Taken three practices; needed some opinions

[Vanguard23]

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Ok, I've taken AAMC FL's 3,7,9(in that order); they were taken three weeks, one week and two days ago; respectively. The respective scores have been 28, 31, and 34. I attribute the 28 to me using Firefox and the highlighter function not working(a key part of my strategy of breaking down the passages). The respective breakdowns were:
P:9;V:10;B:9
P:10;V:9;B:12( I attribute the slightly lower V score here to it being really f***ing hot in the room and my neighbor deciding to mow at this point; distracting me).
P:12;V:10;B:12

My studying hasn't been exceptionally extrenuous; maybe 4 hrs a day on average. My test is April 10th. I took these same tests three years ago and was making in the 22-24 ranges on them. Is it getting to where I am ready for this test? I *have* made a 28 on the real deal, two years ago. I just wanted to get some opinions because while I am going to take more AAMC FL's, I don't want to feel *too* secure with that 34. Should I expect to make in the low 30's on the real deal if I make a couple more similar scores?
I'm scoring solid 10's on verbal, pretty much. I don't expect it to shift that much in either direction as long as I keep my strategy up. The Physical sciences is up in the air...maybe a 10. Biology....I think as long as I keep cracking at TBR Bio Passages I should be good.

And just so it can go on record, I attribute the low 20's score I made three years ago to some of Kaplan's strategies and my newer scores to both EK and TBR.

Just gotta keep up with the grind I guess!

 

[wolverine1]

Ok, I've taken AAMC FL's 3,7,9(in that order); they were taken three weeks, one week and two days ago; respectively. The respective scores have been 28, 31, and 34. I attribute the 28 to me using Firefox and the highlighter function not working(a key part of my strategy of breaking down the passages). The respective breakdowns were:
P:9;V:10;B:9
P:10;V:9;B:12( I attribute the slightly lower V score here to it being really f***ing hot in the room and my neighbor deciding to mow at this point; distracting me).
P:12;V:10;B:12

My studying hasn't been exceptionally extrenuous; maybe 4 hrs a day on average. My test is April 10th. I took these same tests three years ago and was making in the 22-24 ranges on them. Is it getting to where I am ready for this test? I *have* made a 28 on the real deal, two years ago. I just wanted to get some opinions because while I am going to take more AAMC FL's, I don't want to feel *too* secure with that 34. Should I expect to make in the low 30's on the real deal if I make a couple more similar scores?
I'm scoring solid 10's on verbal, pretty much. I don't expect it to shift that much in either direction as long as I keep my strategy up. The Physical sciences is up in the air...maybe a 10. Biology....I think as long as I keep cracking at TBR Bio Passages I should be good.

And just so it can go on record, I attribute the low 20's score I made three years ago to some of Kaplan's strategies and my newer scores to both EK and TBR.

Just gotta keep up with the grind I guess!

dude, i have the same problem for highlighting. Does the feature work on Safari?? I have a mac.

 

[Vanguard23]

dude, i have the same problem for highlighting. Does the feature work on Safari?? I have a mac.

It *does* work on IE. I'd use that.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Ok, I've taken AAMC FL's 3,7,9(in that order); they were taken three weeks, one week and two days ago; respectively. The respective scores have been 28, 31, and 34. I attribute the 28 to me using Firefox and the highlighter function not working(a key part of my strategy of breaking down the passages). The respective breakdowns were:
P:9;V:10;B:9
P:10;V:9;B:12( I attribute the slightly lower V score here to it being really f***ing hot in the room and my neighbor deciding to mow at this point; distracting me).
P:12;V:10;B:12

My studying hasn't been exceptionally extrenuous; maybe 4 hrs a day on average. My test is April 10th. I took these same tests three years ago and was making in the 22-24 ranges on them. Is it getting to where I am ready for this test? I *have* made a 28 on the real deal, two years ago. I just wanted to get some opinions because while I am going to take more AAMC FL's, I don't want to feel *too* secure with that 34. Should I expect to make in the low 30's on the real deal if I make a couple more similar scores?

