*Official May 19th 2017 MCAT Thread*

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Fortyniner85

Fortyniner85

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Haven't seen a thread for this date created yet. So let the fun begin!
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I had to void the exam today. Pretty disappointed. I didn't think it was too bad though. I'm gonna retake June or July to apply this cycle.


CP: There was quite a bit of physics. Otherwise, it wasn't bad. I finished with around half an hour left.


CARS: This was very interesting this time around. All of the passages were interesting, [edited by mod - too specific]


BB: There was quite a bit of biochem and gimmes in this section. That one passage about retinal caught me off guard, but this wasn't bad. Finished with like 20 minutes left.


PS: This was my hell. There were so many 50-50 responses. I ended up voiding because of this section. The passages were long and CARS-like. I should've studied more for this with the 300 page doc.
 
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Ugh, sorry you had to void.
I had a few 50/50 questions in all sections, but overall it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. BB was probably the worst. My CP had very little physics which I was SOO happy about.

Also, I was so much older than everyone there in an obvious and funny way. Hopefully age will be on my side.

It's going to be a long four weeks! Everyone be sure to come back and let us know how you did!
 
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I though C/P- was pretty hard, finished with just enough time /:
CARS had passages that were easier to read, seemed easier than the FL's.
B/B- was okay, lots of biochem, not much ochem which I enjoyed. I was doing really well and felt confident with all the passage except when I got to the last one. That one killed me! so much detail and soo long/convoluted!
P/S- I feel like none of the terms I studied were one there. None of the high yield stuff were asked such the types of conditioning, any of the development stages (Freud, Erickson, Kolhberg..), theories on behavior, memory... More soc heavy. This section really caught me off guard! It was just a lot of analyzing passages.
 
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Wait what? Is everyones exam different or are there atleast 2 or 3 versions on the same day? Because I do not feel like we are all talking about the same exam, unless I just have a different view.

For me, I was so happy to see only a few questions for physics with simple equation or facts (buoyant force etc.) I enjoyed the chemistry sinceits actually my strength

I literally wanted to cry on the CARS section, the passages were super duper long which made me question the NS, EK, and TPR FL exams. I always read a passage in approx. 4min but these passafes were so long that I was averaging about 6min. And the passages were so uninteresting - literally was about to take a nap during it. It was brutal (I also fell hungry around the beginning which might explain the boredom)

BB super easy there was literally so many questions where I was like, am I even taking the MCAT - really simple questions (btw I never encountered these types of questions on the NS exams) also I'm a biochem major. There were atleast 5-8 basic amino acid questions which everytime I saw I got happier and happier (except for one which I guessed right, I think...)

PS - same as about literally terms but I actually enjoyed reading the passages and finished 3 min early ( I didn't go back and reveiw, just closed my eyes for 3 min before the exan was done);):sleep:
 
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Ok, I'd just like to add a suggestion here to *not* look up questions you remember. So far the P/S questions I've looked up.. I got them all wrong. And it's just not helpful. Just don't do it.

IMG_6505.JPG
 
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ChopinLiszt said:
Ok, I'd just like to add a suggestion here to *not* look up questions you remember. So far the P/S questions I've looked up.. I got them all wrong. And it's just not helpful. Just don't do it.

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I second this. I looked up one P/S question that I got wrong because of a stupid mistake where I totally blanked, even though I had studied the material and should've gotten it right. It's haunting me now, so I haven't looked up anything else haha
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
I second this. I looked up one P/S question that I got wrong because of a stupid mistake where I totally blanked, even though I had studied the material and should've gotten it right. It's haunting me now, so I haven't looked up anything else haha
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I was all pumped feeling that I did so well on BB and CP, went on reddit and tears began dripping down my cheeks. People are remembering questions and I'm googling all of them and reality's hitting me
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
I second this. I looked up one P/S question that I got wrong because of a stupid mistake where I totally blanked, even though I had studied the material and should've gotten it right. It's haunting me now, so I haven't looked up anything else haha
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Everyone made a stupid mistake or two or three somewhere, that's where the scale comes in. Maybe you missed the questions that aren't scored. Trust the process we will all come out okay.
 
