The Official 04/28/2012 MCAT

MCAT is Hard? Not with BeMo's 515 Score Guarantee.
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I figured I should start this thread/support system. Good luck studying! :luck:
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Scores FINALLY! Sorry I'm late to the party had to go somewhere right after scores came out but here I am as promised. Very Happy with my score!! :D

4/28/2012 - PS/VR/BS - 14/11/13 - 38Q

AAMC Tests in order taken and approximate date taken
Started content review in December (examcrackers) and finished bio and physics content review by the time I took my first test. Did not go over general chemistry/organic chemistry much. Wrote essays during practice tests for only AAMC 8 and AAMC 11 (skipped over in all other practices).

AAMC 8 - 13/10/12 35 January (late)
AAMC 9 - 12/9/14 35 February (early)
AAMC 10 - 13/11/13 37 March (early)
AAMC 4 - 14/11/15 40 March (mid)
AAMC 5 - 14/10/13 36 March (late)
AAMC 6 - 13/11/12 36 April (mid)
AAMC 11 - 13/11/13 37 April (late)
AAMC Average: 36.5
AAMC10/11 Average: 37

Predicted: Anywhere from 33-40

4/28/2012 MCAT - 14/11/13 38Q

It was really helpful reading everyone's comments during this waiting period, hope to see usernames of everyone here show up in other threads!
 
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my life is a joke

this was a retake for me

my VR dropped from a 9-> 6 (never scored below a 10 on FL's) and I got a 10 on BS. I hate this.

my composite MCAT is a 25, I'm going to roll the dice and apply to 5-6 schools this cycle while studying again in the fall.
 
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YouNeverKnow22 said:
my life is a joke

this was a retake for me

my VR dropped from a 9-> 6 (never scored below a 10 on FL's) and I got a 10 on BS. I hate this.

my composite MCAT is a 25, I'm going to roll the dice and apply to 5-6 schools this cycle while studying again in the fall.
Click to expand...

for what its worth i thought VR was harder on the test i took in may then the one I had a few years ago. It felt way more difficult so i understand this. keep your head up...
 
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YouNeverKnow22 said:
my life is a joke

this was a retake for me

my VR dropped from a 9-> 6 (never scored below a 10 on FL's) and I got a 10 on BS. I hate this.

my composite MCAT is a 25, I'm going to roll the dice and apply to 5-6 schools this cycle while studying again in the fall.
Click to expand...

Is it reasonable to apply with a 25? I got a 23R first time, 25Q second time and total with highest from each section is a 27. Should I bother applying without a retake? Or is that a waste of money?
 
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Caitlin0206 said:
Is it reasonable to apply with a 25? I got a 23R first time, 25Q second time and total with highest from each section is a 27. Should I bother applying without a retake? Or is that a waste of money?
Click to expand...

For MD schools, you must retake. For DO schools, as long as you have a high GPA (>3.5), you can manage without retake.
 
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It's official. I love today.

ZmYfm.jpg
 
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Or can we expect roughly what we saw on the AAMC tests? I definitely thought that some VR sections were easier than others though, so I guess it depends on luck too come test day?
 
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studentdoctor08 said:
Or can we expect roughly what we saw on the AAMC tests? I definitely thought that some VR sections were easier than others though, so I guess it depends on luck too come test day?
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My impression of verbal was maybe skewed by my current HD screen resolution. It seemed longer, but no one will deny it was on par/easier than other VR's.

Also what happened to this topic! It died out or something. Today's a GREAT day, people. Oh, maybe you're all out celebrating, I should follow suit.
 
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pfaction said:
My impression of verbal was maybe skewed by my current HD screen resolution. It seemed longer, but no one will deny it was on par/easier than other VR's.

Also what happened to this topic! It died out or something. Today's a GREAT day, people. Oh, maybe you're all out celebrating, I should follow suit.
Click to expand...

This thread will be dead by Friday. If I have any questions about applications, I'll probably ask it in the pre-allo forums for better answers, as I'm sure others will as well. So this is my last post here. It's been a good run, guys.

Good luck to everyone this cycle :thumbup:
 
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:( I'm gonna miss you and your skeleton of an avatar. See you later, fas, be strong.

I will keep the thread up myself!

