Ok...should I even bother with the AAMC practice tests?

[txlonghorn2314]

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I know that since the beginning, it has always been said "the aamcs are the most representative, you absolutely must take them, etc"

But seriously, after hearing what people have constantly said about their experience with the real thing, it sounds like it only prepares you for the format of the exam, not the difficulty of questions at all (other than maybe AAMC 10 or 11)

Here's my issue: No matter how much prep you do for the format/timing, if you get hit with questions way harder than what you are used to, it's gonna throw you off regardless.
Would preparing with the most difficult material (like the Kaplan, TPR, or TBR tests) be more worth my time than preparing for strictly the most representative format??

I would think that just taking AAMC 9-11 would be more than enough to prepare me for strictly the "format" of the exam. It's easy to adjust to a format...it's not so easy to adjust to way more difficult "wtf are u kidding me" questions when you spent all your time preparing with much easier questions.


So basically (in terms of PS AND BS ONLY, still using the aamc verbal) other than maybe the last 3 AAMCS, would it be wiser to spend more time training with the difficult FLs like Kaplan or TBR? With two months out I want to be as efficient as I can be with my time.

 

[swivelj]

I've asked myself the same question how many AAMC full lengths have you taken?

 

[txlonghorn2314]

I've asked myself the same question how many AAMC full lengths have you taken?

None. I've just taken Kaplan fl1 and doing TBR/TPRH for passage practice at the moment.

 

[TheAnonymous]

I would still recommend doing all AAMCs solely because most people score very close to their AAMC average. Remember you will get a "scaled" score at the end of the day and that is not consistent with your post-test feelings.

 

[butters221]

Do every AAMC practice test and do the AAMC self assessment. I could not find a more helpful way to spend my time while preparing for the mcat. I did all of these and I was not surprised by any question on the actual.

It's not just the format, they ask questions in a specific way that is different from kaplan/mcatquestion.com/examkrackers.

Definitely don't skip any of them. I would have done more if there were more available.

 

[brood910]

Biggest myths on SDN:

"8-11 AAMC FLs are harder than 3~7 FLs" - Not true at all. They are all the same. If you feel one FL is harder, that means you are weak at some topics.

"Real thing is ALWAYS harder than AAMC FLs" - Can be true, can be false. Depends on which test you get. PS on my exam was pretty much the same thing but BS was pretty tough.

Fact: AAMC FLs are the most representative of the real thing.

 

[Sean Lee]

Biggest myths on SDN:

"8-11 AAMC FLs are harder than 3~7 FLs" - Not true at all. They are all the same. If you feel one FL is harder, that means you are weak at some topics.

"Real thing is ALWAYS harder than AAMC FLs" - Can be true, can be false. Depends on which test you get. PS on my exam was pretty much the same thing but BS was pretty tough.

Fact: AAMC FLs are the most representative of the real thing.

This brood guy speaks wisdom.

And yes, AAMC 11 is no more difficult than AAMC 3.

Brood and I just took today's real MCAT, so head on over to the March 22nd forum to get a rough idea on what's going on.

Personally, I found the PS section on the real deal very similar to the PS sections on the AAMCs. The BS section, on the other hand, is quite a bit more challenging on the real deal with narrowly distribution of tested areas.

 

[mrh125]

I will say as I said before. The AAMCs are the most representative and the sources you can make the most out of if you know what you're doing and can learn AAMCs logic. No source will prepare you better than the AAMCs exams and no other source really comes close to being representative of the real deal (it's mind-boogingly how off a lot of them are). Use the other sources with a grain of salt and practice to learn concepts and get a grip on material, but they aren't as valuable as the official material. There will potentially be questions on the MCAT on that aren't on any of their topic outlines or any test books don't cover even in the smallest grain of depth and you would assume aren't fair game, that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare and study your hardest with the material you got.

AAMCs all day. The mcat is a difficult test, some of it is just plain unfair and you have to be on top of your game. Over 50% of the people who take the test don't even get a 30.

 

[txlonghorn2314]

This brood guy speaks wisdom.

And yes, AAMC 11 is no more difficult than AAMC 3.

Brood and I just took today's real MCAT, so head on over to the March 22nd forum to get a rough idea on what's going on.

Personally, I found the PS section on the real deal very similar to the PS sections on the AAMCs. The BS section, on the other hand, is quite a bit more challenging on the real deal with narrowly distribution of tested areas.

It's really the BS section that scares the **** out of me. Would y'all say they are at the difficulty level of the TPRH advanced passages or the ICC

 

[workethic712]

so it's not really the DIFFICULTY that matters, but it's the STYLE that AAMC asks their questions and implies things through their passages. it's really an art form that these test-writers have mastered. I would say definitely practice with some tougher material like TPR SW but it's vital to take the AAMC practice FLs to understand HOW the test is going to come at you, not WHAT the test is going to come at you with.

