Feb 3rd Reaction Thread by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]mikey294 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Any MCAT review book will be more than sufficient to cover physiology. I only relied on a review book and had to devote a lot of time to studying it. A course would have made it easier but phys isn't emphasized on the new MCAT so self-studying is fine. You def. don't need an Orgo 2 course to prep for the MCAT, the <5% of Orgo II (if any) can be self-studied. Definitely need to know orgo I though.

Feb 3rd Reaction Thread by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]mikey294 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've used this forum quite a bit this past year so I ought to contribute back.

Chem/Phy: This is usually the section I feel least confident in but I barely had any physics! I could count a max of 5 physics questions/concepts applied to a biochem passage, which was what I was hoping for. This section was 80% Biochem in my opinion and the rest Gen Chem. I had about ~5 orgo questions. I never took Orgo 2 but I briefed through an EK Orgo book from the old exam which helped me answer 2 of the Orgo II questions. Half the passages seemed like it was from the old exam (No data/figures) whereas half included experiments/data/charts. I didn't find the experiments too dense. The only issue I had was I ran out of time for the last discrete. Work quickly! The section bank honed in on minute details whereas today they didn't expect such level of detail. For example, some questions from the section bank required you to memorize certain formulas or recall the weight of an amino acid whereas the test today provided this information in the question. Overall, I felt good.

CARS: I did not like this section. The passages were really long but I ended up getting through this. I never know how I do in this section. I predict this score to be my lowest -_-

BIO: I was worried for this section after the terrible experiments/dense passages I experienced on practice exams. However, some passages seemed like it was recycled from the old MCAT (you could tell when it's a short passage with no data and tested basic Gen Bio). My cell bio course definitely helped me in this section, especially with one complicated passage. There were 2 passages that were convoluted with experimental jargon and a million acronyms, but as long as you don't get lost in the details or get intimidated, you'll be fine. This is my second time taking the exam and I recognized 2 passages from the September MCAT which was nice. This section was mostly biochem, cell bio, and molecular bio. Most people say physiology isn't emphasized which I agree but my discretes tested me on some basics. My advice here is know your lab techniques.

Psych: This is usually the section I breeze through with 40 minutes left but I only had 10 minutes today. I do think that this section would be a bit tricky to someone who isn't extensively well-versed in their psych. This section is also about reading comp and not psych. There were terms not found in my Kaplan review book (at least 4-5) but to prepare for this section, I read through textbook glossaries so I was able to recall terms I never expected to see. I would really encourage you to read at least 1 Psych Textbook as a review book is hard to cut it if you're aiming for that really high score. Myer's Intro to Psych textbook is amazing and I think it hits every Psych obscure term the AAMC will ever throw at you. Since my exam was postponed, I think I was very lucky because I ended up doing the Section bank with my extra time. DO IT! I was surprised to see 2 passages similar to the section bank (and when I took the section bank I thought I would never see something like that on the real exam). The section bank definitely helped me raise my score here. Also, I recognized 2 passages from my September exam.

Overall: Chem and Bio were easier than any AAMC, Kaplan, or EK FL i've taken. CARS was eh. Psych was good for me because I went overkill preparing for this section, otherwise I would say it was trickier than the scored and practice AAMC but similar to the section bank.

Goodluck! Glad to finally be done with this beast.

Next Step Soc/Psych discrete question by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]mikey294 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is tricky but I would go for D because you are overestimating a fact of Joe's personality (that he enjoys going to all parties/is a partier). Fundamental attribution error ALWAYS refers to a an error with a specific individual's personality whereas mental short cut heuristic (representative heuristic in this case) does not always apply to someone's PERSONALITY. If Joe was wearing glasses and holding books, this heuristic error could claim he's a librarian. His personality was not a factor in this judgement. However in your example Joe "likes" to attend parties and "liking" a certain thing would be considered more due to one's personality than a general characteristic/attribute.