Determined.png
 
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fas376 said:
I'm in the same boat. Good sciences, bad verbal. Going to retake June 21st. Are you also a Texas resident? I would retake ASAP. Stupid ass TMDSAS opened up so early.
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Yeah I'm a TX resident and TMDSAS sucks for opening so early, in any case I am going yo apply broadly allo and osteo, and I'm retaking in late June. We'll see how it goes.
YouNeverKnow22 said:
my life is a joke

this was a retake for me

my VR dropped from a 9-> 6 (never scored below a 10 on FL's) and I got a 10 on BS. I hate this.

my composite MCAT is a 25, I'm going to roll the dice and apply to 5-6 schools this cycle while studying again in the fall.
Click to expand...
I feel you man, got decent sciences and I got a 7 on VR, which is a 2-3 point drop for me. This is not a retake for me but VR sucked. I mean, i didnt think too much about it on test day, it felt like any other AAMC, but what a surprise. Freaking 7! I mean WTF.
 
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15 PS
12 BS
10 VR

37Q overall

A little unbalanced (I invariably scored 11-12 in VR on the practice exams), but definitely no complaints. Most of all, I am just relieved to be done with this thing. :)
 
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MDschoolorbust said:
Noticing a lot of people with low verbal scores. Maybe request a rescore?
Click to expand...

Seriously. What's up with everyone getting 3-4 points lower on their VRs than normal? This thread is scaring me because so far I've been reliably scoring in the 10-11 range on VR, but apparently there's no shortage of people in this thread who were doing the same thing and got a 7 on the real thing.
 
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OCDOCDOCD said:
Seriously. What's up with everyone getting 3-4 points lower on their VRs than normal? This thread is scaring me because so far I've been reliably scoring in the 10-11 range on VR, but apparently there's no shortage of people in this thread who were doing the same thing and got a 7 on the real thing.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I averaged a 10 on the verbal sections, and got an 11 on the actual MCAT (35R composite). You just have to watch for the typical traps that appear (extremes, generalizations, etc.) Perhaps people get winded after the PS section which would decrease the morality of a lot of people (happened to myself with this MCAT). I just took the 10 min. break to recuperate as best I could so I didn't misread anything in the verbal section.

Just think clearly and logically.
 
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OCDOCDOCD said:
Seriously. What's up with everyone getting 3-4 points lower on their VRs than normal? This thread is scaring me because so far I've been reliably scoring in the 10-11 range on VR, but apparently there's no shortage of people in this thread who were doing the same thing and got a 7 on the real thing.
Click to expand...

It's hard to tell just from reading the thread. I scored my avg for VR. Thought the topics were reasonable; an in line with AAMC 8-11. IMO, of course.
 
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OCDOCDOCD said:
Seriously. What's up with everyone getting 3-4 points lower on their VRs than normal? This thread is scaring me because so far I've been reliably scoring in the 10-11 range on VR, but apparently there's no shortage of people in this thread who were doing the same thing and got a 7 on the real thing.
Click to expand...

I got a 10 on VR on the real thing (4/28) while I only got less than a 13 twice on 8 full lengths (a 10 and a 12). If I gave any advice it would be to do everything you can to forget the PS before you do VR. I was still worried about PS, even though I ended up doing better than I thought on it, but its definitely what messed with my VR.
 
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carramrod06 said:
Scores FINALLY! Sorry I'm late to the party had to go somewhere right after scores came out but here I am as promised. Very Happy with my score!! :D

4/28/2012 - PS/VR/BS - 14/11/13 - 38Q

AAMC Tests in order taken and approximate date taken
Started content review in December (examcrackers) and finished bio and physics content review by the time I took my first test. Did not go over general chemistry/organic chemistry much. Wrote essays during practice tests for only AAMC 8 and AAMC 11 (skipped over in all other practices).

AAMC 8 - 13/10/12 35 January (late)
AAMC 9 - 12/9/14 35 February (early)
AAMC 10 - 13/11/13 37 March (early)
AAMC 4 - 14/11/15 40 March (mid)
AAMC 5 - 14/10/13 36 March (late)
AAMC 6 - 13/11/12 36 April (mid)
AAMC 11 - 13/11/13 37 April (late)
AAMC Average: 36.5
AAMC10/11 Average: 37

Predicted: Anywhere from 33-40

4/28/2012 MCAT - 14/11/13 38Q

It was really helpful reading everyone's comments during this waiting period, hope to see usernames of everyone here show up in other threads!
Click to expand...

Amazing score, congrats!
 
