The Official November 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

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Hey all! I am signed up for this date. 8:00 a.m. Yikes!!! I am aiming hard to make 40+ my reality so hence me making this thread so early. A former lab- mate and current medical student had a ton of MCAT prep stuff she gave to me. So I have the Examcrackers set, Hyperlearning set, regular Princeton Review, audio osmosis, and practice MCAT tests from a variety of sources I also do the MCAT questions a day through email and on my phone (to help with super quick recall). I am officially studying legitimately now. Currently starting with Examcrackers. I'd love to hear from you all doing the same. Let's do this!!!
 
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So I have realized that with school piling up, I am just going to take an AAMC and see how it goes. I have not done practice questions from gen chem, organic or physics. I feel like I am so screwed.
 
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Perry6 said:
So I have realized that with school piling up, I am just going to take an AAMC and see how it goes. I have not done practice questions from gen chem, organic or physics. I feel like I am so screwed.
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If its the AAMC 3 then I think its a good idea because it will show you the areas where you really need to focus on. I am rooting for you to take the Nov7!! Do not already think about being screwed, we have over one month left. However, if as we get closer and you still feel like that then postpone. No need to think about that right now though. Just keep going at it.
 
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Is anyone else kind of bummed out we won't be getting a trial section/amazon gift card?? That was the only think I was looking forward to on test day 🙁
 
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texan2414 said:
Why won't we be getting the trial section?
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September peeps were the last to get it. Maybe they have enough data by then, or by that time the new mcat is pretty much finalized so there is no need for further trials, or maybe the Oct,Nov, Jan takers would be the most likely to retake the new mcat so they do not want to give unfair advantage.

Idk those are just my theories lol.
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/reserving/355164/scorereleaseschedule.html
 
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For those that are using the Sn2 schedule do you take notes on separate paper or do you write notes on the Berkley Review book. I have been writing on separate pages of paper and it has led to excessive notes. I do so because I do not understand how we will be able to retain all the information needed if we do not take notes.
 
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an aspiring doctor said:
For those that are using the Sn2 schedule do you take notes on separate paper or do you write notes on the Berkley Review book. I have been writing on separate pages of paper and it has led to excessive notes. I do so because I do not understand how we will be able to retain all the information needed if we do not take notes.
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I had never been the biggest note taker. Anything BR stresses, I re-write it right on the book and maybe add a little something that I think. Aside from that, I use Anki flashcards for key equations and important concepts. Don't really have a notebook.
 
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lazyindy said:
I wish I had the time to seriously bulk up. This test is consuming my life at the moment. I'm only halfway done with content review and its already late september
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I'm actually bulking up now for 3 shows next year lol. Brb juggling MCAT prep, work on weekends, and meal prep/with training.
 
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i have family coming over from germany in 2 weeks. I'm contemplating pulling all nighters at this point to finish up content review
 
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lazyindy said:
i have family coming over from germany in 2 weeks. I'm contemplating pulling all nighters at this point to finish up content review
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Better get that content review done... I had family over for like a month at my house and the MCAT took a super back seat ...for that month because I literally felt bad for not spending time with them and showing em around. It sucked... I got super ass behind in my Kaplan course and it was a nightmare to catch up, A NIGHTMARE. Just warning you...don't wanna scare you but don't make my mistake. 🙁
 
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nystin said:
Better get that content review done... I had family over for like a month at my house and the MCAT took a super back seat ...for that month because I literally felt bad for not spending time with them and showing em around. It sucked... I got super ass behind in my Kaplan course and it was a nightmare to catch up, A NIGHTMARE. Just warning you...don't wanna scare you but don't make my mistake. 🙁
Click to expand...

thanks 🙂 and yeah a few all nighters will be nothing because I have an extreme drive to get a high score. Plus I know how to handle them well 😛
 
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Hello my November 7th friends!
I have decided that I am going to take an AAMC FL tomorrow and see how I do...
If I score >25 (without the content review or practice questions) then I will not reschedule. If I score < 25, I will reschedule to a January date.
I only say 25 because if I score that well with zero content review (unlikely but one must be hopeful during this process!!) I can only get better with practice questions 🙂 School has just become a much larger commitment than I imagined this semester... November has definitely crept up on me :grumpy:
How is the studying going for everyone else?
 
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Hey All
I am currently signed up for the 7th of Nov. exam (tho I'm considering pushing back) and I'm looking for a study partner.
I will be using kaplan, AAMC, ek 101, and/or tbr review materials (ugh not even sure which primary one to stick with-- kaplan or tbr??).
I have Taken the test once before so i'm somewhat familiar with overall material. I'm Looking for an online/Skype partner (preferably in the east coast time zone) so we can keep each other accountable and review material and questions together.
My strengths are verbal and bio, weaknesses are Orgo and physics 🙁
Please PM if anyone is interested.
 
