September MCAT Thread

[loganonmission]

Hey everyone!

 

Like many of you, I'm getting a little nervous about my upcoming MCAT date on September 8th (only six days away, now! ) I've gone through the Examkrackers books once and made detailed flashcards (which always get things pretty firmly into my memory). I've been listening to the Audio Osmosis CDs, and all this week I'll be doing practice exams from the AAMC. Still, I feel so unprepared!

 

I'm taking the exam in Portland, Oregon (since I'm currently attending university here, but I'm from Alberta) and I think the exam site I'm taking it at is quite small, so there probably won't be too many people in the room with me.

 

I'm just hoping for at least 10s on each section! So, we'll see how all this goes.

 

Good luck, everyone!

 

Your brother in nervousness.

[phantom]

hmm I think I should have saved aamc 10 for later but I decided to do it today... I got a 13 in PS, 11 in Bio and my lowest score in verbal in a while... an 8

[Alastriss]

hmm I think I should have saved aamc 10 for later but I decided to do it today... I got a 13 in PS, 11 in Bio and my lowest score in verbal in a while... an 8

 

i heard that one had a tough VR exam so don't worry! it also had a tough PS section which u definetely took apart

[ducky]

I swear I'm about to cry. I just finished a TPR test and got a 7's in PS and VR. I'm shaking and am so worried right now I can't even look at anything I should be studying.

 

Edit: I went over where I went wrong, I changed some of my answers after first answering them, and that whacked my score good. Gonna start trusting my instincts and "thinking" a little more.

[phantom]

i heard that one had a tough VR exam so don't worry! it also had a tough PS section which u definetely took apart

 

thanks,for the most part I guess my scores have been stable in the sciences well around 10 and higher, bio has always been on the lower side but I mean if I 10 on both sections on the real thing I would be just as happy (with the 10 in vr though )

 

I guess it is true, don't take days off for verbal and I am going to get on that for now.

 

goodluck.

[Jixe]

Okay, I'm back. Maaan...I'm freaking OUT about verbal. I've been getting 9s this summer and one 10 and another 11. I'm back to 9s. This REALLLY sucks. I've got solid science scores, but I just don't understand verbal. I really don't know what else to try...

[roycer]

I'm in the same boat as you. I think I'll be satisfied with an 8 or 9 in VR on the real thing, as long as my science scores are similar to those I got on practice exams. I just want a 30 on this thing and I'll be happy!

[Alastriss]

I'm in the same boat as you. I think I'll be satisfied with an 8 or 9 in VR on the real thing, as long as my science scores are similar to those I got on practice exams. I just want a 30 on this thing and I'll be happy!

 

 

DO AAMC 4 i just got 12 on it, and its been my highest yet so do it for confidence!!

[Jixe]

DO AAMC 4 i just got 12 on it, and its been my highest yet so do it for confidence!!

 

4 and the one about clouds and supercooled drops were my 11s. I have 8 left to do...what's the verdict on 8 VR?

[Jixe]

I'm in the same boat as you. I think I'll be satisfied with an 8 or 9 in VR on the real thing, as long as my science scores are similar to those I got on practice exams. I just want a 30 on this thing and I'll be happy!

 

An 8 or 9 in VR would knock us out from Queen's and Western...

[Alastriss]

An 8 or 9 in VR would knock us out from Queen's and Western...

 

yeah jixe is right, a 10 in VR and a Q in WS + 3.68 gpa with 1 year as 3.7 and you have urself a 42% x 2 = 84% chance of acceptance assuming everyone is on equal grounds.

[vip_138]

4 and the one about clouds and supercooled drops were my 11s. I have 8 left to do...what's the verdict on 8 VR?

 

i just did #8 and got 10 on VR so i thought it wasn't bad, so far i've done #'s 4,5,6,7,8 and for VR i got 12,12,11,7 ,10 ... I'm really hoping that 7 was just a fluke.

 

I've been fairly strong in the sciences so i'm not worrying about that, and like the rest of you i'm just trying to pull off a 10 for VR on the real thing

 

hopefully i'll get 13/10/13 Q to ensure queens, western and calgary interview

[Jixe]

i just did #8 and got 10 on VR so i thought it wasn't bad, so far i've done #'s 4,5,6,7,8 and for VR i got 12,12,11,7 ,10 ... I'm really hoping that 7 was just a fluke.

