The Official 4/27/13 MCAT Thread

[brood910]

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This might be considered a bit early, but full-time college students need to prepare ahead of time, especially when they are doing a research and volunteering, which requires them to spend at least 30-40 hours per week...

Let's share plans, strategies, schedules, and so on to help each other to crack this exam.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Nice dude! We should discuss how it went when we're both finished with it tomorrow.
Since the 4/27 test will be at 1pm, I figure I should probably take AAMC 5 at 1 also.


Oh, and I just finished Kaplan Biology Section Test 1. Got a 94%!!!! (49/52).! It was rough, no doubt, but I was able to keep myself composed and remind myself that it was all simply basic science with a little makeup. 😀 A 49/52 correlates to like a 14 or something right? (Good thing Kaplan doesn't give scaled scores to its section tests. Knowing how ridiculous their curves are, I probably would've gotten like a 20 or something ahaha!).

Ah. I'm actually taking it on 4/26, but that thread is a bit quiet so I am slightly hijacking. How'd you do on the previous AAMC's?

 

[LaughingMan]

Does anyone else feel like they really don't know the material?

I feel with so much material, the information is just jumbled up. I am thinking this might be related more to confidence.

I've yet to take a practice exam, and will probably take my first one a week from today. (Princeton Reviews Cracking the MCAT CBT #1).

 

[bhandal]

Does anyone else feel like they really don't know the material?

I feel with so much material, the information is just jumbled up. I am thinking this might be related more to confidence.

I've yet to take a practice exam, and will probably take my first one a week from today. (Princeton Reviews Cracking the MCAT CBT #1).

I would just dive right in to AAMC 4. It's a good mcat that covers a lot of solid topics and really gauges your content and confidence levels. Taking those prep course mcats can be gruesome, focusing on harder material that generally doesn't get covered on the mcat very often!

It's a lot of material, but nothing compared to med school. My advice to you would just try to make all the topics flow in to one another. Like I just went over gases and kinetics in chemistry and also energy in physics. I was able to relate the material, which really helped everything stick.

Oh and another thing I do is ill read a chapter once like a book, then read it with taking notes slowly. Then ill review my notes while creating a .doc that just hits the main topics covered in each chapter. This takes me about 2 1/2 hours

Eg of .doc

Forces
-newton laws
-universal square law
-f=ma
-friction
-air resistance
-hooke's law
-tension

Hope this helps

 

[Sub Rosa]

So far I've gone through TPR content, BR content and 2/3 of the passages, 1/3 of all the EK 1001, and EK 101 Verbal, which means I've got left: 2/3 EK 1001, 1/3 of BR passages, TPRH SWB, 6 old BR CBTs, TPRH VR, TPR Diagnostics, TPR CBT (1), and AAMCs.

Do you guys think it's a good idea to start doing FL practice tests soon or should I put them off? I've got a pretty solid grasp of the material but I want to try to peak around exam time, so I'm trying to plan this as effectively as possible (duh). I've noticed many people are starting FL tests already...

Any suggestions?

For those of you who've taken practice tests already, how are they going?

 

[str8cashhomie]

I'm just about to finish up content review through TPR. Then I'm gonna hammer out quizzes, subject tests, and do some overall skim review. Hopefully try to take the first FL late next week or early the following week. With FL's every 3/4 days and hard review after and in between. Anyone else?

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Nice dude! We should discuss how it went when we're both finished with it tomorrow.
Since the 4/27 test will be at 1pm, I figure I should probably take AAMC 5 at 1 also.


Oh, and I just finished Kaplan Biology Section Test 1. Got a 94%!!!! (49/52).! It was rough, no doubt, but I was able to keep myself composed and remind myself that it was all simply basic science with a little makeup. 😀 A 49/52 correlates to like a 14 or something right? (Good thing Kaplan doesn't give scaled scores to its section tests. Knowing how ridiculous their curves are, I probably would've gotten like a 20 or something ahaha!).

It's definitely a tougher test than AAMC 3! Just finished. Need a beer.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

It's definitely a tougher test than AAMC 3! Just finished. Need a beer.

I took tests 3-8 last year during my first take preparation. I noticed that AAMC 3 was the easiest, except for the verbal part. The verbal is by far the most challenging test ever. AAMC 3 verbal is even harder than the real test I had on July of last year, even though that July verbal screwed many people including me. The PS and BS of AAMC 3 are the easiest, but not much easier than other AAMC's.

