Woo hoo, it's done!

[Guest Kirsteen]

MCAT August 2001 is now over!

 

How did all my co-writers out there find it? Anyone care to share in some debriefing?

 

With respect to any future MCAT writers planning to take the test in Toronto, I'd highly recommend the Holiday Inn on King option, if it is available next year. Not only are the invigilators warm, helpful and very punctual, but the room is comfortable (without a high concentration of fluorescence, unlike UT) and the chairs are padded! Also, they very kindly provide extra water as well as butterscotch candy if you're in need of extra fluids or sugar stimulus.

 

Awrighty then, on with the two weeks of summer!! (Looking forward to heading to a wee patio, just as the liver was beginning to forget how to detoxify.)

 

Enjoy!

Kirsteen

[Guest rainnoodle]

Hi, I thought Physics and Bio were quite easy/straightforward...but I thought Verbal was a bit tough...

 

 

Did anyone get a passage about "Love" or something about Ethics and art appreciation?

 

have a great summer guys...its finally over!!!!!

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I think we may have gotten different tests!

 

Verbal Reasoning: overall, pretty straightforward although not fantastically simple. Passages on Roman coins and the debasement of their monetary system; the ESP of cats; psychiatrist's definition of disease; the formation of the US constitution...nothing on love that I remember. Compared to last August's MCAT this verbal seemed a lot more sane. Some of the passages weren't as long and I didn't find any one killer waiting in the wings.

 

Physical Sciences: the physics seemed almost elementary due to the lack of need for calculations and a much greater emphasis on understanding the concepts. My passages included one on two cars and their momentum; electron promotion; wave action of a boat on the sea... As for the chemistry, it was redox, redox, redox! The chem. passages seemed more convoluted than their physics counterparts, and lots of questions centering around Keq, acid/base chemistry... and did I mention the redox?!!

 

WS: not too bad given the topics: 1) Due to the increase in use of computers, people are becoming more alienated, or something along those lines; 2) Given the choice of following a personal belief versus obeying the law, it is better to follow your personal belief. I'd be interested in hearing what people used as their examples in part deux, there.

 

Biological Sciences: I can't speak unbiasedly about orgo, given that I just took the course, but I found it fairly straightforward. I couldn't believe me wee eyes, however, that they stuck a question on there about the name of an experiment involving a ylide. Did anyone pick Wittig? I thought that a bit natty. Also, there was a head-scratcher regarding the tail-to-tail positioning of those turpines... Did anyone come across that? As to the non-orgo part, it seemed a lot more challenging than last year's bio. Lots of inference questions, interpretation of graphs, a passage on the cardiovascular system that I could have sworn would have been taught at the medical school level, and a passage on prions that could quite easily have been mistaken for a verbal passage, especially given the first question pertaining to it: 1) What is the main thrust of this passage? Er, wot?!!

 

Anyone else care to share?

 

Off to a fine dinner...

Kirsteen

[Guest rainnoodle]

Hi Kristen!

 

Looks like you got test# 43 for the writing sample!

[Guest rainnoodle]

Hey Kristen, I have a question...

 

On the cats passage...was there a question that said something like: "all of the following may have the sixth sense except for - sealions, humans, cougars, foxes....?

 

I couldnt get that one..which one did you choose?

 

As for the terpene question, yes the tail to tail question was a bit odd....I also had a question involving K and r dependent factors which I found quite unfair..l

[Guest JSS02]

Can we report mistakes to the AAMC still? I think there might have been a typo in one of the questions in the PS section (the one with the selenium oxide, where the H's don't balance)... overall, I found the test to be quite OK. Verbal was weird, but at least there weren't any killer passages. PS and BS were both pretty good, though I would have liked it better if BS had more orgo. And yes, I had Wittig for that question (thank you CHM240!). I thought the invigilators at the Holiday Inn were OK, but the timing was not. They incorrectly timed most of the sections, though only by a minute or two (according to my watch). But still, in sections where you're rushed for time, like VR or writing, you'd like to know exactly when time is up, so you can plan accordingly... Anyways, I hope all you guys get the scores you're aiming for. Now comes the 2 month wait!

[Guest Kirsteen]

So, did anyone else awake at 6am this morning thinking, "Bugger...got to get up to write part two...!!!"?

 

Ahh, it's nice to talk to some souls who encountered similar. Rainnoodle, regarding the cats passage, and which organism may not have possessed that funky gum organ, I opted for sealions. The passage pointed out that all cats have this element, so I lumped foxes and cougars into that category, which left humans and sealions. Within the first two paragraphs, they mentioned that higher mammals, from sea mammals to humans were thought not to have this organ, but then they progressed to say that it had been discovered in humans, blah de blah... Who knows if that was the correct tack, but that's where my fuzzy logic took me.

