The Official 07/06/2012 MCAT Thread

[impact2d]

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I'm usually on SDN mobile and have been meaning to open this thread for a while. I guess I'll introduce myself first.

I'm somewhere towards the traditional side of the non-trad. I'm only 4 years out of undergrad, and am only a year older than the average med school matriculant-but I am a career changer who is married and completing my final prereq's post bacc (all finished in May).

I am using a hybrid of a few different MCAT studying styles posted here-but at the core it's most similar to SN2ed and the standard TBR schedule.

I am using TBR for Chem, O.Chem, and Physics (2012 edition). I am using TPRH and EK for Bio.

I don't really stick to the 1 chapter a day set up of SN2ed, I customized each chapter based on what my strengths and weaknesses were and how long ago I learned the topics in undergrad.

I almost always spend 2 days on Bio (this is the subject with the most "Content Gaps" for me) Oftentimes I can double up Ochem with Physics. Physics usually goes very fast, and O.Chem I find relatively easy compared to class (It helps that I just finished O.Chem 1, and am currently in O.Chem 2)

I'm also working part time and still in Ochem 2 and Physics 2, so studying full time is not an option until after May 4th, and even then I still have work. That is why I started at 4 months instead of 3, to try to get ahead since I know I will lose days over time.

I don't really do the 1/3's method in physics or chem. The books come with tests split into 3 phases and I prefer to just use it that way. After reading the chapter I do the untimed phase, a week later the timed phase, and am saving the final phase for review. I am not doing much TBR Bio in the early chapters-too much skipping around and testing obscure information I haven't reviewed yet. I know it's important to develop critical thinking, but I want to make sure I have the foundations down first. I stick to the EK in class and the TPRH science workbook. I will probably spend some time on TBR after I'm done with content review.

Also I use Chad's Videos like crazy, I watch them on fast forward and they really help give a quick overview. I wish there was a similar solution for Bio.

Well that's the rundown. Hopefully there are some people on here taking the same day. I know I can definitely use the motivation at times. My goal is to score >or=30.
Good luck!👍

 

[iver2009]

Um. 27R here (10, 5, 12). Yeah that's right- a 5. What the ****!!

Last aamc was a 12V (34 avg), always my highest section. Other sections made sense given I had timing issues. But a 5?!?!??

So much for this cycle. I'm not sure what to do. For those of you in a similar boat--are you considering it a fluke? Im already signed up for a retake (this was my first attempt) but now I'm horrified. Piece of *##%^#>+

My cat could've gotten that V score.

 

[lola1986]

For those who might be able to answer this, though I realize that all of the people on this section of the site are prospective med students
Is repeated unsuccessful mcat scores a simple msg saying that the science knowledge is not there? I realize there's the exam-taking aspect of it as well, but a 3.8 GPA in sciences should be well-reflected in the score regardless, no?
Any helpful thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[HopefullNonTrad]

No. Writing is being eliminated in January. I would be ecstatic with your score.

Thanks for the support. I was told by friends that medical schools ignore the writing if you score 10 or above on the verbal section. Since I got a 9 in verbal, 32 overall, I feel like I may not do so well this cycle. I would take it again and apply next cycle but I'm 29 years old and don't really have the time for that.

 

[Nandrolone]

Thanks for the support. I was told by friends that medical schools ignore the writing if you score 10 or above on the verbal section. Since I got a 9 in verbal, 32 overall, I feel like I may not do so well this cycle. I would take it again and apply next cycle but I'm 29 years old and don't really have the time for that.

call the schools and ask them...an L is really an eye-brow raiser, since it the the worst score....even if the section is being phased out, scored the worst can never be a good thing

 

[BB8730]

call the schools and ask them...an L is really an eye-brow raiser, since it the the worst score....even if the section is being phased out, scored the worst can never be a good thing

J is the worst score. L is 3rd from worst. Nothing to worry about.

 

[simpleguy45]

Is this normal for verbal scores to become below expected? Or does this happen randomly on specific tests?

