*The Official MCAT January 2018 Thread*

[mariposas905]

Hey guys! Now that the new test dates are out, I figured I'd start a thread for all the January 2018 test-takers prepping for (and most definitely, slaying) this beast! This is a retake for me, but I'm aiming high! Who else is taking it in January?

I'm sure that sharing insights and support on SDN will make this journey all the more worth it. I have a feeling 2018 is off to a great start! Good luck everyone and may the odds be ever in our favor.

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[WMMCDNLD1]

i visited my testing center today and apparently they are not allowing us to bring in unopened packages of ear plugs. 2 bucks down the drain smh

Whaaat they did in August!...

 

[BBBallIsLife]

Whaaat they did in August!...

yeah, typical shot clock cheese by the AAMC

 

[Master Thinker]

To those who took the exam today, is it pretty similar to the FL? Or do you think it's harder?

 

[AdenineThomasPhosphate]

To those who took the exam today, is it pretty similar to the FL? Or do you think it's harder?

Mine was way harder. CARS and B/S in particular. I thought the P/S and C/P were about the same to FL's

 

[CAFFEINE!]

Just finished!! I feel better about my performance today compared to any of the AAMC FLs!

Exam highlights:
1) There WERE passage numbers (thanks for giving me something to worry about, FL3)
2) C/P was easier than FL 3 but more difficult than FL2.
3) CARS was comparable to FL 2&3
4) B/B was strange because it started out easy AF than got progressively more like section-bank towards the end
5) P/S was similar to FL2 and easier than FL 1&3

Good luck to everyone testing tomorrow!

 

[Gilakend]

Just finished!! I feel better about my performance today compared to any of the AAMC FLs!

Exam highlights:
1) There WERE passage numbers (thanks for giving me something to worry about FL3)
2) C/P was easier than FL 3 but more difficult than FL2.
3) CARS was comparable to FL 2&3
4) B/B was strange because it started out easy AF than got progressively more like section-bank towards the end
5) P/S was similar to FL2

That's the most beautiful thing I've seen all day. FL3 P/S screwed me

 

[prairiemusic]

To those who took the exam today, is it pretty similar to the FL? Or do you think it's harder?

I thought mine was similar. C/P seemed easier, CARS and B/B about the same, P/S was a little bit harder for some reason.

 

[MoDiddy]

Just finished!! I feel better about my performance today compared to any of the AAMC FLs!

Exam highlights:
1) There WERE passage numbers (thanks for giving me something to worry about, FL3)
2) C/P was easier than FL 3 but more difficult than FL2.
3) CARS was comparable to FL 2&3
4) B/B was strange because it started out easy AF than got progressively more like section-bank towards the end
5) P/S was similar to FL2 and easier than FL 1&3

Good luck to everyone testing tomorrow!

Thanks for the write up! Makes me feel better about the CARS

 

[deleted446889]

Hey guys quick question, do we need to print out confirmation for tomorrow or is our ID all we need? Thanks

 

[CAFFEINE!]

Hey guys quick question, do we need to print out confirmation for tomorrow or is our ID all we need? Thanks

ID and confidence is all you need. Good luck!

 

[CAFFEINE!]

OH AND ONE MORE THING MY PEEPS! (Sorry if I sound aggressive, it's only because I am on my second bottle of wine right now ).

Today, when I took my scheduled breaks the test administrator had to use his log-in credentials to allow me to access the next section, and he had to do this after every single break. I didn't know that this would happen, so I came back from my first break with essentially no time left. When I clicked the "end break" button, a pop-up box appeared requesting the admin's login name/password (and it wouldn't allow me to access CARS until this info was entered in). I panicked (naturally) and flagged the administrator down to have him enter his information. By the time that he had come over to me and entered in his info, I was 1 minute past my scheduled break, and this time was deducted from my CARS time. Obviously, 1 minute isn't detrimental but you all should be aware that you need to allocate time in your breaks for having your administrator sign back into your computer.