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40MegaFonzies said:
AAMC 10: 38
AAMC 11: 39
Highest (AAMC 4): 41
Average (all 8 AAMCs): 38.5
4/28/12: 12/11/13 = 36Q

I can honestly say I'm disappointed, but I guess when I take into consideration the fact that I haven't taken the prereq courses in 6-7 years, I'll live. I just hope this is enough.
Click to expand...

MDPhDJourney said:
Retaking. FML

34M (11/11/12)

I need a 38+ to compensate for my low gpa and lackluster EC's. Just signed up for an August test date. Bleh


Congrats to everyone who reached their target scores!!!!!
Click to expand...

You guys are both loco. No score above 34 should be retaken, ever. Be happy with your scores.
 
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AAMC AVG: 29
AAMC 10/11: 28
Actual: 24R (10PS/5VS/9BS)

^ This is how not to take MCAT. :laugh:

Congratulations to everyone.
 
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OCDOCDOCD said:
Seriously. What's up with everyone getting 3-4 points lower on their VRs than normal?
Click to expand...

Somewhat incorrect. My scores, even with EK / TPR have ranged from 7 to 10. I scored a 9, which was my mode. TI, who paralleled me in the AAMC's, did even BETTER than his averages!
 
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Finally mustered up the courage to look at my scores
8PS, 12VR, 12BS = 32M :cool:

I guess that's good enough. Good enough for me not to retake, anyways. The 8PS worries me though.

Congrats and good luck to everyone else.
 
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Caitlin0206 said:
Is it reasonable to apply with a 25? I got a 23R first time, 25Q second time and total with highest from each section is a 27. Should I bother applying without a retake? Or is that a waste of money?
Click to expand...

depends, my state school has let people in with low scores, I'm trying anyway the rest of my app is good. I'm gonna study for a retake next January but still apply to 7-8 schools.


i'm BAFFLED at my VR score, something has to be wrong. I've never gotten below a 9 on that section and felt confident test day. Is a rescore even valid? I mean has anyone had success with that sort of thing? I can't believe it guys, VR was my strength.
 
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Another longtime lurker here. I really enjoyed reading posts by some of the regulars on here. I used you guys as a measuring stick throughout this whole process, and it was great motivation. Even though I didn't quite measure up, I'm gonna share my scores anyway.

In the order that I took these (all out of order):

AAMC 9: 11, 10, 9 = 30
AAMC 5: 8, 8, 9 = 25
AAMC 3: 10, 7, 9 = 26
AAMC 7: 9, 7, 10 = 26
AAMC 4: 8, 12, 9 = 29
AAMC 8: 9, 9, 9 = 27

Average PS: 9.167
Average VR: 8.833
Average BS: 9.167
Average overall: 27

04/28 Real: 10, 9, 10 = 29Q

These don't really count because Princeton Review made me take them last summer, and when I did them last month for practice, it was not timed.
AAMC 10: 10, 9, 13 = 32
AAMC 11: 10, 9, 10 = 29

I was just praying that I got at least my average.

Verbal was such a blur of nonsense. I can never tell with that shizz. I was really afraid I got 7. I hate ants. Physics was easier than I expected. I thought it was very similar in level of difficulty to all the AAMC exams, just a bit more skewed toward Physics than Gen Chem. I don't know why everyone was complaining about it because it didn't seem to affect your scores! First passage of bio (ochem) shook me. The rest also became a bit of a blur. Though, I can still remember some of those absurd discretes.

Anyway, I'll probably be acquainting myself with the principles of osteopathic medicine now. I'll still apply but won't hold my breath for allopath.

Congrats to everyone!!!!
 
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Thanks :) Going to try to post my study strategy in 30+ study strategy thread sometime soon. Hopefully someone will find it useful xD
 
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YouNeverKnow22 said:
depends, my state school has let people in with low scores, I'm trying anyway the rest of my app is good. I'm gonna study for a retake next January but still apply to 7-8 schools.


i'm BAFFLED at my VR score, something has to be wrong. I've never gotten below a 9 on that section and felt confident test day. Is a rescore even valid? I mean has anyone had success with that sort of thing? I can't believe it guys, VR was my strength.
Click to expand...

Iv never scored below a 9 either and the 9 was on a test where I didn't read anything. My averages this time were SO MUCH BETTER in PS than last time and I got 2 points worse and I was averaging 11 on verbal and got a 5 the first time and a 7 the second time

Te first time I took it 4 people rescored because of VR and it all came back the same. Plus it takes FOREVER
 
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Caitlin0206 said:
Iv never scored below a 9 either and the 9 was on a test where I didn't read anything. My averages this time were SO MUCH BETTER in PS than last time and I got 2 points worse and I was averaging 11 on verbal and got a 5 the first time and a 7 the second time

Te first time I took it 4 people rescored because of VR and it all came back the same. Plus it takes FOREVER
Click to expand...

