The Official April 24, 2014 MCAT Thread

[HopelessDreamer]

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Anyone else on here taking it on the 24th? I'm going to start studying later this week. What is everyone else's study plan?

 

[Lamel]

It's just tough because one question on AAMCs literally separates you from one section score to another, so every bit counts.

I'd say for verbal, you have to be into the passage, I was actually interested in the majority of these passages or also they kind of seemed like passages I had read before, so maybe I was kind of bringing in outside knowledge, but they did seem similar to one I've seen before (obviously not the same exact thing). I also did the passages out of order and picked the ones based on what I wanted to dig into first. and also I actually didn't passage map at all, so maybe that has been distracting me this whole time at getting a better understanding? I'll try it again and see how it goes.

Every question definitely does count. I got 51/52 for PS and that was a 14, so a 15 is literally getting everything right.

And I agree, some of the verbal passages I had background knowledge of, which made it a bit easier to comprehend. One other thing I'd like to say for verbal is that there are a lot of gut instincts that you can get just from reading the questions and the choices; go with those gut instincts. I would recommend everyone to do a verbal in which you go with your gut instinct response every time (apart from verbatim questions) and see how you do.

 

[Xtract]

It's just tough because one question on AAMCs literally separates you from one section score to another, so every bit counts.

I'd say for verbal, you have to be into the passage, I was actually interested in the majority of these passages or also they kind of seemed like passages I had read before, so maybe I was kind of bringing in outside knowledge, but they did seem similar to one I've seen before (obviously not the same exact thing). I also did the passages out of order and picked the ones based on what I wanted to dig into first. and also I actually didn't passage map at all, so maybe that has been distracting me this whole time at getting a better understanding? I'll try it again and see how it goes.

How much time left did you have at the end of VR? I love the concept of picking and choosing which passages to start with, but then the factor of wasting time kind of sets in.

 

[ConsultantMD]

How much time left did you have at the end of VR? I love the concept of picking and choosing which passages to start with, but then the factor of wasting time kind of sets in.

I was afraid of that at first, but I ended about 8 minutes early, which is about the pace that I usually end at, so I didn't actually lose time. Like I said I also didn't passage map, so I probably picked up some time by not really focusing on the mapping itself.

I really think I improved on verbal because I had a bigger screen. I was able to scan the entire passage practically and see it in it's whole form and not have to scroll up and down to find everything. I have an 11'' computer, so it's pretty scrunched.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I was afraid of that at first, but I ended about 8 minutes early, which is about the pace that I usually end at, so I didn't actually lose time. Like I said I also didn't passage map, so I probably picked up some time by not really focusing on the mapping itself.

I really think I improved on verbal because I had a bigger screen. I was able to scan the entire passage practically and see it in it's whole form and not have to scroll up and down to find everything. I have an 11'' computer, so it's pretty scrunched.

How much time do you dedicate to reading the passage, and then solving the questions?

Also, how often do you guys return to the passage when solving the questions? How do you know when you should and when you shouldn't?

 

[ConsultantMD]

How much time do you dedicate to reading the passage, and then solving the questions?

Also, how often do you guys return to the passage when solving the questions? How do you know when you should and when you shouldn't?

I do not have this down to a science really, but I'm thinking that not wasting time passage mapping really helped me understand and attack the passage.

I return to the passage whenever it says "according to the passage" because I know it's in there. Otherwise, I generally go with the overall theme/tone to help figure out what the answer is because typically those won't be in the passage verbatim.

 

[amonty144]

Every question definitely does count. I got 51/52 for PS and that was a 14, so a 15 is literally getting everything right.

And I agree, some of the verbal passages I had background knowledge of, which made it a bit easier to comprehend. One other thing I'd like to say for verbal is that there are a lot of gut instincts that you can get just from reading the questions and the choices; go with those gut instincts. I would recommend everyone to do a verbal in which you go with your gut instinct response every time (apart from verbatim questions) and see how you do.

I was afraid of that at first, but I ended about 8 minutes early, which is about the pace that I usually end at, so I didn't actually lose time. Like I said I also didn't passage map, so I probably picked up some time by not really focusing on the mapping itself.

I really think I improved on verbal because I had a bigger screen. I was able to scan the entire passage practically and see it in it's whole form and not have to scroll up and down to find everything. I have an 11'' computer, so it's pretty scrunched.

