The Official 03/28/09 MCAT Club

[8mile]

Hi,

Since I'm taking the MCAT on this day, and no one has started a thread for this date yet, I'm starting one.

May the MCAT god be with us!!!

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[marele86]

Hah, yeah, reading the 1/30/09 thread is a little like reading Titanic's ship log as you pack for a cruise.

Seriously, though, it sounds like everyone felt lousy about it, so hopefully the curve will reflect that. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned that it's better to have the scores spread out like that so that 1-2 points missed on some random thing doesn't affect your score as much. Hopefully everyone from the 1/30 date will end up in their practice score range.

HOWEVER, it's made me realize I need to start taking some practice tests under more stressful conditions! Maybe I can convince my boyfriend to slam a few doors, or talk on the phone in the next room.. or make my verbal passages 50% longer..

 

[ksmi117]

Hey 3/28er's! I took the Mdawg yesterday and looking back, it probably wasn't as bad as we're all making it out to seem. Just practice practice practice. And y'all will own this test! March 28th is my birthday so I expect good news from all of you fellow pre-meds as a bday present!!

 

[jh8cw]

3/28ers, do not let our thread discourage you. One major reason being: we don't know what our scores will be. Second, as much as we whine about how the test is nothing like the practice AAMCs, they will still help your timing, and even more if the actual test turned out to be like say 1/31.

Also, know everything, thoroughly and exhaustively. There were definitely discrete questions that required advanced knowledge that I feel some of my fellow posters may not have seen, especially in the biology section. You need these, especially when you are guessing on the tough passages. When you are taking practice exams, make sure why you are eliminating the other choices, because I am absolutely certain there were a bunch of questions on the real exam that I could not have gotten right if not for the approach of picking the only non-wrong answer.

 

[Caesar]

anyone else here getting nervous after reading the 1/30/2009 MCAT thread?

yes, which is why I try to stay away from those other threads.

 

[Ilkaan]

man, VR Sucks kill'n me....

 

[Caesar]

we are not a very active club guys.

 

[scrubswannabe]

7 more weeks

 

[MegaProjectile]

I'm in! Just registered. Retaking to improve my verbal from a 4 .

 

[Marjan Islam]

What's everyone's status?

I've finished content review for the most part. I hate how I feel like learning everything again cause I feel like I've forgot crap. But yeah, I'm done. I just need to sit down and memorize a buncha equations and stuff.

I'm about to do my first practice test since like 2 months ago!

 

[MegaProjectile]

What's everyone's status?

I've finished content review for the most part. I hate how I feel like learning everything again cause I feel like I've forgot crap. But yeah, I'm done. I just need to sit down and memorize a buncha equations and stuff.

I'm about to do my first practice test since like 2 months ago!

I just finished my content review as well too. Although I'm retaking, I feel like I've forgotten everything(took it early last year) so I had to do a FULL review again to refresh my mind. Some things are coming back to me ,though, in physics and chemistry but bio still feels like a foreign language.

I'm working hard on my verbal now. I ignored it last time and this time i'm treating it as a serious subject that needs time and effort. Mapping seems to be helping me to synthesize the passage and think critically instead of passive absorption.We'll see how that goes .

 

[Caesar]

I am about a week behind on content review. Tests in classes are piling up. I should be done within 1-2 weeks and then it's going to be sample passage problems over and over and over.

 

[badapplestix]

Finished reading the Kaplan review notes, and now I'm doing EK Audio Osmosis. Last week I got a 29 on my practice test. I feel confident because I got an 8 on physics, which I know I can improve on after reviewing some more.

 

[8mile]

wow you guys are ahead, I finished content review for physics, chem and half of ochem. My plan is to slowly finish content review of bio about 1 week before the test, so that I don't forget it.

 

[Marjan Islam]

I just took Kaplan FL 2 and got a 30. I'd be happy with a 32 on the real thing, but FL2, oh my god, I freakin' HATE Kaplan Verbal. I know people say not to take it seriously and that the passages are too dense (which I whole-heartedly agree with by the way), but since half of my practice tests will be from Kaplan, I have to deal with the Verbal.

I got 20/40 correct on Kaplan's FL2 on Verbal, which gave me an 8... if it was the real MCAT, I'm sure I would have gotten a 6 or something. The verbal was SOOOO dense, all this philosophical mumbo jumbo, and such passage specific questions, oh my god!

