The Official 3/23/13 MCAT Thread

[Redpancreas]

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Figured I'd start this one out. I'll be registering for the MCAT first thing tomorrow. Who else is taking it on this date? How do you all plan on studying over the school year?

 

[NuttyEngDude]

AAMC 11

14/13/14 = 41

So frickin psyched right now. All time AAMC highs for total and verbal. I honestly didn't think I'd improve on AAMC 10 but I'll take it! Lessons learned before I get trashed this afternoon:

1) Get sleep. I got to bed at 9:30 last night and got 9 hours of sleep.
2) verbal not indicative at the time of how you did. I thought I got <10 at the time
3) If you get caught up on something, move the f*** on and get back to it.

This is in the sciences, not verbal right? 😛

Nice work Sisko. I'm supremely jealous but extremely happy for you. Keep at it!

 

[Captain Sisko]

This is in the sciences, not verbal right? 😛

Nice work Sisko. I'm supremely jealous but extremely happy for you. Keep at it!

thanks everyone! I'm sure you'll turn it around when you start the official practices, ned. when are you starting those?

yeah, sciences for the most part. for verbal i finished about five minutes early, went back to a hard passage and read it fresh. changed an answer or two after. but I'd say it's probably better/easier to catch wrong answers on the sciences.

not trashed yet. i texted the lady about my score, she replies "awesome. now clean the house. "

 

[NuttyEngDude]

thanks everyone! I'm sure you'll turn it around when you start the official practices, ned. when are you starting those?

I only have tests 8, 9, 10, and 11 ( burned 7 early on in my practice last year). Tomorrow I'll take a Kaplan test, but planning on spreading those 4 aamc's over the next 2 weeks, so 2 this week then 2 next week. So, to answer your question Tuesday to start.

I've mostly been focusing on PS since the math errors scare, but I'll probably back off a bit and focus on BS (Biological Sciences) now. I'm still making math errors, but I've substantially cut them down.

Did a TPR verbal section last night... i'm still learning..... I noticed I am missing some author's tone questions to be more extreme than he actually is. I can fix that. Just means I need to be more critical and less judgmental when I read. 😛

not trashed yet. i texted the lady about my score, she replies "awesome. now clean the house. "

 

[pablosohn]

AAMC 5 came out PS13 VR7 BS10. (30) I'm starting to doubt myself and verbal needs a lot of help..

 

[pablosohn]

AAMC 11

14/13/14 = 41

So frickin psyched right now. All time AAMC highs for total and verbal. I honestly didn't think I'd improve on AAMC 10 but I'll take it! Lessons learned before I get trashed this afternoon:

1) Get sleep. I got to bed at 9:30 last night and got 9 hours of sleep.
2) verbal not indicative at the time of how you did. I thought I got <10 at the time
3) If you get caught up on something, move the f*** on and get back to it.

Congratulations!!

 

[timeturner]

AAMC 11

14/13/14 = 41

So frickin psyched right now. All time AAMC highs for total and verbal. I honestly didn't think I'd improve on AAMC 10 but I'll take it! Lessons learned before I get trashed this afternoon:

1) Get sleep. I got to bed at 9:30 last night and got 9 hours of sleep.
2) verbal not indicative at the time of how you did. I thought I got <10 at the time
3) If you get caught up on something, move the f*** on and get back to it.

Wooooooooohoo!

Hope to be there in a week!
VR is so unpredictable though haha I never know what I'd get on it.

 

[sworzeh]

AAMC 8 - 12 PS, 8 VR, 11 BS = 31

4 point decrease from AAMC 7 (as I expected. 7 was too easy - also made some last-minute-heroic BS changes that ended up being 0-3. nothing good comes from changing answers unless you notice something blatantly wrong)

Verbal sucked. Absolutely awful. I felt out of it today, which may have contributed. A couple times I found myself staring at the wall during verbal.


It's pretty obvious to me that verbal will be what makes or breaks my score. I feel confident I can score (relatively) high in PS and BS, but verbal is such a wildcard. I feel like my range can be a 30-35 on the real thing, which somewhat worries me. Maybe it's too early to tell. But even if I'm rocking the sciences section, I don't think I can realistically match them with a high verbal section.