I'm not re-scoring. This kills my confidence so much...hard work for nothing? I didn't panic or anything test day, I have such bad luck :thumbdown:
 
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kpatel4 said:
What study method did you use? Schedule, books, etc. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
First of all, it's worth explaining what irregular classwork was under my belt by the time I began studying. I took a yearlong calculus-based physics sequence and a semester-long introduction to modern physics, an engineering class on the chemistry of materials, a neuroscience class, genetics and cell biology in addition to the normal prerequisites. I think that those who learn calculus-based physics develop better physical intuition than those who don't, which helps on the MCAT, even though there is zero calculus.

I took AAMC #3 in December to see where I was at before doing any sort of broad content review. Because I did well (35) I decided to not do a broad content review at all, but rather took a fill-in-the-holes approach. The only complete review I did was listening to the ExamKrackers MCAT Audio Osmosis lectures and some of the relevant Feynman Lectures in Physics. During January, February and March I took an AAMC practice test about every two weeks and reviewed the weak areas that the test revealed. I used the ExamKrackers books a little bit but I honestly found my textbooks and the Khan Academy to be way more helpful. Sometimes I think that the prep companies are trying too hard to stay one step ahead of the AAMC and the best way to prepare is just to take a step back and make sure that you understand the material in general, rather than the material "for the MCAT." Overall there was no statistically significant upward trend in my practice test scores, though, and it seemed like every time I filled in a hole a new one appeared.

During the month of April I took an official practice test every Saturday at 1:00 PM. I really tried to nail down a routine. And I went for a really long bike ride the morning of April 28. And had way too much caffeine. But I think the exercise helped, especially since I had been doing it regularly.

And I was really glad that I brought snacks.

Also I felt absolutely horrible after the test. I thought I had bombed it. I finished with ten to fifteen minutes to spare and three to four questions marked on the AAMC #3-11 PS. On the real thing I had no time to go over any of my eleven marked questions. It just goes to show: I am terrible at predicting how well I did on tests.

Is that the sort of information you were hoping for? If I had to boil down my advice to one sentence, it would be, "Master the content while you're first learning it, in your classes, so that you have enough time outside of class to master your test-taking skills."
 
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YouNeverKnow22 said:
I'm not re-scoring. This kills my confidence so much...hard work for nothing? I didn't panic or anything test day, I have such bad luck :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

I didn't panic cuz this was a second time for me. I knew how it worked and I was really calm. I'm registering for August 10th and just doing EK1001 and practice tests for two months and gunna hone in on my weaknesses. We'll see what happens. Keep ur head up. You're not alone. I know like 5 people who are all in the same boat including myself.
 
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Caitlin0206 said:
Iv never scored below a 9 either and the 9 was on a test where I didn't read anything. My averages this time were SO MUCH BETTER in PS than last time and I got 2 points worse and I was averaging 11 on verbal and got a 5 the first time and a 7 the second time

Te first time I took it 4 people rescored because of VR and it all came back the same. Plus it takes FOREVER
Click to expand...


Also in the same boat, I scored 5-6 points below my rough AAMC average because of a random 5 in verbal. Don't know WTF to do with a 24 overall.
 
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What's the national average MCAT score?
What is the national matriculant MCAT average?
anyone?
 
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Caitlin0206 said:
Is it reasonable to apply with a 25? I got a 23R first time, 25Q second time and total with highest from each section is a 27. Should I bother applying without a retake? Or is that a waste of money?
Click to expand...

I would apply. When it comes to this kind of thing, I try to disregard the money aspect unless I'm really running low at the time.
 
Last edited:
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Caitlin0206 said:
Anyone have the PR hyperlearning science workbook that's not written in that they wanna sell?
Click to expand...

I also have it- also clean, except for some passages checked off (no marks in the passage, just the # of the passage)
PM me if you still need one, I'm headed out of town for about a week this afternoon but can send it from my parents' in PA if I hear from you before we take off.
 
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I have the entire TPR and SN2ed set. Some TPR has pencil markups for corrections or what I think are great clarifications, and obviously can be erased. The workbooks have been basically untouched. Would like to sell separately.

Edit: From this year, obviously, so whatever newest editions.
 
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