*The Official MCAT June 2018 Thread*

[pretty_positron]

June 2nd, 2018 here.

81 days until the test, here.

Let's rock, brothers and sisters.

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[yankeekd25]

Thanks for sharing! Were the C/P calculations tough or simple/easy to manipulate if you knew the formulas? I'm definitely going to review all my formulas before I take FL 3. I keep forgetting the Physics ones! I feel like P/S is turning into a big crapshoot. It used to be my favorite section, but the P/S on the last MCAT I took was absolutely brutal. I know the material pretty well, but I think it depends on a lucky test day too

Straight forward formulas but lots of micro, nano, etc and lots and lots of scientific notation.

 

[BobbyKoch]

... Anyone take FL3 and think the PS was a killer too?....

I'm taking it tomorrow. I'll report findings here.

I just ran through the PS section bank again for "fun" and got 92%. at least those questions/answers are sticking...heh

 

[yankeekd25]

I'm taking it tomorrow. I'll report findings here.

I just ran through the PS section bank again for "fun" and got 92%. at least those questions/answers are sticking...heh

This is what I plan on doing starting tomorrow. I just reviewed my cars test. I changed my answer last second on one, and refused to go with my gut on two more and chose the wrong one twice. These three would've put me at 127 which I would be pretty happy with after back to back 123 / 122 on the other FLs. Someone light a candle for me!

 

[BobbyKoch]

This is what I plan on doing starting tomorrow. I just reviewed my cars test. I changed my answer last second on one, and refused to go with my gut on two more and chose the wrong one twice. These three would've put me at 127 which I would be pretty happy with after back to back 123 / 122 on the other FLs. Someone light a candle for me!

I did something very similar on PS for FL2....had time at the end and went back and changed three answers. 2/3 changed from correct to incorrect. very instructive.

 

[Blanky]

Seems like a lot of the recent PS mcats have been loaded with inference questions versus fact and regurgitate.
Also my real CP felt like FL2 but with a lot of physics calcs (pretty easy but you need to know the physics)

 

[yankeekd25]

Seems like a lot of the recent PS mcats have been loaded with inference questions versus fact and regurgitate.
Also my real CP felt like FL2 but with a lot of physics calcs (pretty easy but you need to know the physics)

How about the real BB and CARS? Was BB like section bank or FL level? Was CARS like q pack1/2/neither/both?

 

[BobbyKoch]

Just finished FL3. The CP was challenging for me. I very nearly lost my composure. Finished with ~2-3 minutes to spare but I felt very much like it was a lost cause, like 125 at best.

CARS had a mix of dense/inane stuff and some passages that were bearable. Mostly I was decompressing from CP still...

BB felt basic but some discrete info that I was missing. Also one pure WTF question which didn't seem to have any relation to the passage/study...

PS seemed very straightforward to me. Running through the SB last night and my notes this morning was helpful.

514: 128 130 127 129. Disappointed in Bio, but not discouraged. CP just goes to show, you can't trust your intuition about performance in the midst of testing.

Feeling on track for ~515 on Saturday. Good luck to everyone studying!!!

 

[mariposas905]

Just finished FL3. The CP was challenging for me. I very nearly lost my composure. Finished with ~2-3 minutes to spare but I felt very much like it was a lost cause, like 125 at best.

CARS had a mix of dense/inane stuff and some passages that were bearable. Mostly I was decompressing from CP still...

BB felt basic but some discrete info that I was missing. Also one pure WTF question which didn't seem to have any relation to the passage/study...

PS seemed very straightforward to me. Running through the SB last night and my notes this morning was helpful.

514: 128 130 127 129. Disappointed in Bio, but not discouraged. CP just goes to show, you can't trust your intuition about performance in the midst of testing.

Feeling on track for ~515 on Saturday. Good luck to everyone studying!!!

Thanks for sharing! It looks like FL 3 reactions are highly variable among people that take it. Some said the P/S was impossible, while others say the C/P was very difficult. And other people are saying FL 3 was easier than FL 1 and even the sample?! I guess I'll find out for myself on Wednesday

 

[BobbyKoch]

I’m slowly realizing that that variability means I could feel all sorts of ways during the test. The biggest thing I’ve gained from practicing is learning how to stay calm when it seems like I’m getting destroyed.

