Opinions: Taking Full Length Practice Tests Before Finishing MCAT Content Review

[tuhtles]

So, I was wondering what your opinion would be on taking full length practice tests weekly before finishing content review. For instance, I'm about half way done with content review and I've been trying to take a full length test weekly but found it very frustrating because some passages in PS coincidentally and frequently asked questions on material that I haven't review yet like electrochemistry. So when I come up to those passages, I get really flustered, knowing that I'll probably get most of those questions wrong since I don't remember anything from electrochemistry. Then the scores come up to be very low, which is really discouraging. What do you guys think? I just feel time could be better spent finishing the content review than trying to do a passage where you barely remember formulas, concepts, etc.

Also, the practice tests I've taken are TPR MCAT review online practice tests. Have anyone taken these tests? They seem to be substantially harder than practices questions I've taken and especially more difficult than AAMC #10 in which I got a 32 where as in TPR I get reallyyyyy low 20s... 😕

Is AAMC 10 generally easier than the other AAMCs? Couldn't find a consensus on this one..

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[Jepstein30]

AAMC 10/11 most reflect the current MCAT.

"harder" is hard to define because the tests are philosophically different rather than degrees of magnitude different.

Shouldn't waste AAMC 10/11 especially.. or any FLs really until you are at least 80% through content review.

 

[tuhtles]

I was following Princeton Review's MCAT class schedule and before taking the course they said to take AAMC #10 and they assign a practice every week (some optional). THey say there's more than enough practice tests so I am just following their schedule.. not sure how much I'm liking TPR tho

Also by hard I suppose I mean a lot more time consuming calculations. Two step, 3 step type ones, etc.. Pretty sure in this one passage there were like 6 computational questions out of 7 or something like that

 

[captainuzair]

Yeah definitely take them once or twice a week before content review is done. That way you would know if you are studying the right way.

 

[RyanRt]

That's what I did. It helped me know where to focus my studies

 

[Codaster]

If you're taking a TPR course, you have access to more FLs than you probably have time for if you wait until your content review is done. I'm also currently in a TPR class and I'm taking a practice test every Saturday (will go to 3 a week when I'm about 2 weeks out). I'm not following their schedule 100% though. I'm saving the best AAMCs for the very end and doing some more of the TPR practice exams in the meantime.

Also, to answer your second question, yes the TPR exams have a reputation for being harder than AAMCs. I also took (wasted) AAMC 10 at the beginning because I was following TPRs schedule and got a score that really inflated my ego. Three TPR exams later, I know I have some work to do. Keep your head up though, because even if they are too hard, they help you expose weaknesses in your thought that you wouldn't even know how to realize otherwise.