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Everyone is seeming to be pushing back :/ all I know is that this test is it. I have to take it on this date.

On another note, any of you feel like all your days just merge together due to this exam? It's like passages after passages, review, post-analysis, repeat. Every day (somedays are different, but it's always the same thing) with that test always preoccupying the mind.

6 weeks out from this Friday, we got this we all just need to keep chugging and support each other! We are all going to make it.
 
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Hoping for a 25+on your FL today @Perry6

@lazyindy Yeah best of luck dealing with family members. I was supposed to start studying in July but had to take the whole month off cause grandma and aunt came from Mexico. It was definitely frustrating but they are fam so what can we do :yeahright:

Honestly 6 weeks sounds like a relief. I keep telling my self I have a month left cause I round the days lol. Just gotta keep going at this guys! Finishing last chapter of BR physics today, last chapter of BR Gchem tomorrow, last chapter of BR ochem friday. Then I really need to review my bio sections.


On an unrelated note I took half the day of yesterday to go on a date :shy: I think it went well for those wondering lol. Felt nice to take a break but my mind was constantly relating stuff I see to mcat physics :vomit:
 
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Carbon090 said:
Everyone is seeming to be pushing back :/ all I know is that this test is it. I have to take it on this date.

On another note, any of you feel like all your days just merge together due to this exam? It's like passages after passages, review, post-analysis, repeat. Every day (somedays are different, but it's always the same thing) with that test always preoccupying the mind.

6 weeks out from this Friday, we got this we all just need to keep chugging and support each other! We are all going to make it.
Click to expand...
It feels so tough to keep chugging. I feel I've been on this grind for so long that for a while now, I'm just like: I don't want to do this anymore. But I gotta do some soul searching and let that provide the drive I need to get through what needs to be done.

Gotta recharge with faith, determination, focus, and motivation!
 
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Do any of you watch Chad videos? How do you structure it into your studying?
Like do you set out to watch a set amount of videos each day, do you use it to only focus on the topics you're weak on?
 
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j9260 said:
Do any of you watch Chad videos? How do you structure it into your studying?
Like do you set out to watch a set amount of videos each day, do you use it to only focus on the topics you're weak on?
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Yeah after we talked about the videos a little while ago I started watching them for the current chapter I was on. And now I absolutely love them. Whenever I am reading my BR book and have no idea whats going on, I just tell my self "dont worry Chad will probably go over this" and after I am done with the reading I watch Chad do this thing and sure enough he does. Then I either go back and re-read the section I could not figure out or just go straight to complete practice problems. I have also been implementing Khan Academy and Crash course. Videos are awesome I highly recommend them.

Now I wish I would have done this from the beginning. I usually try to watch Chads videos from earlier chapters after I am done with my current stuff in order to catch up with the videos.
 
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Perry6 said:
Hello my November 7th friends!
I have decided that I am going to take an AAMC FL tomorrow and see how I do...
If I score >25 (without the content review or practice questions) then I will not reschedule. If I score < 25, I will reschedule to a January date.
I only say 25 because if I score that well with zero content review (unlikely but one must be hopeful during this process!!) I can only get better with practice questions 🙂 School has just become a much larger commitment than I imagined this semester... November has definitely crept up on me :grumpy:
How is the studying going for everyone else?
Click to expand...

I support your choice to take the FL and see where you are at.
Btw you may not even have to reschedule for January date- A lot of people fall into the trap of spending too much time on content (Yes I know I have also felt that if I only spend extra time on Fluids or standing waves or something...) But this feeling is fleeting. What people should do is take self assessments or FLs to DIAGNOSE where your weaknesses are and then work backwards to content.

I've been doing practice from self-assessments and honestly they are really straightforward. You might be surprised to see that "content" is actually given to you in the paragraph itself. Sometimes you would need primary and secondary equation rearranging to get the answer but its totally doable.

All the best with your studies.
 
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So, how is everyone doing practice test score-wise from when they first started?
Do you feel the benefits of your studies yet?
 
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j9260 said:
So, how is everyone doing practice test score-wise from when they first started?
Do you feel the benefits of your studies yet?
Click to expand...
Haven't taken a practice test yet. Although I have done lots (AND LOTS) of practice passages.
I will start taking FLs hopefully next weekend - trying to get TBR PS books done by then.
 