 

[yankeekd25]

Just finished FL3. The CP was challenging for me. I very nearly lost my composure. Finished with ~2-3 minutes to spare but I felt very much like it was a lost cause, like 125 at best.

CARS had a mix of dense/inane stuff and some passages that were bearable. Mostly I was decompressing from CP still...

BB felt basic but some discrete info that I was missing. Also one pure WTF question which didn't seem to have any relation to the passage/study...

PS seemed very straightforward to me. Running through the SB last night and my notes this morning was helpful.

514: 128 130 127 129. Disappointed in Bio, but not discouraged. CP just goes to show, you can't trust your intuition about performance in the midst of testing.

Feeling on track for ~515 on Saturday. Good luck to everyone studying!!!

I too thought the BB had some wtf stuff mixed in but it's tough to get them all right lol. Nice score on CARS. Any last minute tips you can offer for me? I'd be ok w/ 127/128.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Just finished FL3. The CP was challenging for me. I very nearly lost my composure. Finished with ~2-3 minutes to spare but I felt very much like it was a lost cause, like 125 at best.

CARS had a mix of dense/inane stuff and some passages that were bearable. Mostly I was decompressing from CP still...

BB felt basic but some discrete info that I was missing. Also one pure WTF question which didn't seem to have any relation to the passage/study...

PS seemed very straightforward to me. Running through the SB last night and my notes this morning was helpful.

514: 128 130 127 129. Disappointed in Bio, but not discouraged. CP just goes to show, you can't trust your intuition about performance in the midst of testing.

Feeling on track for ~515 on Saturday. Good luck to everyone studying!!!

nice job, @BobbyKoch You will do great!

 

[BobbyKoch]

I too thought the BB had some wtf stuff mixed in but it's tough to get them all right lol. Nice score on CARS. Any last minute tips you can offer for me? I'd be ok w/ 127/128.

I'm afraid I don't have any good tips for CARS because I've never had to do anything except practice passages/understand the AAMC logic. I am happy with my CARS scores but I recently realized I'm leaving a few points on the table there... Maybe I will do the Cars Q pack. Have you done that?

 

[mariposas905]

Taking AAMC FL1 tomorrow. It is going to be a disaster lol. So behind on content review

How did it go?

 

[yankeekd25]

I'm afraid I don't have any good tips for CARS because I've never had to do anything except practice passages/understand the AAMC logic. I am happy with my CARS scores but I recently realized I'm leaving a few points on the table there... Maybe I will do the Cars Q pack. Have you done that?

Yes I got a 79% on q pack 1. Thought the first few passages were very hard. I'm working on qpack 2 and only have missed 5 on the first 60. Is it true that just 3-5 more correct answers correlates to that of a jump in scaled score ?

 

[iqe2010]

I took FL#2 today and did terrible (496). It's crazy because I felt really good about it. I thought I nailed CARS especially.

My exam is Saturday, so I'm feeling kind of down. Right now I'm thinking I'll just void and retake early August so I'll still have somewhat of a chance to get accepted this cycle.

Those of you getting 510+ how did you approach studying? It's clear that I'm not doing something right.

Tomorrow my plan is to go back over the entire exam, read through the questions and really try to understand the explanations.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

I took FL#2 today and did terrible (496). It's crazy because I felt really good about it. I thought I nailed CARS especially.

My exam is Saturday, so I'm feeling kind of down. Right now I'm thinking I'll just void and retake early August so I'll still have somewhat of a chance to get accepted this cycle.

Those of you getting 510+ how did you approach studying? It's clear that I'm not doing something right.

Tomorrow my plan is to go back over the entire exam, read through the questions and really try to understand the explanations.

I don't know how y'all feel about this, but some AAMC explanations are totally pointless. Sometimes the explanation for the correct answer quotes the correct answer I find them helpful in CARS though because they quote the text to show you where to find it.

 

[mariposas905]

Do you think we need to know the structures of the electron carriers? NADH, FADH2 etc...

 

[fingerscrossed2018]

I don't know how y'all feel about this, but some AAMC explanations are totally pointless. Sometimes the explanation for the correct answer quotes the correct answer I find them helpful in CARS though because they quote the text to show you where to find it.

“A is correct because B, C, and D are incorrect.”

