The Official May 11th, 2013 MCAT Thread:

[Mehd School]

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Just signed up for this test this morning. I wanted to take on 4/27, but alas that didn't work out.

I've been studying for about three weeks now. Who else is taking the test on the 11th?

-edited title

 

[QrtrLifeCrisis]

Its funny how most of the people here got 35+ while the national average is 25 usually. Any way to people who scored 30 or below dont beat your self up. If you need to retake just do it. Don't let these scores affect you

Some people lie, but for the most part, I would imagine it to be selection bias.

 

[Resilience]

Hello All,
Long time lurker, and first time poster here.

I took the MCAT on 5/11 too, and I just thought I would give my thoughts on it.

AAMC Practice Test Avg: 35 (12/10/13), Range: 33-37

PS: This was an interesting section for me. The first passage caught me off guard and messed up my timing because it seemed too easy. I kept reading the questions over and over, thinking that they must be asking me something more complicated than what I thought they were asking. In the end I went with the obvious answers and hoped I wasn't overlooking something. The rest of the section went fine, but I didn't have enough time to read through the last passage. I did have time to read each of the questions though, and somehow I think I was able to answer most of them correctly. Overall, a lot of calculations, but the math wasn't too complicated. Number of questions I know for sure I got wrong: 2. Prediction: 12

VR: Seemed like the only section that was consistent with the AAMC practice tests. I actually felt better coming out of this VR section than on any of the AAMC practice tests. Some of the passages were actually interesting, which surprised me, but it is usually my weakest section. Prediction: 11

BS: One passage in particular was brutal for me. I had a feeling that the subject of that passage would be on my test, and I studied it the night before, but I still didn't do well on it. For some reason, I allowed my physics "knowledge" to overrule my bio knowledge (yes, I know, even though it was the BS section), and I'm pretty sure I got some of those questions wrong. There was also a question on there that according to EK, I got right, but according to the internet, I did not. So, that was kind of frustrating. Overall though, I thought it went pretty well. There were some crazy discretes, and one passage had a question with such crazy diagrams as answer choices, that you had to scroll up and down A LOT to go back and forth between the 5 different figures. I think I spent about 7 minutes on that one question alone because my brain couldn't handle the scrolling. Number I know for sure I got wrong: 3. Prediction: 12

This has been the slowest 31 days ever. At least there are only 6 left. Hang in there everyone, and good luck on your applications!

Hello!
Congrats everyone on the scores!

prep materials: EK books and AAMC practice tests (average info is above)

Actual: 35!!

PS 12
VR 11
BS 12

I ended up getting exactly what I predicted, and exactly what my AAMC average was. Sooo pumped to be able to move on from the MCAT! Congrats Everyone!

 

[LaughingMan]

And Success. How'd it go, buddy?

Not as good as I'd like.

10/8/8.

26---2 points below my AAMC avg of 28 which was my goal.

Oh well.

Any school that takes me is my fav!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Not as good as I'd like.

10/8/8.

26---2 points below my AAMC avg of 28 which was my goal.

Oh well.

Any school that takes me is my fav!

Join the club.

 

[Endure]

Did any of you leave the test center thinking you completely bombed it?

 

[bhandal]

Yeah, a 1 in VR sounds ridiculous. What were you getting on the AAMC FL's? If you were scoring 5-6 then it's plausible, if you were hitting 9-10 then I seriously doubt you got a 1. Rescoring is worth it either way.

A 1 in verbal is just as unlikely as getting a 15. You would have to know all the answers and switch them to the wrong ones.

 

[StUUdent]

A 1 in verbal is just as unlikely as getting a 15. You would have to know all the answers and switch them to the wrong ones.

This is my exact thinking. I scored 7-8 on AAMC FL's, I remember feeling pretty good about this section, this is just so puzzling....

 

[xet]

Preparation was a Princeton Review course, all AAMC practice tests, a few PR tests, and just a ton of going through my notes from the class and reviewing all the concepts over and over.

