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!!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[8mile]

hi guys, I don't think I'll retake my MCAT! My scores have not been improving significantly, so I've decided that I don't want to risk getting a lower score.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

(I feel kinda bad for starting this thread)

P.S. There's an open seat in Culver City if anyone wants it.

 

[parhumn]

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.

thanks for the advice! same to you marjan islam.

i actually do all those suggestions you made...i guess i just need to focus and practice a more. it's just that i read slower on the computer screen than on pages in a book...which seems odd since i read almost everything off a computer nowadays. i'm getting PS 13 & BS 14 pretty consistently, but my VR is around 9, primarily because i can't finish the questions.

btw, marjan islam, i would recommend doing the kaplan full lengths. the PS and BS sections are far more difficult than AAMC, so it'll be good practice for building a strong comprehension of the material.

 

[yousafob]

Starting tomorrow, only 26 days left. My goal is to start taking a FL everyday for the next 3 weeks, learn from my mistakes then rinse, wash, repeat. Hopefully my goal isn't too optimistic and I won't suffer from burn out. Anyone else planning on taking an excessive amount of FL's or just reviewing content and doing practice problems?

 

[badapplestix]

Someone told me doing a practice every day will lead to burn out. He said it's better to do one every other day, and spend the rest reviewing the test and going over content that you missed.

 

[wingardium]

.

 

[yousafob]

Whoo! 3/28 support!

This is my second time for the MCAT, since I did pretty crummy the first time, because I was burnt out. I'm trying a different approach this time, and hoping that I do as well as I was doing on my old practice exams.

I need some tips and tricks on PS and Bio, since I'd like to up these scores, and in exchange, I can give Verbal advice.

I think the best thing to do about Verbal if you have problems with reading speed is to read more. Obvious sounding, I know, but what I suggest is that you make a newspaper (such as the SF Chronicle or NYT, something big and well known) your homepage. Every time you log onto the internet, you may see an interesting article to read. What this does is it not only gives you practice with reading on a computer, but it also allows for a large breadth of information and topics for you learn about (much like the MCAT, which can range from art to astronomy). This has helped me tremendously, and even if you don't think it'll help verbal, at least you will walk away with new knowledge about world and community events.

In addition, I try to do a few passages every other day to keep me "fresh." Although, now that I am getting closer to my MCAT, I may up it to everyday, and add more practice FLs.

So, any tips and tricks for the other two sections?

My biggest tips for PS would to know ALL the formulas cold and be able to manipulate relationships. For example with PV=nRT if Pressure decreases while T stays constant what happens to Volume? Or, if Q=Av and area increases, what happens to velocity? Or, if you increase radius by 2 what happens to gravitational force? You should be very familiar with using all the equations and knowing whats directly/inversely proportional.

Being good with exponents and being able to round numbers quickly such as gravity = 9.8 m/s^2 rounded to 10 m/s^2 will definitely help you do the calculations in less then 60 seconds.

For BS, there really isn't any tricks as most people who take the MCAT are science majors like myself and have already covered all the Bio + Ochem tested in previous courses. I would pick up the EK Biology / EK O-chem books if you just need a refresher in both subjects and would try to understand pretty much everything both books since they contain HIGH yield information. It's actually not as intimidating and hard as it may seem to understand everything in the EK books because the information is very concise and most if not all of it should be review for you anyways.

 

[MegaProjectile]

Whoo! 3/28 support!

This is my second time for the MCAT, since I did pretty crummy the first time, because I was burnt out. I'm trying a different approach this time, and hoping that I do as well as I was doing on my old practice exams.

I need some tips and tricks on PS and Bio, since I'd like to up these scores, and in exchange, I can give Verbal advice.

I think the best thing to do about Verbal if you have problems with reading speed is to read more. Obvious sounding, I know, but what I suggest is that you make a newspaper (such as the SF Chronicle or NYT, something big and well known) your homepage. Every time you log onto the internet, you may see an interesting article to read. What this does is it not only gives you practice with reading on a computer, but it also allows for a large breadth of information and topics for you learn about (much like the MCAT, which can range from art to astronomy). This has helped me tremendously, and even if you don't think it'll help verbal, at least you will walk away with new knowledge about world and community events.