 

[WMMCDNLD1]

OH AND ONE MORE THING MY PEEPS! (Sorry if I sound aggressive, it's only because I am on my second bottle of wine right now ).

Today, when I took my scheduled breaks the test administrator had to use his log-in credentials to allow me to access the next section, and he had to do this after every single break. I didn't know that this would happen, so I came back from my first break with essentially no time left. When I clicked the "end break" button, a pop-up box appeared requesting the admin's login name/password (and it wouldn't allow me to access CARS until this info was entered in). I panicked (naturally) and flagged the administrator down to have him enter his information. By the time that he had come over to me and entered in his info, I was 1 minute past my scheduled break, and this time was deducted from my CARS time. Obviously, 1 minute isn't detrimental but you all should be aware that you need to allocate time in your breaks for having your administrator sign back into your computer.

This makes me anxious as hell. Did the admin readily come to your terminal every time you sat down? what if three test takers come back from break at the same time...

 

[deleted600623]

Everyone on reddit seems to feel like the test was ridiculously hard especially c/p and p/s...maybe they’re just neurotic idk.

 

[SiakTiDoc]

Everyone on reddit seems to feel like the test was ridiculously hard especially c/p and p/s...maybe they’re just neurotic idk.

you make it sound like people on SDN aren't neurotic haha.

Anyway... Congrats everyone on completing the exam!
and @CAFFEINE! I also have a new bottle of wine waiting for me when I finish my exam next week, as a added incentive haha.

 

[NaomiM]

This makes me anxious as hell. Did the admin readily come to your terminal every time you sat down? what if three test takers come back from break at the same time...

Yup the proctor had to come over every time. It wasn’t that bad really? My proctor was in and out pretty fast. Also, they staggered us so no one finished a section at the same time.

In terms of difficulty, I’d say C/P had quite a few questions where I just couldn’t nail down what they were asking me. Which I’m guessing means I had some gaps in my content review. And if a lot of other people are feeling that way maybe the scores will be higher? I’m hoping that my other three sections will make up for it if not. Good luck to you guys taking it tomorrow and next week!

 

[WMMCDNLD1]

Everyone on reddit seems to feel like the test was ridiculously hard especially c/p and p/s...maybe they’re just neurotic idk.

Did they say if it was the c or the p that got them? lol im not doing too hot in physics.

 

[CAFFEINE!]

This makes me anxious as hell. Did the admin readily come to your terminal every time you sat down? what if three test takers come back from break at the same time...

I mean, it honestly wasn't a problem for the admin to come to my station every time. But luckily, I was a few minutes behind in my MCAT compared to the 2 other test takers in my testing center, so they weren't a distraction to me (but I was to them #SorryNotSorry).

 

[IdiotSandwich]

This makes me anxious as hell. Did the admin readily come to your terminal every time you sat down? what if three test takers come back from break at the same time...

They do have to log you back in after every break. Mine they did the security check, palm scan, etc and then took you back and logged you in before going to the next person. I came back each time with plenty of time left in my break just in case. The only thing was, the moment the admin logged in, it ended my break and moved on to the next section. I wanted to sit at the computer for the last few minutes but never got the chance.

 

[IdiotSandwich]

Did they say if it was the c or the p that got them? lol im not doing too hot in physics.

All I know is I got absolutely railed by C/P today. It was always my worst section, but it was definitely harder than any practice exam C/P I’ve done. This was literally me at some points in the section:

 

[CAFFEINE!]

All I know is I got absolutely railed by C/P today. It was always my worst section, but it was definitely harder than any practice exam C/P I’ve done. This was literally me at some points in the section:
View attachment 228188

Random question, but did you get especially screwed by the first passage in C/P? Only asking because I got hella screwed by my first C/P passage (but I didn't think the rest of the section was ~that~ bad). Like, the first passage bent me over a barrel and showed me the 50 states if ya know what I mean.

