September 2015 MCAT Thread

[DAF16]

Registration for the September MCAT opens up soon, so I thought I would make the thread.
Who else will be taking the test in September?

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[snow529]

I like the conversion tool used by prospectivedoctor.com.

It seems like a decent estimator based off of old scoring system.

When I do the percentile conversion using AAMC for a 515, I get around a 33-34.

But when I use prospectivedoctor.com it gives me a 36!

@JDWannabe do you know how prospectivedoctor.com makes the conversion? And do you have any reason to believe it is more accurate? I would be very happy if it is!

 

[Rabu4]

C/P: 130
CARS: 124
B/B: 130
P/S: 126
Overall: 510 (83%)

Any advice on how to go forward with this score? Do you guys think a retake will be necessary?

 

[Doctor Dream]

I like the conversion tool used by prospectivedoctor.com.

It seems like a decent estimator based off of old scoring system.

Do you know how they come up with that conversion on that site? Just intuitively it makes sense to compare percentiles between the old and new exam. Example being 91%ile on old is 33, 91%ile on new is 514. Type in 514 on to that converter though and it gives 35.

 

[Kasra321]

Do you know how they come up with that conversion on that site? Just intuitively it makes sense to compare percentiles between the old and new exam. Example being 91%ile on old is 33, 91%ile on new is 514. Type in 514 on to that converter though and it gives 35.

It doesn't go with percentiles, it uses simple algebra:
([New MCAT] - 468)*3/4=[Old MCAT] round up

 

[Doctor Dream]

It doesn't go with percentiles, it uses simple algebra:
([New MCAT] - 468)*3/4=[Old MCAT] round up

Is that formula accurate or have any credibility or anything?

 

[Kasra321]

Is that formula accurate or have any credibility or anything?

I think percentiles are a better indicator overall.

 

[snow529]

I like the conversion tool used by prospectivedoctor.com.

It seems like a decent estimator based off of old scoring system.

Is that formula accurate or have any credibility or anything?

I really like the score it gives me so I want to believe it has credibility.

I wonder what the schools are going to do... are they each going to have their own conversion system? WILL they actually just look at percentiles for conversion even though the AAMC has said that they should not be compared? On their FAQ they write: "Because the new and old MCAT exams test different things, you cannot compare scores, and at this time there is no examinee data available."

I wonder if any med schools will just google "mcat score conversion" -- b/c the prospectivedoctor's calculator is the first link!

 

[Vero Medico]

Anyone retaking in Jan or better to wait until April?

I am retaking on April, hopefully!

 

[Double-Sided Scooby Snack]

Signed up for 1/22! Figured I might as well take it sooner since content's still somewhat "fresh."

 

[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

I really like prospective doctor's conversion because it says my 505 is a 29

I believe it may be inflated though. I believe it uses the tentative percentiles from April (the one AAMC included in the booklet about the new exam).

If you look at those percentiles you can see the numerical score doesn't correspond with our current percentiles.

Or I may be completely wrong. Someone please prove me wrong. I wanna feel better about my 505 and a 29 (low equivalent) is the perfect way ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[sfkniner81]

I really like the score it gives me so I want to believe it has credibility.

I wonder what the schools are going to do... are they each going to have their own conversion system? WILL they actually just look at percentiles for conversion even though the AAMC has said that they should not be compared? On their FAQ they write: "Because the new and old MCAT exams test different things, you cannot compare scores, and at this time there is no examinee data available."

I wonder if any med schools will just google "mcat score conversion" -- b/c the prospectivedoctor's calculator is the first link!

it would be frustrating if that is what most medical schools are doing (comparing percentiles between the two exam versions) b/c the AAMC is advocating against doing so. I understand that it is tough not to with such little data, but I hope it changes before I apply in June!

 

[JDWannabe]

I really like prospective doctor's conversion because it says my 505 is a 29

I believe it may be inflated though. I believe it uses the tentative percentiles from April (the one AAMC included in the booklet about the new exam).

If you look at those percentiles you can see the numerical score doesn't correspond with our current percentiles.

Or I may be completely wrong. Someone please prove me wrong. I wanna feel better about my 505 and a 29 (low equivalent) is the perfect way ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Before the most updated version of the "old" scores were posted I believe a 30 was around 68-70th percentile. You have a good score. I, like so many others have made it seem that this test is the only thing between me and med school and that clearly isn't the case. One of my classmates had a higher gpa than me and a super high mcat score and didn't get in last year. A high mcat doesn't equal a good doctor.

I just did a bit more digging and if it helps you at all, the Apr-June scores give a 505 as a 73rd percentile.

 

[Gibbward]

Before the most updated version of the "old" scores were posted I believe a 30 was around 68-70th percentile. You have a good score. I, like so many others have made it seem that this test is the only thing between me and med school and that clearly isn't the case. One of my classmates had a higher gpa than me and a super high mcat score and didn't get in last year. A high mcat doesn't equal a good doctor.