Average Practice - roughly 32/33 max 35
Prediction- 28-30 (Physical section was quite a bit different in the types of questions and content than what I was used to from practice tests and really put me off in my timing and my confidence in my answers. I thought I got between a 7-9 on it)
Actual- 37!!!!! (13/11/13)

I felt terrible about my test and was extremely worried I was going to get a lower than expected score and would be put back another year for applying, but was very nicely surprised!

Congratulations to everyone else for making it through this extremely stressful and difficult test, I wish you all the best of luck in your application cycles and hope to get to know some of you in medical school!

 

[LVE]

This is my exact thinking. I scored 7-8 on AAMC FL's, I remember feeling pretty good about this section, this is just so puzzling....

Yeah. Definitely re-score if that is the case. A one translates to about 9 or less questions correct on the whole section. If you know you got more than one question right on every single passage you can pretty much guarantee you did better than a one.

 

[LVE]

Preparation was a Princeton Review course, all AAMC practice tests, a few PR tests, and just a ton of going through my notes from the class and reviewing all the concepts over and over.

Average Practice - roughly 32/33 max 35
Prediction- 28-30 (Physical section was quite a bit different in the types of questions and content than what I was used to from practice tests and really put me off in my timing and my confidence in my answers. I thought I got between a 7-9 on it)
Actual- 37!!!!! (13/11/13)

I felt terrible about my test and was extremely worried I was going to get a lower than expected score and would be put back another year for applying, but was very nicely surprised!

Congratulations to everyone else for making it through this extremely stressful and difficult test, I wish you all the best of luck in your application cycles and hope to get to know some of you in medical school!

That's so awesome! Beating your max on the practice exam must feel so good. Congratulations and good luck with your application!

 

[Innocuous]

Congrats on the crazy high score!
Which materials did you use for your prep?

I did the Kaplan on-site class. The class didn't help too much, but the resources were priceless. I did hours of practice questions and I still didn't even come close to answering them all.

 

[boucho1531]

Also very happy today. Walked out of the test feeling horrible ... actually signed up to retake the test in July because I felt I had done so terribly. My average on the diagnostics was a 38 but on the actual test I got
PS = 13
VR = 13
BS = 14
Total = 40!!! turned out better than I could have ever imagined and this is a good lesson that (for some people) how you feel after the test may not represent actual performance in the slightest. Congrats to everyone. Hope everyone else had similar luck.

 

[gettheleadout]

A 1 in verbal is just as unlikely as getting a 15. You would have to know all the answers and switch them to the wrong ones.

Uh, no it's not. Basic statistics given 1 correct answer choice and 3 incorrect answer choices per question should make it apparent that the odds are not equivalent between getting a 1 and a 15.

This is my exact thinking. I scored 7-8 on AAMC FL's, I remember feeling pretty good about this section, this is just so puzzling....

Yeah, it's probably an error. I would get it rescored.

 

[Mehd School]

Yeah, a 1 in VR sounds ridiculous. What were you getting on the AAMC FL's? If you were scoring 5-6 then it's plausible, if you were hitting 9-10 then I seriously doubt you got a 1. Rescoring is worth it either way.

Agreed.

A 1 in verbal is just as unlikely as getting a 15. You would have to know all the answers and switch them to the wrong ones.

Definitely not true. On some of the AAMC FL's you could get up to 10 correct answers and still score a scaled 1.

This is my exact thinking. I scored 7-8 on AAMC FL's, I remember feeling pretty good about this section, this is just so puzzling....

Pay to get it rescored without hesitation.

 

[thed0ctor]

.

 

[rfvbnmju]

MCAT Prep Material:
BR Series For Sciences - went through everything even the dreaded BS book. Averaging 10-12 on all section except for Bio.
EK 101 Verbal Passages - I felt these were tougher than the actual test, I was averaging 9s (7-10)
Kaplan 5 Book Series - I felt problems weren't as representative of actual questions but their "High-Yield" problems were really useful for tying more different and difficult concepts together.