Bottom line, it's all subjective. For some AAMC 3 is the toughest simply because it's their first exposure to real MCAT material. For others it's the easiest since its questions are a little more straightforward than other AAMC tests.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

I took tests 3-8 last year during my first take preparation. I noticed that AAMC 3 was the easiest, except for the verbal part. It's by far the most challenging test ever. AAMC 3 verbal is even harder than the real test I had on July of last year, even though that July verbal screwed many people including me. The PS and BS of AAMC 3 is the easiest, but not much easier.

Bottom line, it's all subjective. For some AAMC 3 is the toughest simply because it's their first exposure to real MCAT material. For others it's the easiest since its questions are a little more straightforward than other AAMC tests.

Yeah, there was just a physics passage where I didn't remember a formula and a bio passage that made me uncomfortable. I managed a balanced 34 (11/11/12), but I was a lot less confident taking it.

 

[Jepstein30]

When I took the AAMC's last year, I felt a little different about the difficulty of the exams.

I scored a 30 on AAMC 3 (the first one I took) roughly at the end of my content review.. and I consistently improved to 32, 34, 36 and a 40 on AAMC 11 a few days before my MCAT.

I think it really depends on your strengths. For me, AAMC 3 was tough because it was more calculation based while the later tests became more concept based. The changes in Bio really helped me as well because of my background (less detail memorization and more analysis skills).

So it does vary difficultly wise for each individual.. also keep in mind you will improve your MCAT taking skills as you get used to the CBT format.

Question- How are those Kaplan section tests? I'm thinking of dropping the EK chapter tests (and EK altogether, other than using EK1001 for weak subjects) and going for Kaplan section tests instead.. they seem more difficult and more thorough.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

When I took the AAMC's last year, I felt a little different about the difficulty of the exams.

I scored a 30 on AAMC 3 (the first one I took) roughly at the end of my content review.. and I consistently improved to 32, 34, 36 and a 40 on AAMC 11 a few days before my MCAT.

I think it really depends on your strengths. For me, AAMC 3 was tough because it was more calculation based while the later tests became more concept based. The changes in Bio really helped me as well because of my background (less detail memorization and more analysis skills).

So it does vary difficultly wise for each individual.. also keep in mind you will improve your MCAT taking skills as you get used to the CBT format.

Question- How are those Kaplan section tests? I'm thinking of dropping the EK chapter tests (and EK altogether, other than using EK1001 for weak subjects) and going for Kaplan section tests instead.. they seem more difficult and more thorough.

So, why are you taking the test again? You scored 40 on AAMC 11, which is considered by most to be the closest resemblance to the real thing.

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

so, why are you taking the test again? You scored 40 on aamc 11, which is considered by most to be the closest resemblance to the real thing.

+1

 

[Jepstein30]

So, why are you taking the test again? You scored 40 on AAMC 11, which is considered by most to be the closest resemblance to the real thing.

I got a 32 on the real thing and know I can do better. It's a risk but I'm confident. My AAMC average over the last 5 exams was a 36 (overall was a 34) and like you said, AAMC 11 is the supposed best score predictor and I did pretty well on it.

Not like I'm expecting anything like a 40 but do think I can hit 35-36. I only really studied for a month last time around so giving myself more time to prepare should help.

Don't really know what happened on test day. I wasn't nervous and walked out thinking I probably got around a 36/37. Got almost every question I remembered correct as well so can't even pinpoint where things went wrong.

PS- 10 (was hitting 12-13 here last few tests)
VR- 10 (never hit lower than a 12..)
BS- 12 (was hitting 14-15 last few tests)

 

[Trayshawn]

It's definitely a tougher test than AAMC 3! Just finished. Need a beer.

Yeah man, that micro/macronucleus passage was mindf*kingly tough for me.
How'd you do?

I did pretty good somehow. 13/12/13 - 38. Starting to feel reeeally comfortable with verbal. But some of these science questions are just SO VAGUE!

 

[LaughingMan]

Set up my schedule. I'll be taking 10 Non-AAMC exams. The 4 Princeton Cracking CBTs, two Kaplan paper practice, and 4 Princeton Hyperlearning Practice Exams A-D.

Starting the first one on March 7th and will end on March 25th. These should allow me to gauge my weaknesses and nail everything down in application.


Will then start the AAMC exams following that concluding with AAMC 11 on April 24th.
Post-Game review on April 25th. Review all material April 26th. and April 27th here we go.

Test time is quickly approching and I truly hope everyone is doing well in their studies!

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Yeah man, that micro/macronucleus passage was mindf*kingly tough for me.
How'd you do?

I did pretty good somehow. 13/12/13 - 38. Starting to feel reeeally comfortable with verbal. But some of these science questions are just SO VAGUE!

