The Official October 21, 2014 MCAT Thread

[DoctorInASaree]

Hi!

As of today, we are less than three months away from writing one of the most important exams in our lives.

What are your studying strategies? How are you feeling about the MCAT?

We're all in this together, so let's get this discussion started!

And remember, October 21st, save the date!

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[BigEinstein]

Hey
Anybody know I can resister for retake MCAT before I get previous exam score?

You can. No one can stop you

 

[Jubiaba]

Pretty sure this is what I looked like yesterday, specifically during that PS.

 

[lumberjack89]

^ hahahaa perfect! Love the doge.

This was literally what was going on inside my head after the first passage of PS was over and it took a sharp turn straight toward apocalyptic ruination:

 

[JMMTB]

You could do what @Shewillcreate and I are going to be doing: eat cake and drink bourbon.

Hahaha, ya. but I don't drink. Guess I'll just do some school work and ride my bike.

^ hahahaa perfect! Love the doge.

This was literally what was going on inside my head after the first passage of PS was over and it took a sharp turn straight toward apocalyptic ruination:

Ya for parts of the test, I was thinking...

 

[lumberjack89]

^ Good Burger - strong choice. I wouldn't be upset at all if this thread devolved into a meme-based support group for the next month while we wait for our scores

This is what it felt like running out of time near the end and having to nearly blind guess on the last passage after barely having a minute to skim it:

 

[Shewillcreate]

^ In hindsight I should probably make it a rule not to be on internet forums while drunk, or ANY forums for that matter.

I'll still stand by the claim that "I'd sacrifice a goat for an 8" is the best collection of words I've ever seen on here, and also the last paragraph about how we're just gunna have to wait it out. One thing I'm torn about is whether or not to try registering for a January date... is anyone else going to be doing that? What if our scores come back and they're as bad as we feel like they might be?

I think I'm probably going to register, if I can find a seat, just so I've got the option. The last thing I wanna end up having to do is study for the 2015 MCAT after all the work I put towards the 2014 one!

Oh why thank you, what's life without a little humor. I'm right there with you about questioning whether or not to register for a January date. I think I'm going to play it safe and just register. But damn..The thought of retaking *shivers*
What if you're right, and our scores are as bad as we're thinking?! I have this fear that the AAMC is secretly going to 'make' our scores bad and not provide any additional test days/seats! All for the EFFED up reason of their wanting us to take the new exam...

@JMMTB, @lumberjack89 couldn't have said it better. Eat, drink and be merry!!

 

[HCHopeful]

We are all handling this extremely well.

JK.

 

[azor ahai]

I hate to be ruining the fun but let's all remember to be careful about discussing specific questions from the exam as it breaks the examinee agreement and we want squeaky clean records for our future medical careers.

With that said I just woke up figuring out why an answer choice had a square root in it and how I got it wrong.

 

[azor ahai]

^ hahahaa perfect! Love the doge.

This was literally what was going on inside my head after the first passage of PS was over and it took a sharp turn straight toward apocalyptic ruination:

Hahah I just saw this episode. Copped the blu-ray rips after getting a new HDD. 85GB/season - totally worth it.

 

[pikachu311]

Yeah, so... there's not a single seat anywhere in the country for any January dates.

They're adding more seats in big cities but this is still scary to see that there's not a SINGLE one left. This means everyone will be trying to snag them once the new seats are added.

 

[Herewego5]

I hate to be ruining the fun but let's all remember to be careful about discussing specific questions from the exam as it breaks the examinee agreement and we want squeaky clean records for our future medical careers.

With that said I just woke up figuring out why an answer choice had a square root in it and how I got it wrong.

I've thought of two questions I definitely got wrong and I guessed on so many that I don't even think I could have possibly scored better then a 6 or 7. I'm about to start prepping for the new exam...

 

[JMMTB]

Yep, I'm in the boat where I could tell you 4 questions off the top of my head, that now seem so simple, that I marked wrong. And that's not including the ones where I just didn't know.