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

“A is correct because B, C, and D are incorrect.”

Exactly

 

[yankeekd25]

I don't know how y'all feel about this, but some AAMC explanations are totally pointless. Sometimes the explanation for the correct answer quotes the correct answer I find them helpful in CARS though because they quote the text to show you where to find it.

Aamc be like:
What is the answer to 1x1?
A. 1
B. 23-22
C. 4/4
D. 1/1

"Although A is a good answer, B is actually more correct. C and D could be right but the passage makes no mention of them"

 

[yankeekd25]

Did anyone take the time to memorize the complete structures of the nucleotides?

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Did anyone take the time to memorize the complete structures of the nucleotides?

Not yet, but I will as I have seen it on one of the practice tests! Could always be that one question that bumps up your score!!

 

[westsidestoryz]

I took FL#2 today and did terrible (496). It's crazy because I felt really good about it. I thought I nailed CARS especially.

My exam is Saturday, so I'm feeling kind of down. Right now I'm thinking I'll just void and retake early August so I'll still have somewhat of a chance to get accepted this cycle.

Those of you getting 510+ how did you approach studying? It's clear that I'm not doing something right.

Tomorrow my plan is to go back over the entire exam, read through the questions and really try to understand the explanations.

i remember i felt really good about FL 1 and scored a 498 lol ended up taking it even though i shouldnt have after seeing that score. Scored a 502. Retook it and got a 510. I had the same content knowledge, just took my test-taking skills to a whole new level (timing, letting questions go, using short-cuts, and def not being hung up on one missed question)

 

[westsidestoryz]

Did anyone take the time to memorize the complete structures of the nucleotides?

It was actually in my exam. Doesnt take much to memorize it. You should def have it burned into your brain.

 

[mariposas905]

Guys, I think I'm in trouble. My exam is on June 29th, and I am so behind with the metabolic pathways! I slacked off on this, because I truly hate organic chemistry and metabolism. At this point, I only know Ch. 9 and Ch. 12 in Kaplan Biochem. somewhat well (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen pathways). I have not read through Ch. 10 or Ch. 11. I think I can finish and learn the Citric Acid Cycle and Oxidative phosphorylation by my exam, but I don't think I will have time for the lipid stuff, other than straight up memorizing the pathways without really understanding it.

I am not sure what to do, this is a retake for me. I am so mad at myself for not being more prepared. I wish I could postpone my exam to July, but I am also applying this cycle. I have 16 days left and I feel so screwed. What can I do about metabolism? Any advice?

 

[westsidestoryz]

Guys, I think I'm in trouble. My exam is on June 29th, and I am so behind with the metabolic pathways! I slacked off on this, because I truly hate organic chemistry and metabolism. At this point, I only know Ch. 9 and Ch. 12 in Kaplan Biochem. somewhat well (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen pathways). I have not read through Ch. 10 or Ch. 11. I think I can finish and learn the Citric Acid Cycle and Oxidative phosphorylation by my exam, but I don't think I will have time for the lipid stuff, other than straight up memorizing the pathways without really understanding it.

I am not sure what to do, this is a retake for me. I am so mad at myself for not being more prepared. I wish I could postpone my exam to July, but I am also applying this cycle. I have 16 days left and I feel so screwed. What can I do about metabolism? Any advice?

Just know the major limiting enzymes, the reactant and its product. you dont need to memorize the pathway. maybe like how many carbons are used in fatty acid oxidation

 

[duckdoc20]

Guys, I think I'm in trouble. My exam is on June 29th, and I am so behind with the metabolic pathways! I slacked off on this, because I truly hate organic chemistry and metabolism. At this point, I only know Ch. 9 and Ch. 12 in Kaplan Biochem. somewhat well (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen pathways). I have not read through Ch. 10 or Ch. 11. I think I can finish and learn the Citric Acid Cycle and Oxidative phosphorylation by my exam, but I don't think I will have time for the lipid stuff, other than straight up memorizing the pathways without really understanding it.

I am not sure what to do, this is a retake for me. I am so mad at myself for not being more prepared. I wish I could postpone my exam to July, but I am also applying this cycle. I have 16 days left and I feel so screwed. What can I do about metabolism? Any advice?