34 (11/11/12), so pretty much my standard at this point. Way to go on that 38, though. I totally blanked on the E=hf/wavelength equation and had to make something up, other than that my PS missteps were just not careful enough reading.

The BS sections were much less experimental than AAMC 3, and I had/have no idea what a coelum is, so if not for that I would've been a bit higher as well.

I'm pretty happy with a 34 as a floor to work from as long as there isn't too much slipping!

 

[Trayshawn]

34 (11/11/12), so pretty much my standard at this point. Way to go on that 38, though. I totally blanked on the E=hf/wavelength equation and had to make something up, other than that my PS missteps were just not careful enough reading.

The BS sections were much less experimental than AAMC 3, and I had/have no idea what a coelum is, so if not for that I would've been a bit higher as well.

I'm pretty happy with a 34 as a floor to work from as long as there isn't too much slipping!

34 is a sweet score. And I'm glad you seem to be comfortable with verbal because that **** took me FOREVER to get used to.
You done with content review right? I think practice is all you need from here on out.

Oh, and I know right?!?! WHAT THE F**K IS A COELUM??? lol. Like I remembered the word from bio and knew that it had something to do with like an open space or something, but not much else lol. Cant believe they actually put that on there. Oh, and the E=hf question almost messed me up to. I got it, but I feel like I made it WAY harder than it needed to be lol

 

[Proof]

hey so i tryed to switch from my april 4 date to either april 26/27 but now all the seats in NY are taken for these two dates. does anyone know if seats usually start opening as the test date arrives? Will i be able to get a seat for april 26/27? Thanks

 

[osprey099]

hey so i tryed to switch from my april 4 date to either april 26/27 but now all the seats in NY are taken for these two dates. does anyone know if seats usually start opening as the test date arrives? Will i be able to get a seat for april 26/27? Thanks

They do start opening up 2-3 weeks before the test date but you will need to check the seating status on AAMC at least 5 times a day because those spots will only be up for a very short time before someone nabs them.

 

[Endure]

Minus a couple chapters, I'm finally finished with content review. Time to obliterate myself with passages.

 

[patelkc]

Anyone taking the MCAT in Virginia??

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Anyone taking the MCAT in Virginia??

Santa Rosa, CA!

 

[Sub Rosa]

I hate physics.

Just give me a 30 and I'll be happy.

 

[bhandal]

Took aamc 5 11P 12V 7B. I was tired at the end and some guy at the library was doing an air guitar solo. I had like 20 mins left at then end and just submitted. Hope this was a fluke, I've been averaging a 10.

 

[patelkc]

Set up my schedule. I'll be taking 10 Non-AAMC exams. The 4 Princeton Cracking CBTs, two Kaplan paper practice, and 4 Princeton Hyperlearning Practice Exams A-D.

Starting the first one on March 7th and will end on March 25th. These should allow me to gauge my weaknesses and nail everything down in application.


Will then start the AAMC exams following that concluding with AAMC 11 on April 24th.
Post-Game review on April 25th. Review all material April 26th. and April 27th here we go.

Test time is quickly approching and I truly hope everyone is doing well in their studies!

same to you kakashi sensei!

 

[Sub Rosa]

So now that most of ya'll are finished with content review, what are you doing until test day? Practice exams and more practice exams?

 

[LaughingMan]

same to you kakashi sensei!

👍👍

So now that most of ya'll are finished with content review, what are you doing until test day? Practice exams and more practice exams?

I only have 2 chapters left in my Gen Chem Review.

My plan is to do about 2-3 tests a week, and in between, I'll do TPRH Science Workbook + 1001 questions on topics I am weak in.

All in all, I will be doing around 20 practice exams in total.

 

[Sub Rosa]

👍👍



I only have 2 chapters left in my Gen Chem Review.

My plan is to do about 2-3 tests a week, and in between, I'll do TPRH Science Workbook + 1001 questions on topics I am weak in.

All in all, I will be doing around 20 practice exams in total.

Nice! I'll be doing ~18 FLs, EK mini-mcats, various diagnostics, and, of course, an eff-ton of passages from BR and TPRH SWB. I've been using the EK 1001s to shore up content weaknesses and they help quite a bit. I'm eager to see how good the Mini-MCATs are...

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Mini MCATs are terrible. It feels as though they were written by someone and then never edited. Grammar mistakes, repeated lines, omitted words, etc.

 

[Sub Rosa]

Mini MCATs are terrible. It feels as though they were written by someone and then never edited. Grammar mistakes, repeated lines, omitted words, etc.

How were they in terms of difficulty? Worth the time spent?

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

How were they in terms of difficulty? Worth the time spent?

