The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

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Pusheen said:
Just finished AAMC FL

128/132/126/129 -515 by mcatjelly scale

Not too bad, I'd like to do better in the sciences. I got like a 69% in bio 😕
I keep getting nailed by those darn molecular and gene research passages. CARS is really the only thing driving my score up
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The annoying thing is that the cars on the aamc FL seemed way easier than the real test cars. Like the AAMC FL cars section was probably the easiest cars I've seen
 
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Pusheen said:
😢
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sorry lol. I took it in july and my aamc FL cars was 83% correct and obviously I still have no idea about the real test yet since we don't have scores but the cars definitely felt harder thats why i don't think aamc cars is a good predictor but maybe the stat gurus here actually know more.
 
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mcat_taker said:
sorry lol. I took it in july and my aamc FL cars was 83% correct and obviously I still have no idea about the real test yet since we don't have scores but the cars definitely felt harder thats why i don't think aamc cars is a good predictor but maybe the stat gurus here actually know more.
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No yeah, I've heard the same. AAMC cars seemed kind of dumbed down to me
 
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Pusheen said:
Anyone else suck at predicting their score? Every test I take I am sure that I bombed C/P and did fine at Bio, and it's usually the opposite😳
It's so darn disorienting..I can't tell if I'm just getting lucky/unlucky or what
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For me it alternates, the one thing that doesn't change is that I consistently drop the ball on one of those sections. :meh:
 
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Pusheen said:
No yeah, I've heard the same. AAMC cars seemed kind of dumbed down to me
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I believe on TPR 80% correct on a section give or take was like a 128 and on the mcat jelly table it was 130 thats why idk who to believe. My percent correct was very similar on TPR and the AAMC FL so if AAMC FL is a good predictor then TPR should be an equally good predictor (at least in my case since my percent correct was similar on both) but my TPR was 503 on the last two and AAMC FL was similar, but according to the mcatjelly scale it would be 507-508.
 
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mcat_taker said:
I believe on TPR 80% correct on a section give or take was like a 128 and on the mcat jelly table it was 130 thats why idk who to believe. My percent correct was very similar on TPR and the AAMC FL so if AAMC FL is a good predictor then TPR should be an equally good predictor (at least in my case since my percent correct was similar on both) but my TPR was 503 on the last two and AAMC FL was similar, but according to the mcatjelly scale it would be 507-508.
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TPR has a harsher scale than mcatjelly, particularly for scores over 80%. I think mcatjelly's method reflects more of a true bell curve.
 
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High Bio/Biochem scorers..what helps you the most? Familiarity with the content? Do you think you are just able to read scientific passages more quickly and efficiently? Do you take notes while reading?
 
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Pusheen said:
High Bio/Biochem scorers..what helps you the most? Familiarity with the content? Do you think you are just able to read scientific passages more quickly and efficiently? Do you take notes while reading?
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So I think reading too quickly is what does people in for BIO. Whereas in TPR you can get away with it since their exams are more content based (I averaged a 129-131 on TPR bio), you really gotta read slowly and understand what the main idea of the passage is for AAMC bio. Like is it an experiment? or shorter more easier passage? or is it a confusing narration of a long enzyme pathway. My advice, is use the highlighter function and try and understand the passage in one go and highlighting important enzymes, themes, or huge key words like (types of inhibition, acetylation, post-transcriptional processing etc.)

For experiments, I think I got really good at these from mostly doing ALOT of TPR psych passages, because by doing those I got pretty solid at identifying independent vs. dependent variables and reading graphs without having to put too much effort

For long enzyme pathways: my simple trick is to draw out the pathway. It makes things a lot easier when a tricky question asks you to evaluate what happens if a certain step is either up-regulated or inhibited.

The rest is just a foundation in solid reasoning skills and pretty much being a walking human encyclopedia
 
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Pusheen said:
Oh gosh, we could totally get a 528. I don't know why I'm so dumb at bio, I feel ok about it as I'm taking it. I usually feel way worse about c/p.
I might have a content gap since I've taken very few bio classes. Any more tips for that section?
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So it helps to have read a lot of pointless journal articles. My lab has journal club and we are all called out on the spot to interpret graphs and stuff. I am always too busy/lazy to prepare so I have gotten good at looking at data fast (BSing). So really, it depends on what types of questions you are missing. If it is passage based, try to slowly do some experimental passages to start recognizing patterns. Of course, if they are freestanding, that's an easier fix. Just remember that most people will fail hardcore at the data interpretation because it is new. Most of the time, your entire answer is right there in a graph that is jumbled up in a disoriented non-user friendly way.

