The Official Sept 11, 2013 MCAT Thread

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ovenmitts

ovenmitts

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Here it is, the official thread for those of us writing on Sept 11th.

This will be my third time taking the MCAT. Yes, that's right - my third time. It's been a rough ride to say the least and my confidence has definitely plummeted.

Here's to hoping third time's the charm!

Sept 11ers unite!
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Tpr has a problem with their website like every week... Is pretty freaking annoying...
 
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jordansnfootbal said:
Who here is retaking the mcat just curious?
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This guy. Although, there is a chance I may cancel this test when my scores for Aug. 2nd come in. I felt pretty crappy about BS after finishing so I signed up for Sept. 11 just in case I needed a retake for this app cycle.
 
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RC4L said:
This guy. Although, there is a chance I may cancel this test when my scores for Aug. 2nd come in. I felt pretty crappy about BS after finishing so I signed up for Sept. 11 just in case I needed a retake for this app cycle.
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Good luck! Even though it would kind of suck since you've continued studying, it would be so nice to just be able to cancel and be done with it! I'd bet that you did well. It could have been a tough section and the curve could save you! :] Keep us posted.
 
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trishaaah said:
Good luck! Even though it would kind of suck since you've continued studying, it would be so nice to just be able to cancel and be done with it! I'd bet that you did well. It could have been a tough section and the curve could save you! :] Keep us posted.
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Thanks! My feelings are that if I did well enough, I will be too happy to care that I wasted a few days studying. If I do need a retake, my practice test scores have gone up around 5 points since before the test for whatever reason(did not repeat the same exams). Maybe my brain just needed a rest? I have no clue! In the end, it's all just little fees we pay to do something amazing with our lives. My friends tell me they feel sorry me that I have been sending my entire days studying, but I feel much worse for them sitting behind a desk doing work they hate and counting down the minutes until they get off. We are lucky.
 
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is anybody else finding it difficult to study this last two weeks. man I was hoping that I would kick it up a notch now that test day is getting closer but its like becoming the complete opposite...im so sick of studying for this stupid thing and wish I got a earlier date! gahhhhh!!!!
 
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RC4L said:
Thanks! My feelings are that if I did well enough, I will be too happy to care that I wasted a few days studying. If I do need a retake, my practice test scores have gone up around 5 points since before the test for whatever reason(did not repeat the same exams). Maybe my brain just needed a rest? I have no clue! In the end, it's all just little fees we pay to do something amazing with our lives. My friends tell me they feel sorry me that I have been sending my entire days studying, but I feel much worse for them sitting behind a desk doing work they hate and counting down the minutes until they get off. We are lucky.
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haha, so true! But yeah, either way you'll be fine! And yeah, I count my blessings every day. So many people couldn't even be in college let alone studying for the MCAT.
 
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ADAUC said:
is anybody else finding it difficult to study this last two weeks. man I was hoping that I would kick it up a notch now that test day is getting closer but its like becoming the complete opposite...im so sick of studying for this stupid thing and wish I got a earlier date! gahhhhh!!!!
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Ugh, yes!!! I'm having this exact same problem! I'm hoping that it will quit soon, but this last week or so I've been struggling being able to pay attention while studying. Maybe I've hit an upper limit of what I can shove in my brain for this test? Idk. I'm currently attempting to answer some more passages from TBR, when all I can think about is "when will I be done?!?!"

Thankfully mine is Sep 7. Idk when yours is. I'm taking AAMC 11 on Thursday and AAMC 8 on Monday, going to do some light review next week but otherwise try to relax. I don't think cramming next week will do me any good since I'm already feeling like this and when I actually take practice exams it's a lot more consolidating information and using equations/proportions/deep-rooted knowledge than random facts. Even though I do hate how they stick little random facts on there... Not going to say which practice test this was from, but even though I've heard of Darwin's finches I had never actually learned it! So that was frustrating since I got this question wrong. I'm hoping there won't be many random information questions on the real thing.
 
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ADAUC said:
is anybody else finding it difficult to study this last two weeks. man I was hoping that I would kick it up a notch now that test day is getting closer but its like becoming the complete opposite...im so sick of studying for this stupid thing and wish I got a earlier date! gahhhhh!!!!
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I totally felt that way before my Aug 2nd exam. Take it easy these next two weeks and give your brain a rest. I feel like if I had taken it easy and rested up a week or two before the exam I would have felt much better leaving my test.
 