 

[cjcarter]

You should definitely do as many AAMC exams as you can. Like everyone else has said, they are the most like a real MCAT. I think what it comes down to is the test you get. They could ask so many different things that cover so many different topics. As long as you are confident with your content knowledge, you can at least narrow a question down to 2 answers. Of course, they can give you a ridiculous passage and that's just the luck of the draw. But hopefully that will be reflected in the curve.

I would also do the Kaplan and TBR as you have been doing. While I have heard TBR is pretty hard for PS, it won't hurt to see some crazy passages. However, on the real MCAT if they give you a hard PS passage, I think the questions are usually easier to answer.

Get used to how they ask the questions and if you really understand what they are asking. This all comes through post-game analysis. I think BS is becoming more and more like verbal, where a lot of the answers come from the passage instead of strict content knowledge. I think a big thing to remember is that it only tests basic science. If you are struggling with a calculation or an answer, you might be doing something wrong. That, or the question is ridiculously hard on purpose and I would just skip it to save time. Everyone is super nervous on test day, and that can have an effect on their performance or how they think they performed. Just stay calm and everything will work out. If not, retake in July. No big deal.

 

[mrh125]

so it's not really the DIFFICULTY that matters, but it's the STYLE that AAMC asks their questions and implies things through their passages. it's really an art form that these test-writers have mastered. I would say definitely practice with some tougher material like TPR SW but it's vital to take the AAMC practice FLs to understand HOW the test is going to come at you, not WHAT the test is going to come at you with.

exactly AAMCs test writers do things a certain way. in some ways it's simpler in other ways it's way harder. it's really important to master the way they ask questions.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Biggest myths on SDN:

"8-11 AAMC FLs are harder than 3~7 FLs" - Not true at all. They are all the same. If you feel one FL is harder, that means you are weak at some topics.

"Real thing is ALWAYS harder than AAMC FLs" - Can be true, can be false. Depends on which test you get. PS on my exam was pretty much the same thing but BS was pretty tough.

Fact: AAMC FLs are the most representative of the real thing.

cosign.
I thought AAMC 3 was hard as fark, but I guess I wasn't used to the style of AAMC question yet, if that's any excuse at all. i think I got a 28 or 29 on that one, while my 9-11's my average was around 36.
I thought the BS was a bit more difficult than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary in terms of difficulty, except for a couple discretes. PS was always my weak spot and I sure didn't feel to great on that. VR is VR. You never know what you are going to get. I still ended up with a point above my overall average.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

It's really the BS section that scares the **** out of me. Would y'all say they are at the difficulty level of the TPRH advanced passages or the ICC

Nowhere near the TPRH adv passages, those are too long, and quite detail specific. I would however, use that to work on weak points and hone BS reasoning abilities. I would say it's a quite similar to the ICC, although the question styles mirror the AAMC passages. Idk about the discretes though.

 

[RC4L]

Absolutely do all of the aamc tests for many reasons. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses so keep in mind that what may be difficult for someone else will not always be the case with you. Every MCAT is different and your experience with it could vary widely depending on the day you take it so you can't assume it will be most like a particular practice exam. History has shown that aamc 11 is not always how the MCAT is and I can vouch for that after taking it three times. Even if your MCAT will be most like the last three aamc exams the practice value of taking all of them is not something you want to pass up on. When it comes to the difficulty of the real thing I think a lot of people subconsciously blow it out of proportion because they are so nervous and because they are expecting something much harder than the practice. Even if it is much harder, you will be testing with other students who have practiced with those sub-par exams and the curve will cover the rest.

 

[txlonghorn2314]

I appreciate the input guys

 

[TheAnonymous]

Nowhere near the TPRH adv passages, those are too long, and quite detail specific. I would however, use that to work on weak points and hone BS reasoning abilities. I would say it's a quite similar to the ICC, although the question styles mirror the AAMC passages. Idk about the discretes though.

@JohnnyRomanes for someone like me who is pressed for time, would you recommend Kaplan over TPR for BS? I have access to Kaplan online materials so I'm wondering if I should do all of their section/topical/qBank/FL or focus on TPR Workbook?

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

cosign.

Thirded.

I have to hear this all the time b/c I tell our new tutoring students to take AAMC #3 at the very beginning as an assessment of their current skill level (especially in Verbal) and people say, "wait but I read online that #3 is old and really easy and not representative".

The notion that #11 is better or newer or harder is a total myth.

Last time I took the test back in January I was struck *very* strongly by how many questions I got that sounded like they were almost verbatim repetitions of questions from AAMC #4.

So yeah, all of them. Take them, review them, learn them, love them.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[ortnakas]

When it comes to the difficulty of the real thing I think a lot of people subconsciously blow it out of proportion because they are so nervous and because they are expecting something much harder than the practice. Even if it is much harder, you will be testing with other students who have practiced with those sub-par exams and the curve will cover the rest.