I completely agree. AAMC 8 verbal left me feeling like I hadn't a clue what was going on.

I somehow got a 31 (11P 11V 9B), which is my highest verbal score yet. Go figure :/ BS hit my record low though.

 

[sp808]

Great weekend!

AAMC 4: 15/12/14 = 41
AAMC 5: 14/11/15 = 40

6 out of 7 verbal mistakes on AAMC 5 were on that one Picasso passage.. Overall the verbal seems more fair than EK101 though.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Great weekend!

AAMC 4: 15/12/14 = 41
AAMC 5: 14/11/15 = 40

6 out of 7 verbal mistakes on AAMC 5 were on that one Picasso passage.. Overall the verbal seems more fair than EK101 though.

👍

 

[Jr MD]

Hey guys been busy grinding so I've been away but it paid off...Verbal score jumped from a 7 to an 11. I'm so happy!! God is good!! 🙂

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

 

[sp808]

AAMC 11

14/13/14 = 41

So frickin psyched right now. All time AAMC highs for total and verbal. I honestly didn't think I'd improve on AAMC 10 but I'll take it! Lessons learned before I get trashed this afternoon:

1) Get sleep. I got to bed at 9:30 last night and got 9 hours of sleep.
2) verbal not indicative at the time of how you did. I thought I got <10 at the time
3) If you get caught up on something, move the f*** on and get back to it.

Nice! What do you think about the difficulty between later AAMCs and earlier ones? People say the later ones are harder but it seems like the scores are mostly pretty consistent.

 

[Captain Sisko]

Nice! What do you think about the difficulty between later AAMCs and earlier ones? People say the later ones are harder but it seems like the scores are mostly pretty consistent.

they're harder but the curves are more lenient. i think i got like 4 wrong in bio but still pulled a 14. but there were two passages i really struggled with. ftr, i was seeing 13s and 14s in earlier ones.

 

[dellian101]

Nice! What do you think about the difficulty between later AAMCs and earlier ones? People say the later ones are harder but it seems like the scores are mostly pretty consistent.

I think the later ones are actually EASIER. it depends on the person. I am not a passage person but a hard fact person, thus the details of later passages really help me improve my score.

 

[Entadus]

I've got 2 more practice tests left... tomorrow is AAMC 10!

 

[Captain Sisko]

I've got 2 more practice tests left... tomorrow is AAMC 10!

Have fun and nail it!

 

[timeturner]

I think the later ones are actually EASIER. it depends on the person. I am not a passage person but a hard fact person, thus the details of later passages really help me improve my score.

Yeah I was actually wondering about this this morning when I woke up, or when I fell asleep, or when I was dreaming who knows haha. But if you look at the 30+ thread everyone's score gets up to high 30s and 40s by the later tests but not necessarily score that high on their actual tests.
I am not sure if the curve is more lenient but it might be. I think on AAMC 9 I got 5 wrong on PS which yielded a 13, 5 wrong on VR - 11, and 2 wrong in BS - 14. I thought it was a pretty fair curve but I actually don't even know how they curve these things.

Also, personally they feel easier. I thought the questions and topics fell in line more with what I had been prepping. Also, definitely a lot more thinking than the earlier ones. I remember when I took AAMC 3 PS most of it was just like, oh ok let me just pick the obvious answer without doing any calculations. I think I got a 13 on that PS section also. However the two 13's felt so different. The 13 on AAMC 9 felt panicky, and I was thought it was either going to be fine or a complete diaster. The AAMC 3 13 felt like it was in the bag.

 

[Jr MD]

Question for those who have taken the Mcat before. For verbal, i realized I'm a big underline and write short notes on the side of the passage type guy. How is that possible on a computer? how did you feel on test day from switching from paper tests to CBT??

12 more days !!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

 

[captainuzair]

Question for those who have taken the Mcat before. For verbal, i realized I'm a big underline and write short notes on the side of the passage type guy. How is that possible on a computer? how did you feel on test day from switching from paper tests to CBT??

