The Official 8/4/12 MCAT Thread

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Mehd School

Mehd School

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Who's in? I just rescheduled from June 21st. I've been studying off and on since late march, but really started to kick it in about three weeks ago. Applying DO this cycle.

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AdmiralAckbar said:
Yeah, EK is known to be riddled with errors. I stopped using their 1001's for this same reason.
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Well cuh-rap! Hopefully I can at least reclaim my precious money recycling them on ebay where I bought 'em. Maybe I'll just focus on flash cards and content review since I'm taking a practice test every other day. I'll see how I do tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks for replying and good luck.
 
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Hey all, first post.

I got a 23P in May, so I'm retaking 8/4. I basically botched my first prep attempt and got cocky, and did 1 practice test. I've since fixed that mentality and have done about 8 weeks of intensive prep. Shooting for that 30 this time and anxiety is now setting in :scared:

Not applying this cycle, but I'm probably looking at both MD and DO apps.

Recent Practice tests go as follows: (P/V/B)

Kaplan FL7 - 26 (9/8/9) (first since may)
Kaplan FL2 - 29 (8/10/11)
Kaplan FL3 - 30 (10/8/12)
Kaplan Fl 5 - 30 (8/11/11)
Kaplan FL 4 - 28 (9/9/10)
AAMC 10 - 31 (10/8/13)

Plan on taking AAMC 8 tomorrow, then AAMC11 on tuesday.
Good luck to all!
 
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NeuroSho said:
Hey all, first post.

I got a 23P in May, so I'm retaking 8/4. I basically botched my first prep attempt and got cocky, and did 1 practice test. I've since fixed that mentality and have done about 8 weeks of intensive prep. Shooting for that 30 this time and anxiety is now setting in :scared:

Not applying this cycle, but I'm probably looking at both MD and DO apps.

Recent Practice tests go as follows: (P/V/B)

Kaplan FL7 - 26 (9/8/9) (first since may)
Kaplan FL2 - 29 (8/10/11)
Kaplan FL3 - 30 (10/8/12)
Kaplan Fl 5 - 30 (8/11/11)
Kaplan FL 4 - 28 (9/9/10)
AAMC 10 - 31 (10/8/13)

Plan on taking AAMC 8 tomorrow, then AAMC11 on tuesday.
Good luck to all!
Click to expand...

Don't pay much attention to those Kaplan FLs. Consider them non-diagnostic, lol. The AAMCs are your key to estimating your performance, based on my own experience and the experiences of everyone else I've ever known to take them in addition to any other test, but especially Kaplan. I bought them all.

Anyway, from the look of your AAMC 10, you're on the road to fruition! Keep it up and GL.
 
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Yeah I def. take the Kaplan scores with a grain of salt. Although, I do think the kaplan full lengths were best for exposing content gaps. I didn't want to burn through the AAMC tests without content review first, I suppose.
 
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my last week schedule:

AAMC 11 (prob end up taking on like monday in afternoon), finish the last 2 ****ty EK 101 verbals 13 and 14 (2 passages at a time because these tests suck), brush up on even more science (even though i know it's all in my head somewhere 🙂). doesn't seem like a lot, but hopefully i did enough to not score 4 points below my average again.
 
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last week wow! good luck everyone im sorta new here. the month wait is going to be fun 🙄 and my crankiness towards my friends will probably be just as worse.
 
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Wow, you guys weren't kidding when you said 8 was a beast! I'm taking my break after the first passage, PS, which kicked my butt! I'm not looking forward to seeing my average drop. Hopefully I still did well...but considering I nearly ran out of time and had to guess on a few doesn't bode well...
 
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Don't worry, for me PS also felt horrible but I ended up doing about the same as I usually do on it. I dropped on the verbal though... hope you do great!
 
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bbvm16 said:
Don't worry, for me PS also felt horrible but I ended up doing about the same as I usually do on it. I dropped on the verbal though... hope you do great!
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That is UNCANNY! That's EXACTLY what happened to me: 10PS, 9VR (from 11), 10BS. Same science scores, dropped two in verbal. Hey, I'll take it considering some people said they dropped 5pts. I'll focus on my weak spots tomorrow during my content review; I noticed several. LoL
 
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don't worry, the practice tests should be for improving your thinking/content base. there will be outliers after taking many exams, especially if ur tired or whatever. i got a lower average on my third exam i freaked out, but then i thought practice exams dont really matter (only ur real mcat does) in the end as long as u can learn from them.
 
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ilikeapples said:
don't worry, the practice tests should be for improving your thinking/content base. there will be outliers after taking many exams, especially if ur tired or whatever. i got a lower average on my third exam i freaked out, but then i thought practice exams dont really matter (only ur real mcat does) in the end as long as u can learn from them.
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Wise words 👍
 
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took AAMC 8 today, and... 32! (10/11/11) . Weird, I thought the verbal was kicking my ass but it's my best score yet!
 
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Just did AAMC 9. I got (ps/vr/bs): 13/10/12

So I'm thrilled with ps and bs, but i got a 10 again in vr ughh. And again I was one question away from an 11. This is making me nervous :scared: Not much I can do for vr in less than a week ahh... Hoping the real test is a little kinder to me on verbal!!
 
