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Hey y'all. I'm a current law student who studied and tutored for the Law School Admissions Test for several years. I have a dear friend who will soon begin her MCAT prep journey and I'm hoping someone might be able to help me draw parallels between the tests so I can better advise her and point her in the right direction.
Ideal LSAT prep breaks down to three essentially equal blocks of time (let's say 1 year start-to-finish in connection with a part-time+ job). First, about one-third of the time is spent learning of the various question types associated with the sections. One must learn what each of the question types look like and begin to identify the nuanced differences between similarly worded questions. For this part of prep we use prep books to learn general strategies. This is the basic information that the (imo subpar) LSAT courses teach as well, but it's much quicker and cost-effective to do this initial prep on one's own. We would use LSAT Trainer, Manhattan Test Prep, Powerscore Bibles.
With the LSAT we are greatly advantaged in that 3/4ths of the administered tests annually are released to the public, so we have ~75 full length tests worth of unique questions. So during the second stage of our prep we take the first 40 pts and break them down into question type and drill the questions. Here, the goal is to see what correct answer choices feel like for each of the question types, to see what types of tricks the test makers use to throw us off the path, and to identify areas where further preliminary prep is necessary. We would use Cambridge Packets which break down the first 40 LSAC PTs and in-depth analysis of each question broken down in various forums and by 7sage.
The third block of time is spent working on using the remaining 35 preptests as full length timed exams to simulate test conditions, increase endurance, and to log test results to identify trends. During this time I advise students to do a full test, blind review that test (i.e. re-do it and write out notes on each question--why is b correct, why are the all the other choices certainly wrong--before grading), and then to log it to identify where additional work is needed and to see where problem areas may be within individual sections. We would use the remaining LSAC PTs as administered on test day.
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However, I understand the MCAT was recently overhauled and there might not be nearly as many full length practice tests available and the format is also very different. But, would a plan such as I laid out also be effective for MCAT prep? If so, what types of resources would be best for each of the three stages. If not, can you draw any parallels and help me get the lay of the land with this new test.
Best,
Ideal LSAT prep breaks down to three essentially equal blocks of time (let's say 1 year start-to-finish in connection with a part-time+ job). First, about one-third of the time is spent learning of the various question types associated with the sections. One must learn what each of the question types look like and begin to identify the nuanced differences between similarly worded questions. For this part of prep we use prep books to learn general strategies. This is the basic information that the (imo subpar) LSAT courses teach as well, but it's much quicker and cost-effective to do this initial prep on one's own. We would use LSAT Trainer, Manhattan Test Prep, Powerscore Bibles.
With the LSAT we are greatly advantaged in that 3/4ths of the administered tests annually are released to the public, so we have ~75 full length tests worth of unique questions. So during the second stage of our prep we take the first 40 pts and break them down into question type and drill the questions. Here, the goal is to see what correct answer choices feel like for each of the question types, to see what types of tricks the test makers use to throw us off the path, and to identify areas where further preliminary prep is necessary. We would use Cambridge Packets which break down the first 40 LSAC PTs and in-depth analysis of each question broken down in various forums and by 7sage.
The third block of time is spent working on using the remaining 35 preptests as full length timed exams to simulate test conditions, increase endurance, and to log test results to identify trends. During this time I advise students to do a full test, blind review that test (i.e. re-do it and write out notes on each question--why is b correct, why are the all the other choices certainly wrong--before grading), and then to log it to identify where additional work is needed and to see where problem areas may be within individual sections. We would use the remaining LSAC PTs as administered on test day.
--
However, I understand the MCAT was recently overhauled and there might not be nearly as many full length practice tests available and the format is also very different. But, would a plan such as I laid out also be effective for MCAT prep? If so, what types of resources would be best for each of the three stages. If not, can you draw any parallels and help me get the lay of the land with this new test.
Best,
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