The Official May 22, 2015 MCAT Thread

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I think many of you will agree that today is a great day to officially prepare for the May 22nd MCAT!!!

I was against the April 2015 MCAT because a typical 3 month schedule doesn't seem to work for
students and/or working test takers. With a little over 4 months of preparation we can go in with confidence!
It's all new and really scary--so let's kick MCAT butt together!!

I was also wondering, wouldn't many professional MCAT test takers and tutors want to take the MCAT 2015 as soon
as possible (April MCAT) so they can better they're material or teaching? Wouldn't that just destroy the curve?
 
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It's done!!!!

I also had pretty significant technical issues, lag time was almost 10 seconds of the mcat time (more like 30 sec real life) between question screens - took the test in Boston but hopefully it is kind of a nationwide issue!
 
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There were definitely different versions of the test. When my friend and I were discussing it sounded like she had very different stuff than I had. I'm sure parts overlapped across all the tests, like a few passages and stand-alone questions, but there were for sure different versions. People are mentioning varying levels of certain content areas that were also different from mine.
 
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xc_stallion92 said:
So if there were multiple versions do we get compared to people who took other tests? That's kinda unfair.
Click to expand...

Well I assume that's the process the aamc people go through when they normalize everyone's scores. They look at the difficulty of every question between the different exams and it turns out even for everyone.
 
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Glazedonutlove said:
Btw guys do we have to enter in our grades from the official transcript?
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I used my unofficial transcript, they should be the same and they'll never know. Of course I requested an official one to send into AMCAS but I didn't pay the extra money to get a copy for myself to fill out the application for...because I'm cheap.
 
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toffee_bloom said:
I used my unofficial transcript, they should be the same and they'll never know. Of course I requested an official one to send into AMCAS but I didn't pay the extra money to get a copy for myself to fill out the application for...because I'm cheap.
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Yea I think my advisor said to get official in case names were different but ain't no one got 8 dollars
 
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So i didnt think it was bad overall! Psych was hard for me though... So not a psych major! Bio was easy! Dont know how i feel about CARS or PS... But i was one of the people who had lots of computer issues... computer freezing and took so much time off everytime i hit next.... They emailed us asking if we wanted to retest for free June 2nd! And have this voided... What do you guys think?
 
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WOOOOWWW I am surprised no one else has posted this. This is my story :
As I was taking the exam it ran really slowly. It would take 5 seconds to make a selection and then 10 seconds after I clicked next to go to the next question. All of this time was being counted. I still managed to finish each question in the PS and CARS section, after loosing approximately 20 mins in each section.
Everyone at my testing facility had the same problem. It was such an emotional roller coaster. I am surprised no one else posted about this here yet. Prometrics told me this problems has been happening nationwide and they will reschedule me with a free exam. I was pissed because then I couldn't apply in the first cycle. Luckily AAMC emailed me and said they know this problem happened to everyone and they are creating a new test for June 2nd and the results will be out June 30th.
Did no one else on here have this problem????
 
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rohanw said:
WOOOOWWW I am surprised no one else has posted this. This is my story :
As I was taking the exam it ran really slowly. It would take 5 seconds to make a selection and then 10 seconds after I clicked next to go to the next question. All of this time was being counted. I still managed to finish each question in the PS and CARS section, after loosing approximately 20 mins in each section.
Everyone at my testing facility had the same problem. It was such an emotional roller coaster. I am surprised no one else posted about this here yet. Prometrics told me this problems has been happening nationwide and they will reschedule me with a free exam. I was pissed because then I couldn't apply in the first cycle. Luckily AAMC emailed me and said they know this problem happened to everyone and they are creating a new test for June 2nd and the results will be out June 30th.
Did no one else on here have this problem????
Click to expand...




I did! And not im wondering if i should retake it!
 
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rohanw said:
WOOOOWWW I am surprised no one else has posted this. This is my story :
As I was taking the exam it ran really slowly. It would take 5 seconds to make a selection and then 10 seconds after I clicked next to go to the next question. All of this time was being counted. I still managed to finish each question in the PS and CARS section, after loosing approximately 20 mins in each section.
Everyone at my testing facility had the same problem. It was such an emotional roller coaster. I am surprised no one else posted about this here yet. Prometrics told me this problems has been happening nationwide and they will reschedule me with a free exam. I was pissed because then I couldn't apply in the first cycle. Luckily AAMC emailed me and said they know this problem happened to everyone and they are creating a new test for June 2nd and the results will be out June 30th.
Did no one else on here have this problem????
Click to expand...

