IN A BIND - EVERYONE I neeeed your inputs!

[superso]

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I am confused and in a real bind here. I know everyone here has taken or is taking the MCAT so I know there are at least some people who can help me. I had a 27 on the mcat the first time. I'm taking TPR and I had a 23, then a 28, on the two diagnostics so far. On the third one I expected maybe a 32 but I got either a 29 or 30 (wont find out the actual score til monday). So i'm sitting looking over the test and I compiled a list of questions I got wrong on physical sciences...there were only about 6 that I couldnt have gotten right without a few minutes work! The others were all, -answer me in 20-30 sec types! and I got 20 of these super easy questions wrong!!! I'm talking things like, could have gotten the answer from the graph, picture, using a simple equation i already memorized, didnt read question carefully- mistakes like that!

Now I know I could just keep this in mind this when I'm taking it next time but every time I get to taking a section, i totally forget! I am trying to finish the whole thing b/c its sooo easy. Should I just not do 10 questions, decide to lay off an entire passage just so I have more time? See the reason I dont think this will work is b/c the questions I get wrong are so easy that I'm sure I wont even think about it. Let me give you an example. If you halve the distance btwn two objects what happens to the force? it gets quadrupled. Ive answered this question w/in the context of other questions at least a hundred times and its second nature. On the test, I freaked out and I picked the choice that said the force doubled! and I didn't even mind And during the test, I also was incredibly relaxed. Like I was going through questions trying not to get bogged down b/c thats what you should do right? So i finished the test just on time but I got so many easy ones wrong b/c of careless errors. NOw i think im too relaxed - i see a tough question and i say to myself, 'no problem, move on, thats what TPR or Salty says'. I shouldnt be losing these points! Someone must have had this problem before me! I feel that I can get all but maybe 3 or 4 right on the entire section in terms of what I know but b/c of these dumb errors I just got 25 wrong in phys sci!!!

Did YOU have this problem?? HELP ME please!!

 

[adamj61]

tpr tests are hard...just study what you don't know, and take some aamc tests, you will do better that way

 

[superso]

but the thing is that I know most all there is to know now. I can get every question right but the little errors are costing me lots of points.

 

[tulips]

My advice to you is to simply chill out. If you know all there is to know, then you are in great shape for the test, especially if you are getting 30 or so on your TPR tests. Those tests are hard and you'll do much better on the real thing.

You still have a few weeks before the test, and you can use that time to go over the concepts to just gain some confidence. Every few minutes during the test you should just take a deep breath and try to calm down. I'd say that your nerves are probably the reason you're missing a lot of the easy questions. Take as many practice tests as you can.

Hope this helps...

 

[superso]

haha im chilled out enough during the test as it is. i need to get an adren rush or something. maybe ill drink coffee or an energy drink on my next practice test to see if it psyches me up.

 

[MoosePilot]

You don't need to be pumped up. You'll be pumped up enough on the real deal.

Just read the questions and the passages a little more carefully. You're making fine progress.

 

[doc luv]

i teach mcat classes for kaplan, so hopefully that will give some sort of weight to my advice. first of all you seriously need to relax. if you get as worked up during the test as you did in your post (and i imagine you do since taking the mcat is a bit more stressful than writing a post) then right there you have a clear reason why you're missing easy questions. and if you think you're already too "chill" during the test i would advise against the adrenaline rush or caffeine you talked about. that's only good for short tests. if you do that for a long test like the MCAT you're going to come off you're gonna come crashin down from your high way before the end of the exam. last piece of advice i have is that if you kno the material and are still missing questions, the best way to overcome this is to practice practice practice. missing these type of questions is usually just lack of practice. the more passages you do the faster and more accurate you will get. gluck with mcat. hope i could help a lil.

 

[rockstar2525]

I second everyone's previous opinion that the best thing you can do is RELAX and KEEP PRACTICING.
Also remember, hindsight is 20/20. OF COURSE you find stupid mistakes when you read over the passage for the second time later when you have no time restraints. The MCAT tests your "ability to take tests," ie perform under pressure, apply skills quickly when you have little time, in addition to your knowledge of the information you're supposed to know. It's hard to remember everything in the passage and think of everything you need to know for every question, especially when you only have a minute or two to do it. That's why no one gets a perfect score, even if they are science geniuses.
If you know the material, practice your test taking skills. I found working on verbal reasoning especially good for that, since practicing reading the passages can be applied to three of the sections.
Again, RELAX. My score was six points higher than what I had been getting on the practice tests. Good luck

 

[Iffy premed]

keep on doing questions, TPR tests, AAMC tests, anything that you can find. The more you see these questions, the less you will get wrong. Since you didn't do so bad on the first MCAT, if you put in effort now, no problem in breaking a 30. good luck! 🙂