 

[JMMTB]

Yeah, so... there's not a single seat anywhere in the country for any January dates.

Try the whole world! No US seats except Nov 7th. And then foreign seats only available Dec 6 in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Qatar, and Thailand and Nov 7 in Canada, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

I really wish that after we get our scores, and if necessary, we could register for the Dec 6 exam. But they have the last day to register the day before we get our scores. Someone really thought that one through.

 

[pikachu311]

Do you think it would be stupid to take it on November 7th if I studied my a** off before then? I would literally study all day every day so that there was no way I would get a worse score, because I know getting a worse score is really bad. Or do you guys truly think that seats will open up? None of my friends would know what I am talking about and my family doesn't even know what the MCAT is lol. I have no one to ask besides you guys! Advice pleeeease. I think something would open up for the 12/6 exam but what if it doesn't?

 

[lumberjack89]

Do you think it would be stupid to take it on November 7th if I studied my a** off before then? I would literally study all day every day so that there was no way I would get a worse score, because I know getting a worse score is really bad. Or do you guys truly think that seats will open up? None of my friends would know what I am talking about and my family doesn't even know what the MCAT is lol. I have no one to ask besides you guys! Advice pleeeease. I think something would open up for the 12/6 exam but what if it doesn't?

But what if you actually got a GOOD score? That's my worry - I wouldn't want to re-take until I saw for certain what my score from this last test was. The more people I talk to the more common the experience of feeling destroyed by the MCAT seems to be, regardless of how well your score actually comes out. I've got tons of anecdotal evidence for people feeling like they scored poorly and actually DID score poorly, but also tons of people who felt like they scored poorly and actually did incredibly well.

It seems more risky to retake without knowing your score than it does to have to study for the 2015 exam... It would be pretty weird to have to explain why you got a very similar score, or, in the worst case scenario, a WORSE score on the second test you took without even knowing how well you really did on your first attempt. And honestly after rescheduling twice I can tell you that a few weeks of full time study is not a fool-proof way to increase your score. I rescheduled and studied for an additional 6 weeks with no classes or job to worry about and my scores stayed exactly the same on the AAMC tests.

 

[pikachu311]

But what if you actually got a GOOD score? That's my worry - I wouldn't want to re-take until I saw for certain what my score from this last test was. The more people I talk to the more common the experience of feeling destroyed by the MCAT seems to be, regardless of how well your score actually comes out. I've got tons of anecdotal evidence for people feeling like they scored poorly and actually DID score poorly, but also tons of people who felt like they scored poorly and actually did incredibly well.

It seems more risky to retake without knowing your score than it does to have to study for the 2015 exam... It would be pretty weird to have to explain why you got a very similar score, or, in the worst case scenario, a WORSE score on the second test you took without even knowing how well you really did on your first attempt. And honestly after rescheduling twice I can tell you that a few weeks of full time study is not a fool-proof way to increase your score. I rescheduled and studied for an additional 6 weeks with no classes or job to worry about and my scores stayed exactly the same on the AAMC tests.

You're probably right but I didn't practice enough with timing and that was my main issue. I feel like if I was better with timing, I would be better overall. Butttt overall, you're right about just waiting until 2015 (worst case scenario). I used to be a psych major then switched to microbio/genetics right before my senior year of college! and now I work in a lab and I am constantly reading scientific journals for work, so I definitely have both the social science and the data-analysis backgrounds that it will favor.

 

[HCHopeful]

Do you think it would be stupid to take it on November 7th if I studied my a** off before then? I would literally study all day every day so that there was no way I would get a worse score, because I know getting a worse score is really bad. Or do you guys truly think that seats will open up? None of my friends would know what I am talking about and my family doesn't even know what the MCAT is lol. I have no one to ask besides you guys! Advice pleeeease. I think something would open up for the 12/6 exam but what if it doesn't?

100% agree with @lumberjack89 on this one. I don't really think you can risk it. The fact is, you may have done well, and 15 days doesn't guarantee a score increase. Especially if you were a lucky guesser on this one.

