The Official 5/26/11 MCAT Club!

[thomasfx10]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to start the "Official" 5/26/11 MCAT Club. I saw an early post over a month ago, but it did not say official and has appeared to have died.

So here we go ....

It is just about three months out from the MCAT. How many hours are people putting in? Anyone taking the Kaplan course or SN2ed's 3 Month Study?

I started with the Kaplan class room course and have mixed feeling about it.

The Good: Free access to all the AAMC exams and Kaplan's full length. They have great website for quizes, exam stats ... it also helps me stay focused. They show some tips and hints but I have found that on this site too ...

The Bad: Cost ($1699). When in class, the teacher slams through everything so quick. Not really anytime for questions ... I think I study better on my own, at my pace.

This brings me to SN2ed's 3 month study guide. (Check out the sticky link for more info). I ordered the books from BR (Plan two weeks, they have an archaic ordering system - mail in forms) ... Anyway, that should be in Tuesday. I plan on doing both ... the Kaplan class, and the 3 month study ... I will let you all know how it goes ...

P.S. I do have a long way to go ... I got a 16 on the Kaplan Diagnostic. Which I heard is much harder than the real one, however that is still at least 15 points under what I want to be at ...

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[bunker]

Took my first practice test Wednesday - AAMC #3, 12/10/13 P/V/B= 35!

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Took my first practice test Wednesday - AAMC #3, 12/10/13 P/V/B= 35!

congrats! planning on take this one soon, it'll be my first one as well

 

[Rose Croix]

Hey Rose Croix, great scores on AAMC. what other practice exams will you be using? Curious most people will take the AAMC practice exams just before real one why did you take them before others?

I wanted to tackle issues I had. So I took a diagnostic exam (All I will use is AAMC) to see what needed work. Then I'd study the material I did poorly on, and took another one. Just a cycle to make sure I'm able to learn the material and apply it to passages. Studying the stuff you already have down cold is kind of counter productive.

 

[WhatMD88]

A lot of people are saying that both science sections are harder (more dense/passage based) than the practice aamc CBTs.

(For those who took it before) Are this year's MCAT passages hard as the science passages in the EK and TBR section passages?

I find the TBR bio and physics sections are somewhat "more grilling" than the AAMCs.

I also been doing the 1001 EK for Bio and that book has helped me a lot. I learned that its one thing to study the content and another to test it out with different types of questions. I wish I had the 1001 EK physics, but I don't think I have time for that. Atleast I have TBR to go through right now.


Side note: I am glad that I'm taking this exam in the afternoon; I'm not the type of person who can wake up early in the morning, beat Chicago traffic, and take the exam wide awake.

 

[Rose Croix]

A lot of people are saying that both science sections are harder (more dense/passage based) than the practice aamc CBTs.

I've heard they are more genetics and biochem based and less physiology based. Less O Chem too, which sucks because O Chem is like free points.

 

[WhatMD88]

I've heard they are more genetics and biochem based and less physiology based. Less O Chem too, which sucks because O Chem is like free points.

By Genetics, do you mean Mendelian/HW/Probabilities or transcription/translation/bacterial genetic regulations? I don't mind less Ochem, but I heard its more of a toss up. Some got 1 Ochem passage and some got two w/ few discretes.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

I've heard they are more genetics and biochem based and less physiology based. Less O Chem too, which sucks because O Chem is like free points.

fine with me

 

[raltima07]

Im averaging around 27 on the GS tests...I took 4 of them. So dissapointed, but I heard GS are harder. Switching over to AAMC this weekend!

I really want to get a 32+, that is my goal

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Im averaging around 27 on the GS tests...I took 4 of them. So dissapointed, but I heard GS are harder. Switching over to AAMC this weekend!

I really want to get a 32+, that is my goal

I hear ya, I'm taking AAMC 3 this week

 

[thomasfx10]

Hey my fellow Clubbers ... I just looked and June 26th is on a Sunday. I hope that does not mean we have to wait an extra day (Monday). I will be already counting the minutes after the exam!

 

[thomasfx10]

Is anybody else all over the place in their exams? I have been getting from the low to high 20's and I just took Kaplan FL 7 and got an 18 - Yikes! It was real heavy in Electrochemistry ... My weak area ... In Bio (I thought I did better ...) Endocrine and other stuff got me... there VR is so crazy hard ...

