The Official June 2015 MCAT Thread

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Just completed the AAMC practice test. Feeling more confident after doing it (definitely easier than EK), and more motivated, as my studying seems to be paying off. I'm still super nervous about the psych/soci section though. Still so many WTF moments when I'm reading questions.
Chem/Phys: 55/59 (93%)
CARS: 52/53 (98%)
Biol: 54/59 (92%)
Psych/soci: 51/59 (86%)
 
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soccergurl1987 said:
Just completed the AAMC practice test. Feeling more confident after doing it (definitely easier than EK), and more motivated, as my studying seems to be paying off. I'm still super nervous about the psych/soci section though. Still so many WTF moments when I'm reading questions.
Chem/Phys: 55/59 (93%)
CARS: 52/53 (98%)
Biol: 54/59 (92%)
Psych/soci: 51/59 (86%)
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Holy ****. Goodjob, I should reschedule so I don't have to take the same day as you. What have you been getting on various prep companies practice tests?

I'm really admiring that CARS score lol
 
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soccergurl1987 said:
Just completed the AAMC practice test. Feeling more confident after doing it (definitely easier than EK), and more motivated, as my studying seems to be paying off. I'm still super nervous about the psych/soci section though. Still so many WTF moments when I'm reading questions.
Chem/Phys: 55/59 (93%)
CARS: 52/53 (98%)
Biol: 54/59 (92%)
Psych/soci: 51/59 (86%)
Click to expand...
What material have you been using for each subject?
 
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Last practice test I took was EK, where I got somewhere between 75-80% correct (I can't remember the exact breakdown). I also took the NS half diagnostic (514?) and a diagnostic from PR/Kaplan (I can't remember which), where I got a 504 or 505. I'm going to take the 2 other EK exams before my June 20th test date, but won't be bothering with any other prep companies exams, as they're way too focused on the details, and I just find it frustrating doing the test. I think my time will be better spend addressing particular topics I'm still struggling with.

I've primarily used the EK books, although I'm supplementing with KA passages. I've also started supplementing EK with practice problems from BR (yay for hand me downs 😛) for the subjects I'm weak on. I haven't taken physics/gen chem in 8 years at this point, so there are some definite cobwebs that have had to be brushed off 😛 As for psych/soci I've supplemented EK using the topic list from AAMC and google, but clearly still not caught all the terms, as every test I take, there's some new WTF moment where I have no idea what they're talking about 😛

I'm just super relieved. It's been difficult balancing school/work and studying, but thankfully it seems to be paying off. Gives me the motivation to keep working hard for the next 3 weeks since I know all the work is not going to waste 😛
 
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soccergurl1987 said:
Last practice test I took was EK, where I got somewhere between 75-80% correct (I can't remember the exact breakdown). I also took the NS half diagnostic (514?) and a diagnostic from PR/Kaplan (I can't remember which), where I got a 504 or 505. I'm going to take the 2 other EK exams before my June 20th test date, but won't be bothering with any other prep companies exams, as they're way too focused on the details, and I just find it frustrating doing the test. I think my time will be better spend addressing particular topics I'm still struggling with.

I've primarily used the EK books, although I'm supplementing with KA passages. I've also started supplementing EK with practice problems from BR (yay for hand me downs 😛) for the subjects I'm weak on. I haven't taken physics/gen chem in 8 years at this point, so there are some definite cobwebs that have had to be brushed off 😛 As for psych/soci I've supplemented EK using the topic list from AAMC and google, but clearly still not caught all the terms, as every test I take, there's some new WTF moment where I have no idea what they're talking about 😛

I'm just super relieved. It's been difficult balancing school/work and studying, but thankfully it seems to be paying off. Gives me the motivation to keep working hard for the next 3 weeks since I know all the work is not going to waste 😛
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I would love to hear progress on your scores and past exams. I just took the first EK and got 70%.. damn it was hard. Way harder than the AAMC test. I've been scoring at low 500's for TPR stuff I've been doing. I'm retaking the AAMC official as it's been months since I took it... still not sure how accurate the score will be since I have taken it, but whatever. I'll be taking it several days before the real deal.

