The Official June 2015 MCAT Thread

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jd989898 said:
During the psych section I was literally struggling to keep my eyes open bc I only got 4 hours of sleep and the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I finished the section with 52 minutes left and I was like "eh ok ill just close my eyes for a minute before I check my answers." I ended up falling asleep for 30 minutes and woke up with 20 min left to check my answers. I literally caught 5-10 careless mistakes on my second run through the questions. That power nap saved my a$$ lol.
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haha dude that's beast
 
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piii said:
Thank you so much. When you phrase it that way, it definitely sounds like it could be shady. Having been to this clinic, this was quite the opposite. This is an NGO that employs international vets who make it there mission to heal stray homeless animals and foster them off. I didn't have to pay to be there. I simply volunteered my time and met some wonderful people. All the practices were safe. And all they needed was an extra set of hands for the very, very basic help. But you are totally right, I think it could come off completely wrong. Much to think about.
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I'm sure the NGO was totally legit, but honestly even in the US I've had doctors tell me to do procedures that I was in no way qualified to do. I feel like medical professionals just get excited by the opportunity to teach newcomers how to do things, and sometimes they forget that it's illegal. I think you're totally fine discussing the super basic things you did. To be on the safe side, just don't mention anything that would seem questionable if you were to do it to a human tomorrow. I wouldn't want a totally untrained person putting a catheter in my arm or giving me anesthesia. Like I said, the shaving, sterilizing, etc. is great.
 
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whoareyou said:
I would hope not! That happened to me in 2 sections

Edit: I meant it happened to me when I was taking the test
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I was wondering this too. If you select an answer choice, and then time runs out on the section (that is, you haven't hit "next" but you picked an answer), does that answer count?
 
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Has anyone heard of when the April scores are due? I would love to know how they turned out. I feel good about all sections but Chem/Phys...driving myself crazy playing the numbers game. That being said the retail therapy of the last two days has helped take my mind off things. I just rebooked for August 6th just incase my score isn't up to snuff. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this😉!!
 
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Hey guys so I just took the test this weekend like a lot of you however I think I may have done terrible in psych/soc. here's my situation I took the Mcat last year and then just this past weekend. If I plan to take it again in July depending on my preliminaries do you think it will put me at a severe disadvantage regarding the timing of the application cycle? Also do you guys think they will overlook me taking it three times especially since the exam changed? Thanks ! Hope we all do great?
 
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One more question for whoever knows, how does the curve work? Is there a curve or is it just that they take out he experimental passage? Also does every section including verbal have an experimental passage?
 
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ChippyMD said:
Has anyone heard of when the April scores are due? I would love to know how they turned out. I feel good about all sections but Chem/Phys...driving myself crazy playing the numbers game. That being said the retail therapy of the last two days has helped take my mind off things. I just rebooked for August 6th just incase my score isn't up to snuff. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this😉!!
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They were released on the 16th. Go over to the April board to see folks' scores.

spate93 said:
One more question for whoever knows, how does the curve work? Is there a curve or is it just that they take out he experimental passage? Also does every section including verbal have an experimental passage?
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I'm not really sure what this question is asking. As far as the curve goes, it's a bit unclear to me. I've seen that it is based on the scoring of the April exam takers, but i've also seen that the April, May, and June exam takers are setting the scale for everyone else that takes it this year. It seems like the most useful, and easy to interpret, score that they will be giving us is the percentile rank. AAMC is encouraging admission committees to look at the percentile rank to evaluate the new exam, especially while everyone gets used to the new scale.
 
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According to AAMC, there is no curve. Rather, they "equate" your raw score based on how other people perform on the exam. Anything that involves percentile rankings makes use of a normal distribution. I believe the problem here is how one defines a "curved score."
 
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Hey guys,
I took it Saturday and just thought I would add my input of how the exam went.

Chem/Phys- I thought this was the easiest section. A lot more physics than I thought, but I think I remembered enough equations to do fine. Not many passages were bio related, as stated above.

CARS- This could have been the hardest section. Passages were much longer than the AAMC practice pack and the AAMC FL. I had to rush the last passage with about 6 minutes left.

Bio- A lot more biochem than I expected. For some reason, I was thinking there would be a few passages that would be pure physiology, but that wasn't the case. I am hoping I guessed right on a few questions that needed it. Oh and just in case anyone hasn't heard it enough, KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS. This includes the one letter code for each amino acid.

