Missing discretes?

[BeachBlondie]

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Took AAMC 8 yesterday and scored a 32. Not bad, I suppose, but I'm two months out from test day and I absolutely NEED to obtain a 35+. So, I've got to start turnin'-and-burnin' ...uh-you know....immediately.

After logging my testing mistakes, I noticed something big: I seem to be missing a lot of discretes. As in I missed 7 PS discretes and 5 BS discretes. For PS? That's actually more missed discretes than passed-based questions. And I guarantee you that those 12 points I SHOULD have obtained kept me from a 34-35 (because, now, every point counts). And, on many of them, during my review of the section I actually changed the answer from what would have been correct....

Any tips on how to make this specific aspect stronger?

 

[Oso]

Most students actually do well on discrete questions because they are fairly straightforward and are based solely on content. If you're missing a lot of them, then I think you may have a few weak areas. The best way to do well on these questions is just to know the material and not spend too much time on the questions. Go over the material you missed and make sure you can explain the concepts. If you're going back and changing your answers, you're probably over-thinking a bit/psyching yourself out. Spending too much time on discretes may also take away time from the actual passages. I know this is somewhat broad advice, but there just aren't many strategies for these questions. You just have to know the material and be prepared. You still have two months, so don't give up! Good luck.

 

[BeachBlondie]

Most students actually do well on discrete questions because they are fairly straightforward and are based solely on content. If you're missing a lot of them, then I think you may have a few weak areas. The best way to do well on these questions is just to know the material and not spend too much time on the questions. Go over the material you missed and make sure you can explain the concepts. If you're going back and changing your answers, you're probably over-thinking a bit/psyching yourself out. Spending too much time on discretes may also take away time from the actual passages. I know this is somewhat broad advice, but there just aren't many strategies for these questions. You just have to know the material and be prepared. You still have two months, so don't give up! Good luck.

I think the overthinking component is certainly there. The knowledge that I have to be damn sure about every answer to even get close to a mid-upper 30s score plays with my decision making capabilities. I suppose the only thing I can do is take a deep breath, learn from my mistakes, and keep preparing. Thanks for the insight!