Hi guys! I know a bunch of you took the August test and I was hoping to start congratulating you! How'd it go???
One of my colleagues' took the Aug MCAT and he scored a 26. He's very happy and I'm happy for him. He's filling out the supplement form for Univ. of SCarolina and MUSC. Hope it goes well for him.
Priya
:unsure:
No congrat's here. Second time around:21-R. I have finally stopped crying sounds weak but I am baffled. I took a review course moved my children and I to my parents house, @75 miles away, over the summer for the course. It was difficult but I felt it necessary for my success with the MCAT. Diagnostics were okay and I felt on top of the world after the test. I really thought I did much better. I am about to finish a masters degree in chemistry, teach high school full time, am a teaching assistant of chemistry at the University, and do fulltime research. Something needs to change to allow me to STUDY for the MCAT one again. I got an awesome letter of recomendation from the Health Professions Committee, they gave me a copy. I had already applied to my state schools but I will not hear from any of them. I wasted my application fees and a lot of peoples time. I am sure I will get over this I just do not know when or how.
Thank you all again for providing the support of your stories and experiences. I am sure I would not have come this far without you.
Well the PS section was one point better and the essay went from L to Q. Overall tho, not much better than April. Either way, apps are in and I'm waiting to hear something.
Kathy (who's sole strength seems to be the verbal reasoning!)
Well, I got what I thought I would get , not what I was shooting for. I did pretty bad on the PS. Weird thing is, I thought the PS section was easy and ended up confident after I finished, but it turned out to be my lowest score. Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now, and as Kahkeetsee says, “apps are in and I’m waiting to hear something.” I think the rest of my application is pretty strong, so hopefully that will compensate. Time will only tell.
Hello everyone!
My name name is “COMPLETE AND TOTAL DEVASTATION.”
BAC, You took the words right out of my mouth; I was so certain when I walked out of the test site, I did well on the Physical Sciences…and the rest of the exam, for that matter. I was wrong WAY WRONG: 8V-6B-5P-M.
I have never had such a false sense of security as I’ve had for the past 2 months; I thought I’d be in the top 20% and was just the opposite. It was my first (and hopefully only) go-round. I studied EXAM KRACKERS on my own for 3 months…granted my practice test weren’t great, but on the real deal, I felt good.
I obviously missed out on some very crucial test taking strategy. I Don’t know what to do…other than TAKE A PREP COURSE THIS TIME and slam it again in April, 04. I’m not applying until June, so I’d still be on track.
Gosh, what a blow to the “old” self esteem this was! Sorry to ramble, but today was very traumatic. Congratulations to the recent success stories…I’m envious.
DM 
For those of you that did not get the score that you know you deserved just keep at it. This exam is no joke, it really tests you more on reading comp and basic stuff but in a very convoluted sort of round about way. Most of the exam is not getting nervous, taking as many practice exams as you can (AAMC ones are the best), knowing the concepts behind the science, and knowing that if you do not do well you can always retake it. I know how hard it is waiting for the scores and then possibly seeing a number that you do not like, it sucks period. For the next round you will be more confident because you know what to expect and you will know were to focus your strenght. I highly suggest a prep course, although not necessary everyone, for all those non-trads that have been out of exam taking mode for some time specially standardized ones, a prep course is good. I took TPR and really liked it, I also used EK concurrently because their stuff is more concise. For the sciences I do not suggest EK to start with because they do not give you a lot of explanations and it is really condensed, for the bio EK is the best hands down. EK verbal reasoning is what helped me the most with VR and I did well enough on the MCAT to see the results…Good luck and do not let this exam get you it is about perseverance! Go OPM's!
In case you all need some ray of hope that you CAN do this…I know of someone who got into a school with a 23. She scored an amazing 245 on the USMLE. She did very well on it and its a long story, but you do have to get used to taking all day tests.
I have step one staring me right in the face in 18 months and let me tell you, I don't regret coming to a school with Black Mondays because each exam day is prep for me. I get better each time we have to go all day doing exams.
Just work harder or something. There are no real tricks to it.
first, hugs and condolences to everyone who’s smarting after looking at their scores. I’m really sorry to hear it, guys.
As for what to do differently next time… probably each person is looking back and thinking about what YOU should’ve done differently. And it is likely to vary for each person. But I concur with the general comments here, in particular that there is no substitute for plenty of good full-length practice tests. (and by “good,” I mean those offered by the major test prep organizations, or the AAMC.)
