how many full lengths did you take before the actual exam?

[streudels]

i'm currently studying for the 3/27 mcat test date and i was wondering how many full length practice tests did any of you take prior to taking the actual exam?

also, i know where to obtain the amcas full lengths and the kaplan full lengths, but how do you get a hold of the gold standard, TBR or PR full lengths? do you have to take the course in order to get access to them? and how helpful/reliable is doing the EK mini-mcats?

i'm aiming to do a full length/day from now on plus HEAVY reviewing afterward.

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[loveoforganic]

8, all of the AAMC's. I wouldn't recommend taking other ones unless you're on MCAT try 2 and you've exhausted your AAMCs.

 

[pdxjazz]

8, all of the AAMC's. I wouldn't recommend taking other ones unless you're on MCAT try 2 and you've exhausted your AAMCs.

Have you taken either of the 2010 TBR or GS FLs to see how they compare to the early AAMCs?

 

[loveoforganic]

negative

 

[IndianVercetti]

i'm aiming to do a full length/day from now on plus HEAVY reviewing afterward.

Doing 1 each day is an insane pace. Good job if you can do that. But I'm currently doing 1 each 2-3 days, which is already intense, but at least gives me a little bit of breathing room.

And, about the TBR ones, I'm using those - have currently finished 1-3. They are challenging, don't get discouraged by the scores.

Good luck.

 

[NinjaMed]

Doing 1 each day is an insane pace. Good job if you can do that. But I'm currently doing 1 each 2-3 days, which is already intense, but at least gives me a little bit of breathing room.

And, about the TBR ones, I'm using those - have currently finished 1-3. They are challenging, don't get discouraged by the scores.

Good luck.

Follow this advice.

Space them out. Here is how you should do it:

Day 0=Actual Test Day
Day -1=Day Before Actual Test Day
Day -2=2 Days Before Actual Test Day....etc...

---------------------------------

Day 0=Take Actual Test
Day -1=Rest Day
Day -2=AAMC#4
Day -3=Rest Day
Day -4=AAMC#3
Day -5=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -6=AAMC#7
Day -7=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -8=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -9=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -10=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -11=AAMC#2 (morning), AAMC#9 (evening)
Day -12=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -13=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -14=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -15=AAMC#1
Day -16=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -17=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -18=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -19=AAMC#5
Day -20=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -21=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -22=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -23=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -24=AAMC#6
Day -25=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -26=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -27=AAMC#8
Day -28=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -29=AAMC#10 Writing Sample (forced timer 25 minutes, and 25 minutes), and Biological Sciences (forced timer -65 minutes)
Day -30=AAMC#10 Physical Sciences (forced timer 65 minutes), and Verbal Reasoning (55 minutes)

 

[pdxjazz]

i'm currently studying for the 3/27 mcat test date and i was wondering how many full length practice tests did any of you take prior to taking the actual exam?

also, i know where to obtain the amcas full lengths and the kaplan full lengths, but how do you get a hold of the gold standard, TBR or PR full lengths? do you have to take the course in order to get access to them? and how helpful/reliable is doing the EK mini-mcats?

i'm aiming to do a full length/day from now on plus HEAVY reviewing afterward.

The TBR can be ordered from their website, the bad news is you have to order in groups of 3, 5, or 7 tests and they aren't cheap. The GS tests can be found on ebay, either through an auction or a store, and also their website (ebay route is much cheaper). You have to buy all 10 GS tests, but on auction all 10 can be had for about the same price as 1 or 2 AAMC or TBR tests. AFAIK, the PR tests are part of the course and cannot be purchased without signing up.

At this point, I will probably buy AAMC 7-10 (and the free one), probably 1-3 of TBR, and probably all the GS tests if I can get it for a good auction price. I just e-mailed the ebay auction guy and suggested bumping his GS auctions up to more than 1 per day so hopefully we can all get a better deal. If I can't get GS at a good price, I may opt for 1-5 of TBR. Good luck!

 

[IndianVercetti]

Follow this advice.

Space them out. Here is how you should do it:

Day 0=Actual Test Day
Day -1=Day Before Actual Test Day
Day -2=2 Days Before Actual Test Day....etc...

---------------------------------

Day 0=Take Actual Test
Day -1=Rest Day
Day -2=AAMC#4
Day -3=Rest Day
Day -4=AAMC#3
Day -5=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -6=AAMC#7
Day -7=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -8=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -9=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -10=Rest Day (No studying)
Day -11=AAMC#2 (morning), AAMC#9 (evening)
Day -12=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -13=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -14=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -15=AAMC#1
Day -16=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -17=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -18=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -19=AAMC#5
Day -20=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -21=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -22=Rest Day/Light Studying
Day -23=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -24=AAMC#6
Day -25=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -26=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -27=AAMC#8
Day -28=Rest Day (No Studying)
Day -29=AAMC#10 Writing Sample (forced timer 25 minutes, and 25 minutes), and Biological Sciences (forced timer -65 minutes)
Day -30=AAMC#10 Physical Sciences (forced timer 65 minutes), and Verbal Reasoning (55 minutes)

Identical to what I'm doing for 3/27, except I'm not taking 2 full days of no studying between tests.

Similar enough though

 

[LetsGo352]

Identical to what I'm doing for 3/27, except I'm not taking 2 full days of no studying between tests.

Similar enough though

So it's wise to take 2 FL's in one day?

