So…with one week to go, I took AAMC Test 9 today, and I’m oh-so-frustrated.
PS: 12
VR: 13
BS: Wait for it… 8. Yup. E-I-G-H-T.
It’s just so unbalanced. I am uber prepared in the first 2 sections. Consistently scoring a 12-14 on the first try. But that dang bio section is killing me. I was one question from a 9. When I went back and looked at my mistakes, at least half of them were ridiculous. The other half were content that I genuinely didn’t know.
I have one week to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Maybe I’m just “over” the test by that point…I don’t know… but I’ve got to figure out a way to get myself a few more points in that section, because I know that a balanced score is really important.
One mistake I can definitely identify: I got hung up on a passage I just couldn’t understand. It was frustrating me, so I spent way more time on it than I should’ve. I need to learn when to cut my losses and move on (but I’m too stubborn to do so). I probably wasted precious minutes that I could’ve used in later passages…I really need to pace myself better.
My goal is double digits in every section. I have some significant work to do in the next week. LOL Good grief–cross your fingers AND your toes, and put on your rally hats. I need all the help I can get this week!!! 
I REALLY like the examkracker 1001 questions in biology - every answer in the solutions manual solidifies and reviews material. If you could find this and expedite shipping (got mine on Amazon…cheapest I could find) and work problems and review answers in your spare time, you might find it very helpful especially in the areas that you are just missing info. I also found it possible to use in small chunks of stolen time.(The chemistry one has weak explanations for the solutions, but is still good).
Good luck as you enter this final stretch! I’ve still got 32 days till my MCAT…and I’m starting to feel the heat.
Hey carrie, first remeber that the reason why they put BS at the end is so they can see how you fare when you are exhausted by the test. When you took the practice did you take a good break before that part? That was the one thing Kaplan emphasized about test day is make sure you rest and refuel in that break before BS.
Carrie-
I’ll be taking it as well next weekend. Have you taken AAMC 11 yet? That BS made 9 make look like a cakewalk, I thought. Awesome job in the other sections. If I got a 13 in VR I’d run around my neighborhood with a cape on!
Oh yeah, and my score on AAMC 11 was my lowest to date on a practice test. I’m freaking out. Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to think the real thing was closest to it in difficulty. Freakin’.
Hi carrieliz, hang in there! BS has always been tough for me as well so I dedicated my last week to BS. Since you’re doing so well on the Verbal, your reading speed is prob not the issue. I found that it helped for me to read through the passage once, go through the questions, and then back to the passage for answers. Do you have the Berkely review? I thought their biology books was pretty good at mimicking the passage based questions.
I think my husband will strangle me if I buy another MCAT book. LOL
Case in point? I read the above post about the 1001 EK Bio, and I told him, “I need to order that really quickly.”
His response-- “Are you serious? Are you really serious? Carrie… really?”
So I start getting a little upset, thinking that he’s being difficult, but then he starts laughing and disappears downstairs. He returned a minute later with… the 1001 EK Bio book.
“It’s been in the pile in the corner of our bedroom since this summer, hon.”
DOH! Have I mentioned that I’ve been a little frazzled this year? LOL Pulled in 10 different directions = not always knowing what’s what. Yikes!!
I have all the resources I need–my concern is that I no longer have all the TIME I need! Good thing I’m a fast reader…I think I’ll feel better about things if I can just go over this stuff a few more times.
Thanks for the support, everyone. I’m taking Wed-Fri off this week, so I should be able to muscle up on a few topics that I’m weak in.
You know what I find the most cruel about the torture of the MCAT? (Besides having to wait 30 days for your scores?) That dang option to VOID your entire exam at the end. When your brain is fried, and you are doubting EVERYTHING… they dangle that carrot in front of you and say, “hey… wanna throw it all away? Cause you can…”
Grrr… =)
Olderguy–you know, I’ve heard that about test 11, too. It was a beast, to be sure–but I actually did 2 points better on the bio for 11 than I did for 9. Whaaaa?
I took test 11 a couple of months ago, and I wish I’d waited until closer to test time. It would’ve been a better indicator of readiness, I think. But once I take a practice test, it’s not really useful to take it again (other than to study topics/solutions), because I memorize the answers. Not on purpose…but I can now fly through practice tests 3, 5, 9, 10, and 11 and score at least a 43 on all of them, simply from answer recollection. No bueno.