Agreed, but it's hard to blame a guy for worrying. The whole application process is so stressful, and you have one less thing to worry about if you have "good" MCAT score.

 

[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Thank you all, I feel a bit more confident now. It's so weird being in this ambiguous territory of scores but I'm more than satisfied with my performance.

To those that feel they scored well, congrats! To those that didn't do as well as they liked, don't fret. I believe that all of you have the potential to reach your dream. The fact that you care enough to post regularly on this thread shows you're serious about succeeding.

I'm only 21 so I don't have as much wisdom as others on this thread. My apologies.

"It does not matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop"

I better get on it for my DO apps. So behind 0_0

 

[Pediateix]

Before the most updated version of the "old" scores were posted I believe a 30 was around 68-70th percentile. You have a good score. I, like so many others have made it seem that this test is the only thing between me and med school and that clearly isn't the case. One of my classmates had a higher gpa than me and a super high mcat score and didn't get in last year. A high mcat doesn't equal a good doctor.

I just did a bit more digging and if it helps you at all, the Apr-June scores give a 505 as a 73rd percentile.

Was sowmthing missing from extra curriculars??

 

[JDWannabe]

You have to interview well and not just be a person on paper. You have to bring it to life! Be confident and seem interested.

 

[Pediateix]

You have to interview well and not just be a person on paper. You have to bring it to life! Be confident and seem interested.

I hope all my struggles will be worth it when it comes to a hopeful interview season! I seriously can't wait until that time comes

 

[gigi24]

Anyone have recommendations for the next best prep material in terms of passages and practice questions?

I've pretty much exhausted all the material from TBR and EK (not their FLs) and AAMC QPacks and FL which is something I feared may happen if I had to retake..

 

[ieatshrimp24]

Anyone have recommendations for the next best prep material in terms of passages and practice questions?

I've pretty much exhausted all the material from TBR and EK (not their FLs) and AAMC QPacks and FL which is something I feared may happen if I had to retake..

You're in a similar situation as I was in. I took the old MCAT and then took the new one. I used TBR the first go around (not for biology) and then used TPR for the second time (all sections).

Two quick things: (1) get the TPR science workbook for practice passages and (2) use another source for biology passages (TPR SW biology is absolutely not reflective of the current MCAT).

 

[snow529]

Anyone have recommendations for the next best prep material in terms of passages and practice questions?

I've pretty much exhausted all the material from TBR and EK (not their FLs) and AAMC QPacks and FL which is something I feared may happen if I had to retake..

YES! Khan academy! I really liked most of their stand-alone questions and passages. Their passages seemed to do a better job than TPR at connecting everything. If I needed to take it again, my plan was to methodically go thru and do all of their passages and stand alone questions. (Some questions seemed over the top and I skipped those!)

 

[Gibbward]

@gigi24 I also think that Khan academy has really good practice passages especially for bio/biochem and psych. You might need to skim through the chem/physics passages to see which ones are reasonable, but I thought those were pretty helpful as well. And a lot of them are experimental passages which I thought was very helpful when I was prepping.

The TPR science workbook I thought was very good for nailing down concepts that I wasn't very familiar with or was struggling with, so I think it was very helpful when I was studying too.

 

[MCATThrowaway]

[deleted]

 

[Doctor Dream]

AAMC FL:

C/P: 97%
CARS: 98%
B/B: 97%
P/S: 86%

Actual:

132/132/132/132 - Total: 528

Throwaway for privacy reasons, I'm happy to elaborate on methods/schedule if people want to know. Mods, message me and I can provide proof (within reason/without doxxing myself), since I'm sure some people won't believe me.

.

 

[sparksfly21]

I definitely didn't get the score I wanted/expected so will be retaking. Worst section was B/B. Any advice on how to do well on that section?

 

[gigi24]

@sparksfly21 what material did you use and how long did you study for? I haven't taken bio since senior year of high school 7 years ago with no biochem in college and only used EK for content, some TBR and a little Khan for passages which were great stuff for 3 months and I managed a higher than expected score (though I don't know what's a decent grade anymore compared to you all smarty pants around here )

@ieatshrimp24 @snow529 @Gibbward

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I used Khan just for P/S and a little for B/B towards the end of my schedule and I believe it truly helped in the actual MCAT so I will def check it out for the other sections.

As for the TPR Science Workbook, is the newest version from 2012 or am I missing a more recent one?