AAMC average: 32
Prediction: 32-36
Actual: 37

AAMC 3
10/14/12 - 26 (10PS, 7VR, 9BS)

5/09/13 - 34 (13PS, 9VR, 12BS)

AAMC 11
5/09/13 - 37 (13PS, 12VR, 12BS)

Actual
5/11/13 - 37 (13PS, 10VR, 14BS)

Didn't take as many full lengths but focused just doing as many other problems and understanding the concepts as cold as possible.

 

[ChineseKid]

Good to see high scores!
All my practices were 32. All of them.
Cannot believe my real mcat is 32 too.

God damit lol

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

 

[thed0ctor]

Good to see high scores!
All my practices were 32. All of them.
Cannot believe my real mcat is 32 too.

God damit lol

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

My range was razor-tight as well. I think it is better that way. Less mystery.

 

[therealfinale]

I actually have another account, but since it had my name in it I made a new one to post this haha

1st time test taker here

Not sure if my AAMC averages mean anything, took most of them when I was hungry/somewhat tired (ate meals after PS section usually LOL)

AAMC average: 33.4 , Mode: 31, minimum: 31, maximum: 38
predicted score range: 31-35
actual score: 35 (12/12/11) PS/VR/BS

Came out of exam feeling OK, fairly nonchalant, actually (if you can believe that...)

PS: I averaged 12-13 and on AAMC 10/11 I scored 14s, so I was expecting this to be my best section. However, it felt a bit more calculation-heavy and so I spent too much time on 3-4 questions (including an equation balancing problem...) and therefore had to blind-guess on a few questions at the end.
VR: During the exam, VR felt pretty good. There weren't any "hard passages," so I thought I would only lose points on those questions with 2 possible answers (the right one would be the "better" answer).
BS: I wish I had known that there would be 2-3 passages written in research paper-style, so I would have had time to re-familiarize myself with reading research papers. There are those two virus passages (ebola and also the virus domain/microorganism domain passage) from later AAMCs (10 and 11?) that mimic that. Therefore, I was kind of angry at the exam because I thought AAMC exams were unrepresentative of the real exam...if only I had done more research before hand

Now I'm very happy with how the exam went 🙂

edit: materials used aside from all 8 AAMC exams
PS: BR
VR: ExamKrackers 101 (diagnostic and exam 1 only) and TPRH verbal (passages 1-6 as a verbal exam)
BS: Examkrackers MCAT Biology and TPRH Science Workbook for bio passages (did about 70/82-83). Read chapters 1-2 from TPR Biological Sciences book
I also had the ExamKrackers 1001 questions series for Physics/Chem/Orgo, and I did maybe 200-300 total questions from all of those. I only did them in the beginning (according up to about day 50 of the S2ned schedule)

I started studying from January 20th or so. I followed the modified 4 month S2ned schedule for about 50 days, then I got tired of doing the entire chapter rereads for review and instead just read my notes/referenced books when needed. I used S2ned as a guide after that which I followed, but on my own time and pace.
I also used online resources occasionally (Google and YouTube). I viewed my first Khan Academy video as well (for explaining the kidney, a 17 min video on YouTube..it's awesome, I recommend it!) and wiki'd topics occasionally and looked at some sites from other schools covering some topics (via Google)

 

[kernanc]

Ok I've been browsing this thread for some time now and thought i would share.

Average: 28
Actual: 25 (PS 7, VR 8, BS 10)
Used ExamKrackers and AAMC Practice Tests

It's awesome to see people achieving ridiculously high scores! For those of you with lower or "average" scores don't be ashamed. Many people have to write more than once. I'm applying very broadly to DO schools *fingers crossed*

Best of luck to everyone, this has been a very supportive little community 🙂

 

[Doctor Dapper]

This is probably it for me before the test tomorrow. Just wanted to wish everyone good luck. Try to stay calm, give it your all, and if we don't get the score we want, we'll be extra prepared for the next go round. It feels good to finally be able to post this (AAMC 7-11):

April 16, 2013 AAMC #7 Total: 26 Breakdown: 8/8/10

April 24, 2013 AAMC #8 Total: 28 Breakdown: 10/9/9

April 27, 2013 AAMC #9: Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/8/10

May 1, 2013 AAMC #10 Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/7/11

May 6, 2013 AAMC #11 Total: 28 Breakdown: 9/10/9

Goal: 29-30

Prediction before taking: 26-29 PS: 9-10 VR: 8-9 BS: 9-11

Prediction after taking (5/11/13):26-28

Actual:

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!