Yep exact same problem here. Didn't finish the test. Someone else commented earlier that they had similar issues in Orlando. I just got an email from AAMC 30 minutes ago about rescheduling. Apparently they're opening a June 2nd day just for people who had issues today that Prometric will schedule free of charge.
 
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idk how all of you have such a good idea of how you did. I have no clue. Felt like I had to guess a lot honestly (but I felt this way on the sample test as well).

CHEM/PHYS- went through pretty quickly on a section that i am usually pressed for time. nerves i guess...hopefully that doesn't mean a lot of mistakes.
CARS- always my best section. came into it out for blood. started off very quick and then...wtf? 17 minutes left and I have three passages left to do!!!. had to guess on two entire passages fml...poor time management
BIOCHEM... - absolutely no clue how i did. a lot of 'i think that is what they are looking for'
PSYCH- meh. tested a lot of concepts i knew in vague and unexpected ways...

overall...probably not gonna be too happy with the results. if i don't crawl in a hole to perish in six weeks I will update with results
EDIT: I just typed whole instead of hole. fml...im so screwed
 
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M review. Will go into more review when I travel back home in a couple days.

Well I just want to say I studied with Kaplan, Khan, and the AAMC. I felt like i was well prepared. HOWEVER, my timing was completely off. I did't finish about 5 questions in each of the first three sections. Those are free points!!! Completely mad about that. More AAMC practice test would have fixed it.

Phys/Chem: Nothing you haven't seen before. Just do plenty of practice problems. Probably on the same level as Kaplan.

CARS: I probably got in the 30% for this section. My time was completely thrown off and I had to make some guesses for the last 2-3 passages. Not too bad though, if you do enough practice problem. AAMC material best representative.

Bio: Not bad, just ran out of time thinking this was a 53 question section smh.

Psych: Definitely my best section, maybe one or two terms I didn't know. I don't think any material put out is similar to what was on the test. Felt like CARS part 2.

Overall: I felt like i could have got in the 80% if my timing was right. Other than that, I'm hoping I at least touch 60.

My test center was awesome. Less than 5 people taking it. Hopefully CARS and Phy/Chem don't bring me down too much.
 
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Elefun said:
Yep exact same problem here. Didn't finish the test. Someone else commented earlier that they had similar issues in Orlando. I just got an email from AAMC 30 minutes ago about rescheduling. Apparently they're opening a June 2nd day just for people who had issues today that Prometric will schedule free of charge.
Click to expand...

I have had several students contact me today about this issue. My advice is to contact AAMC ASAP and let them know. Contact your testing center too. Let this be a lesson, if there are ANY issues with test administration, speak up immediately. If not right away then during your first break opportunity. You'll want to go on record as soon as possible and either 1) get it fixed asap or 2) get it on record so that you are not suffering for the test makers mistakes. Sorry if this affected anyone but congrats on finishing! Go have some well deserved fun!
 
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SweetSunshine2001 said:
I did! And not im wondering if i should retake it!
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I am not sure if that exam will be open to everyone?
I was in such a tough situation during lunch, I had to option of doing the exam because I still felt I did fairly well on the PS section(I love physics!!) but then I thought that if I get compared against everyone in the nation I would be at a great disadvantage. I am glad I made the right decision, I feel bad for people who decided to actually submit the test at my center after running into all these issue.
I am guessing this is what happens when you increase the number of centers massively.
 
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rohanw said:
I am not sure if that exam will be open to everyone?
I was in such a tough situation during lunch, I had to option of doing the exam because I still felt I did fairly well on the PS section(I love physics!!) but then I thought that if I get compared against everyone in the nation I would be at a great disadvantage. I am glad I made the right decision, I feel bad for people who decided to actually submit the test at my center after running into all these issue.
I am guessing this is what happens when you increase the number of centers massively.
Click to expand...

