The Official June 2015 MCAT Thread

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whoareyou said:
Switch the CARS and P/S and I have the exact same scores....I'm hoping to get a 510 as well but that might be too high :/ I don't know.
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How did you feel the test went? Idk if the aamc practice test was up to par of my test seemed easier especially both cars and social science
 
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jd989898 said:
I'm applying md/phd with a ~3.65 GPA so I really need a high MCAT.
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yeah i see what you mean now. 520 is still pretty high though .. i think with a 515 you could do damage provided you have a killer hollistic package... talking personal statement and resume. i think my personal statement is **** but who knows lol
my gpa isnt much higher... according to the school its 3.8. really f'd up with bio2 for majors. i was a freshman and wasnt prepared for hardcore studying of biological classes so i just studied in the same way i study for calculus or chemistry... not detailed enough.. got a C in 5 credit class. not willing to retake to pad gpa

B in cell Bio and this recent semester took a difficult pathogenic class also 5 credit, got a B. thats where 3.8 came from. people with 4.0 are so fkin lucky... well nah they deserve it.
 
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spikesolo00 said:
How did you feel the test went? Idk if the aamc practice test was up to par of my test seemed easier especially both cars and social science
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I too felt that the aamc practice test was easier than the real deal. I also ran out of time and had to guess on quite a few...not to mention having to choose between 2 answer choices for so many questions!!! ughh.
 
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spikesolo00 said:
yeah i see what you mean now. 520 is still pretty high though .. i think with a 515 you could do damage provided you have a killer hollistic package... talking personal statement and resume. i think my personal statement is **** but who knows lol
my gpa isnt much higher... according to the school its 3.8. really f'd up with bio2 for majors. i was a freshman and wasnt prepared for hardcore studying of biological classes so i just studied in the same way i study for calculus or chemistry... not detailed enough.. got a C in 5 credit class. not willing to retake to pad gpa

B in cell Bio and this recent semester took a difficult pathogenic class also 5 credit, got a B. thats where 3.8 came from. people with 4.0 are so fkin lucky... well nah they deserve it.
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Yeah thinking about it just makes me sick to my stomach tbh. I think the test went well, but it had to have gone really f*king well for things to work out this cycle lol. I'm praying I got between 519 and 524
 
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whoareyou said:
I too felt that the aamc practice test was easier than the real deal. I also ran out of time and had to guess on quite a few...not to mention having to choose between 2 answer choices for so many questions!!! ughh.
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the 2 answer problem is a serious dilemna... it hurts even more because you feel you were close enough but just not there
 
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jd989898 said:
Yeah thinking about it just makes me sick to my stomach tbh. I think the test went well, but it had to have gone really f*king well for things to work out this cycle lol. I'm praying I got between 519 and 524
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my question is.. since its 118 to 132, if everyone does so freaking well, and lets say the lowest of the scores is about getting 50% of the problems right... does that mean getting 50% of the problems right is actually a 118? because that would suck..its already a test full of brainiacs lol.


its crazy because between 492 to 500, the percentiles are a huge jump... then after that its just small differences.. by the time you get to 515 the differences are trivial
 
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The sample test I thought was a joke compared to my actual MCAT. I still think I did well, but definitely harder.
 
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Wondering what people's thoughts are on secondaries. Conventional wisdom says to complete them ASAP with some people advocating a ridiculous turnaround time of 48 hours (unless you only apply to a few schools, or are lucky enough to not have to work, i'm not sure how that's possible). BUT, since our MCAT scores aren't out for another few weeks anyways, i'm operating under the assumption that it will not look bad, or hurt us at all, if we take a bit more time to complete our secondaries, as long as they are in before our MCAT score release. Are others thinking along the same lines?
 
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timsk said:
Wondering what people's thoughts are on secondaries. Conventional wisdom says to complete them ASAP with some people advocating a ridiculous turnaround time of 48 hours (unless you only apply to a few schools, or are lucky enough to not have to work, i'm not sure how that's possible). BUT, since our MCAT scores aren't out for another few weeks anyways, i'm operating under the assumption that it will not look bad, or hurt us at all, if we take a bit more time to complete our secondaries, as long as they are in before our MCAT score release. Are others thinking along the same lines?
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turn around time should be <2 weeks. In my opinion. A lot of people "pre-write" their secondaries. I haven't pre-written yet, but that's because I'm waiting until the 6th to get a better idea of what schools to apply to. I don't want to pre-write a bunch of essays I won't end up using, ya know?
 
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yeah, i've started to pre-write for the ones i know i'm for sure applying to. But i feel that the turnaround time of less than 2 weeks is for students who already have their mcat scores and thus the final step before their application is complete is the secondary application. Even if we turned all my secondaries in now, it would still be another 20 days until they receive our scores and can start processing our applications. I think i'll still aim for 2 weeks, but feel a bit less pressure due to our scores being released on the 21st.

How many schools are you aiming to apply to Caffein3?
 
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You can turn in secondaries now? Without an MCAT score? I'm a little confused on this whole process.