I've been doing EK Verbal, and getting the MAIN IDEA and been getting 10's on their tests. I've yet to take an AAMC, which I'll take soon, so hopefully the verbal will be more in like with EK. I just can't get over how crappy I felt taking that verbal section

Anyway,

/rant

 

[8mile]

I just took Kaplan FL 2 and got a 30. I'd be happy with a 32 on the real thing, but FL2, oh my god, I freakin' HATE Kaplan Verbal. I know people say not to take it seriously and that the passages are too dense (which I whole-heartedly agree with by the way), but since half of my practice tests will be from Kaplan, I have to deal with the Verbal.

I got 20/40 correct on Kaplan's FL2 on Verbal, which gave me an 8... if it was the real MCAT, I'm sure I would have gotten a 6 or something. The verbal was SOOOO dense, all this philosophical mumbo jumbo, and such passage specific questions, oh my god!

I've been doing EK Verbal, and getting the MAIN IDEA and been getting 10's on their tests. I've yet to take an AAMC, which I'll take soon, so hopefully the verbal will be more in like with EK. I just can't get over how crappy I felt taking that verbal section

Anyway,

/rant

Haha, yeah that verbal was really messed up. I also scored an 8 when I took it. I really think that this FL for kaplan is highly UN-representative. If you are gettings 10's on EKs you'll probably get 10s or better on the AAMCs and on your actual MCAT.

 

[MegaProjectile]

Have anyone done AAMC verbal 5? The Picasso passage was brutal. I'm using the old paper version with 10 questions and I could only answer 4! This was after I've aced the global warming asteriod passage. One minute I was on cloud nine, the next minute I'm in ground zero .

 

[badapplestix]

Have anyone done AAMC verbal 5? The Picasso passage was brutal. I'm using the old paper version with 10 questions and I could only answer 4! This was after I've aced the global warming asteriod passage. One minute I was on cloud nine, the next minute I'm in ground zero .

haha yeah...I got a 9 on verbal because I missed 3 or 4 on that passage :-/

 

[Ilkaan]

It seems like most of us having trouble dealing with VR.....it sucks. I hardly get 3 or 4 questions about of 6 or 7 questions, not to mentions running out of time with 2 passages to go....man. I appreciate any sort of advice or suggestion.

Thank you
Good Luck to everyone

 

[yousafob]

finally scoring close to my TARGET score (33+).... I just took AAMC 6 and scored 12 PS 10 VR 10 BS. still room for improvement though!

 

[Sonia Khan]

Can anyone tell me if there is a general formula for doing the half-life problems. I am having really hard time with half-life problems.

 

[yousafob]

Can anyone tell me if there is a general formula for doing the half-life problems. I am having really hard time with half-life problems.

Here's the easiest way to do half life problems:

I would understand this concept: 100 --> 50 --> 25 --> 12.5.

The half life is the time it takes for exactly HALF the material to decay. So if you start with 100% and go through ONE half life there will be 50% of material decayed and 50% left over. If you go through TWO half lives, 75% material will decay and there will be 25% left. THREE half lives there will be 12.5% of the original mass.

Here's an example question, if the half life of a sample is 5 and 15 years pass, what is the fraction of material remaining?

Answer: Since the half life is 5 and 15 years passed, that means THREE half lives have passed and 12.5% of the original mass will be left.

Alternatively, you can use the formula --> Fraction of sample remaining = (1/2)^n where n = # half lives.

In the example above, you would do (1/2)^3 which gives 1/8 which is equivalent to 12.5%.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sonia Khan]

Thank you Yousaf, actually I am familiar with the method you explained, however i usually get caught up with more wordy problems like the following.
The initial decay activity of a given quantity of a radioactive is 240 counts/min. After 24 min the activity is 60 counts/min. What is the half-life of the element? I got the answer right which was 12 min but I don’t seem to get it.

 

[marele86]

Anyone else not feeling the pressure yet?

I started studying too early and I'm kind of worried that I'm losing it. My last practice test score went down. I haven't been studying as much this week... hopefully I'll soon look at the calendar, be shocked at how few days I have left, and kick it into high gear...

