The Official January 10, 2015 MCAT Thread

[Jhakaasmaan]

Hey everyone, first time posting here and I thought I would go ahead a make a thread for those writing on this test date.

115 days out!

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[juan_521]

I was wondering about Le Chatlier's principle and thermodynamics. Saw this on pg. 40 of EK gen chem:
View attachment 187210
Makes sense but guess I never put two and two together.

I read this too! Thanks for bring it up b/c I read it too long ago...already forgot...

 

[juan_521]

Hey,
Yes, I think you are right. I will hold off on teh AAMC tests till mid December. I will start doing the Gold Standard. I actually just did the Bio section of GS this morning and got a 10. I think I just get fatigued after all the other sections and get lazy with reading the BS sections. I just need to suck it up and power through!!! Thanks for all the advice

10 is ideal. Every time when I was tested by physiology-heavy Bio section, my score will drop to 8. I cannot keep a consistent score of Bio.

 

[Cawolf]

oops my thread wasn't updated when I replied.

 

[ahisma]

I'm wondering what everyone's strategy is when encountering a difficult problem you don't know how to approach or can't narrow down an answer?

I have a real bad habit of dwelling on hard problems that I want to kick. Trying to just pick an answer, move on, and mark it for review later.

 

[juan_521]

SN2ed's schedule is so hard to keep up. I never re-read chapters or do the hat trick.

 

[juan_521]

I'm wondering what everyone's strategy is when encountering a difficult problem you don't know how to approach or can't narrow down an answer?

I have a real bad habit of dwelling on hard problems that I want to kick. Trying to just pick an answer, move on, and mark it for review later.

I found that when I make a guess and move on instead of waste time on a hard question, my score raised.

 

[ahisma]

I found that when I make a guess and move on instead of waste time on a hard question, my score raised.

Makes sense in that all the questions are worth equal points and no penalty for wrong answers. And I know this logically, just need to get over my perfectionist tendencies. Feels like yet another habit that worked well for pre-requisite science classes but is awful for the MCAT.

 

[Barbells&Babies18]

Makes sense in that all the questions are worth equal points and no penalty for wrong answers. And I know this logically, just need to get over my perfectionist tendencies. Feels like yet another habit that worked well for pre-requisite science classes but is awful for the MCAT.

I'm a perfectionist & a tad OCD which is great for college but counter active for MCAT! Just have to battle those tendencies!!

 

[Jane26Enaj62]

I found that when I make a guess and move on instead of waste time on a hard question, my score raised.

Good advice. I will try it next practice test.

 

[Cawolf]

Totally - the marking feature is awesome.

 

[GCSDOC]

Anyone do any AAMC practice tests yet? If so, how are your results and any advice for those of us beginning this soon?

 

[juan_521]

Anyone do any AAMC practice tests yet? If so, how are your results and any advice for those of us beginning this soon?

Yes, I did. 1 FL each week in average. I feel pretty sad now b/c I didn't improve very much.
Maybe I did something wrong? Bad strategy?
I need some suggestions, especially VR.
Order: PS, VR, BS, TOTAL
AAMC FL #3 (10/13/2014) 9 5 11 25
Kaplan FL #2 (10/24/2014) 13 6 10 29
Kaplan FL #3 (11/01/2014) 9 5 11 25
GS #1 (free) (11/08/2014) 9 8 8
25
GS #2 (11/14/2014) 9 8 10 27
GS #3 (11/17/2014) 11 7 10 28
AAMC FL #4 (11/20/2014) 11 6 8 25

 

[ahisma]

Yes, I did. 1 FL each week in average. I feel pretty sad now b/c I didn't improve very much. Maybe I did something wrong? Bad strategy? I need some suggestions, especially VR.

What's your top 3 most common/recurring reasons for wrong answers (content, logic, reading comprehension, etc)? What verbal review books did you use?

Also, if you were following the SN2ed plan, why did you do so many practice tests so early? Did you skip the chapter review passages or something?

 

[juan_521]

What's your top 3 most common/recurring reasons for wrong answers (content, logic, reading comprehension, etc)? What verbal review books did you use?

Also, if you were following the SN2ed plan, why did you do so many practice tests so early? Did you skip the chapter review passages or something?