12 more days !!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO CBT TYPE OF FORMAT if you haven't done any computer based exam for AAMC. Don't do it on the paper. Because when you take the real exam on the computer it would feel so different and hard and long. So start practicing on the computer.

 

[Chalupa Batman]

YOU HAVE TO GET USED TO CBT TYPE OF FORMAT if you haven't done any computer based exam for AAMC. Don't do it on the paper. Because when you take the real exam on the computer it would feel so different and hard and long. So start practicing on the computer.

👍

 

[Entadus]

Question for those who have taken the Mcat before. For verbal, i realized I'm a big underline and write short notes on the side of the passage type guy. How is that possible on a computer? how did you feel on test day from switching from paper tests to CBT??

12 more days !!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

You will have scratch paper so get used to using that. You can highlight text but it is a little difficult, so practice that using the AAMC CBT practice tests.

 

[sworzeh]

Question for those who have taken the Mcat before. For verbal, i realized I'm a big underline and write short notes on the side of the passage type guy. How is that possible on a computer? how did you feel on test day from switching from paper tests to CBT??

12 more days !!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

For me, I've noticed that my scores improve if I just scribble along random key facts of the passage while I'm reading (it helps me stay focused). I don't read over these or anything, but it keeps me from getting so bored.

I think it helped me go from a 9 diagnostic (Kaplan, freshman year) to my most recent AAMC of 11. Not huge, but it's something.

 

[dellian101]

Physics SAP -- let's do this!!

 

[Captain Sisko]

So a post-game analysis appears to indicate I've a mild case of dyslexia. I got a left/right vectors question wrong, I almost missed a problem regarding which atrium handles what (changed this while checking) and I also missed another left/right bio question. I suppose it's good I'm catching this now! Anyone have any suggestions for taking care of this? I'm thinking I'll just draw out mini pictures of things to make sure I'm picking the correct answer.

 

[Entadus]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

 

[Sub Rosa]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Pics or it didn't happen

 

[Entadus]

Pic attached

edit: wait the file is too big. have to fiddle with the dimensions

 

[Jr MD]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Man i hope you get into your dream school. You've earned it. Can't believe they just shut you out Last year!!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

 

[Entadus]

Pic attached. Sorry for bad quality. I don't care if anyone believes me

 

[Captain Sisko]

Pic attached. Sorry for bad quality. I don't care if anyone believes me

Awesome job buddy! Keep giving me a moving target so I don't slow down 🙂

 

[Sub Rosa]

Pic attached. Sorry for bad quality. I don't care if anyone believes me

I believe you.

You should be the first SDNer to get a 45 on the real deal.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Physics SAP -- let's do this!!

I'll cheer you on. 👍

So a post-game analysis appears to indicate I've a mild case of dyslexia. I got a left/right vectors question wrong, I almost missed a problem regarding which atrium handles what (changed this while checking) and I also missed another left/right bio question. I suppose it's good I'm catching this now! Anyone have any suggestions for taking care of this? I'm thinking I'll just draw out mini pictures of things to make sure I'm picking the correct answer.

If it is what I think it is, write them out in x and y components AND draw pictures.

I believe you.

You should be the first SDNer to get a 45 on the real deal.

Someone in the january thread claimed a 45, not sure what has come of it, since i've been studying.


-----------------
So... I tried to go to sleep early last night. Laid in bed at about 10:30 pm and couldnt sleep, so i read a book, woke up at 5 am with the book somehow under my back. Anyways, I was like DAMN IT I cant get more than just a measly 6 or 7 hours of sleep?? So I just laid there saying to myself "i cant believe i cant get more sleep, i need more sleep... i need more sleep" 5 hours later, I wake up saying the same thing I guess I really needed the sleep.



Kaplan Full Length 3: -- 30

PS - 13 -- math fears and hurt pride abated
VR - 9 -- omfg i hate verbal 😡 But taking this with a grain of salt since it's kaplan verbal
BR - 8 -- holy orgo failage 😱


Now if i can overcome my orgo weakness and stay afloat in PS over the next week I think I'll be ok.... Oh yeah... verbal 😡 Time to hit the EK/TPR like no one's business.....

 

[dellian101]

congrats guys!!

very nerve wrecking reading this forum and seeing my score not improve...do miracles happen in 10 days?!

