How did it go?

[Guest ioncannon97]

What did people think of the test?Overall, I felt that the experience was pretty similar to AAMC 4-6 practice tests with the only real difference being that my Bio Section seemed to be a bit tougher than I have become accustomed to in the

practice tests. I had trouble finishing it and the passages seemed to be more off the wall (did anyone get the passage on the E.Coli transcription regulation genes and proteins? that was scary).Well, its over and thats the best part. Im going to sleep now and I'm not gonna wake up for a really, really long time.

[Guest SoHo]

I actually found the bio section to be easier than the practice tests, physical sciences didn't seem too different (did anyone find that there was a lot of electricity stuff?), verbal section seemed to be the same as AAMC 5 and 6, nonetheless I'm not particularly impressed with my performance on this section (hoping for a forgiving bell curve - *fingers crossed*).

[Guest bad hombre]

soo....hungover.... right now....

 

i agree wit soho, verbal was pretty tough compared to V and VI (something about analytical and inferrential philosophy and history)

 

PS was similar in difficulty to IV, V and VI, but i had relatively little physics on mine, must have been 60-40 ratio of chem to phys. a lot of redox.

 

BS, yes there is a god! a lot easier than the practice exams, and very, very little 'second semester orgo' where the answers couldn't be inferred from the passages.

 

i think i had test form CK.

 

hope everyone did alright.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

Wooo, it's over! Man, it was good to belt out some ABBA tunes last night to the point of hoarseness, although it does feel odd not to be getting ready to review cue cards at the moment.

 

Hey, ioncannon97, I think I may have had the same Bio passage as you, if it surrounded the Lac operon? It was a pretty tricky passage, and I decided to leave it to the end to tackle just before the albino-mice-and-their-melanocytes passage. I had about 20 minutes to do those last two passages and I ended up eating about 14 of them on the operon. Things didn't become clear until I wrote the scheme down and actually got my brain around what all the proteins and loci did.

 

What did you guys think about orgo? It seemed a bit different from that found on AAMC VI in that there didn't seem to be any crazy mechanism questions, and not all that much on carbonyl chemistry. Admittedly, a couple of passages looked scary as hell initially, given that the passages and all their tables and reaction schemes seemed to take up one and a half pages.

 

SoHo, I'm with you on the Physics. The Physical Sciences section, overall, seemed a bit odd. Some of the chemistry questions were fairly convoluted--more so than I remember on any other practice exam. As to Physics, lots of folk in my testing location were lamenting over the X-ray penetrance passage. Did you guys happen to have that one?

 

As to Verbal, gads. Even with an attractive little passage on a wee monastery perched atop a craggy Irish island, it thoroughly mashed me.

 

Cheers, enjoy the recuperation, and we're on to the next stage!

Kirsteen

[Guest bad hombre]

this other weird question that i got in BS, the FIRST question actually... 'what was the main idea of the passage?'

 

hey, i thought we finished verbal 4 hours ago... wtf?!

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

I was just cleaning my place in this post-study wake, and remembered a niggly question that I had little clue about. Is anyone a fungi pro here? If so, I'm sure you could spread some illumination as to the reproductive life of fungi! It was a discrete, explaining that there are two types of fungal reproductive cells, and it basically asked what would happen if the two cells were brought together. Any clues?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest bad hombre]

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[Guest bad hombre]

From my botany course, i remember roughly the lifecycle of most mushrooms, although there's a wide variety of lifecycles that deviate from this:

 

1.haploid germinating basidiospores, form primary mycelium

2.dikaryotic (this is when two haploid cells fuse, but their DNA remain separate), secondary mycelium

3.tertiary mycelium (forms visible mushroom cap), still dikaryotic4.Karyogamy (fusion of nuclei, so now diploid

5.Immediately followed by meiosis

6.and back to the beginning,

 

hope this helps kirsteen, and i hope you got it. for anyone who cares, my ta's say there's A LOT of money in fungi research... what

[Guest Kirsteen]

Woah, bad hombre, you're a learned one!