Lovin' the scores guys..this thread is killin it. By the way how often do you guys go back in science passages PS/BS? Or do you guys even go back ahah looking at your scores, looks like you guys just boss it! Congrats, keep up the good work. 🙂

 

[amonty144]

And you guys should be proud, no one gets lucky and gets a 40!

 

[enjoipanda]

Any of you guys taken the gold standard practice tests? I've done all 10 diagnostics and have been averaging between a 33-35.

Going to start the AAMC tests soon, wanted to do the easier tests towards the end. Just wanted to get a gauge of how difficult people think the gold standards are compared to the aamc. Personally I think the gold standards really gave me a hard time, only scored a 35 twice.

 

[Lamel]

Lovin' the scores guys..this thread is killin it. By the way how often do you guys go back in science passages PS/BS? Or do you guys even go back ahah looking at your scores, looks like you guys just boss it! Congrats, keep up the good work. 🙂

I usually put down an answer and if I have any doubt I mark it. If I have time towards the end I go back to it. During AAMC 3 I had 20 minutes left over for Bio so I went through each passage again quickly. During AAMC 4 I had no time left over. So it really depends, but yeah I do mark and go back just to make sure.


I have a question for you guys: for those who are on the SN2ed schedule, do you guys re-read chapters or go over notes again for the final 1/3 passages? Or do you just do them? I feel like I've forgotten so much of the details of earlier content review, but at the same time is it even necessary to go over again?

 

[amonty144]

I usually put down an answer and if I have any doubt I mark it. If I have time towards the end I go back to it. During AAMC 3 I had 20 minutes left over for Bio so I went through each passage again quickly. During AAMC 4 I had no time left over. So it really depends, but yeah I do mark and go back just to make sure.


I have a question for you guys: for those who are on the SN2ed schedule, do you guys re-read chapters or go over notes again for the final 1/3 passages? Or do you just do them? I feel like I've forgotten so much of the details of earlier content review, but at the same time is it even necessary to go over again?

Thanks. What I meant was when you are reading a passage initially, do you take time to understand the experiment and the set-up thoroughly or do you skim and see what the questions are and then go back to passage if needed?

 

[amonty144]

Thanks.

 

[Lamel]

Thanks. What I meant was when you are reading a passage initially, do you take time to understand the experiment and the set-up thoroughly or do you skim and see what the questions are and then go back to passage if needed?

No I read the entire passage first and try to understand everything reasonably well before I move onto the questions. If it is too obscure for me to do that then yeah I just go to the questions and hope for the best.

 

[ConsultantMD]

No I read the entire passage first and try to understand everything reasonably well before I move onto the questions. If it is too obscure for me to do that then yeah I just go to the questions and hope for the best.

So to counter this, I actually don't fully read and understand the passage first. I read through it to get overall what they're trying to do but I don't go into the nitty gritty of the data and stuff unless it's asked. I have time to so maybe I should.

 

[TheAnonymous]

No I read the entire passage first and try to understand everything reasonably well before I move onto the questions. If it is too obscure for me to do that then yeah I just go to the questions and hope for the best.

So to counter this, I actually don't fully read and understand the passage first. I read through it to get overall what they're trying to do but I don't go into the nitty gritty of the data and stuff unless it's asked. I have time to so maybe I should.

I really need help with VR - I can read the passage, understand the thesis and the overall passage, but still can't score higher than 70% (~8) -- I don't know what to do to be honest, I don't suffer from low speed, I manage to read the passages well enough but still miss many questions ! Don't know what to do cuz I do understand the passage --- I score a little bit higher on TPR than EK --- is there a chance that AAMC might be better? 🙁((((

 

[Lamel]

So to counter this, I actually don't fully read and understand the passage first. I read through it to get overall what they're trying to do but I don't go into the nitty gritty of the data and stuff unless it's asked. I have time to so maybe I should.

Haha just to clarify, when it comes to data I don't read it all completely, I just glance at it to see what I have to work with, and if a question asks I return to the data. It really depends per passage and what type of data there is though; if it is numbers, I usually ignore it and come back if necessary. If it is easy to digest graphs/trends I look into it a bit more.

