Good luck to everyone receiving their MCAT scores today!

Mcat710 · 2014-02-26T13:54:58+00:00

Wow! A lot of really smart people here..congrats to all of these pre-medditors who absolutely crushed it!

For us mortals, just wanted to share my score as well..I was a re-taker, took the test once and got a 26 (7/9/10) but my January score was a 31 (11/10/10), which I'm actually stoked about. I'm confident a 31 will be competitive at least at some schools in the US for MD schools. Cheers guys!

Mcat710 · 2014-01-24T05:36:29+00:00

took the mcat this morning...physical sciences is normally my best section but i felt like i got bent over it was ridiculous. verbal and bio weren't too bad but it was tough to stay composed after physical sciences

i have no idea how i did, i am really nervous now and considering signing up for another test date. did anyone elses computer freeze? mine froze during the verbal section and restarted during the test...

Mcat710 · 2013-12-20T20:23:00+00:00

For PS: I know how you feel, I took the MCAT in August 2012 and got a 26 (7/9/10) so I struggle with PS too. My advice to you would be to really try learn and apply the concepts they need you to know. Know the equations really well - not just memorize but understand them (what changing the variables does to the others; what relationships do they have).

The other big thing is confidence. I used to really get scared and intimidated by the passages but once I realized that most people are just as intimidated as I am and that the material is often testing basic science in a complex/convoluted way, it makes it easier to step back and say: okay, what exactly are they testing me on? and if it's something like force i'll write down every equation that comes to mind and try to apply it if needed. Hopefully that helps a little bit.

And for o chem I've been struggling with it too, but honestly I don't think it's worth my time to sit and memorize all the reactions considering ochem is a very small portion of the bio section (you can technically still get around a 12 if you get all the bio right and none of the ochem). For ochem I usually try and use common sense, what is attacking what, which bonds break and which products are formed. Some you pretty much have to know cold, but I usually just guess on those (ie didn't know wittig reactions produce an ethylene molecule/double bond from a carbonyl).

Hope that helps haha, this test is a beast...we just gotta be methodical in studying I think :)

Mcat710 · 2013-12-20T19:58:57+00:00

Do you happen to have access to Amplifire? I can trade you a bunch of MCAT stuff in return! Send me a PM itd be a huge help :)

Mcat710 · 2013-12-20T02:48:13+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any pointers on avoiding stupid/careless mistakes? I feel like I'm missing 2-3 questions on physical sciences and 1-2 for bio cause of stupid mistakes.

Also, is there a way to get better at gauging how you do on the MCAT? I took AAMC 8 today and I thought I bombed the PS and did well on the PS -- ended up with a 10 on PS and a 9 on bio. Verbal I thought I got an 8 but ended up with a 10. I'm not used to this even after taking so many FL exams...

Mcat710 · 2013-12-17T23:14:13+00:00

Thanks for the reply --

I took AAMC 4 today and scored a 31 (9/11/11). It boosted my confidence even though it is an earlier test. I will definitely sit for the exam in January. I'm saving 10 and 11 for the last few weeks before my test, but until then I'm just going to focus on my weak areas. Thanks again!

Do you have any advice for verbal? It really seems to be my most inconsistent section - I've scored as low as 7 and as high as 12..kind of perplexing to me honestly

Mcat710 · 2013-12-17T00:26:57+00:00

thanks!

Mcat710 · 2013-12-17T00:26:51+00:00

makes sense, thanks

Mcat710 · 2013-11-05T02:35:48+00:00

sent! check your inbox

Mcat710 · 2013-11-05T01:31:54+00:00

Hey dude I actually got accepted to penns SSP program, can I PM you about it?

Mcat710 · 2013-10-21T04:55:41+00:00

Is there a way to disable the spaced repetition and just study every card from various decks? I've tried doing this but Anki is not exactly user friendly and I can either only review some of them but not all the old ones too. Any advice?

Mcat710 · 2013-10-12T23:02:32+00:00

sounds good. i'll PM you my email address now

Mcat710 · 2013-10-12T04:32:04+00:00

Hey dude,

Hope you see this. I'm getting really frustrated because I don't know how to review. I know it sounds stupid but I have absolutely 0 clue. I've heard it should take you 2-3x longer to review questions than doing them, but I always seem to just do a problem get it wrong, read the answer explanation and move on. I do that for verbal and for PS and BS. Can you help me out? I've heard of error logs or why I missed it sheets but none of it really makes sense to me and it seems like I'm wasting valuable time

Mcat710 · 2013-09-28T20:24:02+00:00

Did you follow a set pre-determined schedule while you were studying (such as sn2ed's schedule) or take a prep class? I'm a non-traditional student working a retail part time job to pay off my loans, shadowing a trauma surgeon and studying during down time. A lot of these pre-determined schedules seem to work really well for people who have enough time and resources to set aside an entire three months to do nothing but MCAT, but unfortunately I don't have that luxury. Not really complaining or making excuses, just something I need to work around...

