Practice full length Mcats

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shuzee

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Just wanted to get a feel of how many actual full lengths people have done. I've only done one and i kind of feel behind. but i wanna kind of finish most of my material until i plunge into those. how many full lengths have people done by today?

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shuzee said:
Just wanted to get a feel of how many actual full lengths people have done. I've only done one and i kind of feel behind. but i wanna kind of finish most of my material until i plunge into those. how many full lengths have people done by today?


Hi,
I've done two full-lengths so far.
 
Wow, don't worry you're not behind...I've done zero hahah.

I want to finish up the material before I put my all into the AAMC practice tests

First Kaplan full-length is this saturday
 
Turkeyman said:
Wow, don't worry you're not behind...I've done zero hahah.

I want to finish up the material before I put my all into the AAMC practice tests

First Kaplan full-length is this saturday

I have taken three so far, but like the other posters, will wait until I finish the material next week before taking the other two.

Good luck,

Adam
 
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Will it be better to practice from the real AAMC's full-lengths or Kaplan's full-lengths?
I mean people say Kaplan's exams are more tough or at least not easier than the AAMC's, and it might be better to train with the harder ones so that when you face the real MCAT you dont sweat.. you know? and I will probably not have enough time to do every single full-lengths..
What do u guys think?
 
my goal is 8.

1 down....7 more to go.
I guess now you guys know what i am gonna be doing during spring break!
 
only one :(
but i'm doing the inclass EK 30 min exams
i rather wait until i finish all the material (which will hopefully be by next weekend) before i do full length exams.
i plan on celebrating my spring break with a full length exam every day (or as many as i can handle w/o throwing up) :)
 
i would suggest NOT trying to review all the material before starting to take full-length exams. i would suggest starting to take full-length exams NOW, regardless of how comfortable you feel with the material, for the following reasons:
-from what i've seen (from 4 kaplan full-lengths and a diag), relatively few of the questions actually require that much actual knowledge. a basic understanding of the concepts is usually enough to get u the right answer. sometimes, u don't need any science knowledge at all. you can eliminate based on common sense, or at worst, eliminate 2 choices so ur chances are 50%. the answers to most questions are in the passages anyway, so what u really need to practice is just the act of taking the test.
-most importantly, u don't actually LEARN the material until you are forced to do MCAT style problems using your knowledge. i think u can review till the cows come home and the first time u do a problem u'll still find it difficult. integrating full-lengths into your practice ASAP will infinitely enhance the review of the material. it also points out ur weakpoints, so u know where to focus ur time

this is really the most important piece of advice i would give to anyone prepping for this test. i've taken four exams, and with each exam my score has gone up 2 points.
seriously, in my opinion, forget review, drop everything, and take a full-length NOW.
 
Don't worry. It seems like most of us have done only a few full length MCAT. Just keep your pace in revewing :luck:
 
shuzee said:
Just wanted to get a feel of how many actual full lengths people have done. I've only done one and i kind of feel behind. but i wanna kind of finish most of my material until i plunge into those. how many full lengths have people done by today?

I have done one and will do another this weekend. Finishing my review has been a priority for me because I don't want to "waste" my practice tests. I plan to do at least eight, more if I have time. Good luck :luck:
 
What do people think about taking exams more than once a week? I have 2 weeks of spring break coming up, and I was thinking about taking several (maybe 4?) exams, on Saturdays and Wednesdays or something. Am I going to burn out/not get very good results if I do too many exams in a short time period?
 
Only completed 3R as a diagnostic and then did the free online TPR full length. I have my first set of exams in school now and will start to do one full length every Saturday starting March 12th.
 
I've done one and I'm planning to do another tomorrow. I'm not doing them with my TPR class because their's are on Saturdays and I'm a Sunday tester. I am going to have one proctored by them on a Sunday. But one thing I'm planning on doing is just doing one or two sections, like PS and VR, one night a week. I'll use the tests A-D that come with TPR course. I feel the same way as lots of y'all, that I don't want to do the exams before I finish reviewing. That's why I'm going to finish reviewing by the week of March 20. But I do think it's important to do practice tests before finishing. It's just painful to look at a passage that I know I could get if I had reviewed the material!

good luck everybody :)
 
I've taken AAMC 5R for baseline, then 3R, and EK 1g last week. I have EK 2f this saturday. Then I have EK 3g, AAMC 4R, 6R, and 7. Probably will take at least one Kaplan full length between the AAMC tests. I have been studying for 5 weeks and only 2 point inprovement overall on my science... :( Agh, those stupid mistakes...
 
