Completely Bombed AAMC 3R..What to do?

[fly1346]

Hi guys, I took AAMC 3R today, which I completely bombed, being a Biochem major I'm quite upset with myself, since Bio was my lowest subject.
Breakdown was 7P 5B 5V,

This is my first time taking a practice exam, without any studying, I did some practice verbal back in January but thats about it. I was suppose to be taking the MCATS in August, but should I postpone, 3R was suppose to be the easiest one. What should I do?? Postpone till September, I have a mediocre GPA, so I need my MCATS to be >33

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[229141]

Hi guys, I took AAMC 3R today, which I completely bombed, being a Biochem major I'm quite upset with myself, since Bio was my lowest subject.
Breakdown was 7P 5B 5V,

This is my first time taking a practice exam, without any studying, I did some practice verbal back in January but thats about it. I was suppose to be taking the MCATS in August, but should I postpone, 3R was suppose to be the easiest one. What should I do?? Postpone till September, I have a mediocre GPA, so I need my MCATS to be >33

I think once you study specifically for this test and do more practice passages, you'll see a huge score increase. August is still a ways a way...so you might take a little bit of time before you post pone. Use this as motivation and I bet you'll do a lot better next time.

Practice passages help a ton!

 

[unDRdog]

Hi guys, I took AAMC 3R today, which I completely bombed, being a Biochem major I'm quite upset with myself, since Bio was my lowest subject.
Breakdown was 7P 5B 5V,

This is my first time taking a practice exam, without any studying, I did some practice verbal back in January but thats about it. I was suppose to be taking the MCATS in August, but should I postpone, 3R was suppose to be the easiest one. What should I do?? Postpone till September, I have a mediocre GPA, so I need my MCATS to be >33

If you are not applying this cycle then i would postpone till september...I dont know know what your plans are this summer but you have ab two months in front of you to master this test...you have a lot of ground to cover but it can be done..i agree with the above poster...the more "looks" you can get at passage based questions in both PS and BS the better...this is a tricky part of the format which requires a lot of learning in and of itself...(do not underestimate this)...good luck to ya this summer!!!!

 

[fly1346]

Thanks for the quick response Alaska, I took this practice exam on the computer, (simulate real conditions) and honestly found it impossible to keep focused especially when it came to the verbal section, I found i was losing focus so quickly, forgetting what the passage was about, not being able to underline, jot down notes on the side

I feel its very hard on the screen scrolling back and forth, anyone else feel/felt this way?
Is the real exam all computer based, are we not given any paper copy for the exam?

thanks

 

[LoveWalk]

Don't buy into MCAT hype

I took AAMC 3 approx 12 days before my test and scored 26

6 days later (75 hours worth of studying later) i scored a 36 on AAMC 8

The next day I scored a 37 on AAMC 10 and then two days later scored a 39 on AAMC 9

I was absolutely prepared for the MCAT after 12 days of very very intense studying

You have 9 weeks minimum...if you study 5 hours a day you will smoke this thing

DON'T postpone

enjoy some of your summer afterward

You have to realize that every single thing you study (no matter how minute) can be an extra point on the MCAT...

Look at what you missed on this "diagnostic" and study those topics first

Take another MCAT in a week...see what you missed and repeat

Within a month I think you will have your confidence back

It is important that you begin practicing ASAP though...so hit the books!

 

[Segovia]

Thanks for the quick response Alaska, I took this practice exam on the computer, (simulate real conditions) and honestly found it impossible to keep focused especially when it came to the verbal section, I found i was losing focus so quickly, forgetting what the passage was about, not being able to underline, jot down notes on the side

I feel its very hard on the screen scrolling back and forth, anyone else feel/felt this way?
Is the real exam all computer based, are we not given any paper copy for the exam?

thanks

Yes, I think most people experience an inability to effectively scan the computer screen without constantly readjusting, but this is an issue that can resolve itself with practice. I took my first timed CBT today after several months of using paper materials exclusively, and there is definitely a difference.

One thing I am trying that you might try is using your left hand for the mouse and use your right hand for notes. The eventual goal is to do minimal calculations and note-taking. When notes/calculations are warranted, it is nice not to have to drop everything and get entranced in a "math hole".

