You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
The Official July 2, 2014 MCAT Thread
Started by johnnytest
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
did you guys get any crazy hard sections like previous mcaters this past few months?
Overall, I thought sciences were manageable. Personally, VR was the hardest. Like an aamc 11 difficulty.
Crazy hard- just one on physics for medid you guys get any crazy hard sections like previous mcaters this past few months?
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Man it feels good to be done with this.
PS: I agree that there was one passage that was definitely harder than the rest. But, for the most part not bad.
VR: Passages seemed easy to understand. The length seemed fine to me. Finished with 4 mins left. *Fingers crossed*
BS: I thought BS was harder than PS. There were some questions that seemed to be really specific on details. Rarely any orgo which was nice.
Overall, nothing too crazy in all 3 sections.
Trial section gave me a headache though.
Congrats on everyone being done!
PS: I agree that there was one passage that was definitely harder than the rest. But, for the most part not bad.
VR: Passages seemed easy to understand. The length seemed fine to me. Finished with 4 mins left. *Fingers crossed*
BS: I thought BS was harder than PS. There were some questions that seemed to be really specific on details. Rarely any orgo which was nice.
Overall, nothing too crazy in all 3 sections.
Trial section gave me a headache though.
Congrats on everyone being done!
Honestly feel much better right now than I ever imaged i would, which I'm not sure is a good thing haha.
PS:
Definitely tough, but nothing I felt was like "omg wth is this?!" intertwined concepts weirdly. hoping for the best on my educated guesses.
VR:
Was fine honestly. much longer passages than I anticipated, but I felt like I finished with more time than I usually do. guess I was in the zone. also could be a bad thing, who knows.
BS:
Pretty straightforward, which scares me for the curve. definitely made some dumb mistakes and had one passage I knew almost no answers to definitively. Gonna be hit or miss.
Hope everyone felt okay! gonna be a long month lol. Gonna be devastated if I bombed this.
AND ALSO:
The 2015 mcat will be on some whole notha otha shiz. Damn
PS:
Definitely tough, but nothing I felt was like "omg wth is this?!" intertwined concepts weirdly. hoping for the best on my educated guesses.
VR:
Was fine honestly. much longer passages than I anticipated, but I felt like I finished with more time than I usually do. guess I was in the zone. also could be a bad thing, who knows.
BS:
Pretty straightforward, which scares me for the curve. definitely made some dumb mistakes and had one passage I knew almost no answers to definitively. Gonna be hit or miss.
Hope everyone felt okay! gonna be a long month lol. Gonna be devastated if I bombed this.
AND ALSO:
The 2015 mcat will be on some whole notha otha shiz. Damn
Yep, I pretty much agree with the consensus.
PS: got rattled early, but hopefully recovered well enough to make up for it. I'm having a hard time remembering this section, honestly.
VS: all passages were easy to comprehend relative to the AAMC practice exams. I finished with the same amount of time left as usual.
BS: feel like there was nothing really difficult to understand. In fact, I really feel like you could have done well on most of this without a whole lot of content studying. I had never felt like that on any practice exams so maybe today I was just more focused.
Overall: a little harder PS than I am used to and the other sections either average or slightly easier. I'm hoping to come out with my AAMC average.
...and the 2015 MCAT. If at all possible, take the current format. It was just bad.
PS: got rattled early, but hopefully recovered well enough to make up for it. I'm having a hard time remembering this section, honestly.
VS: all passages were easy to comprehend relative to the AAMC practice exams. I finished with the same amount of time left as usual.
BS: feel like there was nothing really difficult to understand. In fact, I really feel like you could have done well on most of this without a whole lot of content studying. I had never felt like that on any practice exams so maybe today I was just more focused.
Overall: a little harder PS than I am used to and the other sections either average or slightly easier. I'm hoping to come out with my AAMC average.
...and the 2015 MCAT. If at all possible, take the current format. It was just bad.
Haha same couldn't remember for the passages expect for one hard one I thought. Hope you do good as well.Yep, I pretty much agree with the consensus.
PS: got rattled early, but hopefully recovered well enough to make up for it. I'm having a hard time remembering this section, honestly.
VS: all passages were easy to comprehend relative to the AAMC practice exams. I finished with the same amount of time left as usual.
BS: feel like there was nothing really difficult to understand. In fact, I really feel like you could have done well on most of this without a whole lot of content studying. I had never felt like that on any practice exams so maybe today I was just more focused.