Psych/Soc- I thought this was easier than everyone else has been saying. I took two psych classes so this may have helped me. There were still a few I didn't know, but narrowing it down to 2 and then guessing is what I had to do. Also a question or two about random theories that I didn't really know.

Overall the exam was a little tougher than I expected, but let's hope my score turns out okay. I really don't want to have to retake in August and take a gap year. I used TPR self-paced lectures to study. After taking a few TPR FL's, I decided to stop using it as practice. They were just unrealistically hard. I used AAMC question pack, AAMC FL, and old AAMC FL's to practice the month before the exam.

My AAMC FL practice scores were:
Chem/Phys: 77%
CARS: 75%
Bio: 71% (before memorizing all of the amino acids)
Psych/Soc: 81%
 
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GoGreen14794 said:
Hey guys,
I took it Saturday and just thought I would add my input of how the exam went.

Chem/Phys- I thought this was the easiest section. A lot more physics than I thought, but I think I remembered enough equations to do fine. Not many passages were bio related, as stated above.

CARS- This could have been the hardest section. Passages were much longer than the AAMC practice pack and the AAMC FL. I had to rush the last passage with about 6 minutes left.

Bio- A lot more biochem than I expected. For some reason, I was thinking there would be a few passages that would be pure physiology, but that wasn't the case. I am hoping I guessed right on a few questions that needed it. Oh and just in case anyone hasn't heard it enough, KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS. This includes the one letter code for each amino acid.

Psych/Soc- I thought this was easier than everyone else has been saying. I took two psych classes so this may have helped me. There were still a few I didn't know, but narrowing it down to 2 and then guessing is what I had to do. Also a question or two about random theories that I didn't really know.

Overall the exam was a little tougher than I expected, but let's hope my score turns out okay. I really don't want to have to retake in August and take a gap year. I used TPR self-paced lectures to study. After taking a few TPR FL's, I decided to stop using it as practice. They were just unrealistically hard. I used AAMC question pack, AAMC FL, and old AAMC FL's to practice the month before the exam.

My AAMC FL practice scores were:
Chem/Phys: 77%
CARS: 75%
Bio: 71% (before memorizing all of the amino acids)
Psych/Soc: 81%
Click to expand...

Awesome... TPR said explicitly in the biology book that we don't need to / shouldn't memorize the amino acids' three letter or one letter abbreviations or even their side chains... We should just know their overall shape, charge, polarity, whether they're acidic or basic or neutral... Like wtf -.-
 
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missmd123 said:
Awesome... TPR said explicitly in the biology book that we don't need to / shouldn't memorize the amino acids' three letter or one letter abbreviations or even their side chains... We should just know their overall shape, charge, polarity, whether they're acidic or basic or neutral... Like wtf -.-
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Haha, I had to bring that up to my bio/biochem instructor. He took the old MCAT and he ended up telling the rest of the students that they should know that too after he researched it too. Besides that, some of the physio in the bio TPR book is incredibly overly detailed at times.
 
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Hey friends,

I need some feedback on my personal statement. First I talk about how I lost a friend to cancer when I was young and how it was my first significant experience with the medical field and what I learned from they friend. Next I talk about how I got so interested in science when I was in high school and eventually shadowed a physician and that's when I decided I wanted to become a physician because of my interest in the body and the interactions that the physician had with his patients. Finally I talk about how I have been a camp counselor for a couple summers in college and what that has taught me (leadership, patience etc. )

1.) do you think this is effective? I know it's based off of personal experience, and these events really are what led me to want to become a physician.

2.) most of my experiences in my personal statement are pre-college...is this looked down upon?

Thanks in advance
 
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dickfacedan said:
Hey friends,

I need some feedback on my personal statement. First I talk about how I lost a friend to cancer when I was young and how it was my first significant experience with the medical field and what I learned from they friend. Next I talk about how I got so interested in science when I was in high school and eventually shadowed a physician and that's when I decided I wanted to become a physician because of my interest in the body and the interactions that the physician had with his patients. Finally I talk about how I have been a camp counselor for a couple summers in college and what that has taught me (leadership, patience etc. )

1.) do you think this is effective? I know it's based off of personal experience, and these events really are what led me to want to become a physician.