 

[LetsGo352]

I'll start taking the FL's in about 2 weeks for the 4/10 test date. Is it okay to start the FL's that late?

Also, are the AAMC FL's that are provided on their websites taken through the computer? Like would it be the actual format we'd see it on test day?

 

[Segovia]

So it's wise to take 2 FL's in one day?

That would take around 10 hours. Not recommended.

 

[IndianVercetti]

So it's wise to take 2 FL's in one day?

Oh I didn't notice that in his schedule.

No way, I don't recommend that, it would make more sense to review the test you just took.

 

[LetsGo352]

haha yeah, I don't see why would do that unless you really want to build your mental stamina, but even then it's not really helpful.

 

[Segovia]

I'll start taking the FL's in about 2 weeks for the 4/10 test date. Is it okay to start the FL's that late?

Also, are the AAMC FL's that are provided on their websites taken through the computer? Like would it be the actual format we'd see it on test day?

1 - So, you would be taking them about 4 weeks out. To me, that is totally reasonable. You will have time to digest the material if you do intense analysis on the passages the day after. I did about 15 or so full lengths and used about a month to do them.

More suggestions:

If you are taking the early administration, take your practice tests at the same time.

Take the practice tests on an old school computer terminal with a conventional mouse.

What I did:

Took my practice tests ~ 8 AM every other day. When I was done (around 1PM), I would hit the gym and rid my mind of all things MCAT for several hours. Later that night I would slug through post-game analysis, and would generally only get through BS. The following day, I would go through PS and verbal and ensure that I did not unwittingly have any holes in my knowledge. The day after, I would take the next full length. Repeat.

2 - Yeah, the emcat tests are via the computer and just like the format on test day. However, there is no search function and time is up when time is up

3 - Good Luck.

Sorry for the totally unsolicited advice.

 

[streudels]

thanks for all the advice! so if i were to purchase any tests, would it be fairly close to the actual MCAT if i got just the AAMC and the TBR tests? because with only a month to go, and with me doing at least 1 FL every other day, that gives me ~13-15 FLs to take. I know that there are more FLs out there, so I was just wondering which versions should I be more keen on purchasing over the others (i know AAMC's are priority, but what about the others?)

 

[RogueUnicorn]

~25

 

[LetsGo352]

1 - So, you would be taking them about 4 weeks out. To me, that is totally reasonable. You will have time to digest the material if you do intense analysis on the passages the day after. I did about 15 or so full lengths and used about a month to do them.

More suggestions:

If you are taking the early administration, take your practice tests at the same time.

Take the practice tests on an old school computer terminal with a conventional mouse.

What I did:

Took my practice tests ~ 8 AM every other day. When I was done (around 1PM), I would hit the gym and rid my mind of all things MCAT for several hours. Later that night I would slug through post-game analysis, and would generally only get through BS. The following day, I would go through PS and verbal and ensure that I did not unwittingly have any holes in my knowledge. The day after, I would take the next full length. Repeat.

2 - Yeah, the emcat tests are via the computer and just like the format on test day. However, there is no search function and time is up when time is up

3 - Good Luck.

Sorry for the totally unsolicited advice.

Perfect, thanks.

 

[LetsGo352]

So would you suggest going to like a school library and taking the test on a computer there? Or just doing it at home?

 

[Segovia]

So would you suggest going to like a school library and taking the test on a computer there? Or just doing it at home?

For me, doing them at the library was better. I guess some people could do them at home, but for me that would really kill the feeling of urgency. I took a snack with me and abided by the break times just like the real deal.

 

[Segovia]

thanks for all the advice! so if i were to purchase any tests, would it be fairly close to the actual MCAT if i got just the AAMC and the TBR tests? because with only a month to go, and with me doing at least 1 FL every other day, that gives me ~13-15 FLs to take. I know that there are more FLs out there, so I was just wondering which versions should I be more keen on purchasing over the others (i know AAMC's are priority, but what about the others?)

I did the TBR CBTs and all of the AAMCs as well as many of the passages from the AAMC "Official" Book. On the last couple of TBR CBTs I just did the PS and BS sections since I thought the verbal was a little too forgiving. Otherwise, I think the TBR CBTs are solid. I have no experience with the Kaplan FLs, but have heard 1-6 are decent. I would probably use the same tests if I had to do it over again (TBR + AAMC). I guess if I could go back and do anything different, I would have saved some EK Verbal for the last month, but I ended up doing well in VR anyway. If you can do well on the TBR PS section, you will have no problem with the real deal. BS and VR were really variable for me.

 

[IndianVercetti]

thanks for all the advice! so if i were to purchase any tests, would it be fairly close to the actual MCAT if i got just the AAMC and the TBR tests? because with only a month to go, and with me doing at least 1 FL every other day, that gives me ~13-15 FLs to take. I know that there are more FLs out there, so I was just wondering which versions should I be more keen on purchasing over the others (i know AAMC's are priority, but what about the others?)

I think we'll be good with just TBR and AAMC. So far the BR tests are pretty tough, but everyone says the real thing is tough anyway, so I guess that's a good. And AAMC tests are apparently good predictors of your score.

13-15 tests is more than enough with just 1 more month. That's about 1 test every 2 days, that's a good pace - it would be overkill to try to take one everyday.

I have tried the Kaplan tests - they are just OK in my opinion, the verbal sections are nothing like the AAMC verbal tests so far.