None of us feel good about this test. It's just the way it is. I think the best thing to do is keep searching for a Dec/Jan spot. If you find one, grab it. Then you'll have a backup. But I don't think the November test date provides a good enough opportunity.

Truthfully, I don't know how many seats will open up. I know a girl at my school who has a date in January that she will be giving up if she is accepted to medical school before then. I don't know how many people are in her predicament. Spots will open up. But enough for all of us? Probably not.

 

[pikachu311]

100% agree with @lumberjack89 on this one. I don't really think you can risk it. The fact is, you may have done well, and 15 days doesn't guarantee a score increase. Especially if you were a lucky guesser on this one.

None of us feel good about this test. It's just the way it is. I think the best thing to do is keep searching for a Dec/Jan spot. If you find one, grab it. Then you'll have a backup. But I don't think the November test date provides a good enough opportunity.

Truthfully, I don't know how many seats will open up. I know a girl at my school who has a date in January that she will be giving up if she is accepted to medical school before then. I don't know how many people are in her predicament. Spots will open up. But enough for all of us? Probably not.

Thank you for your input! You both are right and I should wait until Dec or Jan if a seat opens up. Best of luck to everyone that will be hunting for a seat!

 

[HCHopeful]

EVERYBODY GET OVER TO AAMC's WEBSITE AND REGISTER NOW!

I just got a January 8th date! THANK THE LORD.

A bunch of seats are open because of cancellations.

@lumberjack89 @pikachu311 @JMMTB @BigEinstein

GO GO GO GO

 

[itllbefuntheysay]

EVERYBODY GET OVER TO AAMC's WEBSITE AND REGISTER NOW!

I just got a January 8th date! THANK THE LORD.

A bunch of seats are open because of cancellations.

@lumberjack89 @pikachu311 @JMMTB @BigEinstein

GO GO GO GO

Just snagged a January 8th date, just in case, too!

 

[itllbefuntheysay]

Also, I was silent, but this thread kept my sanity the past few weeks and made me feel less isolated/crazy. Thank you!!

 

[HCHopeful]

Also, I was silent, but this thread kept my sanity the past few weeks and made me feel less isolated/crazy. Thank you!!

Of course! Welcome to the conversation.

 

[HCHopeful]

Now comes the part when I realize I have to come up with a completely new study schedule and decide when I want to begin studying.

What are all of your thoughts on this?

 

[I Can and I WILL]

I agree this test was pretty challenging! After the second passage in Physical Sciences I decided to change my strategy and read the question first then looked through the passage to find the answer. Otherwise, I would have run out of time. My goal was to lay eyes on every single question so that I would not have to randomly guess before my time was up. I used this strategy for the rest of the test and it worked. Hopefully my score translates well.

I was so surprised that the verbal passages were twice as long as the practice tests. Yes they were straight forward but definitely designed to force you to run out of time.

All in all, this test is a crap shoot. The best thing I did leading up to the test was to check my nerves and anxiety three days beforehand. If I were to have walked in there feeling anxious and intimidated, I definitely would have voided. I needed a clear mind to recognize early in the test that I needed to adjust my strategy to meet the demand of the test at hand.

Best wishes to all those taking the test in the upcoming weeks!

 

[medbound18]

For anyone wanting to register for a January date check the website right now! I guess a bunch of people dropped their seats today. I managed to snag one for January 15th. They're gonna go quick though.

 

[medbound18]

EVERYBODY GET OVER TO AAMC's WEBSITE AND REGISTER NOW!

I just got a January 8th date! THANK THE LORD.

A bunch of seats are open because of cancellations.

@lumberjack89 @pikachu311 @JMMTB @BigEinstein

GO GO GO GO

Whoops didn't see this before I posted!

 

[JMMTB]

I'm in luck. A friend of mine has a spot that he is going to drop and take the 2015 edition, but said he'll wait to drop it until I know my score so if I can take his spot if needed. Glad to hear that everyone got spots that needed them.

Everything will work out in the end!