I am verified, but I don't look to receive any secondaries until after July 21. Once my score is released I'll add all the schools I want and then receive their secondaries. That way it doesn't look like I'm taking 1 month to do their secondaries.

I want to apply to ~20 (bye bye all my $$)
 
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yea, you're smarter than me. I got caught up in the excitement of it all and included all the schools i thought i was going to apply to when i submitted my primary application for verification. Therefore it's being sent out to about 20 schools today and i've started to receive my secondaries. So i'm planning on submitting my secondaries within the next week or two, even though they won't have my mcat scores yet. Then they can start to process right away on the 21st. The more judicious version of me would have only added one school to my application when i submitted for initial verification. I've already changed several schools on my list and thus wasted a fair amount of money.

I'm also aiming for around 20. So expensive. I find the cost of secondaries a bit egregious...the schools that accept 10k applications and ask everyone for secondaries (i'm looking at you GW) pull in over $1,000,000 even though they consider and interview only a tiny fraction of their pool of applicants.
 
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^^^ seriously. insane how much bank these guys make. but nothing we can do right?

and I'm sure you'll end up alright! Just keep writing !
 
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Caffein3 said:
The sample test I thought was a joke compared to my actual MCAT. I still think I did well, but definitely harder.
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couldnt believe what i was seeing in the sample test. wish i had saved myself that cash. did nothing for me. if anything khan academy will be the reason i have a fighting chance
 
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so need everyone's advice on something...
my school has a committee program but i bypassed it . im getting individual letters..

how do i go about getting those letters to AAMC when it's ready? do the professors send it themselves? how does it work?
 
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Caffein3 said:
You can turn in secondaries now? Without an MCAT score? I'm a little confused on this whole process.

I am verified, but I don't look to receive any secondaries until after July 21. Once my score is released I'll add all the schools I want and then receive their secondaries. That way it doesn't look like I'm taking 1 month to do their secondaries.

I want to apply to ~20 (bye bye all my $$)
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20? holy smokes. im thinking of 3MD and 1 DO. probably won't get in the way i see you guys applying so broad
 
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Caffein3 said:
The sample test I thought was a joke compared to my actual MCAT. I still think I did well, but definitely harder.
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How did you do on the sample? I personally felt like the sample was harder than the real thing. I think part of that is def b/c the sample emphasized some of my weak points, though.
 
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spikesolo00 said:
when is your test?
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I took it June 20 lol
but I woke up today thinking all the sections for the mcat aren't taken on the same day and today is the psych/soc part of the test... and then after having a panic attack I remembered I was already done with it.. ._.
 
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timsk said:
yea, you're smarter than me. I got caught up in the excitement of it all and included all the schools i thought i was going to apply to when i submitted my primary application for verification. Therefore it's being sent out to about 20 schools today and i've started to receive my secondaries. So i'm planning on submitting my secondaries within the next week or two, even though they won't have my mcat scores yet. Then they can start to process right away on the 21st. The more judicious version of me would have only added one school to my application when i submitted for initial verification. I've already changed several schools on my list and thus wasted a fair amount of money.

I'm also aiming for around 20. So expensive. I find the cost of secondaries a bit egregious...the schools that accept 10k applications and ask everyone for secondaries (i'm looking at you GW) pull in over $1,000,000 even though they consider and interview only a tiny fraction of their pool of applicants.
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What's the better gameplan: submitting before MCAT scores get there, or taking that extra week to polish the secondaries and then send in around the time the MCAT score goes? Will they look at the app without the score?
 
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whoareyou said:
I took it June 20 lol
but I woke up today thinking all the sections for the mcat aren't taken on the same day and today is the psych/soc part of the test... and then after having a panic attack I remembered I was already done with it.. ._.
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wow . this test can mentally damage an individual
 
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spikesolo00 said:
20? holy smokes. im thinking of 3MD and 1 DO. probably won't get in the way i see you guys applying so broad
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Not sure if your decision to apply to so few is based on finances or some other probably very valid reason, but what i've seen is that in general, the strongest applicants can get away with 10 applications, average applicants can get away with 15-20, and the weakest should aim for 25.

As for the letters, i used the service interfolio which worked really well. It's a way for your letter writers to upload their letters to a central repository which then tracks them and lets you know when they've all arrived. Then you upload them to your AMCAS app and they will get sent automatically to all your schools. I know you can do it directly with AMCAS, but not entirely sure how that works.
 
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Okazaki Frag Grenade said:
What's the better gameplan: submitting before MCAT scores get there, or taking that extra week to polish the secondaries and then send in around the time the MCAT score goes? Will they look at the app without the score?
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I submitted AMCAS 6/18, so I should be verified ~July 10th. Since they won't even look at our apps until our MCAT scores come in on the 21st, I'm planning on adding schools after I'm verified. Then I'll pre-write secondaries so they'll all be ready to submit on the 21st.
 
