How Much Is Too Much?

[FriedLemon]

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As far as practice exams go, how much is too much? I have heard from people that after 10 exams, your performance begins to decrease. Is this a myth? Or, is unlimited practice (as much as you can get), good enough? Would 20 practice exams be good or bad in comparison to 10? Is there significant burnout to taking more than 3 exams per week? I know you should spend as much time reviewing as you do taking the exam but I’m very accustomed to studying for 12 hours a day.

 

[Zenabi90]

The more the better. Period. Full stop. With the qualifier that these are high quality practice exams.

There is a strong correlation between number of practice passages/questions/exams done and your eventual score. I always advise students to, at the minimum, complete all AAMC section banks and FLs (which currently stands at 3+1).

Adding in UWorld has limited data, but it seems promising so far.

 

[FriedLemon]

The more the better. Period. Full stop. With the qualifier that these are high quality practice exams.

There is a strong correlation between number of practice passages/questions/exams done and your eventual score. I always advise students to, at the minimum, complete all AAMC section banks and FLs (which currently stands at 3+1).

Adding in UWorld has limited data, but it seems promising so far.

Do you recommend doing a certain number per week? I’ve heard it can be “bad” to do more than 3 per week but I am really accustomed now to studying 8-12 hours per day, 5-6 days per week.

 

[FriedLemon]

Also, what do you think are the most quality exams? I have the full package from AAMC with the three full tests, all 10 of Altius tests, 3 practice tests from Kaplan that came with the review books, and I’m considering buying the NextStep exams. I heard that Altius and NextStep are the best, and maybe EK, but if there are any others besides those, I’d love to know. Do you recommend I buy NS and EK? If no (and even if yes), do you recommend any other companies? It goes without say we all know that the AAMC is the best.

 

[platty]

Also, what do you think are the most quality exams? I have the full package from AAMC with the three full tests, all 10 of Altius tests, 3 practice tests from Kaplan that came with the review books, and I’m considering buying the NextStep exams. I heard that Altius and NextStep are the best, and maybe EK, but if there are any others besides those, I’d love to know. Do you recommend I buy NS and EK? If no (and even if yes), do you recommend any other companies? It goes without say we all know that the AAMC is the best.

I used AAMC, Kaplan, and NS. I took 20+ practice exams and did well on test day. I felt like NextStep exams were second best to the AAMC ones and are worth buying. Khan academy actually has a partnership with AAMC which is the only organization that has this apparently (don't mark my words, I just heard this somewhere). They have free practice passages that I felt were really helpful too.

 

[Zenabi90]

Listen to them.

If you need more practice questions, UWorld and Section Banks are your best bet.

Most I would recommend for FLs is the 3+1 that the AAMC offers, and some of the nextstep ones.

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

@Zenabi90: Your posts were the primary source I used for building my study plan. I am using TBR for science practice and TPR for CARS and psychology/sociology. I've been putting limited time in, but will be more intense after finals. Are you suggesting that I should add UWorld? I love TBR so far but might want to add other sources later this summer. Did you like UWorld more than EK?

 

[Zenabi90]

@Zenabi90: Your posts were the primary source I used for building my study plan. I am using TBR for science practice and TPR for CARS and psychology/sociology. I've been putting limited time in, but will be more intense after finals. Are you suggesting that I should add UWorld? I love TBR so far but might want to add other sources later this summer. Did you like UWorld more than EK?

@PlsLetMeIn21 I am honored that you used me as a primary source. I hope you also looked broadly, as there is a lot of great advice on here besides what I've posted.

I did not have a chance to use UWorld, as it was released after I took my MCAT. The EK books were plenty useful, but those were books full of discrete problems, rather than passage-based problem sets. I have read a lot of positives about UWorld, but it's a relatively new resource and it's all anecdotal. All the good things, plus the increasing difficulty of finding the old EK books has made me shift my recommendations.

UWorld is highly trusted for Step exam review (medical board exams), so they at least have that reputation. I would recommend looking into the free trial and see if it's a resource you would benefit from. If it is, add it in. If you find it doesn't seem helpful, then don't add it.