You sound on pace for about a 31 or 32. Just keeping plugging away. Do what you need to do to cut down careless errors and review the areas that have troubled you, and you might be able to get a 33 or 34. Try to take an exam in an ideal setting (like a library or school computer lab) so you can feel solid about your score.

I'm scoring solid 10's on verbal, pretty much. I don't expect it to shift that much in either direction as long as I keep my strategy up. The Physical sciences is up in the air...maybe a 10. Biology....I think as long as I keep cracking at TBR Bio Passages I should be good.

And just so it can go on record, I attribute the low 20's score I made three years ago to some of Kaplan's strategies and my newer scores to both EK and TBR.

A better test approach is often more important than what you know, especially since the passage gives you so much. It's about having enough of a knowledge base to field the questions, but using logic and test reasoning to make good choices. SN2ed's and Boondocks' lists are validated again.

 

[Vanguard23]

Yeah, a lot of the errors I make can be stupid; particularly on the PS section. I find I'm having 10-15 minutes to go back on the PS and BS, to review my marked answers(hell, I just up and QUIT the BS section of the last one with 5 minutes remaining, since I felt I had done all I could at that point).
An example of a dumb mistake was on test 7 or 9 of the AAMC series. It was asking what the absorbance of a solution was and it was giving me the molar absorbtivity. I just kind of glazed over the question, not getting what it was asking, even after looking at the provided table. I just didn't get it, given the *numbers* I was working with.
Then, at the last minute, I noticed the word "molar" instead of just "absorbtivity".
Doh! Consequently I missed that one because I needed a few more seconds to churn out the correct answer.

 

[DrDre2001]

Ok, I've taken AAMC FL's 3,7,9(in that order); they were taken three weeks, one week and two days ago; respectively. The respective scores have been 28, 31, and 34. I attribute the 28 to me using Firefox and the highlighter function not working(a key part of my strategy of breaking down the passages). The respective breakdowns were:
P:9;V:10;B:9
P:10;V:9;B:12( I attribute the slightly lower V score here to it being really f***ing hot in the room and my neighbor deciding to mow at this point; distracting me).
P:12;V:10;B:12

My studying hasn't been exceptionally extrenuous; maybe 4 hrs a day on average. My test is April 10th. I took these same tests three years ago and was making in the 22-24 ranges on them. Is it getting to where I am ready for this test? I *have* made a 28 on the real deal, two years ago. I just wanted to get some opinions because while I am going to take more AAMC FL's, I don't want to feel *too* secure with that 34. Should I expect to make in the low 30's on the real deal if I make a couple more similar scores?
I'm scoring solid 10's on verbal, pretty much. I don't expect it to shift that much in either direction as long as I keep my strategy up. The Physical sciences is up in the air...maybe a 10. Biology....I think as long as I keep cracking at TBR Bio Passages I should be good.

And just so it can go on record, I attribute the low 20's score I made three years ago to some of Kaplan's strategies and my newer scores to both EK and TBR.

Just gotta keep up with the grind I guess!

To the first bolded line, yeah why not? There were threads on here and a study I saw where most people got similar scores on the real deal as their (AAMC) practice test average.

To the second bolded line, what exact strategies are you talking about? I assume you are talking about the thing where they wanted you to summarize (in writing) each paragraph in the passages? If so, yes, I agree, that was a terrible strategy because it took up way too much unneccessary time.

I don't think I did that on my real test, but I did do that on a practice passages while studying, because it helps your mind get practice with breaking down passages. But to do that on a real test isn't that useful to me and just wastes time.

 

[Vanguard23]

To the first bolded line, yeah why not? There were threads on here and a study I saw where most people got similar scores on the real deal as their (AAMC) practice test average.

To the second bolded line, what exact strategies are you talking about? I assume you are talking about the thing where they wanted you to summarize (in writing) each paragraph in the passages? If so, yes, I agree, that was a terrible strategy because it took up way too much unneccessary time.

