The Official November 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

[M.D.orbust]

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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[lazyindy]

Hey guys sorry I been MIA for a bit--I got the freaking flu!!🙁 FML. So today I finally took AAMC #4 (my first aamc) and got a not so hot 10 ps/9 vr (would've been a freaking 10 if I got one more ? correct) and a 9 on BS (orgo punished me) for a composite 28 I will review it tomorrow and then am gonna start hamming tons of passages. My goal is to get a 31 on the real thing, and we still have 4 weeks so I think I can get there (hopefully). Its just been tough for me cause I am doing an internship this semester in an ortho lab and it is 9-10 hours 5 days a week. Starting to think I would've just been better off taking classes--would've had more time to study for mcat I feel then what I am doing now. But I won't let this defeat me, and again I am not shooting for the stars on this thing like some of you 😎 My dream/target schools are temple and thomas jeff. I love philly and dad lives there. With my 3.9 gpa I think 31 will give me a solid shoot at those schools. Hope everyone is going well for you guys And don't get sick like me 😡 lol

and @lazyindy those TBR scores are insanity! INSANITY. You should be shooting for 37+ with those scores. Damnnn great job👍

Don't worry about it at all. You needed some breaks here and there in the midst of your studying and its always relaxing snuggling up in a bed and doing nothing all day haha 😛 (except for the stuffy nose/irritated throat). Jokes aside, with a stellar GPA like yours I don't see how you won't break the 32 mark atleast so just have confidence!

I on the other hand have a GPA considerably lower than yours which is why I'm giving it my all for this exam.

 

[baxt1412]

i just took the biology self assessment and got 66%.


*sigh* another underdog score if I take 66% of 52 and use the table on the previous page :\

 

[deleted388502]

Congrats on that amazing score on AAMC 8!!!!
Don't think you got lucky lol - you wouldn't be saying the same if you hadn't known content. But yeah I do agree that the topics you see on the MCAT is a matter of luck of the draw lol.
I precisely went to section tests for assessing if I have glaring content gaps. I will do the requisite topicals to address those issues.

Try to do as many Kaplan ones you can. You may also try out the new 2015 Practice MCAT - I'm assuming the PS and VR sections would be similar and BS also to a certain degree without the rote biochem knowledge. Still good practice.

Have you also finished SAs? My goal this coming week is to get done with those while finishing a couple Kaplan FLs.

Ahh thank you. I guess despite my earlier post, I know I need to have the confidence - I just don't. My low 20s scores on the earlier AAMCs and my MCAT journey as a whole have been very rough. Some of the passages on AAMC 8 were stuff I have had firsthand experience with so I felt it tested my strong subjects, but I guess time will tell on that.

The 2015 practice MCAT is a really good idea. I haven't done the SAs - honestly, I didn't know if using ONLY AAMC material was a good idea which is why I asked about the GS stuff. It seems from looking at threads on here that people have advised to use multiple sources for study as the real thing is not always represented by AAMC practices. I'm very freaked by the fact that many people are not hitting their AAMC averages, and considering I literally just want a 30+ score at this point, I feel I should be averaging 33+ on the AAMC tests to even have a shot at 30 on the real thing. But at the same time, it seems like anything could happen come test day with how things have been going lately, and really with your mentality as a whole. I just want to prep in as many ways in possible with many different sources so the SAs have taken a back burner at this point. I will be doing the VR from SAs though.

@avenlea are you taking the nov 7 test also? I got confused because I thought you were taking it in september from the sn2ed first day thread.

I am not. I was originally scheduled for Aug 21st, and I pushed to Sept 6th, then Oct 25th, and will be ACTUALLY taking this on November 7th. I promised myself I would not push it again lol. It's a very slippery slope to keep pushing, seriously, I feel I could push to January at this point....

i just took the biology self assessment and got 66%.
*sigh* another underdog score if I take 66% of 52 and use the table on the previous page :\

Don't correlate anything but your actual AAMC scores to what you would get on the AAMC tests.

 

[baxt1412]

Don't correlate anything but your actual AAMC scores to what you would get on the AAMC tests.

these are produced by the AAMC though, you would think they would at least be pretty close to representative.... or is that not the case? if not, then why even tell us lol. i mean if it says that we need to improve on molecular genetics.... but the real MCAT almost never tests molecular genetics, what is the point? i dunno....