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yeah same here. Well I did Kaplan 1R (the old 100 mins section) for PS/BS and got 12/13. So I'm pretty happy with that but BS i thought was too easy tho so I think I might've wasted 100 mins :(

For VR practice I just did 5 passages in 42 mins from TPRH ICC and got a total of 6 questions wrong. Maybe things looking up a bit in VR? Those were some hard intense passages! D:
 
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RC4L said:
I totally felt that way before my Aug 2nd exam. Take it easy these next two weeks and give your brain a rest. I feel like if I had taken it easy and rested up a week or two before the exam I would have felt much better leaving my test.
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OK, good to know. I think I'll try to target my weak areas and otherwise maybe take a break from passages, excluding verbal of course. And I definitely still want to do AAMC 11 and 8, but otherwise keeping it light.

I'm gonna go over notes I took and have my sister quiz me on organic reactions, though, because I feel like sometimes I look at an orgo passage and feel completely defeated just because I'm not confident in the amount of reactions that I do know. I made an outline for all of the topics questioned in BS, so I'll see if I can con her into asking me questions from that. :]

For PS, I'm going to finish up the SAs as more practice and supplement with EK1001 for my weaknesses. I've done quite a bit of those by now, but would rather go over my weaknesses than all the topics as I was doing. Idk what else to do at this point in the game, honestly. I don't want to overwhelm myself too much. Although going through equations note cards I made will definitely help. Realized I forgot the formulas for electric and magnetic force/field/potential crap. :O
 
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trishaaah said:
Ugh, yes!!! I'm having this exact same problem! I'm hoping that it will quit soon, but this last week or so I've been struggling being able to pay attention while studying. Maybe I've hit an upper limit of what I can shove in my brain for this test? Idk. I'm currently attempting to answer some more passages from TBR, when all I can think about is "when will I be done?!?!"

Thankfully mine is Sep 7. Idk when yours is. I'm taking AAMC 11 on Thursday and AAMC 8 on Monday, going to do some light review next week but otherwise try to relax. I don't think cramming next week will do me any good since I'm already feeling like this and when I actually take practice exams it's a lot more consolidating information and using equations/proportions/deep-rooted knowledge than random facts. Even though I do hate how they stick little random facts on there... Not going to say which practice test this was from, but even though I've heard of Darwin's finches I had never actually learned it! So that was frustrating since I got this question wrong. I'm hoping there won't be many random information questions on the real thing.
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exactly!!! today was supposed to be ochem run through since its been a while since I actually sat and went over it, but I could not focus for the life of me! my test is on the 11th and I so wish I can fast forward things. the worst thing I hate about taking a break day is that I feel guilty. but the brain can only take so much man! taking AAMC 10 tomorrow so im praying I at least do decent.
 
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bear2roo said:
yeah same here. Well I did Kaplan 1R (the old 100 mins section) for PS/BS and got 12/13. So I'm pretty happy with that but BS i thought was too easy tho so I think I might've wasted 100 mins :(

For VR practice I just did 5 passages in 42 mins from TPRH ICC and got a total of 6 questions wrong. Maybe things looking up a bit in VR? Those were some hard intense passages! D:
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So awesome! Nice work! Things are definitely looking up, especially if the passages were intense! I think you should feel very confident in your skills in all subjects!
 
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ADAUC said:
exactly!!! today was supposed to be ochem run through since its been a while since I actually sat and went over it, but I could not focus for the life of me! my test is on the 11th and I so wish I can fast forward things. the worst thing I hate about taking a break day is that I feel guilty. but the brain can only take so much man! taking AAMC 10 tomorrow so im praying I at least do decent.
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So true... I was going to take a nap today and then felt too guilty to do it. What am I becoming?!?! haha But it was probably a good thing since I want to start going to bed by 11 so I'm not screwed for the test and school starting!

Good luck on AAMC 10! I didn't feel it was that bad, but the curve is tough, so definitely make sure to go into it feeling like it's one of the harder ones. I'm sure you'll do well, though! I'm nervous for AAMC 11 which I'm taking Thursday.
 
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RC4L said:
I totally felt that way before my Aug 2nd exam. Take it easy these next two weeks and give your brain a rest. I feel like if I had taken it easy and rested up a week or two before the exam I would have felt much better leaving my test.
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I think that's the only way, cause I feel like especially for vr you gotta have a clear head, and right now my brain feels too crowded. I just hope I can get it together. do you sometimes wish you didn't start studying so earlier for this thing? I've been at it since june:(
 
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ADAUC said:
I think that's the only way, cause I feel like especially for vr you gotta have a clear head, and right now my brain feels too crowded. I just hope I can get it together. do you sometimes wish you didn't start studying so earlier for this thing? I've been at it since june:(
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Wow that's a long time. I started studying in June for my August exam and I don't think it would have been healthy to start any earlier. Quality over quantity is a great standard to study by with the MCAT. I would bet a little breather would help you a lot.
 
