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..

 

[Back 5]

I don't think it's a trait and I'm certainly no one special. I think it's something that you practice and work hard at, just like everything else in life. My gf gets test anxiety something wicked, but I can talk her down before she walks into the building before a test. If I can calm her down and get her psychologically under control (with effort on her end too) this leads me to believe that anyone can do it.

If you have confidence in your study habits, in your content knowledge, understand that the MCAT is just 1 of many puzzle pieces that go into your application, you should be able to remain cool/calm/collected during the test. Getting too strung out or psyching yourself out will do nothing but harm your performance.

 

[Albein]

I don't think it's a trait and I'm certainly no one special. I think it's something that you practice and work hard at, just like everything else in life. My gf gets test anxiety something wicked, but I can talk her down before she walks into the building before a test. If I can calm her down and get her psychologically under control (with effort on her end too) this leads me to believe that anyone can do it.

If you have confidence in your study habits, in your content knowledge, understand that the MCAT is just 1 of many puzzle pieces that go into your application, you should be able to remain cool/calm/collected during the test. Getting too strung out or psyching yourself out will do nothing but harm your performance.

That's very true, but for those lacking in some areas (like me with GPA and this being a retake), it all kind of builds up. I'm not saying that's a good justification for getting worked up, but I think it's fair to see how someone can get worked up. I'm just going to talk myself out of any anxiety or anything I have with deep breaths and telling myself that I'm ready, etc.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

anyone know why alkenes are nucleophiles in ochem reactions?

They are more reactive than alkanes. The double bonds have more electrons which enable it to attack other atoms/molecules. If you have it, check out the second chapter in EK. I think it explains it.

Have a productive studying day today!

 

[MedGrl@2022]

I have some questions about AAMC 10... I was wondering if you guys could check them out... they are in the MCAT study q&A section... I think we have all probably taken AAMC 10... I don't think many others have therefore I am not getting too many responses... I could also post them here if you all don't mind

 

[Back 5]

I got killed on the PS of #11. Too many calculations and I didn't have enough time 🙁 VR and BS next.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

I got killed on the PS of #11. Too many calculations and I didn't have enough time 🙁 VR and BS next.

NO!!!! :-( Stupid calculations! Why? I am taking AAMC 11 tomorrow!

 

[Back 5]

NO!!!! :-( Stupid calculations! Why? I am taking AAMC 11 tomorrow!

It's my own fault. Very poor test taking strategy. I lost way too much time trying to calculate answers to difficult questions instead of skipping and moving on. After I'm finished with the test, I will check my score (most likely a 6-7) and repeat PS without looking at answers and see if my score goes up. I have to let go of questions sooner instead of wasting valuable time on these traps.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

I don't think it's a trait and I'm certainly no one special. I think it's something that you practice and work hard at, just like everything else in life. My gf gets test anxiety something wicked, but I can talk her down before she walks into the building before a test. If I can calm her down and get her psychologically under control (with effort on her end too) this leads me to believe that anyone can do it.

If you have confidence in your study habits, in your content knowledge, understand that the MCAT is just 1 of many puzzle pieces that go into your application, you should be able to remain cool/calm/collected during the test. Getting too strung out or psyching yourself out will do nothing but harm your performance.

Also the opposite... getting too relaxed... I think I was too relaxed during the PS section of AAMC 10... I let myself be slow and almost didn't finish

 

[MedGrl@2022]

It's my own fault. Very poor test taking strategy. I lost way too much time trying to calculate answers to difficult questions instead of skipping and moving on. After I'm finished with the test, I will check my score (most likely a 6-7) and repeat PS without looking at answers and see if my score goes up. I have to let go of questions sooner instead of wasting valuable time on these traps.

good call that is what I do when I don't finish a section on time

 

[WSHRocks]

Don't know about you guys, but this is going to be an agonizing week. Although I plan to take off studying Thursday, I don't know how I'll live through it! Trying to calm down building stress levels lest they ravage my sleep schedule and studying habits. Test anxiety or not, it's been a long time coming and a large investment to get this far.

 

[Albein]

It's my own fault. Very poor test taking strategy. I lost way too much time trying to calculate answers to difficult questions instead of skipping and moving on. After I'm finished with the test, I will check my score (most likely a 6-7) and repeat PS without looking at answers and see if my score goes up. I have to let go of questions sooner instead of wasting valuable time on these traps.

