The Official January 10, 2015 MCAT Thread

[Jhakaasmaan]

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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!

 

[erythrocyte666]

IMO, orgo, Biochem and physio should be pre-reqs for MCAT; the rest you could learn in high school

 

[Cawolf]

I didn't take biochem. I do think my physiology background is really helpful though.

I think micro has been really useful for the practice tests at least.

I wonder how I would've done on the SA's - never got them.

 

[blkgrnblkylw]

Physics SA: 65%
Chem SA: 68%
VR SA: 73%
BS SA: in progress
OChem SA: 61%

Lowest AAMC FL: 6/2/5
Highest (recent) AAMC FL: 7/7/7

It should be noted that I am making consistent progress on each FL and am hoping to peak on my progress on test day in late January, otherwise I will void and have to step it up for mcat2015. I post this hoping to be a success story for the underperformers!

I would expect higher FL scores with those SA's. Did you take a really long time to complete the SA's?

A modified question: what are your AAMC SA percentages vs. AAMC FL scores?

My SA's was something like 75-80% for Chem, OChem, and Bio. 70% for verbal. 60% for physics.

My AAMC average is 30, for AAMC 4,5, 7. With 10's in PS, 10 - 11 in verbal, 9-10 in BS. My SA's didn't seem to correlate all that well to the FLs.

 

[BobaBoba]

I have not been able to get above a 6 in the BS sections of AAMC 3-5. I just took Gold Standard CBT #1 and got a 9/10/9. It seemed much easier than the AAMC's that I have taken but many people say GS is tougher than AAMC's. I am really happy with my score on this. If I got this score on the real thing I would be ecstatic. Hoping these numbers can last and translate to the real thing... I was a lot less nervous with GS and I think that really helped.

 

[Fetch22]

Hi guys, I think I am in need for a little motivation/inspiration. I took AAMC #3 mid October before completing my content review just to see how I was doing and got a 30 - 10/10/10. Considering I hadn't finished studying, I was pretty happy. Since completing my content review, I have taken:
AAMC #4 31 - 12/10/9
AAMC #5 30 - 11/9/10
TPR #1 29 - 8/9/12
I thought that after completing my content review I would have seen a big jump in my score, but no. I've been going through the tests thoroughly to see what I have missed and most of it is due to not reading the passage carefully or because I wasn't able to apply what I knew (or forgot what I knew).
I should be happy that I'm scoring an average of 30 since that is higher than the average for the med school I want to go to, but it is frustrating to know that I have done all of this studying since taking AAMC #3 and have seen no improvement.
Any tips on how I can improve my score??? Am I just freaking out too much?

 

[TXhopeful]

Hi guys, I think I am in need for a little motivation/inspiration. I took AAMC #3 mid October before completing my content review just to see how I was doing and got a 30 - 10/10/10. Considering I hadn't finished studying, I was pretty happy. Since completing my content review, I have taken:
AAMC #4 31 - 12/10/9
AAMC #5 30 - 11/9/10
TPR #1 29 - 8/9/12
I thought that after completing my content review I would have seen a big jump in my score, but no. I've been going through the tests thoroughly to see what I have missed and most of it is due to not reading the passage carefully or because I wasn't able to apply what I knew (or forgot what I knew).
I should be happy that I'm scoring an average of 30 since that is higher than the average for the med school I want to go to, but it is frustrating to know that I have done all of this studying since taking AAMC #3 and have seen no improvement.
Any tips on how I can improve my score??? Am I just freaking out too much?

I would say that you're post-test strategy is lacking if you were so solid on content review. When I finish a practice test, I'll print out all the pages and highlight areas I did less than 60% on. Then I go through the test, writing down Passage I, Passage II, etc, and the topics/equations/subjects I screwed up on. Seems to be working for me! Those are scores, don't beat yourself up over them.

 

[TXhopeful]

Anyone have any tips for multiplying/dividing powers of 10? There were several problems I could have easily gotten by process of elimination if I knew how to do this well. TBR definitely made me feel like a dummy with all their super quick solutions with math, logs of 10, sine and cosine values memorized.

 

[Cawolf]

I like to swap everything to easily divisible scientific notation and work with that.

Example:

30/6,000,000

=30/(6 x 10^6)

=(30/6) x 10^-6

= 5 x 10^-6

That kind of stuff?

 

[GCSDOC]

I like to swap everything to easily divisible scientific notation and work with that.

Example:

30/6,000,000

=30/(6 x 10^6)

=(30/6) x 10^-6

= 5 x 10^-6

That kind of stuff?

I agree! I never realized how much easier scientific notation is than using any other method until I began studying for this mcat!

