The Official 07/06/2012 MCAT Thread

Started by impact2d
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impact2d

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!👍
 
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Irish Football said:
This is the WORST. Everyone is always "I'm sure you did fine." I'm like, "how do you know? I didn't realize you were there reading over my shoulder the entire test!"
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i completely agree. I actually do believe that "the way you felt about the mcat afterwards and actually performance" are correlated. However, perfectionist pre-meds tend to blow things out of proportion. Really hoping that last verbal passage was experimental, but i highly doubt it. People in addition did not take the test for you and have no idea what you experienced. I will be shocked if I did not bomb verbal reasoning( not that if was extremely hard except for last passage, but due to zoning out in the middle and having a domino effect).
 
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skehl said:
My application is basically done. I'm wondering if I should submit now or wait a week and see what my MCATs are like. Could save me a bundle if my scores are down the toilet!
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That's also what I'm thinking nowadays. I thought I could submit it around mid July latest but I couldnt- bec of stupid office people (having holiday!) that I needed to contact so now I'm thinking if I shoulf wait one more week or not :/

awaiting ruins summer holiday and life.. 🙁
 
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daddio3422 said:
i completely agree. I actually do believe that "the way you felt about the mcat afterwards and actually performance" are correlated. However, perfectionist pre-meds tend to blow things out of proportion. Really hoping that last verbal passage was experimental, but i highly doubt it. People in addition did not take the test for you and have no idea what you experienced. I will be shocked if I did not bomb verbal reasoning( not that if was extremely hard except for last passage, but due to zoning out in the middle and having a domino effect).
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hope you're wrong because after that exam i was in shock and then tears shortly after.
 
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How would you compare this exam to AAMC 10/11? Do you think the scale will be closer to 10 or 11?
The initial responce to the test was that it was not that hard compared to other exams so I'm thinking it's more on the aamc 10 scale. I hope I'm wrong.
I hope we all score our aamc average or above it.
 
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HopefullNonTrad said:
How would you compare this exam to AAMC 10/11? Do you think the scale will be closer to 10 or 11?
The initial responce to the test was that it was not that hard compared to other exams so I'm thinking it's more on the aamc 10 scale. I hope I'm wrong.
I hope we all score our aamc average or above it.
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I really hope not because the curve on 10 was harsh and I got my lowest practice test score on it
 
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ChocoMoo said:
I really hope not because the curve on 10 was harsh and I got my lowest practice test score on it
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As the score release date gets closer my predicted score goes down. At first I thought it went ok, then not, then I started to feel good about it, and after reading a thread about someone who scored a 16 with a 32 aamc average my predicted score plummeted.
 
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HopefullNonTrad said:
As the score release date gets closer my predicted score goes down. At first I thought it went ok, then not, then I started to feel good about it, and after reading a thread about someone who scored a 16 with a 32 aamc average my predicted score plummeted.
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Yeah, I feel you. The section I'm progressively feeling worse about is verbal. That last passage was ridiculous and now I'm remembering random questions from the earlier passages where I was 50/50 on. I think the passages were easy to read, but the answer choices for some questions were really ambiguous. My score on this section could really go either way :scared:
 
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ChocoMoo said:
Yeah, I feel you. The section I'm progressively feeling worse about is verbal. That last passage was ridiculous and now I'm remembering random questions from the earlier passages where I was 50/50 on. I think the passages were easy to read, but the answer choices for some questions were really ambiguous. My score on this section could really go either way :scared:
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I'm feeling the same about Verbal, but I'm really stressed over biology, I didn't have enough time to work through the Orgo passages well and had to make a lot of educated guesses. My AAMC BIO average is a 12( always getting 90% and above correct on orgo), and I'm not sure if I got above a 10 in BIO with this test.
 
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HopefullNonTrad said:
How would you compare this exam to AAMC 10/11? Do you think the scale will be closer to 10 or 11?
The initial responce to the test was that it was not that hard compared to other exams so I'm thinking it's more on the aamc 10 scale. I hope I'm wrong.
I hope we all score our aamc average or above it.
Click to expand...

ps- curve more like 10
verbal-curve more like 10
bs-curve like 11
 
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Who knows. I've read some "how to get 35+" threads on here, and many of the OPs (who achieved those scores) almost voided their score and couldn't believe their results. Leave some room for good guessing!

I've been pretty good about ignoring my feelings, but when I do realize the scores are coming out soon, I get mini panic attacks. 🙁
 
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HopefullNonTrad said:
I'm feeling the same about Verbal, but I'm really stressed over biology, I didn't have enough time to work through the Orgo passages well and had to make a lot of educated guesses. My AAMC BIO average is a 12( always getting 90% and above correct on orgo), and I'm not sure if I got above a 10 in BIO with this test.
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Most of the people on our test day expressed similar difficulty with the orgo passages so the curve will work out in that respect. Despite post-test feelings, If you've been averaging 12 on BS, then you will probably get around that on the real thing. No worries! As for verbal, I took an MCAT exam last year where everyone though the verbal was the easiest section, and everyone got their close to their average. There wasn't anyone complaining about an abnormally harsh curve despite an "easier" verbal, so hopefully it's the same with our test.
 