I also have been weak on genchem and physics in particular. Do you have any strategies for honing in on those areas?
 
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piii said:
Keep in mind that while I've seen improvements, I still don't feel 100% improved and my 60% in verbal today on the TPR 2 reinforced that. I seem to do better on the AAMC official stuff, but most of that was untimed (maybe 11-13 min per passage). Also keep in mind that this process takes time to get used to. I've been doing about 4 passages every day with analysis.

>

I'm by no means a verbal expert. But I've significantly improved by percentages in AAMC passages from 60% to 85% by watching the 4 cambridge learning center videos on youtube.

It encourages an in depth reading of the passage. You use analysis on rhetoric (relationship of sentences) to identify:

Topic sentence of each paragraph (usually first sentence) - Key idea of the paragraph. Every thing after will by used as support or to elaborate. Also can be the main point of the passage if this paragraph is the thesis paragraph.

Conclusion sentence - this is the significance of every thing stated between it and that first topic sentence of the paragraph.

These are the main points you remember on your first read through. While you read the paragraph, you also look for rhetorical cues, or indicators of importance. Here are some examples:
Pivotal words - but, and, therefore, etc...
Quotation marks - author is saying, pay attention to this - and it either is support for the topic sentence, a clarification/definition, or most importantly, irony - where the author means the opposite.
Semicolons and colons - the author uses this to indicate importance. He's saying, this is important and I'm going to say it twice in two different ways. Usually the most important thing is what comes after the semicolon/colon.

So you read the paragraphs, reflect on the key ideas (topic sentence) and significance of the paragraph (conclusion sentence) and you have mapped out the important cues of each paragraph but you don't really need to memorize them, just know where they are when you need to answer a question.

So how do you tell the meaning of these sentences? You use grammar analysis. Grammar is the relationship of words in a sentence. You basically find the main clause of that thesis/conclusion sentence, the NOUN VERB part of the sentence that doesn't rely on anything else to support it. You strip down the modifiers and you have the idea.

When you answer questions about the passage, you are asked to identify key ideas, reasons why author mentioned things, and inferences. This is actually pretty simple. You identify the location of the question reference within the passage and you use the thesis or conclusion sentence to associate the key idea or significance.

For inferences, you usually relate key idea and significances (PLURAL) together to draw a conclusion about why the author mentioned it. This also goes for questions the author asks in the text.

Now these things aren't always black and white, but with enough consistency and practice, it becomes second nature. This is what I've been noticing in my work with it, and as I understand this more and more, it saves me time answering questions.
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This was an interesting video. Always curious what people who score in the 12-15 in verbal do differently. Based on reading the old posts it seems like a 12=~~15 considering the luck of the draw has a part to play. However, it seems like in his analysis he missed some nuance. The studies in the passage were completely glossed over, and so was the methodology of the study. It is not only important to understand what the key ideas are but in questions like : why is the authors assumption weak? or what would most weaken? or what would most strengthen the authors case? All these questions require an understanding of what evidence was provided as support. My two cents. Not an expert either. Heck, english isnt even my first language.
 
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libertyyne said:
This was an interesting video. Always curious what people who score in the 12-15 in verbal do differently. Based on reading the old posts it seems like a 12=~~15 considering the luck of the draw has a part to play. However, it seems like in his analysis he missed some nuance. The studies in the passage were completely glossed over, and so was the methodology of the study. It is not only important to understand what the key ideas are but in questions like : why is the authors assumption weak? or what would most weaken? or what would most strengthen the authors case? All these questions require an understanding of what evidence was provided as support. My two cents. Not an expert either. Heck, english isnt even my first language.
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Oh I totally agree. Keep in mind that this is a brief overview of part of the strategy of analysis. But this is also provided by a learning center that wants to encourage you to take their online class, so they won't review everything.

