{Official} August 16th Thread

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drkryptonight

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misterex said:
I can't believe people would even start to bicker about which MCAT was harder.
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This is true, but I think us Aug. 16thers are feeling Aug. 20th is getting all the attention. I mean, what about us? It's like being in the shadow of an exceptional older sibling; "Sure, yours was tough," you say, "but ours was WAY more difficult!" Not fair! Ours was DEFINITELY difficult. Perhaps it is that we Aug. 16thers are a more stoic breed, somehow destined by the stars to be more resigned to our fate.

Anyway, I'd like to call to attention the fact that, although we may not have had QUITE the test your Aug. 20thers had, we certainly suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune.

That said, after hearing back the results of the July 24th exam, I'm realizing now that we are both lucky, in a sense, to have received difficult tests. The curve will play in our favor.

Long live Aug. 16th!!!!
 
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gilbertjgreen said:
This is true, but I think us Aug. 16thers are feeling Aug. 20th is getting all the attention. I mean, what about us? It's like being in the shadow of an exceptional older sibling; "Sure, yours was tough," you say, "but ours was WAY more difficult!" Not fair! Ours was DEFINITELY difficult. Perhaps it is that we Aug. 16thers are a more stoic breed, somehow destined by the stars to be more resigned to our fate.

Anyway, I'd like to call to attention the fact that, although we may not have had QUITE the test your Aug. 20thers had, we certainly suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune.

That said, after hearing back the results of the July 24th exam, I'm realizing now that we are both lucky, in a sense, to have received difficult tests. The curve will play in our favor.

Long live Aug. 16th!!!!
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Yeah, exactly. I'm resting all my hopes on a good curve after those results.
 
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gilbertjgreen said:
This is true, but I think us Aug. 16thers are feeling Aug. 20th is getting all the attention. I mean, what about us? It's like being in the shadow of an exceptional older sibling; "Sure, yours was tough," you say, "but ours was WAY more difficult!" Not fair! Ours was DEFINITELY difficult. Perhaps it is that we Aug. 16thers are a more stoic breed, somehow destined by the stars to be more resigned to our fate.

Anyway, I'd like to call to attention the fact that, although we may not have had QUITE the test your Aug. 20thers had, we certainly suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune.

That said, after hearing back the results of the July 24th exam, I'm realizing now that we are both lucky, in a sense, to have received difficult tests. The curve will play in our favor.

Long live Aug. 16th!!!!
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LOL. I hope the curve is generous too... but I think I did myself in by spending too much time on the heat of solution passage and on all those calculations. I really had to rush those last two passages and discretes. Oh well.

edit- We also have a lot less hits/posts than other recent MCAT threads... less SDN posters taking the test = better curve? *grasps at straws*
 
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You know, I really don't remember a heat of solution passage...are you talking about one that mentioned melting ice cubes?

Oh and another quick question: does the test save the essay even if you don't press the 'save' button right at the end? I sure hope so...
 
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ArtemisEntreri said:
You know, I really don't remember a heat of solution passage...are you talking about one that mentioned melting ice cubes?

Oh and another quick question: does the test save the essay even if you don't press the 'save' button right at the end? I sure hope so...
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No, I didn't have any passages with ice cubes. It involved calculating and comparing delta Hs for solutions. I'd be more specific but I don't want to be PH'd again for no good reason.

Yeah, the essay saves itself when you run out of time or choose to end the section.
 
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No problem, that was specific enough for me to know I didn't have that passage. I didn't have the invisible sphere passage either so I'm really hoping I didn't skip anything...
 