In addition, I try to do a few passages every other day to keep me "fresh." Although, now that I am getting closer to my MCAT, I may up it to everyday, and add more practice FLs.

So, any tips and tricks for the other two sections?

Welcome to the club. I'm retaking myself; trying to improve my verbal. For PS try to get a good understanding of the concepts. I suggest you use PR or BR. That's the most important step. Then start practicing how to apply the underlying concepts to new situations. NOVA Physics has a lot questions-stand alone and passages-that can allow you to apply your knowledge. They also have LOTS of questions on relationships between variables in a formula( to Yousafob's point). That alone is worth having the book. MCAT loves relationships and NOVA will drill that in your head. After that, then, you can proceed to full lengths. The full lengths should tell you if your hardwork is paying off. It's easy to get a 10 in PS. The curve starts to get steep when you're aiming for 11 and above.

Getting 11+ requires good test taking skills-deductive inference. More so in BS than in PS.Can you draw a conclusion based on a table or graph? Can you reconcile two experiments with each other?

Oh another tidbit: If a PS problem is taking you over a minute to do, then you are doing it wrong. This nugget is a life-saver for me.

 

[drillr00]

For those of you who are retaking your practice FLs again, how are you figuring out your improvement since you probably remember some of the questions/answers from before.

 

[marele86]

I've finally broken my PS plateau: I just took AAMC #6 and got a 38 (13/14/11)!

That 13 in PS is a big, big deal to me. I've spent 3 months sitting at a 10 that refused to increase, even though I studied PS fanatically with EK. After my last aamc practice test, I finally started using TBR. It's only 4 weeks into that plan, and damn, I am impressed. Their books are magic.. I didn't even feel stressed on that section today; I kind of enjoyed it.

On the other hand, now I'm looking at the calendar and wishing the test were tomorrow. I have an entire month to slide downhill. Damn.

 

[Marjan Islam]

That's awesome about your AAMC 6 score! How would you compare that to AAMC 5? That's the last one I took, and got a 32 (12/9/11), so AAMC6 is next! I totally screwed up on the neanderthal passage for verbal, which wasn't even that hard looking back! I'll take AAMC 6 sometime in the next week!

I'm getting nervous now! Test day is 24 days away!!!!

 

[parhumn]

maybe you guys already talked about this, but

for those of you taking kaplan, how do your kaplan mcat scores compare to your aamc mcat scores?

i'm finding that i miss far fewer aamc questions than the kaplan ones, yet my scores are approximately the same

 

[junkct]

yay i'm retaking

got my scores last week for 1/31 mcat and wasn't too happy.

this was kind of a shock; I never planned on a retake... I found out my scores on 3/3 and now i'm registered for 3/28

I hope I'm ready..

 

[Marjan Islam]

i'm finding that i miss far fewer aamc questions than the kaplan ones, yet my scores are approximately the same

The curve adjusts it, but I hate Kaplan tests. Though my scores are fairly similar, I work a lot lot harder for the kaplan tests. Also, I sometimes feel Kaplan is all about luck. When they have questions that are crazy tough, if I guess right, I'm gonna do well. And the verbal, oh god, it's terrible. I always do about how I do on the AAMC's for the PS and BS, but VR, I guess and run outta time and it's a total mess, which brings my score down.

 

[parhumn]

The curve adjusts it, but I hate Kaplan tests. Though my scores are fairly similar, I work a lot lot harder for the kaplan tests. Also, I sometimes feel Kaplan is all about luck. When they have questions that are crazy tough, if I guess right, I'm gonna do well. And the verbal, oh god, it's terrible. I always do about how I do on the AAMC's for the PS and BS, but VR, I guess and run outta time and it's a total mess, which brings my score down.

i've noticed that too. in regards to difficulty, will the actual MCAT be very similar in content and difficulty as the AAMC practice tests they've posted?

 

[souperjim14]

I'm taking this day too

two questions:

i'm scoring 9-11 in PS practice and can't seem to get it up, anyone recommend trying to get BR's PS book rushed to me before the test?