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illinichief89 said:
I can't sleep this last week. I need to know. Even if I do bad, I just need to know so I can plan out my life!
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This is me too right here.. I can't sleep anymore. I don't even think about section scores I'm just praying that I didn't royally screw up when I'm already committed to the application cycle...

What really scares me is that it didn't feel much harder than a practice exam. I know people are thinking about the few hard passages in each section and hoping that brings their scores up by making the score scale more lenient but I have no idea how much we can rely on that... I hate this test so much right now, I haven't been this stressed in a long time, maybe ever.
 
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You poor bastids. Take comfort in the fact I was in your shoes last year--August 2013 you can all come back on here and gloat. Even if you're homeless at the time, you can log in at the library and just be glad you're not taking that damn MCAT.
 
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in addition, if your around the 33-35 mark, im pretty sure michigan prefers their own undergrads( 50 percent of u of m is in state). i knew of a girl at msu with a 4 point and 34 mcat that got rejected
 
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daddio3422 said:
in addition, if your around the 33-35 mark, im pretty sure michigan prefers their own undergrads( 50 percent of u of m is in state). i knew of a girl at msu with a 4 point and 34 mcat that got rejected
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Yeah, that's another reason I feel like I don't have a real shot there. My overall GPA is 3.80 and science is 3.82, and although my extracurrics are good, they aren't amazing and I'm not even published. I'm not really mad about it, if I got into Wayne State I'd be perfectly happy to cancel any and all other interviews I get and just go there. I already go there for undergrad, its probably where most of my friends will get in, and I'd like to just stay there. I feel the higher I score here on MCAT, the better my chances for getting more scholarships... the less I have to pay for med school, the better.
 
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salim271 said:
Yeah, that's another reason I feel like I don't have a real shot there. My overall GPA is 3.80 and science is 3.82, and although my extracurrics are good, they aren't amazing and I'm not even published. I'm not really mad about it, if I got into Wayne State I'd be perfectly happy to cancel any and all other interviews I get and just go there. I already go there for undergrad, its probably where most of my friends will get in, and I'd like to just stay there. I feel the higher I score here on MCAT, the better my chances for getting more scholarships... the less I have to pay for med school, the better.
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true, i mean michigan is full of mostly arrogant a-holes anyway. Even if i did get that score, i am not positive that I would get in because its Michigan. The 36 mark was serving more as a goal more than anything. I have a 3.93 from msu and I am pretty sure verbal destroyed my chances from a low to mid 30s score. My dad works in alabama and I was planning on attempting to get into UAB( which has about a 30 mcat requirement, about 10 grand a yr cheaper, and is ranked ahead of all Michigan schools besides u of m).
 
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daddio3422 said:
true, i mean michigan is full of mostly arrogant a-holes anyway. Even if i did get that score, i am not positive that I would get in because its Michigan. The 36 mark was serving more as a goal more than anything. I have a 3.93 from msu and I am pretty sure verbal destroyed my chances from a low to mid 30s score. My dad works in alabama and I was planning on attempting to get into UAB( which has about a 30 mcat requirement, about 10 grand a yr cheaper, and is ranked ahead of all Michigan schools besides u of m).
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Yeah honestly I think its best to go where you'll be the happiest. I think for too many people that means the very best ranked schools in the top ten, and anything less than that is a personal failure on their part. I don't think that kind of mindset is really becoming of a doctor anyways.
 
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Just a few days away. I got another date booked for the Aug 16 just in case. Thinking about how its my second rewrite no matter how hard the test was most of the time yur score will reflect yur average on aamc practices plus or minus 1 or 2 points no matter how bad u felt u did. I was wondering what you people will do to prepare for the worst case possible?
 
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salim271 said:
Yeah honestly I think its best to go where you'll be the happiest. I think for too many people that means the very best ranked schools in the top ten, and anything less than that is a personal failure on their part. I don't think that kind of mindset is really becoming of a doctor anyways.
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i mean, i do want to take part in stem cell research and want to go to a institution that has good stem cell research opportunities. U of m has that and was the only school in the top ten that i would have a remote shot at because they take 50 percent in-state. I really regardless of score want to take this exam again because I feel like I know I can do better than what I scored. I know of an international student at msu that wants to retake a 36 to try to get a 41 because he wants to get into some kind of cambridge-u of m joint program. I personally think that nuts. This is a kid that spends all day in a lab sequencing a genome for his cleft palate project and spends all his time doing it. I wish the top tens would be more open to selecting kids that had other things to do in their lives besides being lab rats with comparable stats but I have accepted the fact that this is reality.
 
