The Official April MCAT 2015 Takers Thread

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emulsifier

emulsifier

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Hey guys,

I've seen some old threads (from 2012, or early 2014) on the MCAT2015.

I am wondering if we can bring resources together here, discussions for those who are planning on taking the new one in or after April.

Has anyone gotten their hands on the new prep material for 2015, and the chance to compare the different companies? I scoured the internet, obviously not much at the moment. But I know someone out there has started, just need to get this info out!

Edit:
Resources mentioned in this thread or elsewhere:

  • Free mini-test: AAMC MCAT 2015 12 sample questions and answer (3 x 4 sections)
  • Next Step guide here: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...e-mcat-2015-100-days-to-mcat-success.1101251/
  • TPR 2015 books: They seem to be the same as their previous books. Their bio book has a chapter on biochem.
  • Kaplan 2015 books: removed content that is not tested. Physics section is 400 pages (may be too much for the new MCAT). Very little practice. Whole book on biochem.
  • EK 9th edition books: reformatted the whole book. SDNer reviewer has said that even parts with same illustrations have whole new contents. Got rid of topics that won't be tested. May be too condensed though.
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wonko said:
Maybe it was really them May takers 😀
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Maybe lol.

I just don't understand what the point of giving a tailored range is if you can't be confident that you fall somewhere in the middle. For example, if I had fallen in a generic bracket of 80-90, I wouldn't be surprised (disappointed, yes) to fall anywhere in that bracket, including the ends. But, if you tailor my prelim range to be something strange like 81-91, I would expect that I'm near the center. Ugh...I overestimated AAMC. I won't make that mistake again lol.
 
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Sir.SavaLottaLife said:
How did you do so well on BS?
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First I am a full blood biologist
and second for my research I estimate I read about 200 Papers in total (like really read, which takes at least me a couple of hours per paper) and skimmed ~ 1000. I guess that makes a lot of difference for the stuff I encountered in BS and Psy/Soc
 
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I honestly would not worry about scores above 70th percentile. Remember most people are taking this test very late and admissions don't understand the new exam. I talked with some older Doctors who also went through an exam transition and they all said mcat scores were not important because no one understood them. Same thing is probably going to happen.
 
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So I'm pretty disappointed right now. Preliminary said 70-80 percentile but I ended up with the following:
Chem/P: 126
Crit: 125
Bio: 128
Psych: 126
Overall: 505 ~68 percentile

I have a 3.9 GPA, varsity athlete, lots of EC's, leadership, shadowing and volunteering. I'm not looking to get into any top schools, just somewhere. Not sure if I should retake or not, would really prefer not to. What do you all think?
 
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nebula007 said:
I honestly would not worry about scores above 70th percentile. Remember most people are taking this test very late and admissions don't understand the new exam. I talked with some older Doctors who also went through an exam transition and they all said mcat scores were not important because no one understood them. Same thing is probably going to happen.
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That's interesting, so when that doctor applied was there just a larger emphasis on ECs and GPA?
 
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linsanity17 said:
Any advice on what you used to study/practice for psych and both the sciences would be helpful
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Honestly I studied a ton - had no life for five proceeding months. I followed the AAMC syllabus exactly and tried to know everything on it - Kahn is amazing! After going through the whole experience I wish I hadn't studied so hard and pretty much wasted half a year of my life - no score is worth that. Balance is key, don't waste all your time studying.
 
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Can people please post their percentiles, real scores, and the breakdown of each? May test taker trying to figure out what her scores are likely to mean before applying😛
 
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CP: 127
CARS: 128
BS: 127
PS: 129
Total: 511, 85th percentile

3.87 gpa, 3.76 sgpa, decent but not great ECs/volunteer/clinical

thoughts?
 
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BAH94 said:
So I'm pretty disappointed right now. Preliminary said 70-80 percentile but I ended up with the following:
Chem/P: 126
Crit: 125
Bio: 128
Psych: 126
Overall: 505 ~68 percentile

I have a 3.9 GPA, varsity athlete, lots of EC's, leadership, shadowing and volunteering. I'm not looking to get into any top schools, just somewhere. Not sure if I should retake or not, would really prefer not to. What do you all think?
Click to expand...
If you are not picky, you are a shoe in for at least couple dozen MD and almost all DO schools.
 
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wearywanderer said:
I'm must be in the minority, because I'm hoping the (new) MCAT continues to play a big role. And surely adcoms must value them because they are supposed to better predict USMLE scores?
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There's no way for the new MCAT to predict anything yet- that's why it's probably not going to be as integral this cycle
 
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Preliminary percentile: 73-83

Actual: 77th percentile; 508
Chem/Phys: 126
CARS: 129
Bio/Biochem: 126
Psych/Soc: 127
 
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CP: 130 (97%)
CARS: 130 (97%)
BS: 127 (77%)
PS: 127 (75%)
Total: 514, 91st percentile

I was hoping the MCAT and extracurriculars (EMT and peer health educator among others) would make up for a less than stellar GPA (3.48, not sure what sGPA is), so to hear that the MCAT might be handwaved by medical schools is a little disappointing.
 
