{Official} August 20th MCAT thoughts?

[J ROD]

Well, let me say the real MCAT I just took was nothing like the Kaplan or AAMC practice tests I took. I can not even compared the two. Incredibly harder...

I thought every section was harder than any practice test I have seen including Kaplan. I thought the sciences were harder than Kaplan sectionals.

PS: Was very passaged based and conceptual. 4 gchem passages, 3 physics. I had to use very few equations and the ones I had to use were in from the passage.

Verbal: usually strong point, first time I have ever had a passage I could not understand fully. I spent 12 minutes on it and still was unsure. The questions were harder and the answer choices were closer and harder to pick from than the AAMCs.

BS: almost completely passage based. I have had Immuno, Micro, Biochem and two Pathophysio and I still could not understand some of the passages. I also had a hard org passage. I think I got some of it right but who knows. Immuno passage with some genetics thrown in, cell cycle passage, rest is a blur.

The discretes were all more difficult and had to guess on several on them. On practice tests for Kaplan and AAMC, I never had a problem. Did today though.

There were maybe 2 or 3 give me questions on each science section.

I have no clue what to expect for a grade since I educated guessed my way through most of it. I averaged 34 AAMC and 36 Kaplan and unless the curve is huge, I expect a 25 or so. I know many have said this before, but based on what I saw today and the AAMC curve, something has to be different or I am going to get a very different score.

Could I have prepared better? Not really. It was all passage based and hard as hell. I did finish with enough time in each section just because I did alot of guessing.

So, believe what you read in here about the difficulty of some of the real MCATs. I was not shocked because of what I have read in here, but I know I missed alot more than I usually did on AAMCs and Kaplans. I will need a Kaplan curve to be competitive.

Any others or am I the only one that thought what they saw today was rough!!

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[DieselD]

The test was hard....
I dont know how it went. My verbal can be pretty bad. I fell back on my time after the first 2 passages. So i was rushing with an alternating thinking if I should void and while trying to catch up with time.

I was re-taking with a score of 27... i'm thinking it was a bad idea. The PS was very hard. I didnt finish...well i did but had to blindly guess on 2-3 of them.

Verbal was hard...I'm wondering if someone who had the form pm me as I can only recall 6 passages so i think I might have left one passage blank(hopefully not).


BS I thought was pretty alright. I've been scoring 10-13 on the tests, i think i hit near that. 2 orgo passages, gizzard stuff, (that first passage was tough)

 

[BananaMonkey]

So,

I just drove 3 hours in a ridiculous storm that followed me from VA to DC. That was after the 5 hour exam.

I'm just curious as to what all you other August 20th testers thought of the exam? Without being too specific and to avoid breaking any forum rules, I was quite surprised by the exam. And by quite surprised, I mean @#(&(%&#.

What about you guys? And what's the earliest we can get our results? Like, I'm willing to drive 2000 miles and pay 150bucks to know my results in three days instead of 30.

 

[Teh Toaster]

PS> I have never run out of time in this section on the Kaplan or AAMC practice tests--I did today. I was going through the physics equations in my head before the test and started freaking out because I was forgetting some of them. As it turned out, it didn't matter in the least; very few of them were required.

VR> I usually run out of time on this section, but I managed to get through with time to spare. It kinda scares me. I just finished a Theater course which may have helped me on one of the passages.

BS> I don't even know what to say about this section. Bio has always been my strength, but jeeezus. My buddy with a Lit degree could have whooped me on this section.

Overall, I had to make an educated guess on quite a few of them. I seriously sat, staring at the screen with the VOID check box for an eternity, trying to make the decision; "To click, or not to click". That is really the question of the day.

 

[baby methuselah]

one girl in my room left crying. that pretty much sums it up.

 

[baby methuselah]

. I seriously sat, staring at the screen with the VOID check box for an eternity, trying to make the decision; "To click, or not to click". That is really the question of the day.

meeee toooooo

 

[Teh Toaster]

one girl in my room left crying. that pretty much sums it up.

I didn't even cry when my cat died. I was pretty close today.

 

[chad5871]

no specific questions are posted, relax dude

Apparently you're not allowed to post specific questions OR specific answers. Some of the answers discussed on here have been pretty specific.... If you guys want to discuss anything really specific, try PMing or Instant Messaging each other.