 

[deleted388502]

these are produced by the AAMC though, you would think they would at least be pretty close to representative.... or is that not the case? if not, then why even tell us lol. i mean if it says that we need to improve on molecular genetics.... but the real MCAT almost never tests molecular genetics, what is the point? i dunno....

I think you can take seriously what content they tell you you're weak on, but don't take it as score correlation to demoralize yourself. Honestly, looking back, I feel that I broke a lot of my confidence through a lot of the scores I got through Kaplan, EK subject tests, BR, etc. and focused more on the scores than I did learning the content to make myself feel better. I just feel that when you get scores, take them with a grain of salt - all of this studying and practice you're doing right now is a warm up to the AAMC practice tests, which at the end of the day are a practice for the REAL THING, which is where you should be peaking.

Just my two cents, but this is something I struggle with myself so I dunno how much I can be preaching it haha

 

[baxt1412]

I think you can take seriously what content they tell you you're weak on, but don't take it as score correlation to demoralize yourself. Honestly, looking back, I feel that I broke a lot of my confidence through a lot of the scores I got through Kaplan, EK subject tests, BR, etc. and focused more on the scores than I did learning the content to make myself feel better. I just feel that when you get scores, take them with a grain of salt - all of this studying and practice you're doing right now is a warm up to the AAMC practice tests, which at the end of the day are a practice for the REAL THING, which is where you should be peaking.

Just my two cents, but this is something I struggle with myself so I dunno how much I can be preaching it haha

eh, you can preach good habits, even if you are bad at actualizing them. it's similar to someone preaching that they should cut costs and maximize savings while they are living paycheck to paycheck. it is possible to do. lol. pretty soon, we will all be doctors and hopefully not living paycheck to paycheck 🙂

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Hey guys sorry I been MIA for a bit--I got the freaking flu!!🙁 FML. So today I finally took AAMC #4 (my first aamc) and got a not so hot 10 ps/9 vr (would've been a freaking 10 if I got one more ? correct) and a 9 on BS (orgo punished me) for a composite 28 I will review it tomorrow and then am gonna start hamming tons of passages. My goal is to get a 31 on the real thing, and we still have 4 weeks so I think I can get there (hopefully). Its just been tough for me cause I am doing an internship this semester in an ortho lab and it is 9-10 hours 5 days a week. Starting to think I would've just been better off taking classes--would've had more time to study for mcat I feel then what I am doing now. But I won't let this defeat me, and again I am not shooting for the stars on this thing like some of you 😎 My dream/target schools are temple and thomas jeff. I love philly and dad lives there. With my 3.9 gpa I think 31 will give me a solid shoot at those schools. Hope everyone is going well for you guys And don't get sick like me 😡 lol

and @lazyindy those TBR scores are insanity! INSANITY. You should be shooting for 37+ with those scores. Damnnn great job👍

Thats why we get the flu shot 🙂 I think a 3.9 and a 31 will give you a good shot at a lot schools

 

[baxt1412]

Thats why we get the flu shot 🙂 I think a 3.9 and a 31 will give you a good shot at a lot schools

but vaccines cause autism

























jk.... REALLY not trying to open that can of worms here lol

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Actually

http://howdovaccinescauseautism.com/

 

[anon5759]

Hey guys,

Took AAMC 7 today, and got 11/11/13 which I'm really happy about. I have taken this FL before last year and got a 28, so I'm hoping this is actual improvement. Really like all the support that's on this thread. I just can't get over my nerves!!!!

 

[baxt1412]

Hey guys,

Took AAMC 7 today, and got 11/11/13 which I'm really happy about. I have taken this FL before last year and got a 28, so I'm hoping this is actual improvement. Really like all the support that's on this thread. I just can't get over my nerves!!!!

