The Official 4/29/2011 MCAT Club!

[TXKnight]

I think It may be too early for this, but curious to know who's writing on this date. Join this thread and let's share knowledge/experience and blow this test out of the water!!

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[Wheatbread]

My remedy for worrying about my score is to study the next week for finals, then spend 5 weeks studying for the June re-take. At least it gets my mind off feeling crappy.

When June 1 comes and I did better than I thought, then AAMC gets my cancellation fee...bastards!thumbdown

 

[bkprodigy]

I'll post my thought on this. This was a retake for me, so after some hardcore prep I walked in with confidence. The main reason for retake was low verbal. I'm glad I did.
The breakdown for the 4 AAMC's have been:
#5 13 12 13 - 38
#8 12 10 14 - 36
#9 15 10 14 - 39
#11 11 7 15 - 33 (knew I shouldn't have taken this next to loud kids. Couldn't focus at all and didn't really care about the score)

Onto the real thing:
PS - much more passage based than usual, but overall I thought it was fine. More chem than physics but I was prepared for both so no surprise there. One thing though was that a few qualitative questions didn't really answers that stood out. I had to narrow down choices and go with the best answer.I don't think I can pull another 15. I predict 13-14.
VR - This is my weakest area as english is my 2nd language. I focused my prep around VR. The passages were indeed longer as most of you described. I drew a concept map as I was reading through, and I think that REALLY helped me answer the questions w/o referring back to the passage. I think it went well for me.
Predicting 10-12.
BS- I know everyone said this was the hardest section and resembled verbal, and I know what you mean. The passages were long and required you to read everything. I sat there and read the entire passages rather slowly, and got what I had to do right away. Many questions required me to answer based on the logic provided in the passage. I really didn't have any problem with that. I know I missed one orgo because I couldn't remember one organic reduction agent. Narrowed down to two and picked the wrong one lol. Other than that I think this section was the easiest of the 3. Predicting 14-15.

 

[PianoMajor]

I'll post my thought on this. This was a retake for me, so after some hardcore prep I walked in with confidence. The main reason for retake was low verbal. I'm glad I did.
The breakdown for the 4 AAMC's have been:
#5 13 12 13 - 38
#8 12 10 14 - 36
#9 15 10 14 - 39
#11 11 7 15 - 33 (knew I shouldn't have taken this next to loud kids. Couldn't focus at all and didn't really care about the score)

Onto the real thing:
PS - much more passage based than usual, but overall I thought it was fine. More chem than physics but I was prepared for both so no surprise there. One thing though was that a few qualitative questions didn't really answers that stood out. I had to narrow down choices and go with the best answer.I don't think I can pull another 15. I predict 13-14.
VR - This is my weakest area as english is my 2nd language. I focused my prep around VR. The passages were indeed longer as most of you described. I drew a concept map as I was reading through, and I think that REALLY helped me answer the questions w/o referring back to the passage. I think it went well for me.
Predicting 10-12.
BS- I know everyone said this was the hardest section and resembled verbal, and I know what you mean. The passages were long and required you to read everything. I sat there and read the entire passages rather slowly, and got what I had to do right away. Many questions required me to answer based on the logic provided in the passage. I really didn't have any problem with that. I know I missed one orgo because I couldn't remember one organic reduction agent. Narrowed down to two and picked the wrong one lol. Other than that I think this section was the easiest of the 3. Predicting 14-15.

Hahah I know which one you're talking about! Yeah I wasn't 100% sure either, and it was the first thing I looked up in my book after the test to see if I got it right. I was fortunate on that problem, not so fortunate on other where I had to guess between two hah. Walking out of the test, I thought the PS was no problem, and BS was tough, but I'm happy that I'm having a hard time recalling very many problems I may have missed in BS, I know of only one at this point, but PS on the other hand, I've already identified 4 problems I missed for sure, with 2-3 that are very possible wrong answers. So yeah, I take it back, I feel I didn't do too well on PS despite it was where i was pulling my higher scores on practice (10-12).

 

[Rolling]

How am I supposed to wait 1 month for my score? This is painful

 

[Metallica1936]

Hey everybody,

So... Friday's MCAT was... different.