Wow, I just had the same exact experience with it. That terminal velocity passage really screwed me up. That topic always gets the best of me. And I've noticed last 2 times out, i start running out of time. Idk if its I relax too much or don't notice just how long I spent on a passage. At first I don't spend enough time and rush through, now I spend too much. It was calculation heavy, that was rough. Verbal next!

 

[Incontrol]

TBR5 (9/7/11) (27) April 10.13

TPR1 (11/7/13) (31) April 13.13

Verbal is making me sad :<

April 17: AAMC 4 (only VR is a retake from Aug 2012) (13/11/11) (35)

April 19: TBR 6: (12/11/11) (34)

April 22: AAMC 10 (retake from Aug. 2012) (14/12/15) (41)

Doing some passages from the Official guide to MCAT exam. There was a biology passage that threw me off off to deep cold water. (Biology passage #3).

Good luck everyone!!!

 

[Back 5]

I spent too much time on the stress modulus passages/questions because that is a subject that I have only glanced over at best. TPR made it a point to say that stress modulus was a very low yield topic, therefore, we didn't even cover it in lecture.

 

[Albein]

I spent too much time on the stress modulus passages/questions because that is a subject that I have only glanced over at best. TPR made it a point to say that stress modulus was a very low yield topic, therefore, we didn't even cover it in lecture.

That one had one or two that had me baffled. I don't think any of them even used the second figure with the slit, typical mcat. Did you find the verbal equally as bad? I started running out of time and had somewhere around 8-10 minutes for last 2 passages. The photography one was as bad a verbal passage as I've done. I'm really curious to see how the results look after this.

 

[Back 5]

Wow.

28: 8/11/9

I felt like #11 was way harder than the Guidebook. I had no idea wtf I was reading for 2 of those Bio passages. I wrote down that I got a 23 on the test after I took it.

I don't know if I just got lucky or what happened. I knew I did well on Verbal after that section though, but PS and BS had me baffled.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Wow.

28: 8/11/9

I felt like #11 was way harder than the Guidebook. I had no idea wtf I was reading for 2 of those Bio passages. I wrote down that I got a 23 on the test after I took it.

I don't know if I just got lucky or what happened. I knew I did well on Verbal after that section though, but PS and BS had me baffled.

good job on the verbal.. how do you think it compared to AAMC 10 verbal?

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Wow.

28: 8/11/9

I felt like #11 was way harder than the Guidebook. I had no idea wtf I was reading for 2 of those Bio passages. I wrote down that I got a 23 on the test after I took it.

I don't know if I just got lucky or what happened. I knew I did well on Verbal after that section though, but PS and BS had me baffled.

also... is the 8 PS after you restarted the PS section?

 

[Back 5]

good job on the verbal.. how do you think it compared to AAMC 10 verbal?

About the same I guess? I scored a 10 on #10 verbal. I felt like #9 was the toughest verbal.

also... is the 8 PS after you restarted the PS section?

No, I haven't restarted PS yet, that was my initial score. Apparently I either did better than I had thought, didn't guess on as many as I had thought, or I am clueless when it comes to judging my performance after the fact. I still believe that when I redo the PS portion, timed, and skip over the tough problems, I will do better.

EDIT: I looked briefly at my BS section...I bombed the 2 passages in Bio that I had no idea what I was reading, but my score went down because I got more Organic questions incorrect this time around. 2 Organic questions I had correct, but selected the wrong answer due to time constraints. Goes to show you that getting Organic questions correct could mean the difference in 1-2 points in Bio section.

 

[HotHamH2O]

just finished PS for AAMC #11.

All I can say is... FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

[Status Sciaticus]

just finished PS for AAMC #11.

All I can say is... FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

just finished it myself.... wowzers.... really?? diopters... really? back to VR now.

 

[HotHamH2O]

I got killed on the PS of #11. Too many calculations and I didn't have enough time 🙁 VR and BS next.

yeah...you and me both homie...

 

[Albein]

AAMC 11: 10/8/10 for 28. Looks like I'm set up for the 26-28 range for Friday :/
AAMC 9 was a 31, 10 was 27 and 11 was 28

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

just finished it myself.... wowzers.... really?? diopters... really? back to VR now.

Did that passage even use the diffraction figure that they provided?

 

[Back 5]

Is the PS of #11 even indicative of the topics covered in the recent MCAT? Seemed like #11 tested concepts that I had not gone over, or were considered to be very low yield topics.

 

[Albein]

Is the PS of #11 even indicative of the topics covered in the recent MCAT? Seemed like #11 tested concepts that I had not gone over, or were considered to be very low yield topics.