Here is the official breakdown of my scores:

March 2, 2013 AAMC #3 Total: 24 Breakdown: 10/4/10

March 5, 2013 AAMC #4 Total: 29 Breakdown: 10/9/10

March 9, 2013 AAMC #5 Total: 26 Breakdown: 8/8/10

March 30, 2013 BR #1 Total: N/A Breakdown: 7/X/10

April 6, 2013 BR #2 Total: 29 Breakdown: 10/9/10

April 11, 2013 BR #3 Total: 24 Breakdown: 10/7/7

April 15, 2013 BR #4 Total: 24 Breakdown: 7/10/7

April 16, 2013 AAMC #7 Total: 26 Breakdown: 8/8/10

April 18, 2013 BR #5 Total: 20 Breakdown 7/6/7

April 19, 2013 BR #6 Total 27 Breakdown: 8/11/8

April 23, 2013 BR #7 Total: 28 Breakdown: 9/9/10

April 24, 2013 AAMC #8 Total: 28 Breakdown: 10/9/9

April 27, 2013 AAMC #9: Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/8/10

May 1, 2013 AAMC #10 Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/7/11

May 6, 2013 AAMC #11 Total: 28 Breakdown: 9/10/9

AAMC 7-10 Average: 28 (9.7/8.4/9.8)

Goal: 28-31

Prediction before taking: 26-29 PS: 9-10 VR: 8-9 BS: 9-11

Prediction after taking (5/11/13): 26-28

Actual (5/11/13): 28 (9/8/11) 😀😀😀

As far as post-exam predictions go, they are completely unreliable. I felt worst about PS, had no clue about BS, and felt GREAT (I mean great) about VR, which was very unusual. As you can see, PS wasn't horribly different than my average, VR was below my average, and BS was above my average! Not what i'd of guessed at all.

I used EK extensively for content review. Used BR to brush up on some physics and chemistry, which was a good thing I did. Purchased all BR FL exams and all AAMC FL exams. I highly recommend Berkely Review. Initially stood by Exam Krackers material, but now I think the test has evolved beyond it's material. If I had to start all over, BR and TPR would be my material of choice.

Applying to a few MD and a bunch of DO schools... Application goes out this week!!!

 

[SOOyC52H1Sof]

Good job guys! 5/30 tester here and I'm really excited for you all

 

[Wonton Soup]

Here is the official breakdown of my scores:

March 2, 2013 AAMC #3 Total: 24 Breakdown: 10/4/10

March 5, 2013 AAMC #4 Total: 29 Breakdown: 10/9/10

March 9, 2013 AAMC #5 Total: 26 Breakdown: 8/8/10

March 30, 2013 BR #1 Total: N/A Breakdown: 7/X/10

April 6, 2013 BR #2 Total: 29 Breakdown: 10/9/10

April 11, 2013 BR #3 Total: 24 Breakdown: 10/7/7

April 15, 2013 BR #4 Total: 24 Breakdown: 7/10/7

April 16, 2013 AAMC #7 Total: 26 Breakdown: 8/8/10

April 18, 2013 BR #5 Total: 20 Breakdown 7/6/7

April 19, 2013 BR #6 Total 27 Breakdown: 8/11/8

April 23, 2013 BR #7 Total: 28 Breakdown: 9/9/10

April 24, 2013 AAMC #8 Total: 28 Breakdown: 10/9/9

April 27, 2013 AAMC #9: Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/8/10

May 1, 2013 AAMC #10 Total: 29 Breakdown: 11/7/11

May 6, 2013 AAMC #11 Total: 28 Breakdown: 9/10/9

AAMC 7-10 Average: 28 (9.7/8.4/9.8)

Goal: 28-31

Prediction before taking: 26-29 PS: 9-10 VR: 8-9 BS: 9-11

Prediction after taking (5/11/13): 26-28

Actual (5/11/13): 28 (9/8/11) 😀😀😀

As far as post-exam predictions go, they are completely unreliable. I felt worst about PS, had no clue about BS, and felt GREAT (I mean great) about VR, which was very unusual. As you can see, PS wasn't horribly different than my average, VR was below my average, and BS was above my average! Not what i'd of guessed at all.