I've read through the whole TPR CARS book and have received a lot of other useful insight on attacking other questions through passage work. I think the strengthen/weaken questions are actually a little easier, because often the answers are extremes.
 
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piii said:
Oh I totally agree. Keep in mind that this is a brief overview of part of the strategy of analysis. But this is also provided by a learning center that wants to encourage you to take their online class, so they won't review everything.

I've read through the whole TPR CARS book and have received a lot of other useful insight on attacking other questions through passage work. I think the strengthen/weaken questions are actually a little easier, because often the answers are extremes.
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Ha! Maybe i should have read the darn verbal book. I havent practiced verbal at all besides the FL practice tests.
 
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libertyyne said:
Ha! Maybe i should have read the darn verbal book. I havent practiced verbal at all besides the FL practice tests.
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TPR full length tests?

I practice so much and it is so incredibly frustrating. For AAMC material I do pretty well in the 70-80% correct range. But when I do TPR passages, every other passage I get like half wrong. I don't know whether they are harder or what :/
 
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piii said:
TPR full length tests?

I practice so much and it is so incredibly frustrating. For AAMC material I do pretty well in the 70-80% correct range. But when I do TPR passages, every other passage I get like half wrong. I don't know whether they are harder or what :/
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Yes. TPR FLs. I scored a 129 on one a few weeks back in verbal and before that 127-128 average. The most recent ones have been destroying me for some odd reason, most definately a timing and practice thing since i have been focused on the sciences i havent practiced verbal as much. took an old aamc today and scored an 11, so I hope the most recent TPR FL verbal sections were just insane. I havent done any of the new AAMC material yet maybe tomorrow.
 
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Hey guys, how much are you guys planning on studying for the next 3 weeks? I'm gonna finish up with content this sunday (but I've been doing CARS passages for a while and keep getting only 4-5/7 correct every passage). Is doing about 3-4 hours of passages and then reviewing the material everyday a good plan, or should I ease/strengthen the load?
 
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I've taken the old MCAT, and want to see if I should go ahead and take the new one and with what materials.

I have all the old MCAT books from Kaplan, and was wondering, for the subjects that are similar on this test (Bio, Physics, Orgo, Chem) are those books sufficient? Are the topics that are high yield/low yield in those subjects different on the new test than they were on the old one?

As for Biochem and behaviroal sciences, as well as verbal, should I be purchasing new books? If so, from what company is best?

How many practice tests are out there, since the exam is so now? And regarding the questions and test banks, what is best to use for this?
 
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Should I focus more on content review or passages? Kaplan biochem is so detailed and I didn't memorize every single aspect of it.... But would it benefit me more to practice doing passages rather than memorizing metabolic pathways? Thanks
 
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whoareyou said:
Should I focus more on content review or passages? Kaplan biochem is so detailed and I didn't memorize every single aspect of it.... But would it benefit me more to practice doing passages rather than memorizing metabolic pathways? Thanks
Click to expand...
whoareyou?
 
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I'm so glad I decided to change my date to June 19. I've been pounding out study hours and am super pumped to destroy this thing in 3 weeks! Who's with me? Any Reno NV June 19 test takers in here?
 
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mikil100 said:
Next Step 1/2 Diag: 497 (taken at beginning of prep)
TPR Demo #1: 502 123, 126, 125, 129
TPR FL #2: 502 125, 125,125, 127
TPR FL #3: 502 123, 126,126, 127 (Just recently taken)

AAMC Official FL: 63%, 85%, 73%,64% (This was taken at the beginning of my prep)

What are your scores?
Click to expand...

I scored a 502 on Kaplan FL #6, and a 499 on Kaplan FL #7. I find the Kaplan FL's to be incredibly frustrating from time to time.
 
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Venous Returnus said:
I scored a 502 on Kaplan FL #6, and a 499 on Kaplan FL #7. I find the Kaplan FL's to be incredibly frustrating from time to time.
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Are you noticing on the TPR exams that they only allow you to see one question at a time?