 

[Nandrolone]

J is the worst score. L is 3rd from worst. Nothing to worry about.

ooopppps...lulz...forget what i just wrote then...thnx for correcting me.

 

[HopefullNonTrad]

ooopppps...lulz...forget what i just wrote then...thnx for correcting me.

So do you think I should retake and apply next cycle? My wife is going to kill me when I tell her I got an L because a few days before the mcat I was watching TV when she said " You should really spend your extra time preparing for the writing, you know you're not good at writing", and as a good husband always does, I said yes dear and continued watching TV.

 

[Spikedsoymilk]

I am among those completely flabbergasted by their verbal score.

I took the MCAT over 3 years ago and got: 8 PS / 10 VR / 8 BS / S WS (26S)

This time around, I got: 10 PS / 5 VR / 8 BS / S WS (23S)

I am shocked. After doing the PS, I was just completely discouraged by the whole exam and was convinced that was the section that I'd get a 5 on. It had always been my weakest section on diagnostics (I only broke 10 once). Meanwhile, I had always done well on verbal (11-12 on my practice exams) and was convinced that section would be my saving grace. Instead, it ******* e d me, big time.

I am applying this cycle and I don't know when I will find time to retake.

 

[positivityrocks]

Studied: 2-3 weeks (40-50 hours/week, since I was working 45ish hours/week during that time too).
Study method: TBR + Chad's videos for PS, TPR & EK for BS
AAMC avg: Not sure -- would guess mid 20s.
Predicted : Was hoping for 30+, but felt anywhere between 15 and 42ish was reasonable...
Actual: 28N (8PS, 10V, 10BS)

Obviously, a bit bummed that I didn't reach my goal (30+), but trying to be realistic about it and happy at least that I didn't accidentally void my score (for whatever reason, I was REALLY worried about this!). Most of my prereqs were completed a while ago with the exception of biology and later quarters of organic chem, which I haven't taken officially yet, but need to complete this year (for most of the schools I'm applying to).

Mostly though, I just feel relieved to have this over with for now. Tempted to retake, but don't think it's worth the stress + time + cost for me to do so now. I am a bit bummed that I sort of put myself out of the running for MD/PhD with this score, but still planning to apply this cycle for MD programs (state school is my top choice).

If I do get in, I'd happily matriculate at my state school or other top choices, but I probably won't be applying really broadly this year. Instead, I think I'll keep working, taking graduate courses, and possibly retake the MCAT. Trying to stay pretty laid-back about it all...

Congrats to everyone who survived this test -- one more step closer to our goals!

 

[plana1]

I'm really shocked to see my VR score too. 5....????
I somehow felt that I ACED the verbal section, and was expecting at least a 10.......

I took the MCAT last September, and got 29P (VR7,PS10,BS12).
I was hoping to boost it up a bit and apply this year, but I ended up with a 24M (VR5, PS7, BS12).
Am I done for good? Is it even worth retaking in September?

I seriously felt that I did much better this time, and was getting ready to go celebrate tonight, but now that I got effing 5 on VR, and that overall score dropped 5pts, I don't even know if I should ever apply to med school...... 🙁 (FYI, my GPA doesn't make me a competitive applicant either)

 

[GomerPyle]

I am in shock at the verbal outcome... I guess anything could happen in the MCAT

 

[UAbio9301]

I have honestly never seen such a unanimous outcry about the verbal section. I wonder how many people will request a rescore, because its downright ridiculous for seemingly 80+% of SDN to score significantly lower than they anticipated or predicted...

 

[Nandrolone]

So do you think I should retake and apply next cycle? My wife is going to kill me when I tell her I got an L because a few days before the mcat I was watching TV when she said " You should really spend your extra time preparing for the writing, you know you're not good at writing", and as a good husband always does, I said yes dear and continued watching TV.

no, you're good...srry for scaring you.