PS - Chem heavy, and a couple ambiguous passages straight out of right field (damn you Bernoulli!). Overall I can only think of one damn mistake and I think the section was fine. I have been averaging 12-13 on PS sections so hopefully I will get around the same.

VR - holy crap I don't know how this went. Verbal is traditionally my lowest section. I average 10-11 on this section and I have no idea how that went. I have never seen so many abstract passages crammed into on section, and the questions were ridiculously difficult in my opinion. Somebody else referred to flipping a coin for some of them, and I should have done that! I am REALLY hoping for a generous curve on this one. Passages were WAY longer than on any of my practice MCAT's (I have taken 18 of them in the last 3 months). Verbal is always a crap shoot so I am praying I get a bit lucky on it. I am ONLY asking for a double digit verbal score!

WS - a complete joke. I did have fun making up examples and counter examples though. On every WS practice I have done I always make stuff up. Governors from the 60's and stuff like that. I am hoping for an R-S-T.

BS - Tough with long passages. However, I was happy with how I did (hopefully). I usually get 13-14-15 on BS (I am a bio major), and there was one stupid ecology based passage involving moths that I thought was totally pointless to have in the section. I don't feel like there should be any ecology based passages in the BS section of the MCAT. I am hoping for >13.

Overall, I think it was a brutal, difficult test. The sciences were fair, but damn verbal hit me like a ton of bricks. The questions being asking in verbal were by far the most ambiguous questions I have ever seen. A lot of the question types I have never seen in my extensive VR practice. Oh well, it's over and can't wait to see my scores. Why the hell does it take 30 days to correct and send out results for a COMPUTERIZED MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST?


Did anybody else think their VR section was brutal? I am hoping for a good curve! I think if I get anything lower than a 9 I will probably retake. What do you guys think is the highest VR score you should retake on? 7,8?

 

[DJack]

How can they give multiple versions of the test? Won't that mess up the grading/scaling?

 

[BA11]

PS - Chem heavy, and a couple ambiguous passages straight out of right field (damn you Bernoulli!).

My thoughts EXACTLY. My undergrad chem classes just glossed over fluid dynamics and none of the study materials I used emphasized it, but dammit if I didnt spend a solid three minutes trying to recall Bernoulli's equation and everything it implied. There was also a bio passage (genetics and viruses) I got that required some very specific and minute details that arent stressed in undergrad classes or test prep materials.

Did anybody else think their VR section was brutal? I am hoping for a good curve! I think if I get anything lower than a 9 I will probably retake. What do you guys think is the highest VR score you should retake on? 7,8?

Didnt think it was especially brutal but DEFINITELY longer. Hoping for a 9+ because I rushed through the last passage in three minutes and the last two in about 9 minutes.

From what I've read on here and been told by advisors, anything below an 8 is a definite retake. 8 or 9 is ok if you scored 11-12+ on the science sections and got a mid-30s score because only the top schools formally cut off at a 10 on verbal. It also helps if you scored low on verbal but get a good core on the writing sample. I've heard a solid score on that can make up for a point or so on the verbal because it shows that you are capable in that particular skill set.

 

[minimack0123]

Seems like I agree with most of the thoughts in this thread.

PS - Took this and thought damn...that was rough. Usually score 11-12 on AAMC's here, not sure about that this time. We will see.

VR - Definitely some tough, ambiguous questions. I normally get a 10-11 on AAMCs, but I definitely had to rush towards the end because I was running low on time.

WS - not too bad at all, obviously. Doesn't really make a difference tho.

BS - Generally my strong point, 11-12's here on AAMC, but honestly probably my weakest section. I thought the Ochem questions were random as hell, and a couple of the Bio passages were tricky and I spent to much time deliberating on a couple questions.. cough cough Na+.

I've heard from A LOT of friends that everyone experiences a bad feeling after the test, but man my confidence is shaken after that. I averaged about a 33 on the AAMCs, but not sure how I did.. I'm really just NOT SURE. Anyone else nervous? I felt like I knew all the material, but the sections just targetting my weak spots. Definitely better at physics than chemistry, but the PS was so chem heavy. Don't know, kind of nervous. Any thoughts?

