The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

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Registration opens up sometime today so I thought I'd go ahead and make this thread. Anyone else taking it in August?
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Has anyone done the EK 2015 30 min passages? What do you think about their difficulty? Physics seems to give me the hardest time
 
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LakridsA said:
How many full lengths do you guys plan on taking before your exam date?
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I have ten blocked out on my schedule. I'll be starting them next week and am planning on two per week, plus supplemental review of tricky concepts.


Aakash Trivedi said:
Has anyone done the EK 2015 30 min passages? What do you think about their difficulty? Physics seems to give me the hardest time
Click to expand...

Yeah I've taken them all. Ummm some were easier than others. My scores probably ranged from like a 13/23 (I think I was really hungover that day lol) up to perfect or near perfect.
 
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LakridsA said:
Well I just finished my first practice full length and I am feeling pretty discouraged and am starting to reconsider my August 22nd exam date. I took Exam Krackers full length 1 and my break down is as follows

Chem/physics: 31/59 (52%) Yikes..
CARS: 38/53 (71%)
Bio/biochem: 35/59 (60%) Yikes again
Psych/Sociology: 50/59 (85%)
Overall: 67%

Am I doomed? Do you guys think 46 days is enough time to improve the chem/physics and bio/bchem sections?
I still need to memorize the physics formulas, amino acids, learn carbohydrate metabolism, and have 3 chapters each left to cover in my Kaplan books for bio and gen chem....ahhh
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I got almost identical scores on the AAMC Sample Test (I did it yesterday). I am in the same boat and have not gotten all the formulas and pathways to stick yet.

I think there is a positive takeaway. If it's simply because of lack of content recall, don't worry, you got plenty of time. If it's for strategy, do passages and analyze them heavily. I started doing passages out of Kaplan 528, and they are AMAZING. They really break down how to read and outline passages as well as analyzing question and answer stems.
 
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Alma1989 said:
I got almost identical scores on the AAMC Sample Test (I did it yesterday). I am in the same boat and have not gotten all the formulas and pathways to stick yet.

I think there is a positive takeaway. If it's simply because of lack of content recall, don't worry, you got plenty of time. If it's for strategy, do passages and analyze them heavily. I started doing passages out of Kaplan 528, and they are AMAZING. They really break down how to read and outline passages as well as analyzing question and answer stems.
Click to expand...
Hey! thanks for the reply. It is a little reassuring knowing that you aren't alone in this struggle lol. I think for me it is a combination of both not knowing the content well enough yet and definitely need more practice with passages.

Does the Kaplan 528 book have practice passages on all subjects?
 
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Anyone else take the examkrackers' fls? Just finished FL1 and it was a pretty solid struggle. Chem/Phys was definitely harder than Kaplan's.

FL scores so far (sitting Aug 6)

Kaplan FL 1 (taken halfway through content review): 504 (125/128/126/125)
Kaplan FL 2 (taken after all content review, CARS was esp hard that day): 503 (125/126/127/125)
EK FL 1 (holy smokes, that was tough!): 76% (64%/75%/73%/90%)

Clearly gotta focus on chem/phys! Also Kaplan's psych/soc is waaayyyy more convoluted than EK's (at least their FL 1). I plan on taking AAMC's FL in two weeks or so. Let me know what you guys think of certain exams and what you've heard of their relative difficulty/representativeness to the real thing!
 
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LakridsA said:
How many full lengths do you guys plan on taking before your exam date?
Click to expand...
Put around 7 Kaplan FL's and the AAMC in my schedule, along with all the section tests for Kaplan's FL8 - FL10. Prob not gonna play out that way since a lot of people suggested EK. So it's prob gonna be 3-4 of EK's and like 2-3 more Kaplan FL's. Taking full lengths is the worst :/
 
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I took 5 TPR FLs so far. My scores aren't that great but there seem pretty consistent around people I know who got similar scores on Kaplan and scored in my goal range on the April test.

