The Official June 21, 2014 MCAT thread

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Oh self assessments is another AAMC purchase where you have 20 passages in each of the 5 subjects Tested and it included passages on every topic.

I just did these last week and found my weaknesses and tried working on them
 
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Really wishing I knew what people meant by "calculation heavy" in reference to PS and how exactly it makes the exam more difficult. Is it that you just have to use more formulas (which can be difficult if you can't remember which formulas to use off the top of your head), or are the calculations themselves just more complicated (like crazy numbers and multi-step processes, which can be time consuming without a calculator or strong mental math skills)?
 
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it just means more math in general....you have to take your time and be precise with numbers even though you are plugging and chugging you dont have a calculator, vs knowing something qualitatively and knowing the answer right away....just takes more time so you have to be quick and precise
 
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just finished AAMC #11 with a 38 (14,11,13) which is almost exactly the same as my score on it last year...I'm hoping that I can pull something even remotely similar on the real thing and I'd be set.

Hang in there everyone and do some light reviewing and focus on your weaknesses these last couple of days. Most importantly, don't psych yourself out!
 
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dcnetsfan77 said:
it just means more math in general....you have to take your time and be precise with numbers even though you are plugging and chugging you dont have a calculator, vs knowing something qualitatively and knowing the answer right away....just takes more time so you have to be quick and precise
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Thanks. That doesn't sound as bad as I expected. I guess I better spend some time tuning up my mental math tricks.
 
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Just got a 10/13/8 on AAMC 11, which is what I got on AAMC 9 last weekend as well. I had straight 11s on BS for the 4 tests prior to this! I don't understand what changed. It is incredibly frustrating. Anyone seen a similar recent fluctuation? VR is consistent, so is PS (on AAMCs at least). I was so solid in BS. I don't understand, and it's making me almost want to cancel.
 
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I dont get why calculation heavy is such a big deal.. like im sure weve all taken calcululus and algebra with way more calculations in it and practicing the mcat so long should make that a skill engraved in us loll
 
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I didn't find 05/13 PS to be incredibly calculation heavy or anything, but that's definitely where I ended up wasting time. You know they are going to include a variation of answers that you could get if you used the formula wrong. So in my case I'd do the quick calculation or approximation, see my answer and think "eff yes!" but then I would hesitate and ensure I laid the formula out right, looked at the stoich properly (or ignored the stoich depending) etc etc. I think people prefer the questions that don't require calculation because you can quickly narrow down the answers and move on. There's always doubt with calculations, at least for me.

Having said that, TBR calculation questions are by far more convoluted or intricate than anything I saw on the exam. There was nothing I looked at and mentally imploded over.
 
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sloppypapi said:
Really wishing I knew what people meant by "calculation heavy" in reference to PS and how exactly it makes the exam more difficult. Is it that you just have to use more formulas (which can be difficult if you can't remember which formulas to use off the top of your head), or are the calculations themselves just more complicated (like crazy numbers and multi-step processes, which can be time consuming without a calculator or strong mental math skills)?
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time consuming-- think balancing equations that have a lot of reactants, doing a lot of unit conversions (cm^2--> m^2), manipulating equations that you may not be familiar with for the first time, etc. all of these drain away time, whereas from AAMC 3-10 (imo) there were more 3-7second "do you know the concept that is being tested or not" questions than a bunch of "1-2minute" calculation questions (where you most likely do indeed know how to do it, but perhaps may not have the time to perform the needed calculations).
 
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definitely agree Synapse...so what have you guys been doing for these last couple days?

Ive just been going over AAMCs, light content, and trying to stay in a positive mindset....oh and watching the world cup 🙂
 
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dcnetsfan77 said:
definitely agree Synapse...so what have you guys been doing for these last couple days?

Ive just been going over AAMCs, light content, and trying to stay in a positive mindset....oh and watching the world cup 🙂
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I've been chill in man, this whole week has been chill for me, just taking AAMC's and reviewing them/doing anki..ready to take it! I've almost crushed the entire orange is the new black season 2 the past 5 days haha.
 
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No more FL's....just content review, I already took GS 0-10, AAMC 5,7,8,9,10,11. I have done enough lol now all that happens is the waiting game/learning from my AAMC 11 mistakes/ bushing up on my weaknesses.
 
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One more AAMC. Saved AAMC 10 for last cause I thought AAMC 11 a day before the exam would destroy my confidence. But yea last FL going over old AAMCs and reading up on my weaknesses.. not much else you can do other than brushing up and staying mentally calm
 
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dudewheresmymd said:
keep your chin up man. doesn't mean real exam will have same topics/ be similar on saturday 🙂
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AAMC did my pretty nasty too... got a 29 with an 8 in bio. All I see on this forum is the real deal is like AAMC 11 BS but harder....I'm seriously demoralized right now...and 3 days before the test no less...
 
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AAMC 11 isn't the be all end all. For me, PS just wasn't my game, and apparently the VR destroyed me. AAMC 10 an other AAMCs are possible for a skeleton guys.
 
