the test, but that is just the way it goes. They want you to know everything, and if you can't do it quickly you have to guess and come back. Answering the easy questions first is obviously common sense. So the mCAT is in a way a measure of your common sense.

Lastly, I am not saying the test was a breeze and I know I got a 35+T. I just don’t feel that it is possible for them to make an unfair standardized test. If everyone does poorly the curve will be slightly better. Don’t expect a curve like 32/52=10, but if you look at the aamc’s it is plausible that if the biology was real hard a 10 could be as low as 37 or 38 correct.

 

[Jug]

I have been reading this forum since I started studying a month ago. I also took the test on the 26th and seem to have had similar questions/passages. To refer to a standardized test as unfair is a little ridiculous. I also thought the biology was hard, however, the aamc did not ever say they were not going to test genetics. Lesson: shame on me for not reviewing more genetics. I studied with exam crackers and did not use any other books. For those of you who use EK you probably realize it was not very genetics heavy. Prob. scored 10-11 on BS or 12-13 if I got lucky on the Western Blot. Also, for those of you who are whining about the western blot, why did you not skip it? I skimmed right over it said F*&# it and went on to the stand alones before I came back. It was one passage out of 7.

Physics on the other hand I thought was straightforward. Conceptual questions were very easy and the calculations were a little time consuming at the most. A few strange gen cem questions, but the wrong answers often seemed way off.

For everyone who claimed that the verbal was super hard and "extra long" I am just wondering how you had time during the 60-minute test to actually compare the length to the aamc practice tests. If it was longer, then it was much easier to read. I suck at verbal, and as always have no clue how I did. This felt better then any of the aamc tests (much better) and my scores were one 8 two 9s and two 10s on those.

It does suck that the aamc doesn't call us the night before to make sure that we all understand the concepts on the test, but that is just the way it goes. They want you to know everything, and if you can't do it quickly you have to guess and come back. Answering the easy questions first is obviously common sense. So the mCAT is in a way a measure of your common sense.

Lastly, I am not saying the test was a breeze and I know I got a 35+T. I just don’t feel that it is possible for them to make an unfair standardized test. If everyone does poorly the curve will be slightly better. Don’t expect a curve like 32/52=10, but if you look at the aamc’s it is plausible that if the biology was real hard a 10 could be as low as 37 or 38 correct.

I think that most of the problem lies in the fact that it is emphasized that the MCAT only tests "basic" science. A lot of the people who take it are humanities majors that have only taken the minimum science courses to get into medical school, and this is hypothetically supposed to be enough.
I think the test should be hard, I mean it decides who gets to be a doctor, and who doesn't.

 

[RapplixGmed]

Is anybody else exploding with anticipation of their scores already? I went over to the mcat site to check it EVEN THOUGH i realized that its 4 weeks till they'll actually be up.

And thus the waiting game begins...