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ArtemisEntreri said:
Oh and another quick question: does the test save the essay even if you don't press the 'save' button right at the end? I sure hope so...
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Yeah it saves it...I did that on this test and the one in july and it saved my essay responses at the end...I think they want you to save in case the computers suddenly power off...I don't know if it saves then, but the power went off on my first exam so saving is probably just a precaution
 
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I remember the heat of solution passage. It was tricky and I stared at it for a while...then I realized you actually didn't need many calculations at all because it was really conceptual...definitely a hard passage though
 
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Flake0006 said:
I remember the heat of solution passage. It was tricky and I stared at it for a while...then I realized you actually didn't need many calculations at all because it was really conceptual...definitely a hard passage though
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I hope it wasn't the field test passage like someone suggested earlier in the thread. I spent ~12 minutes on it.
 
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I'm starting to think that there was a good variety in what we saw in the ps section, and not so much in the bs section. I too do not remember anything dealing with heats of solution, although I did have a melting passage, but it had only 1 calculation on it.

However, I have seen some posts saying that they only had a few calculations on their ps section, whereas I know I had at least 9 calculation problems, 2 of which I could solve without calculating anything, but it was a "calculation" problem nonetheless (e.g. you have a and b in the passage somewhere, use those to find c). Maybe some people don't think 9 or so calculation problems is a lot, but from what was on the AAMC and from my other mocks, I considered it to be quite a bit. The extra time I spent on calculating problems, combined with the verbose ps passages that read like a verbal section, really through me off on my timing quite a bit. For example, I usually finish the ps section with about 20 minutes to spare that I then use to go over any problem I had difficulty with and work it over again. But due to the different nature of this test, I only had 10 minutes to do so and felt somewhat rushed. I just hope the timing difference didn't affect my accuracy. :rolleyes:
 
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I'm just surprised you all can remember all these details. Usually, as soon as I take a test, I don't think about it until when I get my results back. I could never remember all the things you all can!
 
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freelove said:
I'm just surprised you all can remember all these details. Usually, as soon as I take a test, I don't think about it until when I get my results back. I could never remember all the things you all can!
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Ha - after my test I was online talking with friends and looking up answers for hours. I probably remembered over half of the questions on the test.
 
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gilbertjgreen said:
This is true, but I think us Aug. 16thers are feeling Aug. 20th is getting all the attention. I mean, what about us? It's like being in the shadow of an exceptional older sibling; "Sure, yours was tough," you say, "but ours was WAY more difficult!" Not fair! Ours was DEFINITELY difficult. Perhaps it is that we Aug. 16thers are a more stoic breed, somehow destined by the stars to be more resigned to our fate.

Anyway, I'd like to call to attention the fact that, although we may not have had QUITE the test your Aug. 20thers had, we certainly suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune.

That said, after hearing back the results of the July 24th exam, I'm realizing now that we are both lucky, in a sense, to have received difficult tests. The curve will play in our favor.

Long live Aug. 16th!!!!
Click to expand...

I think more people took the Aug. 20 test; hence, the more "attention" as you say. But anyway, if some Aug. 20'er starts complaining that he got a worse score than me because his test was "harder," I'd punch him in the face.
 
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lol I forgot which day I took the MCAT. I took it on the 14th not the 16th. See how disoriented this test has made me.
 
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Anyone else having a hard time drinking away this exam? I still can't drown my mind of invisible spheres:hardy::D:hardy:...

In any event, I think it should be required reading for everyone in this thread to read the 'July 24th Expected vs. Actual Score due the Curve' thread...It really makes you appreciate the curve...Even so, based on these responses I still feel like I could have gotten anywhere from a 25-37 pending my guesswork.

:thumbup: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=439495 :thumbup:

On a side note, does anyone still taking classes have this weird vibe about school while we're waiting in this limbo period? Like a really detached and indifferent (not emo :rolleyes:) feeling with time just fleeing by?
 
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SoFlaKnight said:
On a side note, does anyone still taking classes have this weird vibe about school while we're waiting in this limbo period? Like a really detached and indifferent (not emo :rolleyes:) feeling with time just fleeing by?
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Yes. I know how you feel. It's almost like stuff is happening at school, but it just doesn't really feel right.... It's not that my classes are any harder this semester, but I feel like things aren't going to really take off until I get my score back.
 