 

[raltima07]

Is anybody else all over the place in their exams? I have been getting from the low to high 20's and I just took Kaplan FL 7 and got an 18 - Yikes! It was real heavy in Electrochemistry ... My weak area ... In Bio (I thought I did better ...) Endocrine and other stuff got me... there VR is so crazy hard ...

I've been pretty consistent with my scores (like +2/-2 at max), but its dissapointing. I hope for our sake we have an easy test with a really really really really really really really nice curve

 

[xlcooplx]

i've still only taken one FL (AAMC 3). I need to start taking some FLs very soon. May 1st is this weekend! With that said, I had some good news today. I got my first 10 in VR. I've been averaging 7-8 on the last 7 tests that I've taken. I'm not sure if that test was any easier or if I truely was paying more attention. I guess I'll see next week when I take another if my score stays around a 10. Has everyone finished all of their content review? I am still caught up in it. I really need to tie it all together and start practicing some FLs though.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

AAMC 3 tomorrow, if I score below 25 I won't be back in this thread

 

[xlcooplx]

Good luck. You should be able to do so. It's the first test that I took and that was about 3 weeks into studying. I made a 24 on it then. You should do fine!

 

[raltima07]

i've still only taken one FL (AAMC 3). I need to start taking some FLs very soon. May 1st is this weekend! With that said, I had some good news today. I got my first 10 in VR. I've been averaging 7-8 on the last 7 tests that I've taken. I'm not sure if that test was any easier or if I truely was paying more attention. I guess I'll see next week when I take another if my score stays around a 10. Has everyone finished all of their content review? I am still caught up in it. I really need to tie it all together and start practicing some FLs though.

I am finishing physics today, then I will be done with content review.


I took AAMC 3 before studying, and got a 24, so youneverknow you should do fine

 

[IrishTwins]

Well, we're getting down to the wire here. Following Examkracker's home study schedule, I won't wrap up content review until right before the big day. This has been making me increasingly uncomfortable, and I think I'm going to try to skim through the remaining content review over the next week, then devote all of May to just practice tests and targeted review.

Taking my third FL today. Really hoping to continue the upward trend, my last FL was a 31, but my mind keeps telling me it was a fluke...

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Good luck. You should be able to do so. It's the first test that I took and that was about 3 weeks into studying. I made a 24 on it then. You should do fine!

I am finishing physics today, then I will be done with content review.


I took AAMC 3 before studying, and got a 24, so youneverknow you should do fine

thanks guys, I'll let you know

 

[xlcooplx]

Well, we're getting down to the wire here. Following Examkracker's home study schedule, I won't wrap up content review until right before the big day. This has been making me increasingly uncomfortable, and I think I'm going to try to skim through the remaining content review over the next week, then devote all of May to just practice tests and targeted review.

Taking my third FL today. Really hoping to continue the upward trend, my last FL was a 31, but my mind keeps telling me it was a fluke...

Yeah, I've been considering doing the same although I'm using BR. I know that much of their content is saturated with details. I may just skim over it and start practicing as I really feel the practice will be of more help at this point.

 

[thomasfx10]

Just got a 19 on Kaplan FL 8 ... Help!

What happened ... I was hitting mid-twenties in Kaplan 1-6 ...

These seem a lot tougher to me ... Anyone using Gold Standard or others? I am saving the AAMC's for the May 11th where I will be doing them every other day ...

 

[IrishTwins]

Yeah, I've been considering doing the same although I'm using BR. I know that much of their content is saturated with details. I may just skim over it and start practicing as I really feel the practice will be of more help at this point.

I started out with BR, and switched about 30 days in. I was just too overwhelmed with all the detail. But, I did really like the 30 days of practice tests only that was in SN2ed's schedule, and I think it could make all the difference. I'm going to give my best effort to get done with content by early next week.

Also - shout out to Myrtle Beach! I grew up in Spartanburg, and spent a lot of time at that beach.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

10/10/10-aamc 3

 

[thomasfx10]

Sweet! I loved to have that score

 

[IrishTwins]

Updated FL Scores. To date:

3/20/11 aamc #3: PS 8, VR 10, BS 10 = 28
4/08/11 aamc #7: PS 10, VR 11, BS 10 = 31
4/29/11 aamc #8: PS 10, VR 13, BS 10 = 33

 

[raltima07]

Updated FL Scores. To date:

3/20/11 aamc #3: PS 8, VR 10, BS 10 = 28
4/08/11 aamc #7: PS 10, VR 11, BS 10 = 31
4/29/11 aamc #8: PS 10, VR 13, BS 10 = 33

I'm so jealous.... Good job!