 

[TXhopeful]

That kind of stuff?

Sort of. Just checked out some videos about scientific notation. Pretty much dividing is subtracting the powers and multiplying is adding the powers?

 

[Cawolf]

Sort of. Just checked out some videos about scientific notation. Pretty much dividing is subtracting the powers and multiplying is adding the powers?

Yup. I don't think some problems are doable without it.

If you have E = hc/lamda, the only efficient way to work with these tiny and giant numbers it to use scientific notation. It makes it so easy.

Do you have a specific type of problem in mind? I can let you know I would work it out if it helps.

 

[GCSDOC]

I would expect higher FL scores with those SA's. Did you take a really long time to complete the SA's?



My SA's was something like 75-80% for Chem, OChem, and Bio. 70% for verbal. 60% for physics.

My AAMC average is 30, for AAMC 4,5, 7. With 10's in PS, 10 - 11 in verbal, 9-10 in BS. My SA's didn't seem to correlate all that well to the FLs.

All my SAs were done with 8mins per passage. I don't know what to think at this point, I really don't think my content is as bad as those scores reflect. I do like that I'm improving significantly. Your SAs are fairly similar to mine, yet your practice test scores are wayy higher. Can you elaborate a bit on your approach to answering questions and your test taking strategy in regards to reading the entire passage or answering questions first?

 

[TXhopeful]

Yup. I don't think some problems are doable without it.

If you have E = hc/lamda, the only efficient way to work with these tiny and giant numbers it to use scientific notation. It makes it so easy.

Do you have a specific type of problem in mind? I can let you know I would work it out if it helps.

Think I got it fixed. Went over 2 problems in AAMC #5 that I missed from it. One in particular involved E = hc/lamda. Thank you though!

 

[oobie]

thanks ... I have been trying diff techs to see what works i do not write anything down i highlight names contrast words and read very fast .... read question stem first should not take more than couple seconds DO NOT read the aswers just get what u need to know from the passage .. then read the passage highlight important stuff key words names main idea .. attack question this way i find it more helpful cause u won't waste time going back to the passage much cause u went to questions first so u already hunting for answers and not focused on the whole passage! Hope this helps... every person is different keep exploring and see what works best for you!
I actually did it while listening to music lol first time and i thought i will do so bad but turned out to be really good!

Thanks for the advice @neuro_nerd14. I've been getting 9s and 10s on EK and wanted to better my score. I'll try that technique. I've tried it for two passages and got 2 wrong in both passages. Granted, I switched from EK101 to TPRH now. I just can't seem to keep the questions in my head when I'm reading the passage. Sometimes, yes, but most of the time, no. However, my time has significantly decreased (now spending 7.5 to 8 mins per passage instead of 8.5 to 9). I'll keep experimenting with this, and hopefully with more practice, I can keep the questions in my head better!

 

[TXhopeful]

I bought the TPR Hyperlearning In-Class Compendium booklet, started doing verbal passages out of it. No explanations, no grading scale? Is this in another booklet or something? I'll go ahead and assume that 32/46 = 69.5% = ~10 ish?

 

[mslm5401]

@Cawolf Congrats on getting in your higher score range on #7!

Just took #5 today and got a 35 (13/11/11 breakdown). Still have so many bio gaps to fill, but feeling a bit better overall 🙂

@TXhopeful The algebra on #5 tripped me up for a bit too! lol at least it wasn't just me 😛

 

[Cawolf]

@mslm5401 Nice that's a really good score on 5. I got the same score with a different breakdown.

 

[mslm5401]

@Cawolf Thank you! You made a lot of silly errors on #5 though, right? I still haven't checked over mine but I'm gonna take the liberty to say that your foundation and the score range you're looking at is definitely higher than the one I can hope for. You were probably tired taking 5 after finals too... I had to take a break for a few days for my mind to recuperate lol

 

[Cawolf]

@mslm5401 Haha thanks, I think you give me too much credit.

I would be thrilled with a balanced 35 on the real exam. I am mainly shooting DO, so that would certainly get me where I am going. The higher I score, the more "reach" (i.e., MD) schools I can apply too.

I made a lot of silly errors combined with what I thought was a challenging verbal section.

#7 I scored 13/13/13 and I felt there were some hard passages on there also.

 

[oobie]

@mslm5401 Haha thanks, I think you give me too much credit.

I would be thrilled with a balanced 35 on the real exam. I am mainly shooting DO, so that would certainly get me where I am going. The higher I score, the more "reach" (i.e., MD) schools I can apply too.

I made a lot of silly errors combined with what I thought was a challenging verbal section.

#7 I scored 13/13/13 and I felt there were some hard passages on there also.

