Practice Test Day Before MCAT?

[rjgennarelli]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I was just wondering what anybody thought of doing this. I have only taken 4 Kaplan practice tests thus far because I had forgotten that the library closed early on the Saturday when I was taking my fifth, so I only managed to finish the PS section with a 9.

My scores are as follows: 21, 27, 24, 27

The strange thing is that my PS section, which is typically my strength dropped from a 10 on my second test, to a 7 on my third, and went up one point to an 8 on my last one.

I feel that taking one last final practice test will really benefit me in that I have nearly gotten my timing down, but I am afraid it will tire me out for the following day. I typically skip the WS and so it would only be a 3 1/2 hour practice test. I am taking the MCAT at noon this Friday.

 

[RoadRunner17]

I wouldn't recommend it. You need to be fresh and ready to go for the actual MCAT. The drawbacks outweigh the benefits. Everything you've done up to this point has prepared you for the MCAT. That should be enough; taking another practice test probably isn't going to significantly impact your test-day experience in a positive way.

 

[chad5871]

I found that when I took several tests in a row, I normally did better on the second one I took. Therefore, on the day before my MCAT I took CBT 10. I scored the highest I had ever gotten on a practice test and it was a good boost of confidence. I'll let you know how it went on September 12th, but I found it was a good "warm-up" for my brain - I felt better settled in pacing and passage strategy on the actual MCAT, and felt less like I was just "thrown right in." However, I don't recommend it for anyone - I usually do better on intellectual marathons like this. Part of studying for the MCAT is knowing about yourself and how you do your best.

Good luck!

 

[rjgennarelli]

I found that when I took several tests in a row, I normally did better on the second one I took. Therefore, on the day before my MCAT I took CBT 10. I scored the highest I had ever gotten on a practice test and it was a good boost of confidence. I'll let you know how it went on September 12th, but I found it was a good "warm-up" for my brain - I felt better settled in pacing and passage strategy on the actual MCAT, and felt less like I was just "thrown right in." However, I don't recommend it for anyone - I usually do better on intellectual marathons like this. Part of studying for the MCAT is knowing about yourself and how you do your best.

Good luck!

good advice. How would this sound: after I review each topic take that section and suspend, then review another topic (e.g. physics and gen chem) and take that section and suspend. etc etc.

 

[chad5871]

good advice. How would this sound: after I review each topic take that section and suspend, then review another topic (e.g. physics and gen chem) and take that section and suspend. etc etc.

Whatever works for you. Personally, that would be a little too strenuous the day before the test. I focused more upon strategy rather than content review. If you don't know it by then, you're probably not going to for test day. If you can follow that plan without getting tired, go for it. You just don't want to experience burn-out on test day!

 

[SN2ed]

I think taking a break would be the best idea. The worst possible thing that could happen is that you burn out the day before the test. So play it on the safe side.

 

[brianoflee]

Agreed - take it easy & relax. You've already done plenty of tests to give you a good enough idea of what they're like. Don't do anything MCAT-related today -- just kill the test tomorrow 👍