Reading question prior to reading passage

[TwoHighways]

I started working through the biology question pack today and it seemed that a good portion of the questions I saw could be answered without reading any of the passage at all. I know it’s a commonly applied strategy to chem/phys section, but was wondering if it had merits for other sections as well.

I mean, if you have the question in your head already as you’re reading along, maybe when you come across the answer while reading, you immediately answer and move on, read the next question, and pick up in the passage where you left off. Thoughts?

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[chemdoctor]

I think this could work for the science ones. Definitely won't work for CARS. I think if they're specific questions that are clearly answered in one sentence in the passage, then you should be able to get away with it. I wouldnt use it as a main strategy though

 

[TwoHighways]

It may just be the way the qpack questions are designed. They seem to be a lot more content oriented than dependent on passage interpretation. I think I'll try reading them first tomorrow for chem/phys and bio (taking a full length tomorrow) and seeing how it goes.

I'll be going into a full length tomorrow for the firs time with some confidence. I just hit a streak of 20 questions correct in a row correct on bio qpack 1 (50-70) which brings my overall percentage correct to 79% (for the first seventy questions). Maybe it's all finally coming together for me. I'd be thrilled with a 508. Anything above that would be icing on the cake. My pathway to get there is continuing to do well with CARS (127 and 128 on first two AAMC FL's), significant improvement in psych/soc, which I feel will come with the reading I've done, chem/phys holding steady or improving slightly with focus on enzyme kinetics, and bio continuing to improve. We'll see.

 

[Dochopeful13]

It may just be the way the qpack questions are designed. They seem to be a lot more content oriented than dependent on passage interpretation. I think I'll try reading them first tomorrow for chem/phys and bio (taking a full length tomorrow) and seeing how it goes.

I'll be going into a full length tomorrow for the firs time with some confidence. I just hit a streak of 20 questions correct in a row correct on bio qpack 1 (50-70) which brings my overall percentage correct to 79% (for the first seventy questions). Maybe it's all finally coming together for me. I'd be thrilled with a 508. Anything above that would be icing on the cake. My pathway to get there is continuing to do well with CARS (127 and 128 on first two AAMC FL's), significant improvement in psych/soc, which I feel will come with the reading I've done, chem/phys holding steady or improving slightly with focus on enzyme kinetics, and bio continuing to improve. We'll see.

Would you say a lot of Chem/Phys is kinetics and Biochem? I’m hoping so because I’m god awful at physics lol.

 

[TwoHighways]

Would you say a lot of Chem/Phys is kinetics and Biochem? I’m hoping so because I’m god awful at physics lol.

I don't remember exactly how many straight physics questions I got on the two FL's I've taken so far, but it seemed like it was less than 10 each time, which makes the entire subject pretty low yield to study IMO. I am going to try to commit a few formulas to memory before test day (thin lens, ohms law, light energy), but other than that, it's not worth it to me to worry over that content. Some people can learn it all. I'm not one of those people. I need to prioritize what I feel like I can improve on and squeeze out as many points as possible in sections I feel I can perform well in. The curve on the upper end is skewed to where simply getting an additional 3-5 questions right in a section (once you've broken the 70% correct plateau) can really boost your total MCAT score.

 

[Dochopeful13]

I don't remember exactly how many straight physics questions I got on the two FL's I've taken so far, but it seemed like it was less than 10 each time, which makes the entire subject pretty low yield to study IMO. I am going to try to commit a few formulas to memory before test day (thin lens, ohms law, light energy), but other than that, it's not worth it to me to worry over that content. Some people can learn it all. I'm not one of those people. I need to prioritize what I feel like I can improve on and squeeze out as many points as possible in sections I feel I can perform well in. The curve on the upper end is skewed to where simply getting an additional 3-5 questions right in a section (once you've broken the 70% correct plateau) can really boost your total MCAT score.

Totally agree with you. I’m a non trad student so I am finding it impossible to learn everything. Off the top of your head what seems to be high yield for the C/S section?

 

[TwoHighways]

Totally agree with you. I’m a non trad student so I am finding it impossible to learn everything. Off the top of your head what seems to be high yield for the C/S section?

Non-trad as well. P/S or C/P?

 

[Dochopeful13]

Non-trad as well. P/S or C/P?

Chem/Phys.Its rough isn’t it? I can get 2-3 hours in at night then I’m just too tired. Are you working full time as well?

 

[Dochopeful13]

I'm a firefighter/paramedic at a relatively slow department working a 48/96 schedule. It's a pretty ideal situation in all honesty.

For chem/phys, some ochem knowledge is essential. SN1 and SN2 reactions. Carbonyl chemistry (aldehydes, ketones, esters, carboxy acids, etc). Amino acids (know them like the back of your hand). Enzyme kinetics. And some gen chem stuff that I've never found to be all that challenging.

Thank you. I hope you rock it!