bugsbugsbugs said:
i guess no one likes my advice
oh well, no skin off my back
g'luck in april

hey...i am actually following your advice. I started taking tests before i was done reviewing. I still have a little ochem to review. :thumbup:
 
I have taken 3 full lengths while trying to finish my review. I agree that most of them don't require full knowledge, just basic knowledge and common sense. I'm finishing my review with Kaplan this weekend.... and I will take sectional test just to see where I am. I hope to have eight or nine under my belt before test day. Also, I think everyone needs to do at least one full length to get a feel for time management. :)
 
bugsbugsbugs...I find your advice helpful. I am still working on the material and have taken aamc 3r and kaplan FL1. I think my biggest problem is getting through all of the sections. I have not yet finished 1 single section. :confused: However, when I review the sections that I TOTALLY guessed on I am able to get about 65% of the questions correct. I know I could pick up some points just finishing. Any helpful hints you guys might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
natureboy said:
I've taken AAMC 5R for baseline, then 3R, and EK 1g last week. I have EK 2f this saturday. Then I have EK 3g, AAMC 4R, 6R, and 7. Probably will take at least one Kaplan full length between the AAMC tests. I have been studying for 5 weeks and only 2 point inprovement overall on my science... :( Agh, those stupid mistakes...


Where do you guys find the EK Full length tests?
 
You get one with the complete study package or you can buy them individually

huseyin said:
Where do you guys find the EK Full length tests?
 
Good advice, bugs. I started reviewing since late Nov/early Nov but now that I've started taking full-length test, I found I've forgotten some of the material. But the full lengths have helped me to know where to really harp on and concentrate my efforts.

bugsbugsbugs said:
i would suggest NOT trying to review all the material before starting to take full-length exams. i would suggest starting to take full-length exams NOW, regardless of how comfortable you feel with the material, for the following reasons:
-from what i've seen (from 4 kaplan full-lengths and a diag), relatively few of the questions actually require that much actual knowledge. a basic understanding of the concepts is usually enough to get u the right answer. sometimes, u don't need any science knowledge at all. you can eliminate based on common sense, or at worst, eliminate 2 choices so ur chances are 50%. the answers to most questions are in the passages anyway, so what u really need to practice is just the act of taking the test.
-most importantly, u don't actually LEARN the material until you are forced to do MCAT style problems using your knowledge. i think u can review till the cows come home and the first time u do a problem u'll still find it difficult. integrating full-lengths into your practice ASAP will infinitely enhance the review of the material. it also points out ur weakpoints, so u know where to focus ur time

this is really the most important piece of advice i would give to anyone prepping for this test. i've taken four exams, and with each exam my score has gone up 2 points.
seriously, in my opinion, forget review, drop everything, and take a full-length NOW.
 
bugsbugsbugs said:
i would suggest NOT trying to review all the material before starting to take full-length exams. i would suggest starting to take full-length exams NOW, regardless of how comfortable you feel with the material

This is excellent advice! Do what he/she says! One of the biggest mistakes people make is to think that the content review is the most important part of MCAT prep - no no no! Strategy is equally or more important!

And you will discover that you can do a remarkably good job of guessing.

Re taking 2 full-lengths per week - I did Saturdays and Wednesdays for a couple of weeks, about 4 weeks before MCAT. It is good to get in more full-lengths if you're up to schedule on your review, but it trashes 2 full days PLUS you are brain-dead for the day after each full-length. Use sparingly.

Re finishing on time - you have 7 minutes per PS and BS passage or set of discretes, 9 per VR. Take your digital watch, write down the time at which you start the passage, add the appropriate number, write down the end time, and finish by then. This will force you to get the whole section done in time. Ideally you will get your speed up in practice and not need to do this during real MCAT. (I confess that I did it on the real thing, just because I liked the confidence of knowing that no matter what, I would not get bogged down and would be sure to finish on time.)

Warning: many Kaplan PS passages on their practice full-lengths (esp #2-5) CANNOT be done in this short a time, but forcing yourself to do so is excellent practice for self-discipline. Go back afterwards and take extra time to redo the passages, before checking answers. This does not mean that these are "better" prep for MCAT because they are harder computationally or otherwise; they are perhaps worse because they are unrealistic and make you think that the real MCAT is full of contorted computations.

Re AAMC vs other full-lengths: do all the AAMCs #4-7, even if you have to do fewer of the others. Do one or more of the others so you can see tests written by different people, in different styles.

I really recommend taking off one day per week (Friday). It is essential to have a break from the MCAT as you approach the test. Not burning out is at least as important as the rest of what you do.
 
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