Trust me, after some practice, you will develop an intuition for the majority of the questions that sucked up your time today. Also, learning to let go of a problem is a skill, even if it seems like you are surrendering. Good Luck, we've all been there!

 

[229141]

Thanks for the quick response Alaska, I took this practice exam on the computer, (simulate real conditions) and honestly found it impossible to keep focused especially when it came to the verbal section, I found i was losing focus so quickly, forgetting what the passage was about, not being able to underline, jot down notes on the side

I feel its very hard on the screen scrolling back and forth, anyone else feel/felt this way?
Is the real exam all computer based, are we not given any paper copy for the exam?

thanks

You bring up an excellent point.

I find the verbal to be the most exhausting thing I've done academically...I just hate it. If I focus and try hard I can get 10-11..but a slip in my focus and I'm toast. Practice your endurance and you'll be gold.

I also wanna comment on the BS section- I feel dead by the time I get here. the first 2 sections are rough and the essays drain you IMO...then when you get to bio you better still be sharp! I had problems with this early on...I made some dumb mistakes today in BS actually.

See how just getting used to taking the test can boost your score? I do think you can pull it off if you do the content review AND get used to the testing logic...I am a big believer in nailing the logical thinking of this test.

 

[229141]

Don't buy into MCAT hype

I took AAMC 3 approx 12 days before my test and scored 26

6 days later (75 hours worth of studying later) i scored a 36 on AAMC 8

The next day I scored a 37 on AAMC 10 and then two days later scored a 39 on AAMC 9

I was absolutely prepared for the MCAT after 12 days of very very intense studying

You have 9 weeks minimum...if you study 5 hours a day you will smoke this thing

DON'T postpone

enjoy some of your summer afterward

You have to realize that every single thing you study (no matter how minute) can be an extra point on the MCAT...

Look at what you missed on this "diagnostic" and study those topics first

Take another MCAT in a week...see what you missed and repeat

Within a month I think you will have your confidence back

It is important that you begin practicing ASAP though...so hit the books!

See I bet people will come on here and be like "blah blah blah 12 days isn't enough"- but I for one agree with you.

Now- I assume you were already a good student and most of the material was just a review? That's where (I like to think) I'm at....hard work over the years helps when it comes to this test.

Did you mainly do content review or passages?


Also thank you for calming down in the 6/18 thread- it was really appreciated.

 

[SN2ed]

Sure, there are some people that can take 2 weeks and do well. However, that's very rare. If most people tried studying for 2 weeks, they'd do horribly. The problem is, too many people think they can get away with a short amount of time when they can't. One of the traps of SDN is that there is a disproportionate number of students from the top 10% of the MCAT.

 

[LoveWalk]

See I bet people will come on here and be like "blah blah blah 12 days isn't enough"- but I for one agree with you.

Now- I assume you were already a good student and most of the material was just a review? That's where (I like to think) I'm at....hard work over the years helps when it comes to this test.

Did you mainly do content review or passages?


Also thank you for calming down in the 6/18 thread- it was really appreciated.

Alaska, your assumption was absolutely correct...I am a sophomore and had so many concepts still fresh in my head...for that reason I did have an advantage

Most of my review was doing some passages (some princeton review ones, kaplan ones...whatever i could get my hand on really)

immediately after doing the passage (gave myself 7-8 mins or so) I would review each answer---If I got it right I would make sure my reasoning was correct---if I answered incorrectly, I would review the relevant information IMMEDIATELY---things really begin to stick in your head if you do things like that

After a while, things started to accumulate---I felt like I was making real progress quickly

At the end of the two weeks I must have done 50-60 passages per subject and I did four COMPLETE AAMC tests---first 3, then 8,9.10

I am a huge proponent of starting practice tests as quickly as possible

OH!

And for physics I used NOVA---did a chapter review (45 mins) then did 10-12 discrete questions (out of the 40 there were per chapter) then ALL of the passages ---I think this was effective for physics---the total process took approximately 2 hours per chapter---only 15 chapters worth of review---so 30 hours total? Not too bad really...

Overall, I will admit that if I had long been removed from the material, I would have had to spend more time---at least a few more weeks I am guessing...

Oh, and it was not 12 days of passive studying

It was 12 days of hella intense studying...most importantly, however, is the fact that I stayed calm and was very productive---I did not worry about failing the MCAT or doing poorly---this is also an advantage of taking it immediately after 2nd year---MUCH LESS PRESSURE!!!