 

[plana1]

Thanks for the support. I was told by friends that medical schools ignore the writing if you score 10 or above on the verbal section. Since I got a 9 in verbal, 32 overall, I feel like I may not do so well this cycle. I would take it again and apply next cycle but I'm 29 years old and don't really have the time for that.

if you have 32 overall, you have a good chance. go for it!!!!
i'm on the same boat. turning 29 in a month... non-traditional premed.
buuuut i got 5 on VR. doomed.

 

[BB8730]

I have honestly never seen such a unanimous outcry about the verbal section. I wonder how many people will request a rescore, because its downright ridiculous for seemingly 80+% of SDN to score significantly lower than they anticipated or predicted...

Ditto. I still don't know what went wrong with VR. Immediately after the test I posted:

VR - easiest VR section I've ever seen in my opinion. I was clocking in at 5.5 minutes per passage. Had like 18 minutes to do the last passage, which was a toughy, but with that much time I was able to re-read the passage a few times. I don't even want to get this confident, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 13 or a 14 on this section. Averaged 11-12 on my FLs.

There must have been a bunch of alluring wrong answers that made it past my scrutiny. I wish we could see our corrected tests. 🙁

 

[DoctorWhoo]

Are we certain all of these low VR's are legit? It seems a bit unreal to have so many people do so poorly (compared to expectations). I really hope some hacker is just trolling (accessed a ton of SDN accounts, keeps posting on here with low VR for the lulz)

 

[V5RED]

I have honestly never seen such a unanimous outcry about the verbal section. I wonder how many people will request a rescore, because its downright ridiculous for seemingly 80+% of SDN to score significantly lower than they anticipated or predicted...

It is not unanimous or even close to 80% doing worse than their average. If you look back and count up how many people are happy with their score or at least hit within 2 points of their average and compare that the the amount of people upset with their verbal, you will find that it is almost a 2:1 ratio in favor of people that are happy with their score(or scored around their average and should therefore not be surprised by a low score) versus people that are unhappy.

 

[rincon6]

Well, I'm not sure why anyone would get their exam rescored. Speaking to a friend, their VR also turned out lower than expected.

 

[BB8730]

It is not unanimous or even close to 80% doing worse than their average. If you look back and count up how many people are happy with their score or at least hit within 2 points of their average and compare that the the amount of people upset with their verbal, you will find that it is almost a 2:1 ratio in favor of people that are happy with their score(or scored around their average and should therefore not be surprised by a low score) versus people that are unhappy.

A lot of people scored around their averages, but nearly all of the comments regarding the VR section were negative. I looked back and saw only 1 person who had a positive comment about the VR section. This VR section must have seemed easy but actually wasn't, which is why there was such an outcry. Seeing this many <6 scores is also unusual IMO.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Are we certain all of these low VR's are legit? It seems a bit unreal to have so many people do so poorly (compared to expectations). I really hope some hacker is just trolling (accessed a ton of SDN accounts, keeps posting on here with low VR for the lulz)

I wish I were trolling 🙁

 

[nabiscos]

A lot of people scored around their averages, but nearly all of the comments regarding the VR section were negative. I looked back and saw only 1 person who had a positive comment about the VR section. This VR section must have seemed easy but actually wasn't, which is why there was such an outcry. Seeing this many <6 scores is also unusual IMO.

Agreed, i scored about my average for the BS and PS sections, I was averaging 10-11 on the verbal aamc sections but ultimately ended up with an 8. Didn't get an 8 on any verbal tests with ek or princeton book either, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. Since the passages were relatively easy, the scale must have been very rough, which led to many of us getting scores much lower than we expected..

Signing up for a rewrite later this month, congrats to those who did well and didn't get blindsided by the verbal!

 

[UAbio9301]

A lot of people scored around their averages, but nearly all of the comments regarding the VR section were negative. I looked back and saw only 1 person who had a positive comment about the VR section. This VR section must have seemed easy but actually wasn't, which is why there was such an outcry. Seeing this many <6 scores is also unusual IMO.

