The Official Jan. 24 2013 MCAT Thread

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Those are great scores! I don't even want to say what I'd do just to get those type of numbers. I hear what you're saying about the nerves. I'm trying to not let them get to me, and just try to keep calm and know that hard work and long-hours of studying should pay off. I hope.

To anyone who's taken the MCAT before, what's the deal, do they give us scratch paper and pencils/pens? Or do we bring our own writing utensils? Nothing allowed inside the computer testing room from the outside, right? If the test starts at 8, what time will they let us into the room itself? Do they assign us which computer station we will sit at? Thanks for the heads up!
 
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Today we should just be relaxing and enjoying ourselves.

I am going to watch comcast on demand, then go to the spa, maybe do a little shooping,and then drive to the testing center to see where it is, it not a far drive it should be abt 30 mins away from my house. But then again there is going to be so much traffic so I plan to leave my house at 6:30 am cant take the risk of there being an accident.

I think tomorrow I am going to get up super early go for a walk/jog around my neighborhood.
I decided I am going to have oatmeal for breakfast.
Pack a cinn raisin and banana for snack, and powerade to drink.
I am not going to chew gum, I am not going to use an ear plug.
I am going to use sweat pants, sneakers and a comfy t-shirt, bring a jacket just in case.
 
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Tomorrow's the big day.

I am not even nervous.
I got lost trying to find my testing center today never actually saw the actually place but saw it on google maps... I should found it well tomorrow.

I guess I dont give an F because I starting to think I want to be a N.P., for various reasons.
 
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Hey guys, it's been a while since I last posted. I took the test back in August and did well in all but physics. Now after taking physics 2 and gen chem 2 I am feeling completely confidant. My feelings going into the test are confidence and a sort of disinterest. I mostly just want to not have to think about it anymore.

Anyways if I score my practice test averages from this time around I will be a very happy camper.

I'll post my stats tomorrow with general impressions on how I think I did.
 
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Good luck tomorrow everyone.




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I'll keep it short and sweet.

PS- Average
VR- Slightly more difficult, but I'd still say average
BS- Easy

Overall I feel decent about it (30+), we'll see how it plays out. Im getting off this neurotic site for awhile, back to the real world! Good luck everyone!
 
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If I have to take this exam for the third time it will be because of the physical sciences. The novel passages always leave me hectic and rushing towards the end and guessing on easy questions- exactly what you're not supposed to do

The worst part is the wait. I guess I will start studying physics and chemistry in about a week or two just in case
 
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I put this in the Study section, but I want to join in:

Post Game Analysis:

PS: Not too bad, one or two questions left field, but overall felt relatively confident.

VR: Doing good until I spent too much time on one passage because I thought I was on the wrong section. I was able to answer every question to the best of my ability, but I should've had better time management

BS: My strongest section, finished w/ enough time to review everything again

Note about "Experimental Section": I can't discuss specifics, but I will say one thing.

dogscience1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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PS: I thought it was harder than I expected. I was having mini panic attacks in this section and I think I might have messed up the calcs.

VR: Easier than normal but than again, you never really know with verbal.

BS: There were 2 passages that I had trouble with. Ochem was not bad at all. How I do on those two passages can make or brake my score in this section.

Overall, test was very similar to AAMC 11. More so than any of the KAPLAN or other AAMC tests.

I dont think I did as well as I wanted to. I though it was hard overall.

Trial section: I feel sorry for those taking 2015 MCAT. That was SOOO HARD. The passages were twice the size of VARBAL passages. Lot of detail knowledge required!!
 
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I just took the exam. I feel like I bombed the PS section. Verbal was not so bad, and the stories were kind of interesting. BS was pretty similar to an aamc with nothing crazy being thrown at me. Overall though, I feel terrible. I feel like I'm going to have to retake.
 
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Ill keep it short and sweet too.

PS - Doable. I know I missed a few things, but overall average.

VR - Easier than other verbal sections i've attempted. At least there were some passages that kept my attention, and didn't make me wanna pass out from boredom.

