The Official August 21, 2014 MCAT Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
LLawliet

LLawliet

New Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
8
Reaction score
4
Members don't see this ad.
Welcome
For those of you who plan on using the SN2ed study schedule, you should be finishing up on gathering prep materials and getting ready to start around mid May.
Who else is with me?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Just did the aamc self assessment for physics. Very helpful in my opinion lots of great questions i thought were pretty difficult.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
i'm getting to a point where i'm running out of things to do for prep on the days i'm not taking tests. any thoughts on using the TBR Bio passages for extra questions, or is it just overkill?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jagster92 said:
i'm getting to a point where i'm running out of things to do for prep on the days i'm not taking tests. any thoughts on using the TBR Bio passages for extra questions, or is it just overkill?
Click to expand...

did you use the official guide to the mcat? i think theress 140 questions or something in it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
So I just took AAMC 4. I have the longer version of the old test (4R). According to the old scaled score I got [10PS, 9VR, 12BS]. Then I compared the passages to those retained in the current CBT version of test 4. If I grade according to what is on the test now my score becomes [12PS, 11VR, 12BS]. So, does anyone know if the tests just used to be scaled harder before or if the passages that were removed from the CBT version are no longer representative of the current test?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jagster92 said:
I haven't yet. You think it's worthwhile? and are all the editions similar in terms of the actual questions?
Click to expand...
The Official Guide was not worth the money for me, though I don't regret buying it. In my opinion, the AAMC self assessment, all of the AAMC tests, a set of review books, and either GS or TBR FLs is sufficient. I would also highly recommend TPR Science Workbook, though it's kind of late for that now, I guess.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For anyone that is also doing the TBR FLs: You may come across multiple threads on SDN wherein the general consensus is that one should expect to score 1-2 points or so higher than they scored on TBR tests. These people either have very strange skill sets or are lying about their TBR scores.

For me, the TBR scores DO NOT CORRELATE, in any way, with AAMC scores. They are, however, excellent practice!!!

For example: On the AAMCs, I may score 3-6 points higher PER SECTION than I did on TBR, with the exception of VR.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
asw98 said:
Took AAMC4 today and got a 37 again (14PS, 12 V, 11BS). I really want to improve my bio score. How is everyone studying bio? (I'm fine on orgo)
Click to expand...

Well my scores completely suck compared to everyone's here. My best is 27 🙁
Wish I knew since freshman year that I wanted to go into med school. Would have been more prepared :/

For bio, I use EK and try to read more about a topic that Im bad with (beyond MCAT scope). Not that my mediocre best of 9 on bio is an example, but just sharing some info.

Anyone have access to or plan to purchase TBR CBTs? I just emailed them, since I'm ahead of schedule and could use some more practice tests.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
congrats to you high 30s scores! that's awesome!

for me it's been
AAMC 3: 9/11/9
AAMC 4: 10/9/11 (tried a different verbal strategy, fail)
AAMC 5: 11/11/11

29, 30, 33. I'm happy with the upward trend, hoping it continues haha. I think people are right about how important it is to "post game" your exam really well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
So I know that the early AAMCs are considered easier than the real thing, but do most people improve their score from those tests to the actual MCAT? I have taken AAMC 3 and 4, with a 32 (11/11/10) and a 35 (10/13/12) respectively. I am hoping for a 35+ on the real test. How do I improve from there? I've finished content review and with the amount of time it takes to do a practice test I feel myself running out of time in my day. Should I keep doing BR passages? Reread the chapters? Pay for some sort of assessment package? How are you guys spending your last few weeks until doomsday?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Bookish said:
So I know that the early AAMCs are considered easier than the real thing, but do most people improve their score from those tests to the actual MCAT? I have taken AAMC 3 and 4, with a 32 (11/11/10) and a 35 (10/13/12) respectively. I am hoping for a 35+ on the real test. How do I improve from there? I've finished content review and with the amount of time it takes to do a practice test I feel myself running out of time in my day. Should I keep doing BR passages? Reread the chapters? Pay for some sort of assessment package? How are you guys spending your last few weeks until doomsday?
Click to expand...