 

[exposedbrickcampaign]

If I recall correctly
C/P: 128
CARS :122
Bio: 124
Pysch: 124
I am a bio major. I always thought CARS would be most difficult and I was right. I thought the chem/phys and bio sections weren't bad. I shot myself in the foot with bio bc I wasn't too sharp on biochem...last taken 2 years ago. I was rocking with the chem/phys and then after that suddenly hit a wall physically and mentally, probably due to a lack of sleep the night before and bc the density of the CARS passage strained my eyes and gave me a headache. I bought the Kaplan 7 book series and plan to retake in Jan. All advice for CARS and psych/soc is very much appreciated.

 

[Vero Medico]

I mainly used Berkeley review for Physics and Chem, Kaplan+Khan for Psych and sociology, and EK+NextStep+TPRH for CARS. But I used a bit of everything at some point. For bio, I actually used my own class notes from college.
But I took lots of sample problems. All the EK 1001s, previous AAMC FL's, NextsStep workbooks, TBR books, and 18 FL's.

Could you please comment on the NS workbooks and whether they helped you!?

Also, Of those 18 fulls, which prep company you used?

 

[Gibbward]

@gigi24 I'm sure they "change" the science work book every year, though I'm pretty sure most of the passages are exactly the same as the ones from previous years. For what it's worth, I used the 2012 version and I thought it was very helpful.

EDIT: You probably don't see a lot of newer ones because there just aren't a lot of them around. They come with the TPR prep courses and aren't sold in bookstores.

 

[sparksfly21]

@sparksfly21 what material did you use and how long did you study for? I haven't taken bio since senior year of high school 7 years ago with no biochem in college and only used EK for content, some TBR and a little Khan for passages which were great stuff for 3 months and I managed a higher than expected score (though I don't know what's a decent grade anymore compared to you all smarty pants around here )

@ieatshrimp24 @snow529 @Gibbward

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I used Khan just for P/S and a little for B/B towards the end of my schedule and I believe it truly helped in the actual MCAT so I will def check it out for the other sections.

As for the TPR Science Workbook, is the newest version from 2012 or am I missing a more recent one?

I used Kaplan 7book pack for the mcat but I noticed that it didn't nearly cover as much molecular genetics as I had noticed on the actual thing. Obviously a good chunk of that section had to do with being able to understand experimental passages but I certainly feel like my knowledge in genetics was lacking and I'm taking biochem this semester so I was able to comprehend and answer most of the biochem questions. I'm not sure why I'm having such a hard time with this section despite of being a biology major

 

[medgirl1993]

I got the weirdest scores possible!

AAMC FL: 95% C/P, 83% CARS, 95% Bio, 86% Psy/Soc

Actual Test (9/23): C/P 132, CARS 125, Bio 132, Psy/Soc 132 , Total 521 (%99)

Damn it CARS!

How did you study? I'll be testing in January...

 

[ieatshrimp24]

@sparksfly21 what material did you use and how long did you study for? I haven't taken bio since senior year of high school 7 years ago with no biochem in college and only used EK for content, some TBR and a little Khan for passages which were great stuff for 3 months and I managed a higher than expected score (though I don't know what's a decent grade anymore compared to you all smarty pants around here )

@ieatshrimp24 @snow529 @Gibbward

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I used Khan just for P/S and a little for B/B towards the end of my schedule and I believe it truly helped in the actual MCAT so I will def check it out for the other sections.

As for the TPR Science Workbook, is the newest version from 2012 or am I missing a more recent one?

I took the TPR prep course and they have a "new" science workbook but it's pretty much the same thing as the 2012 SW. The only differences are (1) no free-standing questions in the new SW and (2) there are some psychology passages in the new SW.
I'm glad they got rid of the free-standing questions because the 2012 version had WAY too many and, in my opinion, practicing free-standing questions is a waste of time. While TPR got the right idea about the new P/S section based on passage format, I felt these were too easy. Go to Khan Academy or some other prep company for P/S passages.

 

[Vero Medico]

I got the weirdest scores possible!

AAMC FL: 95% C/P, 83% CARS, 95% Bio, 86% Psy/Soc

Actual Test (9/23): C/P 132, CARS 125, Bio 132, Psy/Soc 132 , Total 521 (%99)

Damn it CARS!

Hey Kasra,
Could you elaborate on your study habits and the materials you thought it was most helpful for you for content review , as well as the fLs you thought that were helpful and you would do those again!

Thanks so much

 

[learner01]

I started with self-study using TPR books, then also took the Altius program. Did all the QPacks and OG and FL from AAMC. Reviewed all my practice tests/questions thoroughly.

Thank you for replying, I used Kaplan books to prepare but when I got to Biochem I felt like I didt understand a work in the test! What do you advice to study? I took the test twice and my score went down 8 points the second time!!! I am Lost!

 

[learner01]

Full Length exam

Whats the best thing to use to prepare for BIOchem I used Kaplan and in the test I felt like I was reading Chinese!

