Important Question regarding OLD R AAMC exams vs. New versions.

[DNA]

Someone gave me the old R exams for the old MCAT style (which is considerably longer than the current style of testing today). But does anyone know if AAMC reused some of the passages in those earlier exams for the current AAMC practice exams 3-11?

I'd hate to use the R exams for practice material only to find out that when I take the newer versions, old passages I already practiced with start popping up.

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[Captain Sisko]

Someone gave me the old R exams for the old MCAT style (which is considerably longer than the current style of testing today). But does anyone know if AAMC reused some of the passages in those earlier exams for the current AAMC practice exams 3-11?

I'd hate to use the R exams for practice material only to find out that when I take the newer versions, old passages I already practiced with start popping up.

the modern exams, 7-11 contain a few questions that are on the R exams that weren't included in the shortened cbts. the R exams do contain all of their cbt equivalent questions though. what i would do is the cbt's first, and then if you need more practice, go through the R exams and do any passages you don't recognize.

 

[DNA]

the modern exams, 7-11 contain a few questions that are on the R exams that weren't included in the shortened cbts. the R exams do contain all of their cbt equivalent questions though. what i would do is the cbt's first, and then if you need more practice, go through the R exams and do any passages you don't recognize.

Fark! So.... basically they just copied portions of various R exams and put it on the CBT's. Damn, that sucks! Totally ruined my plans for studying, but thank goodness you told me. You ARE sure right?... about them reusing some passages and all?

 

[Captain Sisko]

Fark! So.... basically they just copied portions of various R exams and put it on the CBT's. Damn, that sucks! Totally ruined my plans for studying, but thank goodness you told me. You ARE sure right?... about them reusing some passages and all?

yessir, but it's not like every single passage. it's more bits and pieces. i remember taking aamc6r after taking aamc10 cbt and thinking, damn I've seen this discrete before. i actually thought it was in a prep company practice exam until i realized where I'd seen it before.

for me, aamc exams were all about simulating test conditions, so i focused on cbts and bought them all. i came across the r exams and did them more for practice. but if you're a starving college student and can't justify shelling out 35 bucks a test, the questions overlap only but only a little. I'd recommend going with the cbts because they're similar to the real thing in terms of performance and fatigue, but again it's your call.

 

[DNA]

yessir, but it's not like every single passage. it's more bits and pieces. i remember taking aamc6r after taking aamc10 cbt and thinking, damn I've seen this discrete before. i actually thought it was in a prep company practice exam until i realized where I'd seen it before.

for me, aamc exams were all about simulating test conditions, so i focused on cbts and bought them all. i came across the r exams and did them more for practice. but if you're a starving college student and can't justify shelling out 35 bucks a test, the questions overlap only but only a little. I'd recommend going with the cbts because they're similar to the real thing in terms of performance and fatigue, but again it's your call.

Well, I plan on dishing out the money to buy the AAMC CBT exams. My only concern now is... because I'm well away from taking the exam, I want to practice verbal as much as possible. Verbal was a bit of an issue for me the first time I took the exam (and I basically took it without utilizing CBT exams ...dumb I know!). But I want to take advantage of my time and practice as much as possible. People keep telling me don't use your practice material since it's limited ...so I'm stuck in a position where I have to figure out what I need to do to challenge myself. I don't really find reading New York Times, The New Yorker, Economist, etc. all that challenging since those articles don't really express their thoughts in the same way typical MCAT verbal passages do.

I did take like 8 EK 101 Verbal Exams (I did them 2 years ago, but forgot them), and what I found was a big issue for me wasn't so much comprehension (even though I could use more practice), but instead the questions and answers themselves being oddly worded. I found that when I approached the test untimed and focused diligently on reading every little nuance in the way things were worded, focusing carefully on key words and extreme phrases, helped me to improve my score from 8 to 10. Then again these are EK exams and not the real deal, but still an encouraging improvement. Not sure how much that would hold in the long run, let alone under time constraints.

I really don't know what to do. I plan to start SN2ed's schedule once I can manage a consistent score of 10+ on Verbal, but I have no idea what I can really use to challenge myself.

 

[DNA]

For the record, I have ALL TPH Verbal Passages, TBR Verbal Workbook, and half of EK101 passages which is a lot of material but because I don't plan on testing until Aug/Sept or even as late as January, I want to hold off on using those materials until my exam date approaches.

 

[Captain Sisko]

Well, I plan on dishing out the money to buy the AAMC CBT exams. My only concern now is... because I'm well away from taking the exam, I want to practice verbal as much as possible. Verbal was a bit of an issue for me the first time I took the exam (and I basically took it without utilizing CBT exams ...dumb I know!). But I want to take advantage of my time and practice as much as possible. People keep telling me don't use your practice material since it's limited ...so I'm stuck in a position where I have to figure out what I need to do to challenge myself. I don't really find reading New York Times, The New Yorker, Economist, etc. all that challenging since those articles don't really express their thoughts in the same way typical MCAT verbal passages do.

I did take like 8 EK 101 Verbal Exams (I did them 2 years ago, but forgot them), and what I found was a big issue for me wasn't so much comprehension (even though I could use more practice), but instead the questions and answers themselves being oddly worded. I found that when I approached the test untimed and focused diligently on reading every little nuance in the way things were worded, focusing carefully on key words and extreme phrases, helped me to improve my score from 8 to 10. Then again these are EK exams and not the real deal, but still an encouraging improvement. Not sure how much that would hold in the long run, let alone under time constraints.

I really don't know what to do. I plan to start SN2ed's schedule once I can manage a consistent score of 10+ on Verbal, but I have no idea what I can really use to challenge myself.

Ymmv but you can try reading a book on logic.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0495603953/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1366286166&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

It's a little pricey but maybe you can get a used copy. Also you could buy some LSAT put practice exams, but be cautioned, they're not the same animal as mcat.

To be honest, verbal is different for everyone. Some people sort of get it and only get better, while for others it never does. Hate to say it but you won't know where you stand until you take your first aamc

 

[DNA]

Thanks again for the advice and tips !

 

[Forkit]

Does anybody know if all the Self Assessment questions are included in the R exams as well? Thanks!

 

[MedOldAge]

Does anybody know if all the Self Assessment questions are included in the R exams as well? Thanks!

According to the AAMC website, the Self Assessment content was taken out from FL1-R, FL2-R, and FL6-R. It didn't say one way or the other if there may be questions from somewhere else.

In other words, the logic seems implying that if you have FL1,2,6-R, then you should have all the content "included" in Self Assessment packages.