That's great news. I can't imagine you would remember anything particular long enough to benefit you after a year. So I am thinking you have had really good improvements. I would suggest some more AAMC FLs to start establishing an average

 

[anon5759]

That's great news. I can't imagine you would remember anything particular long enough to benefit you after a year. So I am thinking you have had really good improvements. I would suggest some more AAMC FLs to start establishing an average

Thanks so much. This is my third (with the others at 34, 33). I've also been doing TBR full lengths which are fresh to me, and have gotten 30+ on all. I just feel so nervous, it's as though my fear overwhelms my thoughts. Don't know what to do about that...My plan is to finish off the last 1/3 of TBR passages this week/next week and continue to hammer out TPR Hyperlearning verbal + FLs.

Thanks for the support! I want us all to kill this beast.

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Finished going over the PS and VR sections of aamc 3. It was not so bad, made many mistakes by not understanding the passage in PS. I am gonna try do some EK 1001s for the topics I score lowest. Does anyone else do EK1001s?

 

[baxt1412]

Finished going over the PS and VR sections of aamc 3. It was not so bad, made many mistakes by not understanding the passage in PS. I am gonna try do some EK 1001s for the topics I score lowest. Does anyone else do EK1001s?

I have the full set. I like the verbal. I have taken three full lengths and have averaged a 9.5 so I am hoping they are well representative. I haven't really started the 1001 series yet though, just the verbal 101

 

[anon5759]

I'm not a huge fan of the 1001 for physics/gen chem. While they're good at hammering in equations/practice, they don't force you to think critically the same way passages do. I've heard TPR hyperlearning science workbook is really good for that!

 

[Janus_Kinase]

@baxt1412 Yeah a lot of people dont like EK101 but I did --I think it is great practice. However, now that I am doing aamc passages I can attest that the questions they ask are quite different from EK. EK requires so much more attention to detail vs aamc that requires a more conceptual understanding. Out of the 160 aamc questions I have done so far (120 of SA + 40 of aamc3) I have yet to see a question that asks "in lines #X - #Y the author most blah-blah" which were so common in EK.

 

[lostnconfused]

So I'm about half way through EK and still have yet to break 8/9s (untimed at the beginning hitting 10s, timed now hitting consistent 8s) - very frustrating.

Not having issues with timing - in fact have been finding myself with time to spare usually but that may just mean I need to slow down. Perhaps try the 6/7 passage approach before shooting for 7 passages again.

Gonna give EK a break and switch over to TPR to see if that can give me another perspective. Slightly worried that it may orient me to think about the questions the wrong way. But some of the EK explanations are ridiculous - difficult to understand and incomplete.

 

[ciestar]

I don't care for the EK1001. They're very basic. If you need help with very basic concepts, then they're golden, but i wouldn't put much stock into them.

As for EK101, I very much prefer TPRH to EK.

 

[basicallyno]

Hey Guys:

I am planning on finishing my Content review for the second time (First time around I found out that I was extremely lacking in understanding). Should I be doing the AAMC Assessments after that? Or just start doing full lengths?

 

[baxt1412]

Hey Guys:

I am planning on finishing my Content review for the second time (First time around I found out that I was extremely lacking in understanding). Should I be doing the AAMC Assessments after that? Or just start doing full lengths?

I think most people do the assessments before content review in order to know what they should focus on. However, I am on the tail end of my content review and am just doing them as well to see what I need to look back over. I think your current plan is fine.

 

[basicallyno]

I think most people do the assessments before content review in order to know what they should focus on. However, I am on the tail end of my content review and am just doing them as well to see what I need to look back over. I think your current plan is fine.

Thanks a lot! How many practice tests do you think I should cram in? Since I didn't use Sn2 method, my own schedule is a little different and I was thinking of getting at least 5 tests in.

Also, the AAMC tests definitely take priority over the TPR full lengths right? Thanks!

 

[MelloTangelo]

Hello, everyone! I hope studying has been going well so far. We're hitting that final stretch, and it's pretty scary! Because I took all the AAMC's last year, I'm mixing the last four AAMCs with the first three TBR CBTs. For my first AAMC #8 retake, I made a 29 (10,10,9). I just finished my first TBR CBT, and apparently, I made a 33 (9,13,11).

