The Official August 25th 2016 MCAT Thread

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CloverBale

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Haven't seen anyone create this thread so I'm putting it up! Would love to know how others are preparing.

Wishing everyone good luck and happy studying! :cat:
 
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I'm also taking August 25. It think you should make this just August instead of a specific date.
 
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Yay~ Glad to see more people 🙂 What are your plans for studying? 🙂
 
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CloverBale said:
Yay~ Glad to see more people 🙂 What are your plans for studying? 🙂
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Graduating next week, so I have finals right now and can't really do much MCAT material.
But after that I'm dedicating my entire time to solely MCAT

good luck to both of us!
 
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pureaqua said:
Graduating next week, so I have finals right now and can't really do much MCAT material.
But after that I'm dedicating my entire time to solely MCAT

good luck to both of us!
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Congrats and likewise 😀!!
 
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Made up my mind that I'm taking the MCAT this summer and got all study materials.. whop! Plan to study while doing a full time research internship.
 
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This is my day as well! I'm also taking the whole summer to study. I'm using the 2015 versions of TBR and EK.
 
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Taking it Aug 25 as well! HMU if you want to discuss content/hold each other accountable on studying. I slacked off on prepping last summer and am not going to let that happen again!
 
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I'm taking it on the 18th, but I'll jump in anyway. I'm currently having bad start 🙁 skipped my third study day and GC was not polite with me 🙁
 
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Bottle said:
I'm taking it on the 18th, but I'll jump in anyway. I'm currently having bad start 🙁 skipped my third study day and GC was not polite with me 🙁
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same!! its so hard. this stuff is so boring haha.
 
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Hello friends! Retaker here, going to take my exam on 9/01 but I'll join this cuz there's no September thread haha.. I took the 4/23 test and got a 505 (126,125,126,128). After much contemplating, I decided I was gonna go for the retake and this time to aim for a 517!

I'll be using EK (bio,chem) and TPR (Psych) for content review and NS strategy books for practice! Not sure what to use for physics tho hmm.. any suggestions?
 
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Harrybean said:
Hello friends! Retaker here, going to take my exam on 9/01 but I'll join this cuz there's no September thread haha.. I took the 4/23 test and got a 505 (126,125,126,128). After much contemplating, I decided I was gonna go for the retake and this time to aim for a 517!

I'll be using EK (bio,chem) and TPR (Psych) for content review and NS strategy books for practice! Not sure what to use for physics tho hmm.. any suggestions?
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I don't think it matters which book you use as long as you focus on the materials that the AAMC listed. Kaplan gives more info than needed (to insure that nothing important is missed) so their physics book could be useful for you.

How did you feel in each section, if you don't mind me asking? Like was there a topic that was surprising to you that showed up?



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
 
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Jersanta said:
I don't think it matters which book you use as long as you focus on the materials that the AAMC listed. Kaplan gives more info than needed (to insure that nothing important is missed) so their physics book could be useful for you.

How did you feel in each section, if you don't mind me asking? Like was there a topic that was surprising to you that showed up?



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
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My C/P section had a load of chem and not as much biochem on the bio section as the previous tests people took. P/S section was just pure memorization for me. CARS section was longer than expected.

I would definitely say that AAMC section bank is the closest thing to the actual test tho.
 
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Harrybean said:
My C/P section had a load of chem and not as much biochem on the bio section as the previous tests people took. P/S section was just pure memorization for me. CARS section was longer than expected.

I would definitely say that AAMC section bank is the closest thing to the actual test tho.
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Oh okay, thank you! When doing the section bank and other AAMC practice passages, did you find it helpful to do the questions then show solutions after each question? Or just do the whole thing and then look at the solutions, like a practice FL?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
 
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I am also taking it on 8/25! I started studying on Memorial Day weekend, but I am learning that it takes quite a long time for content review. My plan was to finish content this week to start doing the AAMC question banks, then spend all of Aug. until exam to do FL every 2-3 days. Now I am worried that it may not be enough study time (because of my lack of fast progress during content review), so am thinking about rescheduling to next Spring... Anyone else feel behind on their study schedule???
 
