AAMC Self Assesment vs AAMC #4

[pmarank]

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Hey guys I am currently registered to take the MCAT on Aug 22. and I plan on being done with my content review in about a week from now (July 25th). This will give me just under a month to complete the AAMC practice tests which seems like a tight squeeze to me. Would it be a good idea for me to take out AAMC 4 and replace it with the AAMC SA? I dont think I will have time for both and I figure AAMC 4 is a good one to take out because the other AAMC are suppose to be more accurate.

Also is the Self Assessment meant to be finished in one sitting like an AAMC practice test? Would it be a good idea to skip the verbal SA and just do the PS and BS in one day so that I can have a good idea of where I stand now? thanks

 

[Jepstein30]

Hey guys I am currently registered to take the MCAT on Aug 22. and I plan on being done with my content review in about a week from now (July 25th). This will give me just under a month to complete the AAMC practice tests which seems like a tight squeeze to me. Would it be a good idea for me to take out AAMC 4 and replace it with the AAMC SA? I dont think I will have time for both and I figure AAMC 4 is a good one to take out because the other AAMC are suppose to be more accurate.

Also is the Self Assessment meant to be finished in one sitting like an AAMC practice test? Would it be a good idea to skip the verbal SA and just do the PS and BS in one day so that I can have a good idea of where I stand now? thanks

IMO, AAMC SAs are better study tools than the early AAMCs.

I'd do them right after content review to pinpoint areas of weakness. And yes, taking the verbal as a SA is pretty pointless.. better to just split that up and use it as practice passages.

Don't need to do the others in one sitting but I wouldn't suggest doing them completely untimed.

 

[Person0715]

The AAMC SAPs are basically old FLs (specifically 1,4, and 6) that have been condensed and separated by subject. Each one takes anywhere between 2-4 hours and contains 100+ questions. Doing all four SAPs would mean spending anywhere between 8-16 hours. I think it would be more reasonable to do one SAP a day.

 

[IdealGas]

That should be plenty of time. I didn't take my first AAMC until 2 weeks prior to the MCAT and just took one every other day leading up to the exam, leaving the day before for rest.

 

[pmarank]

Thanks for all the info guys. Does any know if the BS part of the SAs reflects how the current BS looks like (like AAMC 11)?

 

[MedOldAge]

Thanks for all the info guys. Does any know if the BS part of the SAs reflects how the current BS looks like (like AAMC 11)?

The short answer is NO. The SA only helps you to bring up the awareness on the baseline of your fundatmental knowledge in whatever the topic, giving you the "last minute" chance to fill in the gaps.

It is not one stone to kill two birds. The SA was pulling from FL(1,2,6)R and for that fact that they were from the old test, they leaned toward testing content than concept. The current test is leaning toward the other way, namely conceptual and content application. AAMC FL11 is a typical example. So, NO, the SA Biology is not the same as FL11. But you should do 11 to get a "closer feel" of the real thing.

 

[pmarank]

The short answer is NO. The SA only helps you to bring up the awareness on the baseline of your fundatmental knowledge in whatever the topic, giving you the "last minute" chance to fill in the gaps.

It is not one stone to kill two birds. The SA was pulling from FL(1,2,6)R and for that fact that they were from the old test, they leaned toward testing content than concept. The current test is leaning toward the other way, namely conceptual and content application. AAMC FL11 is a typical example. So, NO, the SA Biology is not the same as FL11. But you should do 11 to get a "closer feel" of the real thing.

So would it be a good idea for me to start with AAMC 11? That way I would have an entire month to get better at the real thing versus taking it as my last AAMC which would give me very little time to do anything else to get better at the conceptual questions.

 

[addieu345]

So would it be a good idea for me to start with AAMC 11? That way I would have an entire month to get better at the real thing versus taking it as my last AAMC which would give me very little time to do anything else to get better at the conceptual questions.

I've been debating this question for some time now and I think that if you want an accurate prediction on how you will do on the actual test, take it 2-3 days before you are scheduled for the real thing. If you take it a month before, you may know the content of AAMC 11 but you won't have the best idea on how you'll do on the actual test (that you would be taking soon).

 

[MedOldAge]

So would it be a good idea for me to start with AAMC 11? That way I would have an entire month to get better at the real thing versus taking it as my last AAMC which would give me very little time to do anything else to get better at the conceptual questions.

I've been debating this question for some time now and I think that if you want an accurate prediction on how you will do on the actual test, take it 2-3 days before you are scheduled for the real thing. If you take it a month before, you may know the content of AAMC 11 but you won't have the best idea on how you'll do on the actual test (that you would be taking soon).

+1 Addieus345.

pmarank, ideally speaking, you are correct. I wish we have multiple FL11 such that it will do what you just said. May be one day we have. Since we don't, FL11 is the only GOOD benchmark we have to FEEL the real thing in terms of "types of passages" and "conceptual structure" of the beast. You have 2 to 3 days of review to do that after the FL11 test and be fresh just before the real thing. In the restrict context we bound by, in reality, the FL11 is never intent to be a content review FOOT SOLDIER. You overwhelmed the content knowledge base with something else namely 3rd party FL, early AAMC FL. In the end, you use FL11 to pull everything together before the real thing.