I used EK extensively for content review. Used BR to brush up on some physics and chemistry, which was a good thing I did. Purchased all BR FL exams and all AAMC FL exams. I highly recommend Berkely Review. Initially stood by Exam Krackers material, but now I think the test has evolved beyond it's material. If I had to start all over, BR and TPR would be my material of choice.

Applying to a few MD and a bunch of DO schools... Application goes out this week!!!

Congrats man! Out of curiosity do you plan on applying to any out of state schools?

 

[Like]

Like

Yes?

 

[Rustleyajimjims]

Aamc avg 34

Actual 32-- 12 8 12

Really messed up verbal with that 8. I'm not sure a retake is worth it. I have a 2.9 gpa, however

 

[okokok]

Actual: PS 7 / VS 12 / BS 11

Exactly what I predicted, but SO SO sad about the PS. Do I need to retake?? The thing is, I can't retake this year for various reasons. I'd have to wait til next year. I'm planning on applying this cycle and seeing how it goes. I'm really disappointed. Pretty much cried all afternoon... 🙁

PS has always been my weakness and VS my strength, and the test was pretty much aligned with that. I did horribly on PS and if I have to retake it'll be because of that section alone. I pretty much ran out of time and guessed on a few. I felt like they were vaguely talking about stuff I had studied, but presenting it in such unfamiliar ways that, along with the time pressure and my own insecurity regarding PS, I couldn't make the connections I needed to. When I was done, I felt like I got a 7, but it couldve been anywhere from 4 to 9 really. 🙁

I thought the VS and BS were much easier. The VS passages did seem longer to me than the practice tests. I had like ten minutes to go back and review and I changed a couple answers so I really hope I didn't change them to the wrong ones.

I probably felt like BS was easier because the passages were, to me, basically verbal passages about science. Almost all the questions were references to the passage. Strong reading skills and keeping unfamiliar concepts straight in your head was imperative. Like everyone else is saying, my research helped a lot with BS just because it gave me exposure to journal articles and practice trying to figure out what is going on while reading dense articles. But if you don't have research experience it's not the end of the world, just read some journal articles. I predict 10-13 on VS and BS. Hopefully. Actually, right afterward I felt like I got an 11 on each and like that was conservative but I didn't want to jinx it by hoping for more.

Stupid PS. I'm trying to apply this cycle and I'll be SO SO sad if I have to wait another year. I'm a nontrad who's had plenty of life experiences, I just want to get on with this med school thing. There are no test spots open anywhere near me the rest of the year. Really really hope I got at least an 8 on PS, praying for a 9.

 

[hemlocktree]

It all depends what schools you're interested in. You have a 30. You are set at DO schools, you don't have to cry all afternoon. On SDN a less than 35 is terrible, but honestly relax, you are okay with 30. Apply to your state MD schools and D.O.'s. You are smart, you will be okay.

 

[docksan]

Got the site I need to apply at the schools I want so I don't think I'll risk taking again. My verbal dropped two points because I focused more on science... so my score flies up 5 points and tanks 2. 🙁



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Doctor Dapper]

Congrats man! Out of curiosity do you plan on applying to any out of state schools?

Yep. Unfortunately, there aren't many choices for me in-state so the majority of my schools will be out of state. Probably 25-30 schools.

 

[xet]

That's so awesome! Beating your max on the practice exam must feel so good. Congratulations and good luck with your application!

Thanks!! It was equally amazing as post-test it felt like one of my worst haha, just goes to show you really can't tell in the least how the test goes until you see the score. Best of luck to you as well!!

