The Official 4/26/13 MCAT Thread

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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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Just creeped on the 4/4 thread, they're freaking out! haha. Apparently there was a submarine and circuit passage? Looks like we all need to go over our fluids and electricity haha. On another note, I'm taking AAMC 5 tomorrow yayy!
 
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vagusnerve said:
Just creeped on the 4/4 thread, they're freaking out! haha. Apparently there was a submarine and circuit passage? Looks like we all need to go over our fluids and electricity haha. On another note, I'm taking AAMC 5 tomorrow yayy!
Click to expand...

Perhaps we should focus on things other than fluids and circuits.

Honestly, I prefer circuits and fluids over waves and torque.

Good luck on AAMC5
 
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Hopefully those difficult passages they were talking about were experimental. I will just study my tail off the next 3 weeks and hopefully feel confident enough to hit "score"

How do the experimental questions work? We have 52 questions but not all of them count for our scores?
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Those are good scores. Have you taken these during your first take prep?
Click to expand...

No I didn't. I took a few last time (#3,7, & 10). I'll be taking #8, 9, &11 before the real deal but I'll also pepper in 7&10 as general practice just to keep my MCAT flow on.

Any suggestions on using something besides 7&10 that wouldn't cost my right...kidney...?
- as background, I took these tests exactly one year ago.
 
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GemelloMD said:
No I didn't. I took a few last time (#3,7, & 10). I'll be taking #8, 9, &11 before the real deal but I'll also pepper in 7&10 as general practice just to keep my MCAT flow on.

Any suggestions on using something besides 7&10 that wouldn't cost my right...kidney...?
- as background, I took these tests exactly one year ago.
Click to expand...

Last year, when I was preparing for my first take, I did tests 3-8. I retook these tests during the past few weeks. Surprisingly, I couldn't recall more than 90% of the material, and even for the ones that looked familiar, I couldn't remember the correct answer. In fact, when I compare my performance on both attempts, I noticed that many of the mistakes I made this time were exactly the same ones I did last time.

I highly recommend that you take advantage of the AAMC tests. Take them multiple times to teach your brain how to operate on MCAT-type passages.

If you can afford the AAMC SA, without selling your right kidney, buy it.
 
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GemelloMD said:
No I didn't. I took a few last time (#3,7, & 10). I'll be taking #8, 9, &11 before the real deal but I'll also pepper in 7&10 as general practice just to keep my MCAT flow on.

Any suggestions on using something besides 7&10 that wouldn't cost my right...kidney...?
- as background, I took these tests exactly one year ago.
Click to expand...

You could snag the TPR cracking the MCAT book. It has 3 MCAT CBT's tied in with a code in the back, so that's some more material for a low price.
 
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ahstern said:
You could snag the TPR cracking the MCAT book. It has 3 MCAT CBT's tied in with a code in the back, so that's some more material for a low price.
Click to expand...

Did you do the cracking exams? Did you like them?

I will also be taking an AAMC 5 tomorrow
 
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Taking AAMC 10 on Sunday. Then, I'll have 9 and 11 left for the following two weekends.

I wanted to do AAMC 10 before I do 9 to allow my self sufficient time to cancel or reschedule my test in case I score low.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Taking AAMC 10 on Sunday. Then, I'll have 9 and 11 left for the following two weekends.

I wanted to do AAMC 10 before I do 9 to allow my self sufficient time to cancel or reschedule my test in case I score low.
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Just got my email this morning from AAMC detailing my registration details, withdrawal deadlines etc 😱

I'm applying DO so have no issues taking the test on the 26th, unless my average drops to a 24 over these next 5 tests.
 
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vagusnerve said:
Just creeped on the 4/4 thread, they're freaking out! haha. Apparently there was a submarine and circuit passage? Looks like we all need to go over our fluids and electricity haha. On another note, I'm taking AAMC 5 tomorrow yayy!
Click to expand...