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bbvm16 said:
Just did AAMC 9. I got (ps/vr/bs): 13/10/12

So I'm thrilled with ps and bs, but i got a 10 again in vr ughh. And again I was one question away from an 11. This is making me nervous :scared: Not much I can do for vr in less than a week ahh... Hoping the real test is a little kinder to me on verbal!!
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Awesome score. I was 1 question away from 12 in PS and 1 question away from 11 in BS. ARGGGGGG
 
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AdmiralAckbar said:
Awesome score. I was 1 question away from 12 in PS and 1 question away from 11 in BS. ARGGGGGG
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Thanks! And isn't that the worst?! Such a bad feeling lol. At least with the sciences you can fix some content knowledge last minute....effff verbal!!
 
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bbvm16 said:
Thanks! And isn't that the worst?! Such a bad feeling lol. At least with the sciences you can fix some content knowledge last minute....effff verbal!!
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Lol it made me so angry cuz I finished with 2 mins left in both PS & BS and changed a couple answers.... WHY DID I DO THAT?!?!?
 
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Awesome scores, guys/gals! I hope I can improve to that level.

AdmiralAckbar said:
Lol it made me so angry cuz I finished with 2 mins left in both PS & BS and changed a couple answers.... WHY DID I DO THAT?!?!?
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Haha, I know how that is. Sometimes it works out very well, while other times it screws you. You never really know.
 
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AdmiralAckbar said:
Lol it made me so angry cuz I finished with 2 mins left in both PS & BS and changed a couple answers.... WHY DID I DO THAT?!?!?
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The best part about the actual mcat is that you won't know if you were one question away from another point, or which questions you got wrong. If we were given that info I really think I would go crazy!
 
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How are you guys gonna spend Friday? I am taking it off, gonna go to gym, play basketball, hang out with friends and finally watch Dark Knight. Hopefully this will be an exhausting enough to make me pass out so I get a good nights sleep.
 
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AdmiralAckbar said:
How are you guys gonna spend Friday? I am taking it off, gonna go to gym, play basketball, hang out with friends and finally watch Dark Knight. Hopefully this will be an exhausting enough to make me pass out so I get a good nights sleep.
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Sounds awesome! Yeah, I'm definitely going to do something fun on Friday and probably no studying Thursday either (well at least not much). I may watch some olympics 🙂 and probably go to the mall for the first time in WEEKS :laugh: I have to ease myself into re-joining humanity hahaha....
 
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Same here, I'm definitely not studying on Friday. I'll probably go watch Dark Knight, too. Other than that, I'll probably just go play some pool. (I have my own cue and am seriously out of practice since initiating my MCAT regimen.) I get up at 4:30 (gym) or 5:30 (no gym) every weekday to make it to work by 6:30; so I probably won't need much to make me tired. I was lucky enough to grab an afternoon seat, too.
 
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my plans to play some pokemon diamond and hang out with friends. also review fomulas and quick facts for no more than an hr. on exam day i think ill read 2 verbal passages in the morning just to get my brain functioning. gonna be drinking some wawa coffee cuz its my favorite 🙂
 
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today was a great day off... tomorrow starts the crack down week.... turning this into overdrive! 😱
 
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Dman27 said:
today was a great day off... tomorrow starts the crack down week.... turning this into overdrive! 😱
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make sure you dont do anything mcat on friday, or even add thursday if you finish early. you want to be super refreshed for the test. any time bad mcat thoughts come to your mind, internally purge yourself of these thoughts by bringing inner peace. you wont score well if you continue to have negative thoughts.
 
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Thursday is light review.

Friday is absolutely nothing. Spending the day with friends and going for a run in the afternoon. Last time I crammed and ended up loosing alot of sleep. Not gonna make that mistake again.
 
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shaboobly said:
make sure you dont do anything mcat on friday, or even add thursday if you finish early. you want to be super refreshed for the test. any time bad mcat thoughts come to your mind, internally purge yourself of these thoughts by bringing inner peace. you wont score well if you continue to have negative thoughts.
Click to expand...

I know I'm a retaker just flipping through tons of flashcards and pounding those formulas into my brain to make sure i have them all down.

I haven't had much time so i've had a very light and relaxed studying for this time around... well see if they makes my anxiety better or worse
 
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Dman27 said:
I know I'm a retaker just flipping through tons of flashcards and pounding those formulas into my brain to make sure i have them all down.

I haven't had much time so i've had a very light and relaxed studying for this time around... well see if they makes my anxiety better or worse
Click to expand...

yea im retaking too and this time around has been really light. i am really confident in the sciences, even more so now after even more review, but the first time i got screwed by verbal. gonna go in this next time with such happy thoughts lol
 
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so i was gonna do aamc 11 this morning, butttt i gotta get the car serviced. i guess it's for the best i take my last practice test at 1 instead of like 9 however, i wanted to do other verbal and sciences after the test.

i really hope all of us retakers score at least 5 points higher than their first time! i have only taken 2 tests since i signed up for this date and both were a 32 (aamc 3 and 4). aamcs 8, 7, 9, 10 respectively were 31, 29, 32, 30 before my first test when i got a 27.. lol

this time around my verbal section average (ek 1-13, 1 kaplan, and some aamc verbals, with n=18) is 8.6. that's like an extra 3 points from the first time! (my aamc average is higher than the ek 101).

i wish you all the very best of luck on this final countdown week! enjoy it. you only have one life to experience the glory of the laws of the universe and what a great field to be getting into!!
 