BS - A little harder than I thought it would be, but still fair.

Overall: Absolutely better than a previous MCAT i've taken back in Aug 2012. 😎

Trial Section: Any question (if any) I got correct I contribute to my Psych AP class from high school. Very hard considering I learned the material 4+ years ago, but I feel like if i were actively studying for this section it wouldn't have been awful.

Hoping for a 30+ but realistically I probably got within the 26-28 range.

Now for that LOOOOONG month of waiting. Woooooo !!!!
 
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First of all I want to say that I am SO GLAD that this test is over. It was starting to greatly reduce the quality of my life.

Anyway, I thought PS was quite difficult. I scored between 11-15 on AAMCs and it seemed to be much harder than any of those. The discrete questions took me much longer than usual. While most passages were fairly straightforward, there was definitely 1 passage (if not 2) that really had me stuck.

Verbal was surprisingly easy - though that seems to be the consensus here on SDN (does that mean the curve will be harsher? I hope not). I had enough time to do all of the passages, but I had to rush a little bit on the last one.

BS was pretty straightforward too. I had about 10 minutes to check over my work at the end of the section, but I'm still nervous about being 50/50 on so many discretes.

Hoping for a 35, but if I had to guess what my scores in each section were right now, I would say 11-10-12 or 11-10-13.

Also, screw prometric. The font size on my screen was GIGANTIC compared to what I was used to. -_-.
 
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Shark7500 said:
First of all I want to say that I am SO GLAD that this test is over. It was starting to greatly reduce the quality of my life.

Anyway, I thought PS was quite difficult. I scored between 11-15 on AAMCs and it seemed to be much harder than any of those. The discrete questions took me much longer than usual. While most passages were fairly straightforward, there was definitely 1 passage (if not 2) that really had me stuck.

Verbal was surprisingly easy - though that seems to be the consensus here on SDN (does that mean the curve will be harsher? I hope not). I had enough time to do all of the passages, but I had to rush a little bit on the last one.

BS was pretty straightforward too. I had about 10 minutes to check over my work at the end of the section, but I'm still nervous about being 50/50 on so many discretes.

Hoping for a 35, but if I had to guess what my scores in each section were right now, I would say 11-10-12 or 11-10-13.

Also, screw prometric. The font size on my screen was GIGANTIC compared to what I was used to. -_-.
Click to expand...

That actually makes me happy. I get lost in the font if its too small. Good luck!
 
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you guys really think the VS is easy? I thought a few was not bad but there was this one section which I caused me to rush through the VS. As for the BS there is this one section towards the end of the sections that was exremely long and the questions were also long so I had to rush through a few questions. PS is not bad at all
 
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So I may have to retake due to a bad grade or due to my proctor flaws.

My proctor did not show up until past 9:30 am.
I took my picture after I took my exam.
I never got my fingerprint taken.
I was not able to take the trial section because I had to rush home, my dad needed the car to go to work.

I was so surprise I did not panic as much as I thought.
When I did panic I was able to ground myself quickly.

I do feel like I did get a 25 or above.

I also started to get so excited and stress. I was eating and chip my tooth from biting the fork to hard. I def. need to go to the gym hardcore.

Also

I felt PS was okay but ran out of time. I had to guess on abt 12-15 questions, I forgot how many I counted.
I felt VR was very good, I had to guess on the last passages but I thought it was okay. I guess on abt 10.
I felt BS was difficult, guess on abt. 20.

Hopefully I get a 9/9/9.
 
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Ugh it's finally over.

PS: it was more calculations than I had anticipated. some confusing questions but overall okay.,

VS: the starting few were alright but I felt it got harder toward the end. I guessed on a couple of questions (like 6 or 7). I'm hoping for a 10.

BS: more straightforward. One or two uncertain.

Overall, for me, verbal is either going to make or break my score. But glad to be done.

Sent from my SGH-T679
 
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First off, thank god it's all over finally.

PS: passage 1 was frickin' confusing for me or some strange reason. Rest of it wasn't too bad but toughest section for me.