Overall: a little harder PS than I am used to and the other sections either average or slightly easier. I'm hoping to come out with my AAMC average.
...and the 2015 MCAT. If at all possible, take the current format. It was just bad.
Last three tests before taking this one:
AAMC 8: 33 (13/10/10)
AAMC 9: 32 (11/9/12)
AAMC 11: 31 (10/10/11)
Today's exam:
Physical Sciences: PS destroyed me. I wasted 15 minutes on the first passage and felt like I had to "catch up" the rest of the exam. This frazzled me . . . and a lot of my calculations were not producing answer choices. I also struggled on the questions that offered combinations of variables as answer choices. For some reason, I couldn't seem to come up with the right combinations. Normally I feel really confident about physical science, but today blew me out of the water . . . I felt like some of the standalones were a bitt off the wall as well.
Prediction: (8-9)
Verbal: Definitely longer passages than most AAMC practice tests . . . I finished with just over a minute left. Pretty sure I made quite a few mistakes as always. Verbal is a always toss up.
Prediction (9-10)
Biological Sciences: I felt really good about this section, aside from a few graphs and some topics in evo. I am terrible at organic, so I am glad it was mostly bio . . . however, I think I missed several organic standalones.
Prediction (10)
Overall, very disappointed as my previous MCAT score was a 28, so I was getting pumped up to do really well on this exam 🙁
Overall prediction (28-29)
AAMC 8: 33 (13/10/10)
AAMC 9: 32 (11/9/12)
AAMC 11: 31 (10/10/11)
Today's exam:
Physical Sciences: PS destroyed me. I wasted 15 minutes on the first passage and felt like I had to "catch up" the rest of the exam. This frazzled me . . . and a lot of my calculations were not producing answer choices. I also struggled on the questions that offered combinations of variables as answer choices. For some reason, I couldn't seem to come up with the right combinations. Normally I feel really confident about physical science, but today blew me out of the water . . . I felt like some of the standalones were a bitt off the wall as well.
Prediction: (8-9)
Verbal: Definitely longer passages than most AAMC practice tests . . . I finished with just over a minute left. Pretty sure I made quite a few mistakes as always. Verbal is a always toss up.
Prediction (9-10)
Biological Sciences: I felt really good about this section, aside from a few graphs and some topics in evo. I am terrible at organic, so I am glad it was mostly bio . . . however, I think I missed several organic standalones.
Prediction (10)
Overall, very disappointed as my previous MCAT score was a 28, so I was getting pumped up to do really well on this exam 🙁
Overall prediction (28-29)
I think you will do fine. There is always the curve that can help you well not that much in BIO because it was bit easier.Last three tests before taking this one:
AAMC 8: 33 (13/10/10)
AAMC 9: 32 (11/9/12)
AAMC 11: 31 (10/10/11)
Today's exam:
Physical Sciences: PS destroyed me. I wasted 15 minutes on the first passage and felt like I had to "catch up" the rest of the exam. This frazzled me . . . and a lot of my calculations were not producing answer choices. I also struggled on the questions that offered combinations of variables as answer choices. For some reason, I couldn't seem to come up with the right combinations. Normally I feel really confident about physical science, but today blew me out of the water . . . I felt like some of the standalones were a bitt off the wall as well.
Prediction: (8-9)
Verbal: Definitely longer passages than most AAMC practice tests . . .I finished with just over a minute left. Pretty sure I made quite a few mistakes as always. Verbal is a always toss up.
Prediction (9-10)
Biological Sciences: I felt really good about this section, aside from a few graphs and some topics in evo. I am terrible at organic, so I am glad it was mostly bio . . . however, I think I missed several organic standalones.
Prediction (10)
Overall, very disappointed as my previous MCAT score was a 28, so I was getting pumped up to do really well on this exam 🙁
Overall prediction (28-29)
I thought the VR and BS were pretty easy. The PS though was ridiculous. I have taken all the AAMCs and thought by comparison this was by far harder than any of them, and I usually score in the 12-13 range. What messed me up were all the mathematical contortion questions where the answers are variables.
As an aside, the 2015 changes are a farce. This sort of psychobabble and ethnic/gender grievance mongering has no place on a medical school admission test. There are women's and cultural studies PHD programs for that.
As an aside, the 2015 changes are a farce. This sort of psychobabble and ethnic/gender grievance mongering has no place on a medical school admission test. There are women's and cultural studies PHD programs for that.
Haha same couldn't remember for the passages expect for one hard one I thought. Hope you do good as well.