See my quote about the verbal above, all VR have different types of questions, but 15-20 have ambiguous answers, one answer could be more fitting than others depending on how it is interpreted. You are expected to choose the best answer, when in many situations several options are very suitable answers. I may be in the minority, but I as well as many, many people close to me feel that this needs to be revamped. Seeing such a high percentage of SDNers, whom most would agree is constituted of some very intelligent people, score so poorly on this particular exam should be mildly concerning, at the very least.

 

[salim271]

So very few people seem to have actually done well on VR... I got 10 and it seems to be on the high range of the scores. It feels unfair that our VR section got saddled with a weird scaling and a lot of ambiguous questions... for so many SDNers to be scoring <7 its scary...

 

[Silvantes]

finally breathing....

MCAT Prep Material: Kaplan complete book (last years version- so so)
Princeton complete (new copy- pretty good) Examkrackers complete ( new copy- pretty good) all AAMC FL's. diagnosing weaknesses and review.

AAMC average:29-36

Prediction: ....no idea.
Goal: 30+

Actual: 31M (PS-11 VR-11 BS-9)

This is after a repeat of 04/28/12 getting a 26M (PS-6 VR-11 BS-9)
So happy to have kept up Verbal...dont know how my weak point became my strength was hoping for 8+ in PS but I'll take 11...BS was brutal but soo happy with my score!
Congrats everyone!!!

 

[BB8730]

See my quote about the verbal above, all VR have different types of questions, but 15-20 have ambiguous answers, one answer could be more fitting than others depending on how it is interpreted. You are expected to choose the best answer, when in many situations several options are very suitable answers. I may be in the minority, but I as well as many, many people close to me feel that this needs to be revamped. Seeing such a high percentage of SDNers, whom most would agree is constituted of some very intelligent people, score so poorly on this particular exam should be mildly concerning, at the very least.

Well said. 👍

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using SDN Mobile

 

[onlyindream]

man I feel for you guys. I took on 07/27 and am so anxious for scores. Still can't believe how harsh the verbal curve was for your exam, somethings definitely off :/. This has to be a fluke and I'm sure with a retake that verbal would be right where your averages are!

 

[Remy LeBeau]

FWIW, I scored a 10 or 11 in VR on all the AAMC FL's. I thought the VR was pretty easy on test day, and sure enough, I ended up with a 12.

ETA:


MCAT Prep Material: I read the BR books, did the EK 1001's, and took all the AAMC FL's
Time spent: I followed the 90-day schedule at the top of the forum, more or less.
AAMC average: 31.75
Prediction: 31
Goal: 32
Actual: 34

 

[pasiley]

I am in shock at the verbal outcome... I guess anything could happen in the MCAT

I think the variations in verbal come with a lack of pratice. At first, my scores jumped anywhere from a 7 to a 10. After a certain point. EVERY SINGLE practice test I took (no matter the company) gave me the same score. Keep praticing until you start getting a consistent score.

 

[UAbio9301]

FWIW, I scored a 10 or 11 in VR on all the AAMC FL's. I thought the VR was pretty easy on test day, and sure enough, I ended up with a 12.

It appears as though we just had a harsh scale, some people got all of the ambiguous questions right, while some got most, if not all of them wrong. I've seen many scores around 3-8 with a few scattered 10s, 11s and 12s. Not exactly what you'd call conducive to the bell curve..

 

[vitaebellaa]

See my quote about the verbal above, all VR have different types of questions, but 15-20 have ambiguous answers, one answer could be more fitting than others depending on how it is interpreted. You are expected to choose the best answer, when in many situations several options are very suitable answers. I may be in the minority, but I as well as many, many people close to me feel that this needs to be revamped. Seeing such a high percentage of SDNers, whom most would agree is constituted of some very intelligent people, score so poorly on this particular exam should be mildly concerning, at the very least.

IF there is something amiss, it would never be corrected. Imagine the s### storm from other test dates that would cause of people wanting rescores.

I'm just so shocked. What's (almost) equally confusing to me is that while the general consensus after the test thought PS was easy, it was pretty difficult for me. I completely guessed on an entire passage and was unsure about 90% of the others and got an 11 after only scoring higher than a 9 once?? huh?? I almost feel as if someone else sat in my seat

 

[rincon6]

IF there is something amiss, it would never be corrected. Imagine the s### storm from other test dates that would cause of people wanting rescores.

