When I took my MCAT...

[TX500]

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I came across a Biology passage that I could not understand. The experiment was incredibly convoluted and the graphs and charts were difficult to interpret. I also had a passage like this in my physical sciences, and I ended up voiding.

My question is this - when you see a passage, read through it, and have no idea what's going on, what do you do next? The BS passage I'm talking about had 6 questions, and every question was based on the experiment. I feel like I have the content down cold, so that wasn't an issue.

I do fairly well in TBR BS and PS passages, but my question is specifically for that one (or two) "WTF" passages that you'll inevitably see on test day. How can I improve this? I don't think TBR and TPRH passages do the trick. That one passage is why I believe I'm stuck in the 10-11 range and haven't reached the 13-14 range.

Should I read more biology literature online?

 

[Mehd School]

If they curve depending on "difficulty" of questions, then they certainly have to take into account how many test takers missed that question right? Maybe not that day, but certainly over a period of time.

The questions you have on your MCAT have already been on a previous MCAT as experimental questions. I believe they correlate the % correct answers to the difficulty of said question/passage. The harder the passages/questions, the easier the scale.

 

[Mehd School]

They test the questions ahead of time. By the time you and other people see the questions on test day the curve is already determined.

I'm considering putting this in my signature. Far too many people are unaware this is how it works.

 

[Captain Sisko]

The questions you have on your MCAT have already been on a previous MCAT as experimental questions. I believe they correlate the % correct answers to the difficulty of said question/passage. The harder the passages/questions, the easier the scale.

It's also worth pointing out that some of the questions on any given exam are experimental questions themselves and don't count towards your score at all.

 

[mcgst9]

I'm considering putting this in my signature. Far too many people are unaware this is how it works.

If that's the case then why does it take 4 weeks to grade it? 😵

 

[Captain Sisko]

If that's the case then why does it take 4 weeks to grade it? 😵

Test result quality assurance and security verification. They need to go over all the records from testing centers and make sure no one cheated.

When I was waiting for my score, instead of complaining about the wait on sdn I asked and answered the question of why it takes so long even with the essay removed. After searching for aamc job postings and looking through the job descriptions I got the sense that this is a big part of the 30 day wait. Plus, I suppose they're short staffed.

 

[Mindbuffer]

This may shed some light on scoring for some people:

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/85436/preparing_understandingscores.html

 

[milski]

I'm considering putting this in my signature. Far too many people are unaware this is how it works.

You cannot win against conspiracy theorists. After all, the only purpose AAMC has is to torture per-meds and extort them out of their money.

 

[mehc012]

This may shed some light on scoring for some people:

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/85436/preparing_understandingscores.html

It still doesn't answer why it takes so damn long...I really don't understand what it is they'd be doing in that month, even if they wait for all test centers to send in reports to verify accuracy. I mean, can't they release the grades (I'm assuming the computer does them all pretty instantly) for everyone except those at a testing center which submitted a note or something?

 

[Mindbuffer]

It still doesn't answer why it takes so damn long...I really don't understand what it is they'd be doing in that month, even if they wait for all test centers to send in reports to verify accuracy. I mean, can't they release the grades (I'm assuming the computer does them all pretty instantly) for everyone except those at a testing center which submitted a note or something?

Yeah, I agree, but I think that's pretty much all of the information they're going to give us. People have emailed them with more questions in the past, but they refuse to provide more details about the scoring process.