Is 5 full length practice tests enough?

[cee]

i'm in TPR right now and they offer 5 practice tests.. kaplan offers 10.. i really dont want to make this a TPR vs Kaplan thread, but apparently if i come into TPR offices during the weekday (fridays would be my only available days), they would proctor more exams if i needed them.. BTW, i took my 2nd diag last weekend and felt much more comfortable with it vs. my 1st diag.. i wasnt tired at all towards the end, mainly cuz i took a nap during lunchtime in my car and was well rested going into the afternoon... anyways, some pros & cons to taking extra tests outside of the given 5 on saturdays

PROS:
1. good way to get my body/mind conditioned
2. opportunity to implement strategies under real conditions (vs homework)
3. getting more for my money from TPR

CONS:
1. REALLY annoying
2. eats into what little homework time i have on the weekends
3. could be doing unnecessary work simply because i'm too anal


what do you guys think?

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[DrBowtie]

5 TPR + AAMC 3-8 should be enough.
Make sure you do AAMC 3-8

 

[KeyLime]

I'm also in the TPR class, and we have 5 proctored exams. The first three are written by the PR, and the last two are AAMC tests. When we got our books, they gave us a book full of extra tests written by PR (tests A-D). I assume that you also recieved these. I've heard that they are too hard and not representative, but I might try one anyway.

 

[cee]

5 TPR + AAMC 3-8 should be enough.
Make sure you do AAMC 3-8

what the hell is AAMC 3-8? is that not one of the AAMC tests that TPR gives us?

 

[DrBowtie]

I don't know what you got from TPR. The AAMC tests are actual old MCATs thus most accurate. They might have them at the center or you can get them from www.e-mcat.com

 

[Anastasis]

He meant AAMC #3r thru #8 (3,4,5,6,7,8). I'm not in TPR so I don't know what they give you guys.

 

[cee]

When we got our books, they gave us a book full of extra tests written by PR (tests A-D). I assume that you also recieved these. I've heard that they are too hard and not representative, but I might try one anyway.

umm ya, we sure didnt get those alright.. i got:
1. in class compendium
2. science workbook
3. verbal
4. bio sciences
5. physical sciences

i think we got a verbal workbook too, i forgot-- i'm too lazy to run out to my car and check

 

[utdallasguy2006]

Have you guys heard anything about putting more stock in Tests 6R-8R, rather than 3R-5R? Our TPR instructor told us to take our 3R-5R scores with a grain of salt, since from 6R-8R is more indicative of the current MCAT. Any thoughts?

 

[QofQuimica]

i'm in TPR right now and they offer 5 practice tests.. kaplan offers 10.

what do you guys think?

Kaplan students also take five proctored full-length exams as part of the course, not ten. There are additional full-length tests available that students can take on their own: 6 written by Kaplan, plus the 8 AAMC exams, plus the 5 taken in class (also written by Kaplan), for a total of 19 exams available. Most students do not take anywhere near all nineteen exams.

I think that five full length exams is a reasonable number to take for many students, although it certainly won't hurt you to take more. This is especially true if you have timing issues or test anxiety. I do recommend to my students (I teach for Kaplan) that they take AAMC tests 7 or 8 if at all possible. These are old MCATS released by the AAMC post-2003 (when the MCAT was revamped), and taking one of them does two things: it lets you see what "real" MCAT questions and passages look like, and it allows you to see a different test other than those written by your test prep company. The TPR and Kaplan tests are similar to the real MCAT, but the AAMC exams WERE the real MCAT.

Hope this helps, and good luck. 🙂

 

[HunterGatherer]

judging from what I've seen discussed on AAMC exams in the last 2 years I'd have to disagree. although people say 3R is outdated it is still a decent test to take especially for the BS and verbal section. If you feel that 3R-5R are not up to par then my suggest is to do them first and save 6R-8 for your last 3 practice exams. The AAMC exams are by far the best representation of the real deal. This includes AAMC 3R-5R. From what I remember AAMC 4R was supposed to be one of the more difficult AAMC exams and represented the MCAT well.