I really need help with VR - I can read the passage, understand the thesis and the overall passage, but still can't score higher than 70% (~8) -- I don't know what to do to be honest, I don't suffer from low speed, I manage to read the passages well enough but still miss many questions ! Don't know what to do cuz I do understand the passage --- I score a little bit higher on TPR than EK --- is there a chance that AAMC might be better? 🙁((((

All I can really say is that you shouldn't get too hung up on the score yet. AAMC is definitely different from EK, so wait it out. Just use the EK as practice for reading and focusing; a lot of their answers are convoluted. EK seems to make questions/choices harder to understand for the sake of making it harder, while AAMC doesn't seem to do that; the difficulty from AAMC doesn't come from convoluted/confusing questions as much as it does from truly understanding the main idea and what the author is trying to say. So hold out on using scores. I got 10s and 11s on EK 101 and have gotten 12s so far on AAMC verbal.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Haha just to clarify, when it comes to data I don't read it all completely, I just glance at it to see what I have to work with, and if a question asks I return to the data. It really depends per passage and what type of data there is though; if it is numbers, I usually ignore it and come back if necessary. If it is easy to digest graphs/trends I look into it a bit more.



All I can really say is that you shouldn't get too hung up on the score yet. AAMC is definitely different from EK, so wait it out. Just use the EK as practice for reading and focusing; a lot of their answers are convoluted. EK seems to make questions/choices harder to understand for the sake of making it harder, while AAMC doesn't seem to do that; the difficulty from AAMC doesn't come from convoluted/confusing questions as much as it does from truly understanding the main idea and what the author is trying to say. So hold out on using scores. I got 10s and 11s on EK 101 and have gotten 12s so far on AAMC verbal.

that's good news, thanks for that man. Have you used TPR yet? I have heard that TPR very very very closely resembles AAMC.

I'm honestly not sure which method is better: (1) read fast, then for every question go back (2) read slower but actively, every single word, and rarely refer back. The later seems to work better for me.

 

[Lamel]

that's good news, thanks for that man. Have you used TPR yet? I have heard that TPR very very very closely resembles AAMC.

I'm honestly not sure which method is better: (1) read fast, then for every question go back (2) read slower but actively, every single word, and rarely refer back. The later seems to work better for me.

No I haven't done much verbal prep at all honestly; I will just stick to AAMC from here. As for what is better, it really depends per passage; some passages and questions require going back, while some don't. I always try to check back though to make sure I am not making a silly error (some that I caught by looking back again at the passage.)

The "search" function is available on the real test correct?

 

[TheAnonymous]

No I haven't done much verbal prep at all honestly; I will just stick to AAMC from here. As for what is better, it really depends per passage; some passages and questions require going back, while some don't. I always try to check back though to make sure I am not making a silly error (some that I caught by looking back again at the passage.)

The "search" function is available on the real test correct?

no the search function is only available on the practice tests, unfortunately

 

[Lamel]

no the search function is only available on the practice tests, unfortunately

Lol that sucks. Gotta stop using it then.

Another question...do we get any scrap paper to do work on? It would be obvious that we do, but just to make sure...

 

[TheAnonymous]

Lol that sucks. Gotta stop using it then.

I think you are right, a smart strategy is to use different techniques on different types of passages.

So what I usually do is that I retake a passage 2-3 days after the first one, to see which questions are "obvious" and I didn't get the first time, and my score usually goes from an 8 to an 11 - so its not that I don't understand it (I'm an ESL student), for some reason my stupidity masks the right answer 🙁 dunno what I should do, stick to one strategy or experiment different ones :S

 

[forfun135]

.

 

[Lamel]

AAMC 3: 12 PS, 12 VR, 11 BS - 35
AAMC 4: 14 PS, 12 VR, 13 BS - 39 (Yeah!)

What is your major?

Bio, why?

 

[AKMCAT]

How fast do you

No I haven't done much verbal prep at all honestly; I will just stick to AAMC from here. As for what is better, it really depends per passage; some passages and questions require going back, while some don't. I always try to check back though to make sure I am not making a silly error (some that I caught by looking back again at the passage.)

The "search" function is available on the real test correct?

Any advice on how to go faster? My timing is off and I have to usually rush through the last two passages. I end up doing really well in the first 5 passages and poorly on the last two.