Yeah, I can still remember all the numbers from the difficult passage, but there are other passages where I can't recall anything, ugh. Thanks though and same to you!
Ditto . . .I thought the VR and BS were pretty easy. The PS though was ridiculous. I have taken all the AAMCs and thought by comparison this was by far harder than any of them, and I usually score in the 12-13 range. What messed me up were all the mathematical contortion questions where the answers are variables.
As an aside, the 2015 changes are a farce. This sort of psychobabble and ethnic/gender grievance mongering has no place on a medical school admission test. There are women's and cultural studies PHD programs for that.
Yep, I pretty much agree with the consensus.
PS: got rattled early, but hopefully recovered well enough to make up for it. I'm having a hard time remembering this section, honestly.
VS: all passages were easy to comprehend relative to the AAMC practice exams. I finished with the same amount of time left as usual.
BS: feel like there was nothing really difficult to understand. In fact, I really feel like you could have done well on most of this without a whole lot of content studying. I had never felt like that on any practice exams so maybe today I was just more focused.
Overall: a little harder PS than I am used to and the other sections either average or slightly easier. I'm hoping to come out with my AAMC average.
...and the 2015 MCAT. If at all possible, take the current format. It was just bad.
So that statement makes me feeel like pooop because I've been focusing on TBR/TPRH books to raise my BS score. Are you just saying that most of the info was from the passage?
PS: For some reason I freaked out during PS. Started out well, then freaked out during the middle, then felt better at the end (hit a passage at the end that focused on one of my strengths which gave me some confidence). Never really had to completely guess on any of the questions for AAMC PS but felt like I did have to blindly guess on a few and make more 'educated' guesses on questions where I would get it down to two on this test. A few of the calculations I couldn't figure out (I think it was honestly just the time pressure, not that they were really complex). The weird thing is that none of it seemed outlandish or extremely difficult... it all felt familiar, but different at the same time. I think it had to do with mindset more than anything.
VR: This section was ok, passages felt long, but seemed more straight forward at the same time. Sometimes I end up doing better on VR's that feel tougher and worse on one's that seem easier... hoping that's not the case with this test!
BS: Overall wasn't bad. A bit more difficult than the AAMCs but it was a relieve after what I felt during PS. One passage did hit a frequency which was frustrating but overall felt decent about this section.
Overall: Well it's over! Hoping my perceived feelings about PS are off and that I did better than I thought. Now for the month wait! Just got to let it go and try to enjoy the summer.
VR: This section was ok, passages felt long, but seemed more straight forward at the same time. Sometimes I end up doing better on VR's that feel tougher and worse on one's that seem easier... hoping that's not the case with this test!
BS: Overall wasn't bad. A bit more difficult than the AAMCs but it was a relieve after what I felt during PS. One passage did hit a frequency which was frustrating but overall felt decent about this section.
Overall: Well it's over! Hoping my perceived feelings about PS are off and that I did better than I thought. Now for the month wait! Just got to let it go and try to enjoy the summer.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
So that statement makes me feeel like pooop because I've been focusing on TBR/TPRH books to raise my BS score. Are you just saying that most of the info was from the passage?![]()
Sort of? I mean it is always in there somewhere. I just felt as if this test was definitely more of that nature than i'd seen previously. Practice tests 9 and 11 seemed to be the closest judge of what I got, as far as BS is concerned.
Don't be discouraged. There is no substitute for content review! It just feels very idk . . . Odd? when you see a smaller portion than you'd expect of the content you've reviewed.
Sort of? I mean it is always in there somewhere. I just felt as if this test was definitely more of that nature than i'd seen previously. Practice tests 9 and 11 seemed to be the closest judge of what I got, as far as BS is concerned.
Don't be discouraged. There is no substitute for content review! It just feels very idk . . . Odd? when you see a smaller portion than you'd expect of the content you've reviewed.
everyone saying BS was so easy officially has me very worried for BS. #nocurve
Told you guys its gonna be/feel longer, and when you usually finish with a good amount of time left over that will not be the case for the real thing.
In any case. I was def pressed for time again but much better than I expected.
PS:I'm a little scared to say this but I thought PS was pretty fair. There were a few off questions... but you just gotta either compare it to an idea that's familiar or best guess or play around with the numbers which is hard bc of time. It did feel a bit more like VR though in some cases.