Trust your FLs scores there great!!! It dosnt matter if you took them a year ago. They are really not that inflated. Most prep companies say if it has been six months since you've taken an exam the exam is fair to use again

 

[mariposas905]

Trust your FLs scores there great!!! It dosnt matter if you took them a year ago. They are really not that inflated. Most prep companies say if it has been six months since you've taken an exam the exam is fair to use again

I am taking FL 3 tmrw, which I never took before so maybe that will tell me something about where I stand. Sometimes, I feel I get lucky on FLs because of lucky guesses or because it caters to my strengths. I can't tell you how scared I am about the real thing though last time, my FLs were all 509-511, and I scored way below on the real exam. This is truly a soul-crushing, confidence-testing process lol

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Guys, I think I'm in trouble. My exam is on June 29th, and I am so behind with the metabolic pathways! I slacked off on this, because I truly hate organic chemistry and metabolism. At this point, I only know Ch. 9 and Ch. 12 in Kaplan Biochem. somewhat well (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and glycogen pathways). I have not read through Ch. 10 or Ch. 11. I think I can finish and learn the Citric Acid Cycle and Oxidative phosphorylation by my exam, but I don't think I will have time for the lipid stuff, other than straight up memorizing the pathways without really understanding it.

I am not sure what to do, this is a retake for me. I am so mad at myself for not being more prepared. I wish I could postpone my exam to July, but I am also applying this cycle. I have 16 days left and I feel so screwed. What can I do about metabolism? Any advice?

I also think chapter 11 was rated very low yield by Kaplan...I think it was less than 5% of Bio/Biochem questions

 

[mariposas905]

Just know the major limiting enzymes, the reactant and its product. you dont need to memorize the pathway. maybe like how many carbons are used in fatty acid oxidation

How many direct metabolism questions do you think are likely to appear on the test? Would the AAMC ask like a whole passage on only metabolism memorization questions? I'm talking about things like the section bank. How plausible is it that AAMC would include as many metabolism questions on the test as there are on section bank??

I'll aim to know all the pathways and which enzymes belongs to what, but I definitely won't understand them (mechanism-wise) in and out by test day. I don't have that kind of time now. Once again, I should be good with everything in Kaplan Ch. 9 and hopefully, Ch. 10 as well.

Sorry, I'm just kinda freaking out.

 

[BobbyKoch]

As others said, just know the major players. Know where each pathway occurs and under what conditions. Imo all this is more valuable than mechanisms. There were no mechanistic questions on SB that I can recall...

 

[kme243]

My exam is this Saturday. I've taken all the scored FLs. Took FL 3 today and got 129/125/130/129. I haven't taken the unscored AAMC and I haven't touched the section bank or Q packs (I started CARS qpack). Should I do them or just do one of them (which one is more important) or should I just chill to avoid burning out? I am pretty happy with all my scores except CARS. Won't be able to study much tomorrow because I have a 2hr meeting and then I'm driving for 6 hours! I also need to review my FL3 answers...

 

[westsidestoryz]

How many direct metabolism questions do you think are likely to appear on the test? Would the AAMC ask like a whole passage on only metabolism memorization questions? I'm talking about things like the section bank. How plausible is it that AAMC would include as many metabolism questions on the test as there are on section bank??

I'll aim to know all the pathways and which enzymes belongs to what, but I definitely won't understand them (mechanism-wise) in and out by test day. I don't have that kind of time now. Once again, I should be good with everything in Kaplan Ch. 9 and hopefully, Ch. 10 as well.

Sorry, I'm just kinda freaking out.

With the MCAT, you never know with so many materials to know. Thats why it is important to know the main players. Most likely, the passage will give you all the mechanism and pathways. The questions will be more related to experiments, graphs, and different scenarios.

Dont worry about specifics like how you would in a biochem course.

 

[Thecomposer]

My exam is this Saturday. I've taken all the scored FLs. Took FL 3 today and got 129/125/130/129. I haven't taken the unscored AAMC and I haven't touched the section bank or Q packs (I started CARS qpack). Should I do them or just do one of them (which one is more important) or should I just chill to avoid burning out? I am pretty happy with all my scores except CARS. Won't be able to study much tomorrow because I have a 2hr meeting and then I'm driving for 6 hours! I also need to review my FL3 answers...

