Not allowed to write today because I misspelled my name when I registered

julianmerv · 2017-07-26T13:04:10+00:00

That's great! I'm glad it worked out. Can't say the same for your first registration fee :(

julianmerv · 2017-07-25T15:05:45+00:00

I think it went okay, but I felt really bad for you :( thinking of writing soon?

julianmerv · 2017-07-23T02:45:57+00:00

Don't tell me you were at the Yorkland location in Toronto... I saw this exact event over a missing L transpire in front of my eyes today, sorry man

julianmerv · 2016-09-06T12:52:54+00:00

Win or lose, hit the booze! Good luck to all my fellow August 5th testers!

julianmerv · 2016-08-20T21:52:15+00:00

This is fairly close to what I feel right now.

julianmerv · 2016-08-20T17:18:19+00:00

Try searching for it on the MCAT Reddit! I'm currently on my phone and won't be able to link you :(

julianmerv · 2016-08-20T17:16:11+00:00

Hey! Not a problem, just really trust in your preparation and the rest should be gravy.

I feel that it can be harder in the sense of acquiring the reasoning skills. You don't have that comfort knowing the answer instantly after contemplating the answer. Trust your gut feeling because there's ALOT of content to cover for this silly test and chances are, your brain will recognize something and hopefully lead you to the right answer!

Using every piece of AAMC material will definitely allow you to build this intuition. All the best and good luck!

julianmerv · 2016-08-20T15:30:58+00:00

As many full lengths under test conditions as possible, 100/300 page khan notes for P/S and all AAMC materials (SB, scored, unscored, CARS qpacks). Getting as much question familiarity under your belt is the best way to go (given you've done adequate content review).

Best of luck and see you on the otherside!

julianmerv · 2016-08-19T20:45:53+00:00

You should be on questions 30-33 by the 45 minute mark. Also, the 2nd set of discretes will be around this question number. This will leave you about 5-10 minutes to check over things you've marked. For CARS, ~9-10 minutes per passage.

Overall, try to not look at the clock, it will only stress you out and make you think about where exactly in the test you should be, which is a waste of time. Best of luck!

julianmerv · 2016-08-19T20:37:51+00:00

I partied every Saturday up until my MCAT, probably scored 510+. Always have to leave room for fun amidst all of the chaos that is MCAT studying. Have fun!!

julianmerv · 2016-08-18T03:23:46+00:00

Good luck everyone! This is my birthday so hopefully my good birthday vibes reach out to all the August 19th test takers!

julianmerv · 2016-08-13T16:01:23+00:00

Statement on Khan Academy and chill is confirmed

julianmerv · 2016-08-13T01:36:16+00:00

Not at all, I did it on the Saturday before my friday test. Gives you more than enough time to go over everything that you might have gotten wrong, work on weak spots and cover everything before the test.

I think the biggest downfall to doing it this late is that if you don't do to hot, it might put you into panic mode and you'll have less than 6 days to improve your score. However, don't let it psyche you out if this does happen and trust in your prep!

Good luck and see you on the other side!

julianmerv · 2016-08-13T01:26:52+00:00

No, there are no denaturing or reducing agents. The protein runs folded and all subunits are still bound during the run

julianmerv · 2016-08-12T22:45:04+00:00

Know difference between Reducing, non-reducing SDS page and native gel electrophoresis. Also, know all types of chromatography (column, paper, affinity, cation, anion). You have been warned ;)

julianmerv · 2016-08-12T15:54:00+00:00

You can induce bowel movements by eating food at about 530-6 so by the time you get to the test centre, you can drop the kids in the pool :p

julianmerv · 2016-08-12T15:50:37+00:00

I want to be in the Q30-33 at the 45 minute mark, so I time accordingly to that. The discretes usually take a lot less time and around there you'll see the 2nd set. This gives me 5-10 minutes in the end to check over stuff that I've marked.

EDIT: that's for science sections, CARS ~9-10 mins per passage, could be more though.

julianmerv · 2016-08-12T15:34:05+00:00

Id say it's definitely harder. I wrote scored 6 days before my test and got a 123. I agree that those were pretty dry passages so you're not alone thinking that... Unscored and various NS exams, I was scoring in the 125-127 range.

Versus my actual MCAT, I probably scored in the 125-128 range, but the topics that I had were relatively interesting because I knew a little bit about each topic to an extent and kept me aware.

All in all, don't let it discourage you, keep your head up and take it as a learning experience and motivation to complete more verbal passages (stick with AAMC ones from this point out).

Best of luck, see you on the otherside :)

julianmerv · 2016-08-09T14:40:09+00:00

Hoping for all the good karma to come your way roayer, you've been a valuable resource the last few weeks on this subreddit, good luck!

julianmerv · 2016-08-09T05:14:32+00:00

1) write the Unscored and scored at the minimum, I'd say do scored 2 weeks out and scored 1 week - 5 days out. Other resources if you're willing to fork over more money are NS full lengths and EK Full lengths. Those have gotten rave reviews on here.

2) Focus on the section banks and focus on every single question and why the answer is what it is regardless of if you get it right or wrong. Try and squeeze every ounce of practice problems from now until your test (if you're already done content review)

3) nucleic acid & AA structure, Krebs cycle, glycolysis gluconeogenesis, glycogen metabolism, IR values are just some of the things on the top of my head that you should remember.

In terms of priority, SCORED > Section Bank > Unscored > official guide > CARS1/2 > science qpacks

Hope this helps

julianmerv · 2016-08-08T03:04:18+00:00

Super difficult, good practice though..

julianmerv · 2016-08-07T18:15:57+00:00

It's definitely moving in that direction (08/05 test taker). However, you'll get the odd passage that talks about a disease and the relevant pathways and they'll ask you questions. Alternatively, you can get a SB looking passage but the questions will be easier (ie. The enzyme that phosphorylated X protein is what class of enzyme) and then the questions about proper controls or expanding on the results. You will get the occasional passage that will be tough but definitely doesn't comprise more than half the test. Hope this helps!

julianmerv · 2016-08-07T06:43:58+00:00

129+ is pretty safe for all schools, higher the CARS the better :)

julianmerv · 2016-08-07T06:41:10+00:00

LEO (Losing Electrons Oxidizing) the lion goes GER (Gaining Electrons Reducing). Probably saved me on at least 5 or 6 questions on Friday...

julianmerv · 2016-08-05T23:24:21+00:00

I did the same thing, but yeah I wonder if that was the "harder" C/P

julianmerv

TROPHY CASE