The Official August 9, 2013 MCAT Thread

[IL Pre Med]

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Just started studying today. Anyone else with me?

 

[darknight]

Hey gang,

Today really has not been a great day for me. I just got my score, and it was a little sub par to my expectations. I studied suuper hard for this test, and the results weren't what I expected :/ Really felt like I let my family, and my self down.

I totally understand what everyone said about physics being super tough, and the MCAT being so hard overall.

I ended up with a 42. Not sure if I even want to apply this year anymore. Maybe another year will pull my marks up.

Thanks for all the support guys! I get really invested with these kind of things 🙁

O really?

 

[ShySpliceosome]

Anyone else re-taking? I'm 99.99% sure I will Still applying this cycle, but fully not expecting any interviews with my score, unless a miracle happens...

 

[oxelhs]

Most likely retaking. 7 in verbal won't get me anymore in Canada.

 

[Roxas]

Anyone else re-taking? I'm 99.99% sure I will Still applying this cycle, but fully not expecting any interviews with my score, unless a miracle happens...

What did you get? Are you applying DO as well?

 

[Heday]

Anyone else re-taking? I'm 99.99% sure I will Still applying this cycle, but fully not expecting any interviews with my score, unless a miracle happens...

Yeah I think I want to retake. I'll actually do complete content review the next time. Haven't decided whether I'll continue with my application this cycle. REDACT, but it certainly limits the schools I can apply to..

 

[shoehornlettuce]

Most likely retaking. 7 in verbal won't get me anymore in Canada.

I feel your pain. I got the exact same verbal score. You take the 2pm test? The curve must have been absolutely brutal cause verbal was the only section I felt relatively confident about. I suck at verbal but I've never gotten lower than an 8 on a practice test. 13/07/12... how's that for an uneven distribution?

 

[ShySpliceosome]

What did you get? Are you applying DO as well?

25 👎thumbdown👎



No, unfortunately I was overly confident and fully intended on getting a MUCH higher score; thus, I had already applied to 20 MD schools before I got my score

Big mistake. I'm SOOOOO mad at myself right now...


Edited to add: Congrats to everyone who reached their goal scores or higher!!! I salute you!!!

 

[gettheleadout]

25 👎thumbdown👎



No, unfortunately I was overly confident and fully intended on getting a MUCH higher score; thus, I had already applied to 20 MD schools before I got my score

Big mistake. I'm SOOOOO mad at myself right now...


Edited to add: Congrats to everyone who reached their goal scores or higher!!! I salute you!!!

What were your AAMC FL scores?

Also what was your breakdown for the 25?

 

[Roxas]

25 👎thumbdown👎



No, unfortunately I was overly confident and fully intended on getting a MUCH higher score; thus, I had already applied to 20 MD schools before I got my score

Big mistake. I'm SOOOOO mad at myself right now...


Edited to add: Congrats to everyone who reached their goal scores or higher!!! I salute you!!!

So I assume you're planning on retaking? If so, when?

I'm sorry to hear that man, but you're not the first person to get rocked by this test. You can do it 👍

P.S. It's probably not too late to get your DO app in if you still want to try to get in this cycle. If not, a gap year is not the end of the world.

 

[Serialhealer]

It is "negativity like this" that prevents people like William Hung from auditioning on American Idol (although I guess it kinda worked out for him). If you are going for a DO then you might be fine. Realistically, it will be very difficult to get into an MD school with that MCAT. Depending on what you're going for, I think OP was just giving you helpful advice that could ultimately save you time and money.

So you were giving me condescending advice as you draw parallels to William Hung without reading my entire post thoroughly? If you as a listener step in and heroically offer your guidance, I would hope you would have read my entire post before qualifying yourself to a position that can provide perspective. Trying to be helpful without understanding the original situation is impulsive and undue.

While I appreciate your apology, lets try to listen more and edify eachother before wanting to be the hero who solves the problem.

 

[65dos]

so after a few pitchers i've come to the realization that a 36 with 1 month of studying while working full time isn't bad.

i may not be able to do med where i did my undergrad, but who knows what a change of scenery might do.

 

[xijowxw]

Scored 13/10/12 on AAMC 9. Again, just 2 away from a 37, it's such a fine line at this point. I really hope test day is as nice as these practice tests lol how's everyone coming along?