 

K and r factors of populations? That was one funky discrete question. I've never come across those terms before, in any of my MCAT studying. What did you end up selecting as your answer? Does anyone know what these terms refer to?

 

JSS02, where were you at in the examination room? I hadn't noticed any discrepancy in the timing, but that would have been a bit of a bummer if we had been docked a few minutes here and there--especially with those arm paralysis-inducing essays. On the selenium oxide question and filling in the two subscripts, I'm with you. The equation was not balanced to begin with. What route did you end up taking with it? I think I tried rationalizing the subscripts based on the oxidation states of the atoms.

 

Regarding reporting errors to AAMC, the invigilators had mentioned that we can send a letter if we have any complaints. Perhaps you should, regarding the SeO potential error, as well as the timing for some of the sections. Although I did have a timer with me, I wasn't judiciously checking it to see how much time we were allotted by the end of each section. I suppose I was simply relieved to have finished each section by the time they yelled for us to put our pencils down.

 

Anyway, best of luck regarding the scores...time for us all to get out and live a little.

 

Kirsteen

[Guest BCgirl]

I am so glad that the MCAT is finally finished! Hopefully none of us will have to write it again

 

What test form did you guys have? I had form AN. I found the verbal tough, but ps and bs seemed quite straight forward.

 

What did you guys put for the k or r ecology question? I haven't taken ecology, but I tried to reason my way through it. If an organism is large, matures at a late age, and lives in a predictable environment, then I thought the answer was the lots of offspring one. They wouldn't need lots of offspring because there would be a good chance that the offspring would survive (sort of like humans).

 

Anyway, I'm just glad that it's over! Now I only have one more week of work so I can have a bit of time off before school starts.

[Guest strider2004]

Wow guys, when I read those WS topics on this discussion thread, I actually THOUGHT of examples that I would have used. Geez, no matter how long ago you wrote the damn thing, it never leaves you. Sheesh.

[Guest rainnoodle]

I think I did well on PS and BS...but I have no idea on VR.....when I finished it, I had no idea whether I was actually picking the correct answer, or if I was guessing...verbal was never my strong section to begin with...to make matters worse, once I opened the verbal section, I started to sweat like a pig and feel all nervous...you guys know that feeling I'm talking about

 

Anyhoo....that was a good test run for me, because now I know the MCAT isn't that bad and all the hype surrounding it is just crap....If I need to take it again, at least I know what I need to work on.....

 

Just wondering, I think the general consensus was that the Physics was straightforward....and that people had multiple test forms...so how do they grade that?

 

For example, Kristeen you had a different test form than I did (AS)...so...would my scores be scaled with everyone who took AS only, or would they be scaled with everyone regardless of there test forms?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey there,

 

Unlike you guys, I was partnered with test form BG for the day.

 

As far as I have read and heard, your raw scores are assessed only versus those who shared the same test form as you. Therefore, the AAMC will end up with x-number of distribution curves to match each test form.

 

Good luck all,

Kirsteen

 

PS Thanks for the insight on the r/K ecology factor. I don't know if we're right, but I used the same stream of logic as you. Go multiple offspring, go!

[Guest MEDCOMPSCI]

Your scores are scaled only against those people who wrote the same test form as you. So don't worry about what other people thought of the MCAT too much; unless they had your form, it really doesn't affect you at all.

 

Here is something I find a little strange though: you seem to say that this was a practice run and that you know what to work on for next time? Are you one of those psycho pre-meds that wrote this thing in-between years 1 and 2 of university?

 

Also, when I finished writing the MCAT (as well as everyone else that I talked to) the first thing that entered my mind was: I never want to write this thing again! That was easily the worst summer of my life, the fact that you are calling all of the hype surrounding it crap indicates that you had a much more favorbale opinion of it then almost everyone I know. Good luck with the long-long wait now (which seems to end nicely exactly 2 days AFTER the OMSAS application is due. Greedy buggers.)

[Guest verbal]

I don't know about the rest of you but I thought the verbal reasoning section was rather difficult. I can't imaging writing that exam again. Let the games begin!

[Guest Ian Wong]

Good going all. Strider, the thought never even entered my mind (well, okay, that's not quite true...), but the MCAT does become more and more of a distant memory as CaRMS becomes more of a giant, inevitable obstacle that looms on the horizon like an iceberg to the Titanic.

 

You just end up replacing one stupid barrier to your future career goals with another!