I don't think I did that on my real test, but I did do that on a practice passages while studying, because it helps your mind get practice with breaking down passages. But to do that on a real test isn't that useful to me and just wastes time.

Their verbal strategy was/is outdated and convoluted. The FL's they had were nothing like the real deal; for example the PS section was WAY harder and they compensated with a massive curve. You could miss half the questions and make a 10,iirc. It lead to a false sense of security. So where I thought I was doing fine, I wasn't.

 

[J ROD]

I think you are on track for a 30+....

 

[Vanguard23]

Well, I'm going to take 10 and 8 to get a better guage. I've just got to keep up with the Physics and Chemistry and keep practicing on the TBR Biology passages. If I keep up the pace as I have been, I should have about 10 minutes to go back for each passage(maybe 5 for Verbal).
The Orgo I have down pretty well, but I do need a very specific piece of information:
On AAMC Test 9, there is an NMR question about a bromo-butane and for the life of me I can't understand how the answer comes out as it does(even with the solution). I can understand a lot of weird NMR readings, but this one strikes me as odd.

 

[ronaldo23]

Well, I'm going to take 10 and 8 to get a better guage. I've just got to keep up with the Physics and Chemistry and keep practicing on the TBR Biology passages. If I keep up the pace as I have been, I should have about 10 minutes to go back for each passage(maybe 5 for Verbal).
The Orgo I have down pretty well, but I do need a very specific piece of information:
On AAMC Test 9, there is an NMR question about a bromo-butane and for the life of me I can't understand how the answer comes out as it does(even with the solution). I can understand a lot of weird NMR readings, but this one strikes me as odd.

keep at it. sounds 30+ to me, plus you time to refine yourself from now till test day. Just don't underestimate the importance of test day little things (eating a good bfast, gettin good sleep if possible, not panicking if you see a tough test that feels much different than aamcs) and i think you are in a solid position.

 

[Flapjacks]

what is the bromo-butane question?

 

[Vanguard23]

keep at it. sounds 30+ to me, plus you time to refine yourself from now till test day. Just don't underestimate the importance of test day little things (eating a good bfast, gettin good sleep if possible, not panicking if you see a tough test that feels much different than aamcs) and i think you are in a solid position.

Tell me about it. I ate a lite salad the day before and only a little snack on the morning of the test. Plus I couldn't sleep for two whole nights for various reasons.

 

[Vanguard23]

Ok, I looked over that NMR. The structure was:
2-Bromo-2,3-dimethylbutane.

What had me confused was that most of the hydrogens had no adjacent hydrogens. Most were on methyl groups attached to other carbons. Doh! Oh well, I hadn't touched on NMR in my reviews yet, so I guess it was just a case of being in "unfamiliar" territory.


Oh, and on that AAMC 7(PS:10, V:9, BS:12). I'm confident that the Verbal(which was one point away from a 10) could have been higher. It was very hot in the room I was in(no A/C or ventilation) and my neighbor had the mower going; I have to concentrate very hard on those passages or my train of thought gets derailed. So a 32 was more reasonable, methinks.

 

[Flapjacks]

You can't keep noticing what happens while you are taking the test and then mention here something happened and you reason that that is why you scored 1 point or so lower.

That will not help you at all in test day. Not only is it ruining your practice because you focus on these minuscule problems that when the test day actually comes and someone does 3 successive coughs you focus on the coughing by saying to yourself, "That son of a bitch coughed, why would she cough when we are taking an important test, this is bull****" And there goes 15 seconds of your time focusing on your problem.

The distractions are good things during practice, because you can learn to focus them out after a while. Then when your test comes and you get distracted by local construction and what not, you will have learned to tune them out. Also, if you get lucky and there are no distractions, you will be even more focused.

 

[MegaSpectacular]

You can't keep noticing what happens while you are taking the test and then mention here something happened and you reason that that is why you scored 1 point or so lower.

