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Well, it's finally that time. Tomorrow at 12 pm noon, I will be taking the MCAT, which is 1 of the two most important tests that I'll be taking in my life. (The other one is the StepII exam I take in the middle of med school to determine which residencies I qualify for.)
So far on practice exams, I'm getting top 10% relative to other applicants, so I should be ok as long as I don't choke. Wish me luck everyone!!! T____T
wow, hella nervous. i'm gonna go scout out the test location and just kinda chill today. Maybe read up some sample essays just to keep my brain active, but not much else.
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Good luck, you'll do well.
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Good luck! What year of college/university did you just finish?
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Holy crap dude, as a fellow pre-med I can totally appreciate the situation you are in. Anyway, best of luck.
Oh also, I am preparing for the MCAT this summer. How did you prepare for it? Like self study, kaplan, p.r., etc.
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On May 27 2008 05:14 goldrush wrote: Good luck! What year of college/university did you just finish?
I have one more quarter left before I finish with an econ degree.
On May 27 2008 05:15 GrayArea wrote: Oh also, I am preparing for the MCAT this summer. How did you prepare for it? Like self study, kaplan, p.r., etc.
I downloaded all the kaplan materials off of a torrent which is basically everything except for classroom instruction time. It had sample tests for each section, full length sample tests, and review stuff. I also reviewed a comprehensive kaplan review book that I got, a Princeton review Hyperlearning book that I got, and the 1001 Questions for MCAT, which I got one for each of the 4 sections. I also took 5 of the 7 practice tests that aamca offer. After that, I was getting 33s and 34s which was top 10%, so I was like, good enough for me. I'd say total review time took about 2 months at 4 hours a day, and most important is that I already knew most of this stuff cause I did pretty well in my pre-req classes.
I'd say that the kaplan review materials are pretty much useless because they are too indepth. The kaplan and TRP sample test, and the 1001 questions series are also pretty dumb cause their questions aren't very reflective of what is actually on the mcat. I'd say if I had to start over, I'd just review TPR's hyperlearning really quickly for general review. Then I'd take kaplan's physical sciences sample tests. Kaplan's verbal sample tests are piece of shit. I'm just getting 10s on my verbal cause of that. Honestly, I'd just master all of AAMC's sample tests. Like, take them all under real conditions, then review all the questions I got right, all the questions I got wrong, review the parts in TPR for the things that I got wrong. That should cover it for physical sciences and biological sciences. For verbal, I honestly don't know, but one thing that worked for me is that I took one of aamc's while literally looking at the answers and explanations while I was taking it. That way I can know right away where my thinking is off so I can correct it. Cause normally, I only check my solutions afterwards, and by then I don't remember my exact thought process for each question, and it's the thought process that I need to correct, not the answer. For writing, I just read all the essays. Most med schools don't care too much about the writing as long as you don't fail (or unless you are shooting for a crazy med school). haha, I hope I do ok on my writing! hope that helps . lemme know if you wanna talk more or anything. mcats really freaked me out so talking kinda helps.
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good luck~ hope you do well
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On May 27 2008 05:22 EpiK wrote: good luck~ hope you do well
Hahah, just realized that I posted the exact same message...although it had slightly different punctuation. xO
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On May 27 2008 05:21 Polyphasic wrote:Show nested quote +On May 27 2008 05:14 goldrush wrote: Good luck! What year of college/university did you just finish? I have one more quarter left before I finish with an econ degree. Show nested quote +On May 27 2008 05:15 GrayArea wrote: Oh also, I am preparing for the MCAT this summer. How did you prepare for it? Like self study, kaplan, p.r., etc. I downloaded all the kaplan materials off of a torrent which is basically everything except for classroom instruction time. It had sample tests for each section, full length sample tests, and review stuff. I also reviewed a comprehensive kaplan review book that I got, a Princeton review Hyperlearning book that I got, and the 1001 Questions for MCAT, which I got one for each of the 4 sections. I also took 5 of the 7 practice tests that aamca offer. After that, I was getting 33s and 34s which was top 10%, so I was like, good enough for me. I'd say total review time took about 2 months at 4 hours a day, and most important is that I already knew most of this stuff cause I did pretty well in my pre-req classes. I'd say that the kaplan review materials are pretty much useless because they are too indepth. The kaplan and TRP sample test, and the 1001 questions series are also pretty dumb cause their questions aren't very reflective of what is actually on the mcat. I'd say if I had to start over, I'd just review TPR's hyperlearning really quickly for general review. Then I'd take kaplan's physical sciences sample tests. Kaplan's verbal sample tests are piece of shit. I'm just getting 10s on my verbal cause of that. Honestly, I'd just master all of AAMC's sample tests. Like, take them all under real conditions, then review all the questions I got right, all the questions I got wrong, review the parts in TPR for the things that I got wrong. That should cover it for physical sciences and biological sciences. For verbal, I honestly don't know, but one thing that worked for me is that I took one of aamc's while literally looking at the answers and explanations while I was taking it. That way I can know right away where my thinking is off so I can correct it. Cause normally, I only check my solutions afterwards, and by then I don't remember my exact thought process for each question, and it's the thought process that I need to correct, not the answer. For writing, I just read all the essays. Most med schools don't care too much about the writing as long as you don't fail (or unless you are shooting for a crazy med school). haha, I hope I do ok on my writing! hope that helps . lemme know if you wanna talk more or anything. mcats really freaked me out so talking kinda helps.
That helped a lot, thanks so much! I have been reading around on different forums on the best ways to prepare for the MCAT, and which practice materials help the most. I have heard a lot of good things about Exam Krackers so I will probably try their review material. I have TPR also, and have been looking over that. Once I formulate my schedule, I will probably take one practice exam every week and study intense during the week. I have been lazy, but I should really work on getting started. Thanks again for the tips, really appreciate it.
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wow, just wondering but what med school are you aiming for?
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On May 27 2008 08:17 EpiK wrote: wow, just wondering but what med school are you aiming for?
some random medical schools on the east coast cause most of the good residencies are over there. i'm not really into research so not into the big name ones. also applying to osteopathic medical schools cause for certain residencies, it's really easy to get in through osteopathic medicine rather than allopathic. still, most of them are on the east coast.
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So how was the test? Feeling good?
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
sleep well, crap & pee in advance of exam, and enjoy a redbull ~
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33 . it's good enough.
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wow thats pretty good
howd u do on the essay?
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Just so you know, Step 1 is way more important than step II and it is harder. I am taking step 1 on February 20th. I have off from now until then to prepare for it.
Good job on MCAT. Not as good as me But 33 is good. If your GPA is good and you don't look like a shmuck in the interview, you should be good to go.
Let us know when you get in. The application process is freaking stressful, then they make you wait forever, but when it is all over, let us know how it went.
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Whoa, I just reread thread and saw you said you did Econ in undergrad. That's what I did. Econ into medical school. Thats sweet. I am the only one in my class who did Econ.
Congrats again and have lots of fun!
Now if you were short and politically conservative, then you would be a slightly younger version of myself
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Bumppp
So how did this cycle go for you? Are you going to be a doctor? How many schools did you apply to and how many interviews did you get? waitlists? I'm rooting for you man, tell us how its going. I'm applying this cycle, so nervous haha.
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Savio: Why such a weird timing for yout Step I?
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