MCAT assessments

[MedGrl@2022]

Hi guys,

I bought the self assessments the other day and I just wanted to ask a couple questions before I begin. I see that the assessments are untimed. Do you think it is a good idea to time myself while taking the assessments? In addition, do you have to complete the entire assessment before you get your score or will the assessment score you after every so many passages?

Thank you!

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[dudewheresmymd]

Hi guys,

I bought the self assessments the other day and I just wanted to ask a couple questions before I begin. I see that the assessments are untimed. Do you think it is a good idea to time myself while taking the assessments? In addition, do you have to complete the entire assessment before you get your score or will the assessment score you after every so many passages?

Thank you!

Definitely time yourself. Unfortunately, you must complete all of the questions in the set before they tell you how many you missed.

 

[sdm33]

That is a good question, it depends if they curve it based on other students scores. What if other students never timed the exam and scored well, how will that effect your self assessment?

 

[slz1900]

That is a good question, it depends if they curve it based on other students scores. What if other students never timed the exam and scored well, how will that effect your self assessment?

It doesn't really matter what other people did with it. It's not for predicting a score or comparing yourself to others, just for seeing what your weaknesses/strengths are. Since you'll be timed on the actual exam, it makes sense to use the timer on the assessment imo.

 

[Leonardo Noto]

It doesn't really matter what other people did with it. It's not for predicting a score or comparing yourself to others, just for seeing what your weaknesses/strengths are. Since you'll be timed on the actual exam, it makes sense to use the timer on the assessment imo.

I agree. I didn't start timing myself until late in my MCAT preparation but I made it a habit EVERY time I worked questions during medical school when preparing for class exams or the board exams. Getting your timing down is a huge part of doing well on any standardized test and if you practice that way it will become second nature so that you don't have a nasty surprise on exam day (OMG...I'm out of time and I still have 15 questions left!!!). Take your time when reviewing the answers to the questions that you've worked and always look at the answers + explanations to the ones that you get right as well as the ones that you get wrong (you may have gotten lucky, or you may have missed the question if it was asked slightly differently, etc.). Remind me, do the AAMC questions have explanations? If not, at least look up an explanation for the ones that you get wrong.

Dr. Leonardo Noto
www.leonardonoto.com

 

[sdm33]

Yes AAMC questions have explanations. Some passages have more questions. Is it fair to say that every question is one minute and the passage 2 minutes it is an average of about 7 minutes for sciences and 8.30 minutes for verbal reasoning. I know some easy questions take 10 sec to answer, and some moderate Qs take about 45 sec, now it is killer questions that kill my time. Also do I review the answers after I finish every passage, or do some passages and review them tomorrow and how many passages should we do per day?

 

[Leonardo Noto]

Yes AAMC questions have explanations. Some passages have more questions. Is it fair to say that every question is one minute and the passage 2 minutes it is an average of about 7 minutes for sciences and 8.30 minutes for verbal reasoning. I know some easy questions take 10 sec to answer, and some moderate Qs take about 45 sec, now it is killer questions that kill my time. Also do I review the answers after I finish every passage, or do some passages and review them tomorrow and how many passages should we do per day?

The way that I did it when working on my MCAT prep (towards the end--but I wish I'd done it the whole time) and when studying for the medical boards was to work through an entire test while timing myself (it will make you faster very quickly--be strict with yourself) and then review the explanations afterwards. It usually took me 2-3 times as long to review the explanations as it took me to work the test, but that's okay! Answering the questions works on your timing (HUGELY important!) and shows you what you don't know--reviewing the explanations is when you do your learning.

Dr. Leonardo Noto
www.leonardonoto.com

 

[Back 5]

I'm taking the self-assessments now. I try to time myself, but I am taking breaks during the assessments and trying to complete chunks at a time.

Are the assessments supposed to be reflective of MCAT difficulty? I'm finding the physics to be especially difficult (at least the begging questions I have completed) especially since I haven't finished waves, springs, optics, sound in my TPR course...we complete those this week!

I've only completed Bio so far and finishing up Organic. Both weren't overly difficult. I'm unsure if my initial feeling of physics being hard is my being underprepared for physics or if it is, actually, hard!

 

[sdm33]

I have not done PHY so I am not Sure,
How do you review the questions do you just review the explanations or do you go back and read about that section in the book.