MCAT 2015 vs. AAMC Q Packs??

[FauxBlue]

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What are some up to date opinions on the AAMC Q packs?? How does it compare to the actual MCAT 2015 (for those who have written it)??

For those studying with the AAMC Q Packs, how do you feel about them?? Similar to the AAMC FL Sample test? Are they very hard/too easy?? Representative at all??

Are the AAMC Q Packs a good way to gauge how prepared you are or is the AAMC FL sample test the only indicator so far???

I'd love to hear your thoughts!! THX~!

 

[lmladdno84]

Q Packs are questions from old practice tests. Considering the science behind Chemistry, Biology and Physics hasn't changed in the past year, they're still helpful.

 

[FauxBlue]

Q Packs are questions from old practice tests. Considering the science behind Chemistry, Biology and Physics hasn't changed in the past year, they're still helpful.

Have u taken the new MCAT and used the Q packs for studying?? I'm curious if I should be prioritizing the Q packs or finding another resource

 

[lmladdno84]

I'd do absolutely everything AAMC is offering.

 

[FauxBlue]

I'd do absolutely everything AAMC is offering.

Good point! But if per se one were to finish all of AAMC materials, what are other good materials for passage practice??? (Sort of derailing from the original topic)

 

[nomdeplume1234]

Good point! But if per se one were to finish all of AAMC materials, what are other good materials for passage practice??? (Sort of derailing from the original topic)

They are all good. I have yet to see bad practice.

 

[FauxBlue]

They are all good. I have yet to see bad practice.

Where do you get more practice passages from (other than FLs)???

 

[nomdeplume1234]

Where do you get more practice passages from (other than FLs)???

well like you said there are FLs then there are passages from books and question of the days and question banks and KA. There is so much out there that it would take months to exhaust all resources.

 

[lostnconfused]

Does anybody know if the question packs also have questions from the old SAs?

Also which question pack contain the ochem questions? (Bio 1, Bio 2, Chem?)

 

[FauxBlue]

Does anybody know if the question packs also have questions from the old SAs?

Also which question pack contain the ochem questions? (Bio 1, Bio 2, Chem?)

Old SAs?

And as far as I know, I don't remember seeing too many organic chemistry questions from bio1, 2 or chem - I found that there were more gen chem q's

 

[FauxBlue]

how am I doing for exam prep for the mcat if these are my scores from the q packs so far??

bio 1: 76% (during content review)
bio 2: 86%
chem: 89%
cars 1: 63% (yeah i need to work on this)
phys: 88%

my exam is on aug. 21st

 

[DesitnationMD]

I would be happy with %s that are > 75%. but it depdns on how early you are in your study plan. No matter what I would not read too much into it as far as scaled scores. The q pack simply cannot tell you that. Do them, review them, and use your FL exams and AAMC practice test to determine how your score is improving.

I would say that the qpack CARS can give you an idea of how you might do no the real thing, as taking 9 random passages from it is like a full CARS section on the new exam. Sciences though, just review and learn from your mistakes.

Near the end I was scoring ~ 85-90% across the board on the chem/bio/physics and I ended up in the 95%-ile for my real thing. Anecdotal sure, but it means if you do well on these, you can handle the way the aamc can test that topic.

 

[FauxBlue]

I would be happy with %s that are > 75%. but it depdns on how early you are in your study plan. No matter what I would not read too much into it as far as scaled scores. The q pack simply cannot tell you that. Do them, review them, and use your FL exams and AAMC practice test to determine how your score is improving.

I would say that the qpack CARS can give you an idea of how you might do no the real thing, as taking 9 random passages from it is like a full CARS section on the new exam. Sciences though, just review and learn from your mistakes.

Near the end I was scoring ~ 85-90% across the board on the chem/bio/physics and I ended up in the 95%-ile for my real thing. Anecdotal sure, but it means if you do well on these, you can handle the way the aamc can test that topic.

Thank you for the reassuring comment! I've been scoring poorly on TPR FLs and I couldn't gauge how my studying is going so it's been tough trying to think past those scores and continue trudging through the material. I'll definitely have to improve on my CARS section if I want to score higher.

Did you find any other practice other than AAMC materials to be beneficial?? Possibly KA or TBR passages??? Or is it best to simply do tons of FLs as practice passages at this point???

 

[DesitnationMD]

I used Khan academy videos for content review (I had the Nextstep content books but they were only really helpful for on practice passages & Qs).

For practice tests I tried EK, NS, TPR and Kaplan. I also took FREE diags from Kaplan, TPR and NS (take advantage of them all). The NS diag was the most like my actual MCAT, Kaplans gave more focused feedback.

For my full lengths I ended up using EK 1-3 and nextstep 1-5. I would rank EK > NS > Kaplan > TPR as far as what my real MCAT looked like and how helpful they were. I did like Kaplan's smart report system but the passages were not that good and I didn't want to buy the whole library.

