The Official 8/15/13 MCAT Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Roxas

Giggity!
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
13,023
Reaction score
27,607
Welcome August 15ers! Thought I'd get this started since anyone doing a 3 month study schedule is going to be starting up soon. Good luck to everyone, and hopefully we can help each other out through this beast!

I just sat for the 4/26 exam which was pretty rough, and I know given the summer to study I can do much better. Let's do this!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
Welcome August 15ers! Thought I'd get this started since anyone doing a 3 month study schedule is going to be starting up soon. Good luck to everyone, and hopefully we can help each other out through this beast!

I just sat for the 4/26 exam which was pretty rough, and I know given the summer to study I can do much better. Let's do this!

Are you gonna be still able to apply for this cycle?
 
Are you gonna be still able to apply for this cycle?

According to my advisor, yes, since I took the April mcat. I plan on applying in June with whatever score I get, do secondaries and such throughout the summer, so that all I'm waiting for is that new MCAT score. Supposedly this way I can apply early, and try to get a better score on my 2nd try. At least this is how it was explained to me.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
According to my advisor, yes, since I took the April mcat. I plan on applying in June with whatever score I get, do secondaries and such throughout the summer, so that all I'm waiting for is that new MCAT score. Supposedly this way I can apply early, and try to get a better score on my 2nd try. At least this is how it was explained to me.

One of my desired schools says "you should take MCAT no later than August".
Does this mean I can take in August?
 
One of my desired schools says "you should take MCAT no later than August".
Does this mean I can take in August?

First attempt or retake? If first attempt, I would say yes, but be prepared to be a "late applicant" since you won't get your score back until mid Sept. which would put you at a considerable disadvantage.

If its a retake, you should be totally fine. Just apply with your first score as soon as possible.
 
First attempt or retake? If first attempt, I would say yes, but be prepared to be a "late applicant" since you won't get your score back until mid Sept. which would put you at a considerable disadvantage.

If its a retake, you should be totally fine. Just apply with your first score as soon as possible.

Im planning to take MCAT on 5/30, but I feel I wont be as much ready as I want to be..
 
I am also taking it on 8/15. Really excited and nervous. I have the whole summer of nothing but study/volunteer. Hope that helps!
 
Hey guys! I'm in too. But I just finished sophomore year, so I'm not applying until next year.

I'm taking the Princeton Review course. I'm really nervous about the MCAT... If I am not getting good scores by 8/1, I'll delay until January.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm studying full time, working 1 day a week and volunteering for 4 hours a week. It's not too bad so far, but we'll see in a month of 2 if I still feel that way...

That sounds really nice!!!!

I'm working as a scribe, so 3-5 shifts a week. And I'm doing research, because we have a poster presentation next week and will hopefully submit a paper later this summer. I can't give up on the final stretch!

Buuut.. It makes studying hard :( well, more accurately, it makes sleeping hard because I will study no matter what.
 
It's kind of funny how the MCAT can be so horrifyingly discouraging at times. Yesterday was one of the hardest days for me thus far, but sure enough today as I was studying O-chem I felt on top of the world. Does this happen to anyone else? Hopefully all this pays off come August....
 
It's kind of funny how the MCAT can be so horrifyingly discouraging at times. Yesterday was one of the hardest days for me thus far, but sure enough today as I was studying O-chem I felt on top of the world. Does this happen to anyone else? Hopefully all this pays off come August....

Yes. I feel really strong in verbal and ochem, but really weak in bio and physics. Not sure yet about genchem. My mood greatly depends on which thing I'm studying!
 
Hey! Lets get this thread some more action and support!!! How is all the studying going everyone?
 
Just postponed my 6/20 MCAT to 8/15. Super stressed about being late now but I am trying to put that behind me and focus on a solid score.
 
Just booked my seat yesterday! Going to be working with EK, helped in the past.

Do as many practice tests, questions you can get your hands on.
 
Welcome!!! So you're applying this cycle then? Best of luck!! :)

Thanks! Yeah I'm applying this cycle. I am currently trying to finish up my quarter and get all of my LORs. How is everybody studying? I am taking a Kaplan course in Davis. And I have been self-studying EK and Princeton on and off like all year..
 
Room for 1 more? I am currently very behind on content review but joining this discussion has given me more strength to push forward.
 
Hello everyone! Welcome! I am glad to see people commenting on this thread. Motivation is always a good thing!!

I'm taking an online TPR class. I also have the TBR books, but I don't know if I'm going to be using them much. They seem overwhelmingly discouraging.

What are your goals for the test? My ideal score is 35-36+, but I am rather pessimistic about that given my struggles with content review thus far.
 
My ideal score would be a 36, though realistically speaking it will be much lower given that I am struggling in verbal. I am also using the combination of TPR and TBR with a light sprinkle of EK. TBR is definitely challenging and fustrating in that sometimes I just want to rip the books in half. However I find the passages to be very helpful in obtaining a mastery of the subject. The only exception being the 2 metabolic chapters, they seem to be overkill on the info presented in there.

I am planning on wrapping up on content review in the next 10 days and then start grinding out on the FLs.
 