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texan2414 said:
I support your choice to take the FL and see where you are at.
Btw you may not even have to reschedule for January date- A lot of people fall into the trap of spending too much time on content (Yes I know I have also felt that if I only spend extra time on Fluids or standing waves or something...) But this feeling is fleeting. What people should do is take self assessments or FLs to DIAGNOSE where your weaknesses are and then work backwards to content.

I've been doing practice from self-assessments and honestly they are really straightforward. You might be surprised to see that "content" is actually given to you in the paragraph itself. Sometimes you would need primary and secondary equation rearranging to get the answer but its totally doable.

All the best with your studies.
Click to expand...

This is EXACTLY what I do. By doing passages I can center down on what I need to work on. I spent about a month going over physics and chem (started in July) and then 2 weeks on bio (biochemistry major so I knew the majority, besides the physiology aspect). Then I just did passages, post analysis, and reviewed the content I was lacking based on questions that were pertaining to the passages.

j9260 said:
So, how is everyone doing practice test score-wise from when they first started?
Do you feel the benefits of your studies yet?
Click to expand...

After finishing the majority of content review (still had some bio left to go over) I took AAMC #3 and scored a 29. A week later (with a terrible mindset, car issues, and stress) I got a 24 :[, retook it a few days later and got a much better score.

Right now I'd be happy with a 30, shooting for a 35. Verbal was a 10 on AAMC 3 and a 9 on AAMC 4 so not quite sure how I'm doing as of yet with that. My scores for TPR Verbal are usually around 70 percent (Trying to get it up to 75-80 percent, if only :/). Taking AAMC #5 Saturday morning at 8 so that will be the determining factor on where I stand as of now.
 
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Hi guys, I am in real need for some serious advice. I started studying for my MCAT during the summer this year. It was scheduled for writing it on the 6th of September but then by August I realized I wasn't doing great in Verbal and needed some serious practice to increase my scores. So I decided to buy myself some more time and re-scheduled it for November. Then, I basically took a few days off studying and then school was about to start so I got caught up with school work, research and other extra curricular activities. I have been taking only four courses this semester to make time to study for my MCAT and my courses are not too hard. I do have time to study during the week but I feel like I have been neglecting my courses a bit and am not caught up with my lecture material. I started studying again this week and I basically have about 5 weeks until the test day. I don't know how my Verbal scores are at the moment and I also realized that I forgot most things I learnt, so need to spend a week reviewing everything again. 🙁 I don't know if it would be better for me to write it in January so I have more time to space everything out and be confident in all the sections or if I should just try my best and write it in November and re-write in January if needed.

However, the my concern with writing it in November is that I might not be very well prepared and I might do bad on my midterms by focusing more on MCAT. Marks are equally as important too. Moreover, sometimes you might end up with a low score in one of the sections and good score on the others and when you re-write, you might not do as well on the sections you did well the first time. I don't want that to happen either. I honestly don't know what to do at the moment. On the other hand, if I write it in January, I will basically not be able to give myself another chance to write the old MCAT, in case I screw up, but I think I will definitely be more confident by then. Having said that, I did buy myself some time to study when I re-scheduled my test to November but I think I was just burnt out, so didn't bother to study until this week. 🙁 So I don't know if buying myself some time is really what I need. What should I do, guys? Should I just do as much preparation as I can and write the November MCAT and see what happens or should I be more confident in my skills and abilities and write the Jan MCAT? I really want to avoid writing the new one as much as possible. Please give me some advice. I would be tremendously grateful. If someone is in a similar situation, please do share some of your thoughts.

Thanks. <3
 
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thespectrum said:
Hi guys, I am in real need for some serious advice. I started studying for my MCAT during the summer this year. It was scheduled for writing it on the 6th of September but then by August I realized I wasn't doing great in Verbal and needed some serious practice to increase my scores. So I decided to buy myself some more time and re-scheduled it for November. Then, I basically took a few days off studying and then school was about to start so I got caught up with school work, research and other extra curricular activities. I have been taking only four courses this semester to make time to study for my MCAT and my courses are not too hard. I do have time to study during the week but I feel like I have been neglecting my courses a bit and am not caught up with my lecture material. I started studying again this week and I basically have about 5 weeks until the test day. I don't know how my Verbal scores are at the moment and I also realized that I forgot most things I learnt, so need to spend a week reviewing everything again. 🙁 I don't know if it would be better for me to write it in January so I have more time to space everything out and be confident in all the sections or if I should just try my best and write it in November and re-write in January if needed.

