The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Sort by date Sort by votes
lostnconfused said:
Anybody know if the name reactions have been taken out for organic chemistry? E.g. Grignard, Claisen, Transesterification, Wittig, Wolff-Kishner, etc. I know I couldn't find them specifically listed on the AAMC outline except for aldol condensation but I wanted to double check.
Click to expand...
Amongst those you mentioned, I only came across Transesterification while reading the Kaplan book. There was a specific point at which they specifically stated that Grignard reactions are beyond the scope of the MCAT.

I believe the main reactions are oxidation of alcohols, oxidation/reduction of aldehydes, reduction of ketones, reduction of carboxylic acids, tosylates and mesylates, nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl group, acyl nucleophilic substitutions, aldol condensation, and amino acid synthesis (Strecker and Gabriel).

And you probably should know about Sn1 and Sn2. I personally went across more reactions (the ones I took in organic chemistry courses like alkene reactions and those you mentioned) just to be on the safe side. They aren't that difficult anyway.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
3 weeks away from the exam today. Haven't finished content review but was told to just start practice. I took my first "practice exam" yesterday. I put quotes because I had major panic attacks during the PS and CARS sections and didn't finish, probably because I didn't feel like I could remember anything I had already studied. Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? I plan to finish the rest of the exam tomorrow and review some Bio/Biochem/Psych today. I've been mainly reading Kaplan, but I also have TPR and TBR books.

**Also want to point out that I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do a masters staring either this spring or next fall.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
pmpgnv326 said:
3 weeks away from the exam today. Haven't finished content review but was told to just start practice. I took my first "practice exam" yesterday. I put quotes because I had major panic attacks during the PS and CARS sections and didn't finish, probably because I didn't feel like I could remember anything I had already studied. Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? I plan to finish the rest of the exam tomorrow and review some Bio/Biochem/Psych today. I've been mainly reading Kaplan, but I also have TPR and TBR books.

**Also want to point out that I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do a masters staring either this spring or next fall.
Click to expand...
Are you taking it Aug 5th/6th? I know what you mean about the panic and anxiety, lots of people go through it on the first practice full-length. I just wish you took your first one a few weeks earlier, though. I won't flat out advise you to push your test back b/c I don't know your whole situation... but since you're not applying this cycle, you could consider the option of delaying it until you're more ready. If anything, finish out that first FL today, look at your weaknesses, dive back into your notes & master them. Whatever your decision is, just make sure to take lots of practice exams & review them heavily. Good luck!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pmpgnv326 said:
3 weeks away from the exam today. Haven't finished content review but was told to just start practice. I took my first "practice exam" yesterday. I put quotes because I had major panic attacks during the PS and CARS sections and didn't finish, probably because I didn't feel like I could remember anything I had already studied. Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? I plan to finish the rest of the exam tomorrow and review some Bio/Biochem/Psych today. I've been mainly reading Kaplan, but I also have TPR and TBR books.

**Also want to point out that I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do a masters staring either this spring or next fall.
Click to expand...

I have taken 6 FLs so far and I admit the first FL was daunting when I took it back in mid April. I remember the only reason I stopped halfway through the exam was due to excruciating loud construction going outside my school's library.

Now, I take a FL with a calmer mind and I can handle the endurance of the exam a whole lot better. Before I used to feel exhausted after them, not so much anymore. I usually just work out after my FL exams then start reviewing them the next morning.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ethiopiasurgeon said:
Are you taking it Aug 5th/6th? I know what you mean about the panic and anxiety, lots of people go through it on the first practice full-length. I just wish you took your first one a few weeks earlier, though. I won't flat out advise you to push your test back b/c I don't know your whole situation... but since you're not applying this cycle, you could consider the option of delaying it until you're more ready. If anything, finish out that first FL today, look at your weaknesses, dive back into your notes & master them. Whatever your decision is, just make sure to take lots of practice exams & review them heavily. Good luck!!
Click to expand...
Thanks! Basically my plan was to take the MCAT and see how I do, if my score is decent enough then I would use it for when im applying for masters, if not, then I'll just take the GRE and retake it after my masters. So I dont want to have to push the date back later cause i dont know if itll actually do any good for me.