I submitted!! But i have the option to retake it on june 2nd! I honestly thought the test wasnt bad at all! But started freaking out during CARS cuz i realized its wasting 5 seconds each time i hit next! But i finished every section comfortably!
I wanna retake it just cuz of that! But i dont know!
 
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"Dear Kyle,

The AAMC has received reports that your testing center experienced some technical issues during the MCAT exam administration today, May 22.

If you elected to have your exam scored and wish to have those scores reported, you do not need to take further action.

If you were affected by today’s issues, you can schedule a new exam date without fee, or you may request a full refund. With either of these options, your scores for May 22 will be voided.

Please note that we are opening a June 2 exam date for those affected today, and scores will be reported on June 30. You may also choose to reschedule for any other available testing date."
 
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rohanw said:
WOOOOWWW I am surprised no one else has posted this. This is my story :
As I was taking the exam it ran really slowly. It would take 5 seconds to make a selection and then 10 seconds after I clicked next to go to the next question. All of this time was being counted. I still managed to finish each question in the PS and CARS section, after loosing approximately 20 mins in each section.
Everyone at my testing facility had the same problem. It was such an emotional roller coaster. I am surprised no one else posted about this here yet. Prometrics told me this problems has been happening nationwide and they will reschedule me with a free exam. I was pissed because then I couldn't apply in the first cycle. Luckily AAMC emailed me and said they know this problem happened to everyone and they are creating a new test for June 2nd and the results will be out June 30th.
Did no one else on here have this problem????
Click to expand...
I had this issue also. I tested in Orlando, half of the people at my test center voided. It was really terrible. I already made the decision that I'm not applying this year (Only 18yrs and I want to "enjoy" my life for at least a year) so I don't lose much. I'm so tired of studying though. I might eff around and reschedule for August.
 
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Ulgarmoose said:
"Dear Kyle,

The AAMC has received reports that your testing center experienced some technical issues during the MCAT exam administration today, May 22.

If you elected to have your exam scored and wish to have those scores reported, you do not need to take further action.

If you were affected by today’s issues, you can schedule a new exam date without fee, or you may request a full refund. With either of these options, your scores for May 22 will be voided.

Please note that we are opening a June 2 exam date for those affected today, and scores will be reported on June 30. You may also choose to reschedule for any other available testing date."
Click to expand...
I received the same email, but I was able to submit everything up until the end. I didn't see any survey or any void option. I hope that means everything's ok since I was still able to submit all 4 sections.
 
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Hey quick question for you all who have taken the test. Do they allow you to write on the scratch paper in the time before you begin the first section (i.e. during the 10min tutorial section)? Could be useful for keeping the metabolic pathways straight
 
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I had the problems with the latency. I decided to NOT void my exam. However, this whole issue with the latency is laughable. Hopefully they take into consideration the **** latency that was present for some of our exams.


Best of luck to everyone!
 
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joebob19872 said:
Hey quick question for you all who have taken the test. Do they allow you to write on the scratch paper in the time before you begin the first section (i.e. during the 10min tutorial section)? Could be useful for keeping the metabolic pathways straight
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
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Several people in the testing center had really bad issues with lag and decided to reschedule. I had issues with lag during the tutorial, and when I tried to start the test after 5 minutes it brought me to the end of test survey LOL

They tried to fix it but after a few hours said it was a lost cause. I just got the e-mail to schedule for June 2 or a later test date...
 
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My test center had an issue with my registration confirmation, they couldn't use my ID or scan my fingerprint even after multiple restarts. They ended up calling AAMC directly to confirm I was taking the test, but told me to confirm with them later next week just in case I need to re-take it.

Damn that PS section. Not only did it have tons of physics (my weakest subject by far), but it also managed to ask tons of questions about amino acids whose 1 letter codes I couldn't remember. Bombed this section for sure.

The rest of the sections went fine, I think. I was so happy about all the endocrinology questions on the Bio section (I just finished taking an endocrine physiology class). The Psych/Soc section wasn't too bad, but I definitely felt I missed a few easy questions. As for CARS... I really liked it? It wasn't the easiest section I've taken (that would be the AAMC FL), but I got a kick out of most of the passages.

Is there hope for me to land a seat in July? I'm old enough as it is and the thought of taking another gap year is eating me up inside.
 