I haven't gone too far in the book yet, but especially since they're divided into chapters essentially (the first 2 correspond to the first EK chapters, etc), I just use them for more verbal passages and use the ones on concepts I don't have nailed down. I just can't take them seriously when, for example, one of the first passages repeats the start of each question (ie, How much does How much does a bucket weigh?). I am sticking with the last 3rd of BR passages, and maybe, MAYBE, when I'm done with those I'll do more mini-mcats.

 

[patelkc]

Kakashi (sorry I keep calling you that, just excited to see a fellow naruto fan), have you taken the TPR CBT 1 from Cracking the MCAT yet? I was wondering how it compares in difficulty to say maybe some of the Kaplan FL's

 

[osprey099]

👍👍



I only have 2 chapters left in my Gen Chem Review.

My plan is to do about 2-3 tests a week, and in between, I'll do TPRH Science Workbook + 1001 questions on topics I am weak in.

All in all, I will be doing around 20 practice exams in total.

Which practice exams are you planning to do?

 

[patelkc]

Does anyone else feel like they really don't know the material?

I feel with so much material, the information is just jumbled up. I am thinking this might be related more to confidence.

I've yet to take a practice exam, and will probably take my first one a week from today. (Princeton Reviews Cracking the MCAT CBT #1).

sorry, forgot to quote you on my previous post

 

[osprey099]

Nice! I'll be doing ~18 FLs, EK mini-mcats, various diagnostics, and, of course, an eff-ton of passages from BR and TPRH SWB. I've been using the EK 1001s to shore up content weaknesses and they help quite a bit. I'm eager to see how good the Mini-MCATs are...

Mini-MCATs are mediocre at best. I did ~8 of them last summer before my first MCAT and only the BS section is pretty good practice. Verbal was ok but only after you exhausted better verbal practice. PS was a joke.

 

[LaughingMan]

Kakashi (sorry I keep calling you that, just excited to see a fellow naruto fan), have you taken the TPR CBT 1 from Cracking the MCAT yet? I was wondering how it compares in difficulty to say maybe some of the Kaplan FL's

Lol--no no, always glad to see another Naruto fan! Cant wait for Naruto to own Sasuke. I really wish they had more intense scenes with Kakashi fighting.

and no, I plan on taking all my CBTs after I have taken my paper exams, as CBTs I think will better simulate the experience so I wanna use them closer to the end. My paper exams are gonna be used mainly for practicing in applied passage settings + double checking I learned the material.

Which practice exams are you planning to do?

I will be doing

- 2 Kaplans - Paper
- 4 Princeton Cracking the MCAT CBTs
- 4 Princeton Hyperlearning Practice Exams A - D - Paper
- AAMC 3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11
- Might do the AAMC-R Exams or just buy the BR Exams or GoldStandard Exams.

I am currently scheduled for 4/27--but might delay to 5/11.

Looking forward to it all!

 

[Trayshawn]

Gonna take either AAMC7 or the Self Assessment tests tomorrow. CANT.DECIDE.WHICH.ONE. AHHHHHH!!!!

 

[LaughingMan]

Bad Few Days

Got sick 2 days ago, and have done nearly nothing. (1 Chapter of EK & 1 Chapter of Kaplan)

I make the same mistake every 3 months, but I ordered Pizza today--and I don't know if its the high sodium count, but Pizza knocks me out.

Can barely study right now.

 

[Endure]

Hitting my first free Kaplan FL tomorrow! Pretty nervous. Anyone have any idea what I should be expecting?

 

[daisy01]

Good luck! I think for me timing is the weakness when I first tried the full length.

 

[Sub Rosa]

I'll be taking my first FL on Monday. Ahhhh!!!

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

I'll be taking my first FL on Monday. Ahhhh!!!

I think totally psyching yourself out for practice tests is actually one of the best ways to get ready for the MCAT. Get as many of those jitters out before the actual day.

 

[LaughingMan]

Just did 3 passages in TPRH Verbal Workbook and got a 14/20. YIKES!

Def need to go buy my honey as my lack of tea this morning is showing.

 

[Endure]

Just got back from the Kaplan exam:

Results: 11 PS, 7 VR, 12 BS (30)

Good luck! I think for me timing is the weakness when I first tried the full length.

That's exactly what happened. I basically ran out of time for the last passage in VR, which had 7 questions associated with it. I'm furious. If I hadn't basically missed the entire passage, I would have gotten 38/45 (~9). I just started EK 101, though, so I wasn't expecting anything impressive. I was just surprised by how badly I got owned.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Took AAMC 4, got an 11/10/12. Switched 4 of my 8 wrong answers from the right one to the wrong one. so that was annoying, but other than that, I was pretty confident on it!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Took AAMC 4, got an 11/10/12. Switched 4 of my 8 wrong answers from the right one to the wrong one. so that was annoying, but other than that, I was pretty confident on it!