I was suppose to take my first practice exam on July 1, but because I still wasnt done with content, I kept pushing it back :/ But thank you so much for the advice!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Is it just me, or is the CARS section potentially the most annoying section on the MCAT? I can never complete it, and the fact that it's the second section makes it even worse. If the test makers made it the last section, I would've been happier about that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Kariim said:
Is it just me, or is the CARS section potentially the most annoying section on the MCAT? I can never complete it, and the fact that it's the second section makes it even worse. If the test makers made it the last section, I would've been happier about that.
Click to expand...

It definitely is the most annoying but I would rather it sooner than later when your brain is all set to go. maybe it is just me but after the first 2 sections, I feel like death and even after the break, It takes me forever to get through that bio section because I just wanna be done with it. But the key to learning to complete is keep practicing and timing yourself and seeing if you can learn short cuts to answering certain questions like Main idea questions - there will be at least 2 answer choices that are details from only one paragraph so you can eliminate those. or assumption/imply questions which there will be answers that are directly stated in the passage and they are wrong because they would not be assumed or implied. Stuff like that really helps if you can notice patterns in CARS no matter the passage topic, you can move along quicker. Trust me, I never used to be able to finish CARS sections and it was irritating but the more you practice, the more you learn that there is a method to their madness🙂
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Scumione said:
How did you feel about the verbal after that MCAT in comparison to your practice test? Did you feel the same or was it notably more difficult?
Click to expand...
It was longer and more boring, but i still felt confident about it. I had 9 minutes to do the last two passages. i dont really understand what happened.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Got an 85 on the Bio Q pack. Halfway through Cars Pack 1 and it is rough. I have been doing really well on CARs with Kaplan but this Q pack is tough.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pmpgnv326 said:
3 weeks away from the exam today. Haven't finished content review but was told to just start practice. I took my first "practice exam" yesterday. I put quotes because I had major panic attacks during the PS and CARS sections and didn't finish, probably because I didn't feel like I could remember anything I had already studied. Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? I plan to finish the rest of the exam tomorrow and review some Bio/Biochem/Psych today. I've been mainly reading Kaplan, but I also have TPR and TBR books.

**Also want to point out that I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do a masters staring either this spring or next fall.
Click to expand...

I felt like I was going to die halfway through the first section on my first one. It gets a lot better. 🙂
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
To anyone who is using EK materials -- If I'm pressed for time but I want good C/P practice (& improvement before my next practice FL), would I lose much from just doing all the 30 minute exams and not doing the ~8 questions at the end of each chapter? What would you advise? Any point of view is appreciated!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
pmpgnv326 said:
3 weeks away from the exam today. Haven't finished content review but was told to just start practice. I took my first "practice exam" yesterday. I put quotes because I had major panic attacks during the PS and CARS sections and didn't finish, probably because I didn't feel like I could remember anything I had already studied. Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? I plan to finish the rest of the exam tomorrow and review some Bio/Biochem/Psych today. I've been mainly reading Kaplan, but I also have TPR and TBR books.

**Also want to point out that I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do a masters staring either this spring or next fall.
Click to expand...

I'm on the same page as you for sure. I took my first FL two weeks ago, but couldn't even get through it all in one day because it literally felt like my head was going to explode halfway through the CARS section. I'm going to try to do my best the next 3 weeks and take the test (since its too late for a refund) and consider voiding it if its a disaster, then plan on taking it in January.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Did 3 Q pack VR passages in about ~18 minutes. They seem easier to understand and work my way through the questions than TPR passages.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Tiffafi said:
I'm on the same page as you for sure. I took my first FL two weeks ago, but couldn't even get through it all in one day because it literally felt like my head was going to explode halfway through the CARS section. I'm going to try to do my best the next 3 weeks and take the test (since its too late for a refund) and consider voiding it if its a disaster, then plan on taking it in January.
Click to expand...