 

[DieselD]

Waste of another summer...and waste of $1000 in application fees. i think I went down with this re-take. Should I try to squeeze in Sept 11 or whenever that day is?

 

[jamilla_w]

no specific questions are posted, relax dude

It doesn't matter. They put you on hold here for mentioning specifics of a question even if you don't post the question and it's not a copyright violation, etc.

 

[BananaMonkey]

First off, I felt this exam compared to the AAMC as much as a fruit fly compares to a pony. No connection? Exactly.

Secondly, was this a friggin literature exam? I think there were what, maybe 4 diagrams? PS and BS are supposed to be quick! Like, skim the passage, and some passage questions are gonna be partially discrete. But, WTF. I ran out of time basically on every section. Guessed on a crapload of them.

Thirdly, I really think this test was written in English, translated into Swahili or Finnish, and then translated BACK into English. Especially on PS with the component F=whatever equation.

And Bio? Ugh. So much ridiculousness. They asked more detail than I've ever seen, and I've taken 4 Kaplan FL and AAMC3-10. Friggin apoptosis. Friggin gizzards. This isn't zoology or bird studies. Chicken gizzards are for the Vet school exam.

I retook this after scoring 27 on the last paper test, and I was getting 34-37s on the practices. I'm praying for a 12. I cried the whole way home. ARGHHGHGHGHGH.

 

[veaselhaufen]

veaselhaufen- Can I ask what you got on your July 13th MCAT?

A lot of people with good scores are retaking... I think that will make the curve harder for later tests.

I got 33R 12, 8, 13. I feel kind of ridiculous retaking, but I was doing a lot better on practice exams. I think I probably bettered my July 13 score today.. except for Bio which I thought was nuts. Verbal seemed much better which was my motivation for taking in the first place.

One comment: I really don't think people retaking makes the curve less forgiving. I realize that I am just being a perfectionistic little prick, but most people are retaking for a reason. I think AAMC says that most retakes result in a lower score...

 

[J ROD]

There was a guy in the bathroom after PS splashing water on his face saying he just got raped.

I was raped and did not know it until I got home and on here.

 

[Teh Toaster]

So, is the test really curved? I can't find any info on it. That would make me feel slightly better--knowing that a lot of other people don't feel that they did very well.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

I took the 16th one and I begrudgingly hate say "I told you so"...it seems the next few tests are gonna be interesting to say the least...I fully believe in self responsibility and I'm not bitter but let's call a spade a spade. I don't care who it is: TPR, Kaplan, EK, AAMC (for shame), with the money being paid to these respective companies they failed at making comparable practice exams...

Good Luck upcoming testers....if history is any indicator-you're gonna need it

 

[baby methuselah]

that's what upsets me. i can see that maybe kaplan and tpr can't quite capture the feel of the real thing, but AAMC!!!! what were you guys thinking??? at least studying helped me with the practice aamc tests. i don't know if i have a plan of attack if i have to take this again.

 

[BananaMonkey]

So... the next test days are Sept 7, 8, and 11.


Are you guys gonna retake? I'm thinking about it, but honestly, I don't know what I would even study...

 

[nimish]

I don't care who it is: TPR, Kaplan, EK, AAMC (for shame), with the money being paid to these respective companies they failed at making comparable practice exams...

Agree...wholeheartedly.

 

[baby methuselah]

haha. it's also funny that this thread is about 20 posts lighter since the mods started deleting aamc content. surely they don't ban people for this.. do they?

 

[J ROD]

So... the next test days are Sept 7, 8, and 11.


Are you guys gonna retake? I'm thinking about it, but honestly, I don't know what I would even study...

I am waiting until Jan.

 

[wedogogirl]

.

 

[pingouin]

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[J ROD]

Hi, JDUB.

I am taking the exam in January. I'm doing tons of content review right now, and I plan to go into MCAT OCD mode (20 practice tests in the next 5 months) to prepare. Given that the MCAT seems more passage based now, do you have any suggestions for me as I prepare?

Please advise.