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literally just watched the world cup all day. what happened to spain?!
but now i feel guilty for not studying haha
 
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We are getting close you guys, feeling confident? I am, despite my 26 in AAMC 11 lol my other GS and AAMC tests were all above that, some by a lot.
 
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So....I shouldn't have planned my last full length to be AAMC 11? Haha I have that one slated for tomorrow morning. I'm going to run through the whole morning like the real deal. A "dry run."
 
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Aside from the fear that the test will be unexpectedly too hard and shake me up.. i feel confident lol. By the way does anyone know the food rules for bringing coffee? It cant be in like a dunkin donuts cup right?
 
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XxSynapsexX said:
Aside from the fear that the test will be unexpectedly too hard and shake me up.. i feel confident lol. By the way does anyone know the food rules for bringing coffee? It cant be in like a dunkin donuts cup right?
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Yeah, I'm curious about all those rules about food etc too. Are those test center specific?
 
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What's the deal with experimental questions? Every section has some that aren't counted...but we just don't know which?

I'm guessing these would be tougher by nature, no? No simple v = lambda f stuff?
 
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Yeah the experimental stuff always seemed unfair to me..
like what if two test takers get 5 wrong on PS but one gets all the experimental questions wrong and one gets non experimentals wrong...
Basically one gets a 15 the other gets like a 12 lol
 
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was going to do aamc 11 until i read some of these posts. think I'm just going to review tonight and tomorrow then call it good

is everyone submitting there app soon or waiting for scores?
 
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not sure if its a good idea to submit my app based on how i feel i did bc apparently every MCATer in the world feels horrible after even if they did really well....what are you guys gunna do?
 
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waiting. I got a 23 on my first MCAT so I dont want t osubmit with a 23 lol.
and I feel strangely confident, despite my 26 outlier. Hopefully, there arent fluids/solids, newtonian physics, unreasonable gas questions, too much microbio, too much stupid ebola type passages, and I will be happy 🙂 oh and no below the belt discretes on PS/BS and hopefully no super chunky VR passages XD
 
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hahaha! youre asking for everything to go right, and honestly I dont blame you.....after doing a little self contemplation I realized Im not scared in my own abilities at this point, Im scared of the type of test theyll throw at me, but its nothing I can control- that made me feel a little better maybe it will help you guys too
 
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Saxappeal1 said:
waiting. I got a 23 on my first MCAT so I dont want t osubmit with a 23 lol.
and I feel strangely confident, despite my 26 outlier. Hopefully, there arent fluids/solids, newtonian physics, unreasonable gas questions, too much microbio, too much stupid ebola type passages, and I will be happy 🙂 oh and no below the belt discretes on PS/BS and hopefully no super chunky VR passages XD
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Basically you hope the MCAT wont be the MCAT loll but your good man you have the experience of taking it and you seem calm so you should do great!
 
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Im good with the MCAT being the MCAT...last time it was focused on all of my weaknesses, all I'm asking for is to not be unlucky lol XD
 
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I just finished AAMC #11....I got a 28. I shouldn't feel that bad about it since the highest practice I've gotten was a 30, but I felt much more confident in this one. I thought I had managed to put aside my nerves for it. My breakdown was even (9 PS, 10 VR, 9 BS) unlike my last full length practice (7 PS, 10 VR, 13 BS).

I will still be elated to pull off a 28 on Saturday!
 
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Stoked. All packed up, snagging a pizza and then making the drive to Erie. Shooting for a 33, expecting no less than a 25.
 
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You guys were right about the calculations: they weren't particularly difficult but they consumed way too much of my time, and as usual, I consequently wound up rushing to the end. Even though my score on this PS wasn't where I wanted it to be, the passages were way more straightforward and easier to pick apart than past tests, I thought.

My BS score might've been a bit of a cheat since I knew that infamous virus passage would be coming up. Conceptually, I didn't find it that difficult, but the questions themselves were so wordy, that I had to double-check everything and, once again, couldn't manage my time as well as I wanted.

Oh well, all I can really do at this point is review any minor, fixable mistakes and establish a better gameplan. For calculations, I gotta resist the urge to actually sit there and do the work like I would for a physics or chemistry course in school, as most of the time, it isn't necessary.

Also, I'm just gonna accept the fact that 8-9VR is the most realistic score I can expect coming out of the test.

Didn't get the 30+ I was hoping for this test, but I'm still confident that with minimal touch-ups and a lot of luck, I can boost myself over the edge by a bit. lol
 
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Just took # 11 and got 13,11,14 (38)..so stoked on that score!

I'm a retaker. Last year I got a 28 and was def not prepared (13,6,9)... been working on verbal tremendously and been scoring constant 11s. Also freaked out last year during verbal so hopefully I don't do that again!

Good luck everyone 🙂

Edit: As far as PS being calc heavy.. I agree! It was def like AAMC 11 in terms of calculations. It wasn't much harder than your average AAMC PS. I actually prefer calculations because I'm better at them then some of the conceptual stuff.
BS-I had 3 Ochem passages last time. And I love Ochem..it's my strong suit. SO i'm not sure how the 9 came about... hmm..
 
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