 

[PeekABoo-ICU]

Now comes the part when I realize I have to come up with a completely new study schedule and decide when I want to begin studying.

What are all of your thoughts on this?

^ I'm not sure what to do to study now either. I snagged a Jan 15th exam today, but that seems so far away. I don't want to over work myself and just be burnt out in January, but I also don't want Jan 15th to approach as fast as October 21st did.

Thoughts on a study plan?

 

[PeekABoo-ICU]

This was me halfway through PS

Apparently that isn't how you void your exam

 

[lumberjack89]

no no no NO!!!!!!

How could I have missed the magic window?! All the seats in January are GONE again! All that's left are a few international ones.

 

[wuhsabee]

no no no NO!!!!!!

How could I have missed the magic window?! All the seats in January are GONE again! All that's left are a few international ones.

No worries. These seats appeared due to cancellations. AAMC still plans on adding additional seats to cities listed on their site over the next few days / weeks. Follow their twitter!

 

[patellati]

You can. No one can stop you

Thanks
How was ur exam?

PS was killer for me and BS was ok but still not that great..
I'm not confident abt my score now..

 

[PeekABoo-ICU]

no no no NO!!!!!!

How could I have missed the magic window?! All the seats in January are GONE again! All that's left are a few international ones.

AAMC will tweet (in ~2 weeks) when they are posting the new dates. You can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but the messages won't always come through in time. What I did was I set up a real simple script on https://ifttt.com/ which is a website that basically lets you automate things (without knowing how to code). I set one up that goes IF: New Tweet by @AAMC_MCAT THEN: Notify me on my iPhone.

Setting up one of these scripts is dead simple, and I got a notification within 2 seconds of their tweet. If you don't feel comfortable setting it up, you can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but by the time I got the text message most of the seats were already gone.

Feel free to PM me if you need any help. I guess this is the only time minoring in computer science actually helped me with getting into med school

 

[HCHopeful]

^ I'm not sure what to do to study now either. I snagged a Jan 15th exam today, but that seems so far away. I don't want to over work myself and just be burnt out in January, but I also don't want Jan 15th to approach as fast as October 21st did.

Thoughts on a study plan?

I'm pretty unsure how to approach it to be honest. For October 21st, I did all of the Physics, Gen Chem, and Bio TBR books, so those are used up. I haven't studied Organic at all, so I'll probably start picking that up a bit more.

I have plenty of verbal workbooks left, so I'm not too worried about that. I also have TPRH SW... I think I'll end up doing all of the passages out of there, just to keep my head in that kind of a mode. Also, buying and completing the self-assessment might not be a bad idea.

My main goal is to try to retain everything I've learned in the past three months. I've been scoring around the range that indicates I have full content knowledge but could use stronger test-taking skills. If I score anything less than a 29 I will definitely be retaking, as my AAMC average was a 31.

My biggest unknown is how to handle this next month. I know over Christmas break I'll be able to dedicate as much time as I have, but I'm unsure if I should begin preparing now or just wait.

 

[pikachu311]

no no no NO!!!!!!

How could I have missed the magic window?! All the seats in January are GONE again! All that's left are a few international ones.

I missed it too

 

[lumberjack89]

AAMC will tweet (in ~2 weeks) when they are posting the new dates. You can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but the messages won't always come through in time. What I did was I set up a real simple script on https://ifttt.com/ which is a website that basically lets you automate things (without knowing how to code). I set one up that goes IF: New Tweet by @AAMC_MCAT THEN: Notify me on my iPhone.

Setting up one of these scripts is dead simple, and I got a notification within 2 seconds of their tweet. If you don't feel comfortable setting it up, you can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but by the time I got the text message most of the seats were already gone.

Feel free to PM me if you need any help. I guess this is the only time minoring in computer science actually helped me with getting into med school

Sweet mother that is an incredible site. I'm going to use this for EVERYTHING.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[medbound18]

I'm looking on the website right now and see a date in Nebraska for 1/8 and 1/15 and also one in North Dakota for 1/15. Not likely that any of you are near those areas but it's worth grabbing one to at least have just in case!

