The Official July 2nd 2013 Thread

[Francium87]

Anyone who's writing the MCAT on July 2nd is welcome to post any of your thoughts, prep material in use or anything you guys think about the exam

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[Medicalhopeful]

RG,

Thank you for posting that!!! I took July 13 mcat and I will receive my score next tuesday! I felt decent about my science sections but my verbal section was hard. I can't predict a score for verbal, I hope my feelings that I got owned in that section are not true! Anyone had similar feelings for any section?

 

[deleted563735]

RG,

Thank you for posting that!!! I took July 13 mcat and I will receive my score next tuesday! I felt decent about my science sections but my verbal section was hard. I can't predict a score for verbal, I hope my feelings that I got owned in that section are not true! Anyone had similar feelings for any section?

If you go back and read the thread, lots of folks said their post test feelings did not match up with reality. Mine certainly didn't. My guess was 4 points lower than what I got. So good luck!

 

[IslandStyle808]

RG,

Thank you for posting that!!! I took July 13 mcat and I will receive my score next tuesday! I felt decent about my science sections but my verbal section was hard. I can't predict a score for verbal, I hope my feelings that I got owned in that section are not true! Anyone had similar feelings for any section?

Had the same exam date but felt owned on the PS (I felt like voiding but decided to score). I think people have different versions of the exam at the same time (hope this is true). Well good luck to you its gonna be a rough week.

 

[inycepoo]

And before anyone accuses me of "gloating", stop.

Lololol you still don't get it, do you. It is seen as gloating when you post nothing else but your scores. It ceases being seen as such when you actually post useful things for other people. Get it now?

Yeah, okay, we get it, you don't care what we think, blah blah blah okay sure. But you obviously still don't understand how things work, so I wanted to clarify it for you.

P.S. Punctuation always goes before quotations.

 

[Will Parry]

Lololol you still don't get it, do you. It is seen as gloating when you post nothing else but your scores. It ceases being seen as such when you actually post useful things for other people. Get it now?

Like I said before, I personally disagree. I appreciate everyone adding their input to the discussion, even if that means posting their score and nothing else. Again, more information is better. Just because you view something a certain way doesn't mean that everyone else holds the same opinion. Get it now?

P.S. Punctuation always goes before quotations.

Only in the American style of punctuation. Not so with British style. Seeing as what we're writing is intended for neither an American publication nor a British one, I think your criticism is quite irrelevant.

 

[ac2015]

Feel free to ask me anything about how I studied, how long I prepared, etc. I'd be more than happy to share my experience if it will help others.

Hey, I'm taking the MCAT in about two weeks and not to sound dismissive but I was hoping to receive some advice from someone who has scored well. My goal score is 38+, and as of right now, my AAMC scores range from 39-42, and am still doing tons of practice and content review. However, I have a history of underperforming on standardized tests due to nerves (ie. SAT), and I was wondering if you could give some test day tips. Also, how would you rate the similarity between AAMC practice tests (especially the later ones such as 10 and 11) and the actual exam? Thank you for all your help!

 

[kimicurtis]

First of all, Congrats to all the people who got the scores they wanted, whether it was a 28 or a 38 or in between!

Here's my breakdown:

AAMC Average: 29.6
AAMC 10 + 11 Average: 28
Post-test Prediction: 9/9/9 (27)
Actual: 11/10/8 (29)

Last MCAT (May 2012): 7/6/9 (22)

I know it's weird that I should be so ecstatic about getting a 29, while I do acknowledge that it would've been nice to get that 30, I am still in a state of unbelief and utter JOY. There are many in this forum who would immediately look at that 29 and think retake or that life is over, etc., but allow me to tell you why I feel differently and hopefully, my story will bring comfort and renewed confidence to those who may not have received the score they hoped for.

I graduated from undergrad with a pretty low cumulative and science gpa in 2008. I knew I wanted to go into medicine but I was lazy then, didn't develop the right study skills and was just having too much fun. I got a research job instead after and published a few papers working for the next 3 years. It was then I decided that I wanted to try medicine once more and applied and entered a Graduate program in 2011 and worked my butt OFF and got a 3.9 gpa while taking several medical school courses. I took my mcat while I was in the program, thought I did well on my practices and got a 22. YES. A 22.

I did the most normal human thing to do and cried. Sobbed. Wailed and was in a dark place. I had done so well in grad school and then boom: 22. I have to admit it took a lot of time for me to get out of that funk but I resolved to do better. I knew I had it in me and studied again from Feb this year. I admit, my practices weren't great but I improved 7 points. I'M GONNA BE A DOCTOR.

I don't care if it's not an ivy league school, I don't care that it may be a school no one thinks twice upon, because at the end of those 4 years, I get to do what I love to do. And that's all that should ever matter. Not you, not your school's reputation, but the people/patients/families that you plan to help change for the better, whether through a DO or MD.

So to cut this as briefly as possible, to those who got a "horrible" score, firstly, it's ok to vent, cry, lament since we are human. But after you've vented all your emotion, step back up, get back on the plate and don't let it consume you completely. If you truly want to be a physician and help people; NOTHING and NO ONE can ever stop you from your desire to DO GOOD.