 

[learner01]

AAMC FL:

C/P: 97%
CARS: 98%
B/B: 97%
P/S: 86%

Actual:

132/132/132/132 - Total: 528

Throwaway for privacy reasons, I'm happy to elaborate on methods/schedule if people want to know. Mods, message me and I can provide proof (within reason/without doxxing myself), since I'm sure some people won't believe me.

Can you elaborate on what you used to study? prepare? methods? and how to overcome crushing time in the test?

 

[torontopharm]

Whats the best thing to use to prepare for BIOchem I used Kaplan and in the test I felt like I was reading Chinese!

Do all those Khan passages. I know i did crap in Bio (125) but i didn't find it to be difficult. Just screwed up royally on anything orgo.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

For biochem I had just finished taking a year long course in it (I'm a biochem major) so I didn't do a lot of content review for biochem (actually kinda wished I had done more when I took the test). I'm not sure I could've survived the C/P and B/B sections without taking the class at my school. Biochem is dense.

Maybe try the khan academy videos for biochem? That might be better b/c it would be in small chunks. I also heard there is a free biochem textbook from a prof at Oregon State that is supposed to be very good. I think he may have online lectures too but I'm not sure.

I haven't seen the Kaplan book so I really don't know what it's like but that sounds awful. I would at least try another prep book.

 

[learner01]

Do all those Khan passages. I know i did crap in Bio (125) but i didn't find it to be difficult. Just screwed up royally on anything orgo.

I didt a lot of them but they dont teach much,, i like to understand when I approach sceince.. and Kaplan was terrible in my opinion...

 

[torontopharm]

I didt a lot of them but they dont teach much,, i like to understand when I approach sceince.. and Kaplan was terrible in my opinion...

Read Lehninger's Biochem book if you have time.
It has the topics listed in almost the same order as AAMC. The Kaplan book is more like a review..it's decent but doesn't really teach you stuff in my opinion.

 

[learner01]

Read Lehninger's Biochem book if you have time.
It has the topics listed in almost the same order as AAMC. The Kaplan book is more like a review..it's decent but doesn't really teach you stuff in my opinion.

I understood topics but what I am saying when I got to biochem section, I truly didt understand most what was written as question hypothesis!! is it just me!!


And I heard about that book.. thanks

 

[mysticalUnicorn]

C/P 128
CARS 127
B/B 132
P/S 130

Total: 517 (96%)

Relieved!!!!!! Took Princeton Review courses over the summer.

 

[Papa Oso]

Read Lehninger's Biochem book if you have time.
It has the topics listed in almost the same order as AAMC. The Kaplan book is more like a review..it's decent but doesn't really teach you stuff in my opinion.

Does it matter which edition?

 

[JAKE125]

Before the most updated version of the "old" scores were posted I believe a 30 was around 68-70th percentile. You have a good score. I, like so many others have made it seem that this test is the only thing between me and med school and that clearly isn't the case. One of my classmates had a higher gpa than me and a super high mcat score and didn't get in last year. A high mcat doesn't equal a good doctor.

I just did a bit more digging and if it helps you at all, the Apr-June scores give a 505 as a 73rd percentile.

Do you think that the scores/percentiles from Apr-June are a little higher since they were the first sets of the tests? Because isn't a 505 now considered in the 68th percentile? I feel like a lot of people retook the tests in July-Sept and that might make a difference in the percentiles.

 

[Gibbward]

Does it matter which edition?

It shouldn't matter. The pictures might be prettier in the newer editions but the content should be pretty much the same.

 

[El-Rami]

I've heard though school's are weighing CARS heavier?

Why would they do that? At any rate, you can't always believe what you hear/read. Only take something as truth if the school tells you this, otherwise consider it the typical pre-med misinformation.

 

[Gibbward]

Why would they do that? At any rate, you can't always believe what you hear/read. Only take something as truth if the school tells you this, otherwise consider it the typical pre-med misinformation.

Maybe with Canadian Medical Schools? I know a lot of people in this thread who are applying to Canadian schools were really focused on their CARS section.

 

[Papa Oso]

Is this CARS emphasis just hearsay, or did a medschool admissions adviser ever say this?

 

[zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

I feel like a lot of people retook the tests in July-Sept and that might make a difference in the percentiles.

Ugh, I hate score inflation and all that jazz. I suppose the scales could be readjusted for us Sept. takers. Then again, weren't our scales actually based off those that took the exam April-May?

I think I'm confusing myself here. Someone help lol

Either way I'm gonna put my head in the sand and keep on repeating to myself that my 505 is a 29

 

[Doctor Dream]

I think the best way is to look at your score independent of the old exam. The exam we took and the old exam are two totally different things. Although we try, we really can't accurately compare apples to oranges

 

[El-Rami]

I think the best way is to look at your score independent of the old exam. The exam we took and the old exam are two totally different things. Although we try, we really can't accurately compare apples to oranges

Who knows, the new exam may have affected matriculant average scores as well.