The 5/31/08 MCAT Club

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Decicco

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How is studying? I've done a fair amount so far, but will have to put it on hold for two weeks for finals... then I have a whole month of 10 hour days :thumbdown:thumbdown.

How are your practice tests? My Kaplan scores have been high (check my MDapps), but I think they are probably inflated.. I don't deserve some of the scores I've been getting, lol.

Good luck everyone!!

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so i was the one who had a hard time falling asleep last nite :( so i ended up just going in to take the 8 o'c'lock test... after i just took it, i really wanted to void it cuz i knew i could've done much better if i had slept... now i'm feeling :( cuz i probably should've voided it.. and i'm wondering wut if i had a good night's sleep and actually knew wut i was doing during the exam... but hey, if everyone thinks it was an annoying test... there's a chance no? lol... i was just wondering.. if you subumit ur app saying u took it today.. and let's say u do real badly and need to take it again... then do you have to call them to notify them not to start reading the apps? how does that work?

if your app is complete with an MCAT score they will begin reviewing and macking decisions unless you let them know you are retaking. if you do notify them, they will put your app on hold until the new scores come in. if you don't, and they don't like your first score, they can reject you.
 
if your app is complete with an MCAT score they will begin reviewing and macking decisions unless you let them know you are retaking. if you do notify them, they will put your app on hold until the new scores come in. if you don't, and they don't like your first score, they can reject you.

lala asked what i was thinking... where did you read that ryserr? i wish i was clairvoyant and could see what my score was. that way, i would know whether or not to submit my application without getting my mcat score back...
 
omg how i regret not pacing myself on ps section and verbal!!

ps: had the cathode problem and passage about spring constant with the shoe which was difficult. also had the block on an inclined plane question and other chem questions involving, some on decay, etc. had to guess on last few questions:(

verbal: had a passages on roosevelt and ABOUT ICEBERGS! ICEBERGS ARE YOU KIDDING ME:mad:

I feel really down right now, but relieved its over. Should have paced myself better on physical sciences, but this is my first time taking it. Do people usually take the MCAT twice??

yeah, plenty of people take it twice. it's normal. in fact, i might have to do that as well. I had problems with the same passages that you did! i don't like icebergs either now. the cathode problem was confusing bc circuits is really not my best subject. i could have done better on bio of i paid attention just a little bit more. i think i was tired by the time the bio section rolled around. not as tired as lala i'm guessing! lala, i'd suggest exercising at night or doing something that will tire you out a little so you'll fall asleep quickly if you plan to take it again.
 
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actually--exercising at night will activate the sympathetic nervous system and youll wind up with hormonal epinephrine in your bloodstream. This could end up keeping you awake for longer than one would have anticipated.
perhaps exercising around dusk would be a better option.
 
hmm but it seems that alot of ppl who think they did realy badly actually do quite decently.. doens't that give us some hope? lol although i honestly did feel like i was guessing most of the time...
 
actually--exercising at night will activate the sympathetic nervous system and youll wind up with hormonal epinephrine in your bloodstream. This could end up keeping you awake for longer than one would have anticipated.
perhaps exercising around dusk would be a better option.

I choose "D". none of the above.

Your response totally sounds like an MCAT answer:D
 
Hey!
Well, I am not sure how the test went for me today!

PS- wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. A lot of physics...but more conceptual than actual problems. The cathode one was hard too! I also feel uneasy about the shoe one too. It didn't seem too hard so I think that is why I feel uneasy. I actually finished with like 10 minutes left...so I am not sure what that means since I usually finish with no time.

Verbal- I also thought that was pretty tricky. The ice berg passage was not very good...especially since it was toward the end and I was losing my concentration. I felt like I didn't do too hot here...and verbal is usually my best section! Hopefully it is true that if you felt you didn't do too well then you did well :D

BS- definitely glad there wasn't much o. chem on it! I too ran out of time studying and didn't really study that much! There were a few passages that gave me trouble- the one about bacterial infections and then the other cell fusing one.

Well, it is over! Soooo glad! Ok, time to have some fun!
 
i know i'm supposed to be glad that it's over... but my mind keeps wandering back to the test... make it stop! how am i supposed to make it through the remainder of this month when I can't even make it through today w/o checking this thread? Honestly though, I felt much better taking practice aamc tests than I did with the test today. for the most part they were similar but there were passages in PS and BS that were a little out of my league... i wish I was able to guage how well I did...
 