 

[thomasfx10]

Updated FL Scores. To date:

3/20/11 aamc #3: PS 8, VR 10, BS 10 = 28
4/08/11 aamc #7: PS 10, VR 11, BS 10 = 31
4/29/11 aamc #8: PS 10, VR 13, BS 10 = 33

Great VR score ... Are you passage mapping or highlighting? Can you give us some of your wisdom. The best I have done is 10

 

[xlcooplx]

I started out with BR, and switched about 30 days in. I was just too overwhelmed with all the detail. But, I did really like the 30 days of practice tests only that was in SN2ed's schedule, and I think it could make all the difference. I'm going to give my best effort to get done with content by early next week.

Also - shout out to Myrtle Beach! I grew up in Spartanburg, and spent a lot of time at that beach.

Yeah, I've got two Physics sections/2 Organic sections and all of the 2nd Gen Chem book until I'm finished. I'll prob skim over phys/orgo as those are my strong subjects and focus a little more on the gen chem. I'm going to start my FLs by the end of next week.

It's a small world dude. MB isn't the greatest beach but I have to say that I enjoy it. I've been guilty of prepping for the MCAT out on the sand. My best friend actually grew up in Spartanburg before he moved here. I also have three friends who will be attending VCOM Spartanburg in August.

 

[IrishTwins]

Great VR score ... Are you passage mapping or highlighting? Can you give us some of your wisdom. The best I have done is 10

I haven't tried any highlighting or anything, I just read the passage through calmly and attentively one time and then go to answering questions. I have found EK's approach to be pretty helpful in focusing my mind during the reading - they tell you to read the passage as if you're listening to a friend tell a story ... you need to take in what they're saying, but sort of let it wash over you, as you're patiently awaiting for them to "get to the point of the story" or in this case, the "main idea." Once you can establish a main idea, you use that as your measuring stick for all the answer choices. If it doesn't somehow support the main idea, or correlate to it, then it is probably a wrong choice. This is kind of vague and doesn't help in getting every answer, but it's a still a great tool in getting quite a few right.

They also tell you to stereotype the author as you read, to make harsh judgments against them. This is to get into the author's head, to be able to predict those, "the author would probably agree with..." type of questions. Is the person an art snob of high intellect? Tree hugging hippie? Delusional, obsessed, extreme, etc? I even read the passage "in character" if you will, trying to personify the author's stereotype in the way it sounds in my head, and the way I feel it as I read it. Again, I know that's kind of abstract, but I think it has really helped me.

Last thing - they tell you in EK not to go back and read through the passage. I find it extremely difficult to follow this rule, but if I do go back, I limit myself to only going back for information that I have a good idea of exactly where to find it, and know (prior to going back) that it will be helpful. Just aimlessly scanning back through the passage as a last result won't be helpful, it's best to guess and move on.

Oh, AND, EK says to really examine the question stem and answers stems for clues and such ... some answers just don't answer the question, others are out of the scope of the passage, etc, you can often get to the right answer without even reading the psg (not recommended though of course.)

Well, sorry for rambling. I guess all in all I would recommend reading EK's verbal book from their content review set. I think it has some really good strategies.

 

[WhatMD88]

I haven't tried any highlighting or anything, I just read the passage through calmly and attentively one time and then go to answering questions. I have found EK's approach to be pretty helpful in focusing my mind during the reading - they tell you to read the passage as if you're listening to a friend tell a story ... you need to take in what they're saying, but sort of let it wash over you, as you're patiently awaiting for them to "get to the point of the story" or in this case, the "main idea." Once you can establish a main idea, you use that as your measuring stick for all the answer choices. If it doesn't somehow support the main idea, or correlate to it, then it is probably a wrong choice. This is kind of vague and doesn't help in getting every answer, but it's a still a great tool in getting quite a few right.

