Mcat Tricks?

[bertz413]

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there has just got to be some way to beat this damn test.

it is not necessarily a lack of knowledge, but I just cant seem to get this test to "click" with me.

Is there something obvious that I am missing? Am i studying wrong? i sit, i study, i memorize, i take topical tests. repeat x 10^100

Memorizing a million reactions to find out that 98% won't even be mentioned?

what is the secret here? yes, I have test anxiety, i will admit that hurts. but how the heck are you people getting 37's? what do you see that i don't?!
please, desperate for some friendly advice. Yes, I do pratice tests. I suck at verbal. It is because I find the material so dry I want to jump out of my skin.
Are you guys just really good at all the sciences?

please...tell me i am not alone....😕

 

[ChubbyChaser]

there has just got to be some way to beat this damn test.

it is not necessarily a lack of knowledge, but I just cant seem to get this test to "click" with me.

Is there something obvious that I am missing? Am i studying wrong? i sit, i study, i memorize, i take topical tests. repeat x 10^100

Memorizing a million reactions to find out that 98% won't even be mentioned?

what is the secret here? yes, I have test anxiety, i will admit that hurts. but how the heck are you people getting 37's? what do you see that i don't?!
please, desperate for some friendly advice. Yes, I do pratice tests. I suck at verbal. It is because I find the material so dry I want to jump out of my skin.
Are you guys just really good at all the sciences?

please...tell me i am not alone....😕

Dont worry, contrary to popular belief (here on SDN anyways), very few people score 37+, in fact 35 is over 95th percentile. Dont worry about scoring a 37, just make sure you take care of everything else and shoot for a 30 and you should be in good shape.

 

[BloodySurgeon]

During the test there is a button, if you look very closely, that says if you want to see the answer to the question or not. The problem is, not many premed are honest, so they decide to check the answers before submitting. It is still a mystery why there aren't too many 40+. Maybe the aamc give some fake answers and people fall for them... damn the aamc is evil.

 

[FinchHead]

I find the material so dry I want to jump out of my skin.

There is your problem. You lack the ability to deal with excessivly boring stuff. We all know the feeling you are talking about, but you seriously have to overcome this to really understand the passages. Even if it is wildly boring, you need to be interested in it, and be digesting what the author is saying.

I seriously think alot of people do poorly on verbal because the passage gets very uncomfortably boring and they bargain with themselves to just move onto the next question or passage without thinking that one through.

 

[DrJD]

there has just got to be some way to beat this damn test.

it is not necessarily a lack of knowledge, but I just cant seem to get this test to "click" with me.

Is there something obvious that I am missing? Am i studying wrong? i sit, i study, i memorize, i take topical tests. repeat x 10^100

Memorizing a million reactions to find out that 98% won't even be mentioned?

what is the secret here? yes, I have test anxiety, i will admit that hurts. but how the heck are you people getting 37's? what do you see that i don't?!
please, desperate for some friendly advice. Yes, I do pratice tests. I suck at verbal. It is because I find the material so dry I want to jump out of my skin.
Are you guys just really good at all the sciences?

please...tell me i am not alone....😕

Examkrackers says to help stay interested pretend like you are a teacher grading the paper... Or an expert in the field reviewing this article for submission... Maybe those will help?

I know personally, I just try to think about how there is stuff in the verbal passages that I would probably never learn anywhere else... So even if it is boring, I try to think about how I expanding my knowledge... I dunno, kinda nerdy I guess, but it helps me stay focused.

 

[moto_za]

I am not a MCAT expert, but I am almost reaching the conclusion that this test is not about necessarily how much you know or how many practice problems you have done, but more importantly about HOW to take the test. For example, where to find the ansers, how to think about the questions, etc..practice passages help for sure, but not as much as full-lengths imo....Anyone else?