 

[Jr MD]

NED !! congrats bro!! What did you do for PS ? I know you were working hard at it these past couple of days but tell me you're method!! Also for verbal try this:

Slow down and read each sentence and in your mind decide if it's An opinion or support for am opinion. I realized every passage is feeding you some view of theirs and it's your job to figure out what that is and know how the author would support this particular view I'm any situation. Once i did this my verbal jumped from a 7 to an 11 yesterday. My timing isn't great yet (27 min for 3 passages) but it worked for me. Hope this helps!! I'm pulling for ya!!

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile

 

[tibetanowl]

Does anyone happen to have the link to where the conversions are from raw to scaled scores are for each AAMC practice test? I had it bookmarked before, but now can't find it for the life of me. Thanks!

 

[NuttyEngDude]

congrats guys!!

very nerve wrecking reading this forum and seeing my score not improve...do miracles happen in 10 days?!

I BELIEVE 😀

NED !! congrats bro!! What did you do for PS ? I know you were working hard at it these past couple of days but tell me you're method!! Also for verbal try this:

One data point does not make a trend but I'm hoping the psychology of it will push me further. Anyways I dont know if you have kaplan but what I did was do all their end of chapter problems (only like 10 questions or so per chapter), then did their subject tests (these are short 30 question discretes based on their chapters). I did this for diagnostic purposes, to quickly find areas of weaknesses that I was not aware of. I added this to my weaknesses as found on my practice tests. Then I went and did the kaplan workshops. From the list of weaknesses, I read the TBR chapters corresponding to them. Then I did kaplan topical tests for them. You can retrofit this to your materials, it's basically a seek and destroy type of method for your weaknesses. Despite doing all this I still found some new PS weaknesses on the latest test.

Slow down and read each sentence and in your mind decide if it's An opinion or support for am opinion. I realized every passage is feeding you some view of theirs and it's your job to figure out what that is and know how the author would support this particular view I'm any situation. Once i did this my verbal jumped from a 7 to an 11 yesterday. My timing isn't great yet (27 min for 3 passages) but it worked for me. Hope this helps!! I'm pulling for ya!!

Very nice! Thank you. I am going to use this and try to psych myself up for VR again.

But in the meantime.... It's BIORGO time!

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Does anyone happen to have the link to where the conversions are from raw to scaled scores are for each AAMC practice test? I had it bookmarked before, but now can't find it for the life of me. Thanks!

Try this:


edit: I actually saved this from another SDN post and I'm sorry that I can not find it to credit you. let me know which it is and i will credit you.

 

[sp808]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Nice!

You're not retaking these, right? A 34 to a 44 is pretty impressive!

 

[tibetanowl]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[carboxylase]

(checks thread while studying for real school test that's tomorrow, sees Entadus posted a 44, closes thread)

 

[Albein]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

What species of robot are you?!?! Good job man.
AAMC 5 and chapter 3 of BR passges tomorrow. Hopefully I can get back into the 30s.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

I thought I had congratulated you on this........ but i didnt so.....

CONGRATS keep it up 😀

 

[Entadus]

Awesome job buddy! Keep giving me a moving target so I don't slow down 🙂

I have no intentions of stopping until after exam day 🙂 45 or bust! (At this point I have no excuse)

I believe you.

You should be the first SDNer to get a 45 on the real deal.

I don't think I would be the first SDNer. But whatever the case, I know it is not impossible. I just need a perfect verbal performance!

congrats guys!!

very nerve wrecking reading this forum and seeing my score not improve...do miracles happen in 10 days?!

I wouldn't take the exam until you're hitting the scores you want on your AAMC FL's. However, if you have any reason at all to think you can score well, you should not void. Worst comes to worst, you can always re-take the exam. Don't get discouraged, keep at it! As long as you are learning something every day, you are making progress.

Nice!

You're not retaking these, right? A 34 to a 44 is pretty impressive!