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chad5871 said:
Yes. I know how you feel. It's almost like stuff is happening at school, but it just doesn't really feel right.... It's not that my classes are any harder this semester, but I feel like things aren't going to really take off until I get my score back.
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man i feel this exact same way thats crazy. Since this semester started, i have done nothing. I cant motivate myself.
 
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I've spent so much time thinking about PS (my weakness) that I didn't give BS much thought... I thought it was very difficult. Especially the caffeine/antibody passage. I bombed that one... also there was another passage that was time consuming. I forget what it was about. Did anyone else have a passage whose questions were all essentially about reading graphs?
 
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utahjazz said:
I've spent so much time thinking about PS (my weakness) that I didn't give BS much thought... I thought it was very difficult. Especially the caffeine/antibody passage. I bombed that one... also there was another passage that was time consuming. I forget what it was about. Did anyone else have a passage whose questions were all essentially about reading graphs?
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The one about the dogs and and their intake of some 'unspecified for this thread' element? If so, I found it really time-consuming going back and forth checking the graphs while endlessly scrolling to see what lined up with what...:thumbdown:
I'm still reeling from the fact that I had 4 organic passages...

PS-I've been a semi-closeted Jazz fan since the early 90's and I can't wait for the upcoming domination of Williams and Boozer with arguably the deepest bench in the league. With the pickup of Morris Almond, they're gonna be the bane of every team in the Western Conference this year. Contrary to popular belief, the 3 greatest words in the English language are not "I love you", but rather "Stockton to Malone" :)
 
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SoFlaKnight said:
The one about the dogs and and their intake of some 'unspecified for this thread' element? If so, I found it really time-consuming going back and forth checking the graphs while endlessly scrolling to see what lined up with what...:thumbdown:
I'm still reeling from the fact that I had 4 organic passages...

PS-I've been a semi-closeted Jazz fan since the early 90's and I can't wait for the upcoming domination of Williams and Boozer with arguably the deepest bench in the league. With the pickup of Morris Almond, they're gonna be the bane of every team in the Western Conference this year. Contrary to popular belief, the 3 greatest words in the English language are not "I love you", but rather "Stockton to Malone" :)
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Yes, it was the dog passage. That took me a long time too... I double checked everything and caught a couple stupid errors I made. You had 4 orgo passages?!?!? Wow. I had 3, I think. Did you have that gigantic 11 compound mechanism that you had to scroll all over the place to see? That was insane.

:bow: I have been a Jazz fan for about the same time. The new Jazz are a lot of fun to watch. I am also stoked about Almond. I think he'll fit in very well if Sloan gives him playing time. Now if they can avoid the Spurs in the playoffs they'll have a chance... :)
 
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I still dont think the jazz can compete with the likes of Suns, Dallas, and spurs, and honeslty i see the Rockets beating the Jazz this year
 
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amwatts0322 said:
I still dont think the jazz can compete with the likes of Suns, Dallas, and spurs, and honeslty i see the Rockets beating the Jazz this year
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I think the Jazz have a fighting chance against any team but the Spurs. Any of the teams you listed have a chance of coming out of the West... it just depends on what the playoff matchups are. It certainly will be an interesting season.
 
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yo... I'm going crazy. I'm trying to just forget about it till the 19th but people keep ASKING ME HOW DO I THINK I DID!!! Like... I really don't want to discuss it!

Lol... soon people will be saying "Back in my day we had to wait a whole two moths to get our scores back. That's back when the MCAT took all day..."
 
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freelove said:
yo... I'm going crazy. I'm trying to just forget about it till the 19th but people keep ASKING ME HOW DO I THINK I DID!!! Like... I really don't want to discuss it!