 

[IdiotSandwich]

Random question, but did you get especially screwed by the first passage in C/P? Only asking because I got hella screwed by my first C/P passage (but I didn't think the rest of the section was ~that~ bad). Like, the first passage bent me over a barrel and showed me the 50 states if ya know what I mean.

YES OMG YES that first passage!! Same... it could’ve at least taken me out to a nice dinner first.

 

[CAFFEINE!]

YES OMG YES that first passage!! Same... it could’ve at least taken me out to a nice dinner first.

I WISH IT WOULD HAVE AT LEAST KISSED ME FIRST, RIGHT BEFORE IT ****** ME!

But I low-key wonder if that passage contained un-scored questions because nothing in that passage made any sense whatsoever.

 

[IdiotSandwich]

I WISH IT WOULD HAVE AT LEAST KISSED ME FIRST, RIGHT BEFORE IT ****** ME!

But I low-key wonder if that passage contained un-scored questions because nothing in that passage made any sense whatsoever.

Dear God I hope so. I also spent wayyyy too much time on it and had to somewhat guess on a couple questions at the end due to time.

 

[CAFFEINE!]

Dear God I hope so. I also spent wayyyy too much time on it and had to somewhat guess on a couple questions at the end due to time.

I'm so salty that that was the first passage of the MCAT; my confidence was shook for the rest of the section lol.

 

[LebronManning]

Alright it’s showtime

 

[LXJ34]

Alright it’s showtime

You got this!!!! Killlll emmmmm!!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Sheiko]

Ready to **** this test up let's go

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

 

[deleted600623]

ITS ABOUT TO GO DOWN! Let’s get it!

 

[Pavlov'sDawg]

Tested yesterday


Almost no biochemon on my C/P section. Mostly gen chem and physics, lots of calculations.

CARS was really easy. Usually my worst section too

B/B
Surprisingly easy, not a lot of biochem here. Mostly genetics and physiology. Felt like the qpack passages

P/S
HARD. Very little gimmis on this section this time, compared to the first time I took it


Good luck to everyone else

 

[Pavlov'sDawg]

Random question, but did you get especially screwed by the first passage in C/P? Only asking because I got hella screwed by my first C/P passage (but I didn't think the rest of the section was ~that~ bad). Like, the first passage bent me over a barrel and showed me the 50 states if ya know what I mean.

If you're talking about that passage with 6 questions, then F**K YES

I came back to it once I finished all the other passages

 

[WMMCDNLD1]

Tested yesterday


Almost no biochemon on my C/P section. Mostly gen chem and physics, lots of calculations.

CARS was really easy. Usually my worst section too

B/B
Surprisingly easy, not a lot of biochem here. Mostly genetics and physiology. Felt like the qpack passages

P/S
HARD. Very little gimmis on this section this time, compared to the first time I took it


Good luck to everyone else

Would it be worth while making sure to have any and every equation on hand?

idk if answering that crosses the line in communicating testing material.... dont answer if it does

 

[Pavlov'sDawg]

Would it be worth while making sure to have any and every equation on hand?

Yeah I memorized every single gen chem equation in the Kaplan book and every physics equation in the EK book. You should be good with that

 

[Jennawitz]

Did anyone find the CARS today difficult? I narrowed a bunch of questions down to two answers but couldn’t decide which was better so I feel like I missed a TON.

 

[Surgical Spoon]

01/20 was super hard in my opinion. All four sections are harder than FL3, and that bio/biochem was especially bad

 

[MoDiddy]

01/20 was super hard in my opinion. All four sections are harder than FL3, and that bio/biochem was especially bad

How'd you score on the practice exams?

 

[Surgical Spoon]

How'd you score on the practice exams?

90+ percentile for chem/puts and bio/biochem. About 60 for both cars and s/p
I was very nervous throughout the exam and I have a cold. However I still think it’s becuase I underprepared for this exam since there are several terms I have never encountered before.