Are a lot of you having trouble focusing? I've been studying pretty hardcore since mid April. Nearly 6-8 hours daily, some days being 2 or so hours less and some being 10 hours. I've taken only about 7 or so days off from studying since starting.

My plan was to take 8 TPR FLs and the AAMC test. Contemplating possibly taking out one TPR FL and just using the AAMC book for a half length as many recommended on here.
 
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federer875 said:
Anyone else take the examkrackers' fls? Just finished FL1 and it was a pretty solid struggle. Chem/Phys was definitely harder than Kaplan's.

FL scores so far (sitting Aug 6)

Kaplan FL 1 (taken halfway through content review): 504 (125/128/126/125)
Kaplan FL 2 (taken after all content review, CARS was esp hard that day): 503 (125/126/127/125)
EK FL 1 (holy smokes, that was tough!): 76% (64%/75%/73%/90%)

Clearly gotta focus on chem/phys! Also Kaplan's psych/soc is waaayyyy more convoluted than EK's (at least their FL 1). I plan on taking AAMC's FL in two weeks or so. Let me know what you guys think of certain exams and what you've heard of their relative difficulty/representativeness to the real thing!
Click to expand...

Those scores are REALLY solid btw, you're real good for now.
 
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Screen Shot 2015-07-09 at 5.33.27 PM.png

Second NS FL just completed.
+2 pts overall
+1 pt CHEM/PHYS
-2 pts CARS <-- D@mn! I rushed through it a bit.
+2 pts BIO
+1 pt PSYCH
 
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Has anyone bought the NS Psych Passages book and found it helpful? Mine just came and I was going to start it soon.
 
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federer875 said:
Thanks! Not quite in my desired range but I'll get there! What's your exam date?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that Kaplan is harder than the real deal, and that their score scale isn't reflective of how you'll do. Many people in April/May ended up scoring 7-15 pts above their Kaplan average.
 
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geronimo11 said:
When you guys take your FLs how much are you stimulating testing day conditions? i.e. are you starting the exam at 8am for each FL you take?
Because I have to be up at 6am for work every day and I really don't want to continuously give up one of the two days I have to sleep in. Of course if it'll really help I'll just grit my teeth and do so but I was hoping just taking 2-3 under those conditions would suffice.
Click to expand...

Good question. I wonder how important time of day is for simulation. I have been having trouble with my C/P section (timing) and wonder if it is because I am not training myself to do it so early in the morning.
 
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Sadly, I have been starting my last 3 FLs around 10-11am. The first 2 varied: I think I took one around like 2:30pm and finished around 9:50pm. Got dinner after and passed out lol. My second one I believe was started at around 12:30pm.

I'm likely going to fix this on the last 3 FLs (have one planned for either this Sunday/Monday- still deciding on which day).
 
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MarsDominus said:
How does Kaplan compare to TPR FLs? More/less representative of the real thing, more/less difficult, etc?
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Everyone says that Kaplan and TPR are harder than the real thing. From my personal experience, Kaplan is harder, but that could just be my own bias since I did the majority of my content review through TPR books. For Kaplan I've been scoring anywhere from 497-503, whereas my TPR scores have ranged from 501-511. Additionally, Kaplan has a harsher scale as well, so thats probably why you don't see any crazy high scores from their company FLs.
 
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I'm starting to panic because I'm almost (but not completely done) with bio/biochem and still have yet to start on chem/phys content review. I should be done with bio/biochem in a few days. I finished studying psych/soc, and I'm practicing CARS vis passages. Should I postpone my test date? Currently it's August 21.

Idk how not to get bogged down by content review. There's SO MUCH stuff, and a lot of it is stuff I don't remember from a long time ago or things I've never learned (physiology). Are we supposed to just learn the major concepts and let passages remind us of things we've learned or remember things cold?

Edit: I know the metabolic pathways and amino acids down cold, but it's the other stuff I'm not sure about.
 
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LakridsA said:
Hey! thanks for the reply. It is a little reassuring knowing that you aren't alone in this struggle lol. I think for me it is a combination of both not knowing the content well enough yet and definitely need more practice with passages.

