Help!!!

[Selstaar]

Hi everyone,

 

So my TPR course ended on Monday and I'm in a bit of a pickle. I write on August 28th and aside from verbal reasoning, I've only gotten up to about the 3rd week of homework done and associated readings (i.e., 1/3 content review...don't ask...). Two weeks ago we took AAMC 11 and my score was a 29 - 8/10/11. And, based on these results, I was wondering if you could help me out with where I should be focusing my efforts.

 

Bear in mind that I have yet to take first year chem, physics, bio or organic chemistry while reading this...

 

I'm thinking for PS I should finish the readings and homework for GChem and Physics and supplement with EK 1001 questions just so I have a solid grasp of the concepts going in.

 

For VR, I essentially plan on doing the equivalent of a full on section test everyday for the next month. Like they say 'If you practice it will come'.

 

For the BS section, I'm a little conflicted. I've never scored below a 10 on any of the tests during the TPR course, so I feel like it may be okay to neglect it slightly and rely on practice tests for seeing score improvements. On the other hand, should things go awry on test day (particularly with PS), it would be good to have this section in the high double digits as a buffer for my total score. Should I go with EK for content review and just work on doing as many practice passages/FSQs as I can? Or should I be targeting weak areas and focusing on in-depth review and practice?

 

What do you guys think I should do?

 

Oh! And how many practice tests do you recommend taking for this thing?

[medhopeful64]

Hi everyone,

 

So my TPR course ended on Monday and I'm in a bit of a pickle. I write on August 28th and aside from verbal reasoning, I've only gotten up to about the 3rd week of homework done and associated readings (i.e., 1/3 content review...don't ask...). Two weeks ago we took AAMC 11 and my score was a 29 - 8/10/11. And, based on these results, I was wondering if you could help me out with where I should be focusing my efforts.

 

Bear in mind that I have yet to take first year chem, physics, bio or organic chemistry while reading this...

 

I'm thinking for PS I should finish the readings and homework for GChem and Physics and supplement with EK 1001 questions just so I have a solid grasp of the concepts going in.

 

For VR, I essentially plan on doing the equivalent of a full on section test everyday for the next month. Like they say 'If you practice it will come'.

 

For the BS section, I'm a little conflicted. I've never scored below a 10 on any of the tests during the TPR course, so I feel like it may be okay to neglect it slightly and rely on practice tests for seeing score improvements. On the other hand, should things go awry on test day (particularly with PS), it would be good to have this section in the high double digits as a buffer for my total score. Should I go with EK for content review and just work on doing as many practice passages/FSQs as I can? Or should I be targeting weak areas and focusing on in-depth review and practice?

 

What do you guys think I should do?

 

Oh! And how many practice tests do you recommend taking for this thing?

 

Wow, that is actually a great score for someone who hasn't taken any of the recommended prereqs!

 

I think your plan of action is good - practice is important for physics/gen chem since there are lots of calculations involved (but concepts are more important - make sure you understand what you're doing).

 

For bio, I recommend EK for your content review since TPR goes into WAY too much detail anyway. Since you're doing well on this section, I suggest focusing more time on verbal/PS. Having a really high BS is nice but it's not going to get you anywhere if you end up getting less than a 10 on the Verbal (assuming you're non-Swomen/Ontario). A 10/10/10 is better than a 9/8/13 (trust me I've been there, and it really sucks to have an imbalanced score).

 

Get your bio/organic practice from the AAMC practice exams. Skip the TPR exams since you don't have much time (the AAMC is always the best practice material).

 

Hope that helps! You don't look too bad at the moment- I'm sure things will turn out fine on the 28th

[Selstaar]

Thanks a bunch medhopeful64!

 

I think I'm definitely going to stick to doing only the AAMCs then.

 

And, I'll ramp up my verbal and PS practice in the coming weeks. And maybe, instead of doing all of TPR's tests, I'll just use their verbal sections as practice for pacing and stuff (just to get more used to pacing myself on the CBT)?

[medhopeful64]

Thanks a bunch medhopeful64!

 

I think I'm definitely going to stick to doing only the AAMCs then.

 

And, I'll ramp up my verbal and PS practice in the coming weeks. And maybe, instead of doing all of TPR's tests, I'll just use their verbal sections as practice for pacing and stuff (just to get more used to pacing myself on the CBT)?

 

Sure - the more verbal practice the better! But I'd recommend EK's 101 Passages book over TPR - they are the most representative of the actual MCAT (so if you are tight on time just go with EK).