 

[BBBallIsLife]

that seemed hard

 

[Ryan30]

Did anyone else think c/p was particularly hard today? P/S and cars seemed about normal and BB was relatively easy but c/p blew me away

 

[Gilakend]

C/P - Everyone keeps saying it was hard, but I thought it was straight forward so that worries me
CARS - cool
B/B - Everyone keeps saying this was easy and I thought it was hard
P/S - normal to eh. not bad

 

[BBBallIsLife]

My experience:

C/P: EZ
CARS: meh
B/B: EZ ish
P/S: hard

 

[smileyfacegirl27]

1/20 test feelings:

Chem/Phys today = killed me. i died. literally felt like I was doing a section bank
CARS = super straightforward and relatively easy
B/B = easiest bio section I've ever seen, tbh. One of my "passages" was a total of 5 sentences????? I literally though the rest of the passage was missing
Psyc/Soc - okay so the passages were all pretty straightforward, but this was about an average psych/soc section for me, so not all super easy answers either

Overall - not my best, but not my worst Just glad it's over

 

[LebronManning]

Just finished. Felt like the hardest MCAT I’ve taken, like on the level of Kaplan tests but obviously more reasoning and less content. I feel very bad after that. Maybe everyone just feels like that after MCAT.

C/P: medium to hard. First passage was impossible, rest were average.

CARS: Hardest cars I’ve ever encountered. 2nd passage...holy ****.

B/B: Felt easier than usual.

P/S: WTF. Literally the most BS section I’ve ever encountered in the history of AAMC. Literally nothing can prepare you for this. The hardest passage on the P/S section bank has nothing on this section for today.

People who took today...any agreements or disagreements?

 

[BBBallIsLife]

Just finished. Felt like the hardest MCAT I’ve taken, like on the level of Kaplan tests but obviously more reasoning and less content. I feel very bad after that. Maybe everyone just feels like that after MCAT.

C/P: medium to hard. First passage was impossible, rest were average.

CARS: Hardest cars I’ve ever encountered. 2nd passage...holy ****.

B/B: Felt easier than usual.

P/S: WTF. Literally the most BS section I’ve ever encountered in the history of AAMC. Literally nothing can prepare you for this. The hardest passage on the P/S section bank has nothing on this section for today.

People who took today...any agreements or disagreements?

totally agree. except i don't remember which passages were the hardest out of each section b/c its all a blur now

 

[LebronManning]

Yeah if it was a typo, they'd be sure to throw the question out. However, the chance of it being a typo is probably very low. Just based on how many times I bet people look over each question.

 

[deleted600623]

Well...it’s done. C/P sucked. CARS was surprisingly easy. B/B was about average maybe harder. P/S was about average maybe harder. We’ll see what happens.

 

[LebronManning]

Where do I find my application for the Caribbean lol

 

[LebronManning]

It's kinda scaring me that everyone else thought cars was easy...I struggled hard with the 2nd passage and the rest was fine except I had to guess on the last few questions cause I was running out of time. Also had some trouble with the 2nd to last passage (Nothing better than a cars passage full of variables and psuedo-scientific relationships and ****, smh)

 

[deleted600623]

@LebronManning I think any perception of the sections outside of C/P could go either way. Pretty strong consensus that C/P was ridiculous on here and on reddit. But who knows. Everyone feels like dog **** after that test regardless of how you actually scored.

 

[FutureDoctor06]

Ya I got WAXED.
Easily the hardest C/P I've ever taken. CARS was alright I guess. B/B had a lot of dumb minutiae along with some easy points I think I missed. P/S was CARS 2.0 with some discretes in there.
I was frustrated earlier but now I'm kinda chillin'. It was funny cause in the lunch break, I was thinking in the bathroom "wonder what march spots are open".

 

[BBBallIsLife]

Where do I find my application for the Caribbean lol

oh I've already thought about scheduling my next mcat test date already lol