So I use them as study guides–combing through each section and studying solutions, forumulas, why I took the bait on a wrong answer, etc.
I find that when I miss something, I always had it narrowed down to one of 2 answers–and the other one was right. So my “narrow down” skills are spot on. I just need to eliminate the need to guess as much as possible.
I’m here at work, but my mind is going over biology. I seriously doubt I will get ANYTHING done today. LOL
I’m going through all the practice tests this week, and I’m going to make sure I can explain WHY the answer is right on every question of every exam. I think that being able to do that will allow me to apply those concepts in a broader way when they are tested on Saturday. No, the questions won’t be the same–but you can bet some of the topics will.
I think I’m going to do the same. I was also contemplating another practice exam today or tomorrow (I still have a couple AAMC’s I didn’t do). Not sure if it will burn me out though; maybe put me in a bad frame of mind.
Right now I kind of have that feeling you might get (or I definitely get), when you shank the last golf ball in a bucket at the driving range. I hate ending on that note!
YES!!
I also have this general feeling of “I’d better not eat or I might toss it” in my stomach. Same difference.
LOL
I am going to take test 8 on Wednesday, I think. Why not, at this point. It will just give me more ammo…
GOOD LUCK!!!
Hey Carrie - just ignore the void thingy. It’s not even there. You’ve prepared. All will be fine. Trust in yourself. I know you will “rock it”!!
Lynda
Ignore the void thingy…ignore the void thingy… got it. LOL
Sound advice, Lynda.
I now feel the MOST comfortable with test 11 concepts. I just went through the whole exam again, forcing myself to actually read the passages, work the problems out on paper, and consider each question (instead of just blazing through and relying on memory.) I tried to make sure I could explain/defend every right answer, as well as explain why the “wrong” choices are wrong. At the end of it all, I got one question wrong on the entire exam. Concepts mastered.
Feeling pretty confident about test 10 concepts, too. Moving on over the next several days to tests 3, 5, and 9. Same game plan.
I will take test 8 on Thursday… just to try another dress rehearsal.
Another day closer!
Carrie you are going to take some days off from the MCAT before the test right? I would say atleast take Friday off.
bailey-
what did you do? 2 days off? thx.
Carrie-
I went through most of the PS/BS on all the AAMC tests I took. Same thing. Kind of frustrating to see I couldn’t put the picture together on some of those, or made pretty basic math errors. oh well, #10 today, sans writing sample.
I probably stopped doing MCAT prep the Wednesday before the test. The argument is that the strees of trying to “cram” counteracts any knowledge gained. Better to come into test day rested, relaxed and well fed.
Generally, I would agree on the days off. Except I know my nature.
Confession time–I am a little crazy. I actually thrive on the ‘cram’ factor. I love it. It amps me up for the test, and I honestly do way better and have a far greater confidence level when I do it. I just know that about myself, so I’ve embraced it fully. LOL
I would be the foolish one who would get up Saturday morning and do ONE more practice test before my 1pm MCAT. (Ok, I won’t do THAT, but…I promise you I’ll be reading 1001 Bio questions on my way over there. 
)
Well
what I did is doing nothing the W.E before the test. Then during the week I just worked on review and did 1 practice test I think.
The best investment I made was to get a room the night before the test, close to the testing center. La quinta on sale for $50. I felt so zen, and I didn’t have to yell after the kids.
The commute is only 20 min from my house, yet, these $50 were the best investment I made.
And BTW, I just got my MCAT score back PS:14, BS:13 and VR:9, so it is a 36P. I am not totally satisfied as my VR remains low, but it is not a 6 anymore. I can sleep feeling better. My average was 38+ so all in all fairly close.
Cheers and good luck to you all.
I knew it, I knew it, I KNEW IT!!! Redo, I absolutely KNEW you were going to blow this exam out of the water. Honestly, you have to accept the fact that your MCAT score beat most of the people who take this exam, and stop kicking yourself on the VR. Your verbal score is just fine this time around–you should be doing nothing but celebrating!
I am so proud and excited for you!!!
Carrie
Thanks a lot. I appreciate your kind words. My VR is what it is and it “hurts” my score a bit. But this score is very acceptable to me and I can’t beat myself down anymore.
In any event, I do hope to see you getting what you aim for and hopefully even do better.
My very best wishes to you all. Keep us posted.