They also tell you to stereotype the author as you read, to make harsh judgments against them. This is to get into the author's head, to be able to predict those, "the author would probably agree with..." type of questions. Is the person an art snob of high intellect? Tree hugging hippie? Delusional, obsessed, extreme, etc? I even read the passage "in character" if you will, trying to personify the author's stereotype in the way it sounds in my head, and the way I feel it as I read it. Again, I know that's kind of abstract, but I think it has really helped me.

Last thing - they tell you in EK not to go back and read through the passage. I find it extremely difficult to follow this rule, but if I do go back, I limit myself to only going back for information that I have a good idea of exactly where to find it, and know (prior to going back) that it will be helpful. Just aimlessly scanning back through the passage as a last result won't be helpful, it's best to guess and move on.

Oh, AND, EK says to really examine the question stem and answers stems for clues and such ... some answers just don't answer the question, others are out of the scope of the passage, etc, you can often get to the right answer without even reading the psg (not recommended though of course.)

Well, sorry for rambling. I guess all in all I would recommend reading EK's verbal book from their content review set. I think it has some really good strategies.

Hey IrishTwins,

I read the EKs and used their verbal strategies, but I haven't gotten a grasp of stereotyping the author the way the book shows. Also, I am not good at "washing out" the details because I place about the same weight for each sentence. How did you improve at stereotyping and washing out the details. Also, how did you go about doing post-test analysis? Did you follow EKs method (review each question/choices for one day and match main idea with each question the next day)?




Also, besides the EKs/AAMCs, what are some sources of good verbal practice that mirrors the real deal? Are Kaplan verbal passages good? I know people say the EK 101 passages are easier to understand; so I'm looking for passages and/or questions that are equally difficult or more difficult than those in the AAMC verbal section.

Thanks.

**Anyone who is reading this can answer my question. I could use all the help I need.

 

[IrishTwins]

WhatMD88,

I actually find the EK verbal (in the content review book, not 101) to be pretty difficult on average, more so than the actual aamc's that I have taken. I haven't taken any of the 101's, but I seem to always read on sdn that they are the best for practice and the closest to the real deal.

As far as getting down the EK technique of washing out the details - I would highly recommend listening to the audio osmosis tracks that address VR. The whole concept of treating the passage like you're listening to a friend tell a story never really sunk in for me until I listened to this one particular track (there are only 2 or 3.) If you don't have audio osmosis, then try having a friend tell you a story in person and pay attention to the way that you listen to them. You will realize that you already have this skill of sifting out details and listening for a main idea. I'm sure you've had moments where you're listening to someone and you think, "Get to the point already!" Treat VR passages like this. It kind of takes a leap of faith, because you're going to be worried that you're missing important details, but trust that establishing the main idea is THE most important goal for answering most of the questions correctly (not memorizing the details.)

Similarly, when you are listening to someone telling a story, there is usually a little monitoring/judging going on in the background of your mind (i.e. this person is boring / full of crap / someone I'd like to hang out with more often / egotistical / etc.) So, this too is a skill you already have, now you just need to use it to your advantage for VR. I don't know if everyone does this or not, but I read "out loud" in my head, and to help solidify the impression of the author, I try to treat the VR passage like I'm an actor reading a script, and the character I'm playing is the author. I take on his tone or attitude, and his speech patterns, based on the judgments I can make about him from the "story" he's telling, the way he tells it, the words he uses, beliefs he seems to have, and so on.

I hope that makes sense. I realize its pretty abstract. Again, I think the audio osmosis tracks really help you get a feel for it. If you don't have them, substitute a real live storyteller. Good luck, and hope that helps!

edited to add: I do follow EK's review method of tracing answers back to a main idea, but I just do all of the review together right after I take the test.

 

[Amrazzz]

I'm in guys

TPR with EK verbal

Diagnostic (no studying) AAMC 10 (TPR recommended so took it first) 10/7/12 = 29!
1 month mark: AAMC 3: 11/8/13
1.5 months: TPR FL1: 10/6/13 (WTF!?)
2 months: TPR FL2: 10/9/13 (Bio not moving)
2.5 months: TPR FL6: 12/10/13 (Took it in chunks. Felt counterproductive to take entire TPR exam in one go)
Currently at 3 month mark of studying. Taking AAMC 5 tomorrow (don't have 4)
Averaging 9-10s on EK verbal.

