<p>bigredmed, uva actually LOVES essays. i got into uva for undergrad because of my essays, i personally think (not that i go there). i think they require a P for med school? or it was the average i think.</p>
<p><blinks>Did you really just try to equate undergraduate admissions decisions with medical school admission?</blinks></p>
<p>1) Requiring a minimum is different than caring if someone does really well on that one section...
2) A "P" is equivalent to getting a 4 on both essays which you get if you simply complete the 3 tasks - doesn't matter how well it's put together (within reason), if you complete the tasks, you get a 4.
3) There's a bimodal peak of essay scores at "P" and "N". That pretty much accounts for the average being a "P"
4) If you have to do really poorly on one section of the MCAT, it's hands down, without an iota of doubt, safest to bomb the writing section. You might have to explain why you got a "J", but I'm absolutely certain that's orders of magnitude less detrimental than a 4 or 5 in any other section.
5) A 21T is not going to impress anyone and is worth the paper the MCAT is currently taken on.</p>
<p>I wasnt implying that undergrad and medical were the same, just the fact that UVA holds essays in a high regard.</p>
<p>... but why would you think that their medical school admissions office places the same emphasis that their undergrad admissions office places? And besides that, the MCAT essay is a score from a standardized test, not the personal statement or a secondary essay.</p>
<p>fineeee. i lose. just bought a barron's book for the mcat and orgo chem book. kaplan=120 dollars. not worth it.</p>
<p>I am in a med program that requires me to get a 28 on my MCAT before january of my junior year in order to matriculate into the medical school during what would be my 4th year of undergrad. even though 28 is the minimum required, i hope to get at least a 32.</p>
<p>i plan on taking the MCAT next summer (in between my sophomore and junior years) and preparing by taking a Kaplan course during the summer.</p>
<p>i want to get a head start during my sophomore year and review a little bit. i don't want to go crazy YET, but i do want to get started.</p>
<p>what do you all recommend i begin reviewing? what books should i purchase to review with? i wanted to just review biology since i will be taking organic chemistry for the next 2 semesters. please give me some advice!!</p>
<p>Amazon.com:</a> Examkrackers MCAT: Complete Study Package (Examkrackers): Jonathan Orsay: Books</p>
<p>Are there any statistics on the percentage of MCAT takers who have or haven't taken a review course?</p>
<p>I heard it was about 50%, but this was from word-of-mouth</p>
<p>October of junior year, I decided on med school and immediately bought Kaplan's comprehensive MCAT review book. My reason for not taking a prep course was a combination of being cheap and being arrogant. I self-studied from October to April, and it ended up working out well for me (36). However, I'm 100% sure that not taking a prep course is the reason I bombed the writing section. And if I hadn't done well, the need to prove that I "didn't need" a course would have been a really, really stupid reason to end up with a poor score. I wouldn't recommend my 'method.'</p>
<p>I've heard 70% as having taken a review course although I can't verify that number. Almost everyone I knew took a review course.</p>
<p>That 70% figure sounds about right - but I don't remember exactly. IIRC of that 70%, 50% took Kaplan, and then the remaining half took some other review course.</p>
<p>Does anyone ever score over 42 or is 42 pretty much the ceiling?</p>
<p>I'm assuming that knowing all the "requirement courses" material before entering undergrad can only help for the BS and PS right?</p>
<p>IBPF of course</p>
<p>At Pharmagal: I think I ran the numbers one year, and generally there are only about fifty people who get a 42 each year. This however would have been with data from the paper/pencil format.</p>
<p>At piccolo: Actually, it's not a matter of "knowing" the information. This is the common incorrect assumption. The MCAT is not about regurgitation. It's about taking the information you're given and being able to think about it in regards to the question. </p>
<p>A common type of MCAT passage will give you information on two competing theories that explain a particular phenomenon. You'll then get a question that says "Assuming the following information is true, which theory is most helped by the new information?" This is entirely a critical thinking exercise, not something based on stuff you already know. And in a certain extent, it's also a lot like the practice of medicine - creating a differential diagnosis and then amending it as new information becomes available. </p>
<p>As far as knowing the material before "entering undergrad"...No, that's why you have to take the courses again at the college level.</p>
<p>But see, that's what the high school science olympiads train you to do: to THINK about the physics/bio/chemistry behind the problems instead of spitting out concepts. I suppose I should have been more direct with my question.</p>
<p>Although, you're obviously not following my train of thought; up to a certain point, the more times you've studied a subject the better the material (and more importantly the understanding of good problem-solving skills) sinks in.</p>
<p>1) You didn't mention anything about science olympiad. How am I supposed to follow your line of thinking?</p>
