The Official January 8th, 2015 MCAT Thread

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alteredstate213

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Hello Everyone!!!!
Retaker here, I'm officially starting to study today using SN2ed's four month schedule! I was going to use Princeton Review and BR for tests since I've exhausted the AAMC and GoldStandard tests.

148 days left! 🙂
 
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For those of you who scored a 11 on ps and bs and a 9 or 10 for vb do you mind telling me the percentile ranges for those score pleases.
 
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Furan said:
There's always a large number of folks who do poorly and don't post (I don't blame them). Did you score well below your AAMC average? Not sure how low you scored, but is DO still an option? Give us a feel for your circumstance so we can offer some help.
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Second time taking it. First in 2012 right out of college without much studying and BSing through a Kaplan course..scored <20, but perfect score on writing section..? This time I studied SO MUCH MORE..like 8 months. I used Kaplan materials and did about 6 aamc full lengths averaging a 25 and fell far under that average🙁. I plan to go D.O. anyway because I love osteo&OMM and my GPA is not great- 3.3. With the score I got yesterday, D.O. is not even an option..No school is. Ugh I'm so heartbroken, but I stopped crying and I want to start a plan and determine the "next step"..Which I guess would be the new MCAT, BUT I've never taken Biochem. Will being a psychology major help at all with new MCAT? I really don't want to put myself through this soul crushing experience again if I may do even worse.
I have a slammin application other than my MCAT and GPA..which means nothing🙁
 
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malamed said:
Second time taking it. First in 2012 right out of college without much studying and BSing through a Kaplan course..scored <20, but perfect score on writing section..? This time I studied SO MUCH MORE..like 8 months. I used Kaplan materials and did about 6 aamc full lengths averaging a 25 and fell far under that average🙁. I plan to go D.O. anyway because I love osteo&OMM and my GPA is not great- 3.3. With the score I got yesterday, D.O. is not even an option..No school is. Ugh I'm so heartbroken, but I stopped crying and I want to start a plan and determine the "next step"..Which I guess would be the new MCAT, BUT I've never taken Biochem. Will being a psychology major help at all with new MCAT? I really don't want to put myself through this soul crushing experience again if I may do even worse.
I have a slammin application other than my MCAT and GPA..which means nothing🙁
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Hey now, if this is what you want, you'll try, try, TRY again. What do you call a medical school graduate who had to retake the mcat 5 times and and took a while to fix their GPA? A doctor🙂
Life would be too boring if it all worked out, enjoy your time away, become a paramedic! travel the world and deliver care to the underserved! Have three kids! Not really (unless that's your thing) but I hate people being so sad :[ If it makes you feel better, I kinda didn't do so hot either, so I have plans of taking a year off and caring for my mom, getting a job as a PCT, and retaking the exam except this time, I'm gonna MURDER it for what it did to me D:<
 
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stephaniejacinto said:
Hey now, if this is what you want, you'll try, try, TRY again. What do you call a medical school graduate who had to retake the mcat 5 times and and took a while to fix their GPA? A doctor🙂
Life would be too boring if it all worked out, enjoy your time away, become a paramedic! travel the world and deliver care to the underserved! Have three kids! Not really (unless that's your thing) but I hate people being so sad :[ If it makes you feel better, I kinda didn't do so hot either, so I have plans of taking a year off and caring for my mom, getting a job as a PCT, and retaking the exam except this time, I'm gonna MURDER it for what it did to me D:<
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This! I wish I had your spirit! Keep making the world a better place! 🙂
 
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MCATUMOR said:
For those of you who scored a 11 on ps and bs and a 9 or 10 for vb do you mind telling me the percentile ranges for those score pleases.
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A 9 on verbal is 51.2-66.0 percentile and I don't know about an 11 for PS or BS, but a 12 for PS is 88.3-94.9 and a 10 in BS is 56.1-75.8.

I know it doesn't help immensely, but hopefully it gives you a bit of an idea.
 
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Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 30
AAMC 10-11: 32
Post test expected score: 30 (11/9/10)
Actual score: 25 (13/2/10)

Yes you read that right its a 2. I have no idea how in the world it couldve been so low. I called them they said nothing was wrong on their end and I should spend 60$ on a rescore. HOW DOES SOMEONE GET A 2 WHILE AVERAGING 8-10. I dont even know what to think. I walked out of the test thinking that was one of the easiest verbal sections I have ever done.....I couldve gotten a better score had I guessed all the answers. I already sent in the rescore and im freaking out. Any advice from anyone who ever had this happen is greatly appreciated. Someone help me please!
 