2.) most of my experiences in my personal statement are pre-college...is this looked down upon?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I think it can be effective if you follow a few guidelines:

1. Don't make it a sob story. Adcoms see a lot of "sadness" in people's personal statements, and it can be very overwhelming and tiring.
2. Getting interested in science, having an "ah-hah" moment, shadowing, etc. are very very common tropes. While it isn't wrong to write about them, it can be ineffective if done incorrectly. Make sure you don't describe the experience, talk about how you personally grew from the experience, how it pushed you to pursue medicine. I think your PS is extremely important for establishing your mental maturity and showing ADCOMS you know why you want to be a doctor and that you've thought a lot about the decision.

I can always read over it if you'd like.
 
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Caffein3 said:
I think it can be effective if you follow a few guidelines:

1. Don't make it a sob story. Adcoms see a lot of "sadness" in people's personal statements, and it can be very overwhelming and tiring.
2. Getting interested in science, having an "ah-hah" moment, shadowing, etc. are very very common tropes. While it isn't wrong to write about them, it can be ineffective if done incorrectly. Make sure you don't describe the experience, talk about how you personally grew from the experience, how it pushed you to pursue medicine. I think your PS is extremely important for establishing your mental maturity and showing ADCOMS you know why you want to be a doctor and that you've thought a lot about the decision.

I can always read over it if you'd like.
Click to expand...
I don't want to make you do that, but if you are offering pm me an email and I will send it to you tomorrow. I really appreciate it
 
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missmd123 said:
Awesome... TPR said explicitly in the biology book that we don't need to / shouldn't memorize the amino acids' three letter or one letter abbreviations or even their side chains... We should just know their overall shape, charge, polarity, whether they're acidic or basic or neutral... Like wtf -.-
Click to expand...
ExamKrackers said the same thing :/
 
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So I got up and took a piss during the CP section. It took two minutes, and allowed me to focus better. I would not recommend it.
 
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has anyone started to look at the secondary prompts? I just compiled all the prompts for the 20 some schools i'm applying to. Just when you think you have a moment to rest...

I feel like some of these questions are trick questions. If you answer honestly, they'll hold it against you because it shows you're too unstable or too damaged or too adventurous or too X, Y, Z. But if you don't answer honestly then you risk sounding like your answers are canned. Add to it the fact that the first round of folks who review your app may be inordinately conservative and it leaves me wondering how the hell i'm supposed to answer these!

Radically genuine or radically calculated?
 
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littlebear92 said:
I had to pee really badly during the psych/socio section. They really need to do something about the breaks....like allow 1 emergency break. I bet a plenty of others had the same problem you did and are too embarrassed to put it here.
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I visited the restroom every break regardless of whether I felt like I needed to. That way there was no chance an emergency could sneak up on me.
 
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EverStriving said:
I visited the restroom every break regardless of whether I felt like I needed to. That way there was no chance an emergency could sneak up on me.
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When I voided my test in January, I did this too. Only downside was 3-4 people had to use the bathroom (it was tricky to find too at the center, took me about a minute to find its' location) and they had keys. Thankfully none of us took long so we all were back in the testing room within 9 or so minutes.
 
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Whats the general rules for secondaries regarding repeating information from your application? E.g. if it asks you address your most impactful leadership experience should I chose another one or should I repeat??
 
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You can definitely talk about the same thing. Maybe in a different way though? Sometimes the people looking at your secondaries didn't look at your primaries (hence why there are repeated questions).

Also are you guys planning to submit soon?
 
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What did you guys do the day before a practice test? I tried doing a full scale review today and it took about ~9 hours. Don't think it really helped. I've taken 3 FLs and have done usually review the night before. Today I did it a lot more intensive since I've gone through all the content at least once.
 
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Hey, guys what do you guys think is the best course of action for me?

I took the June exam and felt like I did bad. I'm not going to be delusional and say a miracle will happen and some how I get a high score or a score that's respectable. I know my ability better than anyone and any test I have ever taken when I know I did bad my scores have reflected that.

I need to apply this year because I already took two gap years and I'm up there in age. I can't keep delaying.

I felt good with content review, maybe I can brush up on certain topics a little and do some more practice problem on ones I'm not good at.

I think the problem was I did not do enough practice exams, where I only did TPR demo test and AAMC official practice test. Now I don't have to spend too much time on learning content review and considering now I have a better feel for the test, I will better be able to work on test taking strategies.

I still have the AAMC official guide (half-test), two TPR exams, and I guess I can purchase the 3 EK exams.

After the prelim percentile release on July 6th, I will definitely know where I stand. That will give me less than two weeks to prep for July 18th exam or I can take the August 6 exam if I'm not ready by July (because I would like to take at least 4 -5 exams before I retake).