There's a lot of truth to this statement. On my last MCAT, it felt super difficult because I was nervous and I was terrified to get my score but I ended up scoring about my AAMC average. A lot of people posting their scores after the fact seemed to feel the same way. Level of difficulty at home in your basement is very different from level of difficulty at go-time at Prometric.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

@JohnnyRomanes for someone like me who is pressed for time, would you recommend Kaplan over TPR for BS? I have access to Kaplan online materials so I'm wondering if I should do all of their section/topical/qBank/FL or focus on TPR Workbook?

Which is why people should emulate testing conditions as much as possible! Admittedly, I didn't do that so much haha

Also, I heard a lot of good things about the Kaplan Online and it's updated quite often so that would be a good tool. I honestly thought that Kaplan's passages gave me the best prep for the real exam. TBR helped me with the minute (overly detailed) stuff. TPRH was my drilling for bio passages, but the last month and a half out, I used as much Kaplan Bio stuff as possible. Their explanations are pretty good too, because just like how TBR does it, they break it down from the most basic concept(s), then show and explain how that complicated question is related to that concept(s). I think I did half of the topicals and 1-2 sectionals and a couple of Kaplan Fls. Never tried the Qbank but from what I've heard they reuse some of their passages, but add in more detail, questions, etc to the passages.

 

[TheAnonymous]

Which is why people should emulate testing conditions as much as possible! Admittedly, I didn't do that so much haha

Also, I heard a lot of good things about the Kaplan Online and it's updated quite often so that would be a good tool. I honestly thought that Kaplan's passages gave me the best prep for the real exam. TBR helped me with the minute (overly detailed) stuff. TPRH was my drilling for bio passages, but the last month and a half out, I used as much Kaplan Bio stuff as possible. Their explanations are pretty good too, because just like how TBR does it, they break it down from the most basic concept(s), then show and explain how that complicated question is related to that concept(s). I think I did half of the topicals and 1-2 sectionals and a couple of Kaplan Fls. Never tried the Qbank but from what I've heard they reuse some of their passages, but add in more detail, questions, etc to the passages.

Thanks man, you've been acing those BS sections so your advice is very much appreciated !

Based on what you just said, do you think I should first focus on Kaplan materials for BS (Section/Topical) before using TPR Workbook? Or do you think 1/2 of each for instance would be the best move?

Thanks again

 

[DocWinter]

Nothing is as good as getting a real feel for the actual MCAT as AAMC tests.
Why?
Because they are actual AAMC tests. Previously used, now available for your testing pleasure.

If you find one that seems easier or harder, or whatever, it's probably not the test- it's that you have more knowledge in the area that particular test is testing in. Each test cant cover all the content you could be tested on.

Take as many as you can. They prep you best for the real thing with time and all.

 

[RC4L]

There's a lot of truth to this statement. On my last MCAT, it felt super difficult because I was nervous and I was terrified to get my score but I ended up scoring about my AAMC average. A lot of people posting their scores after the fact seemed to feel the same way. Level of difficulty at home in your basement is very different from level of difficulty at go-time at Prometric.

Seriously. Everyone who takes the MCAT walks out feeling defeated. Ironically it seems that the people who score the highest feel the most negative-post exam from what Ive seen. I agree with getting the feel for what you will experience at the prometric center. If you practice in a comfortable place you wont have the comfort of familiarity when you sit for the real thing. I did all my practice exams in my university library at the same time of my real exam and under the same conditions. When it came time for the actual exam I felt quite comfortable.

 

[amohammed709]

Dont be so concerned with the SDN rumors, i mean find a good consensus of a study plan (which is like a 3-4 month plan with content review, then practice passages and practice exams. so simple). Like everyone said Your score=AAMC average+/- 1-2 points.

Also the style of AAMC is whats super important. Especially with verbal. IDK why ek101 is so highly acclaimed here. I feel like it made my score lower by making me cynical with their horrible questions.

 

[yanks26dmb]

I dont fully understand this...

AAMC isn't going to ask you nearly as detailed questions as TBR in BS. As long as you have your bio content down, and have good reading comprehension skills, AAMC 11 shouldn't be harder than AAMC 3 and your real MCAT shouldn't be much harder than AAMC 11. It's all about what your particular MCAT is going to ask of you. Maybe you're stronger in a particular test's material...maybe you're not. I think this is what determines difficulty for people.

 

[anon01]

Agree with most of what has been written above. The AAMC FL's are the absolute best representation of not only the material but also of what you will likely score on the real thing. I scored 32 on both 10&11 and then pulled a 32 on the real thing. This all occurred in a two week time frame and my breakdown was +/-1 point in each section.
In my opinion, if you are in a time crunch, don't even bother with outside material. Do ALL the AAMC and most importantly, GO OVER EVERY QUESTION afterwards. I had repeat Q's on my real exam (different numbers/scenarios/passages but identical questions otherwise). Focus 100% on the AAMC's. Cannot stress that enough.

 

[brood910]

I had repeat Q's on my real exam (different numbers/scenarios/passages but identical questions otherwise).

Mine was worded exactly the same lol.