The Official August 2015 MCAT Thread

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DecadentCookie said:
I found the OG slightly easier than the FL but it seems most people say the opposite. Perhaps it all comes down to how well you can interpret that specific passage.
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Some passages in B/B I couldn't interpret as well when I did it a few weeks ago but maybe with more review I can now? But it does come down to how comfortable you are with data analysis, which again partially stems from your research background or exposure to such things.
 
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zzzetrigan said:
Have you done the AAMC FL? I thought it was comparable to the FL, the B/B was harder on the official guide for me, but otherwise C/P and CARS were similar and P/S was maybe a bit easier on OG.
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Yes, I already did the FL and got 75% in B/B and 78% in C/P. I haven't done CARS or P/S yet, so we'll see. I don't know what my scores are yet but I feel like they may be lower than I was hoping for.
 
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going through the physics q-pack is 1) hell 2) making me so nervous...

i'm so tempted to just focus on strengths for today and tomorrow
 
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AAMC OG felt pretty similar to the FL, but there were some weird questions that tripped me up (aka did not realize the article was talking about prokaryotes :meh:). 96/93/83/86
Also, why did they change the order of the sections? Didn't even realize that B/BC was first until I got to C/P ._. The AAMC FL is the correct order right?
 
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Schwann Lake said:
So I'm half way through the official guide...did anyone else find the sciences challenging?! I'm freaking out a little cause I test in two days.
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OG was hard for me, I got something like a 60% in C/P and a 73% in Bio. 80% in the other two sections, so they were ok.
A lot of the science passages I was just sitting there like wtf did I just read. 😕
I jumped right into it from bland content review, so I think all the intense research stuff was just kind of a shock.
 
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Pusheen said:
OG was hard for me, I got something like a 60% in C/P and a 73% in Bio. 80% in the other two sections, so they were ok.
A lot of the science passages I was just sitting there like wtf did I just read. 😕
I jumped right into it from bland content review, so I think all the intense research stuff was just kind of a shock.
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My thoughts exactly. Some of the passages made my head spin...

So I finished the first three sections and got 80% for C/P and P/S, 77% for Bio. I didn't do CARS because my mouse isn't letting me highlight things properly and I need that for CARS haha. Do you all think I'm in an alright position for my MCAT in 2 days? I felt really confident with my full length score, which was an 80%. I guess this is relatively similar, but I need a 508+, preferably a 510. Thoughts?
 
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Schwann Lake said:
My thoughts exactly. Some of the passages made my head spin...

So I finished the first three sections and got 80% for C/P and P/S, 77% for Bio. I didn't do CARS because my mouse isn't letting me highlight things properly and I need that for CARS haha. Do you all think I'm in an alright position for my MCAT in 2 days? I felt really confident with my full length score, which was an 80%. I guess this is relatively similar, but I need a 508+, preferably a 510. Thoughts?
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I think an 80% is roughly a 127-128, depending on the section, so you should be fine 🙂
Good luck! I can't believe it's already August :nailbiting:
 
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Sauna said:
Guys I've been stuck on "I don't care" mode for the past few days 🙁 2 more days!!
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Same. I seem to be putting in only half of the hours of studying that I've set aside. i.e. at this moment, I've spent the last 2 hours or so trying to find places to purchase an ergonomic chair as my current one has a nice tear in the mesh (anyone else notice how prices have significantly shot up for the 'higher quality' chairs? I'm talking 20% price increase on a Herman Miller Mirra)

Pusheen said:
I think an 80% is roughly a 127-128, depending on the section, so you should be fine 🙂
Good luck! I can't believe it's already August :nailbiting:
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Summer is almost over.
 
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Finally finished going through all of Kaplan quicksheets. Going to take a lunch break then go through some weak topics I had in biochem/bio and some physics topics.
 
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For those who are taking it on the 5th and 6th, what are you guys doing for your final ours of studying?

I'm taking it on the 5th, today I was planning on going through each section of multiple FL and working with passages and tomorrow morning I was just gonna make a formula sheet, stare at it, and vocab for psych/soc till the afternoon
 
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I just finished the last NS FL (#5) and got a 504 AGAIN ughhh thats three 504's in a row. Considering how NS is supposedly more representative now with the new scale or inflated even, I'm really starting to consider pushing my exam date back from 8/22 to maybe early September..
 