However, the my concern with writing it in November is that I might not be very well prepared and I might do bad on my midterms by focusing more on MCAT. Marks are equally as important too. Moreover, sometimes you might end up with a low score in one of the sections and good score on the others and when you re-write, you might not do as well on the sections you did well the first time. I don't want that to happen either. I honestly don't know what to do at the moment. On the other hand, if I write it in January, I will basically not be able to give myself another chance to write the old MCAT, in case I screw up, but I think I will definitely be more confident by then. Having said that, I did buy myself some time to study when I re-scheduled my test to November but I think I was just burnt out, so didn't bother to study until this week. 🙁 So I don't know if buying myself some time is really what I need. What should I do, guys? Should I just do as much preparation as I can and write the November MCAT and see what happens or should I be more confident in my skills and abilities and write the Jan MCAT? I really want to avoid writing the new one as much as possible. Please give me some advice. I would be tremendously grateful. If someone is in a similar situation, please do share some of your thoughts.

Thanks. <3
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Tough situation. I don't know how far you are in school but my last year the difference between A to B had on my GPA was not the greatest because of all the units I had by that time. Overall, that GPA difference will not make that big of impact on your application. However, the couple points difference on the MCAT (say 28 to 31 )makes a HUGE difference on your application. I think now you need to prioritize MCAT over school and maximize all your possibilities of doing well which means writing it in November in order to have January if needed. You said the classes you are taking are not too difficult. You need to find the balance between mcat and school where you give mcat the maximum time possible and school the minimum (i.e. 80%-20% ) You already ahead of the game. Just review and step it up in October. This is just my opinion.

Only you know yourself best! May the roads be clear up for you to take the right path.
 
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I just wanted to thank all of you all on here for the advice and support, it helps knowing you have a good team behind you 🙂
I am about to take my first FL, and I will update to let you guys/gals know how it goes!!
😍
Just kidding, I am in the process of buying an AAMC exam (#4) because TPR website is awful.

Update, and a crappy one at that. I got a 14. I have yet to take physics 2, organic 2, and I am not even half way through organic 1. I left questions that I did not know blank in an effort to not artificially inflate my score. (12 questions for PS, 9 questions for BS and 4 questions for VR)
my break down was BS6, PS3, VR5
😢😢😢😢😢😢
 
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Perry6 said:
I just wanted to thank all of you all on here for the advice and support, it helps knowing you have a good team behind you 🙂
I am about to take my first FL, and I will update to let you guys/gals know how it goes!!
😍
Just kidding, I am in the process of buying an AAMC exam (#4) because TPR website is awful.

Update, and a crappy one at that. I got a 14. I have yet to take physics 2, organic 2, and I am not even half way through organic 1. I left questions that I did not know blank in an effort to not artificially inflate my score. (12 questions for PS, 9 questions for BS and 4 questions for VR)
my break down was BS6, PS3, VR5
😢😢😢😢😢😢
Click to expand...


Perry6, is there anyway to put off taking exam until you've finished the appropriate courses?
If possible, I would put off until you either take the courses or are more familiar with the material to score better than 14 only 5 weeks out. If you have to leave questions blank in practice, it's likely to happen on the real exam as well :\
I learned a similar lesson the hard way.. just trying to pass on the small bit of wisdom I have from having to study for a retake now… 🙁
 
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stayingpositive2014 said:
Perry6, is there anyway to put off taking exam until you've finished the appropriate courses?
If possible, I would put off until you either take the courses or are more familiar with the material to score better than 14 only 5 weeks out. If you have to leave questions blank in practice, it's likely to happen on the real exam as well :\
I learned a similar lesson the hard way.. just trying to pass on the small bit of wisdom I have from having to study for a retake now… 🙁
Click to expand...
I appreciate the advice 🙂
I think I am going to have to push it back to January or even the new exam since I wont have some of those classes for a year. By January I will be done with organic 1 and I will also have had time to go through all of the EK books for content review.
 
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that sounds like a good plan. don't be discouraged! you can do this! we all can. Bumps in the road will only force us to take a bit more time before we have our dream jobs! And even then, that time can be well spent, learning more about ourselves...
 
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Perry6 said:
I just wanted to thank all of you all on here for the advice and support, it helps knowing you have a good team behind you 🙂
I am about to take my first FL, and I will update to let you guys/gals know how it goes!!
😍
Just kidding, I am in the process of buying an AAMC exam (#4) because TPR website is awful.

Update, and a crappy one at that. I got a 14. I have yet to take physics 2, organic 2, and I am not even half way through organic 1. I left questions that I did not know blank in an effort to not artificially inflate my score. (12 questions for PS, 9 questions for BS and 4 questions for VR)
my break down was BS6, PS3, VR5
😢😢😢😢😢😢[/
QUOTE]
Did you take an AAMC exam or TPR? it actually makes a big difference because TPR has a harsher curve and harder exams! I scored an 18 on a recent TPR exam but score nearly 9 points higher on AAMC!
Click to expand...
 