 

[shoehornlettuce]

So you were giving me condescending advice as you draw parallels to William Hung without reading my entire post thoroughly? If you as a listener step in and heroically offer your guidance, I would hope you would have read my entire post before qualifying yourself to a position that can provide perspective. Trying to be helpful without understanding the original situation is impulsive and undue.

While I appreciate your apology, lets try to listen more and edify eachother before wanting to be the hero who solves the problem.

I did read your entire post. It read like 24 was the only score you received. It was a separate post entirely that was several pages back that clarified what you meant. I believe the other guy understood it the same way I did because nobody is gonna tell you to retake a 31 out of the blue. Nobody is trying to be a hero. We were simply offering you some advice based upon (what appeared to be) unrealistic expectations. You can't expect random people on the internet to shuffle through hundreds of posts on the outside chance that they missed something. I do understand where you're coming from though. Although I certainly hope everybody takes everything they read here with a grain of salt, it would be awful if somebody had their application cycle unjustifiably ruined by such misinformation.

 

[oxelhs]

I feel your pain. I got the exact same verbal score. You take the 2pm test? The curve must have been absolutely brutal cause verbal was the only section I felt relatively confident about. I suck at verbal but I've never gotten lower than an 8 on a practice test. 13/07/12... how's that for an uneven distribution?

Yup, pretty ****ty. I knew I messed up verbal but SEVEN? Never gotten below 9 on any test. Ughhh third time's the charm?

 

[TooFoolForCool]

.

 

[medsci08]

Ended up with a 14 8 13
Only rewrote the exam to increase my verbal, ended up doing the same in VR and improving PS and BS. Strange because, I was averaging 10s on all my practice exams so I felt good about the VR.
Hopefully my umbalanced score can be good for something.

Did you write the 2pm?

 

[TooFoolForCool]

Did you write the 2pm?

Yessir

 

[medsci08]

Yessir

A lot of people I know who wrote the 2 pm - including myself - scored below their AAMC average on the VR section. It seemed like one of the easiest verbal tests I'd written, too.

 

[ComplexNapoleon]

No, I DID get a 42.

Sick bro, hope your mom gives you a nice handy before she tucks you into bed tonight.

 

[MedOldAge]

Sick bro, hope your mom gives you a nice handy before she tucks you into bed tonight.

😱 🙄 😆😆

 

[TooFoolForCool]

A lot of people I know who wrote the 2 pm - including myself - scored below their AAMC average on the VR section. It seemed like one of the easiest verbal tests I'd written, too.

Oh really, hmm didn't know that. Yeah I thought I did pretty well. I was expecting AT LEAST a 1 point improvement because to be completely honest, the first time i took the exam 2 years ago, I just guessed randomly on the entire last passage and still somehow managed to score an 8. This time I had plenty of time to complete all passages with confidence and still got the same score? Just strange.

Looking back, I have no idea why I even scored the tests when I knew i straight up guessed haha.

 

[TriagePreMed]

A lot of people I know who wrote the 2 pm - including myself - scored below their AAMC average on the VR section. It seemed like one of the easiest verbal tests I'd written, too.

I also felt that the pm test had an easy VR. I scored between 8 and 12 with no discernible pattern on practice tests. I got a 9, so I'm not unhappy, although it was the same verbal from the first time around.

 

[Synapsis]

Ended up with a 14 8 13
Only rewrote the exam to increase my verbal, ended up doing the same in VR and improving PS and BS. Strange because, I was averaging 10s on all my practice exams so I felt good about the VR.
Hopefully my umbalanced score can be good for something.

If it makes you feel better, a good friend of mine had a breakdown 14,X,15, where her verbal was below 10 and she wouldn't tell me what it was. She just finished her interview at John's Hopkins. Your breakdown reminds me of that a little. If that's not proof that there's more to see than this silly test, then I'm not sure what is.

 

[stevenxyw]

Actual scores: P13/V11/B12

I was averaging 36 on practice tests with a high of 39 and low of 31 (relatively large range). After finishing, I thought the test definitely played to my weakest areas (especially in bio) but I'm relatively happy with my score! I studied for 3 months while working full-time.

 

[cecinestpasun]

Hi all,

So I first discovered this forum on August 9th immediately after taking the MCAT (8 AM).
Physical sciences really threw me for a loop that morning so I wanted to see what other people thought.