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Hey @lumberjack89 hopefully I am not killing your bourbon buzz haha but I wanted to ask you which of the GS tests do you think are best?

I wanted to fit it in a few before my test but not all cause I still have some aamcs left. I know you took the GS tests so hopefully you can lend me some insight


or anyone else who would care to share

 

[lumberjack89]

Hey @lumberjack89 hopefully I am not killing your bourbon buzz haha but I wanted to ask you which of the GS tests do you think are best?

I wanted to fit it in a few before my test but not all cause I still have some aamcs left. I know you took the GS tests so hopefully you can lend me some insight


or anyone else who would care to share

Below are all my scores in chronological order, just so you can see how someone else performed on the various GS tests vs. the AAMC tests - obviously my strengths and weaknesses will not be yours, but this will at least give you SOMEthing to go off of. Generally speaking I felt like all the PS sections on the GS tests were weird, but all equally so: the same "skill building mentality" can be found in all of them, e.g. you might get 10 of the exact same type of problem in a row, which would never happen on an AAMC, but that tendency can be found in all the GS test's PS sections from what I remember. It's like each PS section just picks 3 or 4 topics and absolutely hammers them. I didn't really like the verbal sections on the GS tests in general, though it seemed they got better in the later tests. The later BS sections of the GS tests were much more like the later BS sections on AAMC tests: heavy on experimental analysis. One of them has too much genetics on it to be a realistic BS section, but I forget which one. So basically I think the BS and VR sections are more representative of what an AAMC is like in the later GS tests, like 8 through 10 or so, while the PS sections are all basically just hard and tend to emphasize a few topics very heavily.

AAMC-3 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-4 = 33 : 9/12/12
AAMC-5 = 33 : 8/15/10
AAMC-7 = 35 : 9/13/13
GS-1 = 27 : 9/7/11 (verbal = lol)
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11
GS-3 = 33 : 11/11/11
GS-4 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-5 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-6 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-7 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-8 = 31 : 8/12/11
AAMC-8 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-9 = 35 : 12/13/10
GS-9 = 34 : 10/12/12
GS-10 = 35 : 10/13/12
AAMC-10 = 35 : 12/12/11
AAMC-11 = 31 : 10/11/10

 

[Liegh5]

I got a seat for December 6th. Back to 6-8 hour study days. Hoping that 1.5 months is enough time. I am nervous though because I don't know how to gauge myself. All i have left are GS exams. The plan is to retake if I score below a 29

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Below are all my scores in chronological order, just so you can see how someone else performed on the various GS tests vs. the AAMC tests - obviously my strengths and weaknesses will not be yours, but this will at least give you SOMEthing to go off of. Generally speaking I felt like all the PS sections on the GS tests were weird, but all equally so: the same "skill building mentality" can be found in all of them, e.g. you might get 10 of the exact same type of problem in a row, which would never happen on an AAMC, but that tendency can be found in all the GS test's PS sections from what I remember. It's like each PS section just picks 3 or 4 topics and absolutely hammers them. I didn't really like the verbal sections on the GS tests in general, though it seemed they got better in the later tests. The later BS sections of the GS tests were much more like the later BS sections on AAMC tests: heavy on experimental analysis. One of them has too much genetics on it to be a realistic BS section, but I forget which one. So basically I think the BS and VR sections are more representative of what an AAMC is like in the later GS tests, like 8 through 10 or so, while the PS sections are all basically just hard and tend to emphasize a few topics very heavily.

AAMC-3 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-4 = 33 : 9/12/12
AAMC-5 = 33 : 8/15/10
AAMC-7 = 35 : 9/13/13
GS-1 = 27 : 9/7/11 (verbal = lol)
GS-2 = 34 : 11/12/11
GS-3 = 33 : 11/11/11
GS-4 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-5 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-6 = 30 : 10/11/9
GS-7 = 30 : 9/10/11
GS-8 = 31 : 8/12/11
AAMC-8 = 31 : 10/10/11
AAMC-9 = 35 : 12/13/10
GS-9 = 34 : 10/12/12
GS-10 = 35 : 10/13/12
AAMC-10 = 35 : 12/12/11
AAMC-11 = 31 : 10/11/10

Cool thanks for sharing man! I have done PS and VR of GS3, will do BS and then probably do full timed later GS tests. One more question, did you post analyze the tests as if they were aamc material? Or just used them for practice?