Work hard, stay strong and have faith that all will work out in the end. YOU have the passion inside of you to do good and help people, this should be motivation and I hope my journey will help cheer you every step of the way, because I've walked down that road and although it didn't result in a "great" score as most perceive, I'm gonna show these schools who I am and why I want to be a physician and hopefully have the chance to do it one day.

Good luck to you all and Thanks for allowing me to share this. I do apologize if it was a long read, I guess I got carried away with my happiness!!!

Your post really touched and motivated me! Thank you, really. And congratulations!!!

 

[Gabri]

Your post really touched and motivated me! Thank you, really. And congratulations!!!

Hello,has anyone seen someone who did not do well on VR but still
Still got a manageable score on the actual thing? Any input will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[spartan25]

Hey, I'm taking the MCAT in about two weeks and not to sound dismissive but I was hoping to receive some advice from someone who has scored well. My goal score is 38+, and as of right now, my AAMC scores range from 39-42, and am still doing tons of practice and content review. However, I have a history of underperforming on standardized tests due to nerves (ie. SAT), and I was wondering if you could give some test day tips. Also, how would you rate the similarity between AAMC practice tests (especially the later ones such as 10 and 11) and the actual exam? Thank you for all your help!

If you're consistently scoring in the high 30s/low 40s then it means you've probably done all the content review that you need to score well on this thing. In that case, I would try to spend most of the rest of your time (~50-60%) doing/reviewing practice passages (AAMC will be the best but TBR and others will also help), while also doing some light content review on the side. It's important to realize doing well on this test is almost as much about reading comprehension and critical analysis as it is about knowing content, therefore it's vital to get as much practice as possible on realistic passages.

As far as how similar the actual test was to the practice AAMCs, I'd have to say I'm in the minority who thought that they were about 90% similar. The PS and Verbal were almost identical (in style/difficulty of Q's) to all the practice tests, but the BS could have thrown you for a loop if you weren't ready to answer a bunch of new, experiment-based passages

But my main advice for you over the next two weeks is to do as many passages as you can get your hands on (including verbal!) while keeping fresh on the content with some light review.

Judging by your practice scores, I'm sure you'll do great! It's all about confidence and attitude on test day!

 

[deleted563735]

Hey, I'm taking the MCAT in about two weeks and not to sound dismissive but I was hoping to receive some advice from someone who has scored well. My goal score is 38+, and as of right now, my AAMC scores range from 39-42, and am still doing tons of practice and content review. However, I have a history of underperforming on standardized tests due to nerves (ie. SAT), and I was wondering if you could give some test day tips. Also, how would you rate the similarity between AAMC practice tests (especially the later ones such as 10 and 11) and the actual exam? Thank you for all your help!

My best suggestion is what i suggested about earlier and on the 30+ thread. Have a regurgitation list of formulas that you write down during the tutorial.
You may not need them, but I does calm your nerves because
You have the formulas to go look at I you're not 100% sure on one. Hope this helps.

 

[Brpremed]

Has anyone who wrote the MCAT on July 2nd, applied to SUNY upstate?
I keep getting an e-mail that my application is incomplete. But it seems that the only thing that does not have a received date by it is the MCAT score.

Anybody else?

 

[dcamkl1]

Has anyone who wrote the MCAT on July 2nd, applied to SUNY upstate?
I keep getting an e-mail that my application is incomplete. But it seems that the only thing that does not have a received date by it is the MCAT score.

Anybody else?

Not applying there, but does your AMCAS indicate that the scores have been "loaded?"

 

[Brpremed]

Not applying there, but does your AMCAS indicate that the scores have been "loaded?"

Yes, other school have gotten it.

 

[Ginred]

I mixed the order of my practice tests around so I took them in this order

AAMC 3- 25 (8, 8, 9)
AAMC 8- 23 (7, 8, 8)
AAMC 4- 27 (8, 9, 10)
AAMC 5- 29 (10, 9, 10)
AAMC 9- 28 (8, 10, 10)
AAMC 11- 29 (8,10,11)
AAMC 10- 32 (9, 10, 13)
AAMC 7- 33 (11, 11, 11)

AAMC average: 28.25
AAMC 10/11 32, 29
Actual 29 PS 9 VR 11 BS 9

Bio kicked my butt on the actual test! I'm content with a PS of 9 since that's about my average. The VR 11 is spot on with the trend I saw in all my practice tests. The 9 in Bio was not indicative of my AAMC practice trend for bio.

Well, there it is. I can live with a 29. I'll only retake if I'm consigned to reapply next year. Good luck to all of you, I'll probably see some of you in my threads for the different schools I'm applying to.

 

[Ginred]

Like I said before, I personally disagree. I appreciate everyone adding their input to the discussion, even if that means posting their score and nothing else. Again, more information is better. Just because you view something a certain way doesn't mean that everyone else holds the same opinion. Get it now?



Only in the American style of punctuation. Not so with British style. Seeing as what we're writing is intended for neither an American publication nor a British one, I think your criticism is quite irrelevant.

Fight! fight! fight!

 

[runningmandoctor]

I always get confused with Elevator type problems involving real weight / apparent weight etc., in physics and so here is a good link which explains it well I think. Thought it might be useful so passing it along... http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/elev.html . As a general rule, if the elevator is accelerating up you feel heavier, and if the elevator is accelerating down you feel lighter......

Also, this video helps a lot too. https://www.khanacademy.org/science...l-contact-force/v/normal-force-in-an-elevator