 

Anyway, congrats to all who finished the MCAT yesterday. As far as retaking the MCAT, don't even go there until you get your scores back. As far as you are concerned now, the MCAT no longer exists! Besides, wouldn't you rather spend next year's summer doing something fun and fulfilling rather than studying for a retake?

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest aneliz]

Well, never have I felt such relief to be done a test!!

 

Here is how I found yesterday's big event:

 

Verbal: A little tight for time but not too difficult. Passages were not too hard and the questions seemed to be fine. Overall I would say that it was exactly what I expected and was very similar to AAMC practice tests IV and V. The question about the animals and a sixth sense... I choose sealion as it stated in the passage that sea mammals and higher primates were the only animals not thought to have the sixth sense.

 

Physical Science: The version I had was very heavy on chemistry with not so much physics. This was absolutely perfect for me after spending the past two academic years tutoring 1st year general chem. The physics component was very basic and was really light on calculations. Chem questions were a little more complex and I would agree that there was a lot of redox, acid/base chemistry and equillibrium questions, many that required calculations of some sort.

 

Writing sample: I too had test form 043. The prompts were fine. Here are the examples that I used:

 

Part 1: Computers alienating people from each other

 

Example in support of statement: people become lost in a virtual world. They can chat with a computer, play chess with a computer etc therefore they have no motivation to satisfy their needs for stimulation with real live humans.

 

Counter example: Computers allow us to speed up our work (ie manufacturing) enabling us to have more time free of menial tasks in which to engage in meaningful interactions with other humans.

Second example: Computers have opened up new channels of communication (ie e-mail) that allow us to more easily connect with other individuals from all over the world and thus share ideas more freely.

 

Part 2: It is better to follow your beliefs rather than the law.

 

Example in support: didn't use one.

 

Counter example: Hate crimes. When racist or homophobic individuals follow their beliefs rather than the law, they act in ways that limit the freedom of other citizens and thus are not justified in acting according to their beliefs.

 

Bio Sci: was literally a cake walk if you have taken physiology and organic chemistry. I would say that I learned the answer to probably 80% of the questions in phyisiology. The only question that I was really unsure of was the discrete question on population ecology with K selected and r- selected something. For someone who has never taken population ecology, the entire question was a mystery to me. Oh well, the rest was fine.

 

So, I guess we have to wait until October to find out how it really went eh?

[Guest bossman1818]

Maybe I can help a bit

 

In biology 30 (high school biology) you learn about r and K selected populations (I know, just recently graduated). An r-selected population is one that relies on its high biotic potential. These are typically small, quick growing organisms which produce large numbers of offspring, provide little parental care that therefore have a very low survival rate. Their population size can increase rapidly, but will fluctuate wildly and can crash as quickly as it rises.

 

A K-selected population relies on a high survival rate to maintain a population size that stays close to the environments carrying capacity. These are usually large, slow growing organisms that produce few offspring, and provide more parental care. Their population numbers increase slowly but remain more stable.

 

Summary: r-selected: fluctuating environmental conditions, small size, young are fast growing and depend little on parents, and have a short life span. ex. insects, bacteria

 

K- selected: relatively stable environment, large size, young are slow growing and dependent on parents, and have a long life span. ex. bears, dolphins

 

I don't know if this is what your looking for, but I hope it helps. Hope everyone is pleased with their marks!

[Guest YongQ]

Right you are, Bossman, r and K refer to two extremes of population dynamics, at UBC you can learn this in BIOL303 or any of its course equivalences.

 

For those of you who have lingering <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> bad<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> feelings about this MCAT, I have to tell you it's totally normal and says nothing about your score, so try to forget about your ordeal for the next 60 days and worry about the next hurdles - applications! It's not unusual to see someone expecting a 33 performance to come out of the test praying for a 27, only to discover 2 months later he or she got a 35, and the converse is probably true too. You'll get this feeling of deja vu again when you go through interviews - how you think you did means <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> nothing<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, so you can't worry about it.

 

From what I've seen so far though, it's likely this MCAT wasn't a killer and most people we've seen here were well-prepared, so there's even more reason not to fret. Happy waiting everybody ,

[Guest MEDCOMPSCI]

Strange story about that...Almost everyone I talked to after the MCAT was saying last year that they were unsure of how VR went. Most people were confident about PS/BS, but in terms of VR no one was confident if they had a 10 instead of a 9 or 8. Well, everyone expect this one person who thought he did extremely (underline extremely) well ont eh VR and asked us 'You don't think you even got 10?'. Well guess who on D-Day got their scores back with a VR-7 staring them right in the face.

 

True story G.

[Guest JD]

For those who had form AG or BG, what were the verbal passages you guys were given?