VR: Meh. Passages were pretty good. One got me caught up and I was about 3 min behind what I scheduled for. Just hope I got all those questions right in the beginning b/c it really wasn't that bad. Just longer... I honestly have no idea how people finish this with extra time. Good for you guys! Tell me the secret!! I try to skim over details... but still. Maybe I'm pushing myself too much to find evidence for the correct answer and re read the question?
BS: Not much orgo? I had 2 passages! And some stand alone. I left orgo for last so not quite sure how it went. But it didn't go into ridiculous mechanisms. Standard text book stuff. Bio was a tiny bit weird for me. Idk, with bio I felt like it wasn't standard stuff like I've seen on other tests... but still can figure it out. I don't know how but I got stuck on one question and lost 3 min. -.- And got one easy one wrong... which atm doesn't make me feel all too great. So I'm just gonna keep on studying, got nothing better to do haha. Ohh... so sad.
Just a word of caution... don't pack away your books yet. Take a break, but do some light reviewing. Watch some videos on weird topics in ps and bio. Keep things fresh. B/c a friend of mine just got scores back and needs to retake it. This will just save you time in 'restarting'. I really really hope that we did well and don't have to go through this again... but with a test like this... you kinda never know.
In any case. I was def pressed for time again but much better than I expected.
PS:I'm a little scared to say this but I thought PS was pretty fair. There were a few off questions... but you just gotta either compare it to an idea that's familiar or best guess or play around with the numbers which is hard bc of time. It did feel a bit more like VR though in some cases.
VR: Meh. Passages were pretty good. One got me caught up and I was about 3 min behind what I scheduled for. Just hope I got all those questions right in the beginning b/c it really wasn't that bad. Just longer... I honestly have no idea how people finish this with extra time. Good for you guys! Tell me the secret!! I try to skim over details... but still. Maybe I'm pushing myself too much to find evidence for the correct answer and re read the question?
BS: Not much orgo? I had 2 passages! And some stand alone. I left orgo for last so not quite sure how it went. But it didn't go into ridiculous mechanisms. Standard text book stuff. Bio was a tiny bit weird for me. Idk, with bio I felt like it wasn't standard stuff like I've seen on other tests... but still can figure it out. I don't know how but I got stuck on one question and lost 3 min. -.- And got one easy one wrong... which atm doesn't make me feel all too great. So I'm just gonna keep on studying, got nothing better to do haha. Ohh... so sad.
Just a word of caution... don't pack away your books yet. Take a break, but do some light reviewing. Watch some videos on weird topics in ps and bio. Keep things fresh. B/c a friend of mine just got scores back and needs to retake it. This will just save you time in 'restarting'. I really really hope that we did well and don't have to go through this again... but with a test like this... you kinda never know.
I thought the VR and BS were pretty easy. The PS though was ridiculous. I have taken all the AAMCs and thought by comparison this was by far harder than any of them, and I usually score in the 12-13 range. What messed me up were all the mathematical contortion questions where the answers are variables.
As an aside, the 2015 changes are a farce. This sort of psychobabble and ethnic/gender grievance mongering has no place on a medical school admission test. There are women's and cultural studies PHD programs for that.
I'm glad the general consensus is that PS was extremely difficult, hopefully the curve is pretty nice to us. There were a couple of free point questions that I can remember, but man that first passage REALLY just set the tone and put me in a bad mood for the rest of the section.
I definitely bounced back with VR and Biological sciences though. I felt great about them. As for the Bio, there wasn't much organic chem, and the organic chem it had was extremellllllly easy.
I'm glad the general consensus is that PS was extremely difficult, hopefully the curve is pretty nice to us. There were a couple of free point questions that I can remember, but man that first passage REALLY just set the tone and put me in a bad mood for the rest of the section.
I definitely bounced back with VR and Biological sciences though. I felt great about them. As for the Bio, there wasn't much organic chem, and the organic chem it had was extremellllllly easy.
what did you use for your PS studying?? 🙂
what did you use for your PS studying?? 🙂
I went through TBR a while ago, then skimmed through it again at the beginning of my content review. Three days ago, I blasted through all of Chad's PS videos and was able to raise my average from 7-8 to 10-11. It didn't prepare me at all for this PS though. ):
Like rekrul said, problems without concrete numbers really mess me up. I just felt like there wasn't enough time to try and figure things out. This is the first time I've ever finished a section with absolutely no time to go back and double-check answers.
