The Official April 5th, 2014 MCAT Thread!

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BeachBlondie

BeachBlondie

Put some tussin on it!
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139 days!

You know, for a couple of weeks I thought I would just not subscribe to any particular SDN MCAT thread. Figured it wasn't necessary. But, frankly, knowing that there are other people out there--pissed about not remembering values for logs, and trying to sort out where epinephrine is secreted from ("Was that the adrenal cortex... or adrenal medulla?")--makes this slog towards test date bearable :)

Best of luck, fellow lost souls!

(P.S...... it's from the medulla ;) )
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So t-minus 1 hour approximately? Gahhh give me my score :scared:

 
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Hey if you guys could also post your aamc average and maybe section average that might help a lot more. Good luck to all !!!!!!!!!!! You have worked so hard.
 
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Best Wishes and good luck. I feel you all will do very well, better than you expected.
 
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Pls post your aamc average and your expected score so we have an idea. For example, if you thought the test was easier but the curve was also harsher.
 
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33 below my aamc average. Oh well

What the hell I pressed "more options" in the edit button but it gave me an error and deleted my entire G.D. post.

Exams were taken on sequential Saturdays leading up to 4/5 (#11 taken 4/4)
AAMC # - Breakdown - Total
03 - 11/10/12 - 33
04 - 09/09/09 - 27
05 - 13/09/11 - 33
07 - 15/11/12 - 38
08 - 13/11/11 - 35
09 - 12/11/14 - 37
10 - 11/11/13 - 35
11 - 14/10/11 - 35

Averages: 12/10/12 - 34
Prediction: 13/09/13 - 35
Actual: 12/09/12 - 33

Post-Exam feelings: Felt good about PS/BS. Expected 12/8/12 breakdown as minimum. Googled a lot of marked questions after, got almost all of them correct, so I was feeling better. Was hoping for a 35 but 33 is fine, I will not be retaking despite 9 on VR. Because **** verbal.

What I would've done differently: Study harder. Played a lot of games in my 4-6 months, should've really just exercised or something instead. Also should've drank less water at the testing center. Had to pee like a mother****er by the end of BS with 15 minutes to go. Considered pissing myself just so I could concentrate better, but I realized that the stench (and shame) would've bothered me more.
 
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is it some kind of a record to get the same exact score you got the first time you took it even though you studied religiously for 6 months?
 
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Count me as a retaker...

10/9/10 -- 29

PS was 2 points lower than expected
VR is the lowest I've ever received.
 
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Test Date: April 5, 2014
Post-Test Expected Score: 10 V/9-10 PS/6-8 BS
Actual Score: 9 V/10 PS/ 9 BS for 28 total
Comments: Though I was originally aiming for a score in the 30s, I got 4 hours of sleep the night before the test, and so I was expecting a terrible score.
I knew I had done terribly in bio because I ran out of energy by the time I hit that section (I typically score 10-13 on BS in practice tests), but I did better
than I expected. Both the other sections were in the range that I expected considering my sleep deprivation, but again I know I could have done better.
Overall I am not terribly disappointed considering the circumstances. I will probably retake.
 
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34 overall, 12/11/11 breakdown. It's a good enough score that I'll apply with, but as I was averaging 36-38 on AAMC 7-11, it is somewhat of a letdown. The most frustrating for me was the verbal, as I've never scored below a 12 on a practice exam for it, but c'est la vie.
 
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Test Date: April 5, 2014
Post-Test Expected Score: 5 V/8 PS/7 BS
Actual Score: 8 V/11 PS/ 11 BS for 30 total :soexcited:
Comments: SO SO happy aside from the 8...I think it will be fine though. My AAMC average was a 26...never broke a 28 on practice. I literally thought I bombed Bio on the actual - it was out of this world... I am really really happy with my results - congrats to all who got what they wanted... and to those that may be a bit flustered, keep at it - I KNOW you can do it.
 