Joe’s right, getting used to an all-day exam is a big part of the prep for this test. (and yah, Joe, the more times you do it the more comfortable you get with it, so you’ll be in great shape for USMLE) Prior to my MCAT prep, I thought of myself as a pretty exceptional test-taker and I had never heard of “exam fatigue.” But when I found myself 3/4 of the way through the second section thinking, “Oh, WTF, I’ll just choose B because I have no earthly idea,” I realized that I definitely needed some help getting used to this ordeal!
It is do-able. For some people it IS easier than for others (as efex comments, a LOT of it is about reading comprehension and some folks just do better on that stuff), but for everyone it CAN be done.
If you’re looking ahead to April now that you’ve got your August scores, the first thing i’d suggest you do is NOT think about it until at least next week. Fercryinoutloud, you need a break!
But THEN, really spend some serious time soul-searching to determine what your challenges are. If you’re really not sure how to better organize yourself for studying, then seriously consider a prep course. And find out how the prep organizations give “diagnostics” and what they can do to help you identify and work on your weak areas.
It is a test, it is only a test. Yup, it’s a hugely important test - but your prep needs to be geared to how YOU can control its influence on your destiny, rather than the other way around. Your goal is to be able to walk into the testing room saying, “I own this test. This is going to be my opportunity to show that I know this stuff.” I know, it’s kind of a stretch right now. Just tuck that thought away and dust it off at some future point.
Finally, I realize that many of you are hoping that regardless of the scores, you WON’T be taking it again! Please note that I’m NOT assuming you’re “doomed” for this year. The advice about the next time is pretty much for anyone reading this thread who’s contemplating the MCAT.
To those who contributed: Thanks for the insight towards the re-take. I’ve already decided on a prep course for the next (and last) go-round. My apps. are going in June 04, so I’ve gotta knock it out once and for all. Nothing to it …but ta do it!
DM 
I took the August MCAT and am very disappointed. As someone mentioned, I also had a generally positive feeling after leaving the exam. I never get too excited, b/c so many times your “feel” of the test has no correlation to your score. My practice exams went from 24 to 29, peaking prior to the exam. I expected to score equal or better than the practice exams since the august test “felt” easier to me than 5R & 6R.
Then I got the results:
10 VR
8 PS
7 BS
Q WS…so a 25Q, right at 50 percentile.
So there went any hope of my reach schools Mayo and Vandy. UTSW and Baylor are probably questionable, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, adcoms will look past the numbers and consider experiences as well.
I know that my score does not reflect my capability, but please, please not the MCAT again. I don’t mind the all day test, I would just prefer new material…like MSI stuff.
Best of luck to all
I got a 39Q (13,12,14).
I took my basic chem and phys courses in 1980-81. I had not taken biology since high school (1979-80). When I made the decision to go to med school in December 2002, I could not even remember the basic orbital stuff, or how to do simple electric circuits; I did not know a prokaryote from a eukaryote.
I took courses during the spring, and gave up my entire summer to study for the test. Things came back into my brain that I did not know were still in there. It was a great experience just to push myself that hard. And it was great to see how supportive all my friends are - no one else is a pre-med, so everyone is very interested in how I am doing, and very encouraging.
There were a lot of times this year that I felt very discouraged and unhappy about spending so much money and time. The pre-med advisor to whom I paid $300 was very negative about applying to the schools I really wanted to go to; she made it sound like I would be lucky to get in anywhere. Now I'm getting secondaries from these schools (and they do screen).
I just keep holding on to the idea that I am going to go to school wherever they let me in, and that whatever happens is the right thing for me, even if I don't go to med school.
hi meowmix
CONGRATS!!! that is my goal score!! good for you!! and best of luck with your secondaries…from what i read on this site and what i have heard at the two admissions seminars i have attended so far, the MCAT is the only absolute indicator…it seems that every thing else depends solely on the person and their own unique experiences. but you are showing these schools that you can do it with scores like that. i might be telling you stuff you know already, so sorry if i am. at any rate best of luck,i really think you have opened doors for yourself that you might not have thought of before. 
Melanie Hand
for those of you brave enough to post your scores, good for you. as for me, while I improved one point on PS, I went down overall 4 points. I couldn't sleep the whole night before, and lets just say, from looking at a forum for carib schools, and my scores place me there. Yikes. (April was better than August. crap)
Kathy