Reading comprehension is a problem for me. I used EK 101 and Kaplan.
I combine SN2ed with The Spinach Method
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ints-in-2-months-—-the-spinach-method.988678/
Yes, I did skip the chapter review passages. Maybe I should go back and review those.

 

[ahisma]

TPRH verbal is good if you need more passages. I found the techniques in EK's verbal workbook (different than 101) helpful as well. For PS and BS reading comprehension BR's passages helped me a lot.

 

[GCSDOC]

TPRH verbal is good if you need more passages. I found the techniques in EK's verbal workbook (different than 101) helpful as well. For PS and BS reading comprehension BR's passages helped me a lot.

Can you elaborate on the techniques from EK's verbal workbook that were helpful for you? Thanks!

 

[juan_521]

TPRH verbal is good if you need more passages. I found the techniques in EK's verbal workbook (different than 101) helpful as well. For PS and BS reading comprehension BR's passages helped me a lot.

Yes, I have those, TPRH verbal & EK's verbal workbook (I bought the whole EK package+ EK 101).
OMG, just too much to do! I feel like I cannot finish them. Just try my best to do as much as possible.

 

[Jane26Enaj62]

Yes, I have those, TPRH verbal & EK's verbal workbook (I bought the whole EK package+ EK 101).
OMG, just too much to do! I feel like I cannot finish them. Just try my best to do as much as possible.

Where did you get the Kaplan tests? Are they online administered like GS or is it paper and pencil?

 

[oobie]

I had to take my first practice MCAT today because I bought it a year ago (took about a year ago) and I didn't remember anything really about it. My score: 11/8/9 = 28 Composite. A starting point. Totally surprised at the PS because I thought I was totally struggling through it. VR was interesting because I found that my technique was taking way too long and so I had to speed up quite a bit. I think this caused me to miss a few questions, and it is just that I needed to get used to it. (Weird thing is the passage I felt most confident about, I got almost all wrong on. It was the same passage I spent like 5 minutes on). Also I was getting tired from this because of a little lack of sleep. I'm not putting too much emphasis on this other than I need to speed up my verbal. BS was quite surprising in the opposite way of PS. I thought I was getting at least a 10 on it. Oh well. I need to focus on ochem a bit more and will analyze my weaknesses in the biology sections.
Good start. I'm getting after the 35 (my goal)!

 

[juan_521]

Where did you get the Kaplan tests? Are they online administered like GS or is it paper and pencil?

I bought their online class and it lasts until Jan 2, 2015. They have AAMC SA and FLs in it so I don't have to buy AAMC separately.

 

[juan_521]

I had to take my first practice MCAT today because I bought it a year ago (took about a year ago) and I didn't remember anything really about it. My score: 11/8/9 = 28 Composite. A starting point. Totally surprised at the PS because I thought I was totally struggling through it. VR was interesting because I found that my technique was taking way too long and so I had to speed up quite a bit. I think this caused me to miss a few questions, and it is just that I needed to get used to it. (Weird thing is the passage I felt most confident about, I got almost all wrong on. It was the same passage I spent like 5 minutes on). Also I was getting tired from this because of a little lack of sleep. I'm not putting too much emphasis on this other than I need to speed up my verbal. BS was quite surprising in the opposite way of PS. I thought I was getting at least a 10 on it. Oh well. I need to focus on ochem a bit more and will analyze my weaknesses in the biology sections.
Good start. I'm getting after the 35 (my goal)!

That's a great start! Tell us more about your FLs' scores later

 

[ahisma]

Can you elaborate on the techniques from EK's verbal workbook that were helpful for you? Thanks!

Sure thing, I already posted about this so I'll just quote it:

My improvement in verbal really surprised me in the last week. I went from getting most of the questions wrong per passage to getting none or only 1 incorrect. I think EK's verbal techniques really helped me in the beginning of their verbal & math book, specifically doing their exercises where you answer without reading the passage. It was awkward at first but right afterwards verbal felt noticeably easier. What I do now that I wasn't doing before:

• Actively summarize every idea or argument while reading with confidence
• Do not get sucked into going back and digging through the passage line by line
• Choose an answer based on my gut feeling, overall theme & direct evidence from passage, most conservative language
• If the question is giving me trouble, I re-phrase them with more simple language aligned to the overall theme of the passage (per EK's technique)
• Broadly categorize missed questions with what I did wrong ("confused double negative" or "misinterpretation of author") to identify weaknesses

I'm doing as many passages as I can tolerate per day and then a little bit more. TPRH verbal is my favorite with EK 2nd.