I'm just so shocked. What's (almost) equally confusing to me is that while the general consensus after the test thought PS was easy, it was pretty difficult for me. I completely guessed on an entire passage and was unsure about 90% of the others and got an 11 after only scoring higher than a 9 once?? huh?? I almost feel as if someone else sat in my seat

I concur. It's as if my scores aren't mine. I had an awful experience with the PS, especially with the way that first passage in PS set the tone for the rest of the section and eventually, the rest of the test.

 

[FabFall2012]

nm,nm,

 

[FabFall2012]

I also thought I did really well on this test- at least above 10 on the sciences. I was calm and neutral throughout the test. I thought all four sections were easier than my last year's test.

 

[TheLizardKing09]

This is my first time writing the MCAT.
I used Kaplan. I studied for 3 months.

I took 8 Kaplan tests and 1 AAMC (the most recent one)
AAMC: 10-10-12 (32)
Kaplan Average: 10-11-10 (31)
Actual: 11-11-11 (33)

I don't know whats up with all the weird verbal scores, but I walked out of the test feeling I did ok on that section. PS I felt was normal, but BS I felt was particularly hard and I felt I might get a 9 or 8. Overall I'm happy I don't have to study for it again. Best of luck and congrats to all of you!

 

[Backflip72]

When I login, it says "You have no scores yet." Has this happened to anyone? I took my MCAT on 7/6/12. 😕

This happened to me after I took the April test. Have you for some reason created multiple AAMC IDs? This is what happened to me and I was frustrated for days before I realized that I was logging in under the wrong username because I had registered under a different one.

 

[mtremblay]

You guys/gals are scaring me with all these verbal horror stories! I get my scores next week and hopefully I don't experience any of this. Looks like I won't be getting much sleep...

 

[Irish Football]

I raised my VR from an 8 in April to a 10 on this test.

 

[Backflip72]

AAMC Average- 36
4/5 test- 34O (13,8,13)
7/6 prediction- 13,10,12
7/6 actual- 37R, 14 PS, 11 VR, 12 BS

Congrats to everyone who dedicated hundreds of hours of their life toward this blasted test in order to have a shot at a career in medicine. They make us give a hell of a lot but its gonna be worth it. Time to celebrate!

 

[Amphoterism]

wow.........
This exam was my retake.
7/16/11: 8PS 10V 10BS 28N
7/6/12: 13PS 5V 11BS 29M

5V.....??? I don't know what happened.. what should I do..?

That is an absolutely amazing score increase in PS, though.

 

[qtpai]

For those who might be able to answer this, though I realize that all of the people on this section of the site are prospective med students
Is repeated unsuccessful mcat scores a simple msg saying that the science knowledge is not there? I realize there's the exam-taking aspect of it as well, but a 3.8 GPA in sciences should be well-reflected in the score regardless, no?
Any helpful thoughts would be appreciated.

yes mcat is both a reasoning and a content exam

the more content you review and practice on, the faster you will reason through science sections, and the less mistakes you will make...

i took the mcat when i was 22 and scored a 33Q, having freshly taken prereqs but having barely studied

i took it again at 27 and scored a 38S after having scored a 24 on a kaplan diagnostic a year earlier--having had to reteach myself all the science knowledge

whats the difference between the two attempts... i was much more systematic at studying, i studied a massive amount exclusively for mcat science, and made sure i knew the science cold... and i still screwed up several discretes on both bs and ps sections... if i had studied the sciences even more--and there was still a lot of practice problems to do--i am sure i could have broken a 40

basically i attribute the difference between my scores to... maturity... it sucks to say it but i honestly wasnt mature enough to humble myself and just grind it out at 22... at 27, i feel much more humbled at life, put my ego aside, and just put in a massive amount of hard work into memorizing all the minutia

 

[mtremblay]

I raised my VR from an 8 in April to a 10 on this test.