Good job guys! 5/30 tester here and I'm really excited for you all

Good luck!! The wait is a killer, but I'm sure your preparation is going to pay off!

 

[okokok]

It all depends what schools you're interested in. You have a 30. You are set at DO schools, you don't have to cry all afternoon. On SDN a less than 35 is terrible, but honestly relax, you are okay with 30. Apply to your state MD schools and D.O.'s. You are smart, you will be okay.

Thank you. SDN is my only source of pre-med info--I'm a non-traditional student and all of my friends are in other fields. I was so disappointed about the 7 in PS, but now that the initial shock has worn off, I'm beginning to remember it's not the end of the world, and it really helps to hear that from someone else who's going through the application process too.

 

[Groovin]

Hi Fellow 5/11er's:

I need some advice. I retook the MCAT 5/11 only to score 2 points lower than my first MCAT and 5 points lower than my average. I don't want to say (right now) what I got, but it doesn't bode well to take the MCAT again does it? Has anyone taken it a 3rd time...?🙁

 

[inycepoo]

Hi Fellow 5/11er's:

I need some advice. I retook the MCAT 5/11 only to score 2 points lower than my first MCAT and 5 points lower than my average. I don't want to say (right now) what I got, but it doesn't bode well to take the MCAT again does it? Has anyone taken it a 3rd time...?🙁

It depends, but there's a risk. God forbid you score even the same thing, and it will show that you're not going anywhere. It may be better to stop while you're ahead and start beefing up the parts of your application that are still within your control at this point, unless you're way below your target.

 

[thed0ctor]

Hi Fellow 5/11er's:

I need some advice. I retook the MCAT 5/11 only to score 2 points lower than my first MCAT and 5 points lower than my average. I don't want to say (right now) what I got, but it doesn't bode well to take the MCAT again does it? Has anyone taken it a 3rd time...?🙁

Sounds like something went wrong on test day. If you can pinpoint your mistakes, I recommend giving it another shot. Unless your score is high enough to apply.

 

[docksan]

Hi Fellow 5/11er's:

I need some advice. I retook the MCAT 5/11 only to score 2 points lower than my first MCAT and 5 points lower than my average. I don't want to say (right now) what I got, but it doesn't bode well to take the MCAT again does it? Has anyone taken it a 3rd time...?🙁

Knowing your original score would help.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Groovin]

Knowing your original score would help.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

My original score was a 30 (11,8,11). This time I scored a 28 (10,8,10). I retook because I am a reapplicant.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really do appreciate it.

 

[Jepstein30]

My original score was a 30 (11,8,11). This time I scored a 28 (10,8,10). I retook because I am a reapplicant.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really do appreciate it.

Goals (MD/DO?)?
GPA/other application stuff?

Outside the MCAT (which was fine the first time), what went wrong last cycle?

 

[docksan]

My original score was a 30 (11,8,11). This time I scored a 28 (10,8,10). I retook because I am a reapplicant.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I really do appreciate it.

I wouldn't advise trying again unless your score is more than 3-4 points below the mean AND you're certain you can improve more. Your score is good enough to where you could probably improve other areas of your application.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tularemia-bunny]

Thank you. SDN is my only source of pre-med info--I'm a non-traditional student and all of my friends are in other fields. I was so disappointed about the 7 in PS, but now that the initial shock has worn off, I'm beginning to remember it's not the end of the world, and it really helps to hear that from someone else who's going through the application process too.

Another non-trad here. I'm happy overall with my total (31 - 12/8/11) but that 8 in PS really kills me. I'm going to go forward with applying and we'll see what happens!

 

[vijay100]

Just checked my scores lol.

MCAT 1st take- PS 11, VR 5, BS 8 = 24R (2012)
MCAT 2nd take- PS 10, VR 7, BS 11 = 28 (May 2013)

Not sure what went wrong with verbal. Hopefully, adcoms (applying to MD schools) consider the four point improvement.