 

[Lamel]

How fast do you

Any advice on how to go faster? My timing is off and I have to usually rush through the last two passages. I end up doing really well in the first 5 passages and poorly on the last two.

Um I guess it depends per person. I try to read actively and quietly out-loud so I have an idea of my pace; but I'm basically reading as fast as I possibly can while still comprehending, it can be a tough balance. You are the best judge on how much time you have, but watch the timer and keep the pace at ~7 minutes per passage. If you're drifting too far off that, circle something and move on then come back later.

 

[enjoipanda]

Hey guys, pushed my MCAT to April 24th due to logistics.

Scores so far.. (anyone else similar to me ??)

Verbal Physical Biological Composite
8 13 11 32 Kaplan FL 1
10 13 12 35 Kaplan FL 2
12 13 12 37 Kaplan FL 3
12 13 11 36 AAMC FL 3
9 11 13 33 Kaplan FL 4
9 12 12 33 Kaplan FL 5
10 10 14 34 Kaplan FL 6
11 13 14 38 Kaplan FL 7
10 13 13 36 AAMC FL 4
8 10 10 28 Kaplan FL 8
12 11 14 37 Kaplan FL 9
11 13 13 37 Kaplan FL 10
5 11 10 26 Kaplan FL 11
10 12 12 34 AAMC FL 5
8 12 11 31 Gold Standard FL 1 (Free Diag)

Basically, these are all the tests I have taken until date. Kaplan FL 8 and 11 were not very pretty. Got a 5 on the Kaplan FL 11 verbal...

I only have AAMC 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 left. What do you guys think about mixing in some GS tests until the 24th???

Hey smoothbunzz,

I see that you took the free gold standard, I just wanted to know personally, how you felt that test was compared to kaplan and AAMC. I took all 10 diagnostics from gold standard and my first two scores were a 31 and 30. But afterwards, I was able to pick up my score and aside from a 32 on Gold Standard 8 ive been averaging between a 33-35. Ive posted on this thread, but no one seems to reply back.

Just wanted to get a gauge because I will be taking the AAMC tests soon and I wanted to get an idea of what my gold standards scores actually indicate and if I'm headed in the right direction

Thanks

 

[AKMCAT]

Hey smoothbunzz,

I see that you took the free gold standard, I just wanted to know personally, how you felt that test was compared to kaplan and AAMC. I took all 10 diagnostics from gold standard and my first two scores were a 31 and 30. But afterwards, I was able to pick up my score and aside from a 32 on Gold Standard 8 ive been averaging between a 33-35. Ive posted on this thread, but no one seems to reply back.

Just wanted to get a gauge because I will be taking the AAMC tests soon and I wanted to get an idea of what my gold standards scores actually indicate and if I'm headed in the right direction

Thanks

I took all the Golden Standard Exams and some of the aamc's l scored higher for PS and BIO sections on AAMC exams (~2 points). However, I found the GS verbal section easier; I scored lower on AAMC verbal (~2pts lower)

 

[enjoipanda]

I took all the Golden Standard Exams and some of the aamc's l scored higher for PS and BIO sections on AAMC exams (~2 points). However, I found the GS verbal section easier; I scored lower on AAMC verbal (~2pts lower)

Hmm I would always fluctuate from a 9-11 on the gold standard verbal, even got a 7 once because I ended up getting really frustrated with the passages and started to angrily guess on everything. I thought the verbal for gold standard 1-3 actually had very interesting passages. But for gold standard 4-8, I felt like i was reading something from wikipedia, as the passages were very convoluted and I did not feel like they reflected a real MCAT verbal passage.

What have you been using to study for verbal? I'm still rough with verbal as well but I found that I prefer the TPR Verbal workbooks over the 101 examcracker passages. They help you become more aware of subtopics, because I know a lot of questions I get wrong is due to the fact that I chose an answer choice that reflected the main idea when the question stem was actually concerned with a particular subtopic of the passage.

Thanks for the reply! Much appreciated

 

[AKMCAT]

Hmm I would always fluctuate from a 9-11 on the gold standard verbal, even got a 7 once because I ended up getting really frustrated with the passages and started to angrily guess on everything. I thought the verbal for gold standard 1-3 actually had very interesting passages. But for gold standard 4-8, I felt like i was reading something from wikipedia, as the passages were very convoluted and I did not feel like they reflected a real MCAT verbal passage.

