How to Learn from Practice Tests?

[WonderBoy]

I was just wondering if some of you can share techniques one can use when going over practice tests. I know that every test should teach you something, however its not really working for me. If someone could point me in the right direction, it would help a lot. Thanks.

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[Dr/\/\om]

You also should check the questions you guessed on and got right so that you can see why your guess was correct.

You can also look for other patterns in the questions you are missing. Do you miss the "hidden discretes" in the passages? Do you miss certain types of questions in verbal? Etc.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

go over each problem with the test's study guide..

know why..dont just memorize why.

Then, let's say you missed a problem on mechanics..even one problem..EVEN one simple problem...even a stupid mistake!

go back, and read the mechanics chapter over again.

Overkill?

Maybe.

Get you a good score?

Probably.

Oh, and study everything in the books...the questions I missed..I know which ones they were. Which ones, you ask? The ones I didnt even look at...immunology, some of the physics..Now I'm kicking myself, but that's ok..

 

[missbonnie]

I got to a point where I knew my science well so I had to start working on other ways to get my score up.

I made a list of topics that I got wrong and why. Most were stupid mistakes because I read too quickly, etc. After making an effort to be careful on the next full length - my PS score went up 2 points! I was making alot of calculation errors. They were REALLY dumb tho cuz I would get my asnwer but it wouldn't really be on the list of chopices so I would pick the closest thing. Don't ask why that didn't send off warning bells. In any case, when that happened again I would redo the problem.

-b

 

[PdiM]

i also find its helpful to look at the questions you got wrong and try to figure out the correct answer before looking up the explanation... dont look at the explanation until you REALLY scratch your brain over it. this way, you're waay less likely to make the same mistake again.

 

[uffda]

for the ones you got wrong:
ask yourself "how would I need to have studied to get this right"? (thx dr. pelley)

as you are taking the test, make a note on the answer sheet if you guessed it (I used a G), and if there are 2 answers you are torn btw mark the one you don't choose as well (I used a slash through the bubble)
then go back and examine the guesses and the torn-betweens to see what you might have done or need to study to be sure.

try to analyze if you got it wrong cuz
-you didn't know the concept/science
-you applied the wrong concept/formula
-you misread the question
-you misread the answer that you selected
- or ...

then figure out what the clues were in the question that should have put you on the right track and what evil MCAT question-writing technique you fell for that put you on the wrong track.

most of the difference (I think) btw scores of 8-9 and scores of >=12 is not the science itself, it's getting what the question is really asking - the MCAT tests pretty basic science after all.