The 4/05/08 MCAT Club

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
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Welcome, all April 5, 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, passage information, or answer choices from your test. Any posts which contain specific content from the test will be deleted, and a 1-week post hold will be placed on your account. Look here for more information on this.

:luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: to each and every one of you!!!!!!!
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This is my first time posting but I have been an avid reader on the boards. I also took it on 4/5 and experienced the same thing during the PS. Usually I scored from 28 - 33 on practice Kaplan and AAMC tests with substantial amount of time left in which I never really went back and reviewed but with this test I had very very little time left in the VR and BS sections. I am praying the curve is good especially for the PS and all that hard work of months of studying really paid off to get at least a 30. I am hoping others had experiences like this in which they ended up with a decent score. :)
 
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Ya' know what guys, it seems like a ton of people thought that PS was really hard--I know that I sure did. It seemed much harder than ANY old exam that I took, and I barely had enough time to finish it.

We just need to relax until the scores are released, because anything could happen. My logic is that, if you were testing consistently in a specific range, it is very unlikely that you would score dramatically lower no matter what questions they asked you, because you would likely get the same proportion of questions correct (in comparison to other test takers). Does that make sense?
 
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MDorbust said:
Ya' know what guys, it seems like a ton of people thought that PS was really hard--I know that I sure did. It seemed much harder than ANY old exam that I took, and I barely had enough time to finish it.

We just need to relax until the scores are released, because anything could happen. My logic is that, if you were testing consistently in a specific range, it is very unlikely that you would score dramatically lower no matter what questions they asked you, because you would likely get the same proportion of questions correct (in comparison to other test takers). Does that make sense?
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Yeah I don't see a reason why it wouldn't! :cool:
 
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damn it guys! i want my scores NOW! i hate waiting and i just want to know whether i completely screwed up or not. ugh!!! i guess i just need to keep dancing and keeping myself active until may 6th
 
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so a lot of us agree that the verbal passages were easy with slightly more difficult questions... but what do you guys think that will equate to overall for our curve? better, same, or worse than the aamc practice test curves?
 
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kierkegaard said:
so a lot of us agree that the verbal passages were easy with slightly more difficult questions... but what do you guys think that will equate to overall for our curve? better, same, or worse than the aamc practice test curves?
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I think that in general, the verbal curve is pretty consistent from test to test.
 
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dsma0722 said:
You guys definitely have a point. It was certainly a split second decision. But having to randomly guess on 8 or 9 questions towards the end of PS on 4/5 screwed my chances of getting the score I feel I'm truly capable of, IMO. It would be one thing if I got a little futher to the end of the test and/or ended up finishing all the questions and only realized later that I got a few wrong once I was done, but I realized I got a few wrong AND didn't finish the PS section. I mean, I had to randomly answer all the questions corresponding to 1.5 passages!!! I know post-test feelings aren't reflective of your score, but this is a little more than just feeling nervous - this is a complete and utter let down.

I will however try to consider exchanging dates if any open up in May, because it would be more ideal to know my score and then consider retaking. Do you guys honestly think the curve would be good enough to give me a 9 or 10 if I missed approximately 15-20 questions??? (I usually score anywhere from 12 to 14 on PS practice tests - and I think that a 12 corresponds to missing less than 7 or 8 questions, at least from the score conversion chart on the aamc practice test site)

Thanks for your input everyone!
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dang dude you need to chill! the LAST passage was only THREE questions. and besides...did you randomly click answers or did you just have to answer the questions without reading the passages?

i had the same problem as you for the last 1.5 passages. i didn't have time to read the actual passages so I had to just read and answer the ?s based by what seemed to make sense haha. but still...i think i got at least half of them...so what did you do? did you COMPLETELY guess on the last 1.5 passages or just had to answer the questions without reading them?
 
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presto530 said:
And then there was the orgo passage that had the invisible "reaction 1" and "reaction 2" that were asked about, yet not labeled in the passage lol.
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You guys should really, really, REALLY all e-mail them about this problem. It could affect your scoring, so make sure that you do. Two years before the CBT came out there wast a test form where the wrong questions were presented with the wrong passage. So make sure that you report all testing anomalies.
 