Overall, I felt TPR over-prepared me - really drilled in the concepts and a lot of unnecessary details. Their diagnostics are EXTREMELY different from the AAMCs so I'm only taking them in sections. Their biology section of FLs had shorter passages, physical was much harder, and verbal was ridiculous than the AAMC practices.

However, their science workbook was phenomenal. Not the easiest passages but really helped drill down strategy and finer points. Verbal workbook was an okay resource (felt it was way too hard and too detailed oriented) and switched to EK 101. Dramatic improvements.

 

[WhatMD88]

Thanks for the tip IrishTwins, I do have Osmosis and will listen to it. I'll let you if I see an improvement. I agree with the EK verbral book being difficult. I went over the 3-30min tests last week and I thought some of the questions were ambiguous and can be easily debated (ex: the question about which type of people [TV reports, radio talk show hosts] will gain the most help from the passage about speaking/voice skills).

As for progress, my recent test was (4/27/2011): aamc9 12/8/12 (the V passage about nature/philosophy was terrible and messed my timing). I plan on taking aamc7 tomorrow.

Sidenote: For those who don't have the AAMCs, try finding it online via torr3nts. I found PDFs of AAMC3-10 including 6. Its not CBT, but its still valuable practice.

 

[Amrazzz]

Thanks for the tip IrishTwins, I do have Osmosis and will listen to it. I'll let you if I seen an improvement. I agree with the EK verbral book being difficult. I went over the 3-30min tests last week and I thought some of the questions were ambiguous and can be easily debated (ex: the question about which type of people [TV reports, radio talk show hosts] will gain the most help from the passage about speaking/voice skills).

Did you find AAMC verbal easier compared to EK 101 Verbal?

 

[IrishTwins]

As for progress, my recent test was (4/27/2011): aamc9 12/8/12 (the V passage about nature/philosophy was terrible and messed my timing). I plan on taking aamc7 tomorrow.

Wow, nice scores on PS and BS! Wish I was doing as well in those sections!

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

is it a natural feeling to want to keep taking FL's after your first one?

 

[WhatMD88]

Amarazz:

Its a toss-up for me. I score 8-9s on EK101, but the passages are more interesting and easier to understand than the AAMCs. On the AAMCS, I scored 8-9s in the first 3 cbts and scored an 8 on my recent one. There is also the difference of taking a test on paper and on the screen.

IrishTwins,
I listened to the Osmosis, I do get the point of the two speakers about screening out details and I was following that exotic fish story the way EK wants you to do. But it was easy because the author was saying out loud rather than having me read a passage. Hopefully, I can pick it up asap when I finish up the EK101s. Also, do you use tools#3 and 4 (question stems and answer choices) during the exam or just stick to the main idea and going back tools?



As for the science passages, I did a lot of content review w/ Kaplan and EKs. Right now, I'm finishing up the passages from TBR and Nova's Mcat for all four subjects. Also, I am about to finish up the EK1001 for Bio. I think the reason my PS/BS scores improved, not because of my content review, but being exposed to different and numerous questions. The PS passages from TBR/Nova's are harder than the AAMCs and really drill on the concepts. I found myself at times where I missed questions on concepts that I thought I understood very well. Once you get exposed on the different ways they can ask about a subject, the more alert and prepared you are to the real deal. That being said, it does require time and I don't know 26 days is enough to go through all that.

YouNeverKnow,

I wish I had that kind of enthusiasm where I want to take more FLs. But with my crappy verbal scores, my self-esteem gets pegged down a little everytime I take a verbal test.

 

[IrishTwins]

IrishTwins,
I listened to the Osmosis, I do get the point of the two speakers about screening out details and I was following that exotic fish story the way EK wants you to do. But it was easy because the author was saying out loud rather than having me read a passage. Hopefully, I can pick it up asap when I finish up the EK101s. Also, do you use tools#3 and 4 (question stems and answer choices) during the exam or just stick to the main idea and going back tools?

As for the science passages, I did a lot of content review w/ Kaplan and EKs. Right now, I'm finishing up the passages from TBR and Nova's Mcat for all four subjects. Also, I am about to finish up the EK1001 for Bio. I think the reason my PS/BS scores improved, not because of my content review, but being exposed to different and numerous questions. The PS passages from TBR/Nova's are harder than the AAMCs and really drill on the concepts. I found myself at times where I missed questions on concepts that I thought I understood very well. Once you get exposed on the different ways they can ask about a subject, the more alert and prepared you are to the real deal. That being said, it does require time and I don't know 26 days is enough to go through all that.