 

[ridethecliche]

How can they give multiple versions of the test? Won't that mess up the grading/scaling?

All tests are made to be equivalent and all potentially have different 'curves' associated to fit the distribution.

So, no. They've thought of this.

 

[prometheusk]

Hey guys, I know we are not suppose to discuss the real mcats but I can't get over that damn pH question. Did you simply have to know the pH of the compound in question. I must've over looked something ...

message me in person as to not brake forum rules...

PS: if i braking forum rules inadvertently right now I apologize, but i dont think I've divulged any real mcat info.

 

[akdas988]

Hey guys, I know we are not suppose to discuss the real mcats but I can't get over that damn pH question. Did you simply have to know the pH of the compound in question. I must've over looked something ...

message me in person as to not brake forum rules...

PS: if i braking forum rules inadvertently right now I apologize, but i dont think I've divulged any real mcat info.

The freestanding question?

 

[akdas988]

I just got heart palpitations reading that sentence about *that* BS passage minimack mentioned. 30 more days ugh

This could be bad...depending on your sodium intake before thinking about that passage.

 

[Metallica1936]

"Didnt think it was especially brutal but DEFINITELY longer. Hoping for a 9+ because I rushed through the last passage in three minutes and the last two in about 9 minutes."




I supposed I might have been too strong with brutal. I didn't have to rush the last passage THAT much. I got there with 7.5 minutes left, but I really was not confident with many of my answers and that is why I am nervous. I average a 10-11 on VR during all my practices so I am begging to just get a damn 10.

Also I have heard the same about if you get under an 8 you should retake, but hopefully I won't need to do that. It is all over now and it's time to try and relax and focus on my actual application.

 

[Wheatbread]

Just curious to all who took the exam...I've been thinking of questions I might've gotten right/wrong. I feel like the questions I either 100% got right or wrong I can think of, but I can't think of the other 75% of the other questions. What do you think, is that good, bad, indifferent???

Aaaaah, this wait stanks!

 

[Metallica1936]

Just curious to all who took the exam...I've been thinking of questions I might've gotten right/wrong. I feel like the questions I either 100% got right or wrong I can think of, but I can't think of the other 75% of the other questions. What do you think, is that good, bad, indifferent???

Aaaaah, this wait stanks!

The wait indeed sucks. I can only remember one question I made a stupid mistake on and got 100% wrong. I can't think of any others (which I hope is good sign) and I can't remember any verbal questions. That **** show is just a blur to me. I am hoping that the verbal gets a good curve because I thought it was pretty tough. It was a difficult MCAT overall by general consensus. If I were you I would STOP thinking about it. Unless you know that a certain section absolutely slaughtered you then don't sign up for another MCAT and don't worry. Most people say they are pleasantly surprised anyway.

 

[MrDedicated]

i must say that it was nice not seeing this forum/not thinking about the test i took on the 29th of April, year 2011. I think i just snapped out of my daze from that exam.

ps agree
vr agree
ws
bs agree

 

[MrDedicated]

what i meant to say was not think about the test for the past two days. I obviously have started to subconsciously raise the bp again.

 

[berriesandcream]

I'm sorry if this has been asked, but how would you guys rank the AAMC exams (3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11) compared to the real one? DO you guys agree on 8,9,10, and 11 being the more accurate ones? thoughts?

 

[nebratu]

I'm sorry if this has been asked, but how would you guys rank the AAMC exams (3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11) compared to the real one? DO you guys agree on 8,9,10, and 11 being the more accurate ones? thoughts?

all the passages are shorter, less wordy and less ambiguous than the real thing.

 

[attixx]

I've taken every AAMC available -
BS was most similar to AAMC 11 imo..
VR, like all the AAMCs, just sucks. I feel like that section is hugely luck. I got multiple 13s on AAMC and I felt shredded after this MCAT's verbal. You can't really completely prepare for that "oh **** this is really happening" feeling on the real test. Passages were long and my timing got thrown off. The section I saved for last (psychology/experiment type question with freakin monkeys) was almost entirely guessed/poorly answered.
PS, honestly, kind of stood on its own to me. It just felt weird - gave me an uncomfortable feeling the entire section... a lot of difficult and nit-picky concept problems with arguably two right answers. and some complicated wording that I had to be careful not to trip myself with. But I would say the later AAMC's are the most similar out of all of them.

