The Official May 22, 2014 MCAT Thread

[dramatrauma]

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[hypothalamus13]

**** that organic chemistry passage.

I know what you mean.

 

[tuftofwool]

I thought this test was actually fairly difficult, I dunno.. I was 20 minutes late due to traffic even leaving 2 hours early (I'm in the DMV area). It may have really stressed me out. I think I'll be retaking in August while doing secondaries, assuming this score isn't abysmal.

 

[ahi3974]

I agree...nothing was too insanely difficult, but there were SO many questions that I just wasn't quite sure about. I narrowed lots of answers down to 2 choices but spent a lot of time going back and forth.

Also, I thought PS was challenging and lengthy! On the practice FLs I'm pretty good about time, but I didn't finish PS and had to guess on two

All in all...yikes! I left having no idea how I did.

 

[Elpenor]

LOL that ochem passage KILLED

 

[elizabetts]

BS and VR seemed easier than AAMC 10 for me (the last FL I took). PS was much harder. Didn't really understand one of the full passages and had trouble with some of the FSQs. With 5 minutes left I had 5 incomplete answers. Grrr.....

 

[unnumzaan]

I can't even express how annoyed I am right now. Realized on the drive home how simple that ochem passage actually was. Goddamnit.

 

[Elpenor]

Are the trial section scores released with our normal scores, I wonder?

 

[somedayoneday]

Are the trial section scores released with our normal scores, I wonder?

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/reserving/355164/scorereleaseschedule.html

According to this, I don't think so! Trial section feedback on June 19th, scores released June 24th!

 

[KennyV]

My experience today

B.S.
Manageable...sorta.

Verbal, I'm not so sure.

And Oh god, P.S. Not a good start to the MCAT.

Excuse me. I have a Mcdonald's job application to fill up.

 

[dutchie000]

I thought this test was actually fairly difficult, I dunno.. I was 20 minutes late due to traffic even leaving 2 hours early (I'm in the DMV area). It may have really stressed me out. I think I'll be retaking in August while doing secondaries, assuming this score isn't abysmal.

DC/Maryland/VA? If so I'm sorry haha I know the pain of that traffic all too well

 

[panzmo]

Had to sign up to complain about this one.

There were two subjects I told everyone that, "as long as they're not tested, I"ll do great." Well, they were both tested. Just my luck, the two subjects that we never went over in my classes and the two subjects that I had to pathetically teach myself.

I thought Bio was alright, despite some of the stuff being tested that I had to teach myself. That orgo passage was a killer because it, of course, had the stuff I was most rusty on. And PS was just weird. One of the passages really made no sense and I couldn't find any concept to connect the questions to.

This test literally knocked me down on all of my weakest points, and I guess I gambled my luck poorly on it. I'm a junior, though, so I have no issue taking it again late in August/September and taking a year off.

Question, does everyone feel crappy after an MCAT? Are a lot of people pleasantly surprised by their scores despite these feelings? I had an incredibly busy semester and didn't have a ton of time to study. I did a little bit each day since January and never even had 5 hour slots to take full tests (except once). I did do a prep class but my classes/research/teaching really took up any extra time I had other than that.

 

[tuftofwool]

DC/Maryland/VA? If so I'm sorry haha I know the pain of that traffic all too well

Hahaha yes, it was horrendous actually. 8:10am and still on K St and I was like I'm...screwed. But they let me in haha. Still freaked me out though

 

[Messier83]

Excuse me. I have a Mcdonald's job application to fill up.

Race you there.

 

[ttt92]

Anyone feel like verbal was TOO easy? I'm nervous that the curve may be harder than it is. I thought it was really easy, but I had to rush on the last passage due to poor timing.

 

[SECrazorhogs]

Anyone feel like verbal was TOO easy? I'm nervous that the curve may be harder than it is. I thought it was really easy, but I had to rush on the last passage due to poor timing.

Yeah I feel you there

 

[SowonP]

Yes I also agree that compared to how I felt doing the verbal in my practices (Kaplan and AAMC), today's verbal seemed way too easy. On the other hand, I got so tripped up on the timing of PS and BS, partly due to nervousness and mostly due to spending too much time on one question that I probably didn't even get right... I feel really bad, but I literally blind-guessed a few of those orgo problems and some PS...