 

Sorry, I admit to having a bit of a black thumb when it comes to the plant kingdom (I tend to group fungi in with plants), although I'm attempting to mend my ways. I take it that the above means that they undergo sexual reproduction then? If so, that was one of the four answer choices, the others being something along the lines of: a) both cells die; one cell helps the other survive; c) I can't specifically remember this one, but it was tempting to choose it as opposed to the "undergo sexual reproduction" response.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest dfenst]

I had test BP and this was my take on the test:

 

VR - pretty damn hard. I mean Verbal is my weakest section, but I still found this to be on the long and difficult side. I didn't find that there were any passages that I could nail quickly. As per usual, I did not finish.

 

PS - very straightforward. This was probably my most inconsistent section throughout practice, but I kid you not if you knew that E=hf=hc/lambda and that V=Ed, you could have gotten 10 right answers. There was only 1 question that I guessed on, and that was on the X-Ray passage that asked how much somethingorother would be on the back compared to the stomach. It was a ratio question with two answers being less than 1 and two answers greater than 1. I went with one of the less than 1ers.

 

BS - average. Had I realized that the fatty acid passage gave us melting points instead of trying to count carbons, I would have gotten the #$@%#@%en easy "which is a liquid at room temperature question". The section started with some tough passages I found, but eased up a bit.

 

Here's hoping for a better score than last year!

 

Have fun all.

[Guest Petra]

How did everyone find their fellow test takers? I wrote at U of A and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the exam, which could mean a scary curve, however when I talked to my friend who wrote in New Jersey, she told me that most of the people who wrote around her didnt finish any section and only finished about a paragraph for the written, plus there were actually a few people that voided their exams in the end. anybody else have any impressions?

[Guest Richardo Xavier]

Well I'm back in town from the MCAT

 

I had form DK.

 

Verbal reasoning: Not as bad as the practice tests I took. There was a couple passages that were sorta weird like one on quantum computers and another on ethnomusicology. I am convinced that the MCAT testing service has hired one guy to seek out the most inane, useless and dumb passages known to man for the MCAT.

 

Physical Sciences: This was a little tough for me. Lots of acid-base chemistry mixed in with redox stuff. There were a good amount of tricky questions here but I think I got a good amount of them right.

 

Writing Sample: Cake. Pure cake! I couldn't have asked for easier statements to write about. I watch CNBC at work and both statements had something I could draw from it. Wro te about the airline industry in the wake of 9/11 for the competition vs. Cooperation one. The other was on creativity. I wrote about musicians and the internet vs. the effects of video games on our youth not reading as many books anymore.

 

Biological Sciences: This one I felt better about. I had one pedigree analysis of an autoimmune disorder that affected only men. I also had a dumb VR type of question where it asked "What was the main idea of the passage?" I had to guess a few times here but, hey I'm hoping others had to guess too.

 

 

Hope you all did well

-Richie

[Guest DHP62]

Well, c'est fini. Congrats everyone!

 

I found it pretty hard...except for the essays.

 

VR - first half I was breezing through, but then was lost for the last 2 passages! Overall, it was so-so

 

Physics - I personally found it hard, but other friends I know who had the same version as me found it straightforward Two passages I was totally lost - stupid bridge that acted like a wave, and some gamma rays hitting the earths atmosphere business. Anyone else have those?

 

Writing - BEST part of the whole day. Can I just say - thank goodness for no politics!!

 

Bio - Hardest section by far. Truthfully, this was harder than any of the Kaplan or AAMC samples I had done. I also had a VR type question in bio...blech! But I smiled when I saw Canada represent though - Ontario vs Ohio snakes (what a hard first question!) Overall, it was a bad way to end the day.

 

BUT I'm glad its over with. Had a fun time after and have such plans for this week Although I'm now feeling borderline about making the cutoffs...which is going to lower my motivation for working hard on my apps.

 

Everyone, enjoy your two weeks of summer...before school starts again!

[Guest ioncannon97]

Hey Kirsteen I think I wroted the exact same exam form as you because the passages you mentioned on your post were on my test. The X-ray penetrance passage I had but I don't particularly remeber it as being a hard one. I had the lac operon one you were talking about as well and that one was probably the hardest one in the exam for me. I did it last and had only 8 minutes to go so needless to say I made some "educated" guesses. I think my test form was BM, and yep I remember that Fungi question as well. I chose the one where they "fuse and reproduce sexually" or something like that. I'm no fungi expert but the EK Bio book I used had only one diagram in the fungi section and it was of two cells fusing together so obviously I had to choose that answer.