i would by a couple of the Gold Standard tests. They're only $25 dollars and they are excellent practice for PS and BS. Take a couple of those and review correct answers then go back and do another AAMC and you should see some improvement.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
go cougs said:
i would by a couple of the Gold Standard tests. They're only $25 dollars and they are excellent practice for PS and BS. Take a couple of those and review correct answers then go back and do another AAMC and you should see some improvement.
Click to expand...
You can also buy a package of all the GS CBTs on ebay for a pretty decent price. That's what i did and you get all of them for the price of 3-4 individual ones. Of course, that hinges on the assumption you have enough time to use them but I agree the PS and BS are worthwhile
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For Bio, I decided to do all of the entire 1001 EK questions and do Kaplan bio sections. I'm also re-reading the sections that I need help on (Reproduction and Hormones).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I saw the biggest improvements in my bio scores after going through the AAMC content outline for bio, looking up each topic on mcat-review.org, and making flash cards for everything with which I was unfamiliar.

Just scored a 14/10/14 on AAMC 8--I got two phone calls during verbal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
I saw the biggest improvements in my bio scores after going through the AAMC content outline for bio, looking up each topic on mcat-review.org, and making flash cards for everything with which I was unfamiliar.

Just scored a 14/10/14 on AAMC 8--I got two phone calls during verbal.
Click to expand...
I might try that, thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Does anyone know if the questions for the verbal self-assessment package are pulled from the old MCAT R tests?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
I saw the biggest improvements in my bio scores after going through the AAMC content outline for bio, looking up each topic on mcat-review.org, and making flash cards for everything with which I was unfamiliar.

Just scored a 14/10/14 on AAMC 8--I got two phone calls during verbal.
Click to expand...

Styrene, those are amazing scores! How were your PS and BS scores for the previous AAMC exams??
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
braxswag said:
Styrene, those are amazing scores! How were your PS and BS scores for the previous AAMC exams??
Click to expand...
AAMC 4: 9/12/12

3 weeks later:

AAMC 5: 11/12/13
AAMC 7: 13/12/11

Then I took TBR and GS FLs, did every discrete in the TPR 2013 Science Workbook, and made 800+ flash cards. The result was:

AAMC 8: 14/10/14

So I was happy, because my goal was to break 36. I was interrupted during the verbal on 8, and maybe would have expected an 11 or 12 otherwise. I got two phone calls during the first verbal passage and got 4 wrong on the first verbal passage.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
AAMC 4: 9/12/12

3 weeks later:

AAMC 5: 11/12/13
AAMC 7: 13/12/11

Then I took TBR and GS FLs, did every discrete in the TPR 2013 Science Workbook, and made 800+ flash cards. The result was:

AAMC 8: 14/10/14

So I was happy, because my goal was to break 36. I was interrupted during the verbal on 8, and maybe would have expected an 11 or 12 otherwise. I got two phone calls during the first verbal passage and got 4 wrong on the first verbal passage.
Click to expand...

Those are some excellent scores.
I just took GS 2 and got a best of 30. Not nearly as good but good improvement for me. Im saving AAMC tests 10 and 11 for final 2 weeks.

Do you think the AAMC Self Assessments would be a good practice or am I too late?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
That's really great!

@alfredo24pr I don't think it's too late to take the self assessments. In fact, I've read on SDN that the best time to take them is 1-2 weeks before test day! It can't hurt to start now, either!

I'm a bit frustrated with my scores... on my first AAMC (3) I got a 34, then on the past two TBR tests I also got 34s! I'm taking AAMC 4 this weekend and I'm hoping my scores will improve (I've heard TBR is harder), but ahh.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
alfredo24pr said:
Those are some excellent scores.
I just took GS 2 and got a best of 30. Not nearly as good but good improvement for me. Im saving AAMC tests 10 and 11 for final 2 weeks.

Do you think the AAMC Self Assessments would be a good practice or am I too late?
Click to expand...
If the cost is not an issue, then definitely go for it. I took them about a month ago, and the results were:

88% Bio
88% Orgo
97% Gen Chem
89% Physics
85% Verbal
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
neoneurohocuspocus said:
That's really great!

@alfredo24pr I don't think it's too late to take the self assessments. In fact, I've read on SDN that the best time to take them is 1-2 weeks before test day! It can't hurt to start now, either!