When doing practice tests, try to read the passages and get every little detail even if you do not need it for the questions on practice tests. The discretes are not give me questions on the real MCAT either. The difficulty is on another level period. I could sleep walk a 30 on practice tests and I know I did not get there today. I really messed up the PS and got alot of the Physics I was not wanting. Reading comp and critical thinking are more important than actual science knowledge. To me, the practice test only helped with format and timing. Right now, I know no good way to prep. Like I said in my first post on this thread, there was nothing I could have done for today except come and take it. There is no practice material for the test I took today. Kaplan is the hardest out there. The verbal was like AAMC but harder to me. Close answers and somewhat harder questions.

I will just review some and take it again in Jan and hope for something better.

 

[baby methuselah]

Hi, JDUB.

I am taking the exam in January. I'm doing tons of content review right now, and I plan to go into MCAT OCD mode (20 practice tests in the next 5 months) to prepare. Given that the MCAT seems more passage based now, do you have any suggestions for me as I prepare?

Please advise.

ummmmm.. if you find something that works, let me know. b/c i don't think any amount of studying can give you an advantage with the stuff that is on aamc now. maybe just work on reading comprehension

 

[crunchymilk]

relax guys if you think the test was hard it means you didn't fall for the easy traps and the curve will be good. You want a hard test. Good luck to those that took it today.

 

[DieselD]

I'm thinking January if I re-take.

 

[Hyacinth]

I just spent my summer studying for this. I felt like melting into a puddle and disappearing after that test.
I had to scramble through the PS.
Just randomly picked answers on one of the verbal passages.
And Bio which is my best subject gave me difficulties as well. What was with the answers to the flexor and extensor muscle question, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE EASY FREE STANDING QUESTIONS that should have been cake.

This test was nothing like any of the practice tests I've taken and I took seven of them. The questions and the answers were ambiguous.

ALL in ALL I feel like i've been put through some social experiment to see which pre-med student will crack first.

Oh yeah and my timer went coocoo during the test. I felt like I didn't get enough time in physical sciences since I worked on my timing all summer. I stayed during the break to watch the timer and it would pause sporadically and then would get extremely fast. I have know idea what the hell is up!!!! Maybe it is an experiment, and we'll find out the truth soon.

 

[baby methuselah]

I
ALL in ALL I feel like i've been put through some social experiment to see which pre-med student will crack first.

i don't know whether to laugh or cry... but i feel your pain. lets hope for a good curve

 

[Lacipart]

I agree on the January retake. Unless I somehow break 30. My scores are going to be so freaking wierd. I think I actually did really, really good on PS, I was seriosuly just unsure of those 2 now infamous questions that were all complaining about.

But BS and VR? *whistle* don't even want to know. But if everyone is saying all 3 sections were hard, Christ I might end up with like a 14/8/8.

 

[aquila]

Argh! The test was so freaking hard.

PS: Wow, my confidence plummeted during this section. I didn't view the review screen and I'm nervous about skipping questions.
VS: I thought was OK. After the PS section, I made myself concentrate like crazy on the verbal passages. Hopefully it worked!
BS: Again, very hard section.

I really hope the curve will be generous since I am applying this cycle and can't take the September dates. Argh! This is so frustrating, especially since the practice tests are comparatively straightforward and made me a little too confident before the real test.

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

I gotta say I'm surprised at the responses on this thread.

This test seemed like AAMC 11 to me...

PS - relatively easy, definitely on par w/ AAMC... a little more physics heavy than I expected (always good)

VR - easy, identical to AAMCs although at first glance it looked longer due to big font size

WS - who cares

BS - tougher... a little more passage based than AAMCs (although not as much as most people lead you to believe)... a few of the passages (you know them if you took it) had me reasoning in circles

expected score... PS12, VR11, BS11

 

[Lacipart]

I gotta say I'm surprised at the responses on this thread.

This test seemed like AAMC 11 to me...

PS - relatively easy, definitely on par w/ AAMC... a little more physics heavy than I expected (always good)

VR - easy, identical to AAMCs although at first glance it looked longer due to big font size

WS - who cares

BS - tougher... a little more passage based than AAMCs (although not as much as most people lead you to believe)... a few of the passages (you know them if you took it) had me reasoning in circles

expected score... PS12, VR11, BS11

*looks up "time traveling assassin" in the phone book*

 

[adil909]

I gotta say I'm surprised at the responses on this thread.

This test seemed like AAMC 11 to me...