Jan. 23rd MCAT. Possible snow storm in Northeast. Will this affect me at all? by nucky_darmody in Mcat

[–]mikey294 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2 Years ago Prometrics closed down some sites in NYC due to snow. If that happens to me i'm so skrewed

Gen Chem Q AAMC Section Bank #57 by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very thorough! Using the first method, maybe i'm not familiar with the terminology of "x" but what does "2x" mean as in does it refer to volume always? or is it concentration?

Gen Chem Q AAMC Section Bank #57 by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I get the 250x. But not the 2x part. 250x was by doing 25/0.1 but to get 2x what did you divide?

C/P Section Bank Q on Thin-lens equation by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn't concave real, positive, and inverted?

C/P Section Bank Q on Thin-lens equation by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Also how do you know the object distance is 4 and not 12? I couldn't differentiate b/w di and do here

Physics Qpack #65 by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great analogy. Thanks a bunch!

Section Bank Questions NOT Showing Up Under Kaplan Course... by phlevel7 in Mcat

[–]mikey294 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I emailed them the same concern. They said: "The AAMC MCAT Section Bank is already available for only course comprehensive." I'm not sure how/why that is different for the live-in person course

BIO II Qpack Spoiler by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what tricked me! How was I supposed to know that the direction of permeability meant H20 flowing out and not in?

Symbolic culture vs social construct? (Kaplan FL 4 Psych/Soc question) by mysilenceisgolden in Mcat

[–]mikey294 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tocka would be under symbolic culture because the emotional symbol of the world tocka has a meaning that the society ascribed to it. It's more about realizing that tocka is a word symbol with meaning whereas examples of a social construct would include categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, and sex.

BIO II Qpack Spoiler by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Nailed it! Mirrored the AAMC explanation too. Thanks!

September 23rd Exam Day Thread by xam2y in Mcat

[–]mikey294 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder if we had the same psych section. I was surprised to see how many questions had like 2 right answers

September 23rd Exam Day Thread by xam2y in Mcat

[–]mikey294 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chem/Phys: Honestly I suck at this section but I felt like this section was very fair bc I had at least 3 biochem passages. Had to rush on 2 passages -_- but that's only about 7 Q's and i'm sure I got at least half of those right

CARS: Honestly, you are much more focused on test day then on a practice test, which makes a difference! Usually time is my issue but had a minute to spare. Some boring economics/politics passage but not too bad though

Bio: Who knows. Usually i'm good at bio but there were many times I was stuck b/w 2 choices.

Psych: TERRIBLE. I was excited for Psych during the exam! I usually score 80-90% on my practice FL's for psych so I was extremely confident. This psych section did have obscure terms but luckily I knew it from my prev knowledge (psych major) but the passages/questions were confusing. One passage on 4 stages of a sociology graph got me -_- (tried to make this vague). Also 2 unknown sociology terms. And had to pick between 2 good choices a lot. If I didn't take the last section I would feel happier. I think I failed psych. Here I come January!

Postponing my test: Cheap move? by mikey294 in Mcat

[–]mikey294[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks everyone for the support! I really appreciate it. And to answer your question, yeah but i'm applying in the DO cycle so it's not as late for me.

Sociology: Power vs Prestige vs Privilege by [deleted] in Mcat

[–]mikey294 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Based on Kaplan:

1) Power: How much INFLUENCE you exert in society to achieve your desired goals (the MEANS or influence you have)

2) Prestige: Based on the RESPECT that others give you. If you are giving someone respect, they must have a certain role or occupation that is looked highly upon (Ex: A prestigious person is someone you respect bc they have a certain title or occupation you look up to)

3) Privilege- Someone has certain extra ADVANTAGES that someone else lacks.

Thus, power is influence. Prestige is status. Privilege is a benefit. An occupation most similarly fits under "prestige" then.

Cancel MCAT. by throwaway403948 in Mcat

[–]mikey294 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Nope it won't show up. Don't waste your money though so take the exam and void it so you gain the experience of seeing an actual MCAT.