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi JD,

 

I had test form BG. See above for some of the topics that I recall. Any specific reason for inquiring? Did you have AG or BG? From what our invigilators said, it appears that there is a chance that there was only two test forms at our location...AG and BG. They didn't allude to there being any other test codes.

 

BG was composed of only nine VR passages. Did anyone happen to receive a VR section that contained a dreaded ten?

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest llyz]

Hi Guys,

 

Did anyone get this test form? This is the one I had. VR did not seem all that bad and this is by far the worst section for me. I'm usually not quite done by the end of the time which was no different this time, however, the passages I did get through weren't that hard. The verbal reasoning on last August's MCAT was far worse for me. This test for example had none of those questions that go something like...Which of the following would MOST/LEAST/WORST contradict the authors assumption blah blah blah, you lost me! Or as Kirsteen would put it, Er Wot!

PS,.... I'm a chemistry graduate. My test was 80% chemistry and easy physics. This is usually my best section and I found this easier that last years too.

WS I didn't really care for the computer question, it didn't really inspire any great insightful statements I could make. I wrote that computers promised the business world many things (expedience, reduced work load, lower operating costs, etc). Many of which it has not delivered. The individuals left standing are empoyed by the same small company or in a small department but are left to do the work load of 4 people all on their own. (creating high stress...alienation). Electronic mailing systems have made it so that you litterally don't have to leave your desk all day. blah blah blah, Therefore a growing lack of personal contact continues to alienate people from coworkers, customers, etc. I also wrote that schools are teaching computers to children at younger and younger ages displacing other more interactive activities that used to build important qualities in children.

Argument for: world wide web

Determinents: The amount our business' allow computers to infiltrate the personal arena. Also the amount of alienation or lack of personal skills developed in our young people will be determined by the parents ability to balance all of their children's experiences including computers, TV, Sports, and most important Playtime!

Follow the law or your own beliefs.

I wrote that in cases such as assisted suicide and some of the current genetics issues the laws have not or had not been actually been formed yet. So often we are only left with our own beliefs to make decisions. Also the law is a dynamic entity and it is changed by constantly challenging it. Also I put a little blurb about in the end when you meet your maker He's/She's not going to judge you on whether you followed the man made laws in Canada, in the U.S. or maybe in China but on the code with which you lead your life. You have to be able to live with the consequences of your actions alone(within reason of course).

Argument: Middle East conflicts where people are using the fighting for their religious rights and properties to justify slaughter. No religion sanctifies that. In such cases a strong government with strong law and penelties must prevail to protect the weaker, truly observant religious people of the area.

Determinents: First and formost where others lives are taken or affected in any negative way an individual never has the right to choose their own beliefs over the law. Second, where laws are not in place we must rely on ourselves to guide us to the right decision. Whenever an individual reflects deep inside and explores their true self the decision based on beliefs can never be the wrong one.

BS- Didn't really care for it! This may be my nemesis. I don't recall any of the above examples mentioned for questions. In fact I can't remember hardly anything on it. There wasn't a lot of Org Chem, mostly crazy biological experiment stuff. Lots of graphs and reading charts that could've been better represented in alternate ways. I'm hoping to squeeze out with my 8.

 

Kirsteen, Thanks for your input re volunteer experiences. I'm still waiting to hear about my fate for med school this fall ( I'm #3 now ). I'm going to finish this waiting game first to see which schedule I'm looking at this fall. Then I'm going to try some of your suggestions for volunteer options. The councilling option sounded really good.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Illyz,

 

No probs at all. Best of luck in whittling that list down a few more spots.

 

Kirsteen

[Guest Ian Wong]

#3? On the waiting list?

 

Oh man, I feel for you. Best of luck to you. There's still a week left before school starts, and stranger things have happened (a girl got into our class on the weekend before school began). There's usually a bit of flux this last week as people get cold feet and defer or switch schools at the last minute. Best of luck to you, and don't get too far away from your phone!

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3

[Guest Sumi23]

Did anyone get that Biology question with the animal living in a certain environment, in which it would die in if it had a loop of Henle.

THe choices for environment were salt water, fresh water and some other ones.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there Sumi23,

 

Yep, that question made an appearance on my test too. How did you rationalize your answer? I ended up picking the fresh water option, i.e., that it would normally live in freshwater and would die if placed in saltwater. Given that the LoH normally absorbs water and is the primary area for diffusion of sodium, and that water is common to both, saltwater and freshwater, I figured that the organism would be potentially overloaded with sodium if it possessed a LoH that would allow the influx.

 

Anyone else?

 

Kirsteen