Re-doing AAMCs?

[ak21]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey everyone,

I am studying for my MCAT for the second time. Last summer I took it and I studied with the TPR. I did all the AAMCs and the TPR tests. I obviously haven't done AAMC 11 (and I plan on doing it) but I was wondering if you guys think it would be worth it buying the AAMCs over again. I imagine my scores might be a few pts higher than normal just because I've already seen it all. Let me know what you all think!

 

[NickNaylor]

Don't use recycled tests. They can't serve as accurate score predictors or really even a good way to test your knowledge since you might inadvertently remember some of the questions.

 

[SephirothXR]

I say take one and just see if you still remember some of the things. Some of it you will and some of it you won't. If you don't, then I'd still say it's fair game. But generally people will say never ever retake them. I just say give it a shot (can't hurt and you need good practice)

 

[SN2ed]

Should I retake FL X?

I don't suggest it for a few reasons. First, your score will be inflated. This alone negates the predictive power of the test. If you don't need it to gauge where you are, fine, retake them. For instance, you could simply be going over the problems again to, as others have mentioned, understand the thinking behind it. However, if you are using it as a practice FL, don't.

One of the most important aspects of a FL is that it's material you've never seen before. It forces you to quickly analyze an unknown passage, tap into your knowledge, and answer questions you've never seen. If you knew exactly what was going to be on the test, it would take away from the somewhat frantic experience of getting that weird passage. It also makes you more relaxed overall because you know what's coming. Unfortunately, you will not have the luxury of either on the test. You will have to deal with weird passages. You will have to get out of your comfort zone of knowing what's ahead.

Then, you get into the timing issues which you MUST get down before the test. When you have prior knowledge of the material, you miss the chance at gaining more experience with the clock. Too many people underestimate the effect of the timer. Again, you have to get used to it and retaking problems won't help.

Think of the whole thing like sports practice. Sure, you go over some standard plays again and again to get a feel for them. However, to practice for a real game, you have a scrimmage match or an exhibition game. The other team doesn't tell you what plays they're going to run. If they did, it would eliminate the usefulness of the scrimmage or exhibition game.

 

[tl0100]

I'm in the same boat.. I'm not going to retake any of the ones I've already done, I don't think it's a good idea. You could think about taking the BR or GS full lengths instead.