Does the Kaplan 528 book have practice passages on all subjects?
Click to expand...

Eh, not really, but what they do does help. They break down the 4 sections into their components (So, BB is Biology and Biochemistry, Phys/Chemistry is Physics and Chemistry, CARS by itself, and Behavioral as one), and they give them each a chapter w/2-3 passages with 5-6 questions each. They really go through a thorough job of how your thought process should be while reading, outlining, and answering the questions.

It essentially is what doing practice passages is like, but it's great to start off with because I don't have a solid strategy for doing reading non-CARS passages yet anyway.
 
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queenoftheclouds said:
I'm starting to panic because I'm almost (but not completely done) with bio/biochem and still have yet to start on chem/phys content review. I should be done with bio/biochem in a few days. I finished studying psych/soc, and I'm practicing CARS vis passages. Should I postpone my test date? Currently it's August 21.

Idk how not to get bogged down by content review. There's SO MUCH stuff, and a lot of it is stuff I don't remember from a long time ago or things I've never learned (physiology). Are we supposed to just learn the major concepts and let passages remind us of things we've learned or remember things cold?

Edit: I know the metabolic pathways and amino acids down cold, but it's the other stuff I'm not sure about.
Click to expand...
I don't think you need to memorize every little detail ever -- it is far more important to have a solid grasp on all the concepts in the AAMC outline. That being said, knowing specific details can help on certain questions, and the topics you've mentioned (metabolic pathways and amino acids) are high yield. You sound like you have ample time to go through your chem/phys content if you've taken the prereqs (physics, gen chem, orgo). Of course, if you don't feel comfortable leading up to the exam, it might be a good idea to postpone.

Anyways, go through the official guide passages and question packs to see where you stand! Attack some Khan academy passages and FL's from other sources, and get a feel for what the questions are like (although AAMC material is most representative). Like you said, a lot of the minutiae appear in the passages, and having a good understanding of the topic at hand will serve you well!

I am by no means an MCAT expert, but this is what I've learned from taking the Kaplan course, doing practice exams/passages/discretes, and spending hours upon hours in these forums!
 
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Khan Academy has great discrete questions for psych/soc. Although, I really feel at times Khan Academy is so hit or miss. Some of the topics they hone in on are way too detailed for the MCAT and sometimes I feel they underplay certain topics especially for some of physics.
 
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Does anybody get why if "[HA] is 0.10M, then the pH is half of the pKA + 0.5?" This is taken from TBR's chemistry section on weak acids, where pH=1/2pKa-1/2log[HA]. I don't get where they are getting the 0.5 (from -1/2log[HA]).

Wouldn't it be -1/2*log[0.1] = -1/2*log[10^-2] = -1/2*-2=1?
 
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NVm I'm doing logs wrong ><
lostnconfused said:
Does anybody get why if "[HA] is 0.10M, then the pH is half of the pKA + 0.5?" This is taken from TBR's chemistry section on weak acids, where pH=1/2pKa-1/2log[HA]. I don't get where they are getting the 0.5 (from -1/2log[HA]).

Wouldn't it be -1/2*log[0.1] = -1/2*log[10^-2] = -1/2*-2=1?
Click to expand...
 
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Dobechance said:
Has anyone bought the NS Psych Passages book and found it helpful? Mine just came and I was going to start it soon.
Click to expand...

I have mine too and will start it as soon as I finish making my psyc flashcards. Shouldnt take too long to finish since I have my notes typed up and I just copy n paste them to anki.

federer875 said:
I don't think you need to memorize every little detail ever -- it is far more important to have a solid grasp on all the concepts in the AAMC outline. That being said, knowing specific details can help on certain questions, and the topics you've mentioned (metabolic pathways and amino acids) are high yield. You sound like you have ample time to go through your chem/phys content if you've taken the prereqs (physics, gen chem, orgo). Of course, if you don't feel comfortable leading up to the exam, it might be a good idea to postpone.