 

[yousafob]

Thank you Yousaf, actually I am familiar with the method you explained, however i usually get caught up with more wordy problems like the following.
The initial decay activity of a given quantity of a radioactive is 240 counts/min. After 24 min the activity is 60 counts/min. What is the half-life of the element? I got the answer right which was 12 min but I don’t seem to get it.

240 ---> 120 ---> 60

That's 2 half lives that took place to get to 60. Since it took 24 minutes to get to 60 (in other words, it took 24 minutes to undergo 2 half lives) you divide 24 minutes by 2 to get 12 minutes per half life. Make sense now?

 

[yousafob]

Anyone else not feeling the pressure yet?

I started studying too early and I'm kind of worried that I'm losing it. My last practice test score went down. I haven't been studying as much this week... hopefully I'll soon look at the calendar, be shocked at how few days I have left, and kick it into high gear...

We only have 39 days left and counting, so I am definitely feeling the pressure. I gave myself 40 days and 40 nights which just started yesterday to study minimum 8 hours a day, 7 days a week until the exam.

 

[Sonia Khan]

Yes it does, thank you

 

[Marjan Islam]

I'm trying to take a practice test every other day. Or, one every 3 days. And finishing up EK Verbal or Kaplan Verbal or those full Kaplan PS and BS tests online in between those days. Not too much room for MORE content review. I just go over flashcards and quicksheets! Is this what everyone else is doing?

On a side note, one of my greatest fears right now is a story like this: "I averaged a 36 on all my practice MCATs but made a 24 on the real thing!"

...that is scary.

 

[yousafob]

I'm trying to take a practice test every other day. Or, one every 3 days. And finishing up EK Verbal or Kaplan Verbal or those full Kaplan PS and BS tests online in between those days. Not too much room for MORE content review. I just go over flashcards and quicksheets! Is this what everyone else is doing?

On a side note, one of my greatest fears right now is a story like this: "I averaged a 36 on all my practice MCATs but made a 24 on the real thing!"

...that is scary.

The Kaplan flashcards aren't that helpful for me as I pretty much have all the same formulas and concepts written down in my notes that I took out of each chapter from the Kaplan review notes. My content review just consists of re-reading the pretty thorough notes I took out of each chapter in the Kaplan BS/PS review notes and the notes I took out of each of the EK content books.

I haven't taken any Kaplan practice MCATs yet because I know from previous experience (this is my 2nd time taking the MCAT) that the Kaplan curve is ridiculously generous. For example, I recall missing 14-16 questions on the Kaplan verbals and getting an 11 on VR and missing 14-16 on the AAMCs would land you in the 7-8 range.

My score on the real MCAT when I took it on 5/27/08 was 1 point lower then my AAMC average (out of all AAMC tests 3-10) and 3 points lower then my Kaplan average (out of Kaplans first 6 tests). At least for me, the AAMCs were much better predictors of my score which shouldn't be much of a surprise since they are REAL tests, although a little outdated. Hence, I take an AAMC test every Saturday around 12 noon to try to simulate real testing conditions.

 

[marele86]

I'm trying to take a practice test every other day. Or, one every 3 days. And finishing up EK Verbal or Kaplan Verbal or those full Kaplan PS and BS tests online in between those days. Not too much room for MORE content review. I just go over flashcards and quicksheets! Is this what everyone else is doing?

I kind of threw my detailed plan out the window. I'm finishing up TBR Gen Chem (I already went through EK Gen Chem, but it was a few months ago and I wasn't improving on PS) along with EK's 1001 Physics. So I'm just doing a ton of practice problems every day until spring break, when I'll do 1 AAMC practice test every other day.

 

[Marjan Islam]

I haven't taken any Kaplan practice MCATs yet because I know from previous experience (this is my 2nd time taking the MCAT) that the Kaplan curve is ridiculously generous. For example, I recall missing 14-16 questions on the Kaplan verbals and getting an 11 on VR and missing 14-16 on the AAMCs would land you in the 7-8 range.

Granted Kaplan's curve is far more generous, in VR, I TOTALLY guess on almost half the questions simply because I: 1) don't understand the dense passages well enough or 2) the detail oriented questions are total time killers (to go back and find and verify that A, B, C, or D, is correct or not!!) and I end up not finishing.

AAMC and EK is a totally different story: I DO finish on time, and I only miss around 8-10. KP, I miss around 18. Both give the same score, but KP's just whack.