 

[DrJD]

I am not a MCAT expert, but I am almost reaching the conclusion that this test is not about necessarily how much you know or how many practice problems you have done, but more importantly about HOW to take the test. For example, where to find the ansers, how to think about the questions, etc..practice passages help for sure, but not as much as full-lengths imo....Anyone else?

It is definitely a test that test your critical thinking ability... There is a certain amount of base knowledge you need to be able to understand the language of science, but mostly it tests your ability to think critically. Why do you think it is proven that your Verbal reasoning score has the most direct correlation to your success in medical school and on the USLMEs? Because the critical thinking skills are skills you will use later on!

Full lenghts are absolutely crucial... However, if you don't have the knowledge base there is a definite plateau, you need both! Strong knowledge base, and strong test taking abilities... One you build up through reviewing content, and the other can only be built up by practicing on full lengths! So I agree 🙂

 

[mterp45]

there has just got to be some way to beat this damn test.

it is not necessarily a lack of knowledge, but I just cant seem to get this test to "click" with me.

Is there something obvious that I am missing? Am i studying wrong? i sit, i study, i memorize, i take topical tests. repeat x 10^100

Memorizing a million reactions to find out that 98% won't even be mentioned?

what is the secret here? yes, I have test anxiety, i will admit that hurts. but how the heck are you people getting 37's? what do you see that i don't?!
please, desperate for some friendly advice. Yes, I do pratice tests. I suck at verbal. It is because I find the material so dry I want to jump out of my skin.
Are you guys just really good at all the sciences?

please...tell me i am not alone....😕

The trick to the MCAT is realizing that every question is simply a discrete and your score is just a demonstration of how effectively you can reduce complicated passages and questions into something as simple as "what is the purpose of insulin?" the better I get at deciphering the question/passage the higher my score gets, I have gone up 12 points since my diagnostic.

 

[NickMB]

Studying for the MCAT is not about memorizing. It's about understanding. If you comprehend basic principles of biology, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and physics, to a point where you can deduce automatically what would NOT be a correct answer just be glancing at the response, then you are on your way to a high score.

People have the chance to study for the MCAT when they're studying for their orgo exams or their bio exams, but somehow, a lot of people, when studying for their classes, don't study in a manner that will help them retain the subjects for a long term.

So this is my advice for undergrads who have a whole bunch of months before taking the MCAT. Start now. No, don't go out and buy an MCAT book yet. Study for your bio/phy/chm classes in a way that will help you understand the material and remember it for a long time. You have the benefit of time. Those who are taking the MCAT this cycle don't

 

[ThreeJ]

I understand the shortcomings of having to read a very dry or uninteresting passage as it really hindered my verbal score. So I basically had to restructure my approach to the verbal section. I found that when I came to a dry passage and I slowed my reading speed down a little the passage presented itself a litter nicer as I could focus more and also I read the passage as if I were broadcasting it over the radio (however all in my head though) I found by approaching the VR passages this way I forced myself to concentrate more and the result has been an increase in understanding of the passage and what the take home message is from them.

However this is my way of increasing my attention span and understanding of VR passages. I am sure if you can come up with some similar approach you will find your understanding of the passage may increase.

I also found that not having coffee before the test allowed my to increase my attention. Otherwise the caffeine would dance on my meninges and my mind would be all over the place.

 

[bertz413]

I understand the shortcomings of having to read a very dry or uninteresting passage as it really hindered my verbal score. So I basically had to restructure my approach to the verbal section. I found that when I came to a dry passage and I slowed my reading speed down a little the passage presented itself a litter nicer as I could focus more and also I read the passage as if I were broadcasting it over the radio (however all in my head though) I found by approaching the VR passages this way I forced myself to concentrate more and the result has been an increase in understanding of the passage and what the take home message is from them.

However this is my way of increasing my attention span and understanding of VR passages. I am sure if you can come up with some similar approach you will find your understanding of the passage may increase.

I also found that not having coffee before the test allowed my to increase my attention. Otherwise the caffeine would dance on my meninges and my mind would be all over the place.