My ideal score would be a 36, though realistically speaking it will be much lower given that I am struggling in verbal. I am also using the combination of TPR and TBR with a light sprinkle of EK. TBR is definitely challenging and fustrating in that sometimes I just want to rip the books in half. However I find the passages to be very helpful in obtaining a mastery of the subject. The only exception being the 2 metabolic chapters, they seem to be overkill on the info presented in there.

I am planning on wrapping up on content review in the next 10 days and then start grinding out on the FLs.

Oh wow!! How many FLs are you planning on doing, and how often?

I wish we could combine our sections... I'm definitely VR >> BS >> PS.
 
I am jealous :) , verbal has always been my weakness. I would say I am comparatively stronger in chemistry followed by physics, bio, and lastly verbal. Perhaps we can all share our tips and maybe 1 esoteric info we found interesting in our reviews?

My random info of the day: @room temp N2 is gas, Br2 and Hg are liquid, and Al is solid.

I plan to take 17 FLs which includes AAMC 4-11 and 10 Gold Standard (GS) exams. I am spacing them so that I have 3 "break" days to review and finish up on remaining passages/discretes. Also, the GS exams are pretty cheap at $10 an exam but you have to buy 10 them.
 
I am jealous :) , verbal has always been my weakness. I would say I am comparatively stronger in chemistry followed by physics, bio, and lastly verbal. Perhaps we can all share our tips and maybe 1 esoteric info we found interesting in our reviews?

My random info of the day: @room temp N2 is gas, Br2 and Hg are liquid, and Al is solid.

I plan to take 17 FLs which includes AAMC 4-11 and 10 Gold Standard (GS) exams. I am spacing them so that I have 3 "break" days to review and finish up on remaining passages/discretes. Also, the GS exams are pretty cheap at $10 an exam but you have to buy 10 them.

That would be really helpful!!! Good idea. A better breakdown of my strengths:

Ochem > verbal > gen chem >> bio >> physics.

That's a good plan. I have 19 FLs already from my prep course, and I've taken two so far as required by TPR. I will have 14 left by the end of the class in mid to late July. Is it an awful idea to take a test every day with a few break days scattered between? I don't want to burn out, but I want to take all the tests. And I don't want to waste more than I have to before I'm done with content review.
 
It's good that you have so much practice tests at your disposal. How do you feel about the two you've taken?

I am a nervous test taker and the test just scares me. I hope that by taking this amount of FLs, I can feel more comfortable when the date sets. I picked 3 days to review a section of the exam each day and do an alternate subject review on that day. This is my plan on paper and I don't know If it will work out 100%. I am not really qualified to give any advice (sorry) so just find the method that works best for you.

Also, I am planning on finishing content review before I tackle the FLs. I've got a ton of ground to cover in bio. :/
 
It's good that you have so much practice tests at your disposal. How do you feel about the two you've taken?

I am a nervous test taker and the test just scares me. I hope that by taking this amount of FLs, I can feel more comfortable when the date sets. I picked 3 days to review a section of the exam each day and do an alternate subject review on that day. This is my plan on paper and I don't know If it will work out 100%. I am not really qualified to give any advice (sorry) so just find the method that works best for you.

One was AAMC, one was TPR. The TPR test was a lot harder than the AAMC. But I felt good about the AAMC one. I got a 27, which isn't bad for before content review.

No that makes sense. Kind of blind leading the blind here! But your strategy sounds awesome.
 
So I started reading TBR biology yesterday and oh my god! There is so much information!! This is awesome. I thought it'd be way too much, but this is reeeeeally helping me cement concepts. I feel like just reading TBR will help, even if I don't memorise every little detail.
 
Yea they really go into the details but it is their problems/explanations that makes them awesome.
 
Trying to decide if I want to push back to August 22nd :/ an extra week of practice means I can spread out my practice tests and have time to review them and then do drills to fix mistakes. I mean, 7 days isn't THAT much, but I can't think of too many cons to pushing back. Thoughts? Why'd you guys choose August 15th?
 
Woooo! First post! I'll be taking the August 15th MCAT as well! I'm doing SN2ed's schedule with some minor adjustments. I just want this test to be over with...:(
 
Okay, so I have three weeks of content review left, and I just took AAMC 3. I got a 30 (8, 12, 10). Being as I'm not done with content review yet and I was super distracted during verbal, I feel okay about this!! I am hoping for a 36 (10, 13, 13) on the real thing... I feel like, with three more weeks of content review and three weeks of practice tests after that, my dream score isn't totally outside the realm of possibility! Right? I hope!

How are you all doing?
 
Was behind ~1 week on SN2ed schedule, caught up over the weekend, falling behind again now :p I kind of regret taking classes now, but oh well.

1 more week of content review for me, then it's FL's and w/e other practice problems I can complete until August 15th
 
Congrats on keeping up with that schedule!!

I kind of wish I was following the SN2 schedule, but I am feeling pretty good about how my prep schedule is going. I'm working way less in July than I did in June, so I'm hoping to really start reading TBR and doing passages from that while I finish up content review. I've done ~10 TBR bio passages and I really liked them.
 
Scary to think those of us that started around may 15th are more than halfway through studying :scared:
 
Its hard trying to fill out amcas, aacomas, and tmdsas while simultaneously studying
7l.jpg

It's terrible lol. Have you done your primary etc?
 
Top