Wow, that is impressive! Keep up the great work! Hopefully I can get up to your scores!

 

[mslm5401]

@Cawolf Well, you're in a really good position then. I'd be surprised if you didn't get the score you want-- 13/13/13 is so damn impressive. You're mere questions away from consistent 40+'s!

Do you do verbal passages every day? I haven't done verbal at all (my content base is extremely weak so I've been concentrating on bringing that up over the past few months) and I'm hoping to really crack down on practice passages. Do you use saree's method or some incarnation of it? Or you just figured out what worked best for you over time? 13s are so hard to get.

 

[Cawolf]

Thanks @oobie and @mslm5401.

Yah to go from 12 to 13 to 14 to 15 is literally one question each gap. It's such a brutal climb compared to going from 9 to 11, etc.

I say I want to verbal everyday. . .since starting FL exams I have been doing 2 passages a day, 4 days a week - timed in 15 minutes. I take off FL days and my break day.

I use some incarnation of saree's method. Scoring the 13 is missing 3 questions, less than one every other passage on verbal. My challenge is slowing down more - for #7 I clicked end section with 20 minutes left in verbal. I need to take my time more.

My content focus now is things I am weak on. I only have one semester of orgo so I never learned amine, carbonyl, cyclic additions, carbohydrates, or amino acids. These are things I have been spending a fair amount of time on as to not miss "gimme" questions. Then optics, cell bio, and development. I feel like I have little ROI for studying other subjects as I usually miss questions that are passage based, as opposed to content. I want to continue studying my weak areas though so I can nail all the content based questions.

 

[azor ahai]

@mslm5401 Haha thanks, I think you give me too much credit.

I would be thrilled with a balanced 35 on the real exam. I am mainly shooting DO, so that would certainly get me where I am going. The higher I score, the more "reach" (i.e., MD) schools I can apply too.

I made a lot of silly errors combined with what I thought was a challenging verbal section.

#7 I scored 13/13/13 and I felt there were some hard passages on there also.

Why are you shooting DO? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but judging from your posts over the past couple of days you really know your sh1t.

I just took the PS of the Kaplan FL 1 - I don't know why I find the kaplan tests so damn difficult. I'm not even checking what grade I have scale-wise since I am blindly guessing on so many of them.

Either way, I have to get my sh1t together for PS. I am getting a lot of buffer questions wrong and totally forgot what Normal's are. It's my own fault for spending so much time on content review. Good old, safe content-review.

 

[Cawolf]

@azor ahai I am a relatively non-trad student way out of college with a background of academic probation and a sub 3.0 undergrad.

I have shadowed both types of physician and worked closely with both in my career - either will allow me to meet my goals. So I am open to both and in general DO schools are more accepting of students with my background. My state schools (CA) will be no help. So I will be applying broadly to MD and DO, but I feel I have my best shot in DO.

I just want one acceptance. 🙂

 

[Cawolf]

I am going to be the most grateful person to just get a look.

I think it is important for my app that my MCAT score is above the school's 90% percentile to get noticed, as my cGPA will never be in the 10% percentile (aside from some DO).

 

[Dolly96]

I've been consistently scoring around 55-65% on Kaplan Verbal Section Tests for the past three weeks. I review the tests after each time and I find myself making stupid mistakes. I don't know if it's the time that freaks me out during the test or if I just can't get myself to read critically in such little time. Either way.. with less than 3 weeks away from exam day I'm really losing hope for verbal.

 

[Cawolf]

@Dolly96 Have you used any other sources?

AAMC FL performance?

I have never done Kaplan, maybe they are harder?

 

[Dolly96]

@Cawolf

I've only done AAMC 3 and got a terrible verbal score while sciences were okay (7s). I feel good with it during the test, but end up surprised at how low my score is at the end. I have access to AAMC Self-Assessments, but I have yet to complete those.

So much to do so little time 🙁

 

[mslm5401]

@Cawolf Yeah honestly increasing from here on out is tough because it has to do with minimizing stupid mistakes and knowing some seemingly random facts (especially since I haven't had as much exposure to the "real" world as you have).

I haven't taken orgo either, so I had to spend a really long time with TBR, which was incredibly helpful (but I still have so many gaps). Along with optics (does everybody have this issue lol?), E&M, and endocrine.

You have 20 minutes left on verbal!?!? Are you one of those people who synthesizes information fairly quickly? I always feel like I'm running out of time lol

@Dolly96 Keep practicing! You can do it 😀
And I know, right? I feel like there's so much to study but not enough time in the day to do it all :/

 

[Cawolf]

@mslm5401 I just want to maintain and hit a "peak" on 1/10.