Technically, anything that they mention on the outline is fair game. But you're right. Some of the topics were things I haven't seen in some time.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Technically, anything that they mention on the outline is fair game. But you're right. Some of the topics were things I haven't seen in some time.

On the bright side of things... if they use similar topics from AAMC 11 then we should all be good to go after we have reviewed them sufficiently! 🙂

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Just finished the PS section of AAMC 11. Couldn't resist and had to find out my score...I'm glad I scored 10 (40/52).

All I can say is WOW. The calculations are heavy and time consuming. Now I'm in 10 mins break before verbal. I hope I do well on that one.

Seriously, the calculations on this test are insane. The first passage was the hardest by far. I had to finish the last passages with 4 mins.

 

[HotHamH2O]

well if you got a 10, I got a 6. uuugggggghhhhh

Just finished VR #11, not bad. I was way focused cause I know I had to make up for PS. I felt good about every passage. Didn't lose interest once. It was like doing bad on the swim in a triathlon and then hammering it on the bike to make up time!

 

[Status Sciaticus]

Did that passage even use the diffraction figure that they provided?

it was a discrete optics question within a circular motion passage...

well if you got a 10, I got a 6. uuugggggghhhhh

Just finished VR #11, not bad. I was way focused cause I know I had to make up for PS. I felt good about every passage. Didn't lose interest once. It was like doing bad on the swim in a triathlon and then hammering it on the bike to make up time!

Just finished VR... it wasnt bad, but it definitely wasnt good.

Time to hit the BS section.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Just finished the PS section of AAMC 11. Couldn't resist and had to find out my score...I'm glad I scored 10 (40/52).

All I can say is WOW. The calculations are heavy and time consuming. Now I'm in 10 mins break before verbal. I hope I do well on that one.

Seriously, the calculations on this test are insane. The first passage was the hardest by far. I had to finish the last passages with 4 mins.

It is totally crazy how many calculations are required for the PS section. The question that freaked me out most was the one that said: "which of these is closest" but none of the choices were really all that close to the real answer.

 

[chickensoupdr]

Ahh.. that question. I was stuck on that for a long time because nothing was really "close" to my answer. I've never seen a question like that before. Strange way of asking something so simple.

 

[CCRNCSC78]

Long time lurker and also taking the MCAT for the first time on Friday. Initially I was shooting for a 35 but now I'll be happy if I make 30+ so I don't have to retake. I'm an older nontrad and SDN has been very helpful in my premed journey. I took AAMC 11 today and was very frustrated with the PS section lol. Physics has never been my strongest subject but I feel I've made a lot of progress (maybe not enough).

AAMC #3: 10/11/13 ~ 34 (Retake from 8/2012 when I scored 6/10/8)
AAMC #4: 9/10/14 ~ 33
AAMC #5: 8/12/10 ~ 30
AAMC #7: 11/10/12 ~ 33
AAMC #8: 12/10/11 ~ 33
AAMC #9: 10/10/10 ~ 30
AAMC #10: 11/9/11 ~ 31
AAMC #11: 9/10/12 ~ 31

Verbal has been the most frustrating for me as I've used TPRH and EK101 and while I feel I am getting better my scores don't reflect such :-/

 

[Albein]

just finished it myself.... wowzers.... really?? diopters... really? back to VR now.

He says but then ends up with another 35 😀

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but verbal was sh$t. I was lucky that the curve was lenient, so I ended up with 7. That poetry passages was WTF?

I'm off to BS now

 

[Status Sciaticus]

He says but then ends up with another 35 😀

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

AAMC 3: 35 13PS /11VR /11BS
AAMC 4: 35 12PS /9VR /14BS
AAMC 5: 30 9PS/ 11VR/ 10BS
AAMC 7: 34 13PS/ 9VR/ 12BS
AAMC 8: 35 12PS/ 10VR/ 13BS
AAMC 9: 35 11PS/ 11VR/ 13BS
AAMC10: 35 12PS/ 10VR/ 13BS
AAMC11: 34 12PS/ 10VR/ 12BS

I think you jinxed me Albein with that comment

Man i was really looking for a 35 for a good ego boost going to the test.

