The Official 4/26/13 MCAT Thread

[clothcut]

In lieu of the other threads popping up, I thought it'd be good for those of us taking the test to identify ourselves

I'm not planning on following a rigid study schedule until January, but I think I'm going to watch a single video off of wikipremed daily to lightly review.

Good luck to everyone... we will crush this exam..

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[Guy1122]

Just for laughs.
And yes, this is my cat.

 

[Roxas]

Just for laughs.
And yes, this is my cat.

 

[clothcut]

Just finished my last pre-med requisites (Orgo2/Phys 2) last week. Planning on taking a two to three week break from anything remotely related to academia before I begin seriously prepping for the MCAT I'm only working six hours a week w/ no classes up until my exam, so I'll have plenty of time to study.

Any suggestions on little things I should do up until I start seriously studying in early Jan? I'll be using the BR books/Sn2ed schedule.

 

[theCLE]

I'm in. You are all my best and only friends now!

 

[heylollipop]

The early April test date was pretty full, with the closest test site being an hour away...so I had to go for this one. It's so difficult to study during the break while I'm at home with family, especially since I don't see them most of the year. :/

 

[clothcut]

Hey guys I have my prep books (TBR/TPRH Verbal Workbook/EK) and will be beginning the Sn2ed 3-month plan on Monday (1/7) if anyone else would like to begin with me.

 

[Roxas]

Hey guys I have my prep books (TBR/TPRH Verbal Workbook/EK) and will be beginning the Sn2ed 3-month plan on Monday (1/7) if anyone else would like to begin with me.

I'm currently trying to recover from a small case of burnout, and will pick back up with it this weekend. I'm definitely going to need a place to keep venting about this test, so feel free to share your woes as well haha

 

[theCLE]

Good luck to everyone studying this week! We got this!

 

[aspiringdoc134]

Hey guys, I'm currently nearly halfway thru my content review - I have been doing one chapter almost every day (utilizing the SN2d schedule) since the beginning of Christmas break along with questions from the TPR in-class syllabus. When do you guys plan on starting FLs? I was thinking mid-late Feb; I just wanted to see what your guys' plans were.

Thanks and cheers!

 

[HotHamH2O]

Hey guys, I'm currently nearly halfway thru my content review - I have been doing one chapter almost every day (utilizing the SN2d schedule) since the beginning of Christmas break along with questions from the TPR in-class syllabus. When do you guys plan on starting FLs? I was thinking mid-late Feb; I just wanted to see what your guys' plans were.

Thanks and cheers!

I'm doing his 4 month schedule and I'm set to finish a few days before mcat

 

[johnnyscans]

In.

Following SN2ED schedule with extra emphasis on general chemistry (since I TF physics and work in a bio lab).

 

[Guy1122]

I'm taking a one week short course right now... Really a struggle to stay on my study schedule. Also, no longer doing the Sn2 schedule. Made my own. In case anyone cares.

 

[theCLE]

I'm taking a one week short course right now... Really a struggle to stay on my study schedule. Also, no longer doing the Sn2 schedule. Made my own. In case anyone cares.

what's it looking like? I started that schedule too, but came to modify it a bit to fit my schedule, since I have a part time job. Basically, doing less on work days.

 

[Guy1122]

what's it looking like? I started that schedule too, but came to modify it a bit to fit my schedule, since I have a part time job. Basically, doing less on work days.

Mondays I read all the material (I'm using the EK books and I try to tackle one chapter In each book a day) I'm gonna go over for the week, then tackle a chapter a day. Fridays are off days (most of the time) and the I use the 1001 books on Saturday to do practice problems in the appropriate sections. I do every 3rd problem so I can come back during review weeks and get more practice in. Sorry, if this was hard to understand. in class and wanted to type this quickly while I have a break.

 

[Roxas]

How's everyone else doing? I don't know what my problem is, but I'm getting incredibly frustrated. I don't know how we are possibly supposed to remember all of this content! It seems like an overwhelming amount of stuff to try and keep fresh in your mind, and I just seem to forget things that I knew not that long ago. Anyone else have this issue?