 

[DJack]

I've taken every AAMC available -
BS was most similar to AAMC 11 imo..
VR, like all the AAMCs, just sucks. I feel like that section is hugely luck. I got multiple 13s on AAMC and I felt shredded after this MCAT's verbal. You can't really completely prepare for that "oh **** this is really happening" feeling on the real test. Passages were long and my timing got thrown off. The section I saved for last (psychology/experiment type question with freakin monkeys) was almost entirely guessed/poorly answered.
PS, honestly, kind of stood on its own to me. It just felt weird - gave me an uncomfortable feeling the entire section... a lot of difficult and nit-picky concept problems with arguably two right answers. and some complicated wording that I had to be careful not to trip myself with. But I would say the later AAMC's are the most similar out of all of them.

Both of these points are so true haha. I took a prep class, but nothing prepares for that feeling that you get when you finally start the test.

And I completely agree with the PS statement. I was able to narrow down to two seemingly correct answers a few times too. Very nit-picky questions from time to time. VERY chem heavy. And like attix said, just gave an all-around uncomfortable feeling

 

[Metallica1936]

I'm sorry if this has been asked, but how would you guys rank the AAMC exams (3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11) compared to the real one? DO you guys agree on 8,9,10, and 11 being the more accurate ones? thoughts?

8,9,10, and 11 are the best predictors yes. Especially 11 (even though I thought 11 sucked).

My experience with the real thing went well (I hope). The Bio section was very similar to 11, and the physical science section was similar to the last few AAMC's as well. I was happy with the science sections, but keep in mind I have been taking Kaplan full lengths too. Kaplan full length science sections are known to absolutely slaughter students. It really helped teach me how to deal with difficult/ambiguous passages and not freak out. So, I have naturally been doing more difficult science passages for awhile so that the real thing didn't seem that bad. Even though one or two passages on the PS section really sucked.


Verbal..... well verbal.... was different. I think AAMC 11 verbal was somewhat similar. However, my verbal section was much more difficult, more lengthy, and MUCH more ambiguous than my practice sections. I was not very confident with a lot of my answers. Granted VR is my lowest score on nearly every practice. I usually stay around 10-11. Needless to say, I am hoping for a nice curve. We will see. At times it felt like a crap shoot and I should just be flipping a coin to choose between two answers. The only thing you can do for verbal is READ, PRACTICE, READ, AND PRACTICE SOME MORE. You can't really raise your verbal score THAT much because a lot of the skills are innate within you and have been developed over many years.


One good thing about the MCAT is that if you felt like it was really tough, most others will have too and the curve will reflect that.

 

[Metallica1936]

but which prep material was the real test most similar too?

I think it was a hybrid between Kaplan and AAMC. On average, AAMC PS's were too easy and Kaplan PS's were far too difficult. Same thing with some bio. Verbal I feel is pretty similar at times between the two, and the VR on my MCAT was more difficult than both Kaplan and AAMC.

I am VERY happy with Kaplan's stuff. Plus, they give you all of the AAMC tests for free. Kaplan helps teach you more than you "need" to know and also teaches you how not to freak out when you get a REALLY hard/ambiguous passage.

 

[feipar]

I think it was a hybrid between Kaplan and AAMC. On average, AAMC PS's were too easy and Kaplan PS's were far too difficult. Same thing with some bio. Verbal I feel is pretty similar at times between the two, and the VR on my MCAT was more difficult than both Kaplan and AAMC.

I am VERY happy with Kaplan's stuff. Plus, they give you all of the AAMC tests for free. Kaplan helps teach you more than you "need" to know and also teaches you how not to freak out when you get a REALLY hard/ambiguous passage.

Length wise, BR material is closest to the feel of the actual test (going through a lot of stuff in a limited amount of time). BR also includes similar inference type questions (eg. for experiments) in a style similar to the MCAT, questions that can be discerned with enough analysis.