AND THAT FIRST PASSAGE. HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY DECIDE TO RELATE THOSE CONCEPTS TOGETHER??!?! xD
AAMC are jerks...I feel like the first PS passage was really tough on PURPOSE so it would throw us all off. I remember going through the first three questions and being absolutely clueless, so I skipped the entire passage overall , which is something I never do.
I feel like it was done to psych people out and waste time, since that is one of the most time-intensive passages I think I have ever done in all my studying. Then again, it must be a combination of nerves as well since that is when you are thinking "uh oh this is the real deal, can't screw up!".
This. And... it worked. I could tell from the other examinees when we were on break. It was dead silent, no one said a word. Then I bounced back in VR, and everyone was all lively during their breaks lol.
LET'S ALL HOPE FOR AN AWESOME PS CURVE.
Last edited:
Was there an extra passage on your exam?
I know there is an experimental section for the 2015 people but that is supposed to be clear.
I know there is an experimental section for the 2015 people but that is supposed to be clear.
Last edited:
What do you mean? Was there an extra passage on your exam?
Not that I know of lol
Last edited:
As for the trial section:
I know that a lot of people just completely guess on everything. I'm all for providing AAMC some actual, legitimate data that they can use to assess their new exam. However, I was just mentally exhausted at the end of my exam. Also, we didn't study for this stuff. I felt like I hardly knew the answer to anything.
I know that a lot of people just completely guess on everything. I'm all for providing AAMC some actual, legitimate data that they can use to assess their new exam. However, I was just mentally exhausted at the end of my exam. Also, we didn't study for this stuff. I felt like I hardly knew the answer to anything.
It was tough passage!
I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALAALALALAA MAKE MY MONTH WAIT EASIER LALALALALALA
Last edited:
Wow, the party's already started in here LOL! I got home kind of late because I went to stuff myself and cry a little (just a little).
My thoughts...
PS: The most difficult section for me, but not the most stressful for some reason. I think I'm less harsh with myself when I guess on PS questions because it's my weakest spot. I'm not sure why but none of the passages stood out to me as exceptionally difficult, but this section in general is just very fuzzy in my head by now.
VR: The most stressful section for me, which seems to be a minority opinion 🙁 the passages felt like they took lifetimes to get through and I let my boredom get the best of me. I do think the questions were fair, but I wasn't on my A game in this section 🙁(((((
BS: So, I finished this with TOO MUCH time to spare. Like > 15 min. I have never finished BS this early so I freaked myself out. Orgo was much, much lighter than expected (which I appreciated) but I had a couple of brain farts on some quick recall/gimme questions, which was upsetting. Even though I enjoyed most of the Bio passages, I don't feel too good about my answers. I feel a little disappointed with my prep in this area.
Trial: Was it just me or did all of the passages seem to ask about the same thing? I'm so, so glad I'm not taking the 2015. The entire time my eyes glazed over because there was so. much. text.
Overall I knew going into this that I would probably have to retake, which was not the right mentality to have, but there you go. The exam seemed much more reasonable than I had expected...from a lot of threads I was gearing up for impossible jibberish passages. In the end I opted to score my exam in lieu of voiding thanks to the advice I received from some of y'all so I'll be in for the wait...
My thoughts...
PS: The most difficult section for me, but not the most stressful for some reason. I think I'm less harsh with myself when I guess on PS questions because it's my weakest spot. I'm not sure why but none of the passages stood out to me as exceptionally difficult, but this section in general is just very fuzzy in my head by now.
VR: The most stressful section for me, which seems to be a minority opinion 🙁 the passages felt like they took lifetimes to get through and I let my boredom get the best of me. I do think the questions were fair, but I wasn't on my A game in this section 🙁(((((
BS: So, I finished this with TOO MUCH time to spare. Like > 15 min. I have never finished BS this early so I freaked myself out. Orgo was much, much lighter than expected (which I appreciated) but I had a couple of brain farts on some quick recall/gimme questions, which was upsetting. Even though I enjoyed most of the Bio passages, I don't feel too good about my answers. I feel a little disappointed with my prep in this area.
Trial: Was it just me or did all of the passages seem to ask about the same thing? I'm so, so glad I'm not taking the 2015. The entire time my eyes glazed over because there was so. much. text.
Overall I knew going into this that I would probably have to retake, which was not the right mentality to have, but there you go. The exam seemed much more reasonable than I had expected...from a lot of threads I was gearing up for impossible jibberish passages. In the end I opted to score my exam in lieu of voiding thanks to the advice I received from some of y'all so I'll be in for the wait...