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Perry6 said:
I appreciate the advice 🙂
I think I am going to have to push it back to January or even the new exam since I wont have some of those classes for a year. By January I will be done with organic 1 and I will also have had time to go through all of the EK books for content review.
Click to expand...
Buy TBR books it has enough content to teach you everything from scratch... I know people who havent taken any science classes for 10 years and used that book and rethought themselves everything.
 
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Perry6 said:
I actually took AAMC 4 🙁
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If you do decide to push it back to January, I would take @poop420 advice. TBR books are fantastic. I can't speak for the bio, organic, or verbal (Never got them), but in terms of the physical sciences; they do a fantastic job in helping out with concepts and such. They are also loaded with practice passages, which are absolutely essential in doing well.

Don't let your practice score get to you though, you still have time to absolutely rock this exam. I'm sure you'll pull through 🙂
 
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Also, is there anyone present here that are taking the AAMC Self-Assesments? I was wondering if they were absolutely worth the investment? I'm tempted to purchase them. Thing is I'm slightly pressured in terms of money.

Would it be better to spend the money on 3 extra Berkley Review Practice Tests? Or AAMC self assessments?
 
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Carbon090 said:
Also, is there anyone present here that are taking the AAMC Self-Assesments? I was wondering if they were absolutely worth the investment? I'm tempted to purchase them. Thing is I'm slightly pressured in terms of money.

Would it be better to spend the money on 3 extra Berkley Review Practice Tests? Or AAMC self assessments?
Click to expand...
There is nothing better than material from the people who make the exam .. Especially for verbal !
 
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Carbon090 said:
Also, is there anyone present here that are taking the AAMC Self-Assesments? I was wondering if they were absolutely worth the investment? I'm tempted to purchase them. Thing is I'm slightly pressured in terms of money.

Would it be better to spend the money on 3 extra Berkley Review Practice Tests? Or AAMC self assessments?
Click to expand...
Yeah nothing better than aamc practice IMO. I am taking the SA's next week. Gonna try to do all ps one day, next day review it, next day all bio, next day review it. I am gonna cut the VR SA into three and do them on the two review days and the last 1/3 on a different day. After that its time to dive into FLs.
 
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Carbon090 said:
Awesome, @poop420 and @Janus_Kinase thanks for the responses! Will be cashing in my checks and investing. Do you guys recommend me doing these timed or should I just take my time?
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TIMED!!

Also I am finding self assessments to be ridiculously easy. I understand that they're from the retired AAMC tests that were out a decade ago?
I'm just using these to know how well I know content. The bio self-assessment is really easy compared to the bio on my MCAT last year.

Also, there are a ton of organic chem topics that are no longer tested but are in the self-assessments. Anyone else find that?
 
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texan2414 said:
TIMED!!

Also I am finding self assessments to be ridiculously easy. I understand that they're from the retired AAMC tests that were out a decade ago?
I'm just using these to know how well I know content. The bio self-assessment is really easy compared to the bio on my MCAT last year.

Also, there are a ton of organic chem topics that are no longer tested but are in the self-assessments. Anyone else find that?
Click to expand...

How does one time themselves on these? I have yet to to start them (going to in about an hour) should I just go through each test in one setting? Also, am I able to stop at any point, and then go back to them?

Thanks for the advice though!
 
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Carbon090 said:
How does one time themselves on these? I have yet to to start them (going to in about an hour) should I just go through each test in one setting? Also, am I able to stop at any point, and then go back to them?

Thanks for the advice though!
Click to expand...
So far I am using the "N+1" rule with N being the number of questions on a particular passage. Might be too restrictive for some passages but its still good timing. For verbal I use "N+2".
 
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Carbon090 said:
How does one time themselves on these? I have yet to to start them (going to in about an hour) should I just go through each test in one setting? Also, am I able to stop at any point, and then go back to them?

Thanks for the advice though!
Click to expand...
Keep me updated on how you did them!!
 
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I am going out of my way to NOT write on my TPRH verbal in order to sell it after. I thought the 2015 VR mcat would be the same but looks like they are changing. Do you guys think there is any point in keeping my TPRH fresh?
 
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Janus_Kinase said:
I am going out of my way to NOT write on my TPRH verbal in order to sell it after. I thought the 2015 VR mcat would be the same but looks like they are changing. Do you guys think there is any point in keeping my TPRH fresh?
Click to expand...
bro use the freaking book!!! get into med school and stop worrying about reselling it.
 
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