Best Full Length Exams

[LTovs3]

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Hi everyone!

What are the best full length MCAT practice exams out there? I came across this link regarding the available options... but I'm not sure where to start. Which ones will best prepare me, and give me a good idea of what to expect on test day?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/wiki/mcat2015faq/practiceexams

Any thoughts greatly appreciated 🙂 Thank you!!

 

[GypsyHummus]

ExamKrackers(EK) is really good. After having done both Kaplan and EK, I wish someone would have told me about EK first.

 

[DesitnationMD]

EK and NextStep all the way. I tried TPR, Kaplan, EK and NS. By far the last two were the best. EK lets you get em 1 at a time for $50 but the explanations can be a little underwhelming and no scaled score. The NextStep exams are cheaper individualy but you gotta by blocks of 4,6 or 10 I think. last year when I did it it was 3 or 5 exams.

NextStep had a free diag last year so you can check them out and see what you think. I have also seen on here they now have a free full length exam offer but I am not 100%. EK did not offer any full lengths free but you can buy just one and it's only $50. A drop in the bucket compared to the $ we are spending.

I say get one of each, try em both, move forward with the exams that were most helpful to you. They both do a great job replicating aamc style and passage difficulty. also get all the aamc material, all of it!

 

[aalamruad]

EK and NextStep all the way. I tried TPR, Kaplan, EK and NS. By far the last two were the best. EK lets you get em 1 at a time for $50 but the explanations can be a little underwhelming and no scaled score. The NextStep exams are cheaper individualy but you gotta by blocks of 4,6 or 10 I think. last year when I did it it was 3 or 5 exams.

NextStep had a free diag last year so you can check them out and see what you think. I have also seen on here they now have a free full length exam offer but I am not 100%. EK did not offer any full lengths free but you can buy just one and it's only $50. A drop in the bucket compared to the $ we are spending.

I say get one of each, try em both, move forward with the exams that were most helpful to you. They both do a great job replicating aamc style and passage difficulty. also get all the aamc material, all of it!

Have you tried Gold Standard?

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Hi everyone!

What are the best full length MCAT practice exams out there? I came across this link regarding the available options... but I'm not sure where to start. Which ones will best prepare me, and give me a good idea of what to expect on test day?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mcat/wiki/mcat2015faq/practiceexams

Any thoughts greatly appreciated 🙂 Thank you!!

The reddit link is excellent for telling you about the options. As far as rankings go, everyone tells you something different. For years, SDN polls had our exams second to AAMC. But with the change in the MCAT, everything reset. Of the 1% of the SDN population that actually posts, there seems to be no consensus at the moment. I'd venture to guess it's because the MCAT is still changing, so a given practice test could be excellent for one version of the MCAT and terrible for another. Your best bet is to try a few from many different sources. Also, look at the most recent feedback (as opposed to that from six months to a year ago).

 

[LTovs3]

@GypsyHummus @DesitnationMD @walloobi @BerkReviewTeach

Thank you for your responses! I have the AAMC stuff already, but it looks like I'll have to try a few different sources to get more full-length exam practice.

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

We don't usually reply to such questions as it would seem to be a covert advertisement...but since TBR is telling you to check out their tests, I will tell you that you definitely need to look at the ten Altius exams as part of your research. They're on our website. There's a free 1/2-length exam there and if you PM the right person they may be able to give you one of the ten full-lengths for free too.

I think the key is to develop a few of your own analysis skills. Premeds shouldn't trust their futures to internet forum posts (and you can and should vet my comments as well). There is quite a bit of AAMC material out there now to compare to. Look at the AAMC questions and compare to what is presented by any MCAT prep company and it isn't hard to see where there are MAJOR differences and discrepancies. Pays to do your homework. Good luck!

 

[NimbleNavigator]

We don't usually reply to such questions as it would seem to be a covert advertisement...but since TBR is telling you to check out their tests, I will tell you that you definitely need to look at the ten Altius exams as part of your research. They're on our website. There's a free 1/2-length exam there and if you PM the right person they may be able to give you one of the ten full-lengths for free too.

I think the key is to develop a few of your own analysis skills. Premeds shouldn't trust their futures to internet forum posts (and you can and should vet my comments as well). There is quite a bit of AAMC material out there now to compare to. Look at the AAMC questions and compare to what is presented by any MCAT prep company and it isn't hard to see where there are MAJOR differences and discrepancies. Pays to do your homework. Good luck!

I'd be interested in that FL exam. I already took my MCAT but I haven't gotten it back yet. Curious about the quality of Altius FL's.

 

[zhonghang]

I have taken tests from basically every company (e.g. Altius, NextStep, Kaplan, TPR, etc.) and I would say that NS and Altius are my favorite. I will say that NS has a look and feel that is much more similar to AAMC though. The NS exam interface has basically identical colors and buttons as AAMC which is nice because it just makes you all the more familiar with AAMC. Altius has a similar set up but they like to use their light blue color everywhere which throws me off a little bit after taking a NS or AAMC test (minor detail but still makes it different than AAMC).