 

[okokok]

Another non-trad here. I'm happy overall with my total (31 - 12/8/11) but that 8 in PS really kills me. I'm going to go forward with applying and we'll see what happens!

At least it's not 7! I feel like there's a big difference between 7 & 8, but I don't know, maybe it's all in my head. I've been really down about that 7, I'm trying to snap out of it but I just feel like my chances diminished greatly. Whatever, it's over. Our scores in VS and BS are the same. What schools are you applying to? PM me if you don't want to derail the thread 🙂

 

[Aralezs]

Did any of you leave the test center thinking you completely bombed it?

YES

I thought P.S. killed me but I got the highest score there, and my V.R. went up 6 points!

Not saying I did my best, but leaving the test center I thought I bombed it ( I mean like 20 tops!) yet I ended up with a 29!

 

[Groovin]

Goals (MD/DO?)?
GPA/other application stuff?

Outside the MCAT (which was fine the first time), what went wrong last cycle?

Both GPAs: 3.85
I have lots of clinical and non-clinical volunteer experience, research experience with posters, and involved in student organizations (most of these I have leadership positions).

Now in retrospect, I realize my original MCAT was fine. I guess that 8 might have hurt my chances last cycle and I was scoring higher in each section on my practices, so I figured taking it would be okay.

Also, last time I applied I applied really late (August) and had little clinical volunteer (which I have plenty now!). I was hoping to apply early and change that 8 to a 10+ to make my application well-rounded.

Well, thanks again for the advice everyone. Much appreciated. 👍

And congrats to everyone who got a great score! 🙂

 

[krutou]

There is a chance for improvement if you can address your weaknesses understanding that both content knowledge and critical thinking are necessary to answer a MCAT question. Use flashcards and follow AAMC's topic list (PS and BS content outline PDFs).

 

[khrisskhoras]

Heres a chat room in case you're like me and have nothing better to do than kill time waiting for scores to come out.

http://us10.chatzy.com/21094757860409

I hope thats not some sketchy "matchmaker" chat

 

[ThunderBear]

I had the opposite reaction. I thought I destroyed the test and did better than all my practice tests. I got 34 which was a point below my last couple practice tests. I think this goes to show that you can't predict how you scored on test day. I think the major factor is how you did on your practice tests, and almost without fail I see people scoring within their practice test range despite how they may have felt after test day.

 

[inycepoo]

I had the opposite reaction. I thought I destroyed the test and did better than all my practice tests. I got 34 which was a point below my last couple practice tests. I think this goes to show that you can't predict how you scored on test day. I think the major factor is how you did on your practice tests, and almost without fail I see people scoring within their practice test range despite how they may have felt after test day.

Generations of SDN users have shown that the "I destroyed the test" or "I totally bombed it" have no meaning whatsoever on the outcome. A feeling is not good enough to predict the outcome.

 

[Mindbuffer]

I don't know, I got 5 points below my practice average, though mostly because of verbal. I think you tend to score around your averages for the sciences, but verbal is a wild card. I also think there are more people scoring below their averages who aren't posting their scores. The last thing most people want to do after they find out they didn't do well is to publicly share their results.

 

[Synapsis]

Congratulations on the scores!

 

[shushumiga]

Hello! Great job on the scores, I took the May 11th as well. I have a quick question..I was a business management undergrad with around a 3.0 GPA. Towards the end I decided to go premed and have a 3.7 science GPA. I Decided not to wait and I am currently enrolled in a Caribbean school and I am in my third semester. Being that Caribbean schools sort of hinder you when it comes to residency placement and whatnot, I decided to take my mcat out of no where and apply to US med schools (to start over). I got a 30 on my mcat and have all honors in my classes in the caribbean. Has anyone ever heard of people doing this or if its possible? Or do US schools turn away from such a weird path? Application is in and done. What a relief!

You have a unique situation! Did you take the MCAT before??? Getting 30 is pretty good! I know some carib schools don't have MCAT requirement. You should apply MD/DO and see what happens. I am not sure how the schools will view your current situation. I am interested to know what others have to say.