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C/P: This test version felt fair, with difficult passages, gimmes, and everything in between. Was surprised (& relieved?) about how conceptual it felt with little math involved, and especially thankful for the biochem/amino acid emphasis. Wayyy more Biochem/OChem than GChem or physics in my version. Finished this section w/no extra time to review marked passages but happy that I didn't feel like a complete *******.
CARS: I scored 130 on both FL AMCAS CARS sections and I definitely do not think I replicated that score here. I couldn't get into the passages, they felt boring and answer choices were sometimes convoluted. Passage length was longer than the FL's, where I usually have ~10min to review answers--no dice. The last seconds ticked off as I checked the final question. Bummed about that.

Lunch: hahahahahaha college students are so young.

B/B: I was flying through this section asking myself "is this the real MCAT??" Then hit that text-only signaling passage... the LAST passage and time became a vacuum. I drew this damn thing out at least twice and still couldn't make heads or tails of some of those questions. Realized that I was wasting valuable time, moved to the last discretes, came back to the passage from hell, finished it up, clicked the "Review" button, scrolled down, and as the final seconds clicked off the clock and saw that apparently I hadn't answered the last discrete question. SMH, time management struggles were real.
P/S: This section is somewhat of a blur now, I was beating myself up over the B/B mistake so my mind kept wandering. There was definitely some real nit picky obscure **** in here, I think they're trying spread the score distribution. Total wildcard section. Ended with 8 minutes to review choices and the beginnings of a legit migraine.

Stoked to be done!! Congrats everyone.
 
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Is it normal for CARS passages to be longer than practices exams, I always finished reading a passage in 4min on the practice exams but on this exam it took me around 6min to completely read the passage. If I have to retake, what do you guys think I should do to better my timing, I feel like it's impossible to read a passage in <4min and comprehend it
 
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Fdsa2495 said:
Is it normal for CARS passages to be longer than practices exams, I always finished reading a passage in 4min on the practice exams but on this exam it took me around 6min to completely read the passage. If I have to retake, what do you guys think I should do to better my timing, I feel like it's impossible to read a passage in <4min and comprehend it
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I think the passage lengths were around the same as the regular FL, I think it's just a perception thing. The font size was definitely a lot larger than the regular pre-sets on the FL so it may have seemed longer. I do feel like I lost some time scrolling back and forth though!
 
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Hey there, just getting back on here now. Took the MCAT May 13th and scored. C/P and CARS felt really good. B/B was pretty tough, as was P/S. Gonna ride that scale!! :soexcited:
 
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I concur that C/P was super hard, CARS was pretty easy, B/B was a lil' bit harder than expected, but not a whole ton, and P/S had TONS of low yield questions that I'd never heard of before. I left the test pretty bummed, this being my second time taking it and all.

Ha, wouldn't that be hilarious if we would've hired like 100 people to take the test and just click C for all the answer choices in order to boost the curve for all of us :rofl:
 
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I was doing pretty good at keeping it relatively out of mind until like, yesterday. Now I'm going crazy.
 
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I alternate between going crazy and being oddly peaceful about it. If I don't get in anywhere this year, I don't think my MCAT will be to blame. If it's lower than I'd like, I'll just apply to more lower tier schools. So I think that way.. and then I think about June 20 actually coming and my heart rate skyrockets, so.. :nailbiting:

@fldoctorgirl, I'm impressed you got verified 6/5!! I just submitted on the 7th, and they haven't gotten one of my transcripts yet. But I'm zen about it. Really. Also, do you want to trade GPAs? I don't think my 3.5x is going to impress many adcoms..:laugh:
 
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ChopinLiszt said:
I alternate between going crazy and being oddly peaceful about it. If I don't get in anywhere this year, I don't think my MCAT will be to blame. If it's lower than I'd like, I'll just apply to more lower tier schools. So I think that way.. and then I think about June 20 actually coming and my heart rate skyrockets, so.. :nailbiting:

@fldoctorgirl, I'm impressed you got verified 6/5!! I just submitted on the 7th, and they haven't gotten one of my transcripts yet. But I'm zen about it. Really. Also, do you want to trade GPAs? I don't think my 3.5x is going to impress many adcoms..:laugh:
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I sent my transcripts in way before submitting, so I literally submitted on the 5th and was verified the same day...I was pretty surprised myself!