Also, my verbal scores are really variable (7-12), any recommendations for achieving more consistency in this?

 

[yousafob]

I'm taking this day too

two questions:

i'm scoring 9-11 in PS practice and can't seem to get it up, anyone recommend trying to get BR's PS book rushed to me before the test?

Also, my verbal scores are really variable (7-12), any recommendations for achieving more consistency in this?

Never used the BR books, but there are tons of people who do really well in the PS section just using combinations of Kaplan/TPR/EK as I'm sure you've read in the 30+ MCAT Thread. In other words, I don't think its necessary to buy the BR books.

PS is more about doing practice problems instead of learning content as compared to BS which is more content based. Thus, I would suggest doing as many chemistry/physics problems as possible and making sure to LEARN from your mistakes of why you missed such questions on practice exams and take notes for the ones you didn't understand as necessary.

 

[badapplestix]

I'm really excited. I did very well on Kaplan 6, but I'm worried my score is inflated. I'm happy nonetheless!

 

[Ilkaan]

104.​

​

​

​

​

Which of the following statements would be most in
agreement with the statements in the passage?​

A.​

​

​

​

​

It is no longer economical to grow crops with
low profit margins.​

B.​

​

​

​

​

Humans are powerless against the forces of
nature.​

C.​

​

​

​

​

Regional ecosystems are often severely damaged
when new organisms are introduced.​

D.​

​

​

​

​

It is more difficult to stop the spread of an insect
that reproduces asexually than one that reproduces​

sexually.


In the passage it states that:

"since the Russian aphid has only recently entered the
United States, it has no natural enemies among North​

American insects or animals.

A combination of several factors have made it particularly
difficult to deal with the threat posed by this aphid.
First, Russian aphids reproduce asexually at a phenomenal
rate. This process, known as parthenogenesis, often results
in as many as twenty generations of insects in a single​

year."

My question is: Which answer choice make sense to you C or D.
Their answer (C) and explaination is that

"the aphid​

’s
rapid asexual reproduction is one reason for the difficulty in controlling this pest, but it would be wrong to read into this one detail of the passage that it is always more difficult to control asexual insects, so choice (D) is wrong." but hey isn't C more generalization than D..............help here body​

 

[MegaProjectile]

104.​

Which of the following statements would be most in
agreement with the statements in the passage?​

A.​

It is no longer economical to grow crops with
low profit margins.​

B.​

Humans are powerless against the forces of
nature.​

C.​

Regional ecosystems are often severely damaged
when new organisms are introduced.​

D.​

It is more difficult to stop the spread of an insect
that reproduces asexually than one that reproduces​

sexually.


In the passage it states that:

"since the Russian aphid has only recently entered the
United States, it has no natural enemies among North​

American insects or animals.

A combination of several factors have made it particularly
difficult to deal with the threat posed by this aphid.
First, Russian aphids reproduce asexually at a phenomenal
rate. This process, known as parthenogenesis, often results
in as many as twenty generations of insects in a single​

year."

My question is: Which answer choice make sense to you C or D.
Their answer (C) and explaination is that

"the aphid​

’s
rapid asexual reproduction is one reason for the difficulty in controlling this pest, but it would be wrong to read into this one detail of the passage that it is always more difficult to control asexual insects, so choice (D) is wrong." but hey isn't C more generalization than D..............help here body​

I remember that question. I chose C. D is more of a generalization and does not follow the theme of the passage. The question is basically asking you to restate the main idea of the passage.The main idea of the passage is that Russian aphids caused great harm to American farm produce mainly because the American ecosystem has not evolved a natural enemy to combat the aphids. Them(aphids) having the ability to reproduce asexually only adds fuel to the fire but the fire was already there. The passage also cited other incidents of where a new insect was introduced to a foreign soil.
The main theme of the passage was never about asexual reproduction vs. sexual reproduction.

 

[Marjan Islam]

I'm really excited. I did very well on Kaplan 6, but I'm worried my score is inflated. I'm happy nonetheless!

I just took that today, and did well as well! But yeah, the score inflation is definitley there, but so is the crazy tough PS section.