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I think the thing that will hold us all up (relatively) is our MCAT release date. So just make sure everything is complete and submitted before then (secondaries, LOR, primary) and then your app will be reviewed as soon as schools receive your scores.
 
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If you have a previous MCAT score, but are still waiting for the retake score (7/21), will schools review your application with your old score, or wait until your new score comes in regardless?
 
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MD.Hopeful said:
If you have a previous MCAT score, but are still waiting for the retake score (7/21), will schools review your application with your old score, or wait until your new score comes in regardless?
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If you have selected a test date on your app that has not occured or hasn't gotten scores back yet they won't begin to review your app. from my understanding
 
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Does anyone know the exact date that AAMC is going to release the percentile ranks? That will determine if I have to retake it. Submitted 6/30 (yesterday). Also, this is a kind of different question but how long has it taken for your apps to be verified this year?
 
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ChicagoGrad55 said:
Does anyone know the exact date that AAMC is going to release the percentile ranks? That will determine if I have to retake it. Submitted 6/30 (yesterday). Also, this is a kind of different question but how long has it taken for your apps to be verified this year?
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July 6th, according to their tweet.

 
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Am I late to the party? I'm waiting for a few transcripts to be verified by the ACOMAS. I have not been verified yet. But Most of the school I looked at told me as long as everything is submitted by September 1st thats fine. I'm waiting for my mcat score from June 19th.
 
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Will amcas and acomas inform you when they received transcripts. I'm not verified yet but did send them like 10 days ago
 
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timsk said:
Not sure if your decision to apply to so few is based on finances or some other probably very valid reason, but what i've seen is that in general, the strongest applicants can get away with 10 applications, average applicants can get away with 15-20, and the weakest should aim for 25.

As for the letters, i used the service interfolio which worked really well. It's a way for your letter writers to upload their letters to a central repository which then tracks them and lets you know when they've all arrived. Then you upload them to your AMCAS app and they will get sent automatically to all your schools. I know you can do it directly with AMCAS, but not entirely sure how that works.
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finances really. not into the whole FAP program but im kinda footing the bill of everything from mcat test payment to all this and im just already annoyed by the ridiculous amount of money it takes to get into med school alone... almost to the point where it seems to weed out people based on finances and even the people that do indeed apply broadly do it and then feel the thin air in their wallets. shame really
 
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spikesolo00 said:
finances really. not into the whole FAP program but im kinda footing the bill of everything from mcat test payment to all this and im just already annoyed by the ridiculous amount of money it takes to get into med school alone... almost to the point where it seems to weed out people based on finances and even the people that do indeed apply broadly do it and then feel the thin air in their wallets. shame really
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timsk said:
Not sure if your decision to apply to so few is based on finances or some other probably very valid reason, but what i've seen is that in general, the strongest applicants can get away with 10 applications, average applicants can get away with 15-20, and the weakest should aim for 25.

As for the letters, i used the service interfolio which worked really well. It's a way for your letter writers to upload their letters to a central repository which then tracks them and lets you know when they've all arrived. Then you upload them to your AMCAS app and they will get sent automatically to all your schools. I know you can do it directly with AMCAS, but not entirely sure how that works.
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I applied to just seven. UNC, Sidney kimmel, Central Michigan, Howard, Penn state, Tulane, University of Kentucky. cgpa 3.79 sgpa-3.71. waiting on MCAT, if high, will apply to emory, and pittsburgh.
 
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Favour517 said:
I applied to just seven. UNC, Sidney kimmel, Central Michigan, Howard, Penn state, Tulane, University of Kentucky. cgpa 3.79 sgpa-3.71. waiting on MCAT, if high, will apply to emory, and pittsburgh.
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yeah up to mcat scores. but if we get basically the same training im not too big on havard vs stat school or john hopkins vs baylor... i just want to learn and do it the best i can. whether that's at OU or hopkins.
 
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So from what it looks like, my primary won't be verified until early august. Is this really bad? I mean I know you want to apply early and everything but how much does it really hurt?

I have a 3.78cGPA/4.0 sGPA and solid EC's (clinical work, research, volunteering) and I feel pretty strongly that my scores are going to be between 80th and 90th percentile based on the practice exam and how I felt about the real one. Its just like from what I see on here, people act like its the end of the world if your app doesn't go out by the end of July. I will say I know someone who made a 27 on the MCAT and submitted on one of the last days of the cycle (like november?) and got 3 interviews and 2 acceptances even though they were both low-teir in-state schools.
 
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It's not bad. Just start pre writing secondaries so when you do get those you can turn them around in less than a week.

Also I feel your guy's pain on the money thing. It's ridiculous how much money you have to shell out to hopefully get one acceptance to hopefully pay another 250k+ haha. All we wanna do is help people and save livessss. Is that too much to ask?
 
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I'm so lost on how my pending MCAT score affects my application. My AMCAS says "Processing is Complete" Does that mean I'm verified? Can I even be "verified" without my score? I've only gotten one secondary so far which is making me nervous. Do many schools not send you a secondary until you have your score?
 
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