What have you been using to study for verbal? I'm still rough with verbal as well but I found that I prefer the TPR Verbal workbooks over the 101 examcracker passages. They help you become more aware of subtopics, because I know a lot of questions I get wrong is due to the fact that I chose an answer choice that reflected the main idea when the question stem was actually concerned with a particular subtopic of the passage.

Thanks for the reply! Much appreciated

Yes, I definitely agree with you on the GS verbal topics. I did not feel like the questions reflected the AAMC MCAT verbal questions; however, still useful just for practicing and reading convoluted passages.

I have been using TPR and Examkrackers also. Verbal is my weakest area so I cant comment too much. I have an issue finishing on time. Thus, still working to increasing my score.

 

[enjoipanda]

How fast do you

Any advice on how to go faster? My timing is off and I have to usually rush through the last two passages. I end up doing really well in the first 5 passages and poorly on the last two.

Ive learned that I am able to pick up my pace when I completely stop using the "highlighting" tool. I found that it actually hurts me to highlight because sometimes I get lost in the detail and forget to read with the overall main idea and general gist of the passage in mind.

To increase my focus, I imagine the author as a famous person giving out a guest lecture in a lecture hall and to help with passage mapping (because I'm more of a visual person) I imagine that the presenter has a power point presentation and picture what the slides (or images from the passage) would look like as I continue on with the passage. This is just my personal strategy that I thought helped me out a lot.

Also I used to have a lot of problems with specific inference questions but I have come to learn that everything, literally, is found in the passage. Even if its implicit the wording in the passages should be very similar, even synonymous, to the correct answer choice.

My number one rule is to make sure that my answer choice is best supported by the passage, not what I think the author is implying (because I sometimes have problems interpreting the passage meanings correctly), but what is directly found in the passage. However, I'm still struggling here and there with verbal so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[AKMCAT]

Ive learned that I am able to pick up my pace when I completely stop using the "highlighting" tool. I found that it actually hurts me to highlight because sometimes I get lost in the detail and forget to read with the overall main idea and general gist of the passage in mind.

To increase my focus, I imagine the author as a famous person giving out a guest lecture in a lecture hall and to help with passage mapping (because I'm more of a visual person) I imagine that the presenter has a power point presentation and picture what the slides (or images from the passage) would look like as I continue on with the passage. This is just my personal strategy that I thought helped me out a lot.

Also I used to have a lot of problems with specific inference questions but I have come to learn that everything, literally, is found in the passage. Even if its implicit the wording in the passages should be very similar, even synonymous, to the correct answer choice.

My number one rule is to make sure that my answer choice is best supported by the passage, not what I think the author is implying (because I sometimes have problems interpreting the passage meanings correctly), but what is directly found in the passage. However, I'm still struggling here and there with verbal so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Thank you for your advice!!! I have to learn to speed up!!! Few weeks left!

 

[Osteoth]

Lol that sucks. Gotta stop using it then.

Another question...do we get any scrap paper to do work on? It would be obvious that we do, but just to make sure...

Yup from what I've been told we get unlimited amounts of scratch paper, and you're allowed to write on it during the 10 minute "warm up" period before the PS section and during breaks, so you can write down formulas you want to have incase you need them.

 

[enjoipanda]

Thank you for your advice!!! I have to learn to speed up!!! Few weeks left!

Yeah no problem! Good luck to the both of us haha. I also found that sometimes, you just have to go with your instinct and select the "right" answer and move on. If its a difficult question, no matter how much longer you spend trying to figure out the right answer, chances are you're going to get the question wrong anyways. So guess, move on, and focus more on the questions you CAN get correctly. That saves me so much time. When you guess on instinct, and have the correct feel for the subtopics and main idea of the passage, most of the time it's correct.

 

[smoothbunzz]

Hey smoothbunzz,

I see that you took the free gold standard, I just wanted to know personally, how you felt that test was compared to kaplan and AAMC. I took all 10 diagnostics from gold standard and my first two scores were a 31 and 30. But afterwards, I was able to pick up my score and aside from a 32 on Gold Standard 8 ive been averaging between a 33-35. Ive posted on this thread, but no one seems to reply back.