It was also the first test where the VERBAL actually felt like the AAMC! Now I heard that Kaplan has REFINED their verbal more toward the later tests, something to that effect. I'm going to take Kaplan 7 soon, and hopefully it too will be more AAMC style. Verbal is what ALWAYS kills my Kaplan scores, so I pulled out well on this test.

I have AAMC 7, 8, 9 and 10 left before GAME DAY.

How's everyone's studying going? I wish this thread was more alive, I tend to stay motivated and thrive when I have buddies (you guys ) going at this test like crazy!

 

[sadiehawkins]

Only AAMC 7, 8, 9 & 10 left for me.

Seventeen days left.... and I'm SO ready for this to be over.

 

[Marjan Islam]

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING EVERYONE'S DOING AFTER THE TEST IS OVER!

I'm a big gaming dork so I'm gonna' go buy Star Ocean 4 and play it like no other. Or Gears of War 2 with a buddy. Man, I've been ignoring my poor XBOX 360 for far too long!

 

[sadiehawkins]

First: EAT! I'm not a big breakfast eater, so I'm sure I'll be starving after nibbling on snacks during those breaks.

Second: Movie night! Unless I decide to go Friday night. Hmm.... I think that sounds like a better idea. (No freak out sessions the night before.) Even better - two movie nights in a row!

 

[badapplestix]

I just took that today, and did well as well! But yeah, the score inflation is definitley there, but so is the crazy tough PS section.

It was also the first test where the VERBAL actually felt like the AAMC! Now I heard that Kaplan has REFINED their verbal more toward the later tests, something to that effect. I'm going to take Kaplan 7 soon, and hopefully it too will be more AAMC style. Verbal is what ALWAYS kills my Kaplan scores, so I pulled out well on this test.

I have AAMC 7, 8, 9 and 10 left before GAME DAY.

How's everyone's studying going? I wish this thread was more alive, I tend to stay motivated and thrive when I have buddies (you guys ) going at this test like crazy!

So you think it was inflated too? I was hoping it was me How high was it compared to your other tests? These are my scores

Kaplan 2: PS 11 VR 9 BS 9 = 29
Kaplan 3: 10 12 10 = 32
Kaplan 4: 10 11 10 = 31
Kaplan 6: 11 12 12 = 35

 

[marele86]

I have AAMC 7, 8, 9 and 10 left before GAME DAY.

How's everyone's studying going? I wish this thread was more alive, I tend to stay motivated and thrive when I have buddies (you guys ) going at this test like crazy!

Same practice tests that I have left, nice!

Midterms are this week, so no real MCAT studying for me. I knew that back when I scheduled myself for the 3/28 test, but still, I feel guilty about it. At least next week is spring break. (That is, if 'a week of uninterrupted MCAT studying' counts as a 'spring break'. I'm driving to my parent's town, where I don't know anyone, for the supply of free food, coffee, and lack of distractions.)

My goals for next week:
1. Go through all of EK Organic (Yeah.. so clearly, I was planning on punting it, but with 2 weeks left I think I can do better.)
2. AAMC tests 7, 8, and 9 on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
3. EK 1001 problems in chem & physics to try to prevent any backsliding/forgetting.

Biggest issue for me is going to be wondering how much to try to cram into that last week before the test. I've left my schedule blank (except for AAMC 10 on Tuesday) because I just don't know how close I'll be to burnout.. that blank week on the calendar looks very zen and intimidating compared to all the weeks above it and below it which are filled with writing. Good luck, guys!

 

[yousafob]

So you think it was inflated too? I was hoping it was me How high was it compared to your other tests? These are my scores

Kaplan 2: PS 11 VR 9 BS 9 = 29
Kaplan 3: 10 12 10 = 32
Kaplan 4: 10 11 10 = 31
Kaplan 6: 11 12 12 = 35

Yah, Kaplan is DEFINITELY inflated:

Kaplan 2: PS 13 VR 9 BS 13 = 35
Kaplan 3: PS 11 VR 10 BS 13 = 34
Kaplan 4: PS 13 VR 10 BS 10 = 33
Kaplan 5: PS 13 VR 11 BS 11 = 35
Kaplan 6: PS 11 VR 9 BS 13 = 33

 

[Marjan Islam]

Yeah, Kaplan is definitely inflated.