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RC4L said:
Wow that's a long time. I started studying in June for my August exam and I don't think it would have been healthy to start any earlier. Quality over quantity is a great standard to study by with the MCAT. I would bet a little breather would help you a lot.
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I'm in a similar situation with ADAUC, following the SN2ed schedule since right after finals in mid June and just barely having enough time to complete it while eliminating some break days along the way. My friend who started studying at the same time as me and who took the test on August 16 said he was pretty burnt out after all of it. Having lots of time is pretty nice though, since instead of cramming 10+ hours a day it was usually less than that. I'd prefer having all this time rather than stuffing TBR chapters into my brain at a rapid pace like that friend.
 
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the worst thing about this stupid process is that the only time I get anything with a 3 in front of it is in my dream:( lmao.
 
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I feel the same way. My exam is 9/11, and I just want to take it. And, school started for me, so I have to consider my studies as well. But, I'll do practice daily, keeping it light, and taking AAMC 10 and 11 over the next two weeks. I'm just a bit worried; studying in the summer was the best thing that I could do for the MCAT; now, I have to study after my morning classes (8 am to 12pm daily), and by then, my brain is a tad bit tired, so I don't feel like I'm focusing as much or putting my all.

But, I shall allay those fears, and just do my best. Most important thing is to practice, do flashcards, and post phrase thoroughly.
 
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my brain feels like mush I just did another 100 mins set of BS passages from TPRH/Kaplan........well time to goof off on internet for an hour.
 
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14/14/13 on Kaplan #4, same score and distribution as Kaplan #3. This was by far the hardest full length I've taken.
 
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grburst said:
14/14/13 on Kaplan #4, same score and distribution as Kaplan #3. This was by far the hardest full length I've taken. My performance was pretty rough, but the curve saved me. At least I will learn a lot from reviewing this one. Once again, not sure about the predictive value.

What's worrying is the number of incorrect second-guesses I made in PS... And I still suck at spectroscopy... :bang: And the number of really silly mistakes... :thumbdown:
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wow you my friend are pretty baller at this MCAT stuff. Do you think Kaplan BS are similar to the "experimenal analysis" type passages? Just curious
 
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bear2roo said:
wow you my friend are pretty baller at this MCAT stuff. Do you think Kaplan BS are similar to the "experimenal analysis" type passages? Just curious
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If the rumors about the test changing to reflect more experimental content is true, then I think Kaplan's sciences should be relatively similar in terms of content. I think the TPRH Science Workbook has biology passages with a similar flavor.
 
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really trying to hammer out the tprh book and aamcs these last few weeks

i just hope i havent wasted all this time man. i just want a 27+ if i get 9/9/9 i will be happier than you can imagine. when i get on here and read people whining about scoring 36 it really breaks my heart
 
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Neverstudies said:
really trying to hammer out the tprh book and aamcs these last few weeks

i just hope i havent wasted all this time man. i just want a 27+ if i get 9/9/9 i will be happier than you can imagine. when i get on here and read people whining about scoring 36 it really breaks my heart
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Haha same here. I have hit 29 twice on 4 and 5. Gonna take AAMC 7 tomorrow. Hopefully gonna break 30.
 
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SynapticDoctah said:
Haha same here. I have hit 29 twice on 4 and 5. Gonna take AAMC 7 tomorrow. Hopefully gonna break 30.
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i'm having the same issue -- i've gotten a 30 on AAMC 3, 29 on AAMC 5 and 29 on today's AAMC 8. I NEEEEEEEEED A 30... actually I'd like to be able to get a practice average of 31 by T-Day because I feel like my nerves will work against me overall. Is this possible? 2 weeks is going super fast!
 
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tinydancer504 said:
i'm having the same issue -- i've gotten a 30 on AAMC 3, 29 on AAMC 5 and 29 on today's AAMC 8. I NEEEEEEEEED A 30... actually I'd like to be able to get a practice average of 31 by T-Day because I feel like my nerves will work against me overall. Is this possible? 2 weeks is going super fast!
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Why did you skip 7?
 
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Putting in my two weeks at this job today! Hopefully I will never have to return to this desolate place. I will however continue to work my hardest since I am writing my own recommendation.

I hope everyone is on the same page. Good studying y'all!
 
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hey -- do any of you guys have advice on how to study/boost my bio in 2 weeks? i used TPR hyperlearning bio book and EK bio. i'm kind of stuck at ~10 on BS because of just dumb mistakes and passages with graphs, etc. i'm not so much worried about orgo at this point as bio.
 
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To all you crazy smart people scoring 36s and 38s on practice tests. What the heck are you doing?!? Lol. I'm not going to be in your class this year so I'm not any competition, but if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I'm a fabulous baker. I will send cupcakes lol!
 
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tinydancer504 said:
hey -- do any of you guys have advice on how to study/boost my bio in 2 weeks? i used TPR hyperlearning bio book and EK bio. i'm kind of stuck at ~10 on BS because of just dumb mistakes and passages with graphs, etc. i'm not so much worried about orgo at this point as bio.
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Dumb mistakes are fixed with concentration and carefulness.