I also found useful BR's verbal book for identifying question types and Kaplan's verbal strategy in their book for recognizing keywords. Doing 2 - 4 passages a day really helped too.

 

[GCSDOC]

Hey! I haven't done physics and chem yet. I'm aiming to finish those and review them thoroughly by Nov 26.

I do the SA all the way through and then review. I plan on changing this strategy. Another method is to review them as you go along (which is more efficient since you won't have to re-read questions, but doesn't test your stamina/endurance). I will probably do that as I don't usually have time issues on any test as long as I know the material.

Is anyone else scoring average on SAs and what is your study strategy?

How's your SA progress going?

 

[heliomatt]

if anyone who held a spot for this date just to be safe, and is now dropping it, please please message me, ill take it. thank you very much !!

 

[flgators2]

If anyone is dropping a January seat please let me know!

 

[GCSDOC]

If anyone is dropping a January seat please let me know!

There are a ton of seats open now

 

[kpandher]

What strategy do you use when approaching science passages? Read whole thing before questions? Skim? Read questions first? Or something else? Thanks!

I always read the passage first and then do the questions. I feel like that is the best way to do it even though some say to skip the passage for PS.

 

[neuro_nerd14]

If anyone is dropping a January seat please let me know!

seats are openning now

 

[kpandher]

Anybody see value in retaking the AAMC tests?

 

[Cawolf]

I guess it would depend on how much you remembered.

If there are calculations then it may provide some practice, but your score would be much higher. There would be no prediction value in your score.

I personally don't see a benefit unless you are a re taker who has used all possible material.

Everyone is different though!

 

[GCSDOC]

How is everyone doing on practice tests?

 

[nystin]

Anybody see value in retaking the AAMC tests?

Depends on how much time you have had...between them. I don't think they are gonna hurt you to retake. But hopefully you can compare and contrast your scores after you take it 2nd time. Also you will have to take the 2nd score with a grain of salt.... Since you have done em before.

 

[ahisma]

Anybody see value in retaking the AAMC tests?

If I already took all the AAMC FLs but still had time until the test, I would:

1. Make and study flashcards from all the FL questions I got wrong.
2. Do new questions from the older AAMC FL R version tests (heard they have additional material but might be re-used in the AAMC self-assessments, haven't checked this out myself) or AAMC self-assessments
3. Make and study flashcards on these.
4. Review content topics I am weak in.
5. Do Kaplan tests.

 

[ahisma]

How is everyone doing on practice tests?

On the SN2ed schedule I still have 1 more week of content review before starting the FLs next week. Looking forward to them, the end is near!

 

[blaqhulk]

If anybody is considering dropping their test date from Key West to Atlanta please message me first. Thank You

 

[nystin]

Starting self assessments tonight! ...time is ticking.

 

[GCSDOC]

Starting self assessments tonight! ...time is ticking.

Good luck! I did all of them question by question...only did about average on all of them though, keep us updated!

 

[TXhopeful]

On the SN2ed schedule I still have 1 more week of content review before starting the FLs next week. Looking forward to them, the end is near!

I'm so nervous about starting the practice tests. Not because of test anxiety or anything like that, but I just have this terrible fear that I'll do badly on them and won't have enough time to review/correct any mistakes. Is this irrational or does anyone else feel the same?

 

[ahisma]

I'm so nervous about starting the practice tests. Not because of test anxiety or anything like that, but I just have this terrible fear that I'll do badly on them and won't have enough time to review/correct any mistakes. Is this irrational or does anyone else feel the same?

I think this is understandable and very common. I definitely feel this way too sometimes. I don't know what else to do other than convince myself I will do my best and it will be good enough to accomplish my goals. So much of this test is mental/emotional and it would be a shame to put in all this hard work just to self-sabotage! Trying to stay positive and visualizing doing well helps me. I also saw this neat post on test anxiety from someone who went from a 30 on practice tests to 35 on the real thing.