My Kaplan Tests:
Kaplan FL 1: 31
Kaplan FL 2: 30
Kaplan FL 3: 30
Kaplan FL 5: 27 (totally BOMBED the Verbal... I mean, badly)
Kaplan FL 6: 32

Yeah, Kaplan 5 was the point where I was about to give up on Kaplan. The BS and PS are fine, but the VR brought my score down every time because of how detail-oriented and unrepresentative it was! BUT, FL#6 was actually pretty good. The VR felt more like AAMC, with no insanely dense passages. Despite the crazy curves and stuff, Kaplan DOES seem to be a decent predictor for your actual scores. They're pretty close to my AAMCs:

AAMC 3: 30
AAMC 4: 31
AAMC 5: 32
AAMC 6: 31

I actually have a somewhat good time taking the AAMCs when compared to Kaplan. Though my scores are similar, I put about 5x more effort for my points in Kaplan tests! Anyone else feel that way? Also, I really hope I score higher on the next few AAMCs. I want to have a decent buffer for game day.

Midterms are this week, so no real MCAT studying for me. I knew that back when I scheduled myself for the 3/28 test, but still, I feel guilty about it. At least next week is spring break. (That is, if 'a week of uninterrupted MCAT studying' counts as a 'spring break'. I'm driving to my parent's town, where I don't know anyone, for the supply of free food, coffee, and lack of distractions.)

I'm currently on Spring Break, but I'm gonna STAY on spring break until the test. Gonna' skip my classes (well, CLASS rather. Only thing I'm taking is ecology, the rest are elective joke classes), and take 2 weeks off of lab so I can go hardcore.

I have Kaplan FL 7 to take, and AAMC 7, 8, 9, and 10. In addition, I'm gonna' finish up the Physical Science Test 6 and 7, and Bio. Science Tests 6 and 7 off of Kaplan, and finish EK VR 101. The rest'll be content review and going over tests.

I think I'm gonna' go over my AAMC tests a few more times (mainly PS section, not VR, and some BS).

 

[badapplestix]

Same practice tests that I have left, nice!

Midterms are this week, so no real MCAT studying for me. I knew that back when I scheduled myself for the 3/28 test, but still, I feel guilty about it. At least next week is spring break. (That is, if 'a week of uninterrupted MCAT studying' counts as a 'spring break'. I'm driving to my parent's town, where I don't know anyone, for the supply of free food, coffee, and lack of distractions.)

My goals for next week:
1. Go through all of EK Organic (Yeah.. so clearly, I was planning on punting it, but with 2 weeks left I think I can do better.)
2. AAMC tests 7, 8, and 9 on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
3. EK 1001 problems in chem & physics to try to prevent any backsliding/forgetting.

Biggest issue for me is going to be wondering how much to try to cram into that last week before the test. I've left my schedule blank (except for AAMC 10 on Tuesday) because I just don't know how close I'll be to burnout.. that blank week on the calendar looks very zen and intimidating compared to all the weeks above it and below it which are filled with writing. Good luck, guys!

Haha same. I have finals until the 20th, but I'm glad I have a whole week to prepare (although there is a Xbox 360 at home -_-). I might have to destroy it when I get home

 

[junkct]

Kaplan is definitely inflated...

Kaplan 4: 36
Kaplan 5: 41
Kaplan 6: 37
Kaplan 7: 40
Kaplan 8: 38
Kaplan 9: 40


1/31/09 score.... 33 -_-

 

[drillr00]

Any one doing the TBR CBTs?

 

[badapplestix]

Kaplan is definitely inflated...

Kaplan 4: 36
Kaplan 5: 41
Kaplan 6: 37
Kaplan 7: 40
Kaplan 8: 38
Kaplan 9: 40


1/31/09 score.... 33 -_-

That's disheartening

 

[Marjan Islam]

Junkct, can you post your AAMC scores? I'm sure those were more in line?

 

[link2swim06]

Kaplan is definitely inflated...

