Any advice on confidently marking answers?

[Brownman55]

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I've come across this now having taken 3 practice tests. I always end up marking the correct answer but then second guessing my self to the point of changing it. I know I should just follow what I know and my gut instincts but I get so nervous taking these practice tests I just psyche myself out of it. Anyone have any helpful advice or hints ?

 

[exitonly29]

I've come across this now having taken 3 practice tests. I always end up marking the correct answer but then second guessing my self to the point of changing it. I know I should just follow what I know and my gut instincts but I get so nervous taking these practice tests I just psyche myself out of it. Anyone have any helpful advice or hints ?

32 MCAT here so nothing too special (by SDN standards) but I went with my gut instincts at least 90 percent of the time hardly changing things, it's how I've always approached test taking, be confident, I'm sure you've put in the time

 

[Synapsis]

An issue I had when I first started taking FLs. Hard to get rid of. I have some tips that work well for me. Move more slowly on the math and write everything clearly. Easier said than done, but when I started doing this, I rarely made math errors (scientific notation-type errors). At every stage of any math problem, ask yourself what variable you just solved for. Is this the resistance of this one resistor or of the entire circuit? For conceptual problems, I try to link them to either some rule or the passage. If I can't somehow make any sense out of an answer choice based on something that I learned or what's in the passage, it's likely not right. And then lastly, and this is seemingly the most useless answer, but just have confidence because you know you've worked hard. The more brainpower spent doubting yourself, the less available to spot tricks and traps.

 

[orderofthescar]

Do you change your answer while mulling over the question the first time, or do you change it when you go back to check your answers?

I had kept changing answers while reviewing, and what I ended up doing was minimize answer checking. I might have gotten one changed answer right, but in the process I missed 3 by second guessing myself. I only marked something if I truly guessed and didn't know it, or if it took too much time already and I needed to move on. I didn't review anything but the problems I marked.

 

[Gauss44]

I've come across this now having taken 3 practice tests. I always end up marking the correct answer but then second guessing my self to the point of changing it. I know I should just follow what I know and my gut instincts but I get so nervous taking these practice tests I just psyche myself out of it. Anyone have any helpful advice or hints ?

Theory 1:
Without knowing why you are doing that, I can only guess. My best guess is that the correct answer seems correct in context, but incorrect out of context sometimes. If you go back, and don't remember the context, of course you'll be wrong... unless it's a stand alone or the equivalent being something not based on the passage.

In the sciences, this whole theory is less likely as I sometimes just do the questions and don't bother reading the passage at all. So far, that hasn't hurt me.

Theory 2:
Another good theory would be that you are eliminating the two obviously wrong answers and are left with 2 equally valid-sounding answers. Half the time you actually mark the correct one, and the other half of the time you don't. Yet, you only notice the later part.

 

[Brownman55]

32 MCAT here so nothing too special (by SDN standards) but I went with my gut instincts at least 90 percent of the time hardly changing things, it's how I've always approached test taking, be confident, I'm sure you've put in the time

I'd be extremely happy with a 32! Don't let SDN fool you it's a good score.


Anyhow, yea I am usually the same way. I guess the weight off the MCAT is just getting to me. You should have seen me before my first practice test. I think I was more nervous for that than any real test I've taken.


Also, it seems more like when I go back to review is when I usually change my answers and end up getting them wrong but it's slightly me also choosing between the two correct answers. And it's not like I don't know the content it is just usually me making a stupid mistake. The trend with me as of now, which I know I need to work on, is getting the hard questions right and some of the easiest questions right because of second guessing my self.


Thank you everyone for the advice thus far, I really appreciate it🙂

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

Go with your gut the first time through. Then when you're checking your answers, only change it when you discover you missed a piece of information, misread something, or messed up a calculation. Otherwise, let it be; your mind is pretty good at getting it right the first time.