 

[8mile]

so I started stuyding for the bio section. I think I'll just wing it. There's too much info....

I've decided to focus more on the physical science and verbal sections.

 

[Marjan Islam]

Don't wing the bio! It's the easiest section! Just take a few days to read EK's Bio atleast. And just listen to Audio Osmosis's Bio a few times!

 

[Sonia Khan]

Has anyone taken goldstandard exams? or examkrackers? i really like the EK books, and i was wondering if there test that they sell online are good practice along the AAMC exams?

 

[ouLUSH]

okay, for some reason I find that I can't get any more than *one* hour of mcat studying per day. I am sooooooooooo distracted when it comes to studying for the mcat!

I'm beginning to freak out.

 

[MegaProjectile]

okay, for some reason I find that I can't get any more than *one* hour of mcat studying per day. I am sooooooooooo distracted when it comes to studying for the mcat!

I'm beginning to freak out.

I'd freak out too! I thought I was a slacker for just putting in 3 hours a day. If you are done with content review then it might not be so bad..... as long as you are using that *one* hour for practice. If you are still reviewing, you may wanna move your date.

 

[MegaProjectile]

I just took Kaplan old full-length VR 1 with 9 passages and did very well. So should I be happy or discard the result? I only got 6 wrong (54/60). What is everyone's experience with Kaplan VR1?

I found a trick to doing well on Kaplan VR. I'm gonna see if that skill transfers to EK Verbal and AAMC.

 

[yousafob]

I just took Kaplan old full-length VR 1 with 9 passages and did very well. So should I be happy or discard the result? I only got 6 wrong (54/60). What is everyone's experience with Kaplan VR1?

I found a trick to doing well on Kaplan VR. I'm gonna see if that skill transfers to EK Verbal and AAMC.

54/60 is quite good, but did you do the test under timed conditions? I think its 85 minutes for the old MCATs. I wouldn't get too excited about it though considering the closest verbals to the real thing are obviously the AAMC tests and the EK 101 verbals.

 

[yousafob]

anyone scoring within their target scores on the practice tests?

 

[badapplestix]

anyone scoring within their target scores on the practice tests?

I'm not there yet. I'm 3 points short, but my score keeps going up.

 

[yousafob]

I'm not there yet. I'm 3 points short, but my score keeps going up.

Wow your stats are VERY similar to mine. I went to UC Davis too, had a 3.48 GPA and 3.3 Science GPA and 3.8 Non-science. Good luck, I'm trying to get 33+ on myself and am getting real close as I got 32 on the last two AAMCs I took (AAMC#6 12 PS 10 VR 10 BS AAMC#7 10 PS 11 VR 11 BS). I hope we won't get automatically rejected from MD schools b/c of our low GPAs

 

[Marjan Islam]

I find that I'm not freaking out too much yet. I think I'm contempt with the idea that "I've done all that I could to prepare for this test." I have some 12+ practice tests to take before March 28th, so there's still PLENTY to do. Maybe I'll freak out if in these practice tests my scores plummet!!

 

[badapplestix]

Wow your stats are VERY similar to mine. I went to UC Davis too, had a 3.48 GPA and 3.3 Science GPA and 3.8 Non-science. Good luck, I'm trying to get 33+ on myself and am getting real close as I got 32 on the last two AAMCs I took (AAMC#6 12 PS 10 VR 10 BS AAMC#7 10 PS 11 VR 11 BS). I hope we won't get automatically rejected from MD schools b/c of our low GPAs

Haha funny, I just got a 32 on my last full length (Kaplan #3 PS 10 VR 12 BS 10). I'm applying to both MD and DO schools. I think a 33+ should be good enough to get in somewhere.

 

[MegaProjectile]

54/60 is quite good, but did you do the test under timed conditions? I think its 85 minutes for the old MCATs. I wouldn't get too excited about it though considering the closest verbals to the real thing are obviously the AAMC tests and the EK 101 verbals.

I took it timed. But the reason I was surprised by the grade was the fact that I have the Kaplan Verbal Reasoning practice book and I could barely answer the questions in that book correctly. Very weird book. I found their full-lengths more reasonable.