It's a strange thing, reading out loud in your mind and actually listening to it at the same time, but I think it's one of those things that just has to happen once for it to click, so keep practicing and you will get it!

I don't use any strict approach to answering the VR questions, just whatever tool seems handiest at the time. But yes, one of those tools is definitely examining the question/answer stems for clues.

I do think practicing writing out the main idea for psg's and relating answers to that idea would be really helpful if you feel like you're just hitting a wall with VR.

So about the sciences - I was thinking of hitting the highlights through the remaining portion of my content review over the next week, then doing nothing but practice. Do you think 3 weeks of hard-core practice with TBR pgs would give me enough of this drilling to raise my scores a point or two? I keep thinking that the content review is wasting my time, since I get little leftover time for practice at the end of reading for 3 or 4 hours.

 

[raltima07]

I just finished AAMC 4

Score:
PS: 9
VR: 13
BS: 10

Verbal and BS are nice (although I would love a higher BS, verbal is close to my usual), but PS!!! I was 2 questions (I think) from a 10....I really want to push the PS and BS up to at least a 11 each with VR staying right where it is.

Overall, I'm happy I broke the 30 barrier!

 

[thomasfx10]

Anyone taking TBR practice tests? I am thinking about ordering them before I hit the AAMC's ...

 

[Amrazzz]

Just completed AAMC5
13PS (seemed easier than the other FL i've taken - was light on the physics).
9VR (satisfied! felt sleepy in the middle, picked idiotic answer choices, and changed correct answer choices to wrong ones. easily would have been a 11 if I paid more attention)
13BS (Score is stuck at 13 for the past 4 tests so happy with this. This test was heavy on micro)
- Only outlined essays (cannot bring myself to write for 1 hour haha)

Test date in 3 weeks. Hopefully I can emulate this on the real deal

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

Anyone taking TBR practice tests? I am thinking about ordering them before I hit the AAMC's ...

nah AAMC only, I think there are only so many practice tests you can take before you hit a diminishing return IMO

 

[raltima07]

Just completed AAMC5
13PS (seemed easier than the other FL i've taken - was light on the physics).
9VR (satisfied! felt sleepy in the middle, picked idiotic answer choices, and changed correct answer choices to wrong ones. easily would have been a 11 if I paid more attention)
13BS (Score is stuck at 13 for the past 4 tests so happy with this. This test was heavy on micro)
- Only outlined essays (cannot bring myself to write for 1 hour haha)

Test date in 3 weeks. Hopefully I can emulate this on the real deal

Awesome! Seems like the hyperlearning course really helped you!

 

[Amrazzz]

Awesome! Seems like the hyperlearning course really helped you!

Yep! 29 to 35 with a huge improvement in verbal in 3 months!

 

[raltima07]

Yep! 29 to 35 with a huge improvement in verbal in 3 months!

Im up from a 24 to a 32 in same time on my own, but I hope I can get it to a 35!!!!

 

[WhatMD88]

It's a strange thing, reading out loud in your mind and actually listening to it at the same time, but I think it's one of those things that just has to happen once for it to click, so keep practicing and you will get it!

I don't use any strict approach to answering the VR questions, just whatever tool seems handiest at the time. But yes, one of those tools is definitely examining the question/answer stems for clues.

I do think practicing writing out the main idea for psg's and relating answers to that idea would be really helpful if you feel like you're just hitting a wall with VR.

So about the sciences - I was thinking of hitting the highlights through the remaining portion of my content review over the next week, then doing nothing but practice. Do you think 3 weeks of hard-core practice with TBR pgs would give me enough of this drilling to raise my scores a point or two? I keep thinking that the content review is wasting my time, since I get little leftover time for practice at the end of reading for 3 or 4 hours.