TPR's feedback system was good too, but their exams were nto as aamc-like as EK of NS. EK science had the best feel while NS CARS had the best feel IMO.

I would warn you ALL of my practice tests scores were well below my actual score. EK and NS exams were both tougher than the real thing but I think that's a good thing.

KA passages were all over the place, so I could not rely on them for consistent practice. They are still free, so I'd go through them if you have the time. I don't have much experience with TBE beyond 1 of their full lengths but I was not as good as EK, NS, Kaplan or TPR. I hear good things about their books tho. The TPR science books are what I would have gone with if I had to do it over.

 

[Dreamstoo]

I did some Q Pack stuff for the past 3 days. Is it just me or did they not put a lot of "experimental based" passages for the sciences?

Hasn't that been the focus of the MCAT since like the release of AAMC 11?

 

[FauxBlue]

I used Khan academy videos for content review (I had the Nextstep content books but they were only really helpful for on practice passages & Qs).

For practice tests I tried EK, NS, TPR and Kaplan. I also took FREE diags from Kaplan, TPR and NS (take advantage of them all). The NS diag was the most like my actual MCAT, Kaplans gave more focused feedback.

For my full lengths I ended up using EK 1-3 and nextstep 1-5. I would rank EK > NS > Kaplan > TPR as far as what my real MCAT looked like and how helpful they were. I did like Kaplan's smart report system but the passages were not that good and I didn't want to buy the whole library.

TPR's feedback system was good too, but their exams were nto as aamc-like as EK of NS. EK science had the best feel while NS CARS had the best feel IMO.

I would warn you ALL of my practice tests scores were well below my actual score. EK and NS exams were both tougher than the real thing but I think that's a good thing.

KA passages were all over the place, so I could not rely on them for consistent practice. They are still free, so I'd go through them if you have the time. I don't have much experience with TBE beyond 1 of their full lengths but I was not as good as EK, NS, Kaplan or TPR. I hear good things about their books tho. The TPR science books are what I would have gone with if I had to do it over.

Thanks for such a thorough response! (I'd like/upvote more if I could haha!)

So unfortunately TPR were the worst predictor of scores? I've been hearing good things about EK as well so I think I'll have to take more of their FLs!

@Dreamstoo I've noticed that as well. A lot of the passages don't present experimental data nor do they ask you to analyze any data beyond the test. I found it to be closer to rote memorization and a test for content review

 

[Dreamstoo]

Thanks for such a thorough response! (I'd like/upvote more if I could haha!)

So unfortunately TPR were the worst predictor of scores? I've been hearing good things about EK as well so I think I'll have to take more of their FLs!

To be honest, opinions vary. My friend took the June MCAT and studied solely off of TPR/Khan Academy on the side/AAMC stuff and he felt fine. If anything I think Kaplan tests probably are the worst predictors of scores. I've seen at least a +8 (up to +15) score from a Kaplan test average on the real test more than once from real life people I know.

 

[DesitnationMD]

I did some Q Pack stuff for the past 3 days. Is it just me or did they not put a lot of "experimental based" passages for the sciences?

Hasn't that been the focus of the MCAT since like the release of AAMC 11?

The Q pack stuff is from old MCATs its not new. That's why it doesn't quite have the "feel" of the new MCAT except for CARS.

EK exams are $50/pop, but I think 1-3 helped me a lot so if you have the means, I definitely recommend picking them up 🙂 EK 4 is new and I assume its just as good but I could not tell you. 1 was brutal, 2 and 3 really nailed the sciences (majority experiment, study based passages, figures, conclusions). This is where I think they pay for themselves.

NS has 5 exams ($30/pop) so I bought all 5. The difficulty seemed to get better for me as I progressed like with EK so I chalk that up to my improvements. The CARS was a good representation of my real exam (a bit heavy on detail Qs but real good with analysis/opinion/argument Qs). The bio sciences on 1-2 were Info passage heavy (4-5) so not as good as EK, NS 3 &4 were better, NS 5 was really good, Id say on par with EK 2 & 3.

If you can, I'd buy a bit of both. I think ~ 6 exams + the AAMC exam works well for a 3-4 month study schedule. If Kaplan or TPR sold exams separately w/o books or anything I'd probably have bought 1 of each to round out my exposure, though it appears from general consensus EK and NS are a bit better than the rest. That's what I used and what most of my friends used and its worked out well.

If you go all out and get 4 EK + 5 NS, I would tell you to break up the extra 3 exams as section tests/timing practice. Taking FL burns a day, then thorough review and analysis takes another 1-2 days. Quality of exams and review is >>>>> # of tests taken.

More comparison, opinons on materials can be found in @mcatjelly signature. Or on Reddit

Don't forget about Khan materials. They are useless for strategy, full length practice and what have you but they are good for drilling, content reinforcement. Khan quality is very spotty but it's free.

 

[El-Rami]

They are all good. I have yet to see bad practice.

Oh? I've seen some practice material that was pretty bad.