Ya, I did the same... then I just started to feel down... all the aamc passages I have taken (less 2), everything I needed to know was in the passage- it's been a matter of how well " I see the answer," how well I can logically deduce something, and how well I can read the data.. A lot of the aamc's I have taken, I didn't feel like I didn't know the answer, it's more that I made a stupid careless mistake, when I knew better, or I wasn't confident that I had the answer all along-- because I'm thinking this test is playing mind games with me... who knows, but I THINK it's a matter of how well you know the aamc's, and how well you can diagram passage information to answer those questions.... Up until this point, I have been working with kaplan tests and aamc's.... Hopefully, through some miracle, something I have done, pays off.😎:idea:😱
 
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Gosh, I suck at PS 😡

7/10/10 aamc #7.

At least I have 3 weeks to attempt to improve my score...but how? This is really frustrating.

I'll have to do a thorough post-game of all my aamc's before my next test on Tuesday.
 
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Mcat test dreams starting to hit...had a dream about pka and the protonation of the C-terminal of an amino acid with a pka of about 2.2..=___= Very weird indeed lol

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Jr MD said:
Mcat test dreams starting to hit...had a dream about pka and the protonation of the C-terminal of an amino acid with a pka of about 2.2..=___= Very weird indeed lol

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using SDN Mobile
Click to expand...

I had one yesterday too! I took the exam but for some reason the results appeared right away. I ended up with a 32: 16-16-0 -_______-
I don't know how any of that is possible but the 32 got me quite excited... until I woke up.
 
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Albein said:
I had one yesterday too! I took the exam but for some reason the results appeared right away. I ended up with a 32: 16-16-0 -_______-
I don't know how any of that is possible but the 32 got me quite excited... until I woke up.
Click to expand...

That 0 will get you screened out at higher tier schools :naughty:
 
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Incontrol said:
hello! This is my progress (or regress) so far

TPR online free demo and test 11/7/11 (29) March/13/2013
TPR Cracking 1 10/9/10 (29) March/16/2013

TBR1 (10/11/11) 32 March/20/13
TBR2 (11/11/10) 32 March/22/13

TPR Cracking 2 11/6/11 (28) March 25/13

Bio Assesment (87%) March 26/13

GS1 10/7/10 (27) march 27.13

TBR3 (13/7/10) (30) march 30.13

TPR Cracking 3 (8/6/10) (24) April 2.13

I am a retaker from sep. 2012 so I have used up my AAMC CBTs. Planning on finishing the rest of BR CBT, two TPR CBT, and self assessments.
Click to expand...

and just did TBR 4 (11/9/7) (27)

No matter how many full practice tests I take, I am so stubborn to move on when I am stuck 🙁 hopefully I will learn that soon.

Going to review this, I think I found some areas I am unconfy with! TIME TO IMPROVE!!!!

note: is it just me, or BR Verbal is very forgiving curve wise.
 
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Back 5 said:
Gosh, I suck at PS 😡

7/10/10 aamc #7.

At least I have 3 weeks to attempt to improve my score...but how? This is really frustrating.

I'll have to do a thorough post-game of all my aamc's before my next test on Tuesday.
Click to expand...

Your verbal and bio scores are good. You clearly need to work on PS. If your mistakes stem from test-taking skills deficiency, then you've got enough time to fix that, but if it is content knowledge, then you have an uphill battle ahead of you for the next three weeks.

On the contrary, you are very lucky that your weakness is easy fix. If it were in bio, or much worse, verbal, then you'll need lots of time to improve.
 
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To those of you who have done the self assessment, how do you recommend doing it? Should I try to get each one done in one day or do a few passages from each one per day to mix it up?
 
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Albein said:
To those of you who have done the self assessment, how do you recommend doing it? Should I try to get each one done in one day or do a few passages from each one per day to mix it up?
Click to expand...

Hmm good question, I have only done biology so far, the way I did it was in two halves with a break in the middle.

The thing is if you take just a few each day it will be too long before you can review it again.

I think its better to divide it into 2 to 3 parts and just get through them in one day.
 