For CARS, although this may seem counterintuitive, just do the opposite of what you're doing now. Not only are the passages about 25% longer on the real deal, but the passages are dense and the questions are not straight forward at all. In this situation, testers see they are running out of time, panic and choose the answer that makes the most sense. 85% of the time, the answer that sounds good to your gut is exactly what they wanted you to pick and wrong. Think about it this way: the AAMC wants to weed out anyone who doesn't have ridiculously heightened critical reasoning skills. This isn't an SAT test of "here is the info, now what answers the question?" The people who score 132s, form what I've seen, have all learned this "trick" of choosing the ambiguous--technically not wrong answer--that they have NO idea why it is the answer. If it is ambiguous and not technically wrong, this is the answer. Even the answer you feel is 100% correct is wrong. It's the ambiguous one.

The trick for me is to take my own advice. I'm still stuck w/ my old ways, but once I remember "yep, this answer is ambiguous and I see a condescending CARS exam writer putting this here", I choose it. And low and behold, it's the right answer.

I hate CARS w/ a passion.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

For CARS, although this may seem counterintuitive, just do the opposite of what you're doing now. Not only are the passages about 25% longer on the real deal, but the passages are dense and the questions are not straight forward at all. In this situation, testers see they are running out of time, panic and choose the answer that makes the most sense. 85% of the time, the answer that sounds good to your gut is exactly what they wanted you to pick and wrong. Think about it this way: the AAMC wants to weed out anyone who doesn't have ridiculously heightened critical reasoning skills. This isn't an SAT test of "here is the info, now what answers the question?" The people who score 132s, form what I've seen, have all learned this "trick" of choosing the ambiguous--technically not wrong answer--that they have NO idea why it is the answer. If it is ambiguous and not technically wrong, this is the answer. Even the answer you feel is 100% correct is wrong. It's the ambiguous one.

The trick for me is to take my own advice. I'm still stuck w/ my old ways, but once I remember "yep, this answer is ambiguous and I see a condescending CARS exam writer putting this here", I choose it. And low and behold, it's the right answer.

I hate CARS w/ a passion.

Are you sure the CARS on the real deal is longer? The practice AAMC tests are past "real deals" too... I'm not sure the passages on the exam will be longer than those on the practice. I totally agree with your advice on answer choices, but there are indeed also straight forward questions that ask for information that can be found in the passage. :/

 

[Thecomposer]

Are you sure the CARS on the real deal is longer? The practice AAMC tests are past "real deals" too... I'm not sure the passages on the exam will be longer than those on the practice. I totally agree with your advice on answer choices, but there are indeed also straight forward questions that ask for information that can be found in the passage. :/

Everyone will tell you it is longer and more dense. There is a reason for this. The AAMC knows that people are well prepared for this exam. They know that they have reviewed the AAMC materials backwards and forwards. The issue is, you have 3000 people taking a test and need to spread out the deviation to 15 values (118-132). By making the test very difficult, it serves US better. If the real MCAT was easy, with that many prepared test takers taking it, a 125 would be a 45/59. The real deal is HARD. It is going to give you Section Bank level questions not only in the sciences, but CARS too. Actually, CARS will probably have 4 passages that are convoluted and hard to answer. Many will find themselves going from 10min left on FLs to guessing on the entire last passage w/ 1 min left. You will find many on reddit that are devastated after getting a 124 on the real MCAT, 3 days after getting a 129 on FL1 CARS. The difficulty serves us better, because a 127 equates to a 45/59.

It is common knowledge that 1) MCATs are becoming more section bank like (if not exactly like SB). and 2) Real MCAT is HARDER than FLs, but if you are well prepared, many find themselves to do a little better (due to the scale curve).

In regards to straight forward choices, I would be very careful on the real exam. Take any straight forward choice w/ EXTREME caution.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Everyone will tell you it is longer and more dense. There is a reason for this. The AAMC knows that people are well prepared for this exam. They know that they have reviewed the AAMC materials backwards and forwards. The issue is, you have 3000 people taking a test and need to spread out the deviation to 15 values (118-132). By making the test very difficult, it serves US better. If the real MCAT was easy, with that many prepared test takers taking it, a 125 would be a 45/59. The real deal is HARD. It is going to give you Section Bank level questions not only in the sciences, but CARS too. Actually, CARS will probably have 4 passages that are convoluted and hard to answer. Many will find themselves going from 10min left on FLs to guessing on the entire last passage w/ 1 min left. You will find many on reddit that are devastated after getting a 124 on the real MCAT, 3 days after getting a 129 on FL1 CARS. The difficulty serves us better, because a 127 equates to a 45/59.