Have you guys taken any of TBR's tests? If so, how happy should I be with this score since it's not an AAMC test? I want to be excited, but I missed a lot in PS (17 questions--their grading curve was veeeery lenient). As for their Verbal...the passages were written in an annoying way and I only just barely got the gist of them, but the questions were practically all 'go back to this point in the passage and pick out the answer word for word', so it was really different from AAMC verbals. I usually make a 10 on those.

tl;dr, what do you guys make of TBR tests.

 

[ciestar]

Thanks a lot! How many practice tests do you think I should cram in? Since I didn't use Sn2 method, my own schedule is a little different and I was thinking of getting at least 5 tests in.

Also, the AAMC tests definitely take priority over the TPR full lengths right? Thanks!

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS! Prioritize AAMC over any other FL. And fit in as many as you can.

 

[ciestar]

Hello, everyone! I hope studying has been going well so far. We're hitting that final stretch, and it's pretty scary! Because I took all the AAMC's last year, I'm mixing the last four AAMCs with the first three TBR CBTs. For my first AAMC #8 retake, I made a 29 (10,10,9). I just finished my first TBR CBT, and apparently, I made a 33 (9,13,11).

Have you guys taken any of TBR's tests? If so, how happy should I be with this score since it's not an AAMC test? I want to be excited, but I missed a lot in PS (17 questions--their grading curve was veeeery lenient). As for their Verbal...the passages were written in an annoying way and I only just barely got the gist of them, but the questions were practically all 'go back to this point in the passage and pick out the answer word for word', so it was really different from AAMC verbals. I usually make a 10 on those.

tl;dr, what do you guys make of TBR tests.

I've never taken a TBR fl 🙁
But I can say that i find Kaplan verbal to be terribly annoying too.
Also, a 33 is a 33, so I'd be feeling good about it just because of that 🙂

 

[anon5759]

Hello, everyone! I hope studying has been going well so far. We're hitting that final stretch, and it's pretty scary! Because I took all the AAMC's last year, I'm mixing the last four AAMCs with the first three TBR CBTs. For my first AAMC #8 retake, I made a 29 (10,10,9). I just finished my first TBR CBT, and apparently, I made a 33 (9,13,11).

Have you guys taken any of TBR's tests? If so, how happy should I be with this score since it's not an AAMC test? I want to be excited, but I missed a lot in PS (17 questions--their grading curve was veeeery lenient). As for their Verbal...the passages were written in an annoying way and I only just barely got the gist of them, but the questions were practically all 'go back to this point in the passage and pick out the answer word for word', so it was really different from AAMC verbals. I usually make a 10 on those.

tl;dr, what do you guys make of TBR tests.

Hey,

I've also already taken all the AAMCs, and am using the TBRs as well. I've done 4 of them so far, and the curve on 3 is extremely lenient because it is supposed to be one of the harder tests. The verbal is no good--try substituting in an EK test or TPR verbal. I do think the PS and BS sections are quite useful, and will hopefully be good practice! I've been finding them to be pretty on par with AAMCs.

Have a great day!
-S

 

[baxt1412]

I've never taken a TBR fl 🙁
But I can say that i find Kaplan verbal to be terribly annoying too.
Also, a 33 is a 33, so I'd be feeling good about it just because of that 🙂

lol yet i feel good about kaplan verbal because i just got a 12 on it haha.

 

[ciestar]

lol yet i feel good about kaplan verbal because i just got a 12 on it haha.

I got an 11 on my most recent FL 😛 but I got a 9 on my AAMC one, so Im hoping my scores aren't too far off.

 

[MelloTangelo]

I've never taken a TBR fl 🙁
But I can say that i find Kaplan verbal to be terribly annoying too.
Also, a 33 is a 33, so I'd be feeling good about it just because of that 🙂

Haha, you're probably right! Let's just hope I can start cranking these out on the AAMCs in due time!

Hey,

I've also already taken all the AAMCs, and am using the TBRs as well. I've done 4 of them so far, and the curve on 3 is extremely lenient because it is supposed to be one of the harder tests. The verbal is no good--try substituting in an EK test or TPR verbal. I do think the PS and BS sections are quite useful, and will hopefully be good practice! I've been finding them to be pretty on par with AAMCs.