<p>2) I'd say >80% of the answers on the MCAT are listed in the passage. With the exception of physics equations, there's rarely a reason to bring in outside information. </p>
<p>3) Repetition = learning...who would have thought? Did you come up with that theory of learning on your own?</p>
<p>4) Good problem solving skills aren't subject specific. </p>
<p>5) The point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to be a genius in HS science classes to do well on the MCAT...hell you don't even have to have good grades in college coursework to do well. The idea that the MCAT is a test of knowledge is wrong (however the USMLE is...). Putting too much emphasis on knowing the subjects backwards and forward is not a smart strategy for efficient MCAT studying....</p>
<p>BRM, you were (are?) a Kaplan instructor right? Which of the practice exams do you recommend taking?</p>
<p>There are the 8 AAMC exams and 18 Kaplan exams, and I'm wondering which I should do more. I've had friends say they like the AAMC tests better (more like the real thing, better predictors, etc.) but my instructor told us that the AAMC tests aren't curved so you tend to do worse than you would normally. I've also read that the Kaplan passages (especially on PS) are harder than normal exams. Basically, I've heard a lot of different opinions, and wanted to know yours (and anyone else with experience).</p>
<p>Yes I was a Kaplan instructor.</p>
<p>The AAMC items are all very old, but at one time all the questions were used on actual MCAT exams. The oldest of the AAMC (#1) was released in the early 90's ('91 maybe?), and the most recent release was probably in 2002. About that time, when the AAMC knew they would eventually be moving to computers, they put a moratorium on releasing any more used test items. Since each passage/question set is extensively tested before actually counting for points on an exam, the AAMC is not interested in simply throwing away validated questions and passages. </p>
<p>Because of their age, the AAMC items no longer represent accurate full length exams unless Kaplan has gone through and trimmed them up. When I took the August 04 exam, 35% of Biological sciences was Organic. That percentage was changed to only 25% of the section on the 2005 administrations. It was once much more - 50%. Likewise, particularly on the biology side of things, there has been ever increasing importance on genetics and molecular biology. </p>
<p>As for the Kaplan tests...I wouldn't put it past Kaplan to make the diagnostic exam harder than normal. They routinely give that for free testing sessions in an effort to lure business and it wouldn't make much sense to have a bunch of students leaving feeling pretty good about themselves. As far as the later on practice tests, I thought they were pretty close. It might be more accurate to say that they prepared me well. </p>
<p>All in all, though, I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock into taking extra full lengths - taking the 5 that are part of the syllabus is enough. The items I thought were most helpful, and gave you a good sense on how well you knew something were the topic tests - those are the tests that have 2-4 passages and 15-20 questions on just one single topic. They are very difficult, but if you're getting 80-85% then you have a good handle on how the topic will be presented on test day. The subject tests (ie just Organic Chemistry) can be useful if you feel like you really don't know a subject. Section tests should be used for timing purposes, getting used to using the timing strategy, and the full-lengths are simply for building stamina. </p>
<p>Why is this the breakdown? Because, how easy you perceive the exam is in large part due to what topics your particular exam gives you. The exam is standardized to give you a certain number of hard, medium and easy passages, but if you're not good at a particular topic, it really doesn't matter how easy the questions are compared to other sections of the test. Personally, I would have much preferred a difficult passage on newtonian movement than an easy passage on optics. Undoubtedly you have certain strengths and weaknesses too. But what this all means is that your score on a practice portion with more breadth is more at the whim of what concepts are on that particular practice exam than on how you are actually performing. Focusing on the exams with the most narrow scope gives you a greater chance to practice your test taking skills, and also identifies which topics you need to work on, so that you can handle whatever is thrown at you on test day.</p>
<p>
[quote]
5) The point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to be a genius in HS science classes to do well on the MCAT
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Never said this.</p>
<p>
[quote]
...hell you don't even have to have good grades in college coursework to do well. The idea that the MCAT is a test of knowledge is wrong (however the USMLE is...).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Never said this either.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Putting too much emphasis on knowing the subjects backwards and forward is not a smart strategy for efficient MCAT studying....
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</p>
<p>Ugh, yet again you miss the whole point of what I've been saying.</p>
<p>piccolo, you are being moderately annoying.</p>
<p>However, your location says "Outer Haven", and if that is a reference to MGS, I will overlook your recent posts.</p>