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12/9/10 for a 31. My AAMC average was a 35 and I ranged from 33-37 (very consistently hitting 34-35) on all my FLs so this was a bit of a letdown. Retaking 6/5.
 
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BeachBlondie said:
Count me as a retaker...

10/9/10 -- 29

PS was 2 points lower than expected
VR is the lowest I've ever received.
Click to expand...

After all of your activity and encouragement on this board, I'm sorry. I got that same score my first time around and I know the feeling. Good luck.
 
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Anyone else hoping that these scores are a mistake? Haha I noticed the Twitter page hasn't updated....
 
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For all of you who are happy with their scores, since this seemed like a relatively difficult test, what would you guys recommend for studying? i.e. how long you studied (hours per day)/what you really thought prepared you, thank you so much! i'm retaking in june
 
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ncdoc91 said:
Test Date: April 5, 2014
Post-Test Expected Score: 5 V/8 PS/7 BS
Actual Score: 8 V/11 PS/ 11 BS for 30 total :soexcited:
Comments: SO SO happy aside from the 8...I think it will be fine though. My AAMC average was a 26...never broke a 28 on practice. I literally thought I bombed Bio on the actual - it was out of this world... I am really really happy with my results - congrats to all who got what they wanted... and to those that may be a bit flustered, keep at it - I KNOW you can do it.
Click to expand...
Congrats, fellow North Carolinian! That's awesome!
 
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BeachBlondie said:
Anyone else hoping that these scores are a mistake? Haha I noticed the Twitter page hasn't updated....
Click to expand...
I don't know you but I'm sending you a virtual SDN hug. Your posts have been great on this thread, especially as a retaker (Thursday!)
 
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medhopeful2709 said:
For all of you who are happy with their scores, since this seemed like a relatively difficult test, what would you guys recommend for studying? i.e. how long you studied (hours per day)/what you really thought prepared you, thank you so much! i'm retaking in june
Click to expand...
Ditto. I haven't studied in ~a week b/c of finals, but I will be done with school my friday., so I'll be in the library 9-10 hours Monday-Sat.!
 
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First MCAT score (late April, 2013): 29 (9/10/10)
.....
New AAMC Average: 38
Gold Standard Average: 34
Post-test prediction: 36 (13/13/10)
.....
Second MCAT score (April 5, 2014): 36 (14/10/12)

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement and solidarity throughout this process. Congrats to those who did well, and best of luck to the re-takers. I've now been in both camps.
 
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Australopithekus said:
First MCAT score (late April, 2013): 29 (9/10/10)
.....
New AAMC Average: 38
Gold Standard Average: 34
Post-test prediction: 36 (13/13/10)
.....
Second MCAT score (April 5, 2014): 36 (14/10/12)

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement and solidarity throughout this process. Congrats to those who did well, and best of luck to the re-takers. I've now been in both camps.
Click to expand...
HURRAYYYY!!!!!!! *high five*
 
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For those of you that have posted thus far: I ended up with a 9/7/7 (23) on my 3/22 test, and my AAMC average was around 27-28 , hitting a 28 and a 30 before my test. Guh, but I haven't given up hope. I am going to do well on this next one though, I know it. I have been doing well on the practices, and I hope anyone who doesnt want to post because they are afraid of, well, whatever.
 
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Nogo said:
Sorry for the delay, car is stuck at a bar. Dead batteries, transmission solenoid literally was on the ground, ALL my oil leaked out, starter is shot. Great end to the night by the way :help:

PS: I literally chose a random answer for 3 questions, thought they were really hard so figured I was gonna go for easier points than try to possibly get these 3 right. The rest of the section was kind of obscure, not a lot of calculations (2 of those I skipped were calculations I wasn't familiar with). It wasn't too bad overall though.

VR: I never know how well I do on this. On practice exams, when I felt good about it I didn't have a good score. But when I felt bad about it my score was decent. That said I thought this wasn't thaaat bad. (Which makes me seriously worried my score will be low). Passages were about the same length of any AAMC exams.