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swolestsurgeon said:
Test date: 1/8/2015


Yes you read that right its a 2. I have no idea how in the world it couldve been so low. I called them they said nothing was wrong on their end and I should spend 60$ on a rescore. HOW DOES SOMEONE GET A 2 WHILE AVERAGING 8-10. I dont even know what to think. I walked out of the test thinking that was one of the easiest verbal sections I have ever done.....I couldve gotten a better score had I guessed all the answers. I already sent in the rescore and im freaking out. Any advice from anyone who ever had this happen is greatly appreciated. Someone help me please!
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Wow. That's certainly eye-raising.
I normally wouldn't think a re-score would be worth the money, but unless you "feel" like you got a 2 then I would be suspicious of the system. Granted, I would have the same amount of faith in the system checking the ****-up, but damn dude. I feel for ya.
 
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1000Clicks said:
Wow. That's certainly eye-raising.
I normally wouldn't think a re-score would be worth the money, but unless you "feel" like you got a 2 then I would be suspicious of the system. Granted, I would have the same amount of faith in the system checking the ****-up, but damn dude. I feel for ya.
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The devastating thing about this is that my deadline to apply for committee is in 2 weeks and if I have to retake this test I waste an entire year of my life. Im in complete shock right now idk what to do
 
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Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 35.6
AAMC 10-11 : 37.5
Post test expected score: 34-36
Actual score: 39 (PS 14/VR 13/BS 12)

Posting here to help with the statistics gathering. For some background, I'm in my first year out of undergrad, I'm currently a full time EMT, and this is my first time taking the MCAT. My overall AAMC average is lower because my scores for AAMC #3, #4 and #9 were 34, 35, 34 IIRC and then my scores for #10 and #11 were 37 and 38, respectively. #10 and #11 were taken much closer to test day than the others. I also used Kaplan to prepare and my practice test scores there began in the 36 range, with my last two being 39 and 37, respectively. Again, those last two practice exams were done closer to test day.

On test day I definitely didn't feel as confident in my performance as I did when I scored 38 and 39 on my practices so I was expecting more in the 34-36 range. I agree with most of the people that say the bio section was very difficult on this exam. I was a biology major and the I usually felt most comfortable answering bio questions. I had scored 15's on BS on both AAMC and Kaplan practices in my prep, yet on test day BS was my lowest. It was probably the orgo on this section that did me in. The difference between an 11-12 or a 14-15 for me on BS was probably either orgo I knew or orgo I didn't know. Either way, I couldn't be happier with my 39. My GPA isn't very strong and I was working on a solid MCAT to help make up for it. Definitely glad I used some months in a gap year to really focus on MCAT studying and not have to worry about school or too much about work at the same time. I hope my information will be helpful to future test-takers as I know I was looking for all the information like this that I could find when I was studying. Although, since the MCAT is changing I doubt it'll be much use to anyone at this point. Anyway, best of luck to everybody.
 
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OSUMolGen said:
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85332/data/combined08.pdf this is old but should be about accurate. Maybe the verbal is off. Look for a newer one if you want 🙂
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Sorry for double posting, I just wanted to point out that there's a more recent iteration of that data which can be found here:
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf

Yours is from 2008 and this one is from 2013. The percentiles don't differ much from what I saw at a quick glance, but I just thought it might be useful.
 
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swolestsurgeon said:
The devastating thing about this is that my deadline to apply for committee is in 2 weeks and if I have to retake this test I waste an entire year of my life. Im in complete shock right now idk what to do
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14/5/12 here. Aamc VR average 9. There is a guy PM me saying he got the similar strange drop in VR.
 
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becomingdoctor said:
There was a guy got 3/3/3 last November/December. I don't know how that ended up
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thing is, how do you get a 3 in each section, specifically. It doesnt seem right and you need to miss around 30 questions on every section. I got lower than a 3 which I have never seen anyone ever get...
 
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easybreezybeautiful said:
Sorry for double posting, I just wanted to point out that there's a more recent iteration of that data which can be found here:
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf

Yours is from 2008 and this one is from 2013. The percentiles don't differ much from what I saw at a quick glance, but I just thought it might be useful.
Click to expand...
Thanks... This just shows how competitive it is to get in. You pretty much needs to be in the top 15 percentile
 
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becomingdoctor said:
There was a guy got 3/3/3 last November/December. I don't know how that ended up
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I think he called the AAMC and it turned out that the computer did record any of his answers at all. He got it sorted out.

