1) Your individual scores and composite score
April 7, 2007 MCAT: 13PS 11VR 15BS R (39R)
2) The study method used for each section
PS:
Taking calculus-based physics for engineers definitely helped. I'm a molecular bio major, so only conceptual physics would have been required, but I took the calculus-based course and it definitely paid off. Taking other random bioengineering courses also helped develop physical intuition for solving PS problems.
I used Berkeley Review's test prep materials for reviewing Physics and General Chemistry. (
http://berkeley-review.com). Their books are very thorough and well-written (I think the main author studied chemistry at UC Berkeley). The material seemed more in depth than necessary for the exam, but that helped give me a solid understanding of the fundamental physical principles being tested...and it paid off with a 13 in PS =)
VR:
I put off studying for this until a few weeks before the exam. For me, studying verbal strategies didn't help nearly as much as doing LOTS of practice passages. The Berkeley Review material was pretty weak in their verbal prep, so I bought the EK 101 passages and did a bunch of those. I improved from an 8 to an 11, but then days before the exam, I plummeted back down to a 9. That kinda freaked me out and made me realize that maybe I was trying too hard and screwing myself up. So I decided to chill out, and not look at verbal again til the real exam. On the exam, VR felt really good, and for me at least, my performance on verbal depends mostly on both how relaxed and how alert I am.
BS:
So the material that showed up on my BS section on the real exam was TOTALLY different from what I had prepared for. I used Berkeley Review to study o-chem; it was very in depth but good preparation. They mention some more obscure lab techniques (like Tollen's test), which actually ended up on my exam.
Berkeley Review's anatomy materials were also supplemented with TPR's anatomy (which I think is better written). And since I'd never taken an anatomy class in my life, I also borrowed my friend's anatomy textbook.
The AAMC practice tests I used had a balanced amount of anatomy/physiology and o-chem in addition to cell/molecular bio. But on the real thing, my actual test form was almost 80% MCB. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it worked out well for me because I'm an MCB/biochemistry major. So a lot of the test questions reflected topics my professors had been talking about lately (ie mechanisms of viral transduction, Koch's postulates, establishing whether something is "necessary AND sufficient," etc.). Got a 15 on this section, so ultimately, it worked out well.
WS:
Didn't really look at this section until the week of the exam. I used my friend Princeton Review Hyperlearning verbal book, which was pretty useful. Their essays seemed much better written than what I wrote on the exam, but I still got an R (I was expecting more like a P). It makes me wonder whether test companies purposely make exam sections seem harder than they are, just to scare us into paying $2000 to take their courses.
3) What materials you used for each section(Kaplan, TPR, Examkrackers, AAMC, etc)
PS: Berkeley Review
VR: EK 101
BS: Berkeley Review, TPR (anatomy), Anatomy textbook
WS: TPR
4) Which practice tests did you use?
AAMC
5) What was your undergraduate major?
Molecular and Cell Bio (emphasis in Biochemistry), BioE minor
This combo of biochem and bioE coursework ended up providing pretty balanced preparation for the MCAT (gave a solid foundation in physics, chemistry, and molecular/cell bio)...but I definitely would NOT recommend choosing a major just because you think it will help you on the MCAT. Study the topics you enjoy for your major, and your MCAT preparation will fall into place later.
6) Any other tips you may have for those of us who still have this test lurking over us?
Do well in your classes, even ones only peripherally related to the MCAT. Anything that helps hone your logical abilities and physical intuition will help you out.
I didn't take a prep course (felt it was too much $$). I just bought the Berkeley Review books (GREAT for reviewing science material) and borrowed my friends old TPR and anatomy books. I was studying during the semester, so like most people, I had ~20 hours of class per week, not to mention a bf and a life outside school to balance with this. Self-discipline was definitely hard sometimes, so I decided to look up the course schedule for one of the Berkeley Review classroom courses, and just followed that everyday. This way, I could go at the same pace as the classroom courses, without shelling out $2000!
Also, this is very important, if you take away anything from this post, get this:
1.
Again, do well in your classes! (or at least understand the material well, even if you don't get a great grade)
2.
Memorizing is not the key (well, for me at least). I've heard about people memorizing o-chem reactions and kinematics equations, etc for this exam, but I think that's unnecessary. What's more important is have an intuitive understanding of the phenomenal being tested. For instance, it'll benefit you more to have an intuitive grasp of (a) in o-chem, how electrophiles and nucleophiles interact with each other and (b) in physics, how moving bodies and forces interact. Also, a lot of times, all the information you need is contained within the passage; rather than have certain trivia memorized, you just need to logically piece together points already stated in the passage to answer some of the questions.
3.
Don't let this test take over your life! There's a lot of stories about premeds falling off the face of the planet for 6 months at a time, just to prepare for this exam. This may work for *some* people, but I'm definitely not one of them. For me, all the studying in the world won't help my score if I'm miserable. Balancing study time with hanging out with my bf on a regular basis and going out with my friends really helped maintain my mental sanity...which in turn boosted my score if anything.
7) How long did you study for the MCAT?
2.5 months. (With 2 weeks of gap for midterms and recovering from strep throat).
I came out of that exam feeling like I got hit by a truck (especially on PS). I was dreading finding out my score, and practically crapped my pants when I saw it was >33P (about what I was expecting). I'm still pretty shocked with how well I did compared to how crappy it felt, but I guess that's just how it is with this test.