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Dreamstoo said:
That's pretty rude to post a link of someone aiming for their target score. I don't think it's nice to mock the OP by posting this.
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I'm not mocking them, I'm just saying that we could be in a worse position. I'm also pretty sure they're trolling, based on the fact that they say they got a 470, which isnt even possible
Sorry if it came off as offensive.
 
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Just had a mini-break down after doing the second half of AAMC CARS QPACK feeling I BOMBED IT SO HARD...ended up with a 78% on the second half...(87% on the first) which is like a 127 hopefully...but man the nerves are starting to hit me hard....
 
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I heard that the real test is supposed to be significantly harder than the AAMC FL, which makes me nervous! I saved it until last so that I could do some last minute reviewing based on that (now I'm wishing I would have done it earlier.) I got a 75% in P/C, an 87% in CARS, a 71% in B/S, and an 81% in P/S. Any idea what these scores correlate to? I am feeling confident in CARS and P/S, but ironically my two science sections are about 10% lower than I'd like them to be, which is worrying if the real MCAT truly is much harder... Suggestions? Haha just cram and hope for the best? I test in 3 days, so I suppose that might be the best strategy at this point! 😛
 
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Pardia19 said:
Has anyone taken any of the Next Step Strategy and Practice - timed section tests here? If you have, aren't they significantly more difficult than AAMC Q packs? I haven't taken the OG or AAMC FL test so I would't know how they compare. Any insights?
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They were harder, especially because how poorly written they were. Only about half the passages and questions were good and the rest were beyond the "least strongly" questions AAMC would ask. Yes they said least strongly..........

Charri22 said:
I heard that the real test is supposed to be significantly harder than the AAMC FL, which makes me nervous! I saved it until last so that I could do some last minute reviewing based on that (now I'm wishing I would have done it earlier.) I got a 75% in P/C, an 87% in CARS, a 71% in B/S, and an 81% in P/S. Any idea what these scores correlate to? I am feeling confident in CARS and P/S, but ironically my two science sections are about 10% lower than I'd like them to be, which is worrying if the real MCAT truly is much harder... Suggestions? Haha just cram and hope for the best? I test in 3 days, so I suppose that might be the best strategy at this point! 😛
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It's harder because their is no redo, or unlimited amount of time. Just don't worry and do your best.
 
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zzzetrigan said:
Just had a mini-break down after doing the second half of AAMC CARS QPACK feeling I BOMBED IT SO HARD...ended up with a 78% on the second half...(87% on the first) which is like a 127 hopefully...but man the nerves are starting to hit me hard....
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dude same...literally I don't know what to do. Today, I went confidently into studying thinking I would just re-read the kaplan quick sheets, but now i feel like I literally don't know anything again and that everything i've learned just seeped out of my brain. Maybe I'm just being paranoid/anxious about this exam, but I really wish this would be over soon.
 
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itsallgood92 said:
dude same...literally I don't know what to do. Today, I went confidently into studying thinking I would just re-read the kaplan quick sheets, but now i feel like I literally don't know anything again and that everything i've learned just seeped out of my brain. Maybe I'm just being paranoid/anxious about this exam, but I really wish this would be over soon.
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That's how I'm feeling today too!!
 
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(Quick question) Where is the conversion sheet that is being used to convert AAMC %'s into the absolute values??? Thx~!

Are there two conversion conversion sheets???
 
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What a day! This morning I had my first stress induced migraine thanks to the MCAT and ended up going to the doctor's. Now, I cannot take another practice exam for two more days.
 
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Anybody wanna skype later to share/discuss resources or information that is "high yield" for the MCAT? If so pm me and let me know!
 
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Can someone confirm to see if this score conversion is correct?? Also how am I doing with this score? Is it hopeful I can score higher? I test on aug.21

C/P 77% --> 127
CARS 60%--> 125
B/B 80% --> 127
P/S 90%--> 128
Total: 507
 
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FauxBlue said:
Can someone confirm to see if this score conversion is correct?? Also how am I doing with this score? Is it hopeful I can score higher? I test on aug.21

C/P 77% --> 127
CARS 60%--> 125
B/B 80% --> 127
P/S 90%--> 128
Total: 507
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P/S is 131, rest are right.
 