Your GPA might be a tad lower than mine, but (based off your practice scores) your MCAT will probably be higher, so I'm sure you'll be fine!
 
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Ok, so what do we have planned to keep ourselves distracted over the next ONE WEEK? Tomorrow I'm volunteering at the hospital and bugging my last LOR writer, Wednesday I'm getting my annual haircut (no, really, it's been a looong time), Thursday I might take my kids to the beach if it's not stormy, Friday and Saturday will be full of kid activities and yard work, I'm sure. (fun, right?) Monday I get to have either fillings or a root canal at the dentist (even more fun!) and then taking kids to karate. Don't you all wish you were me right now? ;)

Share your plans so we have something else to read here while we count down!
 
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I have a super busy week this week with a huuuuge family party, family from out of town and what not, so I guess I'm glad the week should pass quickly.

Boyfriend took the LSAT today..massage will unfortunately have to wait until post-score release due to above mentioned family shenanigans. So, I'll either be blissfully relaxed during my massage, or crying into the little spot where you put your face....who know ;)

Also, kinda stressing over the fact that AMCAS is still only verifying apps that were submitted June 1st. Why is it taking so long? Ahhh...
 
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WhyNotUs said:
So... I just got my May 13th MCAT score. 510 (130, 127, 125, 128). Not very impressed with my B/B section, but like I said I thought it was pretty killer. If you look back in the forum you can see how my score compares to my practice exams and my thoughts after taking. Pretty excited at my performance versus practice scores. Any idea how this score will impact my competitiveness for med school (allopathic)? Should I plan to retake, or move forward?
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Most people will tell you not to retake at this point if you apply broadly enough. I would probably retake however if I know I have the time to put in (if you have a month and study 12 hrs a day you could get that up to a 516 easy).
 
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@WhyNotUs - Given that your AAMC FLs were both around 500, I don't know if I'd suggest a retake. 510 is a decent score and shouldn't hold you back at many MD schools, depending on your cGPA. If you are really determined to pull up your MCAT, I would study hard and examine your test taking/reasoning strategies, and then take some other FLs you haven't taken before (like NS) and see if your practice scores are above 510. If you get consistently above 510 on NS FLs you should be able to hit at least mid-teens on a retake. But I would only do that if you are determined to go a selective school or if your GPA is underwhelming like mine.
 
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@WhyNotUs I wouldn't retake. It's important to keep in mind that forums like SDN and Reddit are usually home to people who score far above average, and often this makes people with really good scores (ex: your 510) think it's not good enough. A 510 is great. As long as everything else is in order (GPA, extracurriculars, you don't suck at interviewing) you should definitely be fine getting into med school, both MD and DO.

A 510 is 82nd percentile. That means only around 18% of all test takers did better than you. I would definitely avoid a retake, especially considering that you managed to do that well after scoring ~ 500 on practice FLs. If you go back in and score lower, it'll make your 510 look not as nice as it does now.
 
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fldoctorgirl said:
@WhyNotUs I wouldn't retake. It's important to keep in mind that forums like SDN and Reddit are usually home to people who score far above average, and often this makes people with really good scores (ex: your 510) think it's not good enough. A 510 is great. As long as everything else is in order (GPA, extracurriculars, you don't suck at interviewing) you should definitely be fine getting into med school, both MD and DO.

A 510 is 82nd percentile. That means only around 18% of all test takers did better than you. I would definitely avoid a retake, especially considering that you managed to do that well after scoring ~ 500 on practice FLs. If you go back in and score lower, it'll make your 510 look not as nice as it does now.
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I think it depends where the applicant is from and how far they are willing to move. For example, if you are from New York and are looking to stay in New York, you would need to retake a 510.
 