It is common knowledge that 1) MCATs are becoming more section bank like (if not exactly like SB). and 2) Real MCAT is HARDER than FLs, but if you are well prepared, many find themselves to do a little better (due to the scale curve).

In regards to straight forward choices, I would be very careful on the real exam. Take any straight forward choice w/ EXTREME caution.

Funny you mention that. I found FL3 to be extremely hard because I thought it was mostly ochem based. Tanked on that FL. On the contrary, I found the real C/P section easy but ended up with a 127 so yes, EXTREME caution is necessary.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Everyone will tell you it is longer and more dense. There is a reason for this. The AAMC knows that people are well prepared for this exam. They know that they have reviewed the AAMC materials backwards and forwards. The issue is, you have 3000 people taking a test and need to spread out the deviation to 15 values (118-132). By making the test very difficult, it serves US better. If the real MCAT was easy, with that many prepared test takers taking it, a 125 would be a 45/59. The real deal is HARD. It is going to give you Section Bank level questions not only in the sciences, but CARS too. Actually, CARS will probably have 4 passages that are convoluted and hard to answer. Many will find themselves going from 10min left on FLs to guessing on the entire last passage w/ 1 min left. You will find many on reddit that are devastated after getting a 124 on the real MCAT, 3 days after getting a 129 on FL1 CARS. The difficulty serves us better, because a 127 equates to a 45/59.

It is common knowledge that 1) MCATs are becoming more section bank like (if not exactly like SB). and 2) Real MCAT is HARDER than FLs, but if you are well prepared, many find themselves to do a little better (due to the scale curve).

In regards to straight forward choices, I would be very careful on the real exam. Take any straight forward choice w/ EXTREME caution.

Yeah, that's exactly my point. This makes it even more difficult to discern because it makes you doubt answer choices that seem correct...you either go back and change it to the wrong answer because it seems 'too easy' or you leave it as is and find out you fell for it.

As far as the trend for the the MCAT in general goes (more like SB or not)...I have no clue.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Funny you mention that. I found FL3 to be extremely hard because I thought it was mostly ochem based. Tanked on that FL. On the contrary, I found the real C/P section easy but ended up with a 127 so yes, EXTREME caution is necessary.

@Ixacex how did you end up doing?

 

[westsidestoryz]

@Ixacex how did you end up doing?

Fl 1: 508
Fl 2: 508
Fl 3: 503 (!)
Real: 510

Funny thing is, C/P was a breeze for me and B/B was tough, but B/B ended up being my highest score and C/P my second lowest...so with the MCAT, you never can know for sure. Just go in with confidence and celebrate hard after.

And for your CARs concern, it is def way longer but at the same time, most were easy reads. Like others have said, there will be 2-3 passages where you just go "wth did I just read". If you feel that way, most likely others will too.

 

[Cheerfulcheeto]

Fl 1: 508
Fl 2: 508
Fl 3: 503 (!)
Real: 510

Funny thing is, C/P was a breeze for me and B/B was tough, but B/B ended up being my highest score and C/P my second lowest...so with the MCAT, you never can know for sure. Just go in with confidence and celebrate hard after.

And for your CARs concern, it is def way longer but at the same time, most were easy reads. Like others have said, there will be 2-3 passages where you just go "wth did I just read". If you feel that way, most likely others will too.

Nice!

Thanks for your advice I think what causes me to freak out the most is that I know my strengths and weaknesses and there is only so much time you can devote to mastering this huge amount of material. If I'm lucky, the test will cater to most of my strengths (which still doesn't mean I'll get all my answers right) and if I'm unlucky, the MCAT will include q's that cater mostly to my weaknesses. I'll pray that the MCAT gods will be kind on that day.