Just wanted to get a gauge because I will be taking the AAMC tests soon and I wanted to get an idea of what my gold standards scores actually indicate and if I'm headed in the right direction

Thanks

I feel like the Gold Standard exams are quite different beasts than the Kaplan and AAMC practice exams. In terms of difficulty, I find it to be a mix between AAMC and Kaplan FL exams. In terms of curve, it is also between Kaplan and AAMC. Combining these two factors makes the GS exams challenging.

The GS exams have passages and questions stems extremely similar (in my opinion) to the AAMC FL exams, but are trickier and more calculation based.

Just took two GS exams in the past week.

GS 5 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34)

GS 6 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34) - I took this one this morning on 3 hours of sleep 🙁. Terrible night.

My recent AAMC science scores BS (13-14 range) and PS (13-14 range) VR (9-12 Range)

I feel that GS tests test your ability to think conceptually like the AAMC exams as well (which I like).

When accounting for curves/relative difficulty I think:

GS>AAMC ~Kaplan

***Again Kaplan is MUCH more difficult than AAMC but will hover around your AAMC scores or slightly below because of the relatively easier curve. Of course there are some superstars who have a huge score jump when moving to AAMC.

I might be saying this since I am biased and got a 34 on my last to GS exams, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[smoothbunzz]

Yes, I definitely agree with you on the GS verbal topics. I did not feel like the questions reflected the AAMC MCAT verbal questions; however, still useful just for practicing and reading convoluted passages.

I have been using TPR and Examkrackers also. Verbal is my weakest area so I cant comment too much. I have an issue finishing on time. Thus, still working to increasing my score.

I cannot comment too much on this issue because I am also weak with verbal. Furthermore, I have taken only 3 GS CBTs. I would have to say that the verbal on the GS exams, while convulated may mimic the real exam more. My two friends who took the MCAT recently commented that the passages were longer (VERY similar to the GS ones). I agree that the questions are not "as" MCAT like though.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I feel like the Gold Standard exams are quite different beasts than the Kaplan and AAMC practice exams. In terms of difficulty, I find it to be a mix between AAMC and Kaplan FL exams. In terms of curve, it is also between Kaplan and AAMC. Combining these two factors makes the GS exams challenging.

The GS exams have passages and questions stems extremely similar (in my opinion) to the AAMC FL exams, but are trickier and more calculation based.

Just took two GS exams in the past week.

GS 5 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34)

GS 6 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34) - I took this one this morning on 3 hours of sleep 🙁. Terrible night.

My recent AAMC science scores BS (13-14 range) and PS (13-14 range) VR (9-12 Range)

I feel that GS tests test your ability to think conceptually like the AAMC exams as well (which I like).

When accounting for curves/relative difficulty I think:

GS>AAMC ~Kaplan

***Again Kaplan is MUCH more difficult than AAMC but will hover around your AAMC scores or slightly below because of the relatively easier curve. Of course there are some superstars who have a huge score jump when moving to AAMC.

I might be saying this since I am biased and got a 34 on my last to GS exams, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I have taken Kaplan FL #1 and #2 so far - are you implying that the level of difficulty I saw on those 2 is higher than AAMC 3 let's say? I've scored 13 in both PS and BS but curve is too generous as you mentioned, translated to AAMC scale, it's 11s instead of 13s.

My plan is to complete Kaplan FL #1-5 + self assessment before starting AAMC3, any suggestion/comments?

And WOW excellent scores on the AAMCs, well done, honestly that translates easily to high 30s

 

[smoothbunzz]

That sounds like a great plan! Looks like you are on the right track. After Kaplan, the AAMC exams may feel a little too basic. However, do not let this fool you. There will be much less room for error, and you will tend to second guess yourself due to the simplicity of some problems. Remember, for AAMC there is generally always a shortcut.

Good luck!

 

[TheAnonymous]

That sounds like a great plan! Looks like you are on the right track. After Kaplan, the AAMC exams may feel a little too basic. However, do not let this fool you. There will be much less room for error, and you will tend to second guess yourself due to the simplicity of some problems. Remember, for AAMC there is generally always a shortcut.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot man! Wishing you the very best

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Just bombed BR CBT 2 (11/8/9)

DO school?