BS: Ughh I think I did bad on this. I had 1 ochem passage, but it was WTF hard. I did the best I could but I honestly could have gotten the whole passage wrong for all I know. For the biol passages, make sure to follow through with it. Writing down the process helped me reason through some convoluted stuff.

Overall: I can't for the life of me pin point how I did.. It could easily range anywhere from 27-32. I'll let y'all know in a month no matter what my score is.
Click to expand...
Test Date: April 5, 2014
Post-Test Expected Score: 27-32
Actual Score: 11PS, 8VR, 12BS Overall: 31
Comments: This is my 4th time taking it. I'll post up the stats below but I came from a 22, to a 21, to a void, and now a 31! It's not that great of a score but it's my score and I'm dang proud of it!

2/26/14 AAMC 3 - 10PS/8VR/10BS (28)
3/06/14 TPR 1 - 6/4/9 (19)
3/12/14 AAMC 5 - 9/9/11 (29)
3/17/14 AAMC 7 - 10/7/10 (27)
3/20/14 AAMC 8 - 12/9/10 (31)
3/27/14 AAMC 9 - 12/9/11 (32)
3/30/14 AAMC10 - 11/9/10 (30)
4/03/14 AAMC11 - 10/10/11 (31)

2011 Real MCAT - 7/6/9 (22)
2012 Real MCAT - 9/6/6 (21)
2013 Real MCAT - void

Just so y'all know, I've taken every single of these tests once or twice before this past 4 years so for Verbal I sort of remembered the passages. I've posted my 3 previous attempts at the test as well. Hopefully this thread really helps those who've struggled with low 20s. There's hope for you!
 
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No idea what to do now, did worse than I ever expected.

AAMC Average = 33
AAMC 9 = 35
AAMC 10 = 36
AAMC 11 = 32

Score 4/5/14 = 29

I was prepared and I didn't panic during the exam. I just don't understand what i could do differently if I was to retake.
 
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BeachBlondie said:
Count me as a retaker...

10/9/10 -- 29

PS was 2 points lower than expected
VR is the lowest I've ever received.
Click to expand...

I've been a long time lurker and finally decided to post.

I got your exact score. I'm your shoes too BeachBlondie.

Test Date: 4/5/2014
Post-Test Expected Score: I knew the test didn't go well. Ran out of time on almost all section. Never felt so insecure in my answers.
AAMC Practice Tests: 29-36. Averaged 33.
Actual Score: 10/9/10 29 total
Comments: Did feel like the test was much more reading focused than any practice test. I think I did and do have a good grasp on the material, I was just thrown for a loop by the wordiness of most passages. In all my practice test I only got two orgo questions wrong, combined! But this orgo was so far fetched. Felt like a lost, wandering soul when I left the exam room. But no time to wallow on the past! Time to learn from my mistakes. Already signed up for 6/5.

Does anyone know where I can buy electronic practice tests that aren't from AAMC? I have already taken them all and would like some new ones. I think I only need to practice my test taking skills, not so much the actual information.

p.s. Great Job to all who achieved good scores! Reading this thread has been very motivating :)
 
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31: 11/10/10. I'm pretty happy because I'd resigned myself to a lot lower. 31 was about my aamc average. For the people who didn't do as well as they were hoping: keep on trying. You're all smart and talented enough that sooner or later you'll break through. And now I'm off to volunteering at the hospital. But after that? Beer. Lots of it.
 
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Test Date: April 5, 2014
Post-Test Expected Score: 35-37
Actual Score: 13PS, 14VR, 12BS Overall: 39
Comments: I thought I had missed a few easy ones on PS which sucked because I am a physics major. My verbal turned out to be a pleasant surprise and bio was spot on what I expected. Main message is to not freak out after the exam like I did - it really made the month long wait miserable.