Anyways, go through the official guide passages and question packs to see where you stand! Attack some Khan academy passages and FL's from other sources, and get a feel for what the questions are like (although AAMC material is most representative). Like you said, a lot of the minutiae appear in the passages, and having a good understanding of the topic at hand will serve you well!

I am by no means an MCAT expert, but this is what I've learned from taking the Kaplan course, doing practice exams/passages/discretes, and spending hours upon hours in these forums!
Click to expand...

Having taken the DAT twice, I promise to yall that knowing everything isn't near as important as knowing how to score well on the MCAT. Before anyone jokes and says "applying to med school cause didnt get into dental school," I did get accepted to a few schools but denied them because I didn't want to drill and fill for a living.

The reason I had to take the DAT twice is because the first time I didn't practice enough. Timing is a very important factor in the difference between doing well on the test vs $h!tty, just like it is when it comes to the difference of seeing one vs two blue lines (not prego vs prego). There are numerous reasons why your timing can be off, so improving your strategy to tackle this Biatch will help solve those issues. I highly highly highly recommend the majority of the remaining time we have until the test should be spent practicing similar style questions/passages to the MCAT. Don't worry about which overpriced resource is "more like the real MCAT" just find one and practice it!

btw I was just emphasizing what federer875 was saying.
 
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Timing is a big issue for me, I'm generally a slow test taker. Other than taking FL what else can be done to improve my speed during passages?

I want to get to the stage where I just consciously know how long I need to take on a passage without feeling the need to look at a timer and do math in my head to see how much time I have left etc.
 
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Uh don't know what to do just took TPR 4 and scored a 499...my date is august 21st but unlike most of you I really just want to hit 504 on the real thing (yes i know its low for majority of you but its comfortable for me so no judgement)

Do you think ill be able to score that come August?
 
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geronimo11 said:
Timing is a big issue for me, I'm generally a slow test taker. Other than taking FL what else can be done to improve my speed during passages?

I want to get to the stage where I just consciously know how long I need to take on a passage without feeling the need to look at a timer and do math in my head to see how much time I have left etc.
Click to expand...

You don't have to do any FL tests to get your timing down. For bio I have used TBR to get timing down as well as figure out how I'm going to approach the passages and questions. Also I'm pretty sure ~8-9 minutes per passage is the time you have for each one. So a lot of the times I just do 3 at a time and make sure I'm under 27 min. But the best way to get timing down for it is more practice. One strategy I recommend is that if you read a question and have no clue what it is asking or don't remember reading anything about what its asking for is to SELECT AN ANSWER then mark it. Remember each question is worth the same!

Dobechance said:
@tturchi51 have you heard anything about the NS psych book? Is it worth doing, too easy, not representative?
Click to expand...

Heard they all are pretty good. They have a lot of charts, tables, graphs, etc in their passage questions. Also they are more difficult than most we will see on the real deal, but it will just make MCAT much easier IMO.
 
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geronimo11 said:
Timing is a big issue for me, I'm generally a slow test taker. Other than taking FL what else can be done to improve my speed during passages?

I want to get to the stage where I just consciously know how long I need to take on a passage without feeling the need to look at a timer and do math in my head to see how much time I have left etc.
Click to expand...

Try this next time you take an FL. 1:35-->1hr-->30min-->10min-->done

at 1hr...be done with 25...
at 30min be done with 45
at 10min be done and review marked.

This way, just in case you fall a little behind you'll still finish and you'll be building a solid buffer for test day just in case you get bogged down or nerves set in. It's also a really easy way to keep track of time and just push the pace instead of having to calculate "9min for this passage" or "10min for that passage".
 
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Have people been looking at published articles? People who've taken the exam are advising that we do that...any ideas about the best way to go about doing this? Looking up random studies on pubmed doesn't seem ideal.
 