I have 3.5 GPA (did horrible earlier on in college, but have upward trend), ORM, and nothing in the app that really stands out. I have good EC, clinical experience and research but nothing that really stands out. That's why I'm really banking on the MCAT.

If I did bad on first MCAT (regardless of how I do on the retake), how bad would this hurt me as some schools round the scores?

Also, would taking the MCAT in August be too late (especially considering my poor stats)?
 
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Anybody else start having a good day without thinking much about waiting for MCAT scores, and then something random reminds you of it and ruins your mood?

1) Get thirsty, go to water cooler at work.
2) Start filling up cup
3) Bubbles start forming in the water jug after pouring for a while
4) Oh, buoyancy (or something)
5) Buoyancy is an MCAT topic
6) Ugh
 
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PreMade said:
Hey, guys what do you guys think is the best course of action for me?

I took the June exam and felt like I did bad. I'm not going to be delusional and say a miracle will happen and some how I get a high score or a score that's respectable. I know my ability better than anyone and any test I have ever taken when I know I did bad my scores have reflected that.

I need to apply this year because I already took two gap years and I'm up there in age. I can't keep delaying.

I felt good with content review, maybe I can brush up on certain topics a little and do some more practice problem on ones I'm not good at.

I think the problem was I did not do enough practice exams, where I only did TPR demo test and AAMC official practice test. Now I don't have to spend too much time on learning content review and considering now I have a better feel for the test, I will better be able to work on test taking strategies.

I still have the AAMC official guide (half-test), two TPR exams, and I guess I can purchase the 3 EK exams.

After the prelim percentile release on July 6th, I will definitely know where I stand. That will give me less than two weeks to prep for July 18th exam or I can take the August 6 exam if I'm not ready by July (because I would like to take at least 4 -5 exams before I retake).

I have 3.5 GPA (did horrible earlier on in college, but have upward trend), ORM, and nothing in the app that really stands out. I have good EC, clinical experience and research but nothing that really stands out. That's why I'm really banking on the MCAT.

If I did bad on first MCAT (regardless of how I do on the retake), how bad would this hurt me as some schools round the scores?

Also, would taking the MCAT in August be too late (especially considering my poor stats)?
Click to expand...

What did you score on the AAMC sample test? That's been the best predictor of scores, and it will help you focus your studies if you do decide to retake. August might be pushing it a little, but then again this cycle is unique compared to previous years.
 
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PreMade: What makes you think you didn't do enough practice? Was your timing off, or you got lost in dense passages, or...? If you have a thorough base of content, you might be able to quickly practice better timing/reading using prep tests, but I don't know if 4-5 exams is necessary.

We do not know what raw percentage is required for a given rank percentile, so I really think it's hard to say that you know you bombed it. What was your AAMC practice percentage? Or TPR Demo? The AAMC test will only give the raw percentage, so if you were >70%, depending on what you were aiming for you could be 'ok' (not superstar status). TPR is deflated (based on common accounts), so assuming you were anywhere above 497-500, the actual test could be ok. (Assuming not every topic you were weak in showed up on test day.)

Personally, I set June as my last shot date. August seems pretty late, but possible for DO (over MD). July may not provide you enough time to actually improve much (depending on your weakness).

PreMade said:
If I did bad on first MCAT (regardless of how I do on the retake), how bad would this hurt me as some schools round the scores?

Also, would taking the MCAT in August be too late (especially considering my poor stats)?
Click to expand...

Until you know your score, you're speaking in hypotheticals. A 500 is different than a 495, which is different than a 505 or 510. Can you honestly say you know where you lie on the spectrum? (I can't. I know I'm smart, I know I test well, but I do not have the slightest clue where I am.) Regardless of your intentions (MD, DO, top research university, etc), without an score (or a range) you're wasting energy. Go do something fruitful for 2 weeks (writing for your app, making healthy food, exercising, going out with friends). Study a bit if you are considering a retake, but rushing forward without an idea of where you actually stand seems unwise.
 
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dickfacedan said:
Submit for verification or submit primary to schools? And I would usually review my notes and do a few passages from each section to stay fresh
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Once your app is verified they will automatically send it out to all schools you listed (assuming youre verified after july 1st).

Thats something i wasnt expecting. If you want to wait on them automatically sending your primary app to schools, just dont list them on your app and then add them later, after you see your score. I wish i had done that instead of paying $900 when i submitted my primary for verification
 
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Do we get notified each time our transcript is received? One of my schools sent my transcript in but I'm waiting on two others still...
 
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