[Heisenberg]

Hi everyone,

 

So my TPR course ended on Monday and I'm in a bit of a pickle. I write on August 28th and aside from verbal reasoning, I've only gotten up to about the 3rd week of homework done and associated readings (i.e., 1/3 content review...don't ask...). Two weeks ago we took AAMC 11 and my score was a 29 - 8/10/11. And, based on these results, I was wondering if you could help me out with where I should be focusing my efforts.

 

Bear in mind that I have yet to take first year chem, physics, bio or organic chemistry while reading this...

 

I'm thinking for PS I should finish the readings and homework for GChem and Physics and supplement with EK 1001 questions just so I have a solid grasp of the concepts going in.

 

For VR, I essentially plan on doing the equivalent of a full on section test everyday for the next month. Like they say 'If you practice it will come'.

 

For the BS section, I'm a little conflicted. I've never scored below a 10 on any of the tests during the TPR course, so I feel like it may be okay to neglect it slightly and rely on practice tests for seeing score improvements. On the other hand, should things go awry on test day (particularly with PS), it would be good to have this section in the high double digits as a buffer for my total score. Should I go with EK for content review and just work on doing as many practice passages/FSQs as I can? Or should I be targeting weak areas and focusing on in-depth review and practice?

 

What do you guys think I should do?

 

Oh! And how many practice tests do you recommend taking for this thing?

 

 

Wait, how do you get a 28 without any pre reqs and only studying 1/3 material of whats tested on the MCAT?

[Selstaar]

Wait, how do you get a 28 without any pre reqs and only studying 1/3 material of whats tested on the MCAT?

 

Hey!

 

The truth is, it's not by my own doing. Lol.

 

I went to a weird high school where you had no classes and kids had to more or less teach themselves every subject. It was odd and stressful and tough, but the cool thing was that once you learned something, it tended to stick for a while. Honestly, that's the only reason I understand half of what's going on in PS.

 

The nursing background definitely helps with BS. First year anatomy and physiology's essentially a screening tool at my school (e.g., our first midterm's class avg was 49% and the instructor was happy cause it was up 5% from the previous year). I don't know why I understand OChem...I've got no visuospatial sense whatsoever.

 

And, I count myself really blessed not to have as much trouble with verbal as most people do. The truth is, if I had that, on top of learning all the science, I probably would have called it quits a long time ago and spent the school year studying.

[Selstaar]

Sure - the more verbal practice the better! But I'd recommend EK's 101 Passages book over TPR - they are the most representative of the actual MCAT (so if you are tight on time just go with EK).

 

Hey there!

 

I'm sorry to keep bugging you (and the rest of the PM101 universe) for advice.

 

So, today I was going through TPR's Cracking the MCAT Test 1's PS and VR sections cause I decided to do them for extra practice. After VR, I figured I was already 2/3 into the test, so I might as well finish it and I got a 28 - 7PS/10VR/11BS.

 

I'm not discouraged by it...That's my 3rd 11 in a row in BS and 2nd time hitting double digits in VR. My efforts in PS are definitely helping - I've been focusing on physics for the last week and today was the first time I actually did better on the physics in PS than I did on the chemistry (YAY!).

 

I was wondering though, since I have such limited time, should I just skip out on content review for BS and throw myself into PS and VR? People say you can get better at a section just by practicing and reviewing what you got wrong, and I'm wondering if that's what I should rely on for improving in BS?

[medhopeful64]

Hey there!

 

I'm sorry to keep bugging you (and the rest of the PM101 universe) for advice.

 

So, today I was going through TPR's Cracking the MCAT Test 1's PS and VR sections cause I decided to do them for extra practice. After VR, I figured I was already 2/3 into the test, so I might as well finish it and I got a 28 - 7PS/10VR/11BS.

 

I'm not discouraged by it...That's my 3rd 11 in a row in BS and 2nd time hitting double digits in VR. My efforts in PS are definitely helping - I've been focusing on physics for the last week and today was the first time I actually did better on the physics in PS than I did on the chemistry (YAY!).

 

I was wondering though, since I have such limited time, should I just skip out on content review for BS and throw myself into PS and VR? People say you can get better at a section just by practicing and reviewing what you got wrong, and I'm wondering if that's what I should rely on for improving in BS?

 

Hey! no worries - ask away, we're here to help!

 

Your BS/VR scores are encouraging. I would suggest at least skimming the EK Bio book instead of skipping out on content review altogether. But what's your bio background? From your previous post you seem like you've got the physiology down, which is the majority of the BS portion. How's your organic chem? Knowing the general principles and lab techniques (ie NMR Spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy) is more important than memorizing specific reactions (orgo is pretty limited on the MCAT anyway).