I am actually avoiding the TPR tomorrow just for that reason. I always scan through the questions and answer the ones that I can quickest first, so having to answer one at a time messes up my entire approach.

Also, I thought we could all post our recent exam scores just to gauge our progress.

Past scores:
TPR Demo: 502
Kaplan #1: 499
TPR #1: 501
Next step Diagnostic: 507
EK #3: 72%

Upcoming exams:
Kaplan #2: Tomorrow, 5/31
TPR #2 (if they get their format fixed): 6/4
AAMC Official: Saturday (6/6)
EK #1: 6/11
EK#2: 6/15

For the last few days I am just going to keep doing practice passages from Khan Academy; maybe some TBR passages as well for Biochem.

In between exams I am just reviewing the content gaps I had for each and doing some practice passages related to them. I am not sure how else I can improve, so any feedback is much apppreciated!
 
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drrao88 said:
Are you noticing on the TPR exams that they only allow you to see one question at a time?

I am actually avoiding the TPR tomorrow just for that reason. I always scan through the questions and answer the ones that I can quickest first, so having to answer one at a time messes up my entire approach.
Click to expand...

The new MCAT only shows 1 question at a time so you better get used to it.
 
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drrao88 said:
WTF.
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I can verify that fact. We've had a few angry calls with the AAMC and some very unhappy students. If they were going to go to a "passage + 1 question at a time" format for MCAT-2015 that is fine...but the hing was that they released that first full-length and it was in the original "Passage + all questions, scroll" format...then randomly the software changes in the middle of a cycle while students are preparing??? No warnings it was coming either.

The biggest impact will be on your strategy for moving back and forth between questions/passages during the exam. You can move forward or backward with arrows, but only one question at a time. On the old software it was easy to go to a passage and then to a question if navigating through a section, on the new system that would be illogically difficult and time-consuming. The solution is going to have to be to be 100% sure to MARK any question you might possibly want to return to later, then use the "Review Marked" function. That will take you from question-to-question among those you've marked.
 
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Venous Returnus said:
I scored a 502 on Kaplan FL #6, and a 499 on Kaplan FL #7. I find the Kaplan FL's to be incredibly frustrating from time to time.
Click to expand...
You got that right.

My scores:

Kaplan #2 492 54% overall February 4th

Kaplan #3 498 62% overall April 7th

AAMC 2015 77% overall, CP 63%, CARS 92%, BB 68%, PS 86% April 15th (A 15% jump in overall questions correct, coincidence???)

Kaplan #4 497 60% overall April 21st

Kaplan # 5 496 57% overall April 28th

Kaplan #6 499 66% overall May 15th

AAMC official guide questions CP 76%, BB 82%, May 20th (Nope, not a coincidence)

Kaplan #1 499 63% overall May 17th

Kaplan # 7 499 65% overall May 30th

Overall I would say the Kaplan tests seem to be pretty poorly written. Repeated answer choices, grammatical errors, flat out wrong "correct" answers, etc. Although the AAMC questions are hard, at least the ambiguity isn't inherent in the question writing. This just seems to be the result of very well written materials (AAMC) vs. pretty poorly written materials (Kaplan). How else would my scores jump so much when taking the AAMC tests?

I have found the Kaplan books to be pretty well done. As far as the tests are concerned, they are only really good for testing your endurance and your patience. They can actually be pretty demoralizing and aggravating when you see their "logic" in answer choices. As far as the scores are concerned, your can pretty much disregard them as a sign for how you will perform on the AAMC materials.

I guess we will see how right we are in a few weeks!
 
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Just finished TPR 3 today! Got a 504. I will review tomorrow to see what I got wrong, but feels good to see my scores go up in each section 🙂 (except for CARS lol there were two passages that destroyed me...the other ones were great!)
 
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I've taken 4 Kaplan FL so far, but my score hasn't changed much. I haven't even broke 500 yet 🙁 with the test 3 weeks ago, I am concerned that I won't be ready. Any advice/suggestions?
 