The real question is, how do you do so well on CARS? I was at 79% and that's been my highest so far probably :-(
 
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itsallgood92 said:
So I think reading too quickly is what does people in for BIO. Whereas in TPR you can get away with it since their exams are more content based (I averaged a 129-131 on TPR bio), you really gotta read slowly and understand what the main idea of the passage is for AAMC bio. Like is it an experiment? or shorter more easier passage? or is it a confusing narration of a long enzyme pathway. My advice, is use the highlighter function and try and understand the passage in one go and highlighting important enzymes, themes, or huge key words like (types of inhibition, acetylation, post-transcriptional processing etc.)

For experiments, I think I got really good at these from mostly doing ALOT of TPR psych passages, because by doing those I got pretty solid at identifying independent vs. dependent variables and reading graphs without having to put too much effort

For long enzyme pathways: my simple trick is to draw out the pathway. It makes things a lot easier when a tricky question asks you to evaluate what happens if a certain step is either up-regulated or inhibited.

The rest is just a foundation in solid reasoning skills and pretty much being a walking human encyclopedia
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice! Yeah, I did better at TPR bio than any other company. The time is also a big factor for me, I end up rushing through passages a lot and having to guess. I guess I'll just practice doing a bunch of science/bio passages before the real thing. Plus I suspect my content is rather weak
 
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In order to avoid burnout, I'm only taking one more practice test (the AAMC FL) between now and Aug 21. I will be doing CARS practice, AAMC Qpacks, AAMC OG and other Khan Academy practice daily. Is this a good move? Or should I take a total of 2 FLs ?
 
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TheaterOfTheme said:
So it helps to have read a lot of pointless journal articles. My lab has journal club and we are all called out on the spot to interpret graphs and stuff. I am always too busy/lazy to prepare so I have gotten good at looking at data fast (BSing). So really, it depends on what types of questions you are missing. If it is passage based, try to slowly do some experimental passages to start recognizing patterns. Of course, if they are freestanding, that's an easier fix. Just remember that most people will fail hardcore at the data interpretation because it is new. Most of the time, your entire answer is right there in a graph that is jumbled up in a disoriented non-user friendly way.

The real question is, how do you do so well on CARS? I was at 79% and that's been my highest so far probably :-(
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips. Just briefly going over my mistakes, I think it's about 50% content gaps and 50% not knowing how to apply previous knowledge to new things.
See for me, the science passages are science + CARS, and the CARS passages are just CARS. I use the same methodology for both, but the former requires a ton of extra knowledge, thus making it way harder.
Something that helps for me in CARS is just eliminating answers that are too specific. Usually the right answer is in the mid range between general and specific.
I use the strikeout function a lot and start by throwing out all the answers that have something wrong with them (too specific, flat out wrong, off topic, made up with no textual support). I also try to understand the text well on the first read and get a "feel" for it.
 
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Pusheen said:
Thanks for the tips. Just briefly going over my mistakes, I think it's about 50% content gaps and 50% not knowing how to apply previous knowledge to new things.
See for me, the science passages are science + CARS, and the CARS passages are just CARS. I use the same methodology for both, but the former requires a ton of extra knowledge, thus making it way harder.
Something that helps for me in CARS is just eliminating answers that are too specific. Usually the right answer is in the mid range between general and specific.
I use the strikeout function a lot and start by throwing out all the answers that have something wrong with them (too specific, flat out wrong, off topic, made up with no textual support). I also try to understand the text well on the first read and get a "feel" for it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree. I feel the same way about the passages being CARS + content. I just haven't cracked the CARS alone yet! Thanks for the tips, also. It may be that I WAY overthink things. Hope you kill bio!
 
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blahblahpremeds said:
In order to avoid burnout, I'm only taking one more practice test (the AAMC FL) between now and Aug 21. I will be doing CARS practice, AAMC Qpacks, AAMC OG and other Khan Academy practice daily. Is this a good move? Or should I take a total of 2 FLs ?
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Man I don't know! I was planning on taking 3 more :/ But I have done the Q packs... It shouldn't matter much at this point I suppose...
 