Have you guys heard anything about putting more stock in Tests 6R-8R, rather than 3R-5R? Our TPR instructor told us to take our 3R-5R scores with a grain of salt, since from 6R-8R is more indicative of the current MCAT. Any thoughts?

 

[NoSoupforYou13]

judging from what I've seen discussed on AAMC exams in the last 2 years I'd have to disagree. although people say 3R is outdated it is still a decent test to take especially for the BS and verbal section. If you feel that 3R-5R are not up to par then my suggest is to do them first and save 6R-8 for your last 3 practice exams. The AAMC exams are by far the best representation of the real deal. This includes AAMC 3R-5R. From what I remember AAMC 4R was supposed to be one of the more difficult AAMC exams and represented the MCAT well.

I took all the Princeton (1-6), Kaplan (1-10), and AAMC tests (3-8). (Personally, I found taking practice tests the most useful way to study.)

AAMC: AAMC tests 7 and 8 are the only accurate practice tests available today. The other tests may have a section or two that have a similar level of difficulty as the real test, but for the most part, they are very "easy". Indeed, I would not use older tests for a realistic prediction of performance on test day. Don't waste tests 7 and 8. Use them 2-3 weeks before your real exam..

Princeton: Princeton has six original tests. Only 1-4 are curved. 5 and 6 will only provide a raw score, which is pretty much worthless. Personally, I felt that the Princeton verbal sections were similar to the real MCAT, but PS and BS were not great representations of the types of questions on the MCAT.

Kaplan: Kaplan has 10 tests. Kaplan is notorious for having easy verbal sections and killer PS sections. I found this to be true. Kaplan writes a lot of its PS sections so that you can get 50% wrong and still get an 10. Moreover, the level of difficulty varies signifcantly between the tests. This is very frustrating.

I would advise everyone studying for the MCAT to take as many practice tests as possible under test taking conditions.

Good luck.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

i'm in TPR right now and they offer 5 practice tests.. kaplan offers 10.. i really dont want to make this a TPR vs Kaplan thread, but apparently if i come into TPR offices during the weekday (fridays would be my only available days), they would proctor more exams if i needed them.. BTW, i took my 2nd diag last weekend and felt much more comfortable with it vs. my 1st diag.. i wasnt tired at all towards the end, mainly cuz i took a nap during lunchtime in my car and was well rested going into the afternoon... anyways, some pros & cons to taking extra tests outside of the given 5 on saturdays

PROS:
1. good way to get my body/mind conditioned
2. opportunity to implement strategies under real conditions (vs homework)
3. getting more for my money from TPR

CONS:
1. REALLY annoying
2. eats into what little homework time i have on the weekends
3. could be doing unnecessary work simply because i'm too anal


what do you guys think?

Take as many practice tests as you can. Here is what I am doing to make it easier to take some of the non-AAMC tests. I don't take the entire test at the same time. I approximate the actual test-taking conditions by taking Bio.Sci. at night, before I go to bed (when I am most tired -- approximating end-of-MCAT-day conditions,) I take the Phy.Sci. section in the morning (approximating beginning-of-MCAT-day conditions) and I also take the verbal sections at night (which is somewhat harsher than MCAT day conditions.) That way I don't have to set aside such large chunks of time, but still get the practice under approximate MCAT conditions.

For the AAMC tests, I set aside the time to take those as if they were the real thing, including writing the essays, etc. Timed, in-order, on Saturdays.

This way, I see myself as getting the benefit of doing the largest number of practice problems (Kaplan, PR, EK full-lengths) while also practicing under "real MCAT" conditions (AAMC full-lengths.)

We'll see how that approach works in April, but I just wanted to let you know that that is what I am doing to fit all those practice exams into my busy schedule!

Good Luck,

Jota

 

[Mr. Tee]


Kaplan: Kaplan has 10 tests. Kaplan is notorious for having easy verbal sections and killer PS sections. I found this to be true. Kaplan writes a lot of its PS sections so that you can get 50% wrong and still get an 10. Moreover, the level of difficulty varies signifcantly between the tests. This is very frustrating.