 

I've been fairly strong in the sciences so i'm not worrying about that, and like the rest of you i'm just trying to pull off a 10 for VR on the real thing

 

hopefully i'll get 13/10/13 Q to ensure queens, western and calgary interview

 

You're like...my twin.

 

Any hints on verbal? What's going through your head when you're reading?

[roycer]

An 8 or 9 in VR would knock us out from Queen's and Western...

 

I want to go to Manitoba since it's my home province. I'm hoping for at least a 30 on this thing to be competitive. Working on the WS this week since I haven't even touched it yet. 4 full days to go!

[avenir001]

You're like...my twin.

 

vippy already has a twin on the forum

[Alastriss]

vippy already has a twin on the forum

 

How have the recent VR tests on the cbts been like? were they hard or the same as aamcs? is the language convoluted, passages long, questions hard? what's the status?

[phantom]

hmm now im thinking I shoulda waited to write aamc10. pretty much outta practice tests now and really no more verbal to practice

[vip_138]

You're like...my twin.

 

Any hints on verbal? What's going through your head when you're reading?

 

I think I've noticed that i have a different strategy for VR in aamc vs. EK as i was doing EK 101 passages as practice. I think EK is more focused on tidbits of info than aamc, which seems to deal a lot with the main idea of the author. In EK i could read fast and go to q's and search for the answer, but with aamc i notice its better to read slowly and spend little time on q's since the right answer usually sticks out easily when you completely understand the passage. The problem that ends up happening is there'll be a few q's that i spend a lot of time on becuase i'm just not sure, which slows me down a lot, and i'm essentially guessing anyways. Also when i look at my score after, its always my 'guesses' that are wrong so i'm determined that if i don't know the answer right away to make a guess, mark it, and come back to it after (when i might have a clearer head to deal with it).

 

O, just a random tip for VR: "if it says which one of the following is not supported by info in the passage", look at the the end of each paragraph in the passage. Almost all the time one of the MC choices is said at the end of one of the paragraphs and is the one that isn't supported by other text.

 

Just another random thought, does anyone know if you can hit ctrl+f on the actual mcat. The browser allows you to do this with the practice aamc tests altho i try to resist doing this because i'm suspecting they disable this on the real tests

[Alastriss]

I think I've noticed that i have a different strategy for VR in aamc vs. EK as i was doing EK 101 passages as practice. I think EK is more focused on tidbits of info than aamc, which seems to deal a lot with the main idea of the author. In EK i could read fast and go to q's and search for the answer, but with aamc i notice its better to read slowly and spend little time on q's since the right answer usually sticks out easily when you completely understand the passage. The problem that ends up happening is there'll be a few q's that i spend a lot of time on becuase i'm just not sure, which slows me down a lot, and i'm essentially guessing anyways. Also when i look at my score after, its always my 'guesses' that are wrong so i'm determined that if i don't know the answer right away to make a guess, mark it, and come back to it after (when i might have a clearer head to deal with it).

 

O, just a random tip for VR: "if it says which one of the following is not supported by info in the passage", look at the the end of each paragraph in the passage. Almost all the time one of the MC choices is said at the end of one of the paragraphs and is the one that isn't supported by other text.

 

Just another random thought, does anyone know if you can hit ctrl+f on the actual mcat. The browser allows you to do this with the practice aamc tests altho i try to resist doing this because i'm suspecting they disable this on the real tests

 

Agree with you VIP, EK is tidbits of info and AAMC is easier if u get the main idea and the author's stance, but its also a lot harder if you aren't good at picking out the main idea/author's opinion

 

So wait your saying that if its at the end of the paragraph its usually not the one supported by evidence, example, explanation?

 

still looking for the paper version ful llengths, anyone?

[vip_138]

yeah, basically. if its a statement at the end of a paragraph, its usually said as a peripheral concept to enhance a point the author was making. thus this actual statement will generally have no support of its own. The ones that have support are usually brought up as a thesis of the paragraph and are supported by the body of the paragraph. Thus just look at the ends for one of the MC choices that sticks out, and that's you're winner.