Anyway, my AAMC average was ~33 with an average of 11 in each section.

My actual score was 35
PS 11, VR 12, BS 12.

I used the Kaplan and Exam Kracker books and also found Khan Academy to be amazing for re-learning general chemistry and organic chemistry concepts.

I studied for ~3 months while working full time in a lab. My undergrad started almost 10 years ago so I had to do a lot of re-learning because it had been so long since I took those courses.
Therefore 👍 I'm very happy with this score, all things considered.

 

[shoehornlettuce]

A lot of people I know who wrote the 2 pm - including myself - scored below their AAMC average on the VR section. It seemed like one of the easiest verbal tests I'd written, too.

The funny thing is, if I hadn't felt so confident about verbal I probably would have voided the exam because of how poorly I felt about the PS section. I usually end up spacing out at some point during verbal and don't realize it until I get to the questions and they have nothing to do with Jennifer Lawrence and I at our Malibu beach house. I managed to stay focused all the way through so I figured I would be closer to the top of my practice test range. One passage in PS (now assuming it was experimental) made absolutely no sense to me so I pretty much blind guessed on the 4 or 5 questions that required direct knowledge from the passage. I get the scores back and the section I felt the worst about ends up being my best and vice versa. Go figure huh?

 

[TooFoolForCool]

If it makes you feel better, a good friend of mine had a breakdown 14,X,15, where her verbal was below 10 and she wouldn't tell me what it was. She just finished her interview at John's Hopkins. Your breakdown reminds me of that a little. If that's not proof that there's more to see than this silly test, then I'm not sure what is.

Oh word? Well that definitely helps to ease my mind. I know this test isnt the end all be all but its nice to see some proof of that.

 

[MangoPlant]

Took the 2 PM. Verbal reasoning score was well below average.. Probably have to retake just because of verbal. sigh..

 

[Synapsis]

Oh word? Well that definitely helps to ease my mind. I know this test isnt the end all be all but its nice to see some proof of that.

Yea all she said was that her verbal was really bad and below 10, so I assume that means it was an 8 or a 9 with 7 of course pushing it. I think as long as your gpa/EC's are solid and you're passionate about them, you shouldn't be in any really trouble.

 

[djz23]

2pm
Actual: 11,8,12
AAMC average: about 31 (only did a few this time cuz this was a rewrite for me and didn't want to redo tests I'd done last time)

Ecstatic about science scores (thought I bombed physics). Surprised by my verbal score as most people seem to be. Was getting consistent 10s on my last few tests.

What the hell is with this verbal section!? I feel like the curve was way too harsh.

I feel like requesting a rescore lol.

 

[djz23]

Damn, that verbal reasoning section must have had a terrible curve.

Agreed

 

[Synapsis]

Figured I'd post this to remind people that you don't need 37+ to go to even the best schools in the country. Most people have probably already seen it.

http://medical-schools.findthebest....u-need-to-get-into-the-Harvard-Medical-School

Not that everyone should be trying to go to Harvard, but it's a good place to get your bearings. Average of 36 of course means some people are getting in with 35s, 34s and perhaps 33s. I think on SDN there's this enormous pressure to get 37+ (or even 40+). Or at least, we see the people with those scores as the ones sure to get in places. Hopefully this sheds a little light 😛

 

[kimicurtis]

I am sooo late to the post-results party...Any I was honestly kinda pleasantly surprised (look at my avg), but when I saw the score was like: "damn, i want that 30". Still gonna work with this and if nothing happens retake in Jan for 30+

8 am
AAMC 9-11: 25.6
Post-test Prediction: 25
Actual: 28 (10/10/8)

Surpised by my PS score and verbal. I felt good while taking the VR but felt the curve would kill me...BS is kind of annoying, I ran out of time towards the end because I didn't pace myself properly. Had 0 hours sleep the night before and was generally just stressed. Had to get out of bed at 4:30 am to take my test (I literally just lay in bed all night).

 

[ar00n]

I am sooo late to the post-results party...Any I was honestly kinda pleasantly surprised (look at my avg), but when I saw the score was like: "damn, i want that 30". Still gonna work with this and if nothing happens retake in Jan for 30+

8 am
AAMC 9-11: 25.6
Post-test Prediction: 25
Actual: 28 (10/10/8)

Surpised by my PS score and verbal. I felt good while taking the VR but felt the curve would kill me...BS is kind of annoying, I ran out of time towards the end because I didn't pace myself properly. Had 0 hours sleep the night before and was generally just stressed. Had to get out of bed at 4:30 am to take my test (I literally just lay in bed all night).

