Frustrated with MCAT practice

[smeddler]

Hi,
I am really having trouble in achieving success in practice tests and I am only a week away from the test!
I took the TPR course and have taken 4 of their FLs and 3 AAMC practice tests (after content review) and have not gotten above a 24 on either of TPR or AAMC tests!! I know my content well and I don't miss the content-based questions much but how do I improve on the passage-based stuff?
A bad score will taint my med school profile for life !!!
Help please!
(I think I have confidence/anxiety/pressure issues-even though I killed the tests in undergrad. I just can't seem to be getting used to the MCAT format)

Thanks.

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[alexrgross]

Hi,
I am really having trouble in achieving success in practice tests and I am only a week away from the test!
I took the TPR course and have taken 4 of their FLs and 3 AAMC practice tests (after content review) and have not gotten above a 24 on either of TPR or AAMC tests!! I know my content well and I don't miss the content-based questions much but how do I improve on the passage-based stuff?
A bad score will taint my med school profile for life !!!
Help please!
(I think I have confidence/anxiety/pressure issues-even though I killed the tests in undergrad. I just can't seem to be getting used to the MCAT format)

Thanks.

Getting set to cancel the test, and reschedule is probably the idea that I am most comfortable with. The most reasonable actions are based on the thinking that MCAT score > early MCAT.

 

[smeddler]

Ok. But then how should I improve? I have done all the content review and have done sufficient practice. If I push back the test, I might as well just get more worked up...... I am completely lost..................

 

[alexrgross]

Ok. But then how should I improve? I have done all the content review and have done sufficient practice. If I push back the test, I might as well just get more worked up...... I am completely lost..................

Find more content review at your local library, or find a source online. You can do it!

 

[smeddler]

Yeah thanks. But I will be pushing myself over if I do more content review, what I mean is I know my stuff but I just can't seem to handle the test itself and extrapolate stuff from passages. I have more of a skill issue. Sometimes I don't read the passage and obviously bomb the passage but when I do, I start running out of time. I have done "bust my ass off" content review, I need suggestions as to how to become a better test-taker, that is, in how much depth should I read the passsages? How to know when to answer questions based purely on passage, or applying some of the scientific knowledge in conjunction with what's provided?
Thank you

 

[MedBound1]

You sound like you haven't spent enough time with the test itself. Over 50% of what makes a great score on the MCAT is understanding how the test is given and how the people who wrote it are intending you to answer the question. It seems like you did nothing but content until a few weeks before your test and didn't get enough experience with its actual format. The passage-based format of the MCAT is very different than any undergrad test I ever took, especially since chemistry and physics questions are rarely tested in passage form in undergraduate classes. I was not a big "reader" growing up so even though I was strong on content It took me 10+ AAMC tests and tests from other companies as well to get the hang of doing well on passages.

 

[smeddler]

You sound like you haven't spent enough time with the test itself. Over 50% of what makes a great score on the MCAT is understanding how the test is given and how the people who wrote it are intending you to answer the question. It seems like you did nothing but content until a few weeks before your test and didn't get enough experience with its actual format. The passage-based format of the MCAT is very different than any undergrad test I ever took, especially since chemistry and physics questions are rarely tested in passage form in undergraduate classes. I was not a big "reader" growing up so even though I was strong on content It took me 10+ AAMC tests and tests from other companies as well to get the hang of doing well on passages.

Thanks MedBound1. Although I did some passage-based practice I didn't spend enough time analyzing what and why I got wrong..so how long do you think it will take to improve? I am freaking out here.

 

[alexrgross]

Thanks MedBound1. Although I did some passage-based practice I didn't spend enough time analyzing what and why I got wrong..so how long do you think it will take to improve? I am freaking out here.

Suppose you do two practice tests a week, and there are 10 AAMC fl, you could be ready ing 5 weeks...as the other poster said, who seems a lot like you, he needed 10+ fls to be confident about test taking.

 

[smeddler]

OMFG! I don't understand my friggin' brain! I took the TPR practice test, got a 29. One week later took AAMC 3 with A LOT more practice (which is known to be the easiest based on most people's opinions) and got a stupid 23! I don't even know what to do at this point..

 

[maybemed2013]

Time to apply DO

 

[BigBlueBear]

Just don't panic. I'm assuming you have the TPR books, use their workbooks (verbal and sciences) and just do a ton of passages a day. That's what helped me

 

[smeddler]

Time to apply DO

But I have always wanted to go for MD. I have everything else needed and am very competitive if I just do well on this test!
My gpa is 3.9<, I am doing two research thesis projects - both are inter-disciplinary, have held leadership position in a science club, tutored, volunteered, and observed doctors. I will also be getting all my LORs from associate/tenured professors.
And as far as this test is concerned I am doing everything that should be done (practice/content review/analyzing mistakes).
Switching to DO sounds a bit too harsh!
Maybe I should just not take the AAMCs because I get nervous..TPR tests are thought to be more difficult in terms of content/question types. I might just keep taking those and maybe some BR tests later then.
Also according to some threads on SDN, real tests are becoming more difficult than the AAMC past practice tests (which is understandable)...so I might just do hard practice tests then...
What do you think?

 

[smeddler]

Also, most real people around me tell that not to worry since it's only practice. Given that the odds of doing much better on the real thing than practice are slim, there is still hope

 

[MadRadLad]

What's your general section breakdown been? Which sections or topics are toughest for you?

 

[smeddler]

What's your general section breakdown been? Which sections or topics are toughest for you?

I am fluctuating between 9's and 10's on BS and PS and...verbal lol... +/- 5 point fluctuation (most responsible for the difference between a 23 and a 29). Verbal is the most unreliable

 

[saveourpens]

Looks like you're going to make the same mistake I did my first time and hope for the best. Those practice tests are VERY predictive. Wait till you're scoring consistently high on those things.

 

[smeddler]

Yeah..for verbal....sometimes it just clicks and sometimes it doesn't