How close are AAMC questions (for all sections) compared to the MCAT? Also Uworld?

[PreMedLife210]

Hello all,

So I recently got the full AAMC package and it's got tons of practice questions, but how close are these questions to the real thing in your experience? I heard CARS practice questions are the closest to the CARS part of the test, is that true? How close are the other sections? Either way, I'm going to do them all, but I just wanna hear some opinions.

I'm also thinking of buying a subscription to Uworld, but I also wanna hear some opinions about that, such as how close THOSE are to the MCAT.

Any other advice or resources I should check out? I got a few hundred bucks to spend, so a $1-3k Princeton Review, Kaplan course, etc. is totally out of the question lol

Thanks in advance!

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[deleted1048149]

The AAMC full length passages are the closest thing to the real deal overall. To me, the QPacks were not very useful other than to identify obvious content gaps. The section banks were the level of the harder passages on test day, but definitely were within the ballpark of things that showed up.

Uworld is pretty close to the real deal, especially for a third party company. The BEST thing about Uworld is the crazy in depth explanation for every single question and getting lots of practice with timing down. I would suggest Khan Academy to hit any glaring content gaps. Jack Westin practice CARS was helpful for timing/getting into the mindset of CARS but the logic in those sections can be spotty.

For me personally (obviously this will vary person to person), in order of usefulness:

1. Every single AAMC Full Length
2. AAMC Section Banks
3. AAMC Sample Test
4. UWORLD
5. Khan Academy videos/practice questions
6. AAMC Qpacks
7. Everything else I used (Kaplan books/questions, "daily mcat question" services, etc.) were a complete waste of time.

I would also highly highly suggest going onto the MCAT reddit and finding one of the high yield Anki decks and hit it daily, particularly for P/S (that section is basically a vocab test)

Good luck!

 

[lumya]

AAMC official material is the closest thing to the MCAT. After all, they make both the questions and the real test. That goes for the practice questions and the practice exams (although I have a bone to pick w/ the first CARS practice passage regarding Picasso - when you get there, you'll know).

After that, I think UWorld is pretty comparable. I personally like the Kaplan practice tests and questions over Princeton although I felt they included too many low-yield questions (but then again, you'll get practice on these areas).

 

[PreMedLife210]

AAMC official material is the closest thing to the MCAT. After all, they make both the questions and the real test. That goes for the practice questions and the practice exams (although I have a bone to pick w/ the first CARS practice passage regarding Picasso - when you get there, you'll know).

After that, I think UWorld is pretty comparable. I personally like the Kaplan practice tests and questions over Princeton although I felt they included too many low-yield questions (but then again, you'll get practice on these areas).

Great info thanks!!

 

[PreMedLife210]

The AAMC full length passages are the closest thing to the real deal overall. To me, the QPacks were not very useful other than to identify obvious content gaps. The section banks were the level of the harder passages on test day, but definitely were within the ballpark of things that showed up.

Uworld is pretty close to the real deal, especially for a third party company. The BEST thing about Uworld is the crazy in depth explanation for every single question and getting lots of practice with timing down. I would suggest Khan Academy to hit any glaring content gaps. Jack Westin practice CARS was helpful for timing/getting into the mindset of CARS but the logic in those sections can be spotty.

For me personally (obviously this will vary person to person), in order of usefulness:

1. Every single AAMC Full Length
2. AAMC Section Banks
3. AAMC Sample Test
4. UWORLD
5. Khan Academy videos/practice questions
6. AAMC Qpacks
7. Everything else I used (Kaplan books/questions, "daily mcat question" services, etc.) were a complete waste of time.

I would also highly highly suggest going onto the MCAT reddit and finding one of the high yield Anki decks and hit it daily, particularly for P/S (that section is basically a vocab test)

Good luck!

Hell yea, good to know thank you! Glad I’m not already COMPLETELY wasting my time, though there has been some of that already.