 

[geh926]

In!

On day 2 of Sn2ed

 

[Back 5]

I've only read the first couple chapters in physics, chem, bio from the TPR books I received. Excited that the course starts tomorrow and I can really start my prep.

Next week, I need to do all my diagnostics as well as AAMC 10 (according to the syllabus).

 

[Roxas]

I've only read the first couple chapters in physics, chem, bio from the TPR books I received. Excited that the course starts tomorrow and I can really start my prep.

Next week, I need to do all my diagnostics as well as AAMC 10 (according to the syllabus).

Just my 2 cents, but if you are dead set on the whole TPR guarentee, then you have to do aamc 10 now. However, if not, I would save that test until close to test day, since that is one of the most indicative of the real thing and doing it as a diagnostic is a huge waste.

 

[Back 5]

Just my 2 cents, but if you are dead set on the whole TPR guarentee, then you have to do aamc 10 now. However, if not, I would save that test until close to test day, since that is one of the most indicative of the real thing and doing it as a diagnostic is a huge waste.

I was actually going to ask about this. I have read on here that 10 and 11 are good tests to take at the end, so I was going to ask my instructors if I can take aamc 1 instead.

I'm not worried about the guarantee. If I don't score well, taking the course over won't be the reason I score better. I'd have not studied enough.

 

[Roxas]

I was actually going to ask about this. I have read on here that 10 and 11 are good tests to take at the end, so I was going to ask my instructors if I can take aamc 1 instead.

I'm not worried about the guarantee. If I don't score well, taking the course over won't be the reason I score better. I'd have not studied enough.

If you don't care about the guarantee then I wouldn't even ask them. I don't think that they check up on you with your FLs, they just suggest that you do them at a certain time as part of their course. Like I said, you would be much better off to take aamc 8, 9, 10, and 11 last. If you haven't done the diagnostic tests for each subject, do those. I found that to be an eye opening experience, and you don't waste any aamc FLs. You have access to 11 other TPR tests, so do one of those if you are looking for a taste of what a FL is like. Good Luck!

 

[triplem]

good luck everyone!

 

[kgpremed11]

good luck everyone!

Thanks. Im gonna start taking full lengths the first of march, maybe even a little before that. I want a good solid 2 months of full length's

 

[Hemorrage]

Goodluck everyone. I'm taking it 4/26 as well. I began the 4 month SN2ED end of december and i've been sticking with it since.. im also doing 21 credits in school so im basically on beast mode at the moment. I spend every free minute i get studying for classes or the MCAT :/

 

[Guy1122]

Alright, so I'm just wondering, how are y'all studying exactly? Making flash cards? Making cheat sheets and reviewing them?
What?

 

[Roxas]

Alright, so I'm just wondering, how are y'all studying exactly? Making flash cards? Making cheat sheets and reviewing them?
What?

Until recently I've just been reading the chapter and doing passages, but I decided yesterday that I need to make flashcards to help me review concepts that I tend to forget easily. It didn't really hit me until then that there is a LOT of freakin material that this test covers! I think I understand stuff when I read it, but if you ask me about it a week or 2 later and its like I never studied it. I'm hoping the flashcard thing helps.

 

[Hemorrage]

Until recently I've just been reading the chapter and doing passages, but I decided yesterday that I need to make flashcards to help me review concepts that I tend to forget easily. It didn't really hit me until then that there is a LOT of freakin material that this test covers! I think I understand stuff when I read it, but if you ask me about it a week or 2 later and its like I never studied it. I'm hoping the flashcard thing helps.

Yeah i feel the same way. I've been taking outline notes on each chapter of SN2ED i do.. i'm going to begin reviewing them and hopefully refresh my memory

 

[HotHamH2O]

man this week has been hell for me. My scores are getting worse. Super frustrated. IDK if this weeks content review was just that much harder or if I am just losing my ability to remember anything else.