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Wow, the party's already started in here LOL! I got home kind of late because I went to stuff myself and cry a little (just a little).
My thoughts...
PS: The most difficult section for me, but not the most stressful for some reason. I think I'm less harsh with myself when I guess on PS questions because it's my weakest spot. I'm not sure why but none of the passages stood out to me as exceptionally difficult, but this section in general is just very fuzzy in my head by now.
VR: The most stressful section for me, which seems to be a minority opinion 🙁 the passages felt like they took lifetimes to get through and I let my boredom get the best of me. I do think the questions were fair, but I wasn't on my A game in this section 🙁(((((
BS: So, I finished this with TOO MUCH time to spare. Like > 15 min. I have never finished BS this early so I freaked myself out. Orgo was much, much lighter than expected (which I appreciated) but I had a couple of brain farts on some quick recall/gimme questions, which was upsetting. Even though I enjoyed most of the Bio passages, I don't feel too good about my answers. I feel a little disappointed with my prep in this area.
Trial: Was it just me or did all of the passages seem to ask about the same thing? I'm so, so glad I'm not taking the 2015. The entire time my eyes glazed over because there was so. much. text.
Overall I knew going into this that I would probably have to retake, which was not the right mentality to have, but there you go. The exam seemed much more reasonable than I had expected...from a lot of threads I was gearing up for impossible jibberish passages. In the end I opted to score my exam in lieu of voiding thanks to the advice I received from some of y'all so I'll be in for the wait...
I bet you did fantastic, no worries eh? 🙂
15 minutes on bio though eh?? I had like 10 minutes, there was one question on the first passage that I struggled with for like 8 minutes and was like "Yeah.... moving on..." lol
I agree with what you said about the trial section. I REALLLLLLLLLLY hope I never have to take that thing. Aren't they increasing the exam time to 8 hours, too? Oh gosh.
I'm tryingti remember the passage you're all referring to.. I started the ps section going from 7 to 1 for no reasonwhatsoever lol. Was it the passage with 3 experiments?
But yea, ps= I thought was the hardest by far. Some questions easy, most were not. the egg question was completely left field and some of the chem passages wre urprisingly tough.
Vr~ a little nervous about how good i felt about the sction after reading everyone's replies. My average for verbal was 11 but I think this may b higher.
Bio~too easy. I think te curve is going to be tiny. The passages wee ll straight forward an decretes seemed fair.
Just really nervous about ps.
Sorry for spelling, auto correct is a hitch.
But yea, ps= I thought was the hardest by far. Some questions easy, most were not. the egg question was completely left field and some of the chem passages wre urprisingly tough.
Vr~ a little nervous about how good i felt about the sction after reading everyone's replies. My average for verbal was 11 but I think this may b higher.
Bio~too easy. I think te curve is going to be tiny. The passages wee ll straight forward an decretes seemed fair.
Just really nervous about ps.
Sorry for spelling, auto correct is a hitch.
Haha nooo I honestly have just really low expectations seeing as I haven't seriously studied lately ever since I decided to "retake." So today was a little better since I was preparing for the worst. It killed me to see questions I knew I would have gotten with just a little more prep, though. But I feel like I'd always say thatI bet you did fantastic, no worries eh? 🙂
15 minutes on bio though eh?? I had like 10 minutes, there was one question on the first passage that I struggled with for like 8 minutes and was like "Yeah.... moving on..." lol
I agree with what you said about the trial section. I REALLLLLLLLLLY hope I never have to take that thing. Aren't they increasing the exam time to 8 hours, too? Oh gosh.

Yeah...40 minutes of the trial was enough. I went into it hoping to see Biochem but what we got instead was like ...
Haha nooo I honestly have just really low expectations seeing as I haven't seriously studied lately ever since I decided to "retake." So today was a little better since I was preparing for the worst. It killed me to see questions I knew I would have gotten with just a little more prep, though. But I feel like I'd always say that
Yeah...40 minutes of the trial was enough. I went into it hoping to see Biochem but what we got instead was like ...
At this point I just want my gift card 🙂
I'm tryingti remember the passage you're all referring to.. I started the ps section going from 7 to 1 for no reasonwhatsoever lol. Was it the passage with 3 experiments?
But yea, ps= I thought was the hardest by far. Some questions easy, most were not. the egg question was completely left field and some of the chem passages wre urprisingly tough.
Vr~ a little nervous about how good i felt about the sction after reading everyone's replies. My average for verbal was 11 but I think this may b higher.
