The official MCAT May 20th 2016

[sofpink]

Just wondering if anyone else will be taking the MCAT on May 20 2016. I would like some support, input, and help on your MCAT strategies I am only studying 2 hours a day for the MCAT, as I am taking a full load semester. Anyone else in this track?

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[TheStallion16]

Just got my first acceptance the other day! Good luck to all you other May 20thers!

 

[baratheonfire]

Just got my first acceptance the other day! Good luck to all you other May 20thers!

I still have no II's lol

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I still have no II's lol

Okay, seriously, do you have like no clinical experience? Do you have no volunteering? Do you have an IA?

I'm moderately tired of you parading around the forums telling newbies and anxious kids that they HAVE NO HOPE BECAUSE YOU GOT A 517 ON THE MCAT AND STILL HAVE NO II.

Not to be rude- but I think it's time we settle this once and for all as a "what are my chances" style debate.

 

[baratheonfire]

Okay, seriously, do you have like no clinical experience? Do you have no volunteering? Do you have an IA?

I'm moderately tired of you parading around the forums telling newbies and anxious kids that they HAVE NO HOPE BECAUSE YOU GOT A 517 ON THE MCAT AND STILL HAVE NO II.

Not to be rude- but I think it's time we settle this once and for all as a "what are my chances" style debate.

I got a 520, not a 517.
And I have a lot of clinical experience and volunteering. Most people say my EC's are strong. No IA's.
Here's my app
[removed]

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I got a 520, not a 517.
And I have a lot of clinical experience and volunteering. No IA's.
Here's my app
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/help-with-school-list.1225987/

So did you apply DO?

It's also still early in the interviewing season IMO. Did you have a premed committee letter? If so, your app might not have been actually complete until just recently.

Your GPA is awful, sorry. The high MCAT should have balanced you out to your state schools, but NY is hard state-school wise....and your ECs seem fairly standard.

Did your PS get good comments from editors? Was it generic and boring?

 

[baratheonfire]

So did you apply DO?

It's also still early in the interviewing season IMO. Did you have a premed committee letter? If so, your app might not have been actually complete until just recently.

Your GPA is awful, sorry. The high MCAT should have balanced you out to your state schools, but NY is hard state-school wise....and your ECs seem fairly standard.

Did your PS get good comments from editors? Was it generic and boring?

I'm applying DO. I have a committee letter.
But I can see that you're not willing to discuss this openly. You have this pre-supposition that my application is awful, that it just has to be horrific. You don't like me, so of course I have to be totally unlikeable. Diminishing my strengths and exaggerating my weaknesses (which I have acknowledged myself) does nothing but boost your own ego.
Am I a superstar? No. But most people do say that I have a very decent application, and I applied to 30+ schools, mostly low-mid tier.
I'm done with this site. Bye.
I'll leave the snarky comeback to you.

 

[_Nightlight_]

Hi MCAT buddies! Hope everything is going well. Hope to share in the glory of acceptance with you all soon!

 

[narla_hotep]

Yeah, hoping things will go well for everyone this cycle! I've had one interview so far and have one more lined up next month, but still haven't heard back from like 14 schools.

 

[Roayer]

5/20 buddies no II here but well I'll keep you all posted =)

 

[sunshinefl]

Hey 5/20 family! I have 1 DO interview scheduled, a couple of pre-interview holds/competitive pool, zero rejections, and lots of silence.

 

[BeMD13]

2 DO interviews (and acceptance at my top choice DO!) and OOS MD interview coming up! My score was really low and I'm not URM but I'm nontrad with lots of work experience.

 

[GotIronKnee]

521 (130 131 130 130). Still shaking, I'm not entirely sure how this happened.

Edit: I've stopped shaking now. Writing study habits.

First thing I did was take the 1st Kaplan test, absolutely cold. Got a 500.
Started reading the Kaplan books, wasn't really getting anywhere, so I signed up for my school's super-cheap $200 class. It sucked so bad. Ended up biting the bullet and signing up for the Kaplan class.

Best thing about the Kaplan class was the sheer number of PBQs. Do PBQs, then do some more, then take a break. Then do more PBQs. That's basically my study habits in a nutshell.

After finals were out in early May, I took a deep dive into my previous practice exams, and studied my weak content areas. My practice tests were kind of sporadic, but I'll list them below.

500 Kaplan FL1 (12/2015, cold)
515 AAMC Practice Scored (mid-Jan)
506 Kaplan HL Diagnostic (Feb, start of Kaplan class)
508 Kaplan FL2 (April)
511 Kaplan FL3 (May)
85% Chem/Phys of AAMC Sample Test (May)
517 AAMC Scored (section a day, May)

Holy smokes. I feel like I'm looking in a mirror. Exact same section scores and timing. Except my breakdown was Tests 1-5: 500 to 511, tests 6 and 7: 516, 517.

 

[narla_hotep]

Glad people are getting interviews When I last posted I was worried because most schools hadn't replied to me yet, but I've had 8 interviews this cycle so it's gotten a lot better.

 

[Perseverance06]

526. So so shocked. 132/130/132/132. Still in disbelief.

AAMC Scored Full Length: 521 (two weeks prior)
Kaplan Full Length: 513 (beginning of prep)

I took the MCAT three years ago, and it will just have expired by the time I apply. Old score was a 36. Been out of the sciences for two years since undergrad, so pretty pumped that the self-studying worked out.

awesome! What was your major? What were all the resources you used? Thanks!

 

[tjo422]

awesome! What was your major? What were all the resources you used? Thanks!

I was a Biology/Theology double major in under grad, getting a graduate degree in Theology.

I used Kaplan for review books, and I used those practice tests and the whole AAMC bundle for practice, plus EK Verbal practice book. I read through all the content review at least twice, and reviewed trouble areas more than that. The Kaplan Psych/Soc isn't great IMO, I ended up watching all of the videos in that section on Khan on double speed before the exam. I did a lot of practice passages on Khan too


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[WizzyWatkins]

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[Happy_Puppy5000]

WizzyWatkins:

What exactly is your handle? I am pretty sure you are a Representative of this VT site. What with this sheath promotion of the site? You are not sincerely asking for feedback on the site to decide whether to use it or not, you my friend is simply a spammer promoting this VT site. Please cease and desist. Thank you.

 

[WizzyWatkins]

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[_Nightlight_]

Did anyone use Varsity Tutors' free online resources (Such as the flashcards and diagnostic tests) if so, what did you guys think, are they worth spending time on?

No. It's almost certainly a waste of money. There are better and more proven resources out there. Use them.

 

[WizzyWatkins]

No. It's almost certainly a waste of money. There are better and more proven resources out there. Use them.

Thanks for the response. Have you personally tried their resources?

 

[narla_hotep]

A lot of these small tutor groups aren't very good in my opinion... They are very far removed from the actual AAMC guidelines of what's going to be on the test, and they are more like amateur study groups or peer tutor groups. Which might be good if you're intimidated by "official" organizations or turned away by the high cost... But in terms of content, I'd go with something big like Kaplan that has relatively realistic practice tests and teaches good test-taking strategies.

... or that might just be my opinion because I took a Kaplan class myself and scored highly, plus I've heard a lot of negative feedback about some of these smaller organizations from other students at my school who got tutoring from them.

 

[WizzyWatkins]

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[Eleithyia]

Glad to see last cycle resulted in some good news for some of y'all! Anyone else from this test date applying in the 2017-2018 cycle?

 

[Lost In Transcription]

*thread alert*

*triggered*