Lol... soon people will be saying "Back in my day we had to wait a whole two moths to get our scores back. That's back when the MCAT took all day..."
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Yeah, I guess it's best to not think about it. (But that's impossible.) It sucks that we have to wait more than 30 days though, lol... but I guess it's better than waiting 2 months.
 
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I'm glad I found your thread, it has actually made feel like I am not alone in thinking that test was ungodly harder than either the Kaplan or AAMC practice exams I was doing. PS I thought was ok, verbal (my strength by far) I thought was pretty decent and BS kicked me square in the groin. Not sure if my brain was just fried by then, but I felt like I didn't know jack on that section. It doesn't help that I have been out of school for 5 years and I spent 1/2 my study time in Baghdad...

Can't wait till Sept 19, and hoping I see something decent when I get those scores. Best of luck to the rest of you, I hope the curve is decent!
 
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Just found out I got a 28M on 8/6, hoping for something better on 8/16
11bs
9
8vr

Oh baby...
 
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Just out of sheer curiosity...what made you decide to take two exams 10 days apart? Wouldn't you want to wait for your first score or void it if you thought it was bad enough to guarantee a retake? I'm just asking because I thought to wait for a retake (which hopefully there will not be :rolleyes:).
 
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ArtemisEntreri said:
Just out of sheer curiosity...what made you decide to take two exams 10 days apart? Wouldn't you want to wait for your first score or void it if you thought it was bad enough to guarantee a retake? I'm just asking because I thought to wait for a retake (which hopefully there will not be :rolleyes:).
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I did the same thing as Ian. The 8/6 exam was incredibly difficult and I thought I bombed it. I felt like I was all ready for the exam, so I figured why wait to retake?
 
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One of my roommates just wrote the MCAT yesterday, and from how she described it it seems like it was A LOT easier than ours! I know I can't really judge since I didn't write it, but even from reading the "Sept 8 thoughts" thread, it does seem like it was a lot more like the AAMC practice exams than ours was. I doubt that everyone that wrote yesterday was any more prepared than those of us that wrote on Aug 16th... this really isn't fair! How is the MCAT "standardized" if the difficulty level varies so much between administrations?

Ugh, I can't wait until the 19th so we can see how this so-called curve works.
 
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ArtemisEntreri said:
Just out of sheer curiosity...what made you decide to take two exams 10 days apart? Wouldn't you want to wait for your first score or void it if you thought it was bad enough to guarantee a retake? I'm just asking because I thought to wait for a retake (which hopefully there will not be :rolleyes:).
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I knew right after leaving that I hadnt done as well as I should have so I signed up for the 8/16 after the arbitrary two day waiting period after the 8/6 test.

I was nervous going in because I wasnt expecting to wait for half an hour for the Thomson people to call my name.

For the 8/16 I had to travel from Florida to Chicago to get a test spot. A little expensive but when I walked out of the 8/16, feeling how I felt, test I knew it was worth it.

I just hope I was right:hardy:
 
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I'm new to the whole MCAT ordeal. Thus wow, I can't imagine they used to only offer it twice a year up until just last year! Must've been a madhouse.
 
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Ian1223 said:
IFor the 8/16 I had to travel from Florida to Chicago to get a test spot. A little expensive but when I walked out of the 8/16, feeling how I felt, test I knew it was worth it.

I just hope I was right:hardy:
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:wow: That's a long way to travel for the MCAT. I really hope it pays off for you. I know I felt much happier leaving the 8/16 exam than I did the 8/6 exam... that exam was so brutal.
 
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Ooh, I'm an August 16th test taker...glad to have found this place. Though it seems like this thread compared to the other test date threads is going a bit slow. ..

But anyways, I just wanna say that I HATE caterpillars and mosquitos in water droplets and knowing the exact identity of some freaking sugar, and everything else to do with the horrid exam that I feel like I wasted so much time studying for!

And now I'm deathly afraid to get my score back. Life sucks. Boo. :( Sorry to bring everyone down...
 
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