 

[Back 5]

Man, I got killed on my Princeton Review diagnostic tests...like scoring in the 40's, except for Verbal. I guess that's my best subject at the moment

I know I have 3 months to study, but what a disheartening experience to think I learned nothing in the year that I spent taking the required courses for the MCAT in a post-bacc.

 

[theCLE]

man this week has been hell for me. My scores are getting worse. Super frustrated. IDK if this weeks content review was just that much harder or if I am just losing my ability to remember anything else.

I agree, this week has been tough for the content ( I know you've been working on Ch3 material too from the Q&A thread). As for the memorizing, I try to spend some time rewriting out things I don't know on a notebook I keep. It's still early and we have time. We got this.

 

[osprey099]

What FL's are you guys planning to take? I have all 11 Kaplan tests and the AAMCs but since I'm a retaker, I already used the AAMCs the first time around but i'm gonna be redoing them.

Any other FL's worth buying?

 

[theCLE]

What FL's are you guys planning to take? I have all 11 Kaplan tests and the AAMCs but since I'm a retaker, I already used the AAMCs the first time around but i'm gonna be redoing them.

Any other FL's worth buying?

just sent a fat check out to Berkeley, CA for all 7.

 

[DAPI]

Well I think I'm going to be joining the 4/26/13 train. I applied this year and am on hold (post-interview) at three schools. Hoping one of those turns to an acceptance, but just in case I figured I better register for an exam and start studying.

Last year I got a 30 (10/10/10) using the online Kaplan Course basically following my own plan. This year, I'm going to use the EK books and follow their 10 week course (more or less) and hopefully get >=33.

Let me know if anyone has any questions. Even though I didn't do fantastic, I feel I learned a lot of test taking skills specific to this test and would be happy to share.

 

[osprey099]

Well I think I'm going to be joining the 4/26/13 train. I applied this year and am on hold (post-interview) at three schools. Hoping one of those turns to an acceptance, but just in case I figured I better register for an exam and start studying.

Last year I got a 30 (10/10/10) using the online Kaplan Course basically following my own plan. This year, I'm going to use the EK books and follow their 10 week course (more or less) and hopefully get >=33.

Let me know if anyone has any questions. Even though I didn't do fantastic, I feel I learned a lot of test taking skills specific to this test and would be happy to share.

How are you going to study for verbal and biology this time around? I also got a 30 on my previous mcat and now retaking.

 

[osprey099]

just sent a fat check out to Berkeley, CA for all 7.

I've heard TBR CBTs are only good for the PS. Are you using any others besides that and AAMCs?

 

[theCLE]

Well I think I'm going to be joining the 4/26/13 train. I applied this year and am on hold (post-interview) at three schools. Hoping one of those turns to an acceptance, but just in case I figured I better register for an exam and start studying.

Last year I got a 30 (10/10/10) using the online Kaplan Course basically following my own plan. This year, I'm going to use the EK books and follow their 10 week course (more or less) and hopefully get >=33.

Let me know if anyone has any questions. Even though I didn't do fantastic, I feel I learned a lot of test taking skills specific to this test and would be happy to share.

Seems like a good score. What do you think is holding you back, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[theCLE]

I've heard TBR CBTs are only good for the PS. Are you using any others besides that and AAMCs?

That was all I WAS going to use- thank you for the input. Are TBR tougher or easier, or are they just all around not like the actual test- from what you know of?

 

[osprey099]

That was all I WAS going to use- thank you for the input. Are TBR tougher or easier, or are they just all around not like the actual test- from what you know of?

I used 3 TBR old tests (the pdf ones with 77 questions in the sciences and 60 questions in verbal) before my first MCAT and I thought the only section that it prepared you well was PS. My MCAT PS was a lot easier than the PS in TBR but training yourself by doing harder physics/chem problems makes it so much easier on you on test day. The BS in TBR is completely crap IMO. The verbal is maybe the worst verbal out there.

 

[DAPI]

How are you going to study for verbal and biology this time around? I also got a 30 on my previous mcat and now retaking.