 

[TXhopeful]

I think this is understandable and very common. I definitely feel this way too sometimes. I don't know what else to do other than convince myself I will do my best and it will be good enough to accomplish my goals. So much of this test is mental/emotional and it would be a shame to put in all this hard work just to self-sabotage! Trying to stay positive and visualizing doing well helps me. I also saw this neat post on test anxiety from someone who went from a 30 on practice tests to 35 on the real thing.

Thank you! That's reassuring. I feel like the SN2 schedule has been tremendously helpful already, so I guess I just hope to put it to good use on the practice tests.
Also, have you taken the AAMC self-assessments? I feel like it might be worth it to take them just to get a look at actual exam questions and see weaknesses while we still have some time to review them. If they're AAMC's doings, I'm sure they are helpful.

 

[GCSDOC]

I'm so nervous about starting the practice tests. Not because of test anxiety or anything like that, but I just have this terrible fear that I'll do badly on them and won't have enough time to review/correct any mistakes. Is this irrational or does anyone else feel the same?

^THIS. Unfortunately for me this is an actual reality. Scores on the four lowest numbered AAMC practice exams range from 13 - 19. Doesn't make any sense to me. I'm posting this because I hope to be a future success story months from now that encourages others who are in a similar situation.

 

[ahisma]

Scores on the four lowest numbered AAMC practice exams range from 13 - 19. Doesn't make any sense to me. I can't figure out the issues...

What have you tried so far in an attempt to identify your weaknesses? How exactly did you review content?

 

[Cawolf]

I took AAMC #3 before I started studying, and before I took any organic chemistry.

I am going to take #4 in less than 2 weeks - hoping to see that I can score better (or at least not worst!) after a few months of part-time studying.

 

[ahisma]

Also, have you taken the AAMC self-assessments? I feel like it might be worth it to take them just to get a look at actual exam questions and see weaknesses while we still have some time to review them. If they're AAMC's doings, I'm sure they are helpful.

No I haven't taken the SAs. I've seen people fitting them in after content review like another practice test. I'm going to try to do this but we'll see. Seems pretty booked as is.

I think I will start using the AAMC verbal SA for this last week of content review though.

 

[kpandher]

If I already took all the AAMC FLs but still had time until the test, I would:

1. Make and study flashcards from all the FL questions I got wrong.
2. Do new questions from the older AAMC FL R version tests (heard they have additional material but might be re-used in the AAMC self-assessments, haven't checked this out myself) or AAMC self-assessments
3. Make and study flashcards on these.
4. Review content topics I am weak in.
5. Do Kaplan tests.

Okay! That makes sense

 

[GCSDOC]

^THIS. Unfortunately for me this is an actual reality. Scores on the four lowest numbered AAMC practice exams range from 13 - 19. Doesn't make any sense to me. I'm posting this because I hope to be a future success story months from now that encourages others who are in a similar situation.

So this doesn't make any sense....I redid without previously reviewing VR from #3 and got a 10 (4pts higher than my first attempt). And then I just redid PS from #7 without previously reviewing and got a 10 (3pts higher than my first attempt). What gives? Any ideas? I really don't think its a content issue b/c I did two full months of disciplined content review. I should note that when I redid #7, I used the timer and thought to myself prior to answering each question, "what content is this question trying to test?". The first time I did PS on #7 I did it untimed, and took the question and applied it to my knowledge base (which is clearly an incorrect strategy). Today was the first time I have ever seen double digits...I really think there is a test taking strategy to how to approach the questions that I'm missing

 

[GCSDOC]

What have you tried so far in an attempt to identify your weaknesses? How exactly did you review content?

For content I reviewed all books and wrote my own notes based on what I learned through prep books. Then I did about twenty practice problems per chapter and then did all the SAs and analyzed each question and reviewed its content.

 

[Cawolf]

I don't think you should out any stock into questions you've already seen. You likely have improved, but the predictive value is null.

 

[GCSDOC]

Yeh I agree. If anything it is a confidence booster! It also is an opportunity to try different test taking strategies, which I believe is one of my biggest issues.

 

[Cawolf]

Yes. It is definitely good that you scored higher.