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levelsands said:
Mcatjelly's scale feels like its inflated. Anyone actually check to see if it matches up well?
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hmm, i actually thought it was a little deflated, based on the fact that nearly everyone does better on the real thing than on any practice tests
 
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levelsands said:
Mcatjelly's scale feels like its inflated. Anyone actually check to see if it matches up well?
Click to expand...

Go on the xenith/mcatjelly compilation and compare Practice FL scores and real exam scores. It's almost weirdly on point in terms of total score. You'll see some fluctuations between some sections like (CARS might go down and C/P goes up), but the total score seems to be like +/-2 from what they got on their AAMC FL. Granted thats a really small sample size, I'm still hoping that the trend will hold true especially with my exam that I took on the 6th. Like obviously it's not going to be the most accurate predictor, but it's a good place to start and see where you stand. If anything it's a solid confidence booster if you did well!
 
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Pusheen said:
hmm, i actually thought it was a little deflated, based on the fact that nearly everyone does better on the real thing than on any practice tests
Click to expand...

itsallgood92 said:
Go on the xenith/mcatjelly compilation and compare Practice FL scores and real exam scores. It's almost weirdly on point in terms of total score. You'll see some fluctuations between some sections like (CARS might go down and C/P goes up), but the total score seems to be like +/-2 from what they got on their AAMC FL. Granted thats a really small sample size, I'm still hoping that the trend will hold true especially with my exam that I took on the 6th. Like obviously it's not going to be the most accurate predictor, but it's a good place to start and see where you stand. If anything it's a solid confidence booster if you did well!
Click to expand...

I'm almost certain I didn't get a 524+ on my MCAT (guessed a sizeable number of questions in each section). Would be interesting to see a t-test done between practice exam scores and actual scores
 
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levelsands said:
I'm almost certain I didn't get a 524+ on my MCAT (guessed a sizeable number of questions in each section). Would be interesting to see a t-test done between practice exam scores and actual scores
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Haha all I'm saying is... a little extra confidence boost is never a bad thing. I'm sure people do a lot worse on their MCATs than their practice FL's, but I think that just boils down to nerves and the types of questions and topics you get on test day. Honestly, anything could happen.
 
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I was actually wondering if the scale might be more lenient than in the past simply because there is so much more data interpretation/research/critical skills on the new test. I would think that people as a whole would do worse on this then on the usual content questions of the old mcat (I know I did) and thus drive the curve down
 
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Once your scoring over 508 on practice I feel like its easy to see big gains on the real thing because at 508 plus you are very solid in content and a few questions here or there on the real test can really open up those ridiculous 10 point gains you see from people. I don't think the correlation holds true for lower scores where content is shakier and you probably score closer to your practice test score mean.

@Pusheen hopefully your right and that mcatjelly scale is more accurate 🙂 I would like that.

at the end of the day its hard to know how similar we will score to our aamc FL because it doesn't have a score and people are just using mcatjelly or other test prep scales to score the FL. we don't know the scale used or the numbers of questions we got right once we get real scores back.
 
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blahblahpremeds said:
In order to avoid burnout, I'm only taking one more practice test (the AAMC FL) between now and Aug 21. I will be doing CARS practice, AAMC Qpacks, AAMC OG and other Khan Academy practice daily. Is this a good move? Or should I take a total of 2 FLs ?
Click to expand...

I took the AAMC FL the week before my test and that was the only FL I took that week. So you might be able to squeeze in a few more FLs and not burn out. It'll depend on whether you think those extra FLs are helpful for you to take or not - I reached a point with my Kap tests that it just felt superfluous.

I think at this point you're good to stick with AAMC practice and KA. I like Khan's questions for Bio as they were more research based.
 
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Pusheen said:
I was actually wondering if the scale might be more lenient than in the past simply because there is so much more data interpretation/research/critical skills on the new test. I would think that people as a whole would do worse on this then on the usual content questions of the old mcat (I know I did) and thus drive the curve down
Click to expand...

I think the fact that there have been a couple perfect scores confirm this - a perfect score was impossible on the old test for some reason.
 