Bio~too easy. I think te curve is going to be tiny. The passages wee ll straight forward an decretes seemed fair.
Just really nervous about ps.
Sorry for spelling, auto correct is a hitch.
I don't even remember which passage had 3 experiments lol
I only remember like 2 of them to be honest. That's what happens when you're wildly guessing on things though :O
Don't tell anyone this, but by the third or fourth passage I was just picking the prettiest answers since the passages weren't helping.At this point I just want my gift card 🙂
I want my gift card too. 🙁
Don't tell anyone this, but by the third or fourth passage I was just picking the prettiest answers since the passages weren't helping.
I want my gift card too. 🙁
Don't worry, I don't think AAMC will be subpoenaing you for that. :]
I bet you and I did just fine. Let's go relax!
I'm so pissed with myself. I was so thrown off by that PS section that I didn't even finish. I skipped to the end and voided. I am so disheartened that I have to take this damn test AGAIN.
I feel you there. I was honestly considering it, but am hopeful for a thoughtful scale.
Ugh I'm so sorry. I'm with you, too. I used up all 5 minutes and just let the exam default to score. Maybe we'll be retake buddies?I'm so pissed with myself. I was so thrown off by that PS section that I didn't even finish. I skipped to the end and voided. I am so disheartened that I have to take this damn test AGAIN.
I think my experience was similar to everyone else's.
PS - That first passage really rocked me. I spent a ton of time on it and ended up skipping two of the questions to come back to them if I had time. From that point on, I knew I had to make up time, so I felt really rushed and stressed out for the rest of the section. Plus my confidence was shot because PS has always been my strong point. I didn't think the rest of the section was abnormally hard, but I didn't think there were any super-easy parts either. I finished with about two minutes left and went back to the first section to put something down. In the end I think I probably got them right; it just took me a long time to look at them in the right way.
VR I found pretty average. I finished with less time to spare than usual, but not too bad. I didn't feel like any of the questions were super-vague and questionable like the AAMC 11 VR section (that one pissed me right off).
BS I honestly found embarrassingly easy. I breezed through it and finished with something like 20 minutes to spare. I had time to check over literally every single answer and make sure I felt good about them. There was only one that I felt unsure about. I looked it up afterward and I got it right.
As for everyone asking how much o-chem - I thought there were plenty of questions, but they were all really basic. Nothing very difficult or advanced.
Experimental section - WTF!!?? So glad I don't have to deal with that when it counts.
PS - That first passage really rocked me. I spent a ton of time on it and ended up skipping two of the questions to come back to them if I had time. From that point on, I knew I had to make up time, so I felt really rushed and stressed out for the rest of the section. Plus my confidence was shot because PS has always been my strong point. I didn't think the rest of the section was abnormally hard, but I didn't think there were any super-easy parts either. I finished with about two minutes left and went back to the first section to put something down. In the end I think I probably got them right; it just took me a long time to look at them in the right way.
VR I found pretty average. I finished with less time to spare than usual, but not too bad. I didn't feel like any of the questions were super-vague and questionable like the AAMC 11 VR section (that one pissed me right off).
BS I honestly found embarrassingly easy. I breezed through it and finished with something like 20 minutes to spare. I had time to check over literally every single answer and make sure I felt good about them. There was only one that I felt unsure about. I looked it up afterward and I got it right.
As for everyone asking how much o-chem - I thought there were plenty of questions, but they were all really basic. Nothing very difficult or advanced.
Experimental section - WTF!!?? So glad I don't have to deal with that when it counts.
I am glad I found this thread. I took it in Columbus, Georgia today. The AC was broken, and the room reached 92 degrees (plus 80ish percent humidity). I actually took off my socks and shoes, rolled up my jeans, and rolled up my t shirt sleeves. The proctors filed some sort of exception report with AMCAS; I don't know what is involved with that. Hopefully I get the option to retake it for free.
As for the exam itself, I thought the PS was a bit ridiculous. The math was not hard, but more tricky and involved than what I have encountered on previous AMCAS exams. The experiments were dense, and I second the previous comment re: "variables." I have tutored Chemistry and Physics for the last 2 years, and I definitely struggled with this section.
VR was for the most part straightforward, but the passages were definitely long. I am glad others are saying the same thing. And no, it was not the font size or screen.
BS was more or less a laugher. No curve!
BTW, about half of the questions for the passages could have been answered without even referring to the passage.
Good luck, all.