I did just finish the first semester of organic, so I have most of the basics - most questions are doable with a general knowledge of electron pushing and select reagents.

I just read quickly I think - I read multiple novels a week starting in elementary school and I think it pays off still. I also subscribed to the New Yorker to read some humanities essays for a few months before starting my studying.

@Dolly96 I agree you can do it. I think taking the AAMC FL should be a priority for you.

 

[oobie]

Question for you guys: Is TPRH Gen Chemistry uber hard? I literally got all the questions of a passage wrong (passage 43) and then got 3 out of 6 wrong on another passage (74). I choose my passages randomly but got stuck on two that had to do with compression of gasses and air. I guess this might be a weak spot of mine...

 

[mslm5401]

@Cawolf Yeah, that's solid... I'm hoping for a 30, so same plan here.

@oobie I wish I could help but I haven't tried TPRH. Have you tried the AAMC SA's?

 

[GCSDOC]

@Cawolf

I've only done AAMC 3 and got a terrible verbal score while sciences were okay (7s). I feel good with it during the test, but end up surprised at how low my score is at the end. I have access to AAMC Self-Assessments, but I have yet to complete those.

So much to do so little time 🙁

Same situation here with 7/7/7. What's your gameplan to pull it up prior to test day?

 

[oobie]

@mslm5401 I did, but that was my first time around taking the MCAT, where I got in the mid 70s I believe... Gen Chem I thought had always been my strongest subject...

 

[Dolly96]

@mslm5401 @Cawolf Thank you for the encouragement. I will do a couple more passages tonight from TBR book and take AAMC 4 tomorrow.

It's only 7:50pm here in SoCal so at least 5 more hours to study tonight!

 

[Dolly96]

@GCSDOC Well, I was only about half way through reviewing all of the content I've studied for the past 5 months. I'm one of those people that need to keep refreshing material. After I read through everything again I remember studying and understanding it. So I'm hoping after I'm done "reviewing" I'll see improvement by at least a couple of points in each section.

I plan to take as many AAMC and Kaplan full lengths as possible for the last two weeks prior to the exam. Either a FL every other day or a FL everyday depending on how I feel. If I'm not feeling up to it I'll take Kaplan sections tests that day.

I admit.. I am the ultimate crammer.

Your plan?

 

[mslm5401]

@Dolly96 You say that you're one of those people who needs to continually refresh material to retain it-- I'm the same way. It's a bit late in the game for this MCAT, but I definitely suggest Anki for med/DO school and beyond; it's really helpful. I picked it up a few months ago to study for this MCAT and it's honestly the best way to keep up with material and retain information in the long term in my opinion.

 

[GCSDOC]

@GCSDOC Well, I was only about half way through reviewing all of the content I've studied for the past 5 months. I'm one of those people that need to keep refreshing material. After I read through everything again I remember studying and understanding it. So I'm hoping after I'm done "reviewing" I'll see improvement by at least a couple of points in each section.

I plan to take as many AAMC and Kaplan full lengths as possible for the last two weeks prior to the exam. Either a FL every other day or a FL everyday depending on how I feel. If I'm not feeling up to it I'll take Kaplan sections tests that day.

I admit.. I am the ultimate crammer.

Your plan?

Nice, I like your plan. I think I am definitely learning strategy on how to take the test by reviewing my aamc exams in detail. I feel like I haven't been able to review my content notes since I took the initial notes and that could possibly be what's hindering my score. Since I have taken 3,4,5,7,8 and all the Self Assessments, I think I need to spend the next 1.5wks really reviewing my content notes and weak areas. Then, I will take aamc 9,10,11 reviewing each in detail. I was fortunate enough to move my test date to 1/23 giving me an additional 13 days to review. Have you considered having to "void" if your score doesn't increase? What's your thoughts on that considering the looming uncertainty of the mcat2015?

 

[azor ahai]

@azor ahai I am a relatively non-trad student way out of college with a background of academic probation and a sub 3.0 undergrad.

I have shadowed both types of physician and worked closely with both in my career - either will allow me to meet my goals. So I am open to both and in general DO schools are more accepting of students with my background. My state schools (CA) will be no help. So I will be applying broadly to MD and DO, but I feel I have my best shot in DO.

I just want one acceptance. 🙂

Ha, are you me? I'm in a very similar boat. Good on the New Yorker too - many people recommend The Economist and other publications that don't even come close to the style and quality of the New Yorker. I read a lot too, so I think that's what gives me such an edge in the verbal since I usually finish with a good chunk of time to spare as well.