Which is why the 2 seems really odd. I'd definitely spend the $60 for rescoring. Let us know how it turns out! Good luck.
 
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I just posted data about this test date on the January 10th thread! I didn't want to post the same thing in both places, but it's there in case anyone wants to check it out. 🙂
 
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swolestsurgeon said:
Are you getting rescored? Or are you just going to keep it since its 30+? But I know that schools dont like huge discrepancies in scores. Also did you feel like you only earned 5?
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heart broken......... all my retakes are about verbal, finally I brought it up to near 10 on practices but some how I dropped to 5. Doesn't make any sense.
 
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becomingdoctor said:
heart broken......... all my retakes are about verbal, finally I brought it up to near 10 on practices but some how I dropped to 5. Doesn't make any sense.
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Yea it doesnt make sense that you can hit 10+ on any section if you are not slightly competent. So like anything less than a 6 on verbal is abnormal
 
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Thanks for the response @justalittlestar

I felt like it wasn't about the knowledge you studied in aamc practice materials ex.) ExamKrackers, Kaplan, Princeton (I didn't get a chance to see TBR). It was mostly about experiments and detailed knowledge about your actual college courses. If you had a great teacher that actually molded the subjects into you, you were at an advantage.
 
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dannyfanny327 said:
Thanks for the response @justalittlestar

I felt like it wasn't about the knowledge you studied in aamc practice materials ex.) ExamKrackers, Kaplan, Princeton (I didn't get a chance to see TBR). It was mostly about experiments and detailed knowledge about your actual college courses. If you had a great teacher that actually molded the subjects into you, you were at an advantage.
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I will say this. Br does a great job of providing wtf passages that will strengthen your nerves on test day. If you do br, I'm pretty sure that you can build a base of 27-30 on any kind of mcat. A score 30+ relies on a little bit of luck, test conditions, and familiarity with the subjects.

If I could take the test again, I would probably do better than a 28. But I don't care and just want to move on with the next stage of my life. Just take things in stride and don't get down on yourself. If you want it bad enough, you will get it. Best of luck and kill the 2015 mcat.
 
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dannyfanny327 said:
Thanks for the response @justalittlestar

I felt like it wasn't about the knowledge you studied in aamc practice materials ex.) ExamKrackers, Kaplan, Princeton (I didn't get a chance to see TBR). It was mostly about experiments and detailed knowledge about your actual college courses. If you had a great teacher that actually molded the subjects into you, you were at an advantage.
Click to expand...

For the bio, I can honestly attest that I guessed on 60-70% of those bio questions. I didn't know wtf the bio passages were talking about. However, I do remember a good portion of the answers were given in the passages. Ps was too easy as evident by not much of a curve. If ps was calculation heavy, I would have done extremely well. Oh well...
 
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Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 30/31
AAMC 10-11 : 32
Post test expected score: 27-33

1st MCAT June 13th 27 (PS7/VR9/BS11)
Actual score 1/8/2015: 32 (PS 12/VR 9/BS 11)

It's an honor and a privilege to see the hours of studying i spent every night after work, on the train, with my cat and everything paid off.

okay so..

I thought this test was tough at first then I calmed myself down and relaxed. So i got 2 hours of sleep, the adrenaline rushed like crazy. It was freezing cuz i took it in northern New England. Anyways PS started slow some of the passages were confusing but something just hit me and I literally went from full panic to answering every question lightning fast. The key for me was the lack of physics and abundance of chemistry. my last MCAT was all physics (PS7) but this one was mainly chemistry (PS12). huge difference. There was one verbal passage that absolutely annihilated me but other than that i thought it was straight forward. BS was actually tough, i had been hitting 12/13's on all BS practice tests so I was surprised but can't complain. My main thing I'd like to get out though is that there's a ton of luck involved in MCAT testing and what topics you get BUT being well-versed in everything and being prepared is obviously paramount than relying on luck. Anyways people told me I sucked, said i had a learning disability, had zero chance to grow up doing anything but work for the MBTA and now I;d like to think I have a better future. Anyone can do it, there is not a genetic inherent component for success on MCAT.
 