 

[shtumpa]

Skipped the orgo passage, finished with 20 min left, went back and figured it out...still overall not that confident with some of the questions. PS had a lot of questions which I wasn't sure between two answers...VR seemed really easy but it always seems easy for me and then I always (Literally, on all 5 aamc practices I took) get an 11; not complaining, but I always feel like I got a 14 after the test.

 

[dutchie000]

Hahaha yes, it was horrendous actually. 8:10am and still on K St and I was like I'm...screwed. But they let me in haha. Still freaked me out though

I'm so sorry hahaha. Thankfully I'm no longer in that area and traffic isn't a fear of mine for my mcat day (May 31). Hope you did well regardless

 

[ttt92]

Yes I also agree that compared to how I felt doing the verbal in my practices (Kaplan and AAMC), today's verbal seemed way too easy. On the other hand, I got so tripped up on the timing of PS and BS, partly due to nervousness and mostly due to spending too much time on one question that I probably didn't even get right... I feel really bad, but I literally blind-guessed a few of those orgo problems and some PS...

I completely feel you there. This ALWAYS happens to me, because the curve is so harsh. But today's VR was soooo different (sorry if I'm being rude if others didn't feel the same way about it). Just in comparison to other AAMCs/Kaplan/EK, etc, it seems that the passages were long but easy to understand but only maybe 3-4 were ambiguous and I was choosing between two choices. That doesn't happen normally!

Also, some of the Bio discretes were tough, and I definitely think I got a few wrong off the bat... :/ Meh, I was feeling pretty okay/excited after the exam, because it wasn't too hard (I sat for 4/11 and voided cause it was tough). But now I'm starting to question it.... Really hoping to pull a low-mid 30 on this.

 

[jocoh]

Yeah I saw that orgo passage and my stomach dropped, hoping I was able to work through some of those questions correctly...thought ps and vr were okay. Wish I could be more confident about hitting my target score but just not sure, guess we'll all find out the 24th!

 

[hypothalamus13]

That orgo passage sucked! I never felt so dead inside. These next 30 days are going to be the longest 30 days of my life.

 

[tuftofwool]

I'm so sorry hahaha. Thankfully I'm no longer in that area and traffic isn't a fear of mine for my mcat day (May 31). Hope you did well regardless

Haha thank you! Best of luck to you May 31! It'll definitely be a slow month. I find out my results while on my honeymoon so that should make for an interesting experience...

 

[dutchie000]

Haha thank you! Best of luck to you May 31! It'll definitely be a slow month. I find out my results while on my honeymoon so that should make for an interesting experience...

Oh man, well more power to ya!!! At least no matter how you do you will be with your future husband/wife and somewhere awesome!!!

 

[shtumpa]

I WANT TO KNOW AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH this is killing me I don't have any clue whether I got a 30 or a 40. I only remember the 3-4 questions I got wrong for sure...

I did get lucky; three of the Bio passages I had learned this semester in college - passages others felt were hard [Yup, THAT orgo one]

 

[Surgeonvivor]

Glad everyone has the same sentiments on that orgo passage. Literally was guessing for like 5 questions in a row on it. OF COURSE it was the passage with the most questions too. Some of the BS discretes were very out of left field, but I googled the only two I remembered in my car when I left the testing center and I guessed right on both, yay.

 

[PantherPride]

My thoughts on the test

PS (AAMC practice average ~14)
Many of the passages didn't feel as straightforward as the AAMC tests. I'd say their difficulty was about on par with the harder passages on the physics self assessment, even though the test was heavy on gen chem. The gen chem SA was much easier than the passages I encountered. I usually finish this section with 25 minutes remaining, I finished with between 20-15. There were more calculations than usual. They weren't too hard though, the numbers usually cancelled out very nicely. I got stuck on a really easy calc problem that I knew how to do but the answers were in terms of a formula with numbers (ex 7*2.3/8) so I could solve the problem on my own but didnt know which answer to choose. I guessed and moved on because I didn't want to waste time. Hoping for a 13-14

VR (AAMC practice average ~10)
Passages were easier and more interesting to read than I remember on the AAMC tests. I was having trouble without one of the passages in the middle though, ended up guessing on a few. Verbal has been my weakest section so hopefully I didnt do too bad. I breezed through the first two passages in around 13 minutes so I was able to take my time on the others. I'm just hoping for a 10

BS (AAMC practice average ~13)
Very fair bio section, nothing insane but it wasn't super easy either. About medium difficulty. I don't recall having any trouble with the discretes, I focused most of my studies on physiology and that seemed to pay off. Passages represented the material well, there wasn't one thing that was focused on the whole time. That ochem passage threw me off because the passage itself required some work before you could even touch any of the questions, so I think thats why everyone thought it was hard. No freebies on that one. I usually finish with 30 minutes left, but this time I only finished with 20. Going back I think I made a couple mistakes, so I'm hoping for a 12 or 13.