Verbal: great choice of passages, was the most fun I've had reading these passages. Got caught up in one or two for a bit longer bc they were just too fascinating. But went by decently. Not bad at all.

BS: easier in my opinion, given bio isn't my forte. Very straightforward which was a blessing. Still some 50/50s.

Overall a moderate exam. Hoping for a good score. Also when do we get out gift certificates to Amazon for taking that trial section? The only reason I bothered to sit thorough it.
 
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It's only been 3 hours since the exam and I've already checked this thread 15 times. This is going to be one hell of a wait. 👎
 
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trojan4lyfe said:
First off, thank god it's all over finally.

....

Overall a moderate exam. Hoping for a good score. Also when do we get out gift certificates to Amazon for taking that trial section? The only reason I bothered to sit thorough it.
Click to expand...


How'd you feel about the trial section? I definitely needed to brush up for Biochem, I honestly don't remember much about it.
 
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If I got a 25 on today's test (which I don't think I did), I'm never retaking this test again.
 
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It's finally over! 😀

My impressions of the test: I feel that they may have set the difficulty a little lower for the 2013 MCAT, since previous MCAT forums don't have as many positive comments that I'm seeing here. There also seems to be an earlier post that claims this test to be easier than a previous exam he/she took back in August. With that said, the curve is obviously going to adapt to our performances, if it's true.

I actually thought BS was the hardest; I encountered more 50-50 decisions on this section more than PS. The more I look stuff up, the more I seemed to have gotten wrong :/ Oh well.

VS was awesome. Fun passages, finished with more than 10 minutes to spare (unprecedented, from AAMC practice experience). I was nervous about not having enough time to finish because of nervousness, but I had at least 10 minutes to recheck answers at the end of each section. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with today! Now for the grueling one month wait.
 
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I can't stand this one month wait. Why on earth are we still waiting 30-35 days until we can get our scores? They should just tell you what you get once you complete it. At least take away a couple of days since the writing section is gone. This whole exam frustrated me so much.

The wait. The agonizing wait.

I think I'm going to think about it like a girlfriend. The first couple of days after our break up, I am constantly thinking about her (the mcat). I see reminders of her (the mcat) everywhere I go, but I keep telling myself that I have to move on. She really dumped me hard. About a week or two into the breakup, things start shaping up for myself. I am no longer crying in my sleep and I can actually start thinking about other things. Give it one more week, and I'm already talking to other girls.

Then, all of a sudden, that girl who no one likes and always spreads rumors shows up. "Oh my gosh, guess what I heard? Mcat wants to get back together with you!" Oh crap, seriously? I just got over her and now all of the butterflies are coming back! I remember all the problems and arguments about how dumb some of her questions were in our 3 month relationship together. Some of them were like wtf and she always had to complicate things. What do I tell her? Do I pretend I want to get back with her and then dump her? Or do I try to have another relationship with her? Or do I just move on? The next day I see mcat, walking around with her luscious blonde hair waving in the wind. She walks over to me and hands me a letter. On the top of that letter, it says scores. She looks at me and smiles, and I look back at her with fear in my eyes. I choke up a little as I rip open the letter in front of her. She starts laughing but I can't tell if its a genuine "I know you're scared, but I still love you" kind of laugh, or a "screw you, you d---a--" laugh. As I take the piece of paper out of the letter, she is constantly staring at me with a creepy smile. No other facial expression have I seen that is so creepy. My breathing starts to become erratic. My heart starts pounding as hard as when we had just broke up. Are we going to be spending another couple of months together? Or will I have enough courage to finally tell her to leave me alone? As I look at her creepy smile again, I can only pray I will say the latter.

Tune in next month to find out how the story will conclude!! Until next time, you stay classy. And don't let this test make you crazy.
 
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Hello everyone!

I hope you all did better than you thought possible today, I was a retaker on this day but I didn't quite feel comfortable scoring it so I will give it one more shot in May. I can apply with my first score but want to do better.. too many 40s on SDN to make my score feel meager 😉

PS - Easier, yet tricky? A few interesting concepts were asked but overall the passages didn't seem too difficult.