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Do you really need that much reassurance that you're doing good!?!? Being stressed over 86% vs 93% according to an estimated conversion sheet would be like being the gorgeous girl that denies being pretty when someone or everyone says they are. The more people have to say it, the less pretty she looks, get it?


Its an estimated scale.
 
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Just took NextStep half length diagnostic. Felt like it was kind of all over the place, parts seemed really easy, and parts seemed completely out of my scope.
73.3% chem/phys, 126
80% CARS, 127
55% bio, 124 😱😱😱😱😱 I don't know what happened, I've been getting 127-128 on TPR tests
83.3% psych, 128

Ugh, so pissed about bio. I think I was just really unfocused after the lunch break.
@FauxBlue you mentioned not scoring as well as you wanted on this too, mind sharing your breakdown?
 
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MarsDominus said:
Just took EK Exam 1 and got 58%, 68%, 61%, and 71% (Total: 65%). I'm really disappointed. Exam is in 3 days.:scared:
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Now that attitude is what's going to ruin it for you. As the overconfidence is described in the EK book, "fake it till you make it!"

I found EK to be more challenging then the AAMC material too. They're very heavily based on interpretation of data which will really help if you review it the right way. After taking their tests I would go through each problem and write down my thought process that led me to that answer before looking at the solution. Eventually I found that I wasn't applying the data to the rest of the passage as well as I needed to.
 
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tturchi51 said:
Do you really need that much reassurance that you're doing good!?!? Being stressed over 86% vs 93% according to an estimated conversion sheet would be like being the gorgeous girl that denies being pretty when someone or everyone says they are. The more people have to say it, the less pretty she looks, get it?


Its an estimated scale.
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We're pre-meds, let us neuroticize!
 
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Pusheen said:
Just took NextStep half length diagnostic. Felt like it was kind of all over the place, parts seemed really easy, and parts seemed completely out of my scope.
73.3% chem/phys, 126
80% CARS, 127
55% bio, 124 😱😱😱😱😱 I don't know what happened, I've been getting 127-128 on TPR tests
83.3% psych, 128

Ugh, so pissed about bio. I think I was just really unfocused after the lunch break.
@FauxBlue you mentioned not scoring as well as you wanted on this too, mind sharing your breakdown?
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I didn't score too well on the diagnostic. I got a 501 and my breakdown was 125/125/125/126. It was my first practice test and I still haven't been able to improve my CARS score by much 🙁 I would rather have your CARS score! It feels like it's impossible to improve
 
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Dobechance said:
Anyone know if TPR Review tests or TPR course tests are better?
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Depends on what you're looking for. If you want to get demoralized to make you study harder then take the review exams. If you want a confidence boost go with course tests 4 and 5 (thought those were the easiest and most straight forward). Overall, I found TPR's exams to kinda miss the mark though and are probably not a good indicator of how you'll perform on AAMC stuff.
 
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So on what conditions should I void? I'm thinking if I end up random guessing (i.e. guessing out of 4) on 5 or more questions for 2 or more sections?
 
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FauxBlue said:
I didn't score too well on the diagnostic. I got a 501 and my breakdown was 125/125/125/126. It was my first practice test and I still haven't been able to improve my CARS score by much 🙁 I would rather have your CARS score! It feels like it's impossible to improve
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I don't really get some of their CARS explanations. :/ they seem kinda arbitrary, but whatever. You seem to be doing better on everything else now though, so that's good.

Also, my score is several points higher if I use mcatjelly's scale, which is a little comforting. I don't even try to comprehend all these scales and percentiles anymore..
 
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basophilic said:
So on what conditions should I void? I'm thinking if I end up random guessing (i.e. guessing out of 4) on 5 or more questions for 2 or more sections?
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Honestly, don't just void for no reason...most people feel like absolute **** after their exam and end up doing surprisingly way better than they thought. I think the only time you should void is because of timing issues and if you don't finish a section. I say if you finish each section...then score it. If you finish with 2min every section then DEFINITELY score it unless you really feel like you got your ass handed to you. I feel like if you go into an exam knowing you're just going to void, then you're not gonna try as hard and perform worse. Just go in, be confident, and if push comes to shove, you know that at least you have some control over the situation and just void it completely if you really think you did poorly
 
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