Taking the actual test felt sort of surreal. It didn't really feel like I was taking "the test." It felt like another one of my practices, I wish I wasn't so relaxed and more attentive because I might have made some silly mistakes.

 

[cherrycokezero]

Taking the actual test felt sort of surreal. It didn't really feel like I was taking "the test." It felt like another one of my practices, I wish I wasn't so relaxed and more attentive because I might have made some silly mistakes.

That summarized my feelings perfectly

 

[ochris]

My overall assessment: PS and VR were relatively similar to examkrackers and AAMC practice tests, BS was easier. There was "that orgo passage" which truly surprised me with its un-MCAT-ness. (I can't think of a better way to describe it without giving any details.) Orgo is my strongest subject, and I can confidently say that examkrackers alone would NOT prepare a weak/average orgo student for that.

 

[Pericynthion]

My overall assessment: PS and VR were relatively similar to examkrackers and AAMC practice tests, BS was easier. There was "that orgo passage" which truly surprised me with its un-MCAT-ness. (I can't think of a better way to describe it without giving any details.) Orgo is my strongest subject, and I can confidently say that examkrackers alone would NOT prepare a weak/average orgo student for that.

Okay, you guys are still freaking me out. Are you guys talking about the first or second orgo passage??

(I didn't really study orgo using Examcrackers though because I was still learning orgo in lecture. I guess that may have gone more in depth than the prep books.)

 

[ochris]

Were there two administrations yesterday? If so, I'm talking about the morning test (if they're different by time of day). The order of passages may vary between test takers, but this passage was probably 1/2 or 2/3 of the way through the BS section. To explain what I mean about "unMCATness": MCAT questions are generally similarly worded in that they're clear, concise, and attempt to avoid any possible ambiguity. I find that normally each MCAT question in BS and PS requires only one main fact or detail to be recalled in order to answer correctly. This passage was similarly well-worded, but required a lot of facts to be recalled and used appropriately in order to feel confident in selecting an answer.

 

[shtumpa]

I think both were pretty hard, needed a thorough understanding. EXAMK-relying guys (two of my friends) had problems with both, but especially THAT one. I just finished Orgo and both those passages had questions which are not necessarily hard but very THOROUGH; you needed a very good understanding.

 

[shtumpa]

What I mean is you had to have a lot of PRACTICE with those concepts, like tests and quizzes. A college course, basically. A review book is not gonna give you that unless you did all the BR questions.

It was surprising to see that passage/questions, it was like something you would get on a college orgo final.

 

[SN2ed]

Question, does everyone feel crappy after an MCAT? Are a lot of people pleasantly surprised by their scores despite these feelings?

Everyone usually feels bad after finishing their MCAT. There have been people with 40s who almost voided their test. However, there are also people that feel poorly who actually did poorly.

 

[Richie pee]

Well for someone who had sleeping problems the 2 nights before the test day I don't even know what to say. I took 4 sleeping pills the night b4 the test but still managed to stay up all night grrr. It was a horrible experience, I almost voided my test. But I was like what the heck I can pull a miracle. The PS n BS were not too shabby. That orgo passage seem to give everyone a problem, I think I figured it out but who knows, I was too pretty darned tired anyway. As for the verbal, I don't know what to say. You should have seen me working out before it started, very hilarious sight, I was flexing my muscles trying to keep awake. The passages weren't bad but man I was half asleep through out the darn thing, I have no idea how I did, mixed feelings but I still managed to finish n had 3 mins to spare

 

[Pericynthion]

Well for someone who had sleeping problems the 2 nights before the test day I don't even know what to say. I took 4 sleeping pills the night b4 the test but still managed to stay up all night grrr. It was a horrible experience, I almost voided my test. But I was like what the heck I can pull a miracle. The PS n BS were not too shabby. That orgo passage seem to give everyone a problem, I think I figured it out but who knows, I was too pretty darned tired anyway. As for the verbal, I don't know what to say. You should have seen me working out before it started, very hilarious sight, I was flexing my muscles trying to keep awake. The passages weren't bad but man I was half asleep through out the darn thing, I have no idea how I did, mixed feelings but I still managed to finish n had 3 mins to spare

Dude, that sounds awful! I think we all hype up the MCAT too much...I had stomachaches the day before and I was so nervous I couldn't fall asleep for two hours when I turned in for the night.