I bought the EK verbal reasoning and mathematical techniques yesterday from B&N and scored an 11. I made some really annoying stupid mistakes by reading the question too fast, thus, falling trap to the caveats,out-of-scope,out-of-context subtleties in the answer choices.

I bought the Economist yesterday too and I'm reading it. It's written like a lot of AAMC passages and I'm using it to practice.

I'm not really looking for a 12 or anything on the real thing. I'd be happy with a 9! Much better than the 4 I received last year.

 

[wiscorobby]

i'm taking it this day too.

AND, my 21st birthday is on the 29th so i REALLY hope i do well or drinking won't be as much fun the next day

 

[Marjan Islam]

Wow, my b-day is the 29th as well. I think someone else on this thread has his b-day on the 29th ALSO! Neat

For my update, I decided I won't do any more kaplan tests, cause although I do well on PS and BS, the VR just kills me. I'm NO good at details, but I don't really care since the real MCAT and AAMC VR I'm doing much better in.

I have 6 AAMC's to go, 30 days left, I think it'll work out better. More thorough post-game analysis, and time to revisit content I'm weak on!

What all tests are everyone using? Aside from AAMC that is!

 

[parhumn]

i know this is kinda weird to ask but what are you guys doing about the food/eating situation. are you having a late breakfast, early lunch...or both?

i don't want to get sleepy after a meal right before my test. any suggestions?

 

[yousafob]

I'm eating a late breakfast at around 10:45, leaving the house at 11:15 to drive to the test center which is about 30 minutes away. I'm also bringing a couple power bars/bananas/ 32oz Gatorade as snacks during the break.

I'm still using the Kaplan FL's just because the PS and BS is more similar to the real MCAT in the sense that it is harder then the AAMCs even though the VR is detail oriented. I also don't plan on spending any extra money on other FL's besides the Kaplan and AAMCs and I know plenty of people who scored really well just using those tests.

 

[parhumn]

do you guys have any advice on how to increase reading speed? i'm a pretty slow reader and i'm actually not able to answer the last few questions of every section because i never get to them. i'm actually getting pretty good scores despite that but i really don't want to take that chance on the actual MCAT.

so do you have any good tips or reading skills you recommend? (eg. special timed reading exercises, etc.) thanks!

 

[Marjan Islam]

I wouldn't try any reading tricks. You probably won't improve THAT kind of skill in such a short time. I'd just say always consciously keep in mind the speed you're reading in.

I notice that I usually start reading fast, but totally forget about it and read casually here and there. If you can eliminate that, you can get a few more minutes in. Also, maybe skip a passage that SEEMS tough. I know people advise against this, but I really find that if a passage begins about fiscal policy or economic layouts, I fare better skipping it and coming back to it. These passages kill me, so I do better if I come back to it, doing well on the other passages.

On a side note, I made my target score today! On AAMC 5: 32 (12/9/11). I'm glad, especially after the 27 from Kaplan's FL#5. I think I might suck it up and do the Kaplan FL's anyway. Just because I have time. I THINK. I'll see, I totally hate those FL's.

 

[yousafob]

do you guys have any advice on how to increase reading speed? i'm a pretty slow reader and i'm actually not able to answer the last few questions of every section because i never get to them. i'm actually getting pretty good scores despite that but i really don't want to take that chance on the actual MCAT.

so do you have any good tips or reading skills you recommend? (eg. special timed reading exercises, etc.) thanks!

I wouldn't be so focused on improving reading speed because:

A) If you want to improve your MCAT scores within the next several months your reading speed is unlikely to change significantly enough to make any difference

B) And even if you were able to DOUBLE your reading speed while retaining the same comprehension as before which is highly unlikely, the amount of extra time you have is insignificant

C) When you are reading the physical and biological science passages, you shouldn't be spending TOO much time reading, being as concentrated and focused as if you were reading the verbal but instead learning where to find the important information such as the tables, graphs, and equations

Instead, I would recommend using the time you do have more efficiently which includes answering ALL the discrete questions first b/c these are stand alone questions with no passages and generally easier. In addition, you should be periodically checking the timer (1-2 times) throughout each entire section to make sure you have adequate time to finish. For example, in VR there is 7 passages and you have 60 minutes which gives you approximately 8.5 minutes/passage so lets say you check the timer while starting your 3rd passage you should have around 42-43 minutes remaining.