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First off when I started the exam there was no Yes or No button to accept that I was the examinee... They had to call their tech support which took TWO HOURS to fix my problem. By the time I started my exam the latency issues started to kick in. I finished each section with 30-40 seconds to spare. What an emotional roller coaster. Luckily AAMC is offering a reschedule to those of us who suffered this problem.

This exam itself was very focus on physics and random bites of knowledge for Bio. The psychology section I felt like I missed a lot of easy question due to just not knowing some of the answer choices. EK psy/soc did a poor job to prepare me for that section. CARS was up and down. Some passages were straight to the point while others were very frustrating. Surprisingly did not feel drained after all that, just upset.
 
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I didn't feel great about Bio, but otherwise I felt okay. Now I am second-guessing myself. I just can't bring myself to take this again.
 
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Did anyone else have absolutely no physiology on the bio section? I got some ridiculous questions and the lag time sucked big time
 
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gymrat1993 said:
Did anyone else have absolutely no physiology on the bio section? I got some ridiculous questions and the lag time sucked big time
Click to expand...
I think the exam was broad enough and everything was fair game. This really impressed me, especially when compared to the old exam. Let's n0t go into specifics here but i may have overstudied physio
 
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A lot of biochem/bio. KNOW YOUR AMINO ACIDS. Look at chart with name, side chain structure, letter name...basic/polar/nonpolar/etc. MEMORIZE EVERYTHING ON THAT CHART and I do mean everything. Kaplan was right.

Physical Sci:

Know concepts....not math. I had like 4 math problems and most could be solved without too much i.e. look at their exponents. It was harder in the same sense that you had to use your understanding of biochem for each passage and relate with chemistry/orgo/or physics.


CARS:
like I said, do exactly what you were doing for old verbal but feel free to read slowly. I was giving myself 6 minutes and I realized I was finishing with like 10 minutes to spare in practice passages and getting like 7-8's, got 10-11's after I slowed wayyy down.

Bio:

  • Like I said, know your amino acids. Know enzymes and kinetics and rate laws.
  • Know to infer from graphs really well.
  • Know fats, urgh...****ing fats...well know that basic 6 structures/fuctions/nonmenclature...etc of lipids


Psy:

Yup....this killed me, straight forward. The passages were SUPER easy to read, you'll have TONS of time BUTTT i had to re-reread 3-4 experiemental based passages to fully understand the nuances of it. Here's the general breakdown of passages.
  • You must then apply sociology/psychology based concepts to explain how they designed the experiment or WHICH concept it is being used.etc
  • Just a plain old experiment with 2-3 different methodologies, answer which methodology is being applied here and/or how this would apply to a situation presented in the question.

Also f* the AAMC, you had years to prepare for this and only 1 practice test. I would DEFINITELY give yourself at least 3 taking the practices AAMC sample test to then change your thinking to their new style and studying using it as a reference.


edit: I might take it again, b/c I realize if I had more time to study I would definitely be able to crush it knowing their style now. Again f* AAMC for not having more seats.
 
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Hello All,

I was one of those who had problems with a "satellite" testing center experiment Bull so I just wanted to paint a picture of what I have acquired as far as what happened today for tech issues. In talking with a Prometric tech and AAMC staff, of course they each blamed one another for the testing issue, but AAMC took on a MCAT 2015 policy of less actual testing days (no Sept, OCT, NOV, DEC exams), but more seats/date. Prometric claimed that they were not able to offer that many seats and the wonderful concept of satellite testing centers were conceived. I never got booted but had a legitimate 15-20 seconds of loading for every question on Bio/Biochem, and about 8-10 seconds of loading/question on CARS. Normally I finish with about 15 min extra on Bio and 5 on CARS so I was able to complete each section (barely, guessed on last CARS question) but was pretty pissed and nervous knowing that I physically couldn't answer and load the question fast enough to finish, not even being able to consider marking anything. I rose a pretty big stink to the testing lady, refusing to void my score if it meant I couldn't test again till say mid or late July. I received an email about 4:30 P.M that June 2nd!!! will be a retest day for those who had problems, and the scores will come out on June 30th, so as not to hurt our Apps. If you had legit tech issues contact AAMC, and tell them, you CAN void your score even if you didn't in the exam and had tech issues.
 
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