So I took the test last summer and this test by far was a lot easier or maybe I should say straight forward.

PS- The first few passages were not bad at all. The shoe one was a lil' tricky. Can't really remember much else about this section.

VR- Not as bad as I expected and this is usually my worst section. I got done with a few minutes to spare. The iceberg passage was the only one that I don't feel to good about.

BS- This is usually my best section...but today I'm not quite sure. There were alot of "NOT" "LEAST" questions that I always have to re-read to make sure I fully understand what they want.

I'm happy its over. Now I don't know what to do with myself.

Oh yeah WS wasn't bad either.
 
I am feeling a bit obsessive about today as well. I hope it subsides. I keep trying to go back to the test, but am finding it hard to remember.

I do remember the shoe one, and it was definitely a "concept" question....My practice scores were all over the board though.. I did AAMC 3,6,7,8,9 and 10. PS is usually my strong point, but really can't tell today!?

VR--Seems like everyone has mentioned the iceberg one. I hesitate to say, but I may have done OK (famous last words)....I tried something new with VR on my last practice test. On half the passages I wrote a quick note/ general idea about each paragraph that helped me keep it straight in my head. I scored markedly better on the passages I took notes on versus the ones I did not. I tried this today and felt pretty good. Only time will tell though. Maybe the tip will help someone else......

BS--This was bad. Almost all BIO which is my weakest (embarassed to admit I have not completed BIO prereqs yet....)Seemed to really be knowledge and concept oriented versus passage driven. Probably to keep people like me from trying to take it without all pre reqs.....

Overall, it is over, but now the WAIT......hope everyone gets what they need.....
 
PS: I'm still pretty numb from the experience, but I don't think there were any chem passages - just a few discretes.

VR: I thought it was the typical practice AAMC test. It's always my lowest section though - not expecting too much. I hate icebergs. And Archimedes can kiss my ass.

BS: Only one chem passage which I left till the end. I thought it was very hard, but i hate ochem, so who knows. The majority of the questions were knowledge based and had at least something to do with genetics.

Notes: the majority of the mcat was physics, VR, and genetics. The weird thing is that I'm usually rushing through the last few questions on each section - but with the real thing, I finished on time. I hope that doesn't turn out to be a bad thing.

:luck:
 
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lala asked what i was thinking... where did you read that ryserr? i wish i was clairvoyant and could see what my score was. that way, i would know whether or not to submit my application without getting my mcat score back...

i've read that numerous times from other people posting on SDN and have heard it from admissions people as well. if you notify them that you are retaking, they will wait until your scores are in before making any decisions.
 
Phew... I am just glad that its over!

PS- I thought it was pretty straight forward. All pretty basic concepts, no hard formulas needed, no long calculations. Finished with a few min to spare.

VR- No idea. Verbal is not my forte by any means. I finished with about 3min, but had to 'guess' on a bunch throughout. I didn't seem to find the passages difficult (ie. no ancient greek philosophy, or nihlism), but they were quite long, and the questions pretty difficult....

BS- An emphasis on exp. passages, lots of cell cultures with those +/- boxes. Overall very fair section. Only 1 orgo passages and maybe 2 descretes which were all straight forward. Definately could have answered the orgo passage from basic knowledge...

Overall, very fair exam, PS/BS were slightly easier than expected. VR... I have my fingers crosses for the enxt 29 days.

Congrats on being DONE all!! Cheers.:thumbup:
 
It's over! I'm so happy to be done!!
Hardest to easiest in my opinion...
PS:
cathode
ammonia
shoe
penny
sand dunes
test dummies
nuclear physics

VR:
Damn glaciers!!!
eating fuzzy animals
correcting behavior
population capacity
art and pop culture
roosevelt
archimedes

BS:
the one orgo passage
hybridized cells
COPD
myasthenia gravis
bees
IBD
transferrin

i have no idea how i remember the entire test.
 