 

[Karasu]

Just bombed BR CBT 2 (11/8/9)

DO school?

Lol, dramatic much. It's not the real deal. Lick your wounds and evaluate your mistakes.

Their Bio section was weird and their VR section is unlike AAMC so don't put too much stock into those scores. I enjoyed the PS section because it was purely conceptual, no calculations to slow me down.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Lol, dramatic much. It's not the real deal. Lick your wounds and evaluate your mistakes.

Their Bio section was weird and their VR section is unlike AAMC so don't put too much stock into those scores. I enjoyed the PS section because it was purely conceptual, no calculations to slow me down.

Lol. I can't get my verbal over 8-9.

 

[Karasu]

Lol. I can't get my verbal over 8-9.

I have no definitive advice for VR as it's my weakest section as well. I somehow ended up with a 5 on that section in 2012 which caused me to read a bunch of books/essays in existential philosophy because it felt like the world ended LOL.
1.5yrs later and the best I can hope for on VR is 9-10. I said previously that my approach has been redoing EK 1001 and TPR VR passages with a timer set to 6.5min/passage. I look for associations and try to keep a mental
map of each paragraph's "thrust" in my head. I also try and figure out if the author is advocating his/her main idea or is just someone stating off a list of facts.
Honestly, can't say anything else with regards to VR because I am just hoping not to score a 5 again.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I have no definitive advice for VR as it's my weakest section as well. I somehow ended up with a 5 on that section in 2012 which caused me to read a bunch of books/essays in existential philosophy because it felt like the world ended LOL.
1.5yrs later and the best I can hope for on VR is 9-10. I said previously that my approach has been redoing EK 1001 and TPR VR passages with a timer set to 6.5min/passage. I look for associations and try to keep a mental
map of each paragraph's "thrust" in my head. I also try and figure out if the author is advocating his/her main idea or is just someone stating off a list of facts.
Honestly, can't say anything else with regards to VR because I am just hoping not to score a 5 again.

Yeah, I have a hard time reading and understanding any verbal passages online. I don't understand how people can score anything over 10
In that section. It's amazing.

 

[pandadawn]

Just want to pop back in here to say that I verified that Kaplan's free practice MCAT is complete bogus.
AAMC3: 34
Kaplan's bogus free practice exam: 29
AAMC4: 36
(all within about a month)
I'm feeling sooo relieved! Took my confidence back from Kaplan, those shysters.

 

[enjoipanda]

I feel like the Gold Standard exams are quite different beasts than the Kaplan and AAMC practice exams. In terms of difficulty, I find it to be a mix between AAMC and Kaplan FL exams. In terms of curve, it is also between Kaplan and AAMC. Combining these two factors makes the GS exams challenging.

The GS exams have passages and questions stems extremely similar (in my opinion) to the AAMC FL exams, but are trickier and more calculation based.

Just took two GS exams in the past week.

GS 5 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34)

GS 6 PS 12, VR 11, BS 11 (34) - I took this one this morning on 3 hours of sleep 🙁. Terrible night.

My recent AAMC science scores BS (13-14 range) and PS (13-14 range) VR (9-12 Range)

I feel that GS tests test your ability to think conceptually like the AAMC exams as well (which I like).

When accounting for curves/relative difficulty I think:

GS>AAMC ~Kaplan

***Again Kaplan is MUCH more difficult than AAMC but will hover around your AAMC scores or slightly below because of the relatively easier curve. Of course there are some superstars who have a huge score jump when moving to AAMC.

I might be saying this since I am biased and got a 34 on my last to GS exams, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Thanks for the reply smooth bunz

I thought gold standard 8-10 were pretty tough for the physical section, just as a warning.

Also I felt like gold standard 3 and 10 were the easiest overall (except for ps in GS 10)

GS 3 (12 ps, 11 vr, 12 bs) 35
GS 10 (11 ps, 11 vr, 13 bs) 35 ( i thought i performed horribly for the ps too, the last three gold standards have really intense physical sections, I had to guess on a lot of calculations cause there just wasn't enough time)

These were the only tests I got a 35 on out of all the 10 gold standards. Couldn't seem to break a 35.