I'm a bit frustrated with my scores... on my first AAMC (3) I got a 34, then on the past two TBR tests I also got 34s! I'm taking AAMC 4 this weekend and I'm hoping my scores will improve (I've heard TBR is harder), but ahh.
Click to expand...
I got a 9/11/9 on TBR 5 one day before I got a 38 on AAMC 8! As a reference, I got a 34 on TBR 2.

Edit: I am highly suspicious of some posts I read wherein people have claimed 36+s on TBR 5.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
I got a 9/11/9 on TBR 5 one day before I got a 38 on AAMC 8! As a reference, I got a 34 on TBR 2.

Edit: I am highly suspicious of some posts I read wherein people have claimed 36+s on TBR 5.
Click to expand...
Oh cool, I just got a 34 on TBR 2. Hopeful that I can make a 38 now. I heard TBR 5 is just wayyy too intense... I only bought TBR 1-3.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
I got a 9/11/9 on TBR 5 one day before I got a 38 on AAMC 8! As a reference, I got a 34 on TBR 2.

Edit: I am highly suspicious of some posts I read wherein people have claimed 36+s on TBR 5.
Click to expand...
Oh gosh, I hope the same occurs for me. I took TBR5 just a few days ago, and bombed out with a 28! This was after a 35 on TBR3 three weeks earlier!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rhino1000 said:
Oh gosh, I hope the same occurs for me. I took TBR5 just a few days ago, and bombed out with a 28! This was after a 35 on TBR3 three weeks earlier!
Click to expand...
My TBR scores (from what I recorded the other day):

TBR 1: 9/12/9 = 30
TBR 2: 11/11/12 = 34
TBR 3: 13/9/11 = 33
TBR 4: 11/10/8 = 29 (crazy biochem!)
TBR 5: 9/11/9 = 29
TBR 6: 12/12/12 = 36
TBR 7: 12/9/13 = 34

I think a 35 on TBR 3 is totally excellent! They are definitely awesome practice, but some of the stuff is just off the wall--in a good way.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
neoneurohocuspocus said:
That's really great!

@alfredo24pr I don't think it's too late to take the self assessments. In fact, I've read on SDN that the best time to take them is 1-2 weeks before test day! It can't hurt to start now, either!

I'm a bit frustrated with my scores... on my first AAMC (3) I got a 34, then on the past two TBR tests I also got 34s! I'm taking AAMC 4 this weekend and I'm hoping my scores will improve (I've heard TBR is harder), but ahh.
Click to expand...

Sounds great. I have only taking Gold Standard and AAMC since TBR has an antique method of payment and access.
Still 34 is great and there is still time to improve!

Styrene said:
If the cost is not an issue, then definitely go for it. I took them about a month ago, and the results were:

88% Bio
88% Orgo
97% Gen Chem
89% Physics
85% Verbal
Click to expand...

That's amazing. I will be buying them early next week to see where I need improvement.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
My TBR scores (from what I recorded the other day):

TBR 1: 9/12/9 = 30
TBR 2: 11/11/12 = 34
TBR 3: 13/9/11 = 33
TBR 4: 11/10/8 = 29 (crazy biochem!)
TBR 5: 9/11/9 = 29

I think a 35 on TBR 3 is totally excellent! They are definitely awesome practice, but some of the stuff is just off the wall--in a good way.
Click to expand...
TBR 4 and 5 were my two lowest scores as well. I'm thoroughly pleased to see someone else with the same experience. I also think that they provide good practice.

[EditedbecauseIdon'tknowifyouare,infact,aman]
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
avenlea said:
I just took #3 as well, 8/6/8, I may very well be pushing my date as this is after two months of studying. 🙁
Click to expand...

I got a 22 (6/10/6) before I started studying... You really gotta work on your verbal by doing practice passages because that's not something you can "learn" per-say. Otherwise it is really going to be an issue.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
kalat said:
I got a 22 6/10/6 before I started studying... Your verbal is really going to be an issue. Also I'm happy for Styrene and the like, but you're getting consistent mid to high 30s, is that really contributing to the discussion? It'd be different if you were getting low scores and were looking for advice.
Click to expand...
This is a forum for everyone to track their progress--all ranges of scores--and discuss the experience. It can be especially helpful for people who would like to score higher, as they can ask posters whose scores are around their target scores for advice.