It's over! I'm so happy to be done!!
Hardest to easiest in my opinion...
PS:
cathode
ammonia
shoe
penny
sand dunes
test dummies
nuclear physics

VR:
Damn glaciers!!!
eating fuzzy animals
correcting behavior
population capacity
art and pop culture
roosevelt
archimedes

BS:
the one orgo passage
hybridized cells
COPD
myasthenia gravis
bees
IBD
transferrin

i have no idea how i remember the entire test.

lol, that's awesome!!
 
you had a verbal on eating fuzzy animals? a passage on that same topic is in EK101 Verbal book. I think it's in the first or second test. weird. i'm impressed that you remembered all of that. I actually remember specific problems. Like, I'll try to get my mind off the test, and then I'll remember a new problem I had trouble with... this sucks. I wrote all of them down and I seem to recall 11 q's of the bio section are up in the air for me. I might have gotten at least 3 from the stem cell passage wrong bc i really didn't get it. I could have gotten a couple of those 11 right, who knows? In verbal, I can't gauge how i did even though the passages were ok. In the physical sciences, I also recall 11 or so q's that I wasn't sure on. But a couple of those could be right. Hopefully, I'll have gotten enough correct to at least get 10 on both science sections.
 
It's over! I'm so happy to be done!!
Hardest to easiest in my opinion...
PS:
cathode
ammonia
shoe
penny
sand dunes
test dummies
nuclear physics

VR:
Damn glaciers!!!
eating fuzzy animals
correcting behavior
population capacity
art and pop culture
roosevelt
archimedes

BS:
the one orgo passage
hybridized cells
COPD
myasthenia gravis
bees
IBD
transferrin

i have no idea how i remember the entire test.

am i the only one who didn't have the archmedes passage? mine was about mangrove trees instead. it was a relatively easier passage though. glaciers (KILLER), correcting behavior, art/pop culture, and roosevelt were all hard for me. but i guess its supposed to be a hard test.

Typical mcat question for me i felt like was:

There are 2 7-11 stores right across the street to each other. I went and robbed the first one, and then on my way to rob the second one cops arrest me and take me to jail. When was i arrested?

A. At the first one
B. At the second one
C. At Dunkin Donuts
D. I was not arrested
 
I have no idea why, but I just could not seem to do physics. Maybe test jitters because I felt okay with the other sections. I just hate that we have to wait so long to get our scores! :eek:
 
Typical mcat question for me i felt like was:

There are 2 7-11 stores right across the street to each other. I went and robbed the first one, and then on my way to rob the second one cops arrest me and take me to jail. When was i arrested?

A. At the first one
B. At the second one
C. At Dunkin Donuts
D. I was not arrested

Haha, that is awesome! I totally agree
 
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sry i have to rant...am i the only one who got killed by VR here...i didn't spend my time wisely and rushed through some passages...guessing along the way...argh

now i feel like my VR score is gonna be worse than last time i took it...

and yea..i just signed up so i can rant here, pathetic much -_-

VR was pretty difficult for me also. Waiting to find out is pretty rough. Especially since I am not very confident about the results. I am thinking about signing up for a test that takes place about a month after score releases and just canceling it if I did OK. Anybody else thinking about this?:confused:
 
Physical: ugh. not very sure. love how they give us some super complicated circuit problem. Mostly physics, which is exactly what I didn't want. That cathode problem could have been easy, but instead they made it incredibly convoluted. Not really sure overall. I think I did alright.

VR: Easily could have bombed this. Hated every passage on this test. Didn't run out of time, but my God they picked some stupid stuff to read about. Roosevelt, Cities, Icebergs, well basically all of them...This could easily destroy this test for me. I am so worried about this section.

Essays: One boring one, one good one. I think I did great on one, mediocre on the other.

Bio: So easy. I finished with 20 mins left. I seriously did not have a single problem on this section. Fibroblast/Stem Cell passage was the only difficult one in the entire section, but even then it wasn't bad. Lots of genetics which I loved. Lots of bio which I loved. OCHEM passage and discretes were so easy. Lots of references to Immunology and Microbiology which I loved.
 
PS- not too bad the shoe problem was a little tricky
VR- the high art/pop art and iceberg passage sucked so i have no clue
BS- tired towards the end and was a little surprised that most questions required extreme comprehension of the passage (unlike the aamc practices). A little confused on the COPD and transferrin passages, anyone know what those were about?
 