 

[mariposas905]

Just finished FL 3 and did not do well I think neglecting metabolism and organic has been a huge mistake. And yes, my other AAMC FLs were inflated. Now I don't know what step to take next, because my exam is in two weeks, and my score is probably going to be based on luck at this point. Meaning if I get an organic or biochemistry heavy test, I am screwed. This is a retake for me and I cannot afford to go take the exam and hope that it caters to my strengths. I can't even void it if it is orgo heavy, I have to score. My timing was also drastically messed up in C/P, and about 4 questions I got right were complete lucky guesses. That means my C/P score is likely lower...

Should I postpone to July 20th instead and hardcore study C/P and B/B? That would give me time to go through all of Uworld and do more practice tests. If I still score average (510+) instead of spectacular (515+) in July, would I have a MD chance that late? AMCAS and everything is almost verified, and I'd prewrite secondaries. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[westsidestoryz]

Just finished FL 3 and did not do well I think neglecting metabolism and organic has been a huge mistake. And yes, my other AAMC FLs were inflated. Now I don't know what step to take next, because my exam is in two weeks, and my score is probably going to be based on luck at this point. Meaning if I get an organic or biochemistry heavy test, I am screwed. This is a retake for me and I cannot afford to go take the exam and hope that it caters to my strengths. I can't even void it if it is orgo heavy, I have to score. My timing was also drastically messed up in C/P, and about 4 questions I got right were complete lucky guesses. That means my C/P score is likely lower...

Should I postpone to July 20th instead and hardcore study C/P and B/B? That would give me time to go through all of Uworld and do more practice tests. If I still score average (510+) in July, would I still have an MD chance that late? AMCAS and everything is almost verified, and I'd prewrite secondaries. I'm not sure what to do.

What did you score? At this point, you should delay. A third retake would not bold well. And you shouldnt go in the exam hoping for Lady Luck to appear.
You have a solid plan in place. Just have all your app ready and focus solely on the MCAT, not prewriting secondaries.

 

[duckdoc20]

Just finished FL 3 and did not do well I think neglecting metabolism and organic has been a huge mistake. And yes, my other AAMC FLs were inflated. Now I don't know what step to take next, because my exam is in two weeks, and my score is probably going to be based on luck at this point. Meaning if I get an organic or biochemistry heavy test, I am screwed. This is a retake for me and I cannot afford to go take the exam and hope that it caters to my strengths. I can't even void it if it is orgo heavy, I have to score. My timing was also drastically messed up in C/P, and about 4 questions I got right were complete lucky guesses. That means my C/P score is likely lower...

Should I postpone to July 20th instead and hardcore study C/P and B/B? That would give me time to go through all of Uworld and do more practice tests. If I still score average (510+) instead of spectacular (515+) in July, would I have a MD chance that late? AMCAS and everything is almost verified, and I'd prewrite secondaries. I'm not sure what to do.

50% of all interview invites are give after September 1st, as long as your application is in by that date you are doing yourself no harm

 

[mariposas905]

What did you score? At this point, you should delay. A third retake would not bold well. And you shouldnt go in the exam hoping for Lady Luck to appear.
You have a solid plan in place. Just have all your app ready and focus solely on the MCAT, not prewriting secondaries.

510 - 125 C/P, 128 CARS, 127 B/B, 130 P/S

It's not the overall score that I'm worried about as much as that C/P score. Considering my 4-5 absolute lucky guesses, that C/P score might really be a 123-124 on test day. That shows me that a) I can't really do calculations under pressure yet, b) I don't know any organic and guess on these questions, c) I don't know my metabolism. If test day presents no organic or heavy biochem, I'm golden but what if it doesn't??

I scored a similar FL range last cycle and on real test day, I was anxious because I didn't know my stuff well and organic scared me. My score went down 7 points and I could not apply at all. This year, I'm terrified something similar will happen. I don't want to take it a third time and I want to have the average stats to at least be in a position to apply

 

[westsidestoryz]

510 - 125 C/P, 128 CARS, 127 B/B, 130 P/S

It's not the overall score that I'm worried about as much as that C/P score. Considering my 4-5 absolute lucky guesses, that C/P score might really be a 123-124 on test day. That shows me that a) I can't really do calculations under pressure yet, b) I don't know any organic and guess on these questions, c) I don't know my metabolism. If test day presents no organic or heavy biochem, I'm golden but what if it doesn't??