Kaplan 4: 36
Kaplan 5: 41
Kaplan 6: 37
Kaplan 7: 40
Kaplan 8: 38
Kaplan 9: 40


1/31/09 score.... 33 -_-

That is scary

I am at

Kaplan 1: 28
Kaplan 2: 31

I have the rest of the Kaplans to go and half of the AAMCs

 

[RoadRunner17]

My Kaplan FL (paper) averages were consistently 3-4 points greater than my AAMC (paper) averages. My actual score was within the AAMC range, but not even close to being in the Kaplan range. So, for me at least, Kaplan is great practice for the sciences, so-so for verbal, and the scaled scores should NOT be used as a predictor of any sort.

 

[junkct]

Junkct, can you post your AAMC scores? I'm sure those were more in line?

My aamc scores were a bit lower, although still not THAT low..

AAMC 3: 34
AAMC 4: 36
AAMC 5: 36
AAMC 6: 37
AAMC 7: 37
AAMC 8: 38
AAMC 9: 38
AAMC 10: 36

and I say again... real score: 33

suffice to say, I registered for a retake about 20 min after i saw my score. I really think the 1/31 test was too easy, with too strict of a curve...

 

[cajunchrisbu]

and I say again... real score: 33

suffice to say, I registered for a retake about 20 min after i saw my score. I really think the 1/31 test was too easy, with too strict of a curve...

why would you take it again crazy!?!

to the rest of you....


OoOoOo haha i remember the mcat... haha sucks for you that you have to study for it an all...

no, but seriously good luck to everyone!!!

 

[Marjan Islam]

I just took Kaplan Full Length 7: 30 (PS 11/ VR 8/ BS 11)

Glad to say I'm DONE with Kaplan now. No more horrible VR's, I have AAMC 7, 8, 9, and 10 left!

Also, junckt, that's really disheartening. What happened? Bad day? Or was the test just nuts!

 

[yousafob]

exactly 2 weeks left! =[

 

[parhumn]

My aamc scores were a bit lower, although still not THAT low..

AAMC 3: 34
AAMC 4: 36
AAMC 5: 36
AAMC 6: 37
AAMC 7: 37
AAMC 8: 38
AAMC 9: 38
AAMC 10: 36

and I say again... real score: 33

suffice to say, I registered for a retake about 20 min after i saw my score. I really think the 1/31 test was too easy, with too strict of a curve...

do you remember what the prompts were for your writing section on the january MCAT?

 

[junkct]

do you remember what the prompts were for your writing section on the january MCAT?

I don't remember, but I got a T which surprised the heck out of me

 

[parhumn]

I don't remember, but I got a T which surprised the heck out of me

WOW! congrats. i'm really sorry about your score tho. that's soo devastating. i hope you do well this time.

 

[junkct]

So I've been retaking some of my AAMC verbal sections and getting 12s on them. I never used to get 12s before (usually 10-11), and I always was rushed for time. but now I'm finishing with like 5 min to spare.

The thing is that I DEFINITELY don't remember the questions/answer, and while I recognize the topics of some of the passages, I never remember what the passage was about, so it usually feels like a relatively fresh reading to me. However, I don't know how accurate of a reflection these scores are... I haven't changed anything with my strategy, but I am doing a lot better, understanding the passages a lot more, etc. Has anyone else who is retaking MCAT and retaking these tests noticed this as well? or is it just me improving (I doubt it, but it's worth hoping for )?

 

[yousafob]

So I've been retaking some of my AAMC verbal sections and getting 12s on them. I never used to get 12s before (usually 10-11), and I always was rushed for time. but now I'm finishing with like 5 min to spare.

The thing is that I DEFINITELY don't remember the questions/answer, and while I recognize the topics of some of the passages, I never remember what the passage was about, so it usually feels like a relatively fresh reading to me. However, I don't know how accurate of a reflection these scores are... I haven't changed anything with my strategy, but I am doing a lot better, understanding the passages a lot more, etc. Has anyone else who is retaking MCAT and retaking these tests noticed this as well? or is it just me improving (I doubt it, but it's worth hoping for )?