Difficulty wise, the harder Kaplan passages were harder than the real MCAT, because it required leaps of logic pertaining to completely new applications. I did not feel the real MCAT was THAT out there in presenting new situations, it was just presented differently and mixed in with a lot of fluff.

For verbal, AAMC was most representative, followed by EK.

 

[DJack]

Yeah I do not feel like Kaplan's VR are accurate at all. I averaged a 10 VR on their practice tests, but never got higher than a 9 on the AAMC's (averaged an 8)

 

[Metallica1936]

Yeah I do not feel like Kaplan's VR are accurate at all. I averaged a 10 VR on their practice tests, but never got higher than a 9 on the AAMC's (averaged an 8)

Yes. Their curves can be overly generous. My highest score on a few Kaplans was 39, and I could only get up to a 36 on AAMC's. Still, it's a nice confidence boost seeing 39's and 38's

 

[pikachu10]

so who's already reregistered?

I registered again for late July just because I live in an area where if you don't register early, you have no chance of taking it anywhere near home. I plan on cancelling after *hopefully* getting a good score June 1!

 

[nebratu]

I registered again for late July just because I live in an area where if you don't register early, you have no chance of taking it anywhere near home.

heh, sounds like california

 

[Metallica1936]

.

 

[PianoMajor]

I scored 29 on AAMC 10, and 30 on AAMC 11 a few days before the actual test. I really have NO CLUE if I did well enough, and if I didn't, well I guess I'm screwed because I'm not reregistering. Just the thought of having to start studying again and do MCAT related things makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[HatWobble]

Okay, so I know a lot of you are re-registering for the MCAT this summer and (hopefully) going to just cancel it when you get your actual results back. How many of you think this is a good idea and worth the money?

For me, I have been averaging 36-39 on the practice exams and on this last MCAT the only section I have NO CLUE how I did on was verbal. Everything else I was relatively satisfied with.

So.... what's your opinion, should I reschedule another MCAT or not?

Thanks!

I'm in your same boat, both with the practice exam scores and with the uncertainty... I'm saving my dough. I've seen enough stories of people being pleasantly surprised by their scores. Plus, when are you ever sure you've done well on a verbal section right after taking it?

People schedule MCATs and then chicken out and push them back all the time... worst case, I bet you can slip in to a test somewhere at the last minute if you want. Might have to drive a few miles to the boonies to do it, but whatever...

 

[Metallica1936]

I scored 29 on AAMC 10, and 30 on AAMC 11 a few days before the actual test. I really have NO CLUE if I did well enough, and if I didn't, well I guess I'm screwed because I'm not reregistering. Just the thought of having to start studying again and do MCAT related things makes me sick to my stomach.

Unless you REALLY screwed up on the actual MCAT I am sure you'll be fine. I know a 27 who got into Madison. Granted her extracurriculars are great, but still. The MCAT isn't EVERYTHING.

 

[Metallica1936]

I'm in your same boat, both with the practice exam scores and with the uncertainty... I'm saving my dough. I've seen enough stories of people being pleasantly surprised by their scores. Plus, when are you ever sure you've done well on a verbal section right after taking it?

People schedule MCATs and then chicken out and push them back all the time... worst case, I bet you can slip in to a test somewhere at the last minute if you want. Might have to drive a few miles to the boonies to do it, but whatever...

Very good points. Thanks this kinda helped me.You're right though I usually have NO clue how I do on verbal sections. The VAST majority of the time it's 10-11, and once it was 8. So, if I get double digits I will be happy.

I too have heard a LOT of people end up pleasantly surprised with how they too. I will hope for the both of us that it is the same. I am going to save my money too. The sciences I am confident on because you can gauge them so much better, but we will see about verbal. PLEASE double digits!

 

[MrDedicated]

its only may 5th! I feel like its been three weeks..

the wait starts/continues

 

[DrTroll]

i hear you, man. I'm getting agitated here too

 

[DrTroll]

and the best part is that you all paid to be so agitated.

I blame whoever decided that a computer based multiple choice test need more than a month to be graded.