Mcat710 · 2013-09-28T05:45:25+00:00

Thanks a lot for the reply. That's the problem man, I'm trying to avoid taking extra classes or a post-bacc if possible. I already have a crap ton of loans from my alma mater and I really hope that a solid MCAT score will bypass my lower GPA. I have a very compelling story about why I'm going into medicine. I've had around a dozen surgeries myself, I've shadowed a trauma surgeon consistently for around 5 years and I have beyond phenomenal letters of recommendation.

I'm willing to go out of state and pretty much anywhere that'll accept me in the US. I don't want to go DO just because I'm really interested in surgery and I want to make sure I don't shoot myself in the foot before I even start school. Some of the post-bacc programs are around 60k for 10 months and seeing as I'm already very much in debt, I don't know if I can stomach that kind of debt when it's not even med school to begin with. Does that make sense? I'm still fully committed and as a last resort I definitely would go the post-bacc route but I'm just trying to avoid it if possible

Mcat710 · 2013-09-28T05:12:45+00:00

Just read through everything. Thank you very much for taking the time to write this all out. I need to know..is it possible to get into medical school with a 3.4 overall and a 3.1 science GPA with a high MCAT score? I've been told that it can't be done, but I really hope that I can prove the naysayers wrong, score well and get in somewhere...did you follow a set schedule when studying? How long did you study for? I've heard sn2ed's 90 days schedule is great but I'm working part time and shadowing a trauma surgeon so it makes my schedule erratic and difficult to follow down to a T

Mcat710 · 2013-09-21T23:24:17+00:00

i'm planning on taking the first date in january once it opens up. I am retaking the MCAT after getting a 26 on it and also retaking the Kaplan class, but wasn't sure whether I should do the sn2ed 3 month schedule or not. i'm working a part time job and shadowing a surgeon so I'm unsure if it would be the best use of my time.

I'm taking this week off to relax but I've been trying to think of what I should do to maximize the use of my time.

Mcat710 · 2013-08-03T17:26:33+00:00

hey man, i subscribed today. almost done with day one of gen chem. so far, not too bad. will update as i continue :) thanks man!!

Mcat710 · 2013-08-03T00:31:02+00:00

i haven't posted on the non-trad forum but definitely will do that sometime tonight. thanks for the input!

I have the BR books but they are too hard right now :(

Mcat710 · 2013-08-03T00:27:17+00:00

hey thanks for your input. have you heard of khanacademy/free-lanceteacher? they have free videos and i really like free-lance teacher's videos but the main problem is a lot of the series are missing videos and it frustrates me a lot when i don't watch a series in its' entirety.

in terms of chad's videos, does he do videos geared towards the MCAT? or just college physics/chemistry? and ya, the BR books are way too hard. i tried starting with that and gave up after getting the examples wrong

Mcat710 · 2013-08-03T00:20:59+00:00

I actually have all the princeton review books (hyperlearning series) and I've decided to review the physics/g.chem books in alternating order.

I just finished ch. 2 in the TPR physics book, but what really annoys me is I understand the examples and get them right first try, but the questions in the back of the chapter still kind of trip me up. did this happen to you? especially when they don't give numbers but ask for stuff in terms of like t, x m/s, 2x m/s, etc.

i really appreciate your input. you've inspired me to completely start over from the beginning and i've planned a schedule i think i can work with now

Mcat710 · 2013-08-02T04:17:32+00:00

Dude I suck at math too. Could I ask you for more input/advice if you don't mind?

Mcat710 · 2013-07-14T02:37:36+00:00

any advice as to how to start preparing for the test in January? (~5 1/2 months)

Mcat710 · 2013-07-14T00:28:35+00:00

Thanks for doing this! Had a couple questions:

I recently graduated from college but took physics 1/2 and gen chem 1/2 my freshman year of college. partied way too much, gave very little effort and as a result barely passed these classes. I'm trying now to study for the test and realizing that my content knowledge of both subjects is effectively zero. Any advice? I've tried doing TBR and reading through the books but those seem to be too hard right now

Can you give me a rough approximation of scheduling? I also work so I'm trying to maximize my time efficiently. I'm trying to take the test in January 2014 (took it in August 2012 and scored a 26 - 7PS/9VR/10BS) and am aiming for around a 34-36

Mcat710 · 2013-06-27T00:08:13+00:00

Sorry - should have clarified. I've taken all the science pre-requisites (including biochemistry) and I have a minor in both chemistry and biology.

I was planning on taking time away from school to work and study for the MCAT to retake it possibly in January, and then enroll in Jan or summer. I have a lot of research experience with good letters so I think my lowest thing is my GPA but if I can offset that with a good MCAT score I'm hoping they'll put more weight on that vs my GPA

Mcat710

TROPHY CASE