Last time I really slacked on the verbal. I think I did a total of two to three of the EK 101 (meaning I did a total of ~27 passages) during all of my studying, not including actual full lengths and w/e Kaplan required. I'm going to hit that book really hard and maybe use some of the VR from Kaplan I have, but Kaplan's VR is VERY different from AAMC's VR IMO. Hoping that will bring my VR up, or at least keep it at a 10.

For Bio, most of my wrong answers came from simple mistakes I made. I continued to notice this throughout my practice, but could never seem to fix it. I'm hoping more practice passages and reviewing the passages will help me identify when/why I make these. On the real deal though, I had 3-4 passages of Orgo/Biochem and I think that really threw me off more than anything. I went home banging my head against the wall after I realized the mistakes I had made after google'ing some of the questions. So I'm going to hit Orgo harder this time. I know most people say Orgo is light on the MCAT, but that was not my experience or a few of the other test days surrounding mine.

Just to round it out, for PhySci I think what hung me up the most was knowing simple unit conversion or what an SI unit actually was. An example would be knowing a Watt is actually a J/sec. That’s a pretty simple example, but basically knowing how to go from one unit to another was a major oversight on my part. Other than that, I'm going to hit light and optics as that's always been hard for me (which showed up on test day) and stuff like solubility points and other random crap you see in GenChem.

I hope as I go through the review material I'll easily identify what I remember and what I need to work on.

At least we don't even have to think about the writing section this time

 

[DAPI]

Seems like a good score. What do you think is holding you back, if you don't mind me asking?

I really don't know. Two of the schools put A TON of applicants on hold and wait till May to accept them which really sucks. So I could just be hanging out at the top of the hold pool and not even know it. Also two of the school's do MMI interviewing and those I personally feel like are really hard to gage on how you do, so it could be that I just suck at MMI's or interviews in general.

Other thoughts have been a lack of volunteering, possibly a bad letter somewhere that I am just unaware of, or too much of a focus on Hematology/Oncology with little to no outside exploration.

This thread has more details: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=976676

 

[HotHamH2O]

I picked up a ton of flashcards today. After doing my second 1/3 of TBR passages I realized that there are concepts that need to be reviewed daily for awhile. I am hoping that is all that is causing such a rough week in my scores. On the positive note, I took my second 1/3 of TBR Bio today and actually saw an improvement!

I'm taking this test no matter what so my recall better get much better or I'm off to DO or Caribbean : /

 

[Roxas]

In addition to my class, my school offers a VR prep course. I just finished a practice test in there and scored a 9! I know thats not amazing, but its not a bad place to start. I'm feeling pretty good right now

 

[heylollipop]

For those who are working or are in school, how do you manage your time to study? I am still in school and working a part time job. I find it really hard to keep up with my study schedule... Maybe I should study in the library instead of in my room.

 

[Back 5]

I've been studying regularly for 2 weeks and took my first diagnostic today. Princeton Review MCAT #4. I scored a 17 I didn't execute great time management skills for the verbal and had to answer "C" for 2 passages, which resulted in a 7.

I'm unsure as to how representative PR#4 is of a real MCAT or how my score might translate. I'm unsure if I need to worry, as I have only covered the first 1-2 chapters in each subject as of yet...unfortunately there were no 2D motion or projectile motion on this particular exam, so my PS was a bit lower.

I suppose I will increase my study a bit and really try to hammer out 10 min/passage in verbal. The word on the street is the verbal passages are getting longer and longer correct?

Hopefully I can increase my score by a good 10+ points in the next 3 months.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I've been studying regularly for 2 weeks and took my first diagnostic today. Princeton Review MCAT #4. I scored a 17 I didn't execute great time management skills for the verbal and had to answer "C" for 2 passages, which resulted in a 7.

I'm unsure as to how representative PR#4 is of a real MCAT or how my score might translate. I'm unsure if I need to worry, as I have only covered the first 1-2 chapters in each subject as of yet...unfortunately there were no 2D motion or projectile motion on this particular exam, so my PS was a bit lower.