That will not help you at all in test day. Not only is it ruining your practice because you focus on these minuscule problems that when the test day actually comes and someone does 3 successive coughs you focus on the coughing by saying to yourself, "That son of a bitch coughed, why would she cough when we are taking an important test, this is bull****" And there goes 15 seconds of your time focusing on your problem.

The distractions are good things during practice, because you can learn to focus them out after a while. Then when your test comes and you get distracted by local construction and what not, you will have learned to tune them out. Also, if you get lucky and there are no distractions, you will be even more focused.

👍👍

it is YOU that is the problem. Not the room or the highlighter or the _____.

Before highlighting existed people got 13s, 14s and 15s. Stop making excuses, keep working hard.👍

 

[Vanguard23]

Well, admittedly a distraction or two is one thing, which I can handle(I don't have ADD that bad haha). But sweating your b***s off *isn't*. It was terribly uncomfortable. But I'm just trying to get a decent guage on what I'm making on the practice tests; low 30's seems to be the average.

 

[mcatdesperate]

Dude, you're going to do great...already getting 34 on practice tests...If my practice tests scores were that high...I would be the happiest person ever to walk the face of the earth.

 

[LetsGo352]

Can someone explain to me why AAMC #3 isn't a good representative of the current MCAT?

 

[ronaldo23]

Can someone explain to me why AAMC #3 isn't a good representative of the current MCAT?

well 3-6 are considered easier than 7-10, just because the questions are easier/more straightforward. On 3, you will rarely come across a passage that is like WTF. That said, it is still good practice. Most people take 3 first, and so even though it is the easiest, it may still be many peoples lowest practice test score, since it is earlier in studying.

 

[Vanguard23]

Dude, you're going to do great...already getting 34 on practice tests...If my practice tests scores were that high...I would be the happiest person ever to walk the face of the earth.

Coming from someone that was at one time scoring in the low 20's, here's *my* secret to doing better:
EK and TBR.
I'd pretty much flat out state that. The suggestions made on THIS board have been a TREMENDOUS help.

I am about to take AAMC 10. I am thinking about setting my cell phone alarm clock to go off every...25min or so(twice or so a section) as a distraction. That and any odd text messages that might pop in.

 

[ronaldo23]

Coming from someone that was at one time scoring in the low 20's, here's *my* secret to doing better:
EK and TBR.
I'd pretty much flat out state that. The suggestions made on THIS board have been a TREMENDOUS help.

I am about to take AAMC 10. I am thinking about setting my cell phone alarm clock to go off every...25min or so(twice or so a section) as a distraction. That and any odd text messages that might pop in.

I agree that TBR and EK are great resources...for some people the difference between night and day. But I dunno if its the most supreme idea to handicap yourself during practice tests just in case you have distractions... I would think just focusing hard is better in standard conditions (not better or worse than test day). You get headphones at the test center...the only thing that can be slightly annoying is hearing people type essays while you are working on your verbal section (tip: go 30 minutes early to the testing center and pre-sign in, that way you will be one of the first in and won't have to deal with this problem...)

 

[Vanguard23]

I agree that TBR and EK are great resources...for some people the difference between night and day. But I dunno if its the most supreme idea to handicap yourself during practice tests just in case you have distractions... I would think just focusing hard is better in standard conditions (not better or worse than test day). You get headphones at the test center...the only thing that can be slightly annoying is hearing people type essays while you are working on your verbal section (tip: go 30 minutes early to the testing center and pre-sign in, that way you will be one of the first in and won't have to deal with this problem...)

I decided against it. I made a 32 on AAMC10; breakdown being 12;10;10. I did start getting sleepy towards the end there, but in each section I had like 15,10, and 20 minutes left to go over questions, for each section(which is a trend I've been having a lot lately.
And boy, was that Verbal graded differently than the previous one. I missed only 7 questions; normally that'd be an 11.
But I'm doing well on these tests so far. If they are at all like the MCAT, then I should be ok. With two weeks to go, I think it's going to be more important now than ever to push myself into the books.
And yeah, I'll definitely be there early; thanks for reminding me about that; could be very important.