Well done! Grats on the 10 in verbal, that's a solid score.

 

[darknight]

Figured I'd post this to remind people that you don't need 37+ to go to even the best schools in the country. Most people have probably already seen it.

http://medical-schools.findthebest....u-need-to-get-into-the-Harvard-Medical-School

Not that everyone should be trying to go to Harvard, but it's a good place to get your bearings. Average of 36 of course means some people are getting in with 35s, 34s and perhaps 33s. I think on SDN there's this enormous pressure to get 37+ (or even 40+). Or at least, we see the people with those scores as the ones sure to get in places. Hopefully this sheds a little light 😛

Freshman thinking here. As long as you're accepted to a decent medical school, that is great. IMO.

 

[sakabato93]

Freshman thinking here. As long as you're accepted to a decent medical school, that is great. IMO.

Its not freshman thinking...

 

[commserver]

Figured I'd post this to remind people that you don't need 37+ to go to even the best schools in the country. Most people have probably already seen it.

http://medical-schools.findthebest....u-need-to-get-into-the-Harvard-Medical-School

Not that everyone should be trying to go to Harvard, but it's a good place to get your bearings. Average of 36 of course means some people are getting in with 35s, 34s and perhaps 33s. I think on SDN there's this enormous pressure to get 37+ (or even 40+). Or at least, we see the people with those scores as the ones sure to get in places. Hopefully this sheds a little light 😛

If you go to the actual web page you will see towards the bottom something that says that the median, which might not be the same as the mean.


INSTITUTION Harvard University
LOCATION Boston, Massachusetts
MEDIAN MCAT SCORE 36.0
MEDIAN INCOMING GPA 3.92
TOTAL STUDENTS 700


The difference is the Median Incoming GPA of 3.92, which is quite high.

 

[commserver]

What gets me are the ones with 32-33 who cry and state how they need to retake a 32-33 because low-mid tier schools will never take them--even with no section below a 9.

What if a person were applying for MD/PHD? Those numbers would be very low. This especially so for MSTP schools.

 

[inycepoo]

What if a person were applying for MD/PHD? Those numbers would be very low. This especially so for MSTP schools.

I think that "low-tier" schools as OP said generally implies MD/PhD is not the concern (poor/small schools tend not to have enough funding for good PhD programs) but rather general MD admissions instead. , in which case 33 is basically right at the average.

 

[inycepoo]

If you go to the actual web page you will see towards the bottom something that says that the median, which might not be the same as the mean.


INSTITUTIONHarvard University
LOCATIONBoston, Massachusetts
MEDIAN MCAT SCORE36.0
MEDIAN INCOMING GPA3.92
TOTAL STUDENTS700


The difference is the Median Incoming GPA of 3.92, which is quite high.

That's incoming students. Schools love to use the matriculated figures to boost their averages/medians.

In any case, I'm willing to bet that the left skew of these numbers (median [3.92] > mean [3.8]) is due to variations in perceived undergrad difficulty. i.e., a 3.75 from an Ivy would be seen differently than a 3.75 from a typical, regular public state school. We know adcoms at top schools expect a higher GPA from a "less difficult" institution, however they wish to define that.

Because let's face it; there are schools where getting a 4.0 is not that hard, and others where 3.75 is considered superstar (and not because everyone else is dumb, either). Otherwise, the median MCAT should rise accordingly with the super high GPAs, but it stays constant at 36, with mean equalling the median.

 

[mcloaf]

What if a person were applying for MD/PHD? Those numbers would be very low. This especially so for MSTP schools.

If you have the research background you could still end up in a top 10 MSTP program with a score like that. Of course higher is always better, but hard and fast rules are dangerous.

 

[Synapsis]

That's incoming students. Schools love to use the matriculated figures to boost their averages/medians.

In any case, I'm willing to bet that the left skew of these numbers (median [3.92] > mean [3.8]) is due to variations in perceived undergrad difficulty. i.e., a 3.75 from an Ivy would be seen differently than a 3.75 from a typical, regular public state school. We know adcoms at top schools expect a higher GPA from a "less difficult" institution, however they wish to define that.