Everything you said here I FEEL THE EXACT SAME WAY. I've been retaking the VR sections on the AAMCs as they most accurately reflect the real test and I've been getting more consistent 11's when I usually get 9-10's. I don't remember the answers, passages, or questions but I do recognize the passages. I'm starting to notice the subtle details between two answers that makes one correct over the other b/c as most people who get 10+ on the VR must admit that at least 80%+ of the questions on VR, you can almost always eliminate two non-sensical answers that do not go with the authors aurgument.

 

[parhumn]

did anyone else find the PS section in Kaplan 7 rather hard/time consuming?? There were soo many calculations that i barely finished the section in time...

i've taken the aamc tests and they are far easier and require far simpler calculations than the kaplan tests. can someone reassure me that the actual test won't require as many calculations?

 

[marele86]

Wow, I just took AAMC #7, and it felt like a disaster. I was pretty shocked (and happy, of course) to see that I came out of that mess with a 35 (12/12/11). I would be really interested to hear how you guys felt about it.

It probably just sucked for me because I'm having a big allergic fit today. I couldn't stop sneezing, so I took an antihistamine during my first break and that sort of knocked me out for the rest of the test.. I just wanted to fall asleep or work on my NCAA bracket or something. NOT a good mindset for long, boring verbal passages! (Like I said, I have no idea where that 12 came from. Maybe a stunning demonstration of the statistics of 50/50 blind guesses.)

At least I know that if I have to, I can probably take the MCAT medicated. They'd just better let me have kleenex at the testing center.

Good luck with the studying/practice tests!

 

[Marjan Islam]

I'm taking AAMC 7 tomorrow, I heard it was on the easier side from the Official AAMC Exam Thread. I'll find out tomorrow!

Gosh, this test is so soon =(

 

[souperjim14]

Wow, I just took AAMC #7, and it felt like a disaster. I was pretty shocked (and happy, of course) to see that I came out of that mess with a 35 (12/12/11). I would be really interested to hear how you guys felt about it.

It probably just sucked for me because I'm having a big allergic fit today. I couldn't stop sneezing, so I took an antihistamine during my first break and that sort of knocked me out for the rest of the test.. I just wanted to fall asleep or work on my NCAA bracket or something. NOT a good mindset for long, boring verbal passages! (Like I said, I have no idea where that 12 came from. Maybe a stunning demonstration of the statistics of 50/50 blind guesses.)

At least I know that if I have to, I can probably take the MCAT medicated. They'd just better let me have kleenex at the testing center.

Good luck with the studying/practice tests!

I just took AAMC 7 today and got a 38, my highest so far on AAMCs, if that's any indication of it being easier. I haven't done 8-10 yet though

 

[marele86]

Wow! Congrats on that 38! That's stellar.

Man, if 8-10 really are even harder than 7, I'm going to be pretty irritated with myself for saving them for last. I'll have to retake #3 or something to get my spirits up.
Oh well! Back to Ochem "review". (Or, you know, 'learning'. Memorizing IR charts and second semester mechanisms. I am not on top of things.)

 

[Marjan Islam]

Gosh, just took AAMC 7: 30 (11/8/11)

Verbal hurt, but I'm more down about Physical Science. When going over the answers, I KNOW I could have gotten a 13 on it, but I just made dumb mistakes, it's driving me crazy! Happens with every AAMC!!

Verbal, sucks about the 8, but I don't kill myself over it. I try to do the best I can and pick the choice I think is correct, PS though I have no excuse! Verbal, I just feel like between a 8-10 is luck. If I narrow it down to 2 choices and guess wrong, I'm screwed! I dunno how to improve on this.

And BS... organic sucks, but I'm happy with a 11 there.

And who said AAMC 7 was so easy! I guess I'd think so too if it wasn't for those dumb mistakes!!!

I just saw my raw scores for all my tests... they're all between 113-115 (78% - 80%) on all 5 tests that I've taken! Way to improve =(

 

[yousafob]

I didn't think AAMC was that easy (I got a 10/11/11) but wouldn't call it difficult either. I find that most of the problems I missed aren't because I don't know the content well enough but because of careless mistakes such as not applying the passage or reading the questions carefully.