In the same boast as you guys. I found out that I had a major issue with timing of passages, and because of panicking at the clock, I wouldn't be able to finish a section and would just panic and give up. Based off my scores, I score 3-4 points higher off the clock than on the clock. I think a lot of this test isn't just about what you know, but how comfortable you are with it and how confidant. Everytime I see a biochem passage, I sigh in relief but everytime I see something involving physiology, I panic. Goes to show my weak areas and what I'm not comfortable with even though I may think I "know" it.

I'm basically planning on voiding in August as I'm almost entirely sure I won't be where I want to be in terms of comfort by the time my exam date rolls around... but I'm now doing a **** ton of passages for every topic I learn now. Might be overkill, but I don't want to make the same mistake as I've done before. Not enough practice = disaster
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ethiopiasurgeon said:
To anyone who is using EK materials -- If I'm pressed for time but I want good C/P practice (& improvement before my next practice FL), would I lose much from just doing all the 30 minute exams and not doing the ~8 questions at the end of each chapter? What would you advise? Any point of view is appreciated!
Click to expand...
The questions at the end of each chapter are pretty basic and aren't really representative of the exam. I don't think you'd be missing out on much!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just heard back from a friend who scored in the approximately in the 90th percentile after only THREE WEEKS of studying and no practice FLs. I may or may not be extremely jealous of them right now, but it's kinda given me hope that I should be okay after 2.5-3 months of going at this.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
delfin098 said:
Can some kind soul on this thread please log into their account and tell me if there are any August 5th or 6th seats available in Fair Lawn (NJ), Closter (NJ), Clark (NJ), Purchase (NY), or New York City (either 1 Penn Plaza or 675 3rd Avenue)? July test taker here (test in 2 days), so account is locked for re-registering and unable to see available seats -- having a little test anxiety and would really appreciate any help :help:🙂. Feel free to PM me.
Click to expand...
all of those locations are available on both those days!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
kam94 said:
Just heard back from a friend who scored in the approximately in the 90th percentile after only THREE WEEKS of studying and no practice FLs. I may or may not be extremely jealous of them right now, but it's kinda given me hope that I should be okay after 2.5-3 months of going at this.
Click to expand...

I know someone who did this with 2 Kaplan FLs in the 495-498 range lol. There are very FEW people who can pull off what our "friends" did. I know a few 35+ scorers who took multiple FLs even if they only studied for 1-2 months. I actually know a 2nd year MD student who said his AAMC average for the old test was about a 32.5 and he got a 35 (mostly because he had an insane outlier of a 22 on like AAMC 4 early in his prep).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TPR complete test FL #2 scheduled for the 20th in a few days. AAMC FL on the 25th and AAMC Official Guide Half length sometime around the 30th. Legitimately thinking of scrapping the TPR complete test FL #2 and just spend more time on AAMC Q pack/reviewing content. Went over TPR FL #1 the past two nights. Found some weak pockets in content. Going to hone in on those topics today!

I will probably do another 3 or so CARs passages from Q pack too.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
kam94 said:
Just heard back from a friend who scored in the approximately in the 90th percentile after only THREE WEEKS of studying and no practice FLs. I may or may not be extremely jealous of them right now, but it's kinda given me hope that I should be okay after 2.5-3 months of going at this.
Click to expand...

Jeez, that's insane. I've been studying for about the same amount of time as you have, and now I'm gonna be really sad if I can't get around at least what your friend got 🤔
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Dreamstoo said:
I know someone who did this with 2 Kaplan FLs in the 495-498 range lol. There are very FEW people who can pull off what our "friends" did. I know a few 35+ scorers who took multiple FLs even if they only studied for 1-2 months. I actually know a 2nd year MD student who said his AAMC average for the old test was about a 32.5 and he got a 35 (mostly because he had an insane outlier of a 22 on like AAMC 4 early in his prep).
Click to expand...

I keep getting in the 490 range as well on the Kaplan FLs. Is this normal? I feel like an idiot right now lol
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
GypsyHummus said:
I keep getting in the 490 range as well on the Kaplan FLs. Is this normal? I feel like an idiot right now lol
Click to expand...