VR was pretty difficult for me also. Waiting to find out is pretty rough. Especially since I am not very confident about the results. I am thinking about signing up for a test that takes place about a month after score releases and just canceling it if I did OK. Anybody else thinking about this?:confused:

yeah, i'm probably going to do that too. i wish i felt more confident about how i did.
 
yeah, i'm probably going to do that too. i wish i felt more confident about how i did.

sigh...the more i think about my bio section the more i think its gonna be the thing that brings me down. I always scored well on my aamc but I just wasn't confident walking out of that bio section..so I never really studied it as much.

Sooo disappointed in myself because I thought I did well on the PS and VS.

Oddly I'm MORE motivated to study now...disgusting isn't it. I'll prob take another day or so off then tackle bio like I tackled PS.
 
All I have to say:

Bees? Are you F*ing kidding me?
 
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Seems like a lot of people had similar issues. Especially the iceberg one, who thought they could make icebergs so boring and esoteric. The hEB cell/fibroblast passage was by far the hardest. And I'm glad I wrote a 15 page research paper on COPD and AAT deficiency back in college, it really helped out. But all in all, I didn't walk out feeling as confident I would have liked. I really don't know how I scored, so I guess I just have to wait the 30 days.
 
Well, no one seems to have had the problem I had. Either it was what I ate for lunch the day before, nerves or both, but I had the worst indigestion half way through the physics section (that gurgle in the stomach, ugh). I barely made it to the 10 min break to run to the bathroom! I was so angry it had to strike me then then!!

I finished everything, and think it went ok, but man was I angry at my body the rest of the exam. I really don't want to take this thing again...

Good Luck Everyone. Now hurry up and wait.
 
PS- not too bad the shoe problem was a little tricky
VR- the high art/pop art and iceberg passage sucked so i have no clue
BS- tired towards the end and was a little surprised that most questions required extreme comprehension of the passage (unlike the aamc practices). A little confused on the COPD and transferrin passages, anyone know what those were about?
As a Micro major, I am the master of regulatory pathways.

I had never seen COPD in my life, but after reading the passage it was not hard to understand if you are good at these sorts of things.

Transferrin is a pretty important virulence factor for bacteria, so having a good background on this, it too was pretty easy for me. All in all I do not think BS could have gone any better for me. However, I wish I could say the same for PS and VR...
 
so i was the one who had a hard time falling asleep last nite :( so i ended up just going in to take the 8 o'c'lock test... after i just took it, i really wanted to void it cuz i knew i could've done much better if i had slept... now i'm feeling :( cuz i probably should've voided it.. and i'm wondering wut if i had a good night's sleep and actually knew wut i was doing during the exam... but hey, if everyone thinks it was an annoying test... there's a chance no? lol... i was just wondering.. if you subumit ur app saying u took it today.. and let's say u do real badly and need to take it again... then do you have to call them to notify them not to start reading the apps? how does that work?


Keep in mind that the MCAT is curved so if lots of people void tougher curve...keep your fingers crossed for a nice curve...
 
It's over! I'm so happy to be done!!
Hardest to easiest in my opinion...
PS:
cathode
ammonia
shoe
penny
sand dunes
test dummies
nuclear physics

VR:
Damn glaciers!!!
eating fuzzy animals
correcting behavior
population capacity
art and pop culture
roosevelt
archimedes

BS:
the one orgo passage
hybridized cells
COPD
myasthenia gravis
bees
IBD
transferrin

i have no idea how i remember the entire test.
Test dummies? I mus have been somewhere else when I did that passage bc I don't remember anything about test dummies....
Archimedes? don't remember that or the mangrove trees...
 
Test dummies? I mus have been somewhere else when I did that passage bc I don't remember anything about test dummies....
Archimedes? don't remember that or the mangrove trees...

you got a different version of the test. mine didn't include archimedes or fuzzy animals. i had bees and mangroves.
 
PS: Meh, interesting and mostly easy stuff I thought. Circuit passage was harder than the usual circuit passage.

VR: All I could say is... "Icebergs. Wtf."

Bio: ...for the first time in college, I wished I was a bio major, or at least just taken some microbio. Orgo was on passage and easy.

All-in-all... possible retake. :(
Anyways... 29 days to go till we find out guys. We can do this.
 
Haha, that is awesome! I totally agree!

-Angela

Quote:
Originally Posted by sportstownusa
Typical mcat question for me i felt like was:

There are 2 7-11 stores right across the street to each other. I went and robbed the first one, and then on my way to rob the second one cops arrest me and take me to jail. When was i arrested?