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50shadesofChristinaYang said:
Uh don't know what to do just took TPR 4 and scored a 499...my date is august 21st but unlike most of you I really just want to hit 504 on the real thing (yes i know its low for majority of you but its comfortable for me so no judgement)

Do you think ill be able to score that come August?
Click to expand...
I've heard that TPR and Kaplan FL scores are notably lower then the real test. In fact an April test taker got a 499 on TPR full length II a week before their test and scored a 507 on the test. Of course, theres fluctuations and stuff but I think you should be good :).
 
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Okay I'm for real panicking. I took a TPR Demo section of the test for Bio/biochem and got a 123, and this was after heavy content review for a month. This was my first time dealing with passages though. I was just reading Kaplan before that. But a 123 is extremely discouraging knowing that that's what people get pre-content review. I haven't even started studying physics/chem. Should I postpone? :(
 
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I think I might take 2 more TPR tests instead of 3 and then take the AAMC test as well as the half-length AAMC that you can do with the AAMC new 2015 MCAT book. Hopefully be done with both of my FLs for TPR by like the 19th. Then straight focus on AAMC materials after that (although I might start using the question pack today which I assume is the old Self Assessment).
 
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tturchi51 said:
You don't have to do any FL tests to get your timing down. For bio I have used TBR to get timing down as well as figure out how I'm going to approach the passages and questions. Also I'm pretty sure ~8-9 minutes per passage is the time you have for each one. So a lot of the times I just do 3 at a time and make sure I'm under 27 min. But the best way to get timing down for it is more practice. One strategy I recommend is that if you read a question and have no clue what it is asking or don't remember reading anything about what its asking for is to SELECT AN ANSWER then mark it. Remember each question is worth the same!
Click to expand...



itsallgood92 said:
Try this next time you take an FL. 1:35-->1hr-->30min-->10min-->done

at 1hr...be done with 25...
at 30min be done with 45
at 10min be done and review marked.

This way, just in case you fall a little behind you'll still finish and you'll be building a solid buffer for test day just in case you get bogged down or nerves set in. It's also a really easy way to keep track of time and just push the pace instead of having to calculate "9min for this passage" or "10min for that passage".
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advise guys I'll start trying both methods. That breakdown of timing is way more convenient then trying to subtract 8 minutes in my head for every passage as the test goes on etc.
I also haven't been timing my TBR passages, which I know is horrible but I wanted to take them at my own pace so I could get used to thinking that way first. I have a few more chapters though and my Kaplan passages left so I'll start timing those I've just been avoiding it.

The thing thats annoying is I get distracted so often, like my mind knows this is just practice and not the real deal so it thinks it can lollygag around lol[/QUOTE]
 
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queenoftheclouds said:
Okay I'm for real panicking. I took a TPR Demo section of the test for Bio/biochem and got a 123, and this was after heavy content review for a month. This was my first time dealing with passages though. I was just reading Kaplan before that. But a 123 is extremely discouraging knowing that that's what people get pre-content review. I haven't even started studying physics/chem. Should I postpone? :(
Click to expand...

Studying for this test consists of roughly two parts: content review and learning the test. If this is in all honesty the first time you've worked through passages it's too soon to freak out. You are really only halfway through your studying. Work through passages full time over the next few weeks (also put in some longer days to build your stamina) and you'll get a feel for how to approach them. I'm sure you'll see a big improvement on your next FL after that. If you're still not where you want to be, you can reevaluate then based on how severe or correctable your weaknesses feel.

The general advice is that we shouldn't put too much stock in the test companies' scaled scores. Just use their stuff to practice and learn where you're weak.
 
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Dreamstoo said:
Do you guys think it's worth reviewing the old AAMCs?
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If you're out of new test oriented material and want more practice than yes, but I think there's enough materials out there geared towards the 2015 test that you're better off just going with that. From what people who have taken the new and old test say, it's too different now to rely on old materials.

Of course there are exceptions, doing passages from any years materials is still helpful but I'd go with the option that gives you the most bang for for your buck as long as it's feasible.

I think if you want to review old AAMCs for topics that are still vital you're fine if it's just for content as opposed to approach
 
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