Seems pretty normal from what I'm hearing. For TPR tests, almost everyone in my class was scoring around 495 or so by the end of it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
can you spend however long you want before clicking "next"? I liked the idea of writing a ton of stuff down before hand and i was just wondering if you could just take a longer time even after your time for the tutorial has run out. Same with the breaks, can you just sit there before clicking next even after your break has finished?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
clocks123 said:
People said that EK is representative of the real exam? I hope not or I am screwed for august
Click to expand...
In terms of the style with which AAMC asks its questions, they're the closest practice FL's out there besides the AAMC's. Some people are saying scoring 60%+ means you're in good shape but who knows for sure...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Dobechance said:
can you spend however long you want before clicking "next"? I liked the idea of writing a ton of stuff down before hand and i was just wondering if you could just take a longer time even after your time for the tutorial has run out. Same with the breaks, can you just sit there before clicking next even after your break has finished?
Click to expand...
You can pause and exit the exam at the end of a section and resume at any time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't know if this has already been talked about in this thread (if it has, sorry), but what method are you guys using for timing? For my last FL, I wrote on my scratch paper to be done with #25 by 1:00 and done with #45 by 0:30 and ehh it was alright. Kept me focused... Anyone else doing something different/efficient?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ethiopiasurgeon said:
I don't know if this has already been talked about in this thread (if it has, sorry), but what method are you guys using for timing? For my last FL, I wrote on my scratch paper to be done with #25 by 1:00 and done with #45 by 0:30 and ehh it was alright. Kept me focused... Anyone else doing something different/efficient?
Click to expand...

The only thing I keep track is, I would like to be at at least question 32 or so by 47-48 minutes. Usually for C/P, I'm around 34-35. For B/Biochem, I'm usually around 32. For Psych and Soc, I'm usually around 37.

I usually finish C/P with 2-3 minutes to spare. I usually finish B/Biochem in the same time frame. Psych/Soc, I usually finish with 6-7 minutes left and just review it.

CARs, I just try to make sure I got 7-8 minutes for my last passage. This seems to be working in my favor.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ethiopiasurgeon said:
I don't know if this has already been talked about in this thread (if it has, sorry), but what method are you guys using for timing? For my last FL, I wrote on my scratch paper to be done with #25 by 1:00 and done with #45 by 0:30 and ehh it was alright. Kept me focused... Anyone else doing something different/efficient?
Click to expand...

haha yeah that was my strategy 1:35-->1hr(done with 25)-->30(done with 45)-->10(finished and review marked)-->done. It's been the easiest way (at least for me anyway), to keep track of time without having to do any math in your head. On the actual test, I'll probably just make sure I try and finish with 2-3min to spare on every section, but for now I've been told that practicing under harsher conditions and establishing a nice buffer for the real thing might help given everyone's complaints about timing on the actual thing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey guys,

Is 507 on NS half-diagnostic fine considering I have almost finished content review and about a month away from my MCAT?

Couldn't find comments on it. Thanks 🙂
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheAnonymous said:
Hey guys,

Is 507 on NS half-diagnostic fine considering I have almost finished content review and about a month away from my MCAT?

Couldn't find comments on it. Thanks 🙂
Click to expand...
It's half-length, so not terribly accurate, but that's a good place to start score-wise. Nice work.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J Senpai said:
It's half-length, so not terribly accurate, but that's a good place to start score-wise. Nice work.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I got 510 on TPR Complete Test 1 (which was a full length) and was happy with that but wasn't content with this 507. I'm a retaker and aiming for 515ish. Hopefully I'm within that goal considering I have a month left..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Does anyone else find biochemical nomenclature to be infuriating?

"ß-AFT12 binds cyto-reductase at S2 activating CRISPR-2 which facilitates the production of LSR7 and yada-yada-yada SO MANY GORRAM ACRONYMS!!!"
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Trying to figure out a schedule that works for me for the last 18 days or so for the test. I think I'm just gonna focus on AAMC stuff and use TPR/Khan to supplement my studying. Hoping to be done with the AAMC FL 10 days before my exam. Then spend the rest of the time reviewing it/reviewing content bootcamp style.