 

The EK Bio book is not very big so I think you should still read it over - I don't think it'll take you too long. At the very least know the high yield topics (mitosis/meiosis, hormones, nervous system).

 

Congrats on improving on physics!

 

Out of curiousity, if you mind me asking, did you do your high school education in Canada? I've never heard of a high school where you had no classes. I was also wondering how you got such an amazing score without any of the prereqs/content review!

 

Edit: Not sure if you know about MCAT Audio Osmosis, but that might be helpful for you. It's basically the EK study guide in audio form so you can listen to it whenever you're on the bus or something. I'm sure it'll help for bio.

[Selstaar]

Hey! no worries - ask away, we're here to help!

 

Your BS/VR scores are encouraging. I would suggest at least skimming the EK Bio book instead of skipping out on content review altogether. But what's your bio background? From your previous post you seem like you've got the physiology down, which is the majority of the BS portion. How's your organic chem? Knowing the general principles and lab techniques (ie NMR Spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy) is more important than memorizing specific reactions (orgo is pretty limited on the MCAT anyway).

 

The EK Bio book is not very big so I think you should still read it over - I don't think it'll take you too long. At the very least know the high yield topics (mitosis/meiosis, hormones, nervous system).

 

Congrats on improving on physics!

 

Out of curiousity, if you mind me asking, did you do your high school education in Canada? I've never heard of a high school where you had no classes. I was also wondering how you got such an amazing score without any of the prereqs/content review!

 

Edit: Not sure if you know about MCAT Audio Osmosis, but that might be helpful for you. It's basically the EK study guide in audio form so you can listen to it whenever you're on the bus or something. I'm sure it'll help for bio.

 

I think you're right about the BS section - there hasn't been much OChem on the tests I've managed to get through. I think I've seen 3 at max. I'd say my organic is okay. On the last test I did, I got 13/16 questions right, so I'm thinking it might do me some good to brush up on bio so I can eliminate some of the mistakes I might be making.

 

Yeah, I did school in Canada actually. Although, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of a school like mine before. Last I checked there were only 8 of them in Canada or something: http://ccsdl.ca/

 

They're essentially a coalition of schools for self-directed learning. Each school runs their program slightly differently based on what they think they're student body and staff are capable of handling. My school was conceived as a full-blown SDL school. So our courses were broken up into basically mini-ISUs (I think that's what they were called at regular high schools). We had classroooms but no real classes, you could essentially go where you wanted and work on what you wanted to at any given point in the day. Teachers were there to mark your assignments, hang out with, keep order, answer questions and occassionally deliver a lecture or two.

 

It was pretty cool because I got to learn as much as I wanted as in-depth as I wanted and how I wanted to. And, there was a lot of freedom with assignments too. So, for example, in my grade 12 physics course, for my waves unit I submitted a 20 page paper on the physics of diagnostic ultrasound. At the same time, in my bio course I was creating a PBL case study on glomerulonephritis for my urinary systems unit.

 

I just want to reiterate that I can't thank you enough for your help and support. You've really been a godsend!

[medhopeful64]

I think you're right about the BS section - there hasn't been much OChem on the tests I've managed to get through. I think I've seen 3 at max. I'd say my organic is okay. On the last test I did, I got 13/16 questions right, so I'm thinking it might do me some good to brush up on bio so I can eliminate some of the mistakes I might be making.

 

Yeah, I did school in Canada actually. Although, I'm not surprised you haven't heard of a school like mine before. Last I checked there were only 8 of them in Canada or something: http://ccsdl.ca/

 

They're essentially a coalition of schools for self-directed learning. Each school runs their program slightly differently based on what they think they're student body and staff are capable of handling. My school was conceived as a full-blown SDL school. So our courses were broken up into basically mini-ISUs (I think that's what they were called at regular high schools). We had classroooms but no real classes, you could essentially go where you wanted and work on what you wanted to at any given point in the day. Teachers were there to mark your assignments, hang out with, keep order, answer questions and occassionally deliver a lecture or two.

 

It was pretty cool because I got to learn as much as I wanted as in-depth as I wanted and how I wanted to. And, there was a lot of freedom with assignments too. So, for example, in my grade 12 physics course, for my waves unit I submitted a 20 page paper on the physics of diagnostic ultrasound. At the same time, in my bio course I was creating a PBL case study on glomerulonephritis for my urinary systems unit.

 

I just want to reiterate that I can't thank you enough for your help and support. You've really been a godsend!