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Incontrol said:
Hmm good question, I have only done biology so far, the way I did it was in two halves with a break in the middle.

The thing is if you take just a few each day it will be too long before you can review it again.

I think its better to divide it into 2 to 3 parts and just get through them in one day.
Click to expand...

That's a good point too because apparently you don't get results until you finish the whole assessment on whichever section. Thanks!
 
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I'd definitely recommend splitting the SAs into smaller parts. I found splitting each in half and doing one half a day prevented inaccurate results. I did my first SA in one day for physics (just trying to get through it), and I was not feeling it, which is evidenced by my forehead-slapping mistakes, almost all of which were toward the end of the exam (I can't rule out that it was the increasing difficulty). It turned out to be the only SA that I did not get 89%+ on, and it is not indicative of how well I did in physics classes or on practice AAMC PS sections.

Also, anyone recommend Kaplan PS material (section/topicals, etc.) and recommend those over TPRH? I find that TBR is great practice, but I need to get used to calculations in my weaker topics. These AAMC tests indicate I do well in PS, but when it comes to TBR, the materials prove I do not know the topics as rigorously as I should.
 
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WSHRocks said:
I'd definitely recommend splitting the SAs into smaller parts. I found splitting each in half and doing one half a day prevented inaccurate results. I did my first SA in one day for physics (just trying to get through it), and I was not feeling it, which is evidenced by my forehead-slapping mistakes, almost all of which were toward the end of the exam (I can't rule out that it was the increasing difficulty). It turned out to be the only SA that I did not get 89%+ on, and it is not indicative of how well I did in physics classes or on practice AAMC PS sections.

Also, anyone recommend Kaplan PS material (section/topicals, etc.) and recommend those over TPRH? I find that TBR is great practice, but I need to get used to calculations in my weaker topics. These AAMC tests indicate I do well in PS, but when it comes to TBR, the materials prove I do not know the topics as rigorously as I should.
Click to expand...

I've done TBR Chem/Physics, TPRHL all subjects, and currently doing Kaplan PS/BS section/topicals. I would say the Kaplan section tests are harder than any of the TBR or TPRHL materials. Also, based on what I saw on my MCAT last time, I would say Kaplan sciences mirror the PS and BS on the real thing the best.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Your verbal and bio scores are good. You clearly need to work on PS. If your mistakes stem from test-taking skills deficiency, then you've got enough time to fix that, but if it is content knowledge, then you have an uphill battle ahead of you for the next three weeks.

On the contrary, you are very lucky that your weakness is easy fix. If it were in bio, or much worse, verbal, then you'll need lots of time to improve.
Click to expand...
The issue is understanding what the heck the question is asking me. I believe this is more a difficulty in getting through the test itself. In Bio, I have no issues getting through experimental passages or their presenting information in ways I haven't seen before because I can reason through the passage. In PS, I seem to have a lot of difficulty with it.

I've got 3 weeks to get comfortable with the material, so I think a 10 in PS is still within my grasp.
 
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AAMC 3: 35 13PS /11VR /11BS
AAMC 4: 35 12PS /9VR /14BS
AAMC 5: 30 9PS/ 11VR/ 10BS

BIO SA: 84%
CHEM SA: 85%
O-CHEM SA: 80%

going to take the aamc 6/ verbal sa over the weekend.
 
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General Chemistry: 93%
Physics: 73%
Organic Chemistry: 93%
Biology: 84%

I missed sooooo many questions on the biology SA simply because I haven't memorized the hormones or germ layer derivations yet. I should get on that...
 
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Sub Rosa said:
General Chemistry: 93%
Physics: 73%
Organic Chemistry: 93%
Biology: 84%

I missed sooooo many questions on the biology SA simply because I haven't memorized the hormones or germ layer derivations yet. I should get on that...
Click to expand...

great scores!

I thought a lot of the questions were so vague though on the BS...