I suppose I will increase my study a bit and really try to hammer out 10 min/passage in verbal. The word on the street is the verbal passages are getting longer and longer correct?

Hopefully I can increase my score by a good 10+ points in the next 3 months.

Taking a FL 2 weeks after studying

I think you should finish your content review before taking your FL's. Otherwise, you will end up guessing on the material you didn't cover and waste good practice material.

I've been studying for a little more than 3 weeks now and will not be taking any FL for another 3 weeks.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

How's everyone doing on their content review? anyone done? How many content review runs are you planning to do?

I'm two-third way in my first run and planning to do chad's videos for my second run. This will leave me with ~9 weeks of practicing and taking FL's until the exam. What do you guys think?

 

[Back 5]

Taking a FL 2 weeks after studying

I think you should finish your content review before taking your FL's. Otherwise, you will end up guessing on the material you didn't cover and waste good practice material.

I've been studying for a little more than 3 weeks now and will not be taking any FL for another 3 weeks.

The Princeton folks (and my Bio/Phys instructor who is in med school) recommended I take a practice test to get a baseline. I emailed the instructor who told me not to fret about my score, he just wanted to see what my baseline was and we can go up from there.

Princeton review actually said I had to take aamc 10, but I chose not to as I felt that was a much more valuable test to save.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

The Princeton folks (and my Bio/Phys instructor who is in med school) recommended I take a practice test to get a baseline. I emailed the instructor who told me not to fret about my score, he just wanted to see what my baseline was and we can go up from there.

Princeton review actually said I had to take aamc 10, but I chose not to as I felt that was a much more valuable test to save.

Those idiots are all about marketing. AAMC is the second best practice you could get (after AAMC 11). Even taking AAMC 3 at this point is a waste of time and material, but that's only my opinion.

Besides, I don't get the idea of knowing your "baseline". Most people will naturally screw up on their their diagnostics, since they're still haven't done their content review and have forgotten most of the material. I think one should take the first "diagnostic" test after finishing content review. That way, your score will truly reflect your strength and weaknesses and will give you some insight on how to better prepare for your next FL.

 

[chewy2008]

Registered for the 8AM 4/26 MCAT!

Condensed diagnostic from Kaplan: 29 (BS 11, VR 8, PS 10)

Enrolled in Kaplan On Demand course. Have been studying since winter break, want to focus on improving Verbal with Kaplan resources and EK101.

Other obligations: 9 units of classes and labs (Physics and Ochem), 4 hours/week of volunteering, 5-10 hours/week of part-time job

To remain sane, plan to exercise 3 times/week and spend Friday nights out with family or friends. Also taking a voice class 3 hrs/week to learn something new!

I hate pre-labs--they're too much busy work.

This is gonna be a craaaazy semester.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Almost done with the content review of the 4 month Sn2ed, first full length is in about 2 weeks. I have an extra month between end of Sn2 schedule and test day, so I've made some adjustments (more review time after each set of chapters, extra diagnostics, verballing my brains out). Something like 86 days away!

 

[Roxas]

So how's everyone doing? I appreciate everyone else's updates on their studying, it helps let me know I'm not alone in this cursed struggle against this hellish test haha.

I was getting somewhat depressed, since I just took aamc 3 to see where I'm at since I'm about halfway through my content review, and scored a 22 (7PS, 7VR, 8BS). If nothing else I'm glad my score is balanced, and there are some other factors that keep from from getting super down on myself. This was my first FL ever, and it was weird to feel the pacing of the test. I haven't finished physics 2 yet, so I'm hoping my PS can get up to a 10 or 11 in the next few months. I have been doing decent with verbal (around a 9 avg so far in EK 101) and for some reason got mixed up on how many passages I had left, so I raced through the last 2 only to find out I had 10 extra minutes haha. Also, I stayed up way too late the night before so I my focus wasn't exactly the best. I hope to just use that crappy score as motivation to keep going, but its a lot harder to make time to study for this test while taking other classes and keeping up with ECs.

Good luck to everyone else, I'm interested to hear about your guys' practice test scores