I scored a similar FL range last cycle and on real test day, I was anxious because I didn't know my stuff well and organic scared me. My score went down 7 points and I could not apply at all. This year, I'm terrified something similar will happen. I don't want to take it a third time and I want to have the average stats to at least be in a position to apply

If the 510 was evenly distributed, that would be no problem....
If I were in your shoes, I wouldnt risk making the same mistake twice. Maybe get a tutor to help you? Youtube has really good tutorials on MCAT style ochem questions.

 

[mariposas905]

If the 510 was evenly distributed, that would be no problem....
If I were in your shoes, I wouldnt risk making the same mistake twice. Maybe get a tutor to help you? Youtube has really good tutorials on MCAT style ochem questions.

I'm so mad at myself. I was forced to take a gap year last cycle solely because of this stupid test. And a whole year later, I'm unable to perform. It's not like I didn't study, I put in the hours, I know most of my content (well except organic and metabolism), I did 8-10 practice tests. Why can't I reach the 515 range?

My goal score is a 513, but I guess I'd still be at a disadvantage if I took it this month and scored something like 125, 130, 126, 130 right? And my CARS score last time was a 123, this FL3 CARS was easier (plus I had already done two of the passages from FL 3 because they were repeated in the Q-pack). I guess it is wishful thinking that CARS will magically become 130 on test day.

 

[westsidestoryz]

I'm so mad at myself. I was forced to take a gap year last cycle solely because of this stupid test. And a whole year later, I'm unable to perform. It's not like I didn't study, I put in the hours, I know most of my content (well except organic and metabolism), I did 8-10 practice tests. Why can't I reach the 515 range?

My goal score is a 513, but I guess I'd still be at a disadvantage if I took it this month and scored something like 125, 130, 126, 130 right? And my CARS score last time was a 123, this FL3 CARS was easier (plus I had already done two of the passages from FL 3 because they were repeated in the Q-pack). I guess it is wishful thinking that CARS will magically become 130 on test day.

I feel like you should delay it. You seem like an ambitious guy/gal and can figure it out with a little more time. A little delay shouldnt hurt the long journey to become a doc!

 

[Thecomposer]

510 - 125 C/P, 128 CARS, 127 B/B, 130 P/S

It's not the overall score that I'm worried about as much as that C/P score. Considering my 4-5 absolute lucky guesses, that C/P score might really be a 123-124 on test day. That shows me that a) I can't really do calculations under pressure yet, b) I don't know any organic and guess on these questions, c) I don't know my metabolism. If test day presents no organic or heavy biochem, I'm golden but what if it doesn't??

I scored a similar FL range last cycle and on real test day, I was anxious because I didn't know my stuff well and organic scared me. My score went down 7 points and I could not apply at all. This year, I'm terrified something similar will happen. I don't want to take it a third time and I want to have the average stats to at least be in a position to apply

First of all, C/P for FL3 is the hardest for all the FLs. Second, I studied all of content in 2 weeks (do not recommend), but 3-4 days should be more than enough to learn metabolism and organic fundamentals backwards and forwards. Third, worst case scenario, it does not hurt to go to the exam having prepared the best you could and then voiding if you find yourself bombing on C/P or another section. Either way, if you wanna take it again, you should be studying hardcore. I think June 29th, is WAY more than enough time to cover your gaps. I wish I had 2 more weeks.

Also, I haven't taken FL3 yet. Can anyone explain to me what it means for a section to be "ochem heavy"? Does this mean that they want you to remember complex reactants/reagents, such as Claisen rearrangement, etc? Or what?

 

[westsidestoryz]

First of all, C/P for FL3 is the hardest for all the FLs. Second, I studied all of content in 2 weeks (do not recommend), but 3-4 days should be more than enough to learn metabolism and organic fundamentals backwards and forwards. Third, worst case scenario, it does not hurt to go to the exam having prepared the best you could and then voiding if you find yourself bombing on C/P or another section. Either way, if you wanna take it again, you should be studying hardcore. I think June 29th, is WAY more than enough time to cover your gaps. I wish I had 2 more weeks.

Also, I haven't taken FL3 yet. Can anyone explain to me what it means for a section to be "ochem heavy"? Does this mean that they want you to remember complex reactants/reagents, such as Claisen rearrangement, etc? Or what?

wait, how do you know FL3 C/P is the hardest if you havent taken it yet?