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Vihsadas said:
You guys should really, really, REALLY all e-mail them about this problem. It could affect your scoring, so make sure that you do. Two years before the CBT came out there wast a test form where the wrong questions were presented with the wrong passage. So make sure that you report all testing anomalies.
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how do you report it? i thought the only opportunity was right after the exam. and the survey you fillout even says they dont read it haha
 
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drcoxer said:
how do you report it? i thought the only opportunity was right after the exam. and the survey you fillout even says they dont read it haha
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It says somewhere on the MCAT website. There is either an e-mail or a mailing address. I think that for exam problems or challenges, they require you to mail them a hardcopy of your problem.
 
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dang dude you need to chill! the LAST passage was only THREE questions. and besides...did you randomly click answers or did you just have to answer the questions without reading the passages?

i had the same problem as you for the last 1.5 passages. i didn't have time to read the actual passages so I had to just read and answer the ?s based by what seemed to make sense haha. but still...i think i got at least half of them...so what did you do? did you COMPLETELY guess on the last 1.5 passages or just had to answer the questions without reading them?


First of all, I'm not a "dude" I'm a woman and I prefer not to be referred to like I'm in high school still. As far as your question goes - like I've repeated in all of my posts, I had to RANDOMLY click answers. I was not fortunate enough to have time to read questions and answer them alone without reading the passage - I had time for neither! If you did, well than you are in a better position than I am. That is why I need to retake. As far as posting etiquette, why don't you refrain from saying things like "you need to chill". I think we all take our futures in medicine pretty seriously on this board, so it seems a little play-yardish to say such things...I was under the impression these forums were here for people who stand on common ground to commiserate and share their experiences, not to use patronizing tones towards others.
 
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dsma0722 said:
dang dude you need to chill! the LAST passage was only THREE questions. and besides...did you randomly click answers or did you just have to answer the questions without reading the passages?

i had the same problem as you for the last 1.5 passages. i didn't have time to read the actual passages so I had to just read and answer the ?s based by what seemed to make sense haha. but still...i think i got at least half of them...so what did you do? did you COMPLETELY guess on the last 1.5 passages or just had to answer the questions without reading them?


First of all, I'm not a "dude" I'm a woman and I prefer not to be referred to like I'm in high school still. As far as your question goes - like I've repeated in all of my posts, I had to RANDOMLY click answers. I was not fortunate enough to have time to read questions and answer them alone without reading the passage - I had time for neither! If you did, well than you are in a better position than I am. That is why I need to retake. As far as posting etiquette, why don't you refrain from saying things like "you need to chill". I think we all take our futures in medicine pretty seriously on this board, so it seems a little play-yardish to say such things...I was under the impression these forums were here for people who stand on common ground to commiserate and share their experiences, not to use patronizing tones towards others.
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girls say "dude" all the time and take no offense if you say "dude" to them. i don't mean it in the literal sense that you're a man lol. you must be from the coast...super politically correct! no offense but your reply will make me say it again, chill!

and in response to "I was under the impression these forums were here for people who stand on common ground to commiserate and share their experiences, not to use patronizing tones towards others."

that's exactly what I was doing. you seem super stressed. so, yes, i repeat again, you need to chill and relax. don't be so uptight! the fact you signed up for the next test TWO weeks later before getting your 1st scores just shows even more that you need to relax. every single person who replied to your post said the samething i'm telling you. if you are going to retake it this fast, you should at least cancel your 1st score.

and just so you know...you don't need to have your RETAKE completed by June 1st. you just need a MCAT SCORE by June 1st so you can submit your AMCAS. you can take it a lil later in the summer and just send your new score to the schools you've already applied to. they'll take your 2nd score over your 1st one, just as you expect them to do so by wanting to retake it before June 1st. also, they don't start to read any applications till like August anyways. the only thing bad about this idea is if certain schools have cutoffs to even send out their secondaries and you don't meet a certain MCAT score, then you have a problem. i, as well as everyone else who replied to you, still say you should wait to see your score first. if not, then cancel it.
 