Nope this was not a retake. I took it under exam timing and conditions since I want to nail down the timing, gain confidence going into test day, and lastly I want as accurate of feedback on my progress as I can get. Everything is on schedule and on the line. I just have to be on point on the 23rd 😉

(checks thread while studying for real school test that's tomorrow, sees Entadus posted a 44, closes thread)

Yeah I would hate competing against me. Somebody is always going to be better. When I read that UCPremed scored 45 in January, I felt compelled to attack this final push (toward 45). This stuff is all knowable; the answers have to be right. Can you find them all?

What species of robot are you?!?! Good job man.
AAMC 5 and chapter 3 of BR passges tomorrow. Hopefully I can get back into the 30s.

Good luck and no regrets You can do it!

P.S........ *beep boop bop* I AM A MACHINE.... A biological machine! ( Brain Y U NO understand yourself??!?!1 )

P.P.S. I really want to be a doctor.... I think this whole process is stupid, but I digress...

I thought I had congratulated you on this........ but i didnt so.....

CONGRATS keep it up 😀

Thanks bud! 😀 I hope I can serve as an inspiration to you all.... *tear* 😎

 

[osprey099]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

You are not human. That is all I have to say. 😱

 

[bea524]

I decided I have to delay. Not ready for the 3/23 test. But now it's too late for any type of refund, so do you guys recommend I just go in and take the exam and void since I paid for it anyway? I will most likely be able to find a late April or early May test date after 3/23, right?

 

[Captain Sisko]

I decided I have to delay. Not ready for the 3/23 test. But now it's too late for any type of refund, so do you guys recommend I just go in and take the exam and void since I paid for it anyway? I will most likely be able to find a late April or early May test date after 3/23, right?

that's what I'd do. good luck!

 

[Captain Sisko]

oh and good luck today NED, you're going to rock this aamc!

 

[timeturner]

AAMC 10


44

15 / 14 / 15

Missed one verbal question!!! I am in shock right now!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

Wooooooooo! That is so awesome!!

Missed a whole night of sleep last night....why why why insomnia why did you come back now.
No MCAT prep for me at all this week, maybe AAMC 10 on Sunday but not sure. 3 exams and barely did anything at all all semester, cant believe everyone's half way done when semester doesn't even feel like it has stared for me yet.

 

[osprey099]

Wooooooooo! That is so awesome!!

Missed a whole night of sleep last night....why why why insomnia why did you come back now.
No MCAT prep for me at all this week, maybe AAMC 10 on Sunday but not sure. 3 exams and barely did anything at all all semester, cant believe everyone's half way done when semester doesn't even feel like it has stared for me yet.

Yea this semester has been flying by for me as well. I haven't done a ton of MCAT studying either this semester but spring break is next week so I hope to get a lot done.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

I decided I have to delay. Not ready for the 3/23 test. But now it's too late for any type of refund, so do you guys recommend I just go in and take the exam and void since I paid for it anyway? I will most likely be able to find a late April or early May test date after 3/23, right?

Like Sisko said, that's what I would do too. Whether you can find a date is dependent on your region but around here, things open up dramatically in June. As others have said, around 2 weeks of your target date things also open up as people drop/postpone.

oh and good luck today NED, you're going to rock this aamc!

Thanks. I was thinking about putting it off while I work on orgo for the day but I think I will just go ahead and take it. But... after I go back to sleep for a couple hours..... Here's to hoping I do ok, I have read that the kaplan science scores tend to be 1-2 points inflated.

Yea this semester has been flying by for me as well. I haven't done a ton of MCAT studying either this semester but spring break is next week so I hope to get a lot done.

Dont let the practice/knowledge slip man! From what I have seen you have the ability and potential to hit a great score!

 

[dellian101]

Hi guys!!

So after finishing the SAP and old aamc book with practice passages, I narrowed down my weakness for science. Do y'all have a way suggestions avice how to improve?


I get these questions wrong



1) forget to convert units.ie today I decided to find kinetic energy in g instead of kg... Didn't turn out well

2) extractung passage info. I especially need help with this. Today's passage asked why did they use a specific material. Any suggestion how to approach these problems?
I've slowed down a lot. I used I finish physica with 15 min and bio with 25. But now I ony have a minute left for physical and 5 for bio. Last test I changed answers to all wrong ones in last minute!

Any suggestions welcome -- thanks!