I've been consistently scoring around 55-65% on Kaplan Verbal Section Tests for the past three weeks. I review the tests after each time and I find myself making stupid mistakes. I don't know if it's the time that freaks me out during the test or if I just can't get myself to read critically in such little time. Either way.. with less than 3 weeks away from exam day I'm really losing hope for verbal.

How are you doing in the other sections of the Kaplan FL's? Are you using the older ones with 77q's? I've done 7 and part of 1 and find them to be nearly impossible. Very calculation heavy involving various constants.

 

[Cawolf]

Ha, are you me? I'm in a very similar boat.

Maybe! Except if I nab a 35, I am taking it and running! 🤣

Are you applying this summer? What is your target?

 

[Dolly96]

Nice, I like your plan. I think I am definitely learning strategy on how to take the test by reviewing my aamc exams in detail. I feel like I haven't been able to review my content notes since I took the initial notes and that could possibly be what's hindering my score. Since I have taken 3,4,5,7,8 and all the Self Assessments, I think I need to spend the next 1.5wks really reviewing my content notes and weak areas. Then, I will take aamc 9,10,11 reviewing each in detail. I was fortunate enough to move my test date to 1/23 giving me an additional 13 days to review. Have you considered having to "void" if your score doesn't increase? What's your thoughts on that considering the looming uncertainty of the mcat2015?

I would love to postpone, but I'll have to prepare for midterms around that time. I start school January 12. Reviewing your content will help in improving your score. What did you think about the SAs?

As for voiding... I'd only do it if I do horrible (<26-27) on the last couple of FLs prior to test day. I'm really worried about the new 2015 MCAT because 7.5 hours just sounds insane and the thought of eating lunch right in the middle of it just sounds impossible to me. I'm really hoping and praying I improve significantly the next two weeks. I feel like during the real MCAT I will either be in "serious mode" or "freak out mode". When I take tests at home I get distracted really easily.

 

[neuro_nerd14]

@Cawolf Congrats on getting in your higher score range on #7!

Just took #5 today and got a 35 (13/11/11 breakdown). Still have so many bio gaps to fill, but feeling a bit better overall 🙂

@TXhopeful The algebra on #5 tripped me up for a bit too! lol at least it wasn't just me 😛

congrats u did great any tips on how to score this well ? specially in physical science!

 

[neuro_nerd14]

I bought the TPR Hyperlearning In-Class Compendium booklet, started doing verbal passages out of it. No explanations, no grading scale? Is this in another booklet or something? I'll go ahead and assume that 32/46 = 69.5% = ~10 ish?

i use the TPRH verbal the big white book the one you are talking about is the inclass one its small and does not have explanation ... if you need the one I have PM i will send it to u ! its great i like it better than kaplan and better than EK101

 

[azor ahai]

Maybe! Except if I nab a 35, I am taking it and running! 🤣

Are you applying this summer? What is your target?

I'm not applying anytime soon. I still have a lot of basic stuff to do for my app. Target is a school in NYC - where I currently live.

 

[mslm5401]

@neuro_nerd14 Yo thanks! I read TBR and anki'd all of it, which helped a lot (except I used eK for Bio, which I think was enough). And practice helps a lot too. Definitely hit up the Self Assessments and I used the practice problems at the back of each TBR chapter. Good luck 😀

 

[neuro_nerd14]

@neuro_nerd14 Yo thanks! I read TBR and anki'd all of it, which helped a lot (except I used eK for Bio, which I think was enough). And practice helps a lot too. Definitely hit up the Self Assessments and I used the practice problems at the back of each TBR chapter. Good luck 😀

TBR passages are so hard i use ek1001 and kaplan material and TPRH science work book with passages ... when i did the SA i got 65% that was in October ... and my highest in physical section is 11 hahahha i was so happy when i saw it 11!! lol Thank you tho i will try doing TBR from now on

 

[mslm5401]

@neuro_nerd14 Haha I used EK1001 too! I did most of EK1001 a few months ago so I completely forgot to mention it. Yeah, EK is really good at pinpointing weaknesses and exposing what you don't know. Congrats on your 11! 🙂

 

[ahisma]

I wonder if we will get an award for the longest "official MCAT date" thread? We are blowing the other January ones out of the water.

Well maybe not. I just looked and we need 57 pages to catch up with the August 7, 2014 thread that is still going haha.

 

[azor ahai]

I wonder if we will get an award for the longest "official MCAT date" thread? We are blowing the other January ones out of the water.

Well maybe not. I just looked and we need 57 pages to catch up with the August 7, 2014 thread that is still going haha.

Haha, I actually post in all the January ones. I'm taking mine on the 13th.

 

[TXhopeful]

Taking AAMC 7 today, holla!