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Pusheen said:
I was actually wondering if the scale might be more lenient than in the past simply because there is so much more data interpretation/research/critical skills on the new test. I would think that people as a whole would do worse on this then on the usual content questions of the old mcat (I know I did) and thus drive the curve down
Click to expand...
Actually, I believe that is the main point of new MCAT. If you look at the data, for the last 4-5 years there has been an increase in the total application pool by about 10,000 people per year (data is from TPR). It's absolutely insane how the pre-med population is growing. If you think about this, the same proportion of people will always have the same scores. However, with the increased application pool, more people are scoring higher compared to previous years (8-10 years ago when the MCAT was easy like those Q pack questions). This means that ADCOMS are filled with people scoring ~32. In fact, I have heard of some ADCOMS from more prestigious schools criticizing the fact that the MCAT was becoming less of a selection tool.

The main marketing technique of the AAMC is to guarantee that their test can fit the pre-med population to a bell-shaped curve. In other words, they had to make the MCAT harder. We are not a stupid group of people, so they have to make a test to make smart people look stupid. I for one don't buy that the only reason they added Biochem (usually a 400 level class) was to 'help' prepare us. When it comes down to it, this thing is a game. Psych/Soc is the same. Its just something more that will aid in selection.

I for one have enjoyed learning all of the stuff associated with the MCAT but it is really a tool for medical schools. So, we have to view it in a positive light and gain from it the most we can! And hopefully one day when we are adcoms, we can choose people for better reasons than some random number above 508.
 
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TheaterOfTheme said:
Actually, I believe that is the main point of new MCAT. If you look at the data, for the last 4-5 years there has been an increase in the total application pool by about 10,000 people per year (data is from TPR). It's absolutely insane how the pre-med population is growing. If you think about this, the same proportion of people will always have the same scores. However, with the increased application pool, more people are scoring higher compared to previous years (8-10 years ago when the MCAT was easy like those Q pack questions). This means that ADCOMS are filled with people scoring ~32. In fact, I have heard of some ADCOMS from more prestigious schools criticizing the fact that the MCAT was becoming less of a selection tool.

The main marketing technique of the AAMC is to guarantee that their test can fit the pre-med population to a bell-shaped curve. In other words, they had to make the MCAT harder. We are not a stupid group of people, so they have to make a test to make smart people look stupid. I for one don't buy that the only reason they added Biochem (usually a 400 level class) was to 'help' prepare us. When it comes down to it, this thing is a game. Psych/Soc is the same. Its just something more that will aid in selection.

I for one have enjoyed learning all of the stuff associated with the MCAT but it is really a tool for medical schools. So, we have to view it in a positive light and gain from it the most we can! And hopefully one day when we are adcoms, we can choose people for better reasons than some random number above 508.
Click to expand...
yeah, some of those Q packs I was just like 😱 seriously? You're asking me what side of the periodic table nonmetals are on?
I think the new MCAT tests fluid intelligence more too, which is rarer than just strong content knowledge.
 
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blahblahpremeds said:
What's the general consensus on EK CARS? I'm finding it to be more difficult than NS, and TPR CARS. I scored a 60% in CARS just now and am quite concerned since EK tests are supposed to be the most similar to AAMC?
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I used EK practice tests and I felt like EK CARS was closest to the real thing. CARS on the actual exam had really long passages (like EK) and many of their questions are more nuanced than I had originally imagined.
 
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pre.med2016 said:
For those who haven't taken Kaplan tests, did you see a significant increase from Kaplan 1 to Kaplan 3? My score jumped 6 points, but I'm not sure if that was merely due to the difficulty level of the tests or if I'm actually improving.
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I used all of the Kaplan practice tests and I thought they were relatively similar in difficulty.
 
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UNMedGa said:
It's such a struggle to try and focus once your parasympathetics kick into overdrive
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Ahhh the dreaded post-lunch drowsiness. I actually struggled with this exact same problem for several months and I tried to find ways to prevent myself from becoming tired after lunch time. I found that getting up early, maintaining a regular sleep schedule, and drinking caffeinated tea in the morning and between breaks helped me to remain alert. I did this on test day and I felt great the entire day. I did this several weeks before the exam to adjust my body to the 7 hour long exam. If I ever felt sleepy, I would force myself to not take a nap and just take a walk in the neighborhood to kick my sympathetic NS into gear again. Hope that helps.
 