[Alastriss]

yeah, basically. if its a statement at the end of a paragraph, its usually said as a peripheral concept to enhance a point the author was making. thus this actual statement will generally have no support of its own. The ones that have support are usually brought up as a thesis of the paragraph and are supported by the body of the paragraph. Thus just look at the ends for one of the MC choices that sticks out, and that's you're winner.

 

Nice man, that's always tripped me up. WHo's lookin forward to takin this cat home?

The way I see it, Im really good for PS and bS, and VR as much as Id like security, i won't kill myself about getting double d's al the time and just admit that its a crapshoot, so I just gotta walk in there with the best attitude and great confidence and give it my all, right then and there, walk out and call it a summer

[Alastriss]

I just got an 8 on AAMC VR X, someone please tell me this is harder than the recent mcats!

btw, can someone send me the answers for the first passage, the one about the meteor? I think that the answers I have down are incorrect!

[Guest begaster]

Yeah, AAMC 10 was a tad bit harsher than usual. Sadistic grade curve, also.

 

Here are the meteor answers:

53. If it is assumed that the Nebraska site is the impact crater from a meteorite, investigators of the 1908 Siberian impact site might reasonably expect to find:

small round pieces of rock and glassy plates.

 

Reason:

The main evidence for the meteorite impact was “glassy plates and small, spherical blobs rich in iron and titanium” that “are unlike anything found ordinarily in central Nebraska.” These “may be pieces of the exploded meteorite that rained down as molten droplets.”

 

54. Dort mentions sinkholes in order:

to impress the reader with the uniqueness of the discovery.

 

Reason:

The reason Dort concluded that it could only be a meteorite crater is because the feature seemed “too exotic.” The inference is that the sinkhole would make the depression a less unique feature and thus require a more common explanation.

 

*Note - For this one, A seems like it was also right. Even their explanation for A) makes it look like the answer:

 

A) to eliminate an alternative hypothesis regarding the formation of the crater.

The elimination of an alternative hypothesis is the reason for the reference to sinkholes, with the explanation that “the rock formations aren’t the sort to collapse and form sinkholes.”

 

Weird, I know. I got this one wrong, too.

 

55. Dort's reasoning about the date of the supposed impact rests on the assumption that:

the more recent layers of earth are closer to the surface.

 

Reason:

Dort concluded the crater must be 3,000 years old. Part of Dort’s reasoning is that the soil layer lies above a 12,000-year-old layer of silt, which would make the crater younger than that. This would then assume that top layers of soil are younger than lower layers.

 

 

56. The opening paragraph describes the descent of a fireball that was seen before the development of written records. The paragraph is probably based on:

information about more recent meteor activity.

 

Reason:

The basis for this imagined account can be inferred from more recent information, namely, the Siberian meteorite described later in the passage: “That meteorite released about as much energy as a hydrogen bomb, and the nighttime glow was bright enough to read by in England.”

 

 

57. A member of the U.S. Geological Survey has pointed out that Dort has not found a deformation of the rim of the depression or a compressed layer of bedrock beneath it, features which clearly indicate a meteor crater. Their absence:

D) casts doubt on Dort's conclusions.

 

Reason:

The passage states that “Dort hasn’t convinced all the experts that his depression is really an impact crater.” The passage then indicates that some doubt remains about Dort’s finding and that additional information is needed, especially if Dort needs to detect compression in the bedrock: “Dort hopes to drill into the bedrock under the crater . . . and thereby gather enough evidence to silence the skeptics.”

 

 

58. If spherical blobs and glassy plates were found in areas in which there was no evidence of meteorite impact, it would be reasonable to conclude that:

C) the rocks of this sort found in Nebraska probably did not come from a meteorite.

Reason:

These kinds of rocks are introduced in the passage as evidence of a meteorite impact because they are not found elsewhere in Nebraska.

 

 

Hope that helps.

[lll]

is the level of difficulty of aamc 10 the same as aamc 9?...i mean do u almost get the same scores in PS, VR and BS in the two tests?..i understand VR is harder but what about PS and BS?

________

XR250L

[Guest begaster]

I found the PS section of 10 to be a bit tougher. BS, and VR seemed more or less the same for raw scores, except VR in 10 had a seriously nasty curve.