too soon for FL practice?

[thezilchplatypus]

Hey guys, I am currently scheduled to start a TBE course in May where I will receive all of my TBE material including some full length CBT's. I am currently studying using the new Kaplan review books that I received for free because of my in-class course having to be canceled by Kaplan because of insufficient enrollment, in which case they then let me keep all of the material they had already sent me. The main piece of advice I get from past test takers and physicians is to take as many practice tests as possible. I just finished the general chemistry book and am now on the biology review book. I finished the majority of my pre-reqs in the last 2 years (ochem 1 &2, biochem, physics 1, and currently finishing up physics 2). However, I took general chemistry 1 & 2 and biology 1 & 2 about 3-4 years ago when I was a sophomore/junior undergrad.

My main question is, should I start taking practice full lengths ASAP and then review the material I had trouble with, or should I wait until my TBE course has finished to begin taking all of the practice full lengths? and once I receive my TBE material, should I continue to use any of the Kaplan review books for specific sections, or should I just dump the Kaplan material and go strictly TBE review material?

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[Hospitalized]

When are you taking your test?

 

[thezilchplatypus]

July 22

 

[doctorleospaceman]

I feel like taking full lengths before you finished material is just a waste of practice tests (though there are way more of them available than a year ago...) There's a high chance you won't do well and it'll just be a premature and unnecessary hit to your confidence. I only took ~3 FL practice tests and used them mostly to just build up endurance and took all the scores with a grain of salt.

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

Hey guys, I am currently scheduled to start a TBE course in May where I will receive all of my TBE material including some full length CBT's. I am currently studying using the new Kaplan review books that I received for free because of my in-class course having to be canceled by Kaplan because of insufficient enrollment, in which case they then let me keep all of the material they had already sent me. The main piece of advice I get from past test takers and physicians is to take as many practice tests as possible. I just finished the general chemistry book and am now on the biology review book. I finished the majority of my pre-reqs in the last 2 years (ochem 1 &2, biochem, physics 1, and currently finishing up ......specific

Hi @thezilchplatypus This advice is not your best course of action, by far. The point (that many students may not realize) is not to just do lots and lots or practice tests. The true value of a practice tests is your review and what you learn from your mistakes. Rushing in too early is just as bad as waiting too long. After you have been review content, doing practice passages and questions for about 3-4 weeks, take a full length exam. Most of your practice will be made up of shorter sections or half-sections. Assume you are on a typical 12-16 week study schedule, work your way towards FL exams like a marathon runner does their marathon. After your first FL, take an FL exam every 2 weeks or so until you are about 5 weeks out. Then, switch to 1 per week. The most you would want to do is 2 FL per week, but that should wait until all or almost all of your content review is done (the final 2-3 weeks of study).

You will most likely end up taking about 7-10 FL exams as actual FL exams. These are useful to simulate test day, build endurance, and evaluate your current content and strategy abilities the day you take it. The reason you need additional exams (and definitely the AAMC tests) is because these extra exams can be chopped up and used as sections, half sections or MCAT quizzes, which will be the vast majority of the MCAT style practice Qs you should do. The point is to eventually complete 10+ FL exams worth of material, but to do it efficiently to avoid burnout.

Hope this helps, good luck!