Also, something very nice about NS tests is that all 10 of their exams are 100% unique with no repeated passages or questions. Something that really annoyed with with Altius is that their 10 exams have repeated passages and questions, despite @Altius Premier Tutor claiming that they do not have any repeats at all (not a common theme throughout all 10 but at least 2 exams have a couple identical passages and questions). So yeah I was a little disappointed to find repeats, especially after @Altius Premier Tutor "verified" that the tests are all 100% unique and different from one another.

Overall, I would say I am still happy I have the Altius tests. NS and Altius have done a great job at writing questions that require you to think critically in a manner that is similar to the section banks. I'm sure TBR and EK have great tests too because their other materials are awesome, but I just didn't have the time or money to buy their tests.

 

[freedoctor17]

We don't usually reply to such questions as it would seem to be a covert advertisement...but since TBR is telling you to check out their tests, I will tell you that you definitely need to look at the ten Altius exams as part of your research. They're on our website. There's a free 1/2-length exam there and if you PM the right person they may be able to give you one of the ten full-lengths for free too.

I think the key is to develop a few of your own analysis skills. Premeds shouldn't trust their futures to internet forum posts (and you can and should vet my comments as well). There is quite a bit of AAMC material out there now to compare to. Look at the AAMC questions and compare to what is presented by any MCAT prep company and it isn't hard to see where there are MAJOR differences and discrepancies. Pays to do your homework. Good luck!

I realize this thread is a couple of months old but I wanted to buy some Altius full lengths but really don't need 10 of them. I couldn't find a way to get like 3 to 5 of them. Is there a way to do that? I want to mix it up and am planning on getting 3 EK exams plus about 3 from you guys, and then all the AAMC ones and then from there I'll see how much time I have and get more. Please let me know as I'm trying to setup my study plan for this summer. Thanks

 

[andelJ94]

I realize this thread is a couple of months old but I wanted to buy some Altius full lengths but really don't need 10 of them. I couldn't find a way to get like 3 to 5 of them. Is there a way to do that? I want to mix it up and am planning on getting 3 EK exams plus about 3 from you guys, and then all the AAMC ones and then from there I'll see how much time I have and get more. Please let me know as I'm trying to setup my study plan for this summer. Thanks

I'd get 1 or 2 EK exams at most. $50 is a bit pricey and you get no scaled score or thorough explanations. Altius I never tried but repeated passages in their FLs was a deal-breaker for me.

Get the 3 AAMC exams and the NS 1-5 (?) bundle. I got all 10 NS exams but will likely end up chopping some of them up as smaller practice. Then, get 1 EK exam to see how it compares to the AAMC, if it's useful get another. EK gives no discount or break so you can get the exam at anytime.

 

[freedoctor17]

Thanks that sounds like a good plan. I'm definitely getting all the AAMC material. I'll check out one EK exam and see how it compares to the AAMC ones before buying more. I've heard lots of good things about Altius but there's no way I'm gonna go through 10 exams so it's a deal breaker. I'll check out Nextstep though and I already have 3 kaplan ones that came with my books.

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

If you wait a week or two we are releasing new pricing options that allow you to buy 1, 5 or 10 exams. Are you taking it this month? If so, we are giving two FLEs updated for 2017 to anyone willing to give us feedback on ours vs. the AAMC and vs. the real test. All I will say is that you need to look at our exams and AAMC side-by-side before deciding who to trust. Informed decision making is king!

 

[freedoctor17]

If you wait a week or two we are releasing new pricing options that allow you to buy 1, 5 or 10 exams. Are you taking it this month? If so, we are giving two FLEs updated for 2017 to anyone willing to give us feedback on ours vs. the AAMC and vs. the real test. All I will say is that you need to look at our exams and AAMC side-by-side before deciding who to trust. Informed decision making is king!

I actually had a friend who used yours and recommended them to me but I don't want to buy 10 of them. I'm not taking the exam until september so still have a ways to go. If you release other buying options I'll definitely buy something like a 5 pack from you guys. I just hope the prices are still reasonable as your 10 pack is a great value but don't need that many.

Good to know that there'll be more options in a week or two though thanks for letting me know.

 

[freedoctor17]

If you wait a week or two we are releasing new pricing options that allow you to buy 1, 5 or 10 exams. Are you taking it this month? If so, we are giving two FLEs updated for 2017 to anyone willing to give us feedback on ours vs. the AAMC and vs. the real test. All I will say is that you need to look at our exams and AAMC side-by-side before deciding who to trust. Informed decision making is king!

It's been a couple weeks, any updates on the smaller packages?

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

It's been a couple weeks, any updates on the smaller packages?

Yes. They are selling them in sets of 1/5/10 for $40/175/300. You can order them in the smaller packages any time by calling the office. The website is not yet updated to allow purchase of the smaller packages, but I was told it will be very soon.

 

[Superlove]

Yes. They are selling them in sets of 1/5/10 for $40/175/300. You can order them in the smaller packages any time by calling the office. The website is not yet updated to allow purchase of the smaller packages, but I was told it will be very soon.

Are you still looking for students to compare your new FL to AAMC and the real test? If so I'd be willing to take the plunge.