So got this newsletters like most:
"Our test developers selected the questions from previous MCAT exams as relevant to the new MCAT exam and mapped the questions to the foundational concepts, content categories, and skills that you need to know."
I have old prep books, etc. +++
Especially considering Mcat question packs are reusing old material.
If they are perusing old material should I just go through old material as well for extra practice ?
Is it high yield ? because I learn really well from questions.
there is so little to work with here to see what new test is really like. I still dont understand or fully comprehend the beast I am up against.
There is no universal cut and dry answer to this. I'll preface this by saying I haven't taken this new MCAT but have spent alot of time looking through materials released by the AAMC, ones that have generated alot of positive feedback such as EK, and talked to many many people who have taken this new MCAT and really talked at length about how they felt it went.
Break it down by section
CARs/Verbal: Yes, everything that could be used for old verbal is applicable here, particularly old AAMC materials. Yes, the science themed verbal passages were thrown out, but I still think those are solid practice. The one benefit here is you have more time per question on the new version of the MCAT; the passages might be a little longer, but I haven't seen any evidence one way or the other to really suggest this. People complain about the length of MCAT passages all the time; this happened plenty for the old test as is.
Physical Sciences: There are differences in the questions from the old to the new test here, perhaps more so than any other section. But there's an element of "window dressing" by the AAMC at play here when it comes to the new exam being different than the old for physical sciences. By that, the questions will sound different and the passages will sound different; instead of talking about nuclear physics or moving a weight up an incline, they might talk about rotational movement of a bone or blood flow of your legs as you stand. But in a number of cases the calculations and the key physics principles will still be very similar and you will still be tested on how you can use the same equation or concept, just with a different background. The thing now days with the physical sciences is there is a lot of variation from exam to exam. Some people will get physics heavy PS sections. Some will get a bunch of ochem. Some will even have a bunch of biochem related stuff here like enzyme kinetics. It is very hard to predict. You simply have to be prepared for everything and there is a greater knowledge base you need here.
Having said that, there are a number of sections from old AAMC practice tests that just aren't like the new deal, that is true. But while I do think the sections now days incorporate the passages more for PS, based off what I've seen for this new exam and the many people I've talked to who have taken it (and I haven't taken it) I still think alot of the same principles and concepts are being tested here. I still maintain that in many ways the physical sciences section(or whatever its officially called now) for many can be the most "learnable" section and one where significant improvements can be seen in the fastest amount of time.
Bio: Obviously there is alot more biochem, we all know this. But alot of how the bio has changed is also somewhat overblown; the trend of the MCAT moving towards more experimental data and analysis for the bio section has been an ongoing thing for years, even for the old MCAT. While the new MCAT might emphasize this even a little more than the latest old versions, the shift in many ways from what I've seen and had others tell me who've taken it is overblown to a fair extent. And there are some memory recall questions on the bio section even now, particularly relating to biochem topics such as Amino Acid structure, that is undeniable.
The key for the bio section is what resources you use. Experimental and data analysis, integrating multiple ideas, that's what matters here. EK FL's and their individual books have very good practice. Berkeley Review is very good at getting you to think in a conceptual manner which is really what the MCAT is all about. Next Step has some good FL's. Obviously anything the AAMC releases is gold. TPRH sciences workbook isn't bad either. Many people simply don't use the right resources for this section, that's a big source of the problem and I feel like this section maybe more than any is where that causes problems. They go through their Kaplan and PR review books with questions that basically test on obscure details and memory recollection instead of true analysis then are shocked when the real MCAT is nothing like that. So I guess what you can say from this is, yes, old materials can be very valuable. You just have to be smart in which ones you use. If it's not from the AAMC or Berekley Review, there's a good chance that old MCAT resource isn't great for this test. I think EK's new material is MUCH better for this old test than their old stuff.
Finally, if you don't think there's enough practice out there, you simply aren't looking hard or enough or focusing on the right material.
Berekley Review has released 5 FL's. Each of their review books has at least 100 passages. That's all in all probably 700 pretty high quality passages(the verbal is mediocre but the rest is all well worth doing) that do some of the best jobs simulating the type of thinking the MCAT demands out there.
EK has released individual books for each subject with maybe 30-50 passages each and 5 FL's. Again, that's probably 300-350 passages.
Next Step has released 5 FL's. That's another 200 pretty high quality passages in terms of simulating the real MCAT.
Khan Academy probably has close to 200 passages on their site. All free. Their quality varies but some definitely is pretty good and they are all worth doing. More good practice.
EK 101 verbal passages is excellent practice. As is TPRH verbal and science workbook, even the old versions. 80 and 160 practice passages respectively in each. Their in class compendiums and supplement books are probably another 60-70 solid review passages.
Then there's the old AAMC material. Like I said above ,anything verbal or bio related is worth the practice. From 11 FL's that's probably close to 200 passages. Then there's their practice test they released for this exam and their new practice they are releasing in November. All in all, just from the new stuff you probably have about 130-150 passages.
So you do the math, how many fairly high quality practice passage sources did I list? My guess is probably close to 1500. I wouldn't call that barely anything at all.