VR - Medium, passages weren't too tough of a read but some of the questions were hard to narrow down.

BS - Easier, passages here were a bit more difficult with some tougher (and random!) questions but overall I thought it was straightforward.

I will be studying for May and I'll be around here really reinforcing those concepts! Good luck to you all with your scores and applications, but worst case scenario you can take it again 😉 it is NOT the end of the world!!
 
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I now think did horrible.
PS I was guessing more than norm and PS is my best section.
There were topics on there that I was shock to see. There was two passages that shock me.

VR I think I did good only guess on abt 4 questions the last passage I was so damn hard even though I had 10 mins to do it. Plus I took 10 secs break before starting a new passages which I never did before during practice... why the f did I change my strategy. I remember one time I thought I did great and than got a 5.

BS was wtf guess on abt 20 questions I was so damn shock, just wtf.

Then well riding back from the gym I kept hearing songs abt trying again if you fail.

I really do wish AAMC would give us our raw scores asap, then take a month to do the scale scores, if someone from AAMC is looking please consider it.
 
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Didn't think the experimental section was bad. But I've taken more of those courses than I have chemistry, bio, or physics. I laughed at a lot of the questions because I knew all of that stuff at one point but I had forgotten a lot of it.
 
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that test sucked. I'm a retake and I think I completely bombed it. I should have voided but I didn't 🙁

The PS section was difficult and unexpected. I felt like I guess more than usual and a couple of the passages were weird. It threw me off for a bit.
The VR section is my worst area. The passages seemed doable, however, I ran out of time and had to guess on a few questions. I think I did poorly though.
The BS section was relatively normal to me.

ughhhh now the month wait.
 
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Hi guys, I just wanted to know if there were different versions of the test given out. Or is it all the same with questions shuffled? And is there a curve for the test?
 
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darklabel said:
Yeah, Orgo was too easy. Seriously, I don't want a retake, theres no way Orgo on BS could possibly get easier than that.
Click to expand...

To people who still have the test coming, just because they had easy orgo doesn't mean we will! Lesson I learned the hard way 😡
 
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calibrate said:
]that test sucked. I'm a retake and I think I completely bombed it. I should have voided but I didn't 🙁 [/B]

The PS section was difficult and unexpected. I felt like I guess more than usual and a couple of the passages were weird. It threw me off for a bit.
The VR section is my worst area. The passages seemed doable, however, I ran out of time and had to guess on a few questions. I think I did poorly though.
The BS section was relatively normal to me.

ughhhh now the month wait.
Click to expand...



I'm with you. I shouldn't have retaken my 30, but I got an 8 on verbal (10/8/12), so I retook. Now, I hope I get the same score, but I know I didn't.

Which brings me to my question... do you guys know how MD/DO schools look at that? Say I got a 28 this time. Would they look at my recent score, or my first one? I mean otherwise I feel like I'm an OK applicant, with a 3.9 and volunteer/EC/shadow/job, etc...

First post on SDN, but didn't know where to put this- i figured someone could help me out as to where to ask this type of question.

Best of luck on the month wait, everyone.
 
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ruguy said:
I'm with you. I shouldn't have retaken my 30, but I got an 8 on verbal (10/8/12), so I retook. Now, I hope I get the same score, but I know I didn't.

Which brings me to my question... do you guys know how MD/DO schools look at that? Say I got a 28 this time. Would they look at my recent score, or my first one? I mean otherwise I feel like I'm an OK applicant, with a 3.9 and volunteer/EC/shadow/job, etc...

First post on SDN, but didn't know where to put this- i figured someone could help me out as to where to ask this type of question.

Best of luck on the month wait, everyone.
Click to expand...

Wow, a 3.9 and you're talking DO? You honestly should've kept the 30. Anything 28+ and no way I'm retaking it.

Anyways, just wait and see. People walk out feeling like they failed and they may pleasantly (or not) be surprised.
 