Dude those are pretty good scores on GS 5 and GS 6, i think you've got a better hang of verbal than me haha (you got any advice for figuring out those "instinctive" correct answers?)

Here are my scores for them:
GS 5 (10 ps, 10 vr, 12 bs) 32
GS 6 (12 ps, 10- vr, 11 bs) 33

I just took AAMC 7 and didn't score as high on verbal as I would have liked considering that its suppose to be easier
AAMC 7 (13 ps, 10 vr, 13 bs) 36

 

[SOOyC52H1Sof]

I just took AAMC 7 and didn't score as high on verbal as I would have liked considering that its suppose to be easier
AAMC 7 (13 ps, 10 vr, 13 bs) 36

AAMC 7 is easier than AAMC 7? No way. I thought they were both on par with one another.

 

[enjoipanda]

AAMC 7 is easier than AAMC 7? No way. I thought they were both on par with one another.

hmm? I am confused with what you are comparing. The premise of my statement was that i thought the AAMC's are suppose to be easier than gold standards, and hoped that my verbal score would see a greater increase. Sorry if that confused you. I am however pleased with the boost on the BS and PS of AAMC compared to gold standard, although I've only taken one AAMC test.

I have a tough time with verbal, so it looks like I gotta keep pushing it with the practice passages

Oh I just realized that you were joking haha, I am a fool

 

[Lamel]

Took AAMC 5 today. I made some stupid errors, disappointed in myself. Furthermore I changed 2 CORRECT verbal responses, to wrong ones; did the same thing for bio. Too much second guessing this time around. Still a good score but I could have done 1-2 points better just by virtue of 2-3 questions.

AAMC 3: 12 PS, 12 VR, 11 BS - 35
AAMC 4: 14 PS, 12 VR, 13 BS - 39
AAMC 5 - 13 PS, 12 VR, 12 BS - 37

 

[TheAnonymous]

Took AAMC 5 today. I made some stupid errors, disappointed in myself. Furthermore I changed 2 CORRECT verbal responses, to wrong ones. Too much second guessing this time around. Still a good score but I could have done 1-2 points better just by virtue of 2-3 questions.

AAMC 3: 12 PS, 12 VR, 11 BS - 35
AAMC 4: 14 PS, 12 VR, 13 BS - 39
AAMC 5 - 13 PS, 12 VR, 12 BS - 37

You're a genius, congrats

 

[Lamel]

You're a genius, congrats

Lol thanks. I'm very happy for the scores, but I hate this whole uncertainty and guessing aspect of this exam, not used to relying on guesses to get good scores in classes and stuff. Anyway lesson learned, sometimes going back and second guessing will hurt big time.

 

[smoothbunzz]

Thanks for the reply smooth bunz

I thought gold standard 8-10 were pretty tough for the physical section, just as a warning.

Also I felt like gold standard 3 and 10 were the easiest overall (except for ps in GS 10)

GS 3 (12 ps, 11 vr, 12 bs) 35
GS 10 (11 ps, 11 vr, 13 bs) 35 ( i thought i performed horribly for the ps too, the last three gold standards have really intense physical sections, I had to guess on a lot of calculations cause there just wasn't enough time)

These were the only tests I got a 35 on out of all the 10 gold standards. Couldn't seem to break a 35.

Dude those are pretty good scores on GS 5 and GS 6, i think you've got a better hang of verbal than me haha (you got any advice for figuring out those "instinctive" correct answers?)

Here are my scores for them:
GS 5 (10 ps, 10 vr, 12 bs) 32
GS 6 (12 ps, 10- vr, 11 bs) 33

I just took AAMC 7 and didn't score as high on verbal as I would have liked considering that its suppose to be easier
AAMC 7 (13 ps, 10 vr, 13 bs) 36

Hey awesome scores dude!

I only have AAMC 8-11 and GS 7 remaining. I bought like 3 GS exams just to keep myself sharp on the exam.

Like you, I also got a 36 on AAMC 7 (13 PS 9 VR 14 BS). Was somewhat pissed off on this exam because 1 more question on each section would have afforded a 14 10 15....

I wouldn't say that I am good at VR haha, I tend to range from 9-12, but it seems like you are extremely consistent with VR which is great! I, like other people on this thread tend to mentally map questions and try whenever possible to eliminate 3 answer choices.