I don't necessarily find Kaplan's VR sections on the later full lengths (6 and up) nor their recent practice material to be "notoriously easy." In fact they are on the same difficulty with EK and AAMC (AAMC 4-6 at least), if not harder than these AAMC tests. They've revamped their questions to have more assumption/inference type ones instead of detail questions and straight passage memorization.

Maybe it just seems hard because my reasoning process is closer to what AAMC wants instead of want Kaplan wants

 

[NoSoupforYou13]

I don't necessarily find Kaplan's VR sections on the later full lengths (6 and up) nor their recent practice material to be "notoriously easy." In fact they are on the same difficulty with EK and AAMC (AAMC 4-6 at least), if not harder than these AAMC tests. They've revamped their questions to have more assumption/inference type ones instead of detail questions and straight passage memorization.

Maybe it just seems hard because my reasoning process is closer to what AAMC wants instead of want Kaplan wants

AAMC Verbal sections 4-6 are not representative of the real MCAT. Don't fool yourself. Only AAMC 7 and 8 provide an accurate representation of the current MCAT test. So, in my original comparison, I was comparing Kaplan's verbal reasoning to AAMC tests 7,8, and the real current exam. Kaplan verbal is easier.

More specifically, Kaplan passages:
1- are shorter, on average, compared to the real exam
2- are more homogeneous in terms of number of questions in each passage and length, compared to the real exam
3- have an easier curve

The thing that trips a lot of people up on the real exam is that there are passages with 5 questions and other passages with 9-10 questions. This can really mess up one’s timing. You will not see a Kaplan/Princeton passage with more than 7-8 questions.

Imagine you are on the real exam and your timing is great, all of a sudden you have two passages, back to back, that have 9 questions. This is tough, and few MCAT practice exams provide this type of simulation.

 

[gujuDoc]

i'm in TPR right now and they offer 5 practice tests.. kaplan offers 10.. i really dont want to make this a TPR vs Kaplan thread, but apparently if i come into TPR offices during the weekday (fridays would be my only available days), they would proctor more exams if i needed them.. BTW, i took my 2nd diag last weekend and felt much more comfortable with it vs. my 1st diag.. i wasnt tired at all towards the end, mainly cuz i took a nap during lunchtime in my car and was well rested going into the afternoon... anyways, some pros & cons to taking extra tests outside of the given 5 on saturdays

PROS:
1. good way to get my body/mind conditioned
2. opportunity to implement strategies under real conditions (vs homework)
3. getting more for my money from TPR

CONS:
1. REALLY annoying
2. eats into what little homework time i have on the weekends
3. could be doing unnecessary work simply because i'm too anal


what do you guys think?

TPR has other materials: I'm assuming you get 4911, 4921, 4931 and the last two AAMC tests proctored.

If that is the case, note right now that if you need more material you can get 4941, 4951, and 4961 from them by asking for it. They also have test A-D which are four full lengths in a book they give upon request.

Other then that, you can use the remainder of the AAMC tests which you might have to get through independent means.

however, the number of tests needed depends on how good you are at standardized tests.

 

[gujuDoc]

AAMC Verbal sections 4-6 are not representative of the real MCAT. Don't fool yourself. Only AAMC 7 and 8 provide an accurate representation of the current MCAT test. So, in my original comparison, I was comparing Kaplan's verbal reasoning to AAMC tests 7,8, and the real current exam. Kaplan verbal is easier.

More specifically, Kaplan passages:
1- are shorter, on average, compared to the real exam
2- are more homogeneous in terms of number of questions in each passage and length, compared to the real exam
3- have an easier curve

The thing that trips a lot of people up on the real exam is that there are passages with 5 questions and other passages with 9-10 questions. This can really mess up one’s timing. You will not see a Kaplan/Princeton passage with more than 7-8 questions.

Imagine you are on the real exam and your timing is great, all of a sudden you have two passages, back to back, that have 9 questions. This is tough, and few MCAT practice exams provide this type of simulation.

AAMC4R-6R are easier slightly, but they give an overall range similar to your other test scores that they still hold some predictive value. Just look through past threads here on SDN if you need proof of that one. My own case also proved that one to be true.