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comed said:
I am also taking it on 8/25! I started studying on Memorial Day weekend, but I am learning that it takes quite a long time for content review. My plan was to finish content this week to start doing the AAMC question banks, then spend all of Aug. until exam to do FL every 2-3 days. Now I am worried that it may not be enough study time (because of my lack of fast progress during content review), so am thinking about rescheduling to next Spring... Anyone else feel behind on their study schedule???
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I was feeling behind at first, but once you've got your studying momentum going then you'll be suprised how much you get done.

Doing a practice exam every 2 days might be excessive. You need to give some time to review the exam, review content that was missed, and rest your brain!
 
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I'm with you guys, been studying since Feb and was going to take it July but rescheduled....I still don't feel ready lol
 
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Hi there! I am using the Kaplan course to prep. A little overwhelmed with the material but its going.
 
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officially decided to cancel my date and go in for the long haul for a Jan 2017 date
good luck, everyone!
 
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@MilaKunisDoe
I feel that I can be better prepared studying for just little chunks over a long period of time. I realized I had big gaps in my understanding of some of the concepts because I was just trying to speed through everything to meet the 8/25 date. I am not applying until next cycle anyways, so a January date is okay with me.
 
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TBR is getting so tiring! About 2/3 through the material but my god. The most ridiculously in depth book is the Biology 2 IMO. It goes on and on about things that I can't imagine we actually need to know.

Luckily, only two more weeks until I start practice tests! Looking forward to it.
 
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premed1244 said:
TBR is getting so tiring! About 2/3 through the material but my god. The most ridiculously in depth book is the Biology 2 IMO. It goes on and on about things that I can't imagine we actually need to know.

Luckily, only two more weeks until I start practice tests! Looking forward to it.
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Have you done their verbal passages? I just started doing the diagnostic passage on page 208 and it's ****ing hard
 
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MilaKunisDoe said:
Have you done their verbal passages? I just started doing the diagnostic passage on page 208 and it's ****ing hard
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I didn't buy the verbal, just planning on taking practice tests for it. Maybe if I'm not doing well I'd look into it. Do you think it's useful?

I'm getting somewhere around 60-80% on the science passages. I just started doing the AAMC question packs - they're so easy in comparison. Makes me think it might have been worth it.
 
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OMFG I KNOW. TBR is such an ass kicker. I'm hating it. How is everyone doing on CARS? It's making me cry
 
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MilaKunisDoe said:
Yeah CARS is killing me lol, hardest section in my opinion
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Seriously, it's annoying how you can't improve by just studying. It seems like I'm getting worse at times. I switched to TPR to see if their method might help me, but that **** is harder than EK. ugh IDK. What do I need to sacrifice to the CARS gods? A sheep? a leg? whatever it takes man.
 
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CloverBale said:
Seriously, it's annoying how you can't improve by just studying. It seems like I'm getting worse at times. I switched to TPR to see if their method might help me, but that **** is harder than EK. ugh IDK. What do I need to sacrifice to the CARS gods? A sheep? a leg? whatever it takes man.
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Haha I'm about to buy TPR's verbal workbook. I'm done with TBR. I ran across a verbal passage in TBR that required me to do a calculation....seriously wtf?


But the good thing is that we have lots of time to improve on this section. 🙂
 
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MilaKunisDoe said:
Haha I'm about to buy TPR's verbal workbook. I'm done with TBR. I ran across a verbal passage in TBR that required me to do a calculation....seriously wtf?


But the good thing is that we have lots of time to improve on this section. 🙂
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I heard that TBR isn't that great, I have it with me but not too many people say good things about it :/
 
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good luck everyone!! i am a retaker too and i've used most of my kaplan resources. i was wondering if it's worth it to buy the EK 1001 questions? I just bought the EK verbal practice tests.
 