 

Your organic is not okay, its great! Yes - the max number of organic passages you'll see on your MCAT is 3, so its definitely not a huge focus (I've written MCAT a few times because I struggled with Verbal, so I've got a pretty good idea of what they test). I remember last year I only got one orgo passage, and it was super easy. You're GUARANTEED to get an IR/NMR question - so know those for sure! (as well as chirality/stereoisomers).

 

Wow - I never knew those kinds of schools existed in Canada. I totally agree with you that self-directed learning really helps drill in the material into your brain (much better than traditional lectures). Self-directed learning will definitely help in med school too

 

And no worries - you're very welcome and I'm glad to help! Let me know how your actual MCAT goes!!

[Selstaar]

Quick Question:

 

Is it better to take AAMC full-lenghts every other day (reviewing them the day you take them) and spending the days in between studying and working on practice problems OR to finish reviewing all the content and do the AAMCs back to back?

[rmorelan]

Quick Question:

 

Is it better to take AAMC full-lenghts every other day (reviewing them the day you take them) and spending the days in between studying and working on practice problems OR to finish reviewing all the content and do the AAMCs back to back?

 

Personal choice - I definitely broke them out. I wanted time to actually study the things I was not doing well on rather than test myself over and over again on areas I didn't know. Plus it helps to actually understand WHAT I didn't know.

[Selstaar]

Thx! I'll start taking AAMCs this week then

[Selstaar]

Yesterday I took AAMC 10 and got 11PS/10VR/11BS. Lol. I was ecstatic! I was just wondering if y'all could help me with figuring out what I should be doing during the next 12 days leading up to my test.

 

I plan on finishing physics content review (TPR textbook and questions and maybe EK 1001 this weekend). Then I was thining that I'd spend the next week or so going over chemistry and doing practice problems from TPR while reading an EK Bio chapter a day.

 

I think that's a pretty good plan, but please let me know if you've got any better suggestions.

 

My issue is really with the last three days before my exam. I'd originally planned on just doing every PS section I could get my hands on, particularly from tests and companies that everyone says has material more difficult than the actual MCAT. However, I feel like if I don't practice BS going into test day, I won't have a clue what's going on during the test.

 

Should I stick with the original plan or try to do some BS sections on those days. And, if I do BS sections, should they be AAMCs or from TPR/Kaplan?

[rmorelan]

Yesterday I took AAMC 10 and got 11PS/10VR/11BS. Lol. I was ecstatic! I was just wondering if y'all could help me with figuring out what I should be doing during the next 12 days leading up to my test.

 

I plan on finishing physics content review (TPR textbook and questions and maybe EK 1001 this weekend). Then I was thining that I'd spend the next week or so going over chemistry and doing practice problems from TPR while reading an EK Bio chapter a day.

 

I think that's a pretty good plan, but please let me know if you've got any better suggestions.

 

My issue is really with the last three days before my exam. I'd originally planned on just doing every PS section I could get my hands on, particularly from tests and companies that everyone says has material more difficult than the actual MCAT. However, I feel like if I don't practice BS going into test day, I won't have a clue what's going on during the test.

 

Should I stick with the original plan or try to do some BS sections on those days. And, if I do BS sections, should they be AAMCs or from TPR/Kaplan?

 

What are your plans with respect to VR? - the most important section, and currently the one that is maybe blocking you from one school

[Selstaar]

What are your plans with respect to VR? - the most important section, and currently the one that is maybe blocking you from one school

 

Whoops. Forgot about that. I was thinking of completing AAMC's VR self-assessment over the weekend to see what skills I should be working on trying to develop in < 2 weeks.

 

I know what really gets me losing points are the Natural Science/Technology passages because they're so detail-laden typically, so I was going to be reading more of those leading up to the test.

 

I'm also thinking of doing an AAMC verbal section pretty muc everyday leading up to the test.

 

Thoughts?

[WtsupDoc?]

Just remember to take a day or two before the exam to relax and not study at all! I know you want to cram in everything you can, but you can really end up psyching yourself out for test day. Take a couple of days, clear your mind and be confident! You've got this!

[rmorelan]

Whoops. Forgot about that. I was thinking of completing AAMC's VR self-assessment over the weekend to see what skills I should be working on trying to develop in < 2 weeks.

 

I know what really gets me losing points are the Natural Science/Technology passages because they're so detail-laden typically, so I was going to be reading more of those leading up to the test.

 

I'm also thinking of doing an AAMC verbal section pretty muc everyday leading up to the test.

 

Thoughts?

 

No worries - as long as you have a plan