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granted it's a lot of speculation on our parts- most admissions offices said they were just going to compare percentiles
 
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DrHart said:
Prelim ranges were 81-91
Actual came in at 77... Do I retake or just go with it?
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Most adcoms will compare old vs new MCAT test applicants by percentiles.

According to the 2012-2014 Table, a 77 percentile will put you around 29-30 in the old MCAT.
 
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flipboy said:
CP: 130 (97%)
CARS: 130 (97%)
BS: 127 (77%)
PS: 127 (75%)
Total: 514, 91st percentile

I was hoping the MCAT and extracurriculars (EMT and peer health educator among others) would make up for a less than stellar GPA (3.48, not sure what sGPA is), so to hear that the MCAT might be handwaved by medical schools is a little disappointing.
Click to expand...

I doubt it will be hand waved; they still have a large pool of old MCAT applicants. It wouldn't be fair to them if adcoms considered the new MCAT with lower weight…
 
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nebula007 said:
Honestly I studied a ton - had no life for five proceeding months. I followed the AAMC syllabus exactly and tried to know everything on it - Kahn is amazing! After going through the whole experience I wish I hadn't studied so hard and pretty much wasted half a year of my life - no score is worth that. Balance is key, don't waste all your time studying.
Click to expand...

Major respect! Did you use khan to practice? any FLs you particularly recommend?
 
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MedBlue515 said:
granted it's a lot of speculation on our parts- most admissions offices said they were just going to compare percentiles
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Well, that's essentially what they were doing before, except using converted scores instead of percentiles. I imagine comparing the raw percentiles should give an equally accurate picture.

All of the current physicians I've spoken with have said that the changes to the MCAT seem to make it more aligned with the USMLE. The AAMC says kinda the same thing, but who knows.
 
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supremus said:
Most adcoms will compare old vs new MCAT test applicants by percentiles.

According to the 2012-2014 Table, a 77 percentile will put you around 29-30 in the old MCAT.
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But those percentiles are also for old MCATs. If you look back, their association with a given score changes every year.
 
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Ok, I'm in disbelief right now.

Chem/Phys: 85-100%------>130
CARS: 85-100%----->130
Bio/Biochem: 85-100%----->131
Psych/Soc: 85-100%--------->132

Overall: 90-100%------->523

Overall percentile is 100th. THAT'S NOT A THING AAMC.
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Better luck next year
 
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Ok, I'm in disbelief right now.

Chem/Phys: 85-100%------>130
CARS: 85-100%----->130
Bio/Biochem: 85-100%----->131
Psych/Soc: 85-100%--------->132

Overall: 90-100%------->523

Overall percentile is 100th. THAT'S NOT A THING AAMC.
Click to expand...

see you at the retake
 
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chocoholicsoxfan said:
Ok, I'm in disbelief right now.

Chem/Phys: 85-100%------>130
CARS: 85-100%----->130
Bio/Biochem: 85-100%----->131
Psych/Soc: 85-100%--------->132

Overall: 90-100%------->523

Overall percentile is 100th. THAT'S NOT A THING AAMC.
Click to expand...

I guess I was wrong then. I thought you can't get in the 100% percentile either so logically, the highest score should be a 522. Oh well...
 
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HelpMe212 said:
I guess I was wrong then. I thought you can't get in the 100% percentile either so logically, the highest score should be a 522. Oh well...
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I wonder if it's 100th, if they rounded up from 99.5, or if they rounded up from 99.1. I'd like to know what my equivalent score on the old MCAT is!
 
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HelpMe212 said:
I guess I was wrong then. I thought you can't get in the 100% percentile either so logically, the highest score should be a 522. Oh well...
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I think it's just because of rounding. On previous score scales they had the like 99.999th percentile. They skip from 99 to 100% on this new scale, so whoever is at 100% is actually at 99.something. At least, I think that's probably the way it works. It makes sense to me. Or maybe I'm just crazy 😛
 
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Ughh guys... help :/ not sure what to do. I am applying to MD schools. When I got my preliminary score I was really hoping to score in the upper range and apply really really early. I thought this was going to give me an edge, in addition to the fact that I am an URM. But my final scores have me doubting my plan. Here's my breakdown:

Chem/Phys: 62-77%-----> 126 (67%)
CARS: 45-60%----->125 (58%)
Bio/Biochem: 81-96%----->128 (87%)
Psych/Soc: 73-88%----->127 (75%)

Overall 70-80%-----> 506 (71%)

All of your scores are AMAZING and I am getting discouraged... I did send in my application. Have a 3.75 GPA (3.68 sGPA). I also had taken the old MCAT and gotten a 29 (72%). I could still add a new MCAT score and test in July. Thoughts?
 
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Looks like I fell below my overall confidence interval... I'm not exactly thrilled about that. I certainly hope there's a bit less weight given to Psych/Soc, but we'll see. I may not complete the secondaries to some of my more reach schools.

Chem/Phys: 85-100% ---> 130 (97%)
CARS: 78-93% --> 127 (81%)
Bio: 85-100% --> 129 (93%)
Psych/Soc: 63-78% --> 126 (66%)

Overall 89 - 99% --> 512 (87%)
 
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