Example:

The viral protein is created by:
A) translation of host nucleic acid
B) translation of viral nucleic acid
C) transcription of viral nucleic acid
D) transcription of viral nucleic acid


now... obviously the viral DNA is what creates the viral protein... BUT the mRNA is created from the host's free floating nucleotides in the cell (host nucleic acid)

See the ambiguity?:laugh:
 
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GandalfTheWhite said:
great scores!

I thought a lot of the questions were so vague though on the BS...

Example:

The viral protein is created by:
A) translation of host nucleic acid
B) translation of viral nucleic acid
C) transcription of viral nucleic acid
D) transcription of viral nucleic acid


now... obviously the viral DNA is what creates the viral protein... BUT the mRNA is created from the host's free floating nucleotides in the cell (host nucleic acid)

See the ambiguity?:laugh:
Click to expand...

Was the answer to that B?

If so, I don't think it's ambiguous at all. It is us that we are taught by TBR and TPR to never expect a straightforward question and to analyze everything to death. Options C and D are out because protein synthesis is carried via translation, not transcription. Option A is out because it is the viral genetic material that code for the the viral protein not the host's.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be smart@ss here. I'm merely pointing out an example of trivial mistakes we make because we are taught by prep companies to over analyze things that seem too good to be true.
 
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Just took AAMC 5. Got 12/9/10. Pretty stoked that I got my bio up to a 10 and my PS shot up outta nowhere! Kinda pissed that I slacked on verbal, found myself getting bored and just wanting to get it done with when I usually pretend its the coolest thing I've ever read. Oh well! That's what the next practice test is for I guess. So this makes my scores as follows: AAMC 3: 6/10/9 AAMC 4: 9/12/9 and now AAMC 5: 12/9/10. I'm all over the place haha
 
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vagusnerve said:
Just took AAMC 5. Got 12/9/10. Pretty stoked that I got my bio up to a 10 and my PS shot up outta nowhere! Kinda pissed that I slacked on verbal, found myself getting bored and just wanting to get it done with when I usually pretend its the coolest thing I've ever read. Oh well! That's what the next practice test is for I guess. So this makes my scores as follows: AAMC 3: 6/10/9 AAMC 4: 9/12/9 and now AAMC 5: 12/9/10. I'm all over the place haha
Click to expand...

Whats your strategy for verbal vagus nerve?

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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Was the answer to that B?

If so, I don't think it's ambiguous at all. It is us that we are taught by TBR and TPR to never expect a straightforward question and to analyze everything to death. Options C and D are out because protein synthesis is carried via translation, not transcription. Option A is out because it is the viral genetic material that code for the the viral protein not the host's.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be smart@ss here. I'm merely pointing out an example of trivial mistakes we make because we are taught by prep companies to over analyze things that seem too good to be true.
Click to expand...

I was thinking B too lol

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Doing Kaplan tops and they stated that disulfide bonds are primary structure when I'm pretty sure that it's tertiary structure.... Yes? No? Wtf Kaplan...😕😕😕

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Jr MD said:
Doing Kaplan tops and they stated that disulfide bonds are primary structure when I'm pretty sure that it's tertiary structure.... Yes? No? Wtf Kaplan...😕😕😕

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Click to expand...

Most books say it's tertiary but disulfide bonds are grey territory because removing disulfide linkages in most cases doesn't significantly reduce protein activity
 
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Jr MD said:
Whats your strategy for verbal vagus nerve?

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Click to expand...

It sounds crazy but when I read the verbal passages I write everything I read very feverishly, but I never look down at what I wrote. It helps me comprehend and become much more concentrated and I finish with time on the clock. When I'm done with the section all my writing is overlapped and it looks like a crazy person was doodling haha.
 
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vagusnerve said:
It sounds crazy but when I read the verbal passages I write everything I read very feverishly, but I never look down at what I wrote. It helps me comprehend and become much more concentrated and I finish with time on the clock. When I'm done with the section all my writing is overlapped and it looks like a crazy person was doodling haha.
Click to expand...