A. At the first one
B. At the second one
C. At Dunkin Donuts
D. I was not arrested




This was fantastic.......great humor. helps take the edge off!

If everyone can come up with a good one like this once a day for everyone to laugh at, the 30 days will go by in no time (well maybe not, but at least it might help)
 
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Less than 30 hopefully..the AMCA website predicts score release on June 26th, so a few less days of agony!
 
PS: thought it was long and was not a fan of it. was def rushed by the end. even amount of physics and chem on it. not looking forward to seeing my score there. someone at my test center even cancelled his score after this section. i didnt even know u could do taht but on the sign in sheet it said exam cancelled.

Verbal: not sure what to think about this one. felt pretty similar to the practice exams though. after reading ppl's posts, the iceberg one was def a 'wtf'er'

BS: i liked this section the best out of all, had almost all bio, not much physio or biochem. only 1 orgo passage. to ppl that are still studying, i would not put a crazy amount of time into studying orgo/memorizing reactions. just know basics, stuff about organic lab procedures (electrophoresis, etc), nmr, IR spec. most of the passages on the exam were testing your reasoning, NOT facts that u know. u really had to think about the question and apply info.

idk...here we go w/ the next month. that was my 2nd time taking so hopefully im not disappointed cause i am absolutely sick of this test.
 
Did anyone else have the Santa Fe/Las Vegas passage? I think that rivaled the Iceberg passage in terms of boring-ness.

The only part of the test that I feel really good about is the WS, which is just great considering that apparently it is the least important part of the test.
 
I thought the test was ok not too,too difficult.

PS: Went ok for me. I am sure that I made a few simple mistakes. I was definitely challenged on the cathode problem and the shoe. Those are the main two passages that stick out in my mind. The stand alones were not bad at all...I am not saying that I got them all right, but I did decent. Finished with like a minute and some change. Not many calculations at all. I also did not have the incline passage that I noticed other people note.

VR: I really don't know. I did not have any real trouble. I hope this is a sign of me doing well. I finished in time with like 2 minutes and some change left. I had the mangrove passage, but not Archimedes. I see that many people had the Archimedes joint. I do not remember a bee passage either.

BS: I think this was the best section for me. I may have screwed up on the one orgo passage. There was nothing in biology that had me going "What the hell was that." Of course there were some questions here and there that stumped me and really made me think. As someone else noted, many of the questions were passage based. I was a little surprised. Finished with like 1 minute and change.
 
The Bee passage was in BS section. It was a deliciously easy passage.
 
yea that is where I remember a bee passage from. I must have mis-read someone's post because I thought that they said it was one in VR. Yea, I do remember that joint being in BS.
 
I still keep dreaming about physics even though the test is over...haaha! I want normal dreams!

Speaking of dreams...did anyone have any crazy nightmare-ish dreams the night before the exam? I did...here is is...I dreamt that I was on my way to the exam and when I got there I locked my keys in the car while the car was running! Then after I got that taken care of, I went into the center and the test was post-poned for and hour and a half...then when the test was about to start I got really nervous and threw up...I went to the bathroom and when I got back they had already started the test and I was begging the proctor to let me take the test...She was like "I don't know...what does everyone else think?" and some kids were like "No! Don't let her take it!!!!" but then finally I convinced them to let me take the test. During one of the breaks I left to go to the bathroom and when I came back they had cancelled my test and said they thought I left! I was really upset and mad and then I woke up! Crazy dream! And really long too! Luckily none of that actually happened! What about you guys?
 
haha.... I didn't write this date but had a dream the other night that It was my MCAT day and the verbal section was still on paper but the others on computer.... and that my girlfriend was taking it with me....


but the verbal was on a CD that this one kid took to the front of the room and put on a stereo and the passage was read out loud. People were talking the whole way through and I complained to the proctor that people were talking and that the kid that brought the cd could have listened to it already and the proctor didn't care... ahha and my girlfriend kept finishing passages and saying done! causing me to compete and try to rush...

It was terrible... lol and terribly strange
 
hey guys, i had the santa fe, las vegas complicated verbal passage too. man this test is taking over my life even though its over!! i keep trying to think of the possible problems i missed and am scared i got below 10s on verbal and physical sciences.

OMITTED

:scared: i really hope i get a 30+

Musty, I'd suggest you edit that post quickly or receive a 1 week ban for talking about answer choices
 
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