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Are the QP's really dramatically easier than the new MCAT? I agree that the Chem QP had some really easy stuff but at the same time have heard that CARS 1 is really challenging, and the Physics QP seems like overkill compared to the OG questions level of physics.
 
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To those who have taken the test,
Is there any point memorizing all the physics/chem formulas? I feel like I have a decent grasp, but I could definitely brush up.
So far almost all of the c/p questions have been conceptual with little to no calculations or formulas needed
 
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FauxBlue said:
This is a stupid question, but can you Ctrl+F on the actual exam??
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Yeah this was like one of the first things I looked up about the exam. It's so ridiculous you can't utilize this basic function that exists on every browser in the world. I don't know if the omission was purposeful or negligent, but it's a weird omission! I guess I'll just have to highlight well so I can find what I need, despite the fact that highlighting sort of distracts me from the reading.
 
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StudyLater said:
Yeah this was like one of the first things I looked up about the exam. It's so ridiculous you can't utilize this basic function that exists on every browser in the world. I don't know if the omission was purposeful or negligent, but it's a weird omission! I guess I'll just have to highlight well so I can find what I need, despite the fact that highlighting sort of distracts me from the reading.
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The Cntrl+F function would remove every intention of making the reader think and read critically. I understand your frustration, I really do, we can't even use calculators..heh. Even in undergrad they won't let us use calculators in CALCULUS. WTF? lol.

No, but in all honest I am kind of glad you can't use the "find" function. It makes it more fair overall, because you have to remember the time limit plays a huge role in the testing as well. It is meant to place pressure on the shoulders of test takers to see how well you can focus and function. Sucks, but hey...notta damn thing we can do about it.
 
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OrdinaryMD said:
The Cntrl+F function would remove every intention of making the reader think and read critically. I understand your frustration, I really do, we can't even use calculators..heh. Even in undergrad they won't let us use calculators in CALCULUS. WTF? lol.

No, but in all honest I am kind of glad you can't use the "find" function. It makes it more fair overall, because you have to remember the time limit plays a huge role in the testing as well. It is meant to place pressure on the shoulders of test takers to see how well you can focus and function. Sucks, but hey...notta damn thing we can do about it.
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I always like to double check things in the passage, particularly because I have very little faith in my ability to "read critically." But in all honesty, this might save me like a couple minutes tops, so it doesn't have some major effect on how I'll perform. It's just weird leaving out such an essential function that exists in all modern software readers.
 
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StudyLater said:
I always like to double check things in the passage, particularly because I have very little faith in my ability to "read critically." But in all honesty, this might save me like a couple minutes tops, so it doesn't have some major effect on how I'll perform. It's just weird leaving out such an essential function that exists in all modern software readers.
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Well, I don't know if this is a valid reason on the AAMC's end, but I do know that older studies that are scanned into the computer database don't have that function. Seems probable that they are just testing our ability to use only our brains as tools and rely less on existential factors. Dunno. just my .02
 
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Hey yall, I was wondering if anyone has any advice to avoid a MCAT mistake that I've been making more often recently. I tend to seek out answers that are over-complicated and require an unnecessary jump in logic. This is the result of just taking too many MCAT tests between last year's test and this new one and seeing too many tricky bs questions. For example, answer choice A simply answers the question, but in my mind I find a convoluted way to argue for answer choice B so I pick that and of course its A. But as I sit there I keep thinking of how the AAMC or other testing companies are just trying to trick me. Do you guys have a way to avoid this mistake?
 
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moesman777 said:
Hey yall, I was wondering if anyone has any advice to avoid a MCAT mistake that I've been making more often recently. I tend to seek out answers that are over-complicated and require an unnecessary jump in logic. This is the result of just taking too many MCAT tests between last year's test and this new one and seeing too many tricky bs questions. For example, answer choice A simply answers the question, but in my mind I find a convoluted way to argue for answer choice B so I pick that and of course its A. But as I sit there I keep thinking of how the AAMC or other testing companies are just trying to trick me. Do you guys have a way to avoid this mistake?
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I've learned to rule out (eliminate) the most complicated answers first. Usually, those are trap answers and are wrong. Choose the answer that is most clear and not so opinionated, that's usually the correct answer.
 
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how are you guys drinking tea/coffee during the real exam breaks I thought there were no microwave, kettle or coffee machines? 😵
 
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