Simple pen/pencil question + depth of studying

[Shredder]

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Can I use blue pen on the test booklet? It is more pleasant and fluid to write with than barbaric pencil, and it provides a lot better contrast with the black print. I had been taking diags with blue pen until I saw something on the aamc site that mentioned to use pencil for the multiple choice sections, but I don't know if that meant the booklet or just the bubbling. I know writing needs black pen. I don't want to screw something up and have my MCAT voided, which would be a tragedy. I guess I'll email or call aamc.

also i notice a lot of people seem to ask questions here that are way too in depth. all of the practice tests and questions i have seen with the exception of princeton compendium ask pretty easy questions, and it boils down to knowing everything superficially. i see the same problem with classmates studying for tests and spending far too much time on trivial points instead of learning a little about all points, which is far more effective. i mean even for 40+ scores, you maybe go a little more in depth but not to the extent ive seen some ppl bring up, like things you would be tested on in an actual class. some ppl just dont know how to study, and im thankful for them but feel sorry too. thoughts?

 

[tank you]

if someone studies something in too much detail, and then it happens to come across as a passage, they will fare much better than everyone else that didnt. and also, it doesnt take that much longer to learn something in more detail. i dont think theres anything wrong with studying too much of something, if u have the time to do it...

 

[Shredder]

you risk forgetting other material or pushing it further back into your brain. what are the chances it will come across on a passage, very tiny, that is like playing the mcat lottery. and you wouldnt fare significantly better anyway, as passages typically contain most of the info you need for the questions, with superficial knowledge filling in the rest. though i will admit, i stumbled upon youngs modulus on one passage, and my materials class helped on that. but thats coincidence; theres no point in consciously studying for things like that.

maybe it doesnt take too long to learn something in detail, but its extra and unnecessary information to store away and process, and that time could be better spent elsewhere. its the opportunity cost. you should really only be studying things in the detail i sometimes see on this forum if you have all of the fundamentals mastered, and that isnt the case if youre scoring under 35, unless youre really bombing verbal in which case you may as well work on that.

 

[45408]

if someone studies something in too much detail, and then it happens to come across as a passage, they will fare much better than everyone else that didnt. and also, it doesnt take that much longer to learn something in more detail. i dont think theres anything wrong with studying too much of something, if u have the time to do it...

superficial knowledge of everything > in-depth knowledge of one thing

 

[gujuDoc]

superficial knowledge of everything > in-depth knowledge of one thing

While in depth knowledge is good, I will have to agree with the above quoted.

For the MCAT you should be able to use the superficial knowledge of the MCAT books and apply it to the info in the passage if you are able to critically think and realize what they are getting at. So unless you got like 2 years to do this stuff, I would not waste too much on too many details.

 

[QofQuimica]

OP, you can use your own blood to write in the test booklet if you want to, as long as you bubble your answer grid with a number two pencil and you write your essays with a black pen. Just try not to bleed all over the desk. 😉

I think you are correct that you are better off knowing more things on a general level versus knowing fewer things more in depth. Studying one subject in depth is the right way to ace a GRE subject test, but not the MCAT.

 

[Shredder]

OP, you can use your own blood to write in the test booklet if you want to, as long as you bubble your answer grid with a number two pencil and you write your essays with a black pen. Just try not to bleed all over the desk. 😉

I think you are correct that you are better off knowing more things on a general level versus knowing fewer things more in depth. Studying one subject in depth is the right way to ace a GRE subject test, but not the MCAT.

Blue pen--amazing, I highly recommend it to any who are taking the April test or any subsequent ones. I'm so generous, willingly giving my secret though I know it will hurt my curve! Heheh I jest. Actually the same goes for the specific/superficial comments, as it troubles me when I see people studying irrelevant information.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hurt your curve??? Somehow, I have a feeling that in about three months, you're going to be in here giving advice to all of the people studying for the August test. 👍

 

[MeowMix]

The proctors are supposed to allow you to have ONLY 3 #2 pencils (AAMC says they can be mechanical, although at some sites the over-eager proctors have banished mech pencils) and an eraser on your desk during PS, VR, BS; ONLY 2 black pens (can be ballpoint or rollerball) during WS. No highlighters, blue pens, red pens, pink pens, nothing else.

I would start practicing with your pencil.

Plus, it would really suck if you got distracted and bubbled in half your answers with your blue pen, then had to somehow get a new answer sheet and fill it in. That would waste a lot of precious time.

 

[Shredder]

Come on ha, any idiot who bubbles in answers with a pen and a blue one at that deserves punishment. The contrast benefit far outweighs this minute risk. I'll e-mail AAMC about the pen to resolve any conflicting opinions on the subject. Practicing with pencil ugh...it's so scratchy, so much worse than pen. It's unacceptable that the USMLE has been computer adminstered for years now and the MCAT (not to mention SAT) are still silly paper and pencil, 20th century like.

Giving advice to later test takers--I can only hope

 

[riceman04]

Blue pen--amazing, I highly recommend it to any who are taking the April test or any subsequent ones. I'm so generous, willingly giving my secret though I know it will hurt my curve! Heheh I jest. Actually the same goes for the specific/superficial comments, as it troubles me when I see people studying irrelevant information.

Has to be black!