Problems with interpretation of graphs require more practice. TPRH ICC is a good resource for hard BS (and PS) passages. That and Kaplan Section Tests as well.
 
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Verbal is such a crapshoot. Just did AAMC #8 and thought I bombed it again but ended up scoring 3 points higher than I predicted in erbal. I also thought I BOMBED the PS and BS sections (thought they were much harder than the previous exams) but scores in-line with my previous scores. My PS scores have been consistently the strongest but I ALWAYS run out of time and end up guessing on 3-5 questions per test... It's not a good feeling because I always breathe a sigh of relief. It's like, oh crap I dodged another one.
 
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Took AAMC 4R test...scored 34 (12/10/12)..that was brutal in terms of stamina. Jeez started at 12 pm finished at 6pm including 10 mins break.

That "10" for VR I already docked off 1 point since I took this test several months ago. I actually scored 11. Not sure if it was a waste of 85 mins of VR but yeah I thought I should do an AAMC VR to get used to "AAMC-VR style" again.

Still, a bit disappointd in the sciences. I wish I can break into the beloved 13+ range.....:xf:
 
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bear2roo said:
Took AAMC 4R test...scored 34 (12/10/12)..that was brutal in terms of stamina. Jeez started at 12 pm finished at 6pm including 10 mins break.

That "10" for VR I already docked off 1 point since I took this test several months ago. I actually scored 11. Not sure if it was a waste of 85 mins of VR but yeah I thought I should do an AAMC VR to get used to "AAMC-VR style" again.

Still, a bit disappointd in the sciences. I wish I can break into the beloved 13+ range.....:xf:
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What's 4R?
 
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inycepoo said:
Dumb mistakes are fixed with concentration and carefulness.

Problems with interpretation of graphs require more practice. TPRH ICC is a good resource for hard BS (and PS) passages. That and Kaplan Section Tests as well.
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Did you do all of the ICC passages for BS/PS? And if let's say you got a lot wrong on a passage....since there are no explainations, did you think think this was helpful b/c it forced you to look around to figure it out?

As for section tests, what's a good percentage? I did Section test 7 BS and got 75%....is that pretty good or decent?
 
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I just took AAMC 3 and scored a 12PS/7VR/11BS (30).

crap...gotta raise up that verbal in less than 3 weeks...

Time management on verbal and confusion in specifically ancient greek and greek mythology is killing me...should I just start reading greek philosophy and and mythology...LOL

PS: man Berkeley Review really puts you into mcat mode...EVERYONE should use BR...especially BR biology passages (they helped immensely in experimental passages)
 
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Hey guys,

Taking the test on the same day as you, so figured I'd ask what kind of score drop should I expect on the actual test? Just being realistic taking a full length in my comfy desk seems a lot less stressful than the real deal.

Thanks.
 
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bear2roo said:
Did you do all of the ICC passages for BS/PS? And if let's say you got a lot wrong on a passage....since there are no explainations, did you think think this was helpful b/c it forced you to look around to figure it out?

As for section tests, what's a good percentage? I did Section test 7 BS and got 75%....is that pretty good or decent?
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I did the full ICC. Averaged in the mid 70s. I had the TPR online content which had explanations, so that wasn't a problem.

I averaged in the mid 70s for both PS and BS section tests. Reached mid 80s towards the end on the last ones I took. Can't tell you how that correlates to my real score because it's not out yet, but I'd say 70-80% is pretty good. Section tests are hard ****. Use it for practice, not a score predictor. Only AAMCs can predict scores well.
 
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CaptainEngineer said:
Hey guys,

Taking the test on the same day as you, so figured I'd ask what kind of score drop should I expect on the actual test? Just being realistic taking a full length in my comfy desk seems a lot less stressful than the real deal.

Thanks.
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None of us know how nervous you get. People tend to get +/- 2 points from their AAMC average due to nerves and other factors. Trust your average.
 
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inycepoo said:
None of us know how nervous you get. People tend to get +/- 2 points from their AAMC average due to nerves and other factors. Trust your average.
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Ok. My issues tend to come from laziness rather than nerves, as in I tend to ballpark the math rather than actually calculating it (simple arithmetic just doesn't interest me being an engineer + math major).

I went through all the Berkeley Review books, 7 full lengths and now have moved onto the AAMCs. My AAMC scores have been 3 (38), 8 (39), 9 (42) - which are awesome, so I'd really like to pull that off on the actual test.
 
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CaptainEngineer said:
Amazing how fast people escalate in this forum.

Anyways, this clearly is going no where, so I'll just go back to studying
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Amazing how people call themselves lazy and then get defensive when it's pointed out that that's a recipe for disaster.

What do you want me to say? That you should continue ballparking math answers and get them wrong? C'mon, quit being so prissy.
 
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