 

[Metallica1936]

I concur with the rest of you. It is complete bull s*** that it takes 30 days. It should take no more than 15 to get everything taken care of.

 

[GoldenGrizz14]

Hi Everybody,

I took the afternoon examination and my impression of the exam was that it was fairly similar to AAMC 11 in passage structure and content...with the exception of a few unorthodox free standing questions.

PS- seemed like a fair representation of expected material...but somewhat more chem based then expected. Two passages covered the same topic from two different perspectives. The physics passages seemed pretty straight forward...not as much calculation as AAMC exams, more analysis of passage information and relevance to known topics. I'm thinking I got around an 11 for this section (on the AAMC tests I consistently scored 12's and 13's, but the experimental chem passages left me feeling uncertain).

VR- I felt the verbal was in a format that resembled AAMC 10 and 11. More based on overall understanding of text instead of emphasis on minor details from the passage. I tend to do worse on the tests that strongly express detail, so I was fortunate to take an MCAT where the verbal was based on the big picture. This was a stronger verbal performance for me so I'm thinking an 11 or 12 (I scored a 10 on every AAMC test with the exception of AAMC 11 where I got an 11).

BS- This section was dominated by Biology content...not a bad thing, but the Bio passages tend to require more time for me personally then Organic. I felt some of the Organic free standings were unexpected, but this could be due to my failure to place importance on structures larger than monomers (trying to stay as vague as possible ). I was pressed for time going into the single orgo passage at the end of the examination, but I still had relatively sufficient time to accurately attempt and arrive at reasonable answers. I feel this was my weakest performance in relation to my ability on previous AAMC tests. A 10 or 11 in this section would not surprise me (on AAMC tests I had 12's, 13's, and one 14).

 

[poisonivy499]

I can't take all this pressure from waiting! WTH! A month! Hurry up already! I need to live peacefully

 

[flodhi1]

I concur with the rest of you. It is complete bull s*** that it takes 30 days. It should take no more than 15 to get everything taken care of.

I could grade the MCAT by hand in no more than 3600 seconds I would like to know what computer grades a computer based multiple choice 720 times slower than a human being with a pencil because whoever the made that system needs to stop breathing.

In all seriousness though guys its obviously because they don't want people overloading retake schedules the next day. I wouldn't even be able to sign up for the exam if they gave you fellas the results right away lol

 

[poisonivy499]

I went ahead and signed up for another test ahhhhhhhhhh

 

[HatWobble]

I went ahead and signed up for another test ahhhhhhhhhh

We need Ativan, stat!

 

[panda07]

poisonivy which test date did you sign up for?

 

[TriHard]

First post! (I've been lurkin around for quite awhile and I feel like it's about time to actually join in)

This wait is agonizing... esp after seeing all the 4/9 testers get their scores back today...

 

[nucleophilic]

First post! (I've been lurkin around for quite awhile and I feel like it's about time to actually join in)

This wait is agonizing... esp after seeing all the 4/9 testers get their scores back today...

first post also...and also a lurker. and also really irritated with my april 9th friends getting their great scores back and having NO clue how i did. 21 days left? good lord.

 

[Metallica1936]

Hey everybody. This might seem like a dumb question, but do we get an email telling us when our scores are released and then how to view them? If not, where do we go to view our scores when they are released (June 1st right?)?

Thanks!

 

[Etorphine]

Google AAMC MCAT THX score release

 

[aint settling]

deleted

 

[MrDedicated]

anyone else feel like they dont have enough time to get in their things (whatever that may be...statements, resumes, assignments, etc..) in time because the days seem to be flying by but....

OH WAIT...

the days are actually crawling when we talk about MCAT scores..



I thought it would be fun to start a dream count.....

DREAMS ABOUT MCAT COUNT-- 2
1. dreamt about doing very mediocre by getting 9s across the board
2. dreamt about two of my sections not counting because i did so poorly and one of my sections almost getting a perfect score (14). That equals a 14 in all though!! what the heck kinda thinking am i doing at night

for this, I do not believe in premonitions

 

[HatWobble]

Google AAMC MCAT THX score release

I don't get it...