Have a great day!
-S

I've heard that CBT #3 is pretty tough, too, and the curve is ridiculously lenient on that one. But I figure a hard PS will help me really get the hang of it, so I'm excited about that part of these tests. You're right about the verbal, though. It makes me really happy to score a 13, but that's not realistic in any way, haha. I might start doing my leftover verbal passages from TPRH (though I might run out of verbal resources that way...).

Thank you all for your thoughts...! And of course, best of luck!

 

[ciestar]

The Kaplan Fls are supposed to have a lenient curve and their PS is crazy calculation heavy, but I've only noticed that it being that way helps me with my timing. So that's always good.

Guys, I just want a 30+ but I have zero confidence that I'm going to manage that :/

 

[anon5759]

The Kaplan Fls are supposed to have a lenient curve and their PS is crazy calculation heavy, but I've only noticed that it being that way helps me with my timing. So that's always good.

Guys, I just want a 30+ but I have zero confidence that I'm going to manage that :/

I'm honestly trying out this whole visualizing it, and it will happen thing. It's really good for confidence, and honestly that is 50% of doing well. We got this.

 

[ciestar]

I think my other issue is that I really don't think I'll get my content review done…
I really feel like i have way too much left in too little time to get it all done. This is bad.

 

[ciestar]

I'm honestly trying out this whole visualizing it, and it will happen thing. It's really good for confidence, and honestly that is 50% of doing well. We got this.

Explain further? Please 😀

 

[anon5759]

Explain further? Please 😀

Visualize yourself getting 30+. Instill it into your mind. Tell yourself you already got your dream score. Don't allow yourself to veer away from that score. And it will seem more attainable, and you will thereby become more confident!

 

[basicallyno]

Who here is also doing they last few bits of content review? It makes me feel better that we're in the same boat! haha

 

[ciestar]

I feel like I'm doing more than a last few bits 😛 but yes, I am not quite finished either.
I have the entire last 1/3 of the Kaplan stuff to do. (which probably is as much as it sounds 🙁)

 

[lazyindy]

wow the verbal self assessment gets really tricky towards the last 6 passages

 

[ciestar]

That's what I noticed about the bio SA, all the hard questions were at the end.
But, while reviewing it, I noticed that it either was a gap in knowledge (since I still have some stuff to review..) or it was a careless mistake.
Im hoping that can be easily resolved.

 

[ciestar]

I think my plan for the next two weeks is two FLs a week (maybe 3, we'll see). Tuesdays and Fridays (and Sunday, possibly)
With subsequent content review and thrown in self assessments. I have a ton on my plate right now. I also have a 34 hour work week scheduled but I might see if someone can switch with me for Friday. I just need a break.

 

[baxt1412]

I think my plan for the next two weeks is two FLs a week (maybe 3, we'll see). Tuesdays and Fridays (and Sunday, possibly)
With subsequent content review and thrown in self assessments. I have a ton on my plate right now. I also have a 34 hour work week scheduled but I might see if someone can switch with me for Friday. I just need a break.

i'm full time and in a position where i can't switch with anyone.

 

[lazyindy]

@ciestar dont worry buddy! if it was careless mistakes you can def bounce back from that! 🙂

Also does anyone know what other resources for verbal are there? I'm almost done with both the TPRH and self assessments. I really hate EK because the passages are easier to read and the questions are bizarre.

 

[ciestar]

Well, I just managed to get Friday off which is good. I needed that…

Agh. But first problem of this physics set on fluids (this is a gauge pressure problem) has me totally stumped. Apparently subtracting 1 and multiplying by 1 isn't the same thing? Good grief. 😕

 

[basicallyno]

I feel like I'm doing more than a last few bits 😛 but yes, I am not quite finished either.
I have the entire last 1/3 of the Kaplan stuff to do. (which probably is as much as it sounds 🙁)

Ah I see. So we are in the same boat! haha what is your goal, if you don't mind me asking? I am shooting for at least a 30 and I hope it's achievable at this point, cuz there's always that self-doubt man...

 

[basicallyno]

@ciestar dont worry buddy! if it was careless mistakes you can def bounce back from that! 🙂

Also does anyone know what other resources for verbal are there? I'm almost done with both the TPRH and self assessments. I really hate EK because the passages are easier to read and the questions are bizarre.

