Practice Exam Order

[Wishing4MD]

Hey everyone!
I'm nearing the end of my content review and will have all AAMC exams as well as all TBR FL. Based on what I've read here, I feel like I should start my exam practice with AAMC 3? For
those of you who have taken both sets, what do you suggest? I'm thinking alternating them. One AAMC, content review, then one TBR until I exhaust all the exams before my May 19 test date. This will give me about a month for about 14 exams. Any feedback is appreciated! Im REALLY scared about starting these. I even have nightmares lol. Hopefully the work I've put in these past few months and content review and tons of passages will pay off!!

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[MedBound1]

Hey everyone!
I'm nearing the end of my content review and will have all AAMC exams as well as all TBR FL. Based on what I've read here, I feel like I should start my exam practice with AAMC 3? For
those of you who have taken both sets, what do you suggest? I'm thinking alternating them. One AAMC, content review, then one TBR until I exhaust all the exams before my May 19 test date. This will give me about a month for about 14 exams. Any feedback is appreciated! Im REALLY scared about starting these. I even have nightmares lol. Hopefully the work I've put in these past few months and content review and tons of passages will pay off!!

Hi Wishing4MD!

The best advice I can give on this is.. whatever pattern you choose to take them in, get started soon! You may have heard this before, but learning how to take the MCAT is equally as important as knowing the material. The sooner you get accustomed to the format, the quicker your scores improve, so give yourself plenty of time before to do so. Seeing that your test date is May 19, I would start ASAP!!

As far as how to alternate between the two types of tests, I doubt it will make a difference. I think alternating one then the other sounds pretty good but questions will be similar. I personally love the AAMC ones because who can better replicate the test environment than the people who make the real one.

Do not let taking practice tests worry you. If you come back with lower scores than you hoped on the first few, just keep pushing through!!! If you have sufficiently studied the material, which I'm sure you have, you know the material!! It's all about learning how to sit down and take a 6 hour test in the unique format of the MCAT (which is probably much different than any test you took at your undergrad institution).

Start with AAMC 3 since it's free, and keep going. It will not be the most fun thing in the world to take multiple full length MCATs per week, but it will be over in just over a month!

Best of luck,

 

[Wishing4MD]

Hi Wishing4MD!

The best advice I can give on this is.. whatever pattern you choose to take them in, get started soon! You may have heard this before, but learning how to take the MCAT is equally as important as knowing the material. The sooner you get accustomed to the format, the quicker your scores improve, so give yourself plenty of time before to do so. Seeing that your test date is May 19, I would start ASAP!!

As far as how to alternate between the two types of tests, I doubt it will make a difference. I think alternating one then the other sounds pretty good but questions will be similar. I personally love the AAMC ones because who can better replicate the test environment than the people who make the real one.

Do not let taking practice tests worry you. If you come back with lower scores than you hoped on the first few, just keep pushing through!!! If you have sufficiently studied the material, which I'm sure you have, you know the material!! It's all about learning how to sit down and take a 6 hour test in the unique format of the MCAT (which is probably much different than any test you took at your undergrad institution).

Start with AAMC 3 since it's free, and keep going. It will not be the most fun thing in the world to take multiple full length MCATs per week, but it will be over in just over a month!

Best of luck,

Thank you so much for the advice! I'm actually staying in this weekend so
I can finish content review on Monday. So that gives me a month and 2 days for FL exams! I've been doing practice passages from BR and TPRH, so hopefully passages on the exams won't be so scary!! Anyone else been in a similar position as far as practice exams??

 

[MedBound1]

Thank you so much for the advice! I'm actually staying in this weekend so
I can finish content review on Monday. So that gives me a month and 2 days for FL exams! I've been doing practice passages from BR and TPRH, so hopefully passages on the exams won't be so scary!! Anyone else been in a similar position as far as practice exams??

If you've been doing plenty of practice passages, you should be just fine. Even after you finish your content review, as you get into FL exams, you will most likely find yourself re-reviewing content if you get stumped on a question. It sounds like you've got a great plan and are on the right track. Best of luck!

 

[chemhead123]

Yeah you need to get started and reviewing them is the most important thing Don't neglect this part of the studying.

 

[MedOldAge]

Hey everyone!
I'm nearing the end of my content review and will have all AAMC exams as well as all TBR FL. Based on what I've read here, I feel like I should start my exam practice with AAMC 3? For
those of you who have taken both sets, what do you suggest? I'm thinking alternating them. One AAMC, content review, then one TBR until I exhaust all the exams before my May 19 test date. This will give me about a month for about 14 exams. Any feedback is appreciated! Im REALLY scared about starting these. I even have nightmares lol. Hopefully the work I've put in these past few months and content review and tons of passages will pay off!!

All the posts responded to you made sense. Everybody and one's situation is different. You just have to adjust on whatever makes sense to you and you feel comfortable with.

For my son who took the 3/24 one, his practice order was as following:

KapPremium, aamc3, aamc4, aamc5, kaplan45, aamc7, aamc8, aamc9, br1, br2, br3, br4, br5, aamc10, br6(ps), br7, br6(bs), aamc11, br9.

 

[Wishing4MD]

All the posts responded to you made sense. Everybody and one's situation is different. You just have to adjust on whatever makes sense to you and you feel comfortable with.

For my son who took the 3/24 one, his practice order was as following:

KapPremium, aamc3, aamc4, aamc5, kaplan45, aamc7, aamc8, aamc9, br1, br2, br3, br4, br5, aamc10, br6(ps), br7, br6(bs), aamc11, br9.

Thanks for the reply everyone! Thats a lot of exams your son took. Was this all after content review or throughout? If after, how many weeks did it take him to take and review all those?

 

[Wishing4MD]

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[MedOldAge]

Thanks for the reply everyone! Thats a lot of exams your son took. Was this all after content review or throughout? If after, how many weeks did it take him to take and review all those?

His schedule, like most of the traditional SDNers, is heavy on school, research labs etc. So, he didn't have the choice but spread out, even though he knew from day one that was not the optimum way to do it.

He started Dec 24 (X'mas eve ) on Kap Premium and took one practice each Saturday morning and finished the last practice test on March 20 Tuesday before the real thing.

We got the BR set late (Jan 28) and back to the wall. So, he was doing the content review throughout. If we have to do it over again, getting all the content review ahead done is definitely the better approach.

EDIT: Correction - We got the BR set Dec 28, 2011. However, he just could not fit in the content review first before all FLs suggested by SN2ed plan.

 

[Wishing4MD]

Ohhhh alright, thank you! I hope it went well for him!

 

[MedOldAge]

Ohhhh alright, thank you! I hope it went well for him!

Thank you! We shall find out 3:10 pm on 4/24

Our best wishes to you too

 

[Wishing4MD]

Ahhhh how stressful!! Thank you

 

[ryanjacobs]

Might as well start with AAMC 3, since it's free. But keep in mind that a lot of people consider it the easiest of all the practice exams... I don't know if I necessarily agree, but I think I'm outvoted on that one.