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daddio3422 said:
i mean, i do want to take part in stem cell research and want to go to a institution that has good stem cell research opportunities. U of m has that and was the only school in the top ten that i would have a remote shot at because they take 50 percent in-state. I really regardless of score want to take this exam again because I feel like I know I can do better than what I scored. I know of an international student at msu that wants to retake a 36 to try to get a 41 because he wants to get into some kind of cambridge-u of m joint program. I personally think that nuts. This is a kid that spends all day in a lab sequencing a genome for his cleft palate project and spends all his time doing it. I wish the top tens would be more open to selecting kids that had other things to do in their lives besides being lab rats with comparable stats but I have accepted the fact that this is reality.
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Yeah, I can understand that kind of reasoning. While I think retaking a 36 to try and score 41 is ridiculous, at least its for a reason that he's passionate about rather than 'I want to get 40+ just so I can say I got 40+ and everyone will admire me'
 
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johnaddams said:
Just a few days away. I got another date booked for the Aug 16 just in case. Thinking about how its my second rewrite no matter how hard the test was most of the time yur score will reflect yur average on aamc practices plus or minus 1 or 2 points no matter how bad u felt u did. I was wondering what you people will do to prepare for the worst case possible?
Click to expand...


Since I'm so nervous about my score nowadays- I find myself searching for caribbean med schools for the worst case..there are threads for them but what do you guys think about caribbean med schools? Does that sound so desperate? 😱
 
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mlkl said:
Since I'm so nervous about my score nowadays- I find myself searching for caribbean med schools for the worst case..there are threads for them but what do you guys think about caribbean med schools? Does that sound so desperate? 😱
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No, if I somehow eff this up completely then that's where I'm going to start looking. I have a few friends down there and they say they like it, and that's enough for me. I dont think it will come to that... I hope... sigh... I want my score lol.
 
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mlkl said:
Since I'm so nervous about my score nowadays- I find myself searching for caribbean med schools for the worst case..there are threads for them but what do you guys think about caribbean med schools? Does that sound so desperate? 😱
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Doesn't sound desperate at all. Definitely students from there comeback to America and if you work hard enough and score well on the Step 1, you can get a residency. But it is still harder to get what you want if you go there. I know a few people in the caribbean and they like studying down there. I think if I exhaust my options here, then that's what I'll do.
 
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illinichief89 said:
Doesn't sound desperate at all. Definitely students from there comeback to America and if you work hard enough and score well on the Step 1, you can get a residency. But it is still harder to get what you want if you go there. I know a few people in the caribbean and they like studying down there. I think if I exhaust my options here, then that's what I'll do.
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Yeah really I think the only downsides of carribean is the stigma associated with it and the fact that its harder to get into a specialty field from a carribean school... still as long as you dont care what people think (and I dont) and dont mind becoming a general practice physician (and I dont), its fine.
 
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Oh boy, this is starting to bring back bad memories for me. In my mind I am re-living my first MCAT a few months ago, and I remember being so exciting to see my score only to click refresh at 3:04 pm only to experience the drop in my stomach when I saw my 29. Here's to hoping that this time it will be different!
 
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mlkl said:
Since I'm so nervous about my score nowadays- I find myself searching for caribbean med schools for the worst case..there are threads for them but what do you guys think about caribbean med schools? Does that sound so desperate? 😱
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Caribbean? Wtf, I'd stop being so pessimistic. Arent caribbean mcat requirements like low 20's?
 
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Irish Football said:
Oh boy, this is starting to bring back bad memories for me. In my mind I am re-living my first MCAT a few months ago, and I remember being so exciting to see my score only to click refresh at 3:04 pm only to experience the drop in my stomach when I saw my 29. Here's to hoping that this time it will be different!
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Lou Holtz(aka Irish football)- just playing lol. How did u feel after that 29 compared to this test ?
 
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Irish Football said:
Oh boy, this is starting to bring back bad memories for me. In my mind I am re-living my first MCAT a few months ago, and I remember being so exciting to see my score only to click refresh at 3:04 pm only to experience the drop in my stomach when I saw my 29. Here's to hoping that this time it will be different!
Click to expand...


I mistakenly decided to browse this thread before going to bed. (you know, in case amcas choses to release scores early)

Reading that post just ruined my night . I have heard much pessimism but that was uniquely depressing 🙁
 
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horribleperson said:
I mistakenly decided to browse this thread before going to bed. (you know, in case amcas choses to release scores early)

Reading that post just ruined my night . I have heard much pessimism but that was uniquely depressing 🙁
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Sorry about that. The truth is that after I took that test I knew that I bombed verbal and sure enough I did (ended up with an 8). So as long as you don't think that you bombed a section you will probably be fine.
 
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yea I got an 8 on my first verbal too. I mainly retook because of that. I hope I get atleast a 9. If I get an 8 again, it will be really deflating no matter what I get on the other sections.
 
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