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SpectreDoc said:
I think it depends where the applicant is from and how far they are willing to move. For example, if you are from New York and are looking to stay in New York, you would need to retake a 510.
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Not necessarily; honestly, this statement depends too much on other factors about an applicant, so it's hard to give direct advice without full details.

Anyways, my advice for this particular person is mostly based on the fact that they managed to pull off a 510 after scoring around 500 on FLs. That is super impressive and any retakes can, and honestly probably will, lead to lower scores or scores that are only 1-2 points higher, which won't change their application.
 
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Currently feeling oddly optimistic with a sprinkle of nervousness...Anyone else?
 
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Podstar said:
Everyone made a stupid mistake or two or three somewhere, that's where the scale comes in. Maybe you missed the questions that aren't scored. Trust the process we will all come out okay.
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Could someone explain to me the "curve" of the exam? I know it's not a real curve but I've seen people say some questions get more points than others or some get thrown out and I just want to know. Thanks!!
 
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I honestly don't know how to feel. I think my brain has initiated a coping mechanism because I can't remember ANYTHING that was on it. It was my first time taking it, and I felt about how I did when I took a FL and got a 504. So I mean, I will happy I made above a 500 but sad I didn't make a 510 if I did, in fact, make a 504. I really don't want to take it again. I have already sent in my application, have a good GPA, graduating in August, and have a great paying job for my gap year. I really don't want to spend any more time studying and have another year to wait to start school. So I am hoping for the best. NEXT WEEK!
 
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mermaid_md said:
Could someone explain to me the "curve" of the exam? I know it's not a real curve but I've seen people say some questions get more points than others or some get thrown out and I just want to know. Thanks!!
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Honestly it's pretty hard to explain as the AAMC is not the clearest about the scale.

Basically, the scores are scaled compared to how other people who take the same exam as you did. That's the basic meaning of a standardized test. So, for instance, if you took the MCAT on June 1st and it had a killer C/P section, if you missed 10 questions that could be a 127. If I took the MCAT on June 5th and had an easy C/P section, and also missed 10 questions, that could be a 125. This is because on a hard MCAT, more people will get more wrong, so your 10 questions wrong will be better than my 10 questions wrong on an easy MCAT, where more people get more right.

There are no "points" with the MCAT, and questions aren't weighed differently. The AAMC (to my knowledge) has never mentioned "throwing out" questions, but again, they don't reveal much about the scoring process.
 
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There are kind of "throw out" questions that the AAMC is testing out. Experimental questions. But there's no way of knowing if your test has them or which ones they are. Just another fun aspect of everyone's favorite test!

My brain thinks it's super funny. I keep having a dream where I'm checking my score, and right when I click on the link to see it, I wake up. Hilarious. :dead:
 
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ChopinLiszt said:
There are kind of "throw out" questions that the AAMC is testing out. Experimental questions. But there's no way of knowing if your test has them or which ones they are. Just another fun aspect of everyone's favorite test!

My brain thinks it's super funny. I keep having a dream where I'm checking my score, and right when I click on the link to see it, I wake up. Hilarious. :dead:
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I think those are nightmares
 
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ONE more day, people! it's getting real

I've maybe been checking the score page today just in case they accidentally posted it early. Maybe I should write some secondaries instead.. hmm
 
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ChopinLiszt said:
ONE more day, people! it's getting real

I've maybe been checking the score page today just in case they accidentally posted it early. Maybe I should write some secondaries instead.. hmm
Click to expand...

Haha! I'm glad to hear that I wasn't alone on my hopeless journey to get my score on a Sunday!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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The part of me that has been dying to know for the last month is slowly being shadowed by the part of me that wants to remain blissfully ignorant forever...ahh..
 
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That moment when like the last 4 score releases were at around 11:10 am and now I'm sitting here hitting refresh and nothing is happening....
 
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Congratulations @ChopinLiszt ! I got a 506, debating a retake now. Lowest subsections were C/P and B/B.

Disappointed seeing as I scored a 509 on NS a couple of days before the real deal. Not sure how I feel.
 
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