PS - relatively easy, definitely on par w/ AAMC... a little more physics heavy than I expected (always good)

VR - easy, identical to AAMCs although at first glance it looked longer due to big font size

WS - who cares

BS - tougher... a little more passage based than AAMCs (although not as much as most people lead you to believe)... a few of the passages (you know them if you took it) had me reasoning in circles

expected score... PS12, VR11, BS11

easy? not sure what test you were taking then

 

[mmafana]

I'm gonna have to agree with the majority of the posts...

PS: I thought it wasn't too bad, there were a couple tricky things like the phase freedom variables or whatever, and that one acid/base gchem. I thought it was fairly similar to AAMC and TPR physical science passages. Not too many calculations to worry about(spent a whole day reviewing physics formulas and concepts.....)

VR: OMG this was harder than expected. I did exam krackers so my timing was fine(even though the passages seemed longer). The material on the other hand was very hard...lots of humanities(almost everyone's weak point)

WS: Easy prompts.

BS: A lot longer passages, and a lot more experiment based questions(didn't require as much prior knowledge as I expected....having studied everything in that damn 400 page bio book). Orgo was easy...pretty straight forward.

Overall, it's kind of iffy. Don't really know what to think...some hard some easy, but I hope verbal had an experimental passage, or a big curve at least

 

[ahmedqman]

I gotta say I'm surprised at the responses on this thread.

This test seemed like AAMC 11 to me...

PS - relatively easy, definitely on par w/ AAMC... a little more physics heavy than I expected (always good)

VR - easy, identical to AAMCs although at first glance it looked longer due to big font size

WS - who cares

BS - tougher... a little more passage based than AAMCs (although not as much as most people lead you to believe)... a few of the passages (you know them if you took it) had me reasoning in circles

expected score... PS12, VR11, BS11

Finally, something positive.

ps. can I contact you on an instant messenger? I didn't take the exam but am preparing, and I want to ask you a few questions.

 

[TheElement]

I can't believe I switched my test date from August 9th. I'm such a FREAKING idiot!!!! COMPLETE waste of time. I was consistently scoring 35-39 on my AAMC's. I never got a question that I didn't at least have some clue to how to solve. Those physics questions that everyone else is complaining about .... argh, I had no idea about them and they totally destroyed my confidence. Verbal was a blur afterwards, I suck at verbal and somehow finished with 7 minutes left. I think I really did that EK strategy where you just say F it and just pick an answer. I don't think I really cared anymore after that point. By the time biology got around it didn't feel hard, maybe because I couldn't feel anything anymore....

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

I'm not sure if I can post this or not, but its a pretty big deal b/c its not listed on the AAMC physics topics list

Centripetal acceleration was directly tested today (not the concept, the equation)

Know it

 

[Mishka17]

i'm also a little surprised by the replies so far. . .

PS: I didn't think it was too difficult. A few tricky questions that involved some thinking and reasoning, but nothing impossible to handle. And hats off the the testmakers for the toy shop passage. Not difficult, but genius. . .

VS: Most passages weren't too bad. About the same length as AAMC. One or too passages were somewhat dense. Verbal has always been my worst section though

WS: My prompts were somewhat ambiguous. A little difficult to write examples for...

BS: Really not that tough. Some tricky reasoning questions, but overall, not much more difficult than a Kaplan section. Both orgo passages were really straight forward, hardly had to read the passages. And the bio passages didn't require too much outside knowledge--very passage based. The discrete about apoptosis screwed me though... thanks Kaplan for skipping that. . .

 

[BrokenGlass]

I can't believe I switched my test date from August 9th. I'm such a FREAKING idiot!!!! COMPLETE waste of time. I was consistently scoring 35-39 on my AAMC's. I never got a question that I didn't at least have some clue to how to solve. Those physics questions that everyone else is complaining about .... argh, I had no idea about them and they totally destroyed my confidence. Verbal was a blur afterwards, I suck at verbal and somehow finished with 7 minutes left. I think I really did that EK strategy where you just say F it and just pick an answer. I don't think I really cared anymore after that point. By the time biology got around it didn't feel hard, maybe because I couldn't feel anything anymore....

The easier MCATs were administered in April and May. Basically people who took those got lucky. Today's exam was NOTHING like the practice AAMC tests. I scored in the 35-37 range on the practice tests (and if it weren't for the careless mistakes, some of my scores would have been in the 40s) and was never totally confused about any of the questions on the practice tests.