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Really feeling like all hope is lost with this 25 (PS8, VR9, BS8) - and its frustrating because overall it 25 it sounds bad, but when you look at most schools section break down averages they're like 10...so i wasnt that far off....ughhhhh
 
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FutureNodakMD said:
Well now that I have stopped sobbing my eyes out.... I, like others on this thread, ended up being 4 points lower than my AAMC average and was PRAYING for a 30, hoping for my "goal" of a 32. That is down the drain. Fortunately, it's not the end of the line for me. My EC's and GPA will hopefully make up for the slight blemish of a slightly lower score. My state school has traditionally accepted people with my score and GPA so I guess there is that...I will also be throwing out a couple of reaches to a few nearby schools in hopes that they latch on?

Just a reminder to those of us with slightly lower scores, D.O. schools are a great choice as well! Today I was told, "If you are going through hell, just keep on going."
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Thoughts on D.O. school with a 25?
 
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pa8993 said:
Thoughts on D.O. school with a 25?
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D.O. school is doable with a 25, especially with that breakdown. The average MCAT for some schools is a 27, so you would only be a bit below that, and your (8/9/8) would be in line with their cut offs.

Which ones, though, I don't know.
 
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HCHopeful said:
D.O. school is doable with a 25, especially with that breakdown. The average MCAT for some schools is a 27, so you would only be a bit below that, and your (8/9/8) would be in line with their cut offs.

Which ones, though, I don't know.
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I really like nova but am reading that they really focus on MCAT
 
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pa8993 said:
I really like nova but am reading that they really focus on MCAT
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Honestly, I'd try to find as many D.O. data tables you can and read up on MCAT scores.

This thread is a little dated, but it gives an idea on which schools are a bit more selective: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/most-recent-mcat-gpa-data-for-do-schools.783182/

You can also go to this website for a complete list of all D.O. schools and go to each website individually: http://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/us-coms
 
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Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 33
AAMC 10-11 : 34
Post test expected score: 30-34
Actual score: 11/6/11 (28)

This is my second time taking the test and the reason I retook it was that I received a 6 on verbal the first time around. I am not sure what to do or how I can improve. After constantly averaging 10 in practice tests, I felt I was well prepared. What are my chances if any? I am URM and I moved to the U.S. when I was 11. I don't know if that helps.

 
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biomed27 said:
Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 33
AAMC 10-11 : 34
Post test expected score: 30-34
Actual score: 11/6/11 (28)

This is my second time taking the test and the reason I retook it was that I received a 6 on verbal the first time around. I am not sure what to do or how I can improve. After constantly averaging 10 in practice tests, I felt I was well prepared. What are my chances if any? I am URM and I moved to the U.S. when I was 11. I don't know if that helps.
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Truthfully, a 28 is rough even if it's balanced for MD schools. You have a shot at some DO schools, but you'd need to make sure you choose the ones that don't screen out a 6 in verbal.
 
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I am also applying to DO school after my performance (I will let you know that I am in the 25 boat as well). My MCAT score definitely does not match the rest of my application...I have been working so hard in school/ECs to show that I am ready for medical school. It is unfortunate that our scores are not where we wanted them to be, but I think if the rest of your application is strong, DO is within reach! @pa8993
 
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FutureNodakMD said:
I am also applying to DO school after my performance (I will let you know that I am in the 25 boat as well). My MCAT score definitely does not match the rest of my application...I have been working so hard in school/ECs to show that I am ready for medical school. It is unfortunate that our scores are not where we wanted them to be, but I think if the rest of your application is strong, DO is within reach! @pa8993
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yeah i think my gpa (cgpa 3.8) will really be my saving grace
 
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pa8993 said:
What do you think my chances at Nova and LECOM-B are?
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I am not sure what kind of EC's you have, but as long as you bring a strong background and can convey that Osteopathic medicine is something you are genuinely interested in (it's not just a backup for you), I think that DO schools are really looking for people who show a strong drive (with less emphasis on numbers).
 
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Test date: 1/8/2015
Time: 8:00 AM
AAMC average: 33
AAMC 10-11 : 35
Post test expected score: 30-36
Actual score: 12/12/12 (36)

Wish I posted sooner, but I guess better late than never...
 
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Good luck with your application process guys! Really thought MCAT was the biggest hurdle to get into medical school. But there are secondaries and interviews we have to go through. But we got this!
 
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As I sit waiting to be verified, all I do is pray that my crappy score will not keep me out of this cycle. Your usernames are also a welcome sight in my notifications! All I have been doing since I got back from vacation is browsing SDN...it's going to be a long cycle...
 
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HCHopeful-yup! My blood pressure shot up a bit 🙂
I got verified this morning, so I am excited to get going.

Been working on my secondaries a bit, but I am not entirely sure if they are the same year to year.
 
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