Impressive score. Good job.

 

[bhandal]

Just got back from the Kaplan exam:

Results: 11 PS, 7 VR, 12 BS (30)



That's exactly what happened. I basically ran out of time for the last passage in VR, which had 7 questions associated with it. I'm furious. If I hadn't basically missed the entire passage, I would have gotten 38/45 (~9). I just started EK 101, though, so I wasn't expecting anything impressive. I was just surprised by how badly I got owned.

I feel your pain. Ek101 definitely helps

 

[Endure]

What's everyone up to? Anyone still have any content to review? I still have light and optics to learn and organic chemistry to review. I'm in organic now so I don't anticipate it taking any longer than a few days to go over.

AAMC 3 this weekend, 3 EK 101 exams by Monday, and passages in E&M to tackle. 6.5 weeks out – hammer time!

 

[PreMed9242]

Howdy fellow 4/27er's,

Hope everyone's studying is going well. Wanted to join the conversation in attempt to gain an extra sense of accountability as we near the big date.

Prep up to now: TPR class since 1/14/2013 (Ends 4/8/2013)

Average study schedule:
-10:00 A.M.-2:30 P.M content and practice of that day's lecture
-7:00 P.M.-9:30 P.M TPR class
-10:00 P.M - 12:00 P.M. mixed review and practice (doesn't happen everyday)

Practice Tests: I have taken a total of five (3 TPR and 2 AAMC) since the start of the class with only a mild improvement of 4 points. Timing and a lack of specific content review (haven't covered sections yet in class) proved to be the largest issues on my most recent test.

Questions:
- I have 4/8-4/26 (~2.5 weeks) set aside for FL's and necessary content review. Although I will ultimately be responsible for answering this question, does this window provide adequate time for FL practice?

-When/where has everyone seen there largest jump in improvement? Has it been slow and gradual or has there been an "ah-hah" moment where everything started to click? My confidence is relatively low at this point (10pts away from target score) in the game and am already contemplating a postponement.

Any/all advice is welcomed and very much appreciated

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Howdy fellow 4/27er's,

Hope everyone's studying is going well. Wanted to join the conversation in attempt to gain an extra sense of accountability as we near the big date.

Prep up to now: TPR class since 1/14/2013 (Ends 4/8/2013)

Average study schedule:
-10:00 A.M.-2:30 P.M content and practice of that day's lecture
-7:00 P.M.-9:30 P.M TPR class
-10:00 P.M - 12:00 P.M. mixed review and practice (doesn't happen everyday)

Practice Tests: I have taken a total of five (3 TPR and 2 AAMC) since the start of the class with only a mild improvement of 4 points. Timing and a lack of specific content review (haven't covered sections yet in class) proved to be the largest issues on my most recent test.

Questions:
- I have 4/8-4/26 (~2.5 weeks) set aside for FL's and necessary content review. Although I will ultimately be responsible for answering this question, does this window provide adequate time for FL practice?

-When/where has everyone seen there largest jump in improvement? Has it been slow and gradual or has there been an "ah-hah" moment where everything started to click? My confidence is relatively low at this point (10pts away from target score) in the game and am already contemplating a postponement.

Any/all advice is welcomed and very much appreciated

What is your target score, first of all. If you're targeting a 40 and are getting 30's, I would not say to postpone. If you want a 30 and are getting a 20, then you might want to consider it.

I never had an "aha!" moment, myself. At least, not a large one. Each subsection has its own little quirks that can make you feel that way, though (acid/base for me, most recently).

2.5 weeks is fine for full length practice if you sufficiently review them. I'd say take it one day, review it the next, then take another test the day after. I have been taking 1 full length a week, and that's been fine for me, but I don't have your semi-condensed schedule.

Also, breaking down your score here will help the advice you'll get. I mean, if you're getting a 4 in verbal, it's a potentially serious issue while a 4 in another section means you have to hit the books. Ok. slight exaggeration. a 4 in any section is worrisome.

 

[snipes2795]

Alright, let's hear what you guys think. I am pretty much done with primary content review but still want to go back and hammer down on some of the concepts in PS. I'm planning on taking the self assessment this week and then another practice test. Here are my current stats:

Kaplan 1: 9/8/12 --29
AAMC3: 13/7/12 --32
AAMC4: 11/9/13 --33

I know verbal is my weak spot so I just ordered EK 101 VR passages and I'm planning on spending at least 1 hr/day on verbal.

Goal: 36