IrishTwins,

With 26 days left, I am not sure how much time are you spend on a given day. But if you're limited with time, then I suggest doing the EKs 30min in-class exams first (if you haven't done so already), then do TBR section-passages. Personally, I would focus on physics and gen chem. For TBR bio, its somewhat too difficult and obscure (lot of wtf moments for me). I'm doing them because I finished off the EKs and Nova's science passages. Based on how well I do tomorrow with AAMC 7, I might finish the TBR passages, brush up on content review, and even do some kaplan subject tests.


Amarazz,

What did you think of the AAMC verbal? Harder than the EK101s? I don't know how you and Raltima are doing so well on verbal, you guys should share some strategies/insights that I don't seem to know.




Question to all: For those who've taken AAMC11, were the sections in that CBT a lot different/more difficult than the other CBTs?

 

[Amrazzz]

Amarazz,

What did you think of the AAMC verbal? Harder than the EK101s? I don't know how you and Raltima are doing so well on verbal, you guys should share some strategies/insights that I don't seem to know.

Personally, I thought the question types were on par with EK101, but I felt that the AAMC passages were slightly denser. I do feel that AAMC and EK are significantly easier than TPR, which is very detail based (I started with TPR Verbal Workbook and found there was a very fine line that distinguished the right and wrong answers and the question types were very complex)

I started of with a 7 on verbal and tanked to a 6 on the sectionals and now I'm averaging 10s (which for me, is a huge improvement). I really didn't do much except do passage after passage (all of TPR Verbal Workbook TPR in class compendium, and EK tests) and it eventually worked. Also I never really self evaluated as I didn't see the point in spending unnecessary time on passages I would never see on the MCAT but I did note my common mistakes such as not going back to the passage, misreading questions and answer stems, and spending too much time on a question.

Regarding my strategy, I do a mix of EK and TPR. EK in the sense of sticking with the main idea and skimming over details and TPR strategy of attacking the questions based on their stems and distinguishing between the attractor answer choices. I also follow TPR ranking system of gauging now, later, and killer passages. I also tend to over-highlight compared to others. The reason being is that when I finish reading a passage, I'll go back and read only what I highlighted to give me a quick refresher and a map of the authors argument.

 

[Amrazzz]

Anybody else feel like they've had enough of studying at this point? I've been prepping for about three months now and I want to get this damn thing out of my mind haha. Been at it while taking 16 cred/hours, research, and volunteering and trying to fit in 4 hours of studying a day. Can't wait to have somewhat of a life back after this exam!

 

[raltima07]

IrishTwins,


What did you think of the AAMC verbal? Harder than the EK101s? I don't know how you and Raltima are doing so well on verbal, you guys should share some strategies/insights that I don't seem to know.

WhatMD88,

What I do for verbal is I go through the passage once and read it thoroughly; following that, I go straight to the questions. For most of the questions, the answer is IN the passage. It my not be explicit, but it is there. The questions that are somewhat more obscure, I give my best, mark it and leave. Once I finish the test, there are usually 5-7 marked questions. I go through each of them reasoning my answer choices.

On my last verbal, I got a 13, meaning I got 2 questions wrong. Of those two, I couldn't guess right. But if you find the answer in the passage for each question, you should be golden.

I am a really fast reader, so even after doing all of this I usually have 5-6 minutes left to still go on if I need to. That is what I do - no real secrets.

Verbal is my strong suit haha

 

[Rose Croix]

Hey IrishTwins,

I read the EKs and used their verbal strategies, but I haven't gotten a grasp of stereotyping the author the way the book shows. Also, I am not good at "washing out" the details because I place about the same weight for each sentence. How did you improve at stereotyping and washing out the details. Also, how did you go about doing post-test analysis? Did you follow EKs method (review each question/choices for one day and match main idea with each question the next day)?

I usually try to politicize what I'm reading. If its slightly leftist, I figure that I'm reading hippie liberal douchery, and if its slightly right wing, I think glen beck. It kinda helps on some passages.

 

[Rose Croix]

Anybody else feel like they've had enough of studying at this point? I've been prepping for about three months now and I want to get this damn thing out of my mind haha. Been at it while taking 16 cred/hours, research, and volunteering and trying to fit in 4 hours of studying a day. Can't wait to have somewhat of a life back after this exam!

I feel you, I had a nice break since all of Alabama was pretty much wiped clean by the tornadoes. Studying by candle light was stupid so I gave up. I'm about to do intense studying for this next week and a half, and then take the rest of the time off and go hiking or camping or something.