It's not like I'm that much smarter than anyone. The reason I plan on scoring in the 99th percentile is because I worked harder, studied more, and invested more time than 99% of people that will take the MCAT.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
This is a forum for everyone to track their progress--all ranges of scores--and discuss the experience. It can be especially helpful for people who would like to score higher, as they can ask posters whose scores are around their target scores for advice.

It's not like I'm that much smarter than anyone. The reason I plan on scoring in the 99th percentile is because I worked harder, studied more, and invested more time than 99% of people that will take the MCAT.
Click to expand...
@kalat

My gosh. Who on earth said that this discussion was only to help people who are scoring below satisfactory? I believe high scorers "bragging about their scores" even helps contribute in a positive way because 1) it sets high standards for everyone, 2) it alerts people as to who is likely to give good advice in order to reach the top scores, and 3) it keeps the whole ideal of "freedom of speech" going, and 4) it pisses needlessly jealous people off, tbh. You don't own this thread.

Also, this is a discussion board, not a "say nothing except that which will benefit people who aren't scoring satisfactorily" board.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Look who I quoted. If I had to attribute my intense desire to do very well on the MCAT to a primary cause, aside from getting into med school, it would be the strong motivation the high scorers on here gave me when I first started lurking these threads like 2 years ago.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
Look who I quoted. If I had to attribute my intense desire to do very well on the MCAT to a primary cause, aside from getting into med school, it would be the strong motivation the high scorers on here gave me when I first started lurking these threads like 2 years ago.
Click to expand...
Lol. I was directing my post to Kalat. I know that you don't hold those views; in fact, it appears that we have a similar experience regarding the benefits of this board. In my experience, the benefits (that I obtained from this board) were derived especially from high-scoring MCATees.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rhino1000 said:
Lol. I was directing my post to Kalat. I know that you don't hold those views; in fact, it appears that we have a similar experience regarding the benefits of this board. In my experience, the benefits were derived especially from high-scoring MCATees.
Click to expand...
Very true, not to mention the fact that I decided on all of my review materials from posts on here. It all turned out to be excellent advice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
Do NOT do all of the verbal in one sitting, like I did. It will give you a deflated score. I would break it up into sets of passages timed at 8 min. per passage.
Click to expand...

lol I don't think I would be able to do that. I plan to break them up into groups of 7 to try and simulate the MCAT verbal.

Rhino1000 said:
@kalat

My gosh. Who on earth said that this discussion was only to help people who are scoring below satisfactory? I believe high scorers "bragging about their scores" even helps contribute in a positive way because 1) it sets high standards for everyone, 2) it alerts people as to who is likely to give good advice in order to reach the top scores, and 3) it keeps the whole ideal of "freedom of speech" going, and 4) it pisses needlessly jealous people off, tbh. You don't own this thread.

Also, this is a discussion board, not a "say nothing except that which will benefit people who aren't scoring satisfactorily" board.
Click to expand...

I think that Styrene is more of a hard worker rather than an MCAT genius.
I agree that I have raised my standards after seeing what hard work can do.


Anyway, today I took my third GS practice test (in a row) and got another 30, but this time with a 12 in PS 🙂

Also, contributing to the lower scorers like me, here is my progress since my 1st practice test.

5/5: AAMC 4 --> 11,8,7 = 26

7/16: AAMC 7 --> 10,6,8 = 23

7/22: AAMC 8 -->9,7,9 = 25

7/26: AAMC 9 --> 11,8,8 = 27

7/31 Gold Standard 1 --> 11,8,9 = 28

8/1 Gold Standard 2 -->10,11,9 = 30

8/2 Gold Standard 3 -->12,9,9 = 30

AAMC 4 was taken after lots of content review for Physical Science.
Hopefully, I will get between 28-30 when I use my AAMCs 10 and 11
Didn't use 3 or 5 because I had already done them some time ago, since Im retaking.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
jagster92 said:
@Styrene What was your breakdown on the GS exams you've done so far?
Click to expand...
GS 1: 9/12/12
GS 2: 13/11/12
GS 3: 11/10/13

I am going to be doing the rest of the GS exams along with TBR 7 over the next 10 days or so, and then AAMC 9-11, in that order, as the last FLs I do before August 21st. I will continue to post all scores.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
alfredo24pr said:
lol I don't think I would be able to do that. I plan to break them up into groups of 7 to try and simulate the MCAT verbal.



I think that Styrene is more of a hard worker rather than an MCAT genius.
I agree that I have raised my standards after seeing what hard work can do.