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darklabel said:
Wow, a 3.9 and you're talking DO? You honestly should've kept the 30. Anything 28+ and no way I'm retaking it.

Anyways, just wait and see. People walk out feeling like they failed and they may pleasantly (or not) be surprised.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know, a bit too late. Should've just voided it and walked out a happy man. 🙁

Time to wait..
 
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Economics said:
I can't stand this one month wait. Why on earth are we still waiting 30-35 days until we can get our scores? They should just tell you what you get once you complete it. At least take away a couple of days since the writing section is gone. This whole exam frustrated me so much.

The wait. The agonizing wait.

I think I'm going to think about it like a girlfriend. The first couple of days after our break up, I am constantly thinking about her (the mcat). I see reminders of her (the mcat) .......
Click to expand...

This feeling has been with me all day. I try to stay away and think about something else but I can't. Preparing since November for this and not even sure what I got...man its frightening :scared:

Even with a real gf to keep me busy 🙂naughty🙂, still can't help thinking about it.
 
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Alright so to assess the damage...
This is a retake, I got a (PS/VR/BS) 8/11/10 for a total of a 29. After taking gen chem 2 and physics 2 I was much more prepared for the physics portion. I took 5 practice tests before this time and my average is listed below.

Physics: it may have been nerves but I thought that it was harder than the practice tests, I felt solid on four sections and the discretes but felt a bit iffy on three of the passages

Verbal: this is my strong section and I felt like I got murdered by it....hopefully I'm just being overly hard on myself and did better than I thought

Biology: I was so surprised by how easy I thought this section was. I had enough time to go through every question twice so that was awesome

Trial: SO HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets just say I'm so happy I'm not taking the 2015 version.

1st test: 08/11/10 Total 29
Practice test averages 11.5/11/10.5. Total 33
Perception of this test 10/10/12 total 32

Honestly so long as I improve in physics and don't drop my other scores I am a happy camper.

Feeling good.
 
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Economics said:
I can't stand this one month wait. Why on earth are we still waiting 30-35 days until we can get our scores? They should just tell you what you get once you complete it. At least take away a couple of days since the writing section is gone. This whole exam frustrated me so much.

The wait. The agonizing wait.

I think I'm going to think about it like a girlfriend. The first couple of days after our break up, I am constantly thinking about her (the mcat). I see reminders of her (the mcat) everywhere I go, but I keep telling myself that I have to move on. She really dumped me hard. About a week or two into the breakup, things start shaping up for myself. I am no longer crying in my sleep and I can actually start thinking about other things. Give it one more week, and I'm already talking to other girls.

Then, all of a sudden, that girl who no one likes and always spreads rumors shows up. "Oh my gosh, guess what I heard? Mcat wants to get back together with you!" Oh crap, seriously? I just got over her and now all of the butterflies are coming back! I remember all the problems and arguments about how dumb some of her questions were in our 3 month relationship together. Some of them were like wtf and she always had to complicate things. What do I tell her? Do I pretend I want to get back with her and then dump her? Or do I try to have another relationship with her? Or do I just move on? The next day I see mcat, walking around with her luscious blonde hair waving in the wind. She walks over to me and hands me a letter. On the top of that letter, it says scores. She looks at me and smiles, and I look back at her with fear in my eyes. I choke up a little as I rip open the letter in front of her. She starts laughing but I can't tell if its a genuine "I know you're scared, but I still love you" kind of laugh, or a "screw you, you d---a--" laugh. As I take the piece of paper out of the letter, she is constantly staring at me with a creepy smile. No other facial expression have I seen that is so creepy. My breathing starts to become erratic. My heart starts pounding as hard as when we had just broke up. Are we going to be spending another couple of months together? Or will I have enough courage to finally tell her to leave me alone? As I look at her creepy smile again, I can only pray I will say the latter.

Tune in next month to find out how the story will conclude!! Until next time, you stay classy. And don't let this test make you crazy.
Click to expand...


btw LOVE this
 
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