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drcoxer said:
girls say "dude" all the time and take no offense if you say "dude" to them. i don't mean it in the literal sense that you're a man lol. you must be from the coast...super politically correct! no offense but your reply will make me say it again, chill!

and in response to "I was under the impression these forums were here for people who stand on common ground to commiserate and share their experiences, not to use patronizing tones towards others."

that's exactly what I was doing. you seem super stressed. so, yes, i repeat again, you need to chill and relax. don't be so uptight! the fact you signed up for the next test TWO weeks later before getting your 1st scores just shows even more that you need to relax. every single person who replied to your post said the samething i'm telling you. if you are going to retake it this fast, you should at least cancel your 1st score.

and just so you know...you don't need to have your RETAKE completed by June 1st. you just need a MCAT SCORE by June 1st so you can submit your AMCAS. you can take it a lil later in the summer and just send your new score to the schools you've already applied to. they'll take your 2nd score over your 1st one, just as you expect them to do so by wanting to retake it before June 1st. also, they don't start to read any applications till like August anyways. the only thing bad about this idea is if certain schools have cutoffs to even send out their secondaries and you don't meet a certain MCAT score, then you have a problem. i, as well as everyone else who replied to you, still say you should wait to see your score first. if not, then cancel it.
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Ok, you are probably right that I need to relax. Sorry I got offended. I am from the West coast (not so uptight though). I think all we may have an idea in our heads of what people on these boards must be like or look like, when in fact, we aren't always right! Many people wouldn't assume I'm a mom of two (Hence, why I don't hear people tell me dude, you need to chill all that often.) But anyway, yes, I'm going to try to be nice to myself. I think most people are assuming that I actually had time to read the questions for the last 1.5 passages, when that's unfortunately just not the case. You had to be there, the last 30 seconds of PS you would see me go click, click, click, click, click, click...ok you get the picture. Pretty demoralizing after all that studying...UGH!!!
 
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tncekm said:
No, that would technically mean they're both 50% correct :p
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...or 50% wrong?
shifty.gif
 
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has anyone heard of aamc releasing scores any sooner than a day or two early? this wait is really annoying
 
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yeah what about 20 days? haha yeah it is tough trying to forget about it, I just want to know my score and move on from there.
 
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pingouin said:
What can I say- I'm off work until Monday. I'm painting part of my house tonight and I think the fumes are getting to me.

Or we'll pretend that's what's behind it, anyway. ;)
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:thumbup: on fumes

Wait, V is a girl too??? :smuggrin:
 
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QofQuimica said:
:thumbup: on fumes

Wait, V is a girl too??? :smuggrin:
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Yes! I have placed doubt in the mind of at least one person!!

Now...you will never know :smuggrin:

EDIT: Unless you were being sarcastic.

EDIT2: You were being sarcastic weren't you?
Damnit, I fail. I r loser.
 
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Soccerdoc11 said:
yeah what about 20 days? haha yeah it is tough trying to forget about it, I just want to know my score and move on from there.
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You would think they could atleast give us the PS/VR/BS scores, I'll wait a month for writing! It grazes my mind about 5 times a day and depending on what mood I'm in, I'll end up stressed or just anxious.
 
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Cp22kjer said:
You would think they could atleast give us the PS/VR/BS scores, I'll wait a month for writing! It grazes my mind about 5 times a day and depending on what mood I'm in, I'll end up stressed or just anxious.
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You just gotta stay off SDN for the month between test day and the score release. Easier said than done, but you gotta just get by without SDN for the first couple days... :smuggrin:
 
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RoadRunner17 said:
You just gotta stay off SDN for the month between test day and the score release. Easier said than done, but you gotta just get by without SDN for the first couple days... :smuggrin:
Click to expand...

It's true. I think that I am blessed that I joined SDN after I got my scores back. haha.
 
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i
am
going
nuts.

i want my score back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why does it take them a MONTH? JESUS CHRIST THEY ARE SO LAZY!!!! you get the GRE back RIGHT THEN. the ONLY thing they have to grade is the worthless writing that no one even cares about!! i hear half of the writing grading is done by computer too!!!!!! (i don't even wanna know how a COMPUTER can grade your writing. that makes this section even more of a joke). might as well make the whole writing garbage computer graded so it can be all given to us on the spot!!

at first i thought it was because it took them a while to determine the curve and everything, but then ppl told me it's already predetermined. that makes me even madder! come on man! just let me freakin move on with my life!!!! (and tell me if i need to retake it before it's time to apply!!!)

also, thanks for you deciding to give out the scores RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of my finals. if i check then, there's the huge risk of doing bad on finals in case i get depressed from a possible bad score. screw you aamc!! i'm not even gonna check my score till a few days later to make sure i don't get distracted. i hate you aamc
 
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what's w/ everyone saying the curve is predetermined? how's that possible? then what the heck's the point of praying that other people thought the damn thing was hard too? arrg :mad:
 
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DoctorYanks said:
what's w/ everyone saying the curve is predetermined? how's that possible? then what the heck's the point of praying that other people thought the damn thing was hard too? arrg :mad:
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Yeah it doesn't really matter that much...sorry. But the pre-determined curve might be in your favor :thumbup:
 
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DoctorYanks said:
what's w/ everyone saying the curve is predetermined? how's that possible? then what the heck's the point of praying that other people thought the damn thing was hard too? arrg :mad:
Click to expand...