OMG. If I do that, each passage will take me 15 mins to do.
 
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Jr MD said:
I was thinking B too lol

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Click to expand...

I put b as well. The genetic code of the mRNA is viral. However the nucleic acid comes from the host cell (host nucleotides are used in the transcription of the mRNA) since most viruses only contain DNA/RNA and proteins.
 
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Aria88997 said:
are these aamc tests that PR got their hands on?
Click to expand...

No, they're TPR practice tests. the scaling for scores is pretty off (I got 24, 26 on the first two while I've got 33,33,34,36,39 on AAMC's), but the more passages the better. And the more CBT's the better.

Anyone else doing a FL early tomorrow?
 
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ahstern said:
No, they're TPR practice tests. the scaling for scores is pretty off (I got 24, 26 on the first two while I've got 33,33,34,36,39 on AAMC's), but the more passages the better. And the more CBT's the better.

Anyone else doing a FL early tomorrow?
Click to expand...

I have self assessments to do, but they'll be bright and early :/ have boxing classes in the afternoon and then more assessment
 
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Back 5 said:
Gosh, I suck at PS 😡

7/10/10 aamc #7.

At least I have 3 weeks to attempt to improve my score...but how? This is really frustrating.

I'll have to do a thorough post-game of all my aamc's before my next test on Tuesday.
Click to expand...

You and I both man. PS is what is keeping me from my 30. I keep scoring 10's in bio and verbal and I can't move from an 8 in PS. I think I figured out what I need to do to fix it though and I'm going to give it a try on #7 which I am taking in 2 days.

For me it's not a lack of knowledge of the PS material. It's stupid crap like rushing through a calculation or misreading. PS makes me nervous and therefore I rush and can't keep a level head. Luckily, PS is the easiest section to improve on especially if it's just test taking mistakes. So, I need to train myself to just keep my cool. Either that or I'm going to need some benzo's before the test (kidding).

Let me know if you find any thing that works for you. It sounds like you and I need the same miracle.
 
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I do think it is the test itself. I did well on the Princeton ICC passages in PS. On #7 I actually scored well on the physics (70ish%) but I did poorly on the gchem which brought my score down.

The Princeton chem instructor was very poor unfortunately. Hopefully I can turn this around with Chads videos and review of the tests so far. It seems I'm missing the same questions, which helps direct my review.

I will score a 30+ (I hope)
 
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Back 5 said:
I do think it is the test itself. I did well on the Princeton ICC passages in PS. On #7 I actually scored well on the physics (70ish%) but I did poorly on the gchem which brought my score down.

The Princeton chem instructor was very poor unfortunately. Hopefully I can turn this around with Chads videos and review of the tests so far. It seems I'm missing the same questions, which helps direct my review.

I will score a 30+ (I hope)
Click to expand...

Let me know if chad helps you out. I was going to buy them but I didn't think my issue was content and more just test taking problems. I too am hoping for a 30+. I am telling myself that bring it up from an 8 to a 10 won't be too hard. Maybe I'm lying to myself but I think that If I just fix the silly mistakes I should be able to get there.
 
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Anyone have an opinion on whats more accurate, EK Verbal 101 or TPRH Verbal Workbook? I'm getting my ass handed to me in EK verbal (getting 6-8), however, i did the same amount of passages w/ the same allotment in the TPRH workbook and got a 10...
 
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Hemorrage said:
Anyone have an opinion on whats more accurate, EK Verbal 101 or TPRH Verbal Workbook? I'm getting my ass handed to me in EK verbal (getting 6-8), however, i did the same amount of passages w/ the same allotment in the TPRH workbook and got a 10...
Click to expand...

I am hoping Kaplan VR is more accurate since I am getting 70%+ in it, and 50%-60% on everything else. Anyhow, from what I have been reading on SDN, it seems like most people say that TPRH is more accurate because the passages are more similar to the AAMC ones. Also, many on SDN complain about a lot wishy-washy questions/answers in EK 101.
 
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