Anyway, today I took my third GS practice test (in a row) and got another 30, but this time with a 12 in PS 🙂

Also, contributing to the lower scorers like me, here is my progress since my 1st practice test.

5/5: AAMC 4 --> 11,8,7 = 26

7/16: AAMC 7 --> 10,6,8 = 23

7/22: AAMC 8 -->9,7,9 = 25

7/26: AAMC 9 --> 11,8,8 = 27

7/31 Gold Standard 1 --> 11,8,9 = 28

8/1 Gold Standard 2 -->10,11,9 = 30

8/2 Gold Standard 3 -->12,9,9 = 30

AAMC 4 was taken after lots of content review for Physical Science.
Hopefully, I will get between 28-30 when I use my AAMCs 10 and 11
Didn't use 3 or 5 because I had already done them some time ago, since Im retaking.
Click to expand...
If you really go over the GS exams, I'm almost certain you will see statistically significant improvement on the next AAMCs. I highly recommend to everyone to go over the official AAMC content outline for Bio and make flash cards using mcat-review.org. I guarantee it will increase your Bio score. Just google search the topic from the outline and you'll see the mcat-review link.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Styrene said:
If you really go over the GS exams, I'm almost certain you will see statistically significant improvement on the next AAMCs. I highly recommend to everyone to go over the official AAMC content outline for Bio and make flash cards using mcat-review.org. I guarantee it will increase your Bio score. Just google search the topic from the outline and you'll see the mcat-review link.
Click to expand...

I really hope so. Tomorrow I will be carefully reviewing GS 1, 2 and 3, especially the bio section.

I think I can still improve some more on bio. I want at least a 10 on the real mcat.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
alfredo24pr said:
I really hope so. Tomorrow I will be carefully reviewing GS 1, 2 and 3, especially the bio section.

I think I can still improve some more on bio. I want at least a 10 on the real mcat.
Click to expand...
My experience has been that many people may say the bio section doesn't require THAT much outside knowledge. However, I saw the biggest jump in my bio scores after memorizing 500 or so high yield facts.

Compared to chemistry and physics, biology is not so much theoretical in that one may be led to believe that a certain bio question can be answered by pure logic from a general principle or info from the passage, but in reality, that question deals with a specific matter of fact that just can't be deduced. I think people can get ok bio scores using either factual knowledge or pure reason, but the best scores come from using both. The catch is that memorizing all those facts gets really annoying after a while!

Of course, I have no idea what your strengths and weaknesses are--just focus on the weaknesses, because that's how I got the biggest return on time spent. In my case, my biggest weakness (aside from careless reading) was not knowing immediately what was going on when, for example, adrenocorticotropin was mentioned; or thinking I knew the cellular organelles, when really I only knew the names; or thinking I knew what parathyroid hormone did, just because I knew it increased calcium in the blood.

And always important to remember that even if the correct answers have nothing to do with the fact memorized, knowing just one extra fact could potentially help you to answer infinitely many questions by process of elimination.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
  • Exact function of every organelle/location/region in the cell, including nucleolus.
  • Exact effect of every hormone found in a generic MCAT bio review book, the biochemical subtypes of each (steroid/lipid soluble vs. water soluble)
  • From where the hormones are released
  • Where these hormones are synthesized
  • Structure of DNA in animals and bacteria and differences in replication, transcription (post-transcriptional processing in eukaryotes, introns, exons, etc. are must know these days), and translation between animals and bacteria
  • General idea of running gels and southern, western, and northern blot techniques.
  • General picture of functional unit of kidney
  • General picture of contractile unit of the muscle
  • Very basic idea of cardiovascular physiology
Thoroughly reviewing just these topics really made the bio much more manageable. It helps to have taken upper level bio courses.
 
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
1K
blue_muse47
blue_muse47
S
Should I retake the MCAT?
Replies
4
Views
2K
babySimba
B
L
Do NOT take the Blueprint MCAT course
Replies
1
Views
3K
ClashRoyaleKing
ClashRoyaleKing
russeast9374
Taking the MCAT before finishing all prereqs?
Replies
2
Views
1K
russeast9374
russeast9374
macandsuccess
I got a 527 on the MCAT and this is how
Replies
2
Views
427
macandsuccess
macandsuccess
Top