 

I do remember one Orgo question I was hoping someone could help me with. It was a stand alone Q which asked what would be the product if 2,3-dimethyl-Butan-2,3-diol was washed with sulfuric acid: the answers were four functional groups: amine, aldehyde, ketone, and Carboxylic acid. I eliminated amine pretty quickly because there was no nitrogen involved but I was stuck after that. I ended up guessing, does anyone have any idea about this one?

[Guest dfenst]

I found that people with different versions of the test had some similar questions/passages, so it doesn't mean you two had the same exam. Not sure though.

 

As for that orgo question, I don't remember having that one exactly, but it does seem kinda familiar. It's funny how 24 hours later the mind can just fall apart. Just writing down the reagents you wrote doen though, I would have to guess ketone, since I believe sulfuric acid acts as an oxidizing agent. Since both carbons are secondary, this would yield a dione. I remember choosing carboxylic acid as an answer to a similar question, and I hope I didn't muck that one up

 

Dan

[Guest MDPlease]

Hi!

Just thought I would share my feelings about the MCAT. I believe that I had the same test as DHP62 (FH) and I completely agree with you.

In all honesty I went into the test with a strong preparation for the sciences and found them to be harder than any of the tests I had practiced before. I can't comment on the VR because that is my weakest section, and the essays seemed reasonable.

On PS there were passages on physics that had no calculations, it all conceptual stuff, such as the ones with the bridge and the incoming rays. I had to read them over and over again and had to make up the time later on.

On BS there were a couple of orgo passages that I found impossible (the one with the ylide, and the one about the peptide cleavage). The bio ones weren't a breeze either.

I too feel a little worried about making the cutoffs and it's soooo frustrating.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the FH test version?

Please share!

Thanks

M

[Guest bad hombre]

Kirsteen,

 

okay... i had a botany testbook in front of me when i answered your question.

 

Richie dude,

i think you and i had the same test form (CK). i agree that the thenomusicology @#%$ was queer

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey guys,

 

Congrats on making it through! You all probably did just fine, so don't second-guess yourselves too much- you'll just psych yourself out/drive yourself up the wall more than necessary- although it is very understandable.

As for the orgo question, I'd expect sulfuric acid to cleave that 1,2-diol into two carbonyls. Since the heteroatoms are both internal, the answer must be ketones. Therefore the reaction should yield 2 equivalents of 2-propanone.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest Richardo Xavier]

From what I have ascertained from the test forms I've heard about from people, I believe the MCAT testing algorithm uses the 2nd letter as an identifcation of a certain set of questions while the 1st letter is a different mix of that same subset of questions.

 

I know for a fact I had DK, you had CK and another person had FK and all three of us had the ethnomusicology passage hehee.

 

On another note, now we all get to wait wait wait for our test scores. My AAMC application is already out the door to the medical schools I chose. Depending on my scores I may add more I am hoping... no no, PRAYING for a 30+ But I would be happy with a 10 in verbal, and 9s in bio and phys. 27 is the magic number I need. The school I want to goto is East Carolina University with UNC-Chapel Hill as a close second (need a 30 for that). I wish they could expedite the test score results back to us...but I realize that they have to read tons and tons and tons of writing samples. I know mine will take awhile cause I wrote almost 2 pages on both and my handwriting totally sucks

 

Ok time to sleep and sleep very very very well! And what is that about you singing ABBA tunes Kirsteen?

 

-Richie

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi guys,

 

Re: the test forms, I had test AH, which helps to corroborate Richie's hypothesis since I don't recognize any of the passages that you mention.

 

As to the ABBA thang, there was a show that swooped through Toronto for a few days, which I caught on Saturday night: Sing-Along-A-ABBA. It was a welcome relief to recall "Fernando" lyrics as opposed to the six groups of reactions which form alkenes.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest dfenst]

You think if we all write to AMCAS to rid this stupid writing sample business, they'd listen? I mean we could get our scores in days if it weren't for that waste-of-time-writing sample. We have write essays to get into med school, anyway. Does anyone else feel that the writing sample is just there to tire you out for the BioSci section?