I KNOW! I am really starting to doubt EK as well, after being able to score okay to well on TPRH and absolutely hammered on EK.

Well, one thing I know is that TBR has a bad rep for Verbal, and Kaplan (which I used before) wasn't as good as TPRH but still decent I believe.

 

[ciestar]

Ah I see. So we are in the same boat! haha what is your goal, if you don't mind me asking? I am shooting for at least a 30 and I hope it's achievable at this point, cuz there's always that self-doubt man...

A 30+, just like you. I need an average score to go with my average (3.71) GPA 😛
Im very much hoping it's achievable at this point too. Im just worried that because I haven't finished content review, it's going to be more of an uphill battle than it otherwise was. But I'm really trying.

And just my $0.02 for Kaplan verbal, I don't really like their verbal (their questions…wow..), but my scores are fairly consistent for that and AAMC.

 

[baxt1412]

okay... am i just an idiot or is doing a fourth root without a calculator really something we are expected to know how to do? (I haven't had a strict math class since high school.. so maybe i am unaware of some easy way to do this)

but i'm working with Ksp problems with i=4 (for example Al(OH)3). The kaplan instructor is like "okay well when you do your math here (4th root of 3.7E-15)


please tell me he is kidding. this is the kind of **** that really irks me about the MCAT.

 

[texan2414]

okay... am i just an idiot or is doing a fourth root without a calculator really something we are expected to know how to do? (I haven't had a strict math class since high school.. so maybe i am unaware of some easy way to do this)

but i'm working with Ksp problems with i=4 (for example Al(OH)3). The kaplan instructor is like "okay well when you do your math here (4th root of 3.7E-15)


please tell me he is kidding. this is the kind of **** that really irks me about the MCAT.

This is idiotic!!
I missed a question on Kaplan section test that required you to do a 4th root. There was also a long-ass Nernst equation calculation that apparently you are expected to do.

But a clever way I thought about approaching questions like this is that the trick is usually substance with lowest Ksp has highest solubility (based on its MOLAR solubility calculation) - so you just pick the opposite of what you would pick based on Ksp value alone.

The MCAT doesn't "trick" you like this but idk.

 

[baxt1412]

This is idiotic!!
I missed a question on Kaplan section test that required you to do a 4th root. There was also a long-ass Nernst equation calculation that apparently you are expected to do.

But a clever way I thought about approaching questions like this is that the trick is usually substance with lowest Ksp has highest solubility (based on its MOLAR solubility calculation) - so you just pick the opposite of what you would pick based on Ksp value alone.

The MCAT doesn't "trick" you like this but idk.

can anyone else comment on the validity of picking between Ksp values with different i values?

that would certainly make it a lot easier.... but i want to make sure that this would work outside of this case...

in this case, the correct answer has the lowest Ksp (3.7E-15 compared to 2.1E-10).




I also find it dumb that we are expected to memorize the Ksp equations for the different i values (Ksp = 27x^4 for i=4, etc)...

 

[ciestar]

My handy trick for 4th roots: take the square root, then square root that answer. Much easier to visualize.

 

[ciestar]

This is idiotic!!
I missed a question on Kaplan section test that required you to do a 4th root. There was also a long-ass Nernst equation calculation that apparently you are expected to do.

But a clever way I thought about approaching questions like this is that the trick is usually substance with lowest Ksp has highest solubility (based on its MOLAR solubility calculation) - so you just pick the opposite of what you would pick based on Ksp value alone.

The MCAT doesn't "trick" you like this but idk.

Explain this further?

 

[ciestar]

can anyone else comment on the validity of picking between Ksp values with different i values?

that would certainly make it a lot easier.... but i want to make sure that this would work outside of this case...

in this case, the correct answer has the lowest Ksp (3.7E-15 compared to 2.1E-10).




I also find it dumb that we are expected to memorize the Ksp equations for the different i values (Ksp = 27x^4 for i=4, etc)...

That part isn't really hard to memorize, though.
Using your example of Al(OH)3, where i=4, ksp=[x][3x]^3, and when you put that all together, you do get 27x^4. It's easy enough to derive it, so you don't necessarily have to memorize that.