AAMC FL Scores
#4: 12/11/11 (34) baseline score with zero studying
#7: 13/13/12 (38)
#3: 13/12/12 (37)
#9: 14/11/11 (36)
#11: 13/13/12 (38)
#8: 13/11/14 (38)
#10: 14/13/11 (38)

Study tips: I was in a class through my university which I thought was pretty useless. I used the entire exam kracker set of books which I thought were excellent. I also used the TPR Verbal book which was great as well. I would recommend doing it all self study with these books. Also, avoid taking it during the semester if possible -- sumer is much easier.
 
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Test Date: 4/5
Post-Test Expected Score: 33-38
Full Length Scores:

GS1: 34
GS2: 32
GS3: Skipped
GS4: 36
GS5: 34
GS6: 36
GS7: 35
GS8: 34
GS9: 30
GS10: 35

AAMC 3: 33
AAMC 4: 35
AAMC 10: 38
AAMC 11: 37

Actual Score: 37 (14 PS/11 V/12 BS)
Comments:

This isn't the first time I took the MCAT. For my first test, I prepared by taking a Kaplan course at my local university. Looking back, I didn't put in enough effort in my studies... whenever a big block of info came up, the first thought that came to my mind was "Oh, the test makers will never expect a student to know that. It's probably not going to be tested on the exam." Well, when I took the MCAT on August 22, there were a ton of discretes that seemed to come from the huge lists of info in my book that I disregarded. When I left the exam room, I felt like really bad about that test, but I had nothing to compare it with so I was still optimistic. I got my score back, it was a 30, and naturally I was disappointed.

I was angry for a while, but I decided to retake the test on April 5th. I used SN2ed's plan, which I found posted on another thread in this very internet forum. I modified it a little bit by cutting out some break days and not using the EK 1001 series. I finished reading all of the books in about 1 month and a half finishing at the end of January. I spent the next 3 months until April doing the GS full lengths, then the AAMC full lengths.

There is a funny story when I was taking the MCAT. Halfway through my BS section, I distinctly remember moving my foot a little. At the same moment that this happens, my computer monitor goes black. It was weird, but when I looked down near my foot there were no wires at all... so i'm still not sure how my computer turned blank. My heart started racing and I walk up to the proctor and tell her what happened. She comes back and wiggles my computer monitor a bit, says something along the lines of "I bet you accidentally kicked the plug off" and leaves to let another test taker sign out. So i'm sitting at my desk, scared and confused and she casually comes walking back and says "what, did you kick off the plug again?" (since the screen was still blank, but it never got fixed in the first place!) If this were any other day i'd have yelled at her, but I don't remember saying anything. She had to restart the entire computer, and the screen came back up to let me finish. Fortunately, all the answers were saved... but I lost around 5 minutes since she had to let another test taker out rather than deal with my problem (I wasn't keeping exact track of the time). I feel like if this didn't happen to me, I would have gotten 1-2 points higher on my BS.

When I got out of that test, the feeling was completely different from the first. After the first test, I felt ambiguous and was mainly hoping for a generous curve. After the second test, I knew I did really well. I actually posted my initial feelings on this thread in the past, so I won't go into that.

I got a 37, so i'm really happy because it makes me competitive enough to get into my dream school. My advice for people who didn't do as well as they think they did on this exam is retake if you think you can really motivate yourself to study a lot harder. Use the SN2ed plan and do a ton of practice tests (I recommend GS, since they are cheap and pretty good). Finally, the MCAT might just be a single test, but it is a very important one so spend the extra hour or two to memorize those darn formulas or biology terms-they were on my MCAT discretes so many times!

Thank you!
 
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BeachBlondie said:
Count me as a retaker...

10/9/10 -- 29

PS was 2 points lower than expected
VR is the lowest I've ever received.
Click to expand...

Why retake with a 29 unless you're 1) Shooting for Ivy or 2) Have a sub-par gpa? 29 is a decent score if you are well-rounded. I'm proud of you!
 
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