[Guest iamanurse]

Hello. It must be a relief for all of you to have made it through the MCAT... hopefully you will now be able to enjoy what is left of the summer (without worrying about having to study). May the bell curve be nice to all of you... good luck!

 

I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping someone will be inclined to answer. Although I won't be ready to write the MCAT for another year (give or take) and - admittedly haven't looked into this nearly enough - I am just wondering about the following:

 

Where do you sign up to write the exam? On the website? At the university? Is it necessary to travel to a site in order to write or are there sittings in most major areas?

 

When would you sign up by if you wanted to write in a) ?April or August. (I know there are two sittings per year - forget the exact months)

 

There is talk of the test structure changing (ie: more BS less PS) - has this already happened? Now that you've written - what university courses would you recommend as helping you to do well? (and if the changes that I am referring to are indeed going to take place - which courses might not be necessary? If any?) This question may sound awfully redundant but I'm looking for fresh perspectives.

 

Now that you've written how long will you have to wait to find out your scores? I would imagine this waiting period as being just as gut wrenching as what you've experienced prior to the writing!!! Hopefully it is not a long wait.

 

I hope you won't mind answering these questions. It's nice to get information from people who have (very recent) experience with the whole process. I have visited the MCAT website but wasn't too sure how much applied to Canadians.

 

Once again, good luck to all of you. For anyone who is inclined to answer my questions... thanks. Take care!

[Guest Richardo Xavier]

iamanurse:

 

To sign up for the MCAT, either obtain a MCAT registration packet from your college pre-med advisor or goto http://www.aamc.org and use your credit card to sign up for it there.

 

Courses you <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->HAVE TO HAVE<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END--> to be able to take the MCAT with some level of effectiveness:

 

General Chemistry ( 2 semesters )

Organic Chemistry ( 2 semesters )

College Physics ( 2 semesters )

General Biology ( 1 semester )

 

 

These are <!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->recommended<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END--> courses:

Animal Biology

Biochemistry

Animal Physiology

General Philosophy ( for writing sample and test taking reasoning ability)

Immunology

Advanced Organic Chem

Medicinal Chemistry ( it was a graduate level course for me)

Molecular Genetics

 

 

 

Most likely you will be required to travel to a location to take the test. I had to drive 2 hours to mine. If it is over an hour away, I highly suggest you drive up there the night before and stay in a nice hotel to save you the rush. Security is pretty tight at the MCAT too so be sure to have the registration card and ticket with you. Prepare to be fingerprinted and to sign your card multiple times

 

The changes in the testing starts next year and all they are doing is replacing some of the organic chemistry questions with a few more regarding genetics. There is also an initiative to administer the MCAT online.

 

 

The wonderful people of this forum who have taken the MCAT will be subjected to 2 months of sheer torture waiting for their results. This includes me *cry* My medical schools will be waiting for them too since I already applied

 

Hope this answers a few of your questions!

 

-Richie

 

[Guest bad hombre]

iamanurse,

 

because we in canada (atleast some of us) don't have pre-med advisors, i think you get the registration packet at your university's registrar. atleast that's where i got mine from. i signed up using the web form though, it's much easier.

 

cheers,

 

hombre

[Guest iamanurse]

Thanks for the info... that clears a few things up.

 

Still wondering though - when did you sign up to write this test? I will look into getting an MCAT Application package through the university (and visit the website again as well).

 

Results = two months of shear torture... terrible!!! I think I would go absolutely insane. But as stated, at least the worst is over.

 

I appreciate your list of courses: both the 'Have to Have's' and the 'Highly Recommended'. I shall compare these to my own studies. Although I have looked through a couple of MCAT Practice books I've not yet actually sat down and attempted to write through one of the exams from start to finish. Therefore I haven't been able to identify my own weak areas as yet and hope that your list will help me to focus in a little more (I think).

 

Oh, and as for the fingerprinting and multiple signatures... I suppose it could have been worse. They could have 'searched' each of you for hidden cheat sheets! Also, all the signatures are probably a chance for future Docs to practice their soon to be new autograph/scibble which will frequent every piece of paper that comes their way. Haha.

 

Anyway, once again, thanks for the info.