LOVE THE DANCING ON MY MENINGES....gave me a chuckle!!!

 

[physics junkie]

I find the passages pretty fun and don't consider them boring at all(except the o chem ones). I think you need to step back a bit and maybe sit down with one of the aamc tests and do it in as long as it takes you. No rushing or guessing. That might help you get a feel for how you go about finding the correct answer to each question. Usually I can tell what question I'm going to miss because I get this urge to click an answer before I really have any reason to believe its true...because "its the best answer". I've found for the most part very few questions have a "good answer" to complement the "best answer". Most are just right or wrong.

This is just what I've noticed from people I know that don't tend to do well on these tests. An example that came up recently was a question about the purpose of some valve in a shark's intestine. It asked what function the valve most closely served in a human. The options were A) villi B) pyloric valve C) pancreas and liver D) stomach. Personally I got the question wrong and was talking about the question with a friend of mine. She said she would have said A(which was the correct answer). I carefully explained my logic to her and she replied with, "Oh, I chose A because its also in the small intestine."

That would be a great reply if the question was "What's in the small intestine?" but that wasn't the question. She had simplified it to something stupider.

Check to see if you're doing this. "Why do I think this answer is correct? Why are the other ones wrong?" is a great set of questions to ask yourself while getting the hang of things.

 

[bluemonkey]

This is probably the biggest change you need to make. You have to read the verbal as though it were the most interesting thing in the world. The point of the MCAT is definitely not to entertain you, but you absolutely must be able to "get in" to the test. Treat it like Harry Potter or whatever you love to read!!!

 

[Imlost]

During the test there is a button, if you look very closely, that says if you want to see the answer to the question or not. The problem is, not many premed are honest, so they decide to check the answers before submitting. It is still a mystery why there aren't too many 40+. Maybe the aamc give some fake answers and people fall for them... damn the aamc is evil.

Lol I hope this is true or you just horsing around because I still need to take the mcats

 

[Vihsadas]

During the test there is a button, if you look very closely, that says if you want to see the answer to the question or not. The problem is, not many premed are honest, so they decide to check the answers before submitting. It is still a mystery why there aren't too many 40+. Maybe the aamc give some fake answers and people fall for them... damn the aamc is evil.

Lol I hope this is true or you just horsing around because I still need to take the mcats

Of course it's false. You'll find that the practice test interface is a fair bit different than the real MCAT interface:

1) No hint button (of course)
2) and no search function.

The reason more people don't get 40+ is simple. The test is curved so that only .5 to .1 percent of people are able to get a 40 every year. The scaled score numbers are based on a percentile scale so there is no way for more than a handful of people to score 40+

 

[supafield]

Of course it's false. You'll find that the practice test interface is a fair bit different than the real MCAT interface:

1) No hint button (of course)
2) and no search function.

The reason more people don't get 40+ is simple. The test is curved so that only .5 to .1 percent of people are able to get a 40 every year. The scaled score numbers are based on a percentile scale so there is no way for more than a handful of people to score 40+

And the problem for the OP is that it seems 9/10 of the .1% getting 40+ come to SDN to report their practice and tests scores.

You're dealing with a bunch of keeners unrepresentative of the population. So don't let this forum freak you out. It also offers a lot of useful tips. So take those and use them to improve for a score your after and not against the best scores out there.

 

[Vihsadas]

And the problem for the OP is that it seems 9/10 of the .1% getting 40+ come to SDN to report their practice and tests scores.

You're dealing with a bunch of keeners unrepresentative of the population. So don't let this forum freak you out. It also offers a lot of useful tips. So take those and use them to improve for a score your after and not against the best scores out there.

Exactly. The people that do better are much more likely to post their scores/make an MDapps then the people who only do 'okay'.

 

[Blade28]

Exactly. The people that do better are much more likely to post their scores/make an MDapps then the people who only do 'okay'.

^^^

Indeed. 😉