Because let's face it; there are schools where getting a 4.0 is not that hard, and others where 3.75 is considered superstar (and not because everyone else is dumb, either). Otherwise, the median MCAT should rise accordingly with the super high GPAs, but it stays constant at 36, with mean equalling the median.

Too true. I don't pay too much attention to GPA's posted here because some of them come from schools that might be more commonly seen as "easy". You can see data that shows that in some schools, students with 3.5 cGPA still have 70%+ chance of getting into medical school. Whereas for others with the same cGPA, it may be 50 or below.

Freshman thinking here. As long as you're accepted to a decent medical school, that is great. IMO.

Wha? The only reason I put up Harvard's mean is to remind people that even at the top schools in the country, there are people with 33 and 34 MCAT scores. It can often be believed that you need 38+. In fact, before I went and checked myself, I had just naturally assumed that Harvard's average was ~38. No one's saying that only the top med schools are good, or even that you should be trying to go to them. Not sure what's freshman about that, especially since I'm a junior lol.

 

[gettheleadout]

Too true. I don't pay too much attention to GPA's posted here because some of them come from schools that might be more commonly seen as "easy". You can see data that shows that in some schools, students with 3.5 cGPA still have 70%+ chance of getting into medical school. Whereas for others with the same cGPA, it may be 50 or below.

There's more to it than that as well. Applicants from my school with a 28-29 have something like a 96% acceptance rate because our state med school has heavy in-state bias and low average stats.

But yeah, you're totally correct about GPA. I would know, my school is not rigorous. For example, I'm in a graduate-level biochemistry course right now and it's a joke. I think it's telling that students at my school with 4.0's frequently score in the high 20's on the MCAT.

 

[inycepoo]

But yeah, you're totally correct about GPA. I would know, my school is not rigorous. For example, I'm in a graduate-level biochemistry course right now and it's a joke. I think it's telling that students at my school with 4.0's frequently score in the high 20's on the MCAT.

And 3.7s at my school score 35+. Those with 3.8+ easily get 39-40. I can't speak for 3.9+ because honestly they are very very rare, but the one dude and gal I know (boyfriend-girlfriend) have 3.95/3.98, 41/42, respectively, and go to Chicago on full merit. Said it was cake. lol. When underclassmen freak out about the MCAT, upperclassmen just talk about how chill their studying was and how we're still gonna bash up that 35 average across everyone applying in a cycle (little to no screening exists; the committee will write anyone up).

People here still scare me 🙁

GPA is a very broken system.

 

[Gabri]

Yup, I did the TPR prep course but really only showed up regularly to Bio and Physics. I disregarded their verbal completely and just followed my own strategy really...

I've heard good things about Berkeley Review but I haven't really touched their books and they're hard to get (legally at least haha). I'd suggest taking the TPR course if you have the $$$

Good idea. I will take the course. Do you think TPR course is better than Berkerey review course?

 

[inycepoo]

Good idea. I will take the course. Do you think TPR course is better than Berkerey review course?

I don't know about teaching at either company, but I know Kaplan's online content is far superior than that of TPR. Far far far superior by many lightyears.

 

[MedOldAge]

I don't know about teaching at either company, but I know Kaplan's online content is far superior than that of TPR. Far far far superior by many lightyears.

Roommate,

Are you saying that even PR has the Cracking FL and the Review Series FL, the Kaplan package in general is still out weighed PR for the current trend of heavier "experimental type of question" test?

 

[inycepoo]

Roommate,

Are you saying that even PR has the Cracking FL and the Review Series FL, the Kaplan package in general is still out weighed PR for the current trend of heavier "experimental type of question" test?

Yes. Cracking was okay but Review was complete crap. Kaplan online content pwns TPR 50:1.

 

[Gabri]

Yes. Cracking was okay but Review was complete crap. Kaplan online content pwns TPR 50:1.

So what company do you recommend for Mcat course review? I plan to take this course for 3 months b4 I take the actual exam.

 

[inycepoo]

So what company do you recommend for Mcat course review? I plan to take this course for 3 months b4 I take the actual exam.

Didn't you take it with us on August 9th already? Is this for a retake? (Or have you been trolling this whole time?)

Kaplan.