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Reviewing weak content today, AAMC11 tomorrow. Homestretch!

Lets destroy this thing and never have to look at it ever again 👍.
 
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As a re-taker I want to stress how important attacking your weaknesses are these last few days. In honor of that, I say we post our weaknesses.

PS: Optics, Translational Motion (lol), Thermochemistry
VS: Anything to do with financial politics
BS: ORGO
 
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changebyforce said:
As a re-taker I want to stress how important attacking your weaknesses are these last few days. In honor of that, I say we post our weaknesses.

PS: Optics, Translational Motion (lol), Thermochemistry
VS: Anything to do with financial politics
BS: ORGO
Click to expand...

interesting.

PS: careless mistakes, not reading fully or understanding what they want.
VR: i dont know how to read so it's hard. lol nah i got better, but probably anything with some abstractly written piece that doesnt really flow in the normal though pattern, if you guys know what i mean (like critiquing art)
BS: careless mistakes, understanding, some molecular bio passages where you have to interpret some data (some are easy, but some can be a bitch)
 
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AdmiralAckbar said:
Wow just took AAMC 10. Got a 35 😀
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Great job! Also just did AAMC 10 and got 33 (12/10/11). AGAIN I was one question away from an 11 on vr. I am getting so frustrated by it...I guess it proves how accurate this standardized test is but I always scored 11 until this past week and a half. Uchhh 🙁
 
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bbvm16 said:
Great job! Also just did AAMC 10 and got 33 (12/10/11). AGAIN I was one question away from an 11 on vr. I am getting so frustrated by it...I guess it proves how accurate this standardized test is but I always scored 11 until this past week and a half. Uchhh 🙁
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I screamed when I saw the score lol. I was stuck 1-2 points away from 32-33 for so many exams. I am absolutely elated and would completely take this score this Saturday 😍.
Don't worry you will break through too!
 
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First post here, the fear is settling in... Anyone else most scared for the writing sample? I know everyone says it's easy and doesn't matter much, but the time limit to me is just daunting as hell. Takes me forever to think of examples and a cohesive synthesis, not to mention the actual writing where I can't help but get slowed down by perfectionism...
 
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dont worry , the writing does not matter. just dont get the lowest score possible, but ide use it to rest my brain and calm down after PS and VR. I am stuck at 34/35, ive always gotten either 34 or 35 except early on when i got a 32 early on. ill take it though 😀
 
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midi12 said:
First post here, the fear is settling in... Anyone else most scared for the writing sample? I know everyone says it's easy and doesn't matter much, but the time limit to me is just daunting as hell. Takes me forever to think of examples and a cohesive synthesis, not to mention the actual writing where I can't help but get slowed down by perfectionism...
Click to expand...

Remember you can totally make up your examples as long as it goes with the essay and topic it doesn't have to be factual!
 
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Weaknesses

PS: Optics, Thermo
VS: Rushing and making silly mistakes
BS: In depth Orgo... BS is piece of cake if I don't rush
 
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this might help i dont know, for lenses its mainly sign convention for the converging, diverging mirrors and lenses. also the power equation isnt bad, maybe just needing different powers to alter images. for multiple lenses/mirrors u just use the image one creates as the object for the next one, and i think u need to know that nearsighted ppl make the img in front of the retina and need diverging lenses to correct, and farsighted focus image behind retina and need a converging lense to correct (i got a ? right on an aamc passage cuz i am nearsighted and i pictured how my glasses looked lol). and how the images are formed (constant smaller/virtual for divergent, and changes for convergent based ones)

verbal i stop after every segment for like 2-3 seconds to make a mental note of whats going on, but verbal i only get 9-11s so i might not be best for that advise!

good luck
 
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****. only a 29 on aamc 11. 11/7/11

i thought i have been getting better at verbal. this **** better not hold me back again and make me retake. i just was at least a 9 in verbal.
 
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AAMC11: 31 (10/9/12)

Done with practice tests.

Also to add to the others, my weakneses:

PS: TIMING.. Oh, and Stoichiometry (embarrassing, I know.)
VR: Never have been able to identify my weaknesses here. Probably timing issues and rushing.
BS: More complex Orgo topics.
 
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NeuroSho said:
AAMC11: 31 (10/9/12)

Done with practice tests.

Also to add to the others, my weakneses:

PS: TIMING.. Oh, and Stoichiometry (embarrassing, I know.)
VR: Never have been able to identify my weaknesses here. Probably timing issues and rushing.
BS: More complex Orgo topics.
Click to expand...

Nice score! How does it feel to be done with practice tests? 👍
 
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