Advice on studying for a retake after doing all AAMC exams?

[Shadowade]

Just took the March 22 MCAT. Don't feel too confident about it. Practice scores on my AAMC exams were slowly improving and while I probably should have postponed I've been delaying knee surgery and other crap in my life I need to take care of cause of the test, and wanted to get it over with and see if I got lucky.

While I might be pleasantly surprised I doubt it and want to be prepared. I know some of my weaknesses, including timing which I intend to work on with more practice tests. Only problem is I've used up my AAMC exams and all the self assessments besides verbal and o-chem. What's the next best thing? I have access to Kaplan FLs but that's about it. Also intend to maybe go back and do some BR passages for weak spots I find. Really I might just need more practice, but wanted to ask what do you guys recommend?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mrh125]

Use kaplan fls, TPR fls (you get three of them if you purchase any of their books), the berkeley review (they have like 7 Fls you can purchase), and gold standard (you can buy 10 practice fls online). overall they're all useful, but before you take the next mcat the next time you should review all of the official AAMCs stuff and perhaps retake your tests. I did this before i took my exam on march 22nd (I first took the mcat on january 22nd) and honestly nothing helped me more than the official aamcs questions because they give you a good idea of what the AAMCs may ask and their logic. Also no other verbal section from any of the other resources compares well to the aamcs official ones.

those sources i mentioned will give you extra-practice though and extra-practice in all of the science sections is what everyone really needs since there are so many little things the aamc can ask you.

 

[Ninja Wizards]

If you don't mind me asking, what have you been getting on the AAMC practice exams? And how did you take them, as full length exams, individual sections, or what?I only ask because I felt the same way after my prep (and my second time taking the MCAT), had an average practice score in the mid 30s, and ended up scoring 4 points higher on my actual exam than I did on my average practice. In my experience, the best exams are the ones you take most similarly to the real deal; I found it to be more about the routine and rhythm of the exam than the questions themselves.

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

Good question, and this is one I get *all the time* talking to our students at Next Step. We get so many kids coming to us after taking a review class or self-studying and they've done the AAMC's, but need to re-take the exam because their previous work just didn't get them to where they need to be.

Here's the thing about re-taking the AAMC's: you can and you should, so long as ~4 months have passed.

Re-using the same assessment to analyze performance results in the practice effect - that is, performance on the assessment improves even if the underlying thing being assessed hasn't changed. Simple re-assessing itself raises performance. The education literature pretty clearly demonstrates, though, that the practice effect fades after something like 3 to 3.5 months. I like to be on the safe side and say four months. So if it's been 4 months since you last took a test, you can re-take the test and it will still be an accurate assessment of your MCAT skill.

Now having said that, about other full-lengths. mrh125 laid out your choices. If you "have access to" the Kaplan FL's, then there's 11 tests you can take and that's probably all you need. Nobody needs to take more than 11 exams, so you should be all set.

Good luck!

-Bryan

 

[Shadowade]

Use kaplan fls, TPR fls (you get three of them if you purchase any of their books), the berkeley review (they have like 7 Fls you can purchase), and gold standard (you can buy 10 practice fls online). overall they're all useful, but before you take the next mcat the next time you should review all of the official AAMCs stuff and perhaps retake your tests. I did this before i took my exam on march 22nd (I first took the mcat on january 22nd) and honestly nothing helped me more than the official aamcs questions because they give you a good idea of what the AAMCs may ask and their logic. Also no other verbal section from any of the other resources compares well to the aamcs official ones.

those sources i mentioned will give you extra-practice though and extra-practice in all of the science sections is what everyone really needs since there are so many little things the aamc can ask you.

I agree with you especially about their verbal. Nothing else is quite the same. I'll consider retaking them after going through a few Kaplan FLs.

If you don't mind me asking, what have you been getting on the AAMC practice exams? And how did you take them, as full length exams, individual sections, or what?I only ask because I felt the same way after my prep (and my second time taking the MCAT), had an average practice score in the mid 30s, and ended up scoring 4 points higher on my actual exam than I did on my average practice. In my experience, the best exams are the ones you take most similarly to the real deal; I found it to be more about the routine and rhythm of the exam than the questions themselves.

No worries, getting about 27-28 on the AAMCs with one 25 and a 26. Took them as full lengths with the most realistic conditions possible (later found out you couldn't chew gum for the real test, so I'll change that next time haha). I think my issue is timing and understanding the logic of the questions in a short time period, as well as missing details if I try and increase my speed. I'm sure I still have a few content gaps too.

Good question, and this is one I get *all the time* talking to our students at Next Step. We get so many kids coming to us after taking a review class or self-studying and they've done the AAMC's, but need to re-take the exam because their previous work just didn't get them to where they need to be.

Here's the thing about re-taking the AAMC's: you can and you should, so long as ~4 months have passed.

Re-using the same assessment to analyze performance results in the practice effect - that is, performance on the assessment improves even if the underlying thing being assessed hasn't changed. Simple re-assessing itself raises performance. The education literature pretty clearly demonstrates, though, that the practice effect fades after something like 3 to 3.5 months. I like to be on the safe side and say four months. So if it's been 4 months since you last took a test, you can re-take the test and it will still be an accurate assessment of your MCAT skill.

Now having said that, about other full-lengths. mrh125 laid out your choices. If you "have access to" the Kaplan FL's, then there's 11 tests you can take and that's probably all you need. Nobody needs to take more than 11 exams, so you should be all set.

Good luck!

-Bryan

Sounds good. Being a year out of undergrad already I'd like to apply as early as I can this cycle so I'm not sure if I can wait 4 months, but if it happens I'll make sure to retake the AAMCs. I might toss one in after every couple Kaplan tests.

Thank you guys for your help, I really do appreciate it. If anyone else has any advice that would be great too.

 

[Shadowade]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but do you guys think it matters that I'm using a 2012 Berkeley review set along with a 2005 Bio book or are the differences not that significant?