As for the exam itself, I thought the PS was a bit ridiculous. The math was not hard, but more tricky and involved than what I have encountered on previous AMCAS exams. The experiments were dense, and I second the previous comment re: "variables." I have tutored Chemistry and Physics for the last 2 years, and I definitely struggled with this section.
VR was for the most part straightforward, but the passages were definitely long. I am glad others are saying the same thing. And no, it was not the font size or screen.
BS was more or less a laugher. No curve!
BTW, about half of the questions for the passages could have been answered without even referring to the passage.
Good luck, all.
I think my experience was similar to everyone else's.
PS - That first passage really rocked me. I spent a ton of time on it and ended up skipping two of the questions to come back to them if I had time. From that point on, I knew I had to make up time, so I felt really rushed and stressed out for the rest of the section. Plus my confidence was shot because PS has always been my strong point. I didn't think the rest of the section was abnormally hard, but I didn't think there were any super-easy parts either. I finished with about two minutes left and went back to the first section to put something down. In the end I think I probably got them right; it just took me a long time to look at them in the right way.
VR I found pretty average. I finished with less time to spare than usual, but not too bad. I didn't feel like any of the questions were super-vague and questionable like the AAMC 11 VR section (that one pissed me right off).
BS I honestly found embarrassingly easy. I breezed through it and finished with something like 20 minutes to spare. I had time to check over literally every single answer and make sure I felt good about them. There was only one that I felt unsure about. I looked it up afterward and I got it right.
As for everyone asking how much o-chem - I thought there were plenty of questions, but they were all really basic. Nothing very difficult or advanced.
Experimental section - WTF!!?? So glad I don't have to deal with that when it counts.
Hahahahahaha. To be honest, I think we all would have found that experimental section much easier had we studied for it..
But to be honest, I've taken a bunch of psychology/sociology, and was literally scratching my head during most of that section.
Yeah PS was OK for me...
And I agree with Jared_the_great. VR was pretty average. However, I didn't get the chance to read the last two passages :/ so I guessed on them
Honestly...I'm hoping for a 30 (10 for PS, 10 for VR, and 10 for BS).
I felt satisfied when i completed the exam.
And I agree with Jared_the_great. VR was pretty average. However, I didn't get the chance to read the last two passages :/ so I guessed on them
Honestly...I'm hoping for a 30 (10 for PS, 10 for VR, and 10 for BS).
I felt satisfied when i completed the exam.
I agree with everyone else about PS.
PS had MORE than a few straigthtforward equation problems...it was just a matter of manipulating them. However, there was one I couldn't figure out for some reason and even now I'm convinced that there's some kind of typo on that one question's answer choices. lol
PS had MORE than a few straigthtforward equation problems...it was just a matter of manipulating them. However, there was one I couldn't figure out for some reason and even now I'm convinced that there's some kind of typo on that one question's answer choices. lol
Can anybody comment on how many equations we had to use for the PS section? Kind of scared/confused if they even give you the equations necessary.
Last edited:
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Can anybody comment on how many equations we had to use for the PS section? Kind of scared/confused if they even give you the equations necessary.
I only remember having to use one in the first passage. The rest is pretty much a blur though, which is a shame because I spent my 10 tutorial minutes writing out every equation I could remember..
Im kinda glad that most of us are saying PS was tough, because that section is really worrying me. I felt like like it was a lot of calculations, and there was a passage that just freaked me out in the middle of the test.
Hopefully the raw score conversions are lenient.
Hopefully the raw score conversions are lenient.
Im kinda glad that most of us are saying PS was tough, because that section is really worrying me. I felt like like it was a lot of calculations, and there was a passage that just freaked me out in the middle of the test.Hopefully the raw score conversions are lenient.
![]()
Completely agree. I honestly have no clue how I did... definitely my worst section by far.
I agree. PS was challenging..they seem to have incorporated multiple concepts into each passage...
Verbal was alright except i felt that passages were longer..i couldn't finish in time and guess on a few questions
Bio was pretty easy IMO except a few questions here and there
Verbal was alright except i felt that passages were longer..i couldn't finish in time and guess on a few questions
Bio was pretty easy IMO except a few questions here and there
Have a happy 4th of july everyone. Best of luck on applications, life, summer fun, w/e it is you plan to do post-mcat. See you all August 5th ~3pm ET. haha.
Similar threads
- Replies
- 5
- Views
- 6K
E
- Replies
- 0
- Views
- 2K
E