 

[premedmind]

Alaska, your assumption was absolutely correct...I am a sophomore and had so many concepts still fresh in my head...for that reason I did have an advantage

Most of my review was doing some passages (some princeton review ones, kaplan ones...whatever i could get my hand on really)

immediately after doing the passage (gave myself 7-8 mins or so) I would review each answer---If I got it right I would make sure my reasoning was correct---if I answered incorrectly, I would review the relevant information IMMEDIATELY---things really begin to stick in your head if you do things like that

After a while, things started to accumulate---I felt like I was making real progress quickly

At the end of the two weeks I must have done 50-60 passages per subject and I did four COMPLETE AAMC tests---first 3, then 8,9.10

I am a huge proponent of starting practice tests as quickly as possible

OH!

And for physics I used NOVA---did a chapter review (45 mins) then did 10-12 discrete questions (out of the 40 there were per chapter) then ALL of the passages ---I think this was effective for physics---the total process took approximately 2 hours per chapter---only 15 chapters worth of review---so 30 hours total? Not too bad really...

Overall, I will admit that if I had long been removed from the material, I would have had to spend more time---at least a few more weeks I am guessing...

Oh, and it was not 12 days of passive studying

It was 12 days of hella intense studying...most importantly, however, is the fact that I stayed calm and was very productive---I did not worry about failing the MCAT or doing poorly---this is also an advantage of taking it immediately after 2nd year---MUCH LESS PRESSURE!!!

You have to understand that your scenario is unique to you and only you. One method of studying is not any better than another because everyone's brain is different.

What you got on your first pracitce test is what I'm getting now after a while of studying.

It's all relative.

 

[SN2ed]

Oh, and it was not 12 days of passive studying

It was 12 days of hella intense studying...most importantly, however, is the fact that I stayed calm and was very productive---I did not worry about failing the MCAT or doing poorly---this is also an advantage of taking it immediately after 2nd year---MUCH LESS PRESSURE!!!

I'm not doubting that you didn't work as hard you as possibly could. What I'm saying is that it takes most people 3 months of working as hard as they can to do well. Furthermore, about starting practice tests early, that only works for people like you (short time period studiers that do well). For the average MCAT preparer, it's a waste of practice tests. You should be really proud of yourself for doing so well in such a short amount of time. Yet, you should also realize that your case is a rare one.

 

[fly1346]

Just wondering, did you guys actually study before taking the 3R, in my case, I haven't opened a book, just finished all my pre-reqs, and now that I am going over the exam and I realize how many stupid foolish mistakes i made, in calculations, simple basics from gen chem...

I see alot of people saying they scored 28+ on this exam, but was that with studying?

 

[LoveWalk]

Just wondering, did you guys actually study before taking the 3R, in my case, I haven't opened a book, just finished all my pre-reqs, and now that I am going over the exam and I realize how many stupid foolish mistakes i made, in calculations, simple basics from gen chem...

I see alot of people saying they scored 28+ on this exam, but was that with studying?

Point taken everyone, I understand that my situation is somewhat unique

However, it looks like Fly's situation is similar to mine

Fly, I took AAMC 3 without studying just as you did

Also, you say you just finished your prereqs? Coincidence! Our situations are very similar

Ask yourself this: without arithmetic errors---how many points can you save yourself?

Going slower could save you a few points

Oh, and especially on AAMC 3---the passages are very specific

Recall the wave passage---if you forgot a few simple things, you could have missed 5 questions on PS and all of a sudden your PS score drops 2-3 points

If most of the points you missed were "stupid mistakes" or the result of mental lapses, you can improve your score VERY quickly with some pointed review and by going slower

 

[fly1346]

thanks for the advice LoveWalk.... going slow on an exam is something I really need to master, as I feel thats the only thing responsible for all my screw ups. I can know the material inside and out, but when it comes to exams, I am the worst test taker ever! My friends actually joke about this, and one of them video taped me once during an exam (he was a TA) and when I saw the video...lets just say I could learn to be a better test taker!

 

[SuperSaiyan3]

study hard and don't look back Rocky.

 

[fly1346]

thanks Czhang, may i ask what your study strategy was?