Because if everyone thought it was hard it means that everyone else (who didn't take it this year) probably thought it was hard too...
 
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Vihsadas said:
Because if everyone thought it was hard it means that everyone else (who didn't take it this year) probably thought it was hard too...
Click to expand...

So there's still hope then? I hope you're saying there's still hope and we won't all get screwed over by the AAMC? :luck:
 
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i honestly don't know if they predetermine the curve or not.

i got that info from these forums, but honestly...this is SDN

most of what i read on this forum and think is true i later findout from my premed advisor that it's completely wrong.
haha my premed advisor was like "what? where are you reading this stuff? do NOT take the advice of premeds, medical students, or doctors, they do not know all the details. medical students and doctors don't remember how much of a pain in the *** it is get into medical school."

for example, i went to him thinking i must only take the mcat once and considered delaying it cuz wasn't sure if i'd be ready. he was like "where did you hear this? that is not true. 80% of students take it twice. you take it early so you can retake it later if needed. if you get a 29, then you retake it. if you get a 36 then leave it." he's been doin this for 30+ years, so i trust him. so i guess moral of the story is, don't believe everything, or maybe anything haha, you read on SDN! lol i mean it's a bunch of ppl like you and me giving most of the advice.

there's some ppl, like that Lizzy adcom lady, who give good advice. the rest of the posts i'd take as a grain of salt
 
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My info comes directly from an AAMC test administrator.

In addition, 80% of people do not retake the MCAT. Where did your advisor get this info?

Directly from the AAMC website:
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestbs.htm
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestvr.htm
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestps.htm
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/retestws.htm
The number of retesters for 2007 was approx. 15655.

And,
http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined07.pdf
The total number of examinees for 2007 was: 67828

That means that each year approx. 15655/67828 = 23% of people retake
 
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That really makes me sad, pre-determined cannot be a good thing for me. I thought it was very tough.

I would hate for it to be predetermined and it would not make total sense. Say a test has 4 easy 2 med and 1 hard........well that hard is going to be a little easier than someone who has a test with 2 easy 2 medium and 3 hard. I mean its more exhausting/frustrating/demoralizing/strenuous to work through 3 hard than 1 hard therefore in essence you could infer that the MCAT containing 3 hard may have one passage that feels very hard and the MCAT with only 1 hard may feel more like a medium.

I've felt this effect on easier/harder practice tests: where I was able to work through a very tough question set because I had breezed through the rest.

It doesn't matter now, I can only hope but I do get depressed thinking its predetermined.....
 
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Don't worry about it being pre-determined or not. As has been said, if the test was difficult for you, it's likely that it was difficult for everyone past and present who took it. Don't get hung up, you've done all you can do so now just relax and wait for the test.
 
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anyone else been having dreams about MCAT score release? ..last three nights in a row, no joke. 16 more days and this sucks.
 
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Neelesh said:
With every day that passes, I think my score drops a point.
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I feel ya...

It's so hard to have a consistent image of how I did because as time passes I forget the "I got this" moments and all I can think about are the "man wtf is this?" ones.
 
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Okay, let's be honest...

This wait is OFFICIALLY killing me! For the last couple of weeks it's been fine, I've put it out of my mind...but now I can't think about anything else! Please just put me out of my misery!!!


Anyone else feel the same? :oops:
 
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Totally feeling the same. How do you guys know we won't hear until May 6? I know that is 30 days but is it ever earlier? Will we get an email letting us know that our scores are available?
 
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SCORES ARE OUT!!! jkjkjk :) I'm afraid we will probably end up waiting until at least the 6th from what I have heard... My dreams are getting more intense by the day. Good luck!
 
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cool...thanks for the response. yes, i am having weird dreams too! :)

in some i get good scores, in one I got 12s on PS and BS and a 1 on Verbal. And for me Verbal is my strong suit ... so very weird. ahhh...well good luck to you. post when they are out!!

cheers!
 
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