Congrats! Hopefully I can stick around my 10 average!

 

[Amphoterism]

.

 

[smit6222]

Studied EK throughout during 12 hrs of class spring semester. Didn't finish all of EK 1001 or have time to review problems.

4/5/12 MCAT: 25Q

Didn't study any MCAT until June 1st. Read all of TPRH for content and then did most of TBR passages.

TBR 1-6 avg.: 29.17
Predicted: < 25 (almost voided)
Actual: 29M

Satisfied that my score didn't go down but really would have liked to score 30+. Going to apply to in-state MD and DO schools as well as a few others (GPA = 3.78)

 

[Member 30000]

Did some light studying (few hours a week) for a month, then intense studying (~30 hrs/week) for 2 weeks after school ended. Took AAMC practice tests to find weaknesses, reviewed on the internet, then went through some EK 1001 to seal it in. Rinsed, lathered, repeated. Didn't know what the WS was like until the day before, though.

AAMC Average: 33
Predicted: 30
Actual: 34O (PS:12; VR: 11; BS:11)

I felt terrible leaving the test. PS seemed average, but I was lost during the last VR passage. I barely got a sentence down for my final paragraph in a writing sample consisting of made up stories about popular websites. Tired of the mess, I skipped the 10min break before BS and crashed head first into more timing issues. Ended up having to skip the killer 2nd OChem passage.

Decided to turn in my application and not register for another test only after reading this thread and the whole "within 2 pts of your AAMC avg" thing. Thanks for all the help, guys! I just spent the last 2 days watching Olympians deal with years of work culminating in a single routine/race/etc. to prepare myself for the worst, but I couldn't be happier with the result 👍

Congrats, everyone! If you're taking it again, good luck. Now, to finally get some sleep. 😴

 

[confuzus]

Studying time: 1.5 months.
MCAT Prep Material: Kaplan, EK audio, TPR Verbal workbook.
AAMC Average: 34.5 (ranging from 30 to 36)
Kaplan Average: 40 (Only took one, 2 days before actual test)
Prediction: "Oh god please be above a 30"
Actual: 35O (PS-13, V-9, BS-13).

Phew! Improved from my 30M two years ago. Glad to see the hard work pay off.

 

[impact2d]

It seems like after score release all of the old timers disappeared. If you read my after test write up, when everyone else was raving about verbal, I was saying the opposite. Even though the passages were very easy to read, the questions stems were extremely ambiguous. I received a score at the low end of my practice range, which wasn't out of my range-but I can see how many people could have bombed the verbal.
The only thing far below average for me was BS, not really sure why.

 

[lola1986]

thanks.
ironic that you mention age....i'm over 30, and a non-trad. i'm starting to question if it's just inability. and my scores are really, really low, without improvement.

 

[Daliant]

Studying time: 46 days. (~ 1 and a half months immediately starting after graduation)
MCAT Prep Material: Kaplan Course during college. Self study via Kaplan material after graduation.
AAMC Average: 32 (ranging from 30 to 34)
Prediction: Tough -- definitely 1-2 points below my AAMC average of 32.
Actual: 31P (PS-10, V-9, BS-12).

Feelings -- Content. I should get into schools with this score.

Would I retake it -- Absolutely not. Never again. If hell exists it involves taking MCATs and waiting for your scores for the rest of eternity.


For my AAMCs my PS was between 10-13. PS on the 7/6 MCAT was hard for me. I expected getting a 10 or 11. Got a 10.

Verbal -- on the AAMCs I typically got 9s 70% of the time, 10s 30% of the time, and I got one 8 and one 11. Got a 9 on the actual exam. Expected. But wished it was a 10, but what can I do.

BS -- Aggressive mapping of biology passages basically ensures me a 12 on this section almost consistently. The orgo was hard on test day, but I still pulled a 12. Thank god. Saved me from a 30 or a 29.

 

[salim271]

Looks like I'm the only one who got a 14 in BS... my other two scores werent so hot so I'll count that as a win for me... lol.