Today's exam was from a different planet. No wonder they are offering additional September MCATs. Speaking of which, does anybody know how soon we can register for the September tests?

 

[JesperIt]

I'm not sure if I can post this or not, but its a pretty big deal b/c its not listed on the AAMC physics topics list

Centripetal acceleration was directly tested today (not the concept, the equation)

Know it

i'm looking at the topics list, it say it right there with the equation under the phsyics section...you sure you are looking at the right page?

 

[nycfella]

try doing the ps and vr with the entire building shaking because of a jackhammer outside...


i BARELY finished those sections

Did you take your exam at 95-15 Queens Blvd? FYI dont take your exam at 95-15 Queens Blvd...

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

i'm looking at the topics list, it say it right there with the equation under the phsyics section...you sure you are looking at the right page?

Actually dude, it was the EK books that said that. ('03 edition) My bad.

 

[TheElement]

I don't know if this is bad or not, but i don't remember anything about what you guys are mentioning.

 

[PMChris]

I don't know if this is bad or not, but i remember nothing about toys or gizzards or even centripetal acc. or anything else at all.

There were different forms of the exam, with different passages. I didn't have any gizzards either.

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

Anyone else hydroplane on their way to the test today?

 

[baby methuselah]

Anyone else hydroplane on their way to the test today?

what state did you take it in?

 

[JesperIt]

Actually dude, it was the EK books that said that. ('03 edition) My bad.

yeah i had several print out of the topics list and made sure i had at least glanced at every topic at least once. the aamc topics:

http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/preparing/start.htm

if you look has been the same since 2003.

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

what state did you take it in?

OH

Cleveland got friggin hammered today

 

[amikhchi]

i'm just thankful that i'm not the only one that thought this was hard... i hope the curve is generous... i don't want to have to put myself through this again... and if i did, my confidence would be so broken i wouldn't have any idea of what to study...

 

[rugox]

Just got back from the test centre...and this is exactly the kind of opinions I was expecting..

That test...was utterly ridiculous..
I ended up going through PS dreadfully...and arrived at the last question with 10 seconds remaining..had to guess that one. Seriously though...none of the practice materials were even comparable to the level of questions put out today...The passages were long and hard to understand..and many questions required conceptual thinking plus the equation stuff..

VR..wow..just wow..
I had 2 minutes when I got to the last passage and had to rush through it. That VR resembled so much like VR from CBT9 which I had so much trouble on.

I really usually finish BS very fast, almost with 30 minutes to spare most of the time..today I just finished in time. I am an Anatomy and Cell biology major and wow...some of these questions resembled possible exam questions from the higher 300/400 level courses. My thought is that they are trying too hard to make you come up with an answer that you can probably get if you think REALLY HARD. I was getting confused because since these questions grazed the edge of higher level course materials but I do have a background knowledge of more detail, and I was contemplating whether they would really go into such specifics...

Overall...this was my first MCAT and it really gave me an intense experience...I don't know much about the curving but man..I'm in need of some desperate luck!!

 

[harano99]

Yeah, well, I got concerned when i heard about this so called Gizzard passage and i had no such passage, but i guess i was lucky enough not to receive it.

PS: I know i have a penchant for taking too long and thinking and thus screwing my time so i made a effort to move along. I thought there were alot of abstract questions and not alot of plug-n-chug questions. And the plug-n-chug questions take the longest for me because i have sloppy handwriting and double check my math....anyways, i think this was my worse section.

VR: Whatever i say doesn't matter because I can never guess how i scored in verbal. I was getting 11's on the AAMCs and TPRs and i thought the passage material was roughly equivalent.

BS: You know, i really thought this part was easier than i expected. Almost all the questions were based on the passage and some of the gimmie passage/retrieval questions had me double-taking because it was unheard of. All in all i think i guessed on at least 10 questions :/ ....

I really don't know how I did. I thought i did well but not great. But I can't say it was hard or not. I've had this same feeling after practices tests when i've scored 9's and when i've scored 15's.

Oh and i know talking about topics of the passages is forbidden, but like....is cell suicide (apoptosis) even in the bio topics supposingly covered? I went through my TPR book just now and couldn't find it. It isn't even in the glossary (yet i knew what it was from my bio classes 7 years ago)....guessed on that one too