 

[GemelloMD]

GCHEM SA- 88%
PHYSICS SA- 88%
BIO SA- 86%
OCHEM SA- 84%

AAMC#4 34 (11/12/11)
AAMC#5 33 (10/10/13)
AAMC#8 33 (13/9/11)
AAMC#7 40 (13/13/14)
AAMC#9 37 (14/11/12)
AAMC#11 34 (11/11/12) distracted 😴
AAMC#3 36? (13/X/12) Didn't take verbal. Used my average to calc. score
AAMC#10 40 (12/13/15)

AAMC Average- 35.8
AAMC 9-11 Average- 37

As long as the confidence remains high, I'm ready for this thing. This is a retake for me (27-7/10/10), so I'm hoping all the work has paid off. I got a date with a pretty girl planned for Friday. All I have to do is get through this test. 👍

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I don't know what you guys are talking about, but verbal was sh$t. I was lucky that the curve was lenient, so I ended up with 7. That poetry passages was WTF?

I'm off to BS now

the main idea was pretty simple

yeats didnt include war poetry because he thought war poems had no place in literature. the author disagrees with him and says that the right thing was done since the war poets were added to the poetry anthology recently.

the consuming of pictures was the annoying one for me.

 

[Albein]

the main idea was pretty simple

yeats didnt include war poetry because he thought war poems had no place in literature. the author disagrees with him and says that the right thing was done since the war poets were added to the poetry anthology recently.

the consuming of pictures was the annoying one for me.

The pictures one was awful. I couldn't understand the comparisons or anything.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

GCHEM SA- 88%
PHYSICS SA- 88%
BIO SA- 86%
OCHEM SA- 84%

AAMC#4 34 (11/12/11)
AAMC#5 33 (10/10/13)
AAMC#8 33 (13/9/11)
AAMC#7 40 (13/13/14)
AAMC#9 37 (14/11/12)
AAMC#11 34 (11/11/12) distracted 😴
AAMC#3 36? (13/X/12) Didn't take verbal. Used my average to calc. score
AAMC#10 40 (12/13/15)

AAMC Average- 35.8
AAMC 9-11 Average- 37

As long as the confidence remains high, I'm ready for this thing. This is a retake for me (27-7/10/10), so I'm hoping all the work has paid off. I got a date with a pretty girl planned for Friday. All I have to do is get through this test. 👍

We have the same averages, but man am I jealous that you hit 40!
I'm driving to Yosemite National Park directly after finishing the exam.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

The pictures one was awful. I couldn't understand the comparisons or anything.

Yeah I got killed by that one too

 

[Back 5]

I only missed 7 questions on this Verbal and I changed my answer from correct to incorrect on 3. Damn, I could have totally rocked that verbal 🙁

 

[HotHamH2O]

AAMC #11 8/11/8 (27)

Never scored less than a 10 on BS before.

Idk what that was but it wasn't an MCAT. I feel ripped off. 3-10 were not even close to the same test. If Friday is anything like #11, I'm voiding.

 

[Albein]

So I've been lurking on the 3/23 thread and a thought came to me and I was just curious to hear thoughts here. For those of you retaking who originally got <25, is there any chance you void on Friday?

 

[Back 5]

AAMC #11 8/11/8 (27)

Never scored less than a 10 on BS before.

Idk what that was but it wasn't an MCAT. I feel ripped off. 3-10 were not even close to the same test. If Friday is anything like #11, I'm voiding.

I won't void, but I will be waiting with baited breath until scores are released.

 

[Greedo]

More questions for people who have already taken it, are you allowed to bring your own pens? Or are only pencils allowed? How many sheets of paper do they give you?
Just getting a little paranoid and want to know what to expect. The MCAT essentials doesn't really go into detail about this stuff.

 

[Albein]

More questions for people who have already taken it, are you allowed to bring your own pens? Or are only pencils allowed? How many sheets of paper do they give you?
Just getting a little paranoid and want to know what to expect. The MCAT essentials doesn't really go into detail about this stuff.

They give you a booklet and their own pencils. You aren't allowed to bring anything with you into the room except earplugs.

 

[Albein]

I won't void, but I will be waiting with baited breath until scores are released.

Fair enough. It just seems so brutal. Some people scored way below their average.

 

[Back 5]

Fair enough. It just seems so brutal. Some people scored way below their average.

Yeah, I agree, very brutal test. Really really really hope this test is not an indication of what the test will be like on Friday.

 

[Greedo]

They give you a booklet and their own pencils. You aren't allowed to bring anything with you into the room except earplugs.

Cool, thanks. I'll switch to pencils for the next couple days haha.

 

[Albein]

Yeah, I'm glad I postponed it now because I was originally scheduled for that day. I had this theory that because there is no writing section, they made it a little more difficult but idk if that's my foolish thinking or a legitimate option.
I think the only way I void is if I missed a whole passage or was unsure of a lot of questions.