 

[Janus_Kinase]

I got a seat for December 6th. Back to 6-8 hour study days. Hoping that 1.5 months is enough time. I am nervous though because I don't know how to gauge myself. All i have left are GS exams. The plan is to retake if I score below a 29

Yeah that is a good, and realistic lol, idea for me as well. I will probably go by that too!

 

[Liegh5]

Yeah that is a good, and realistic lol, idea for me as well. I will probably go by that too!

Hopefully we don't need it though and will learn we have wasted 275$ two weeks before the exam! hahahaha

 

[Janus_Kinase]

Hopefully we don't need it though and will learn we have wasted 275$ two weeks before the exam! hahahaha

Haha I am rooting for ya!! I still have to take it lol, Nov7. Problem is that my scores dont come out until December 9 sooo not really in a position to take the 6th. I will have to hope they open January seats.

 

[GEToutLADYits6AM]

Guys how close was the actual exam on topics and difficulty?

 

[lumberjack89]

Cool thanks for sharing man! I have done PS and VR of GS3, will do BS and then probably do full timed later GS tests. One more question, did you post analyze the tests as if they were aamc material? Or just used them for practice?

I post-gamed all the GS tests the exact same way I did with AAMC material: notes on all my guesses, all my mistakes, any terms or concepts I didn't know before, etc.

 

[Janus_Kinase]

I post-gamed all the GS tests the exact same way I did with AAMC material: notes on all my guesses, all my mistakes, any terms or concepts I didn't know before, etc.

Got ya. Okay one last question sorry but you are being very helpful bud

I have 13 days left. Still need to do aamc 9-11 and I also want to at least try the PS and BS section of the new mcat practice exam they released. Realistically, how many GS should I aim to do? Should I do the GS before my last aamcs? Is there a reason why you did that?

 

[lumberjack89]

Got ya. Okay one last question sorry but you are being very helpful bud

I have 13 days left. Still need to do aamc 9-11 and I also want to at least try the PS and BS section of the new mcat practice exam they released. Realistically, how many GS should I aim to do? Should I do the GS before my last aamcs? Is there a reason why you did that?

I took the first eight GS tests getting ready for the Sept. 12th date, then AAMC #8 and #9 right before Sept. 12th as gauges to what my real score would be, but I ended up deciding to reschedule to Oct.21st, and I had the final two of both GS and AAMC tests left. So then I took the last two GS tests first, wanting to save my last two AAMC tests for a final assessment of where my score would be on test day.

People do lots of different things with full lengths, but honestly I can't see the point in taking them faster than once every other day, and even following a schedule that packed with full lengths seems unlikely to produce real improvement. I would take it one day, maybe review and/or look at the answers I was curious about a little bit, but not too in depth, THEN take the next day to really scour over it, taking notes, looking through my scratch paper work for errors, and so on. That's the fastest I ever took them anyway, and I can say in hindsight that I would have undoubtedly profited from slowing down on the full lengths and taking more time to actually master my weaknesses. I would just kinda take notes, realize why I got wrong what I got wrong, and move on. However, that's not enough to fix a weakness, you need to run extra passages, extra problems, etc. on that weak area to make sure you know the topic inside and out; that's what turns a weakness into a strength, not just looking at the answer and realizing what you did wrong.

If I had known what I know now about preparing for this beast, I would have taken about half as many full lengths and spent the extra time actually mastering my weak points. You'll notice that taking a bunch of full lengths and reviewing the way I've described didn't actually do *anything* for my scores, and some people even take them at a faster pace than every other day: I hit a 35 by my fourth AAMC attempt, and yet another 14 full lengths (!!!) didn't do CRAP for my scores, even though I would spend an entire day and a half reviewing my errors on each one. You have to actually go back to content review and figure out why your weaknesses are what they are, what fundamentals you're actually uncertain of, building waaaaay back down there from the foundation all the way up through passage work and extra problems, then finally back up to full lengths, to really fix problem areas.