On the side note, took a light day today. Was invited to hang out with friends tonight but I'm not sure if I can go without feeling guilty about not studying ahah. Especially since we are within 3 weeks now 😕 (August 5th-6th test takers).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I just saw this thread. This is also my first ever SDN post!!!

I'm taking the Aug. 21st test. I originally registered for July 18th, changed it to Aug. 5th, and then to the 21st 'cause I don't feel comfortable yet!

So far, here are my scores:

TPR 1 494 (baseline)
TPR 2 496 (in the middle of reading content)

TBR 1 503 (in the middle of reading content)
TBR 2 503 (after reading through content)

I plan to reread the content in the next few days and go over my note cards. I only plan to do up to TPR 5 tests and then also buy EK 1 and 2 exams. Or maybe do fewer TPR tests and just do 3 EK tests? My school wants at least 491 or 22, although the ones who matriculated have at least 505 or 28 with stellar extracurriculars. I think they just send secondaries to anyone who have 491/22 or greater just for the fees.

Here are the resources I'm using:
CARS: EK + 101 passages
GCHEM: TBR
BIO: TBR
OCHEM: EK
PHYSICS: EK
PSY/SOC: TPR + Khan videos

I paid for the TPR course, but after a couple of weeks attending the online classes, I found them useless (too slow/fast on some classes, and I thought 3 hrs. would be better spent somewhere else). I could've just bought their tests and not the whole class.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheAnonymous said:
Thanks. I got 510 on TPR Complete Test 1 (which was a full length) and was happy with that but wasn't content with this 507. I'm a retaker and aiming for 515ish. Hopefully I'm within that goal considering I have a month left..
Click to expand...

I think you're good man haha, at least I hope so (for me also 😛). I'm not sure how the diagnostic is, but I just did Next Step FL 1 and got 513 (129/126/130/128) and you did better than me on the TPR Complete 1 (507:126/126/128/127). Just keep working at it and I'm sure you'll get the score you want 🙂
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
496 on Kaplan FL2, went down from a 498 on FL1. I know these tests are supposed to be harder than the real deal but I hate seeing a score like that pop up and it has me freaking the **** out about if I'll be ready by the 6th.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Took my first FL, and although I definitely think I'll switch to a later date I still feel pretty discouraged. I'm still not done with content review (haven't gotten to metabolism and pathways) and haven't started memorizing things yet structures, formulas etc

TPR 1: 497
Chem/Phys: 123
CARS: 125
BIO: 122
Psy/Soc: 127

That bio score though, did not think I would do that bad. My main problem was that - hopefully I can explain this well - my mind felt off during the start of this section since CARS preceded it and I was still thinking in the context of that section rather than more science focused. I.e. instead of reading the passage and thinking of associations to formulas and subsequent effects on the body or what other systems/processes a problem within the passage would affect I was still in CARS mode and looking for transitional words, viewpoints etc. It was... weird and took me a passage or so to shake that off did anyone else have similar problems? :wtf:

There were also some questions on topics I haven't reviewed yet.

I know that a lot of these problems are fixable (finishing content review, memorizing pathways) but the pessimist in me is rearing its head with thoughts like "are you even ready to take this exam at all?" that 122 is just SO low.

Also, man my eyeballs hurt toward the end of that CARS section. I hope we can adjust brightness of the computer screens on test day.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

blue_muse47
August 16th MCAT too late for this cycle?
Replies
3
Views
2K
blue_muse47
blue_muse47
M
Should I retake the MCAT?
Replies
5
Views
1K
Dral
Dral
S
Should I retake the MCAT?
Replies
4
Views
3K
babySimba
B
L
Do NOT take the Blueprint MCAT course
Replies
1
Views
5K
ClashRoyaleKing
ClashRoyaleKing
russeast9374
Taking the MCAT before finishing all prereqs?
Replies
2
Views
2K
russeast9374
russeast9374
Top