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How are practice tests going for everyone? I'm thinking of using EK but have heard some positive things about NS as well.
 
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nikelove56 said:
good luck everyone!! i am a retaker too and i've used most of my kaplan resources. i was wondering if it's worth it to buy the EK 1001 questions? I just bought the EK verbal practice tests.
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I think it's good to buy the 1001 questions if you're weak in a certain area. Doing all the questions might be too much
 
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Anyone have advice/inspiration with hitting a wall on their practice exams? /:

I'm stuck at around 503-506 with my NS and EK exams so far... I was hoping to hit 510+ before doing the AAMC scored in 3 weeks but idk...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
 
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Jersanta said:
Anyone have advice/inspiration with hitting a wall on their practice exams? /:

I'm stuck at around 503-506 with my NS and EK exams so far... I was hoping to hit 510+ before doing the AAMC scored in 3 weeks but idk...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat, being stuck around 505 on my NS and Kaplan tests. I'm taking the AAMC unscored tomorrow so that's when I'll find out how much harder the prep companies material really is. With that being said, most people do better on the real MCAT than the prep companies stuff so with those scores I think it is definitely possible that you can break 510 on the real thing. From what I've seen, most peoples scores on the practice FL's are pretty much the same on each one and not a lot of people see a huge increase in scores throughout. Good Luck!
 
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Jersanta said:
Anyone have advice/inspiration with hitting a wall on their practice exams? /:

I'm stuck at around 503-506 with my NS and EK exams so far... I was hoping to hit 510+ before doing the AAMC scored in 3 weeks but idk...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
Don't get caught up in your score on non AAMC material. Just use practice tests as a way to identify weak areas and improve them.
 
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Harrybean said:
Hello friends! Retaker here, going to take my exam on 9/01 but I'll join this cuz there's no September thread haha.. I took the 4/23 test and got a 505 (126,125,126,128). After much contemplating, I decided I was gonna go for the retake and this time to aim for a 517!

I'll be using EK (bio,chem) and TPR (Psych) for content review and NS strategy books for practice! Not sure what to use for physics tho hmm.. any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I'm a retaker too! How have you been preparing? I'm trying to go from 490 to 505 atleast.
 
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I take my MCAT on the 9th, less than a week away. I have heard of a strategy where students are writing out an entire page of equations during the first 10 minutes of reading the rules/how to highlight/etc. Have any of you done this or are planning to do this? For those of you who have taken it already, did it help or do you think it would have helped? I have been spending most of my time on concepts and not much time on memorizing equations since I was under the impression that they would give you most of the equations needed to answer the questions. Thoughts?
 
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RDK4MED said:
I take my MCAT on the 9th, less than a week away. I have heard of a strategy where students are writing out an entire page of equations during the first 10 minutes of reading the rules/how to highlight/etc. Have any of you done this or are planning to do this? For those of you who have taken it already, did it help or do you think it would have helped? I have been spending most of my time on concepts and not much time on memorizing equations since I was under the impression that they would give you most of the equations needed to answer the questions. Thoughts?
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I took MCAT August 25. My advice would be to know quite a bit of physics 2 equations (electricity, magnets, optics). If anything, understand their concepts and how the equations relate. I was under the impression too that equations would be given but there were a few questions were they expected you to know the equations. Luckily I had an intuitive sense of how to solve what I was looking for (or so I think I did). Be able to perform dimensional analysis, understand possible units for a given equation. Have the fundamentals of general chemistry down and understand and have an idea of most of the equations learned from that. As far as your original question goes, yes I think it would be very beneficial to write down the equations on your paper during the exam agreement portion. You may get on a question where you are crunched for time and actually know the equation or how to solve, but forget due to being rushed. That being said, I would personally use it as a reference only. Know and understand the equations before hand. Only write them on the sheet for when you get stumped or are slightly foggy on a question. Hope this helps. Good luck on your exam.
 
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