Ha! Listen to me ranting. Prepping for this has taught me a lot about how to study - even if I never went to med school I would have learned lessons while studying for this test that I will be able to apply to problem solving in all kinds of different areas in life. Summer '14 was a hard but good summer!

 

[Janus_Kinase]

I took the first eight GS tests getting ready for the Sept. 12th date, then AAMC #8 and #9 right before Sept. 12th as gauges to what my real score would be, but I ended up deciding to reschedule to Oct.21st, and I had the final two of both GS and AAMC tests left. So then I took the last two GS tests first, wanting to save my last two AAMC tests for a final assessment of where my score would be on test day.

People do lots of different things with full lengths, but honestly I can't see the point in taking them faster than once every other day, and even following a schedule that packed with full lengths seems unlikely to produce real improvement. I would take it one day, maybe review and/or look at the answers I was curious about a little bit, but not too in depth, THEN take the next day to really scour over it, taking notes, looking through my scratch paper work for errors, and so on. That's the fastest I ever took them anyway, and I can say in hindsight that I would have undoubtedly profited from slowing down on the full lengths and taking more time to actually master my weaknesses. I would just kinda take notes, realize why I got wrong what I got wrong, and move on. However, that's not enough to fix a weakness, you need to run extra passages, extra problems, etc. on that weak area to make sure you know the topic inside and out; that's what turns a weakness into a strength, not just looking at the answer and realizing what you did wrong.

If I had known what I know now about preparing for this beast, I would have taken about half as many full lengths and spent the extra time actually mastering my weak points. You'll notice that taking a bunch of full lengths and reviewing the way I've described didn't actually do *anything* for my scores, and some people even take them at a faster pace than every other day: I hit a 35 by my fourth AAMC attempt, and yet another 14 full lengths (!!!) didn't do CRAP for my scores, even though I would spend an entire day and a half reviewing my errors on each one. You have to actually go back to content review and figure out why your weaknesses are what they are, what fundamentals you're actually uncertain of, building waaaaay back down there from the foundation all the way up through passage work and extra problems, then finally back up to full lengths, to really fix problem areas.

Ha! Listen to me ranting. Prepping for this has taught me a lot about how to study - even if I never went to med school I would have learned lessons while studying for this test that I will be able to apply to problem solving in all kinds of different areas in life. Summer '14 was a hard but good jnnjsummer!

Lol!! This is like a verbal passage itself

The primary message of the passage is one should:
a) Understand the importance of taking Full Lengths
b) Appreciate the quality of AAMC material
c) Develop an efficient study method
d) Complete practice problems only in weak areas

It can be inferred from information in the passage that:
a) The only way to benefit is to review FLs for several days
b) The author will not get into med school
c) The more FLs completed the higher the score
d) The author gained valuable life skills from his experience


Haha thanks for the help! If you need to vent again feel free to tag lol

 

[Sailor Senshi Dermystify]

AAMC will tweet (in ~2 weeks) when they are posting the new dates. You can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but the messages won't always come through in time. What I did was I set up a real simple script on https://ifttt.com/ which is a website that basically lets you automate things (without knowing how to code). I set one up that goes IF: New Tweet by @AAMC_MCAT THEN: Notify me on my iPhone.

Setting up one of these scripts is dead simple, and I got a notification within 2 seconds of their tweet. If you don't feel comfortable setting it up, you can subscribe to their twitter via text message, but by the time I got the text message most of the seats were already gone.

Feel free to PM me if you need any help. I guess this is the only time minoring in computer science actually helped me with getting into med school

Please PM the answer to my question
Do I need to download both Twitter and IFTTT? Also, can it work for Android users and what should I put for the THEN part?

Thanks