I already signed up for another test in July so I can possibly cancel it if my score is okay. Do you think you want to sign up for another one? I don't think there's any shame in taking it twice, especially now that we've been through it and won't be as nervous the second time.

 

[moose12]

Ugh I feel like every couple of hours I realize I got a very simple question wrong...is anyone else having that?

 

[Richie pee]

Dude, that sounds awful! I think we all hype up the MCAT too much...I had stomachaches the day before and I was so nervous I couldn't fall asleep for two hours when I turned in for the night.

I already signed up for another test in July so I can possibly cancel it if my score is okay. Do you think you want to sign up for another one? I don't think there's any shame in taking it twice, especially now that we've been through it and won't be as nervous the second time.

Yea, I am thinking of retaking it, going to keep studying before the results are in, gonna wait b4 registering for it tho coz I don't wanna waste money

 

[starlite911]

Dude, that sounds awful! I think we all hype up the MCAT too much...I had stomachaches the day before and I was so nervous I couldn't fall asleep for two hours when I turned in for the night.

I already signed up for another test in July so I can possibly cancel it if my score is okay. Do you think you want to sign up for another one? I don't think there's any shame in taking it twice, especially now that we've been through it and won't be as nervous the second time.

I signed up to take another test in August (I planned on taking a year off anyway). Giving myself a break until June 1, and then back to studying, although I'll be working in a lab 40+ hours a week. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised with my score, but I'd rather waste 3 weeks studying then spend 3 weeks not studying and see that I did terribly!!

 

[jocoh]

Same, but taking the test July 12th! I'm applying this round and want to get scores back as soon as I can! Wish I could take the July 24th test but I'll be on a family vacation, still feeling like 6 weeks of studying will be enough...but here's to hoping we won't have to do more than 3 weeks!

 

[amohammed709]

Were the passages for all the sections including PS and BS longer/denser than you expected?

 

[salsasunrise123]

do you think there were more calc-based problems than in the later AAMCs (9-11)???

 

[PantherPride]

None of the passages were noticeably longer than those in the AAMC tests. They were dense; for PS the difficulty of the passages were very comparable to those found in the Physics self assessment (which was more difficult to me than the aamc tests). The BS was right on the mark in terms of difficulty for the AAMC tests imo. Verbal passages were the same length, some even felt slightly shorter and easier to read. PS had a lot of calculations, I filled up an entire page. They weren't really hard calculations though

 

[shtumpa]

Felt good coming out. Than I realized over the next few days that I had gotten 2 BS and 1 PS definitely wrong, feel like crap. Now realized I guessed one of the hard ones right, feel a bit better....

ALL ABOARD THE POST MCAT ROLLER COASTER FROM HELL

 

[shtumpa]

do you think there were more calc-based problems than in the later AAMCs (9-11)???

The MCAT does not test Calc-based physics or anything else. I have never seen an aamc question with calc and I would remember if I did because I suck at calc...

Overall:

PS Very similar to AAMC
VR Seemed easy but the curve is brutal so you must get lucky to get higher than 11 (prob 4 out of 40 wrong already down to 11, maybe 5)
BS Very similar to AAMC

I really felt like it was right there with the AAMC tests.

 

[Messier83]

I WANT TO KNOW AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH this is killing me I don't have any clue whether I got a 30 or a 40. I only remember the 3-4 questions I got wrong for sure...

I did get lucky; three of the Bio passages I had learned this semester in college - passages others felt were hard [Yup, THAT orgo one]

Yea keep bragging, kid

 

[shtumpa]

Some of the impossible ones I guessed right. Makes up for the dumb mistakes. Probably did OK, but who knows.

 

[Tokem97]

I have no idea how I did, fingers crossed and all that I guess

Either way, I decided that it's not really worth taking again if I'm applying this cycle. I'm just going to go ahead with the AMCAS Primary and hope for the best.

 

[orangetea]

 

[PantherPride]

8 days till score release

 

[SPionic]

I timed my AMCAS submission so it will be verified by the time I get my score back...that way I can't panic and withdraw my application when I get my score, LOL.