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Caffein3 said:
Just finished TPR 3 today! Got a 504. I will review tomorrow to see what I got wrong, but feels good to see my scores go up in each section 🙂 (except for CARS lol there were two passages that destroyed me...the other ones were great!)
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Have you taken the AAMC yet?
 
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tvjclr said:
I've taken 4 Kaplan FL so far, but my score hasn't changed much. I haven't even broke 500 yet 🙁 with the test 3 weeks ago, I am concerned that I won't be ready. Any advice/suggestions?
Click to expand...
Take the AAMC test sooner than later. It is drastically different than the Kaplan tests and will make you feel a lot better about where you are sitting.

Kaplan is just demoralizing.
 
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I apologize if this has been answered, but for anyone that has been using the TPR review books, how do you feel about the questions at the end of each chapter? I've been finding them difficult :/
 
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stressingout said:
I apologize if this has been answered, but for anyone that has been using the TPR review books, how do you feel about the questions at the end of each chapter? I've been finding them difficult :/
Click to expand...
No need to apologize. Are you talking about the free standing questions at the end of the chapters? If so I'm not gonna sit here and either demoralize or patronize you based on the difficulty of those questions, I would say rather that if you do get them wrong understand why and the theory/concept behind the question it might help in the long run. Keep your head up. I've heard that they are not very representative of questions on the test anyway, this last part is only hear say so make of it what you will.
 
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DocMarz47 said:
No need to apologize. Are you talking about the free standing questions at the end of the chapters? If so I'm not gonna sit here and either demoralize or patronize you based on the difficulty of those questions, I would say rather that if you do get them wrong understand why and the theory/concept behind the question it might help in the long run. Keep your head up. I've heard that they are not very representative of questions on the test anyway, this last part is only hear say so make of it what you will.
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Yes, I've definitely been doing that. It's just so frustrating getting them wrong esp those physics questions! It's good to hear that it might not be representative though!
 
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stressingout said:
Yes, I've definitely been doing that. It's just so frustrating getting them wrong esp those physics questions! It's good to hear that it might not be representative though!
Click to expand...
Yes they're hard. They definitely stress specifics and aren't representative of the real test. With that being said, they are still important topics to know, and they can certainly help you do better on the tests. If you can answer the hard stuff, then you definitely have a good understanding of what's going on.

joshuak172 said:
Have you taken the AAMC yet?
Click to expand...
Nope! I'm gonna take it this week. I'll update you all how it goes. I'm excited for it!
 
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stressingout said:
I apologize if this has been answered, but for anyone that has been using the TPR review books, how do you feel about the questions at the end of each chapter? I've been finding them difficult :/
Click to expand...
I usually get 7 or 8 /10 right. They are specific for sure and they purposely make them hard. A lot of times they'll throw something in that one may get wrong based on the way it was covered in the chapter just to teach you a specific case/exception.
 
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Anyone know how to access the EK mcat FL practice exams after you purchase them? Its an exam you take online correct? I can't seem to find how you access it.
 
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tvjclr said:
I've taken 4 Kaplan FL so far, but my score hasn't changed much. I haven't even broke 500 yet 🙁 with the test 3 weeks ago, I am concerned that I won't be ready. Any advice/suggestions?
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dont worrry... Im at the same boat. Prinston and kaplan tests just rape me... Took AAMC got 80%. Those tests are very unrepresentative. But good in a sense that if you can do well on kaplan you will do WELL on the real thing.
 
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mitrieD said:
Anyone know how to access the EK mcat FL practice exams after you purchase them? Its an exam you take online correct? I can't seem to find how you access it.
Click to expand...

Did you purchase it this weekend? I think they only activate during business days. It appears under your account under the subsection "online exams" which will open up your "practice test portal."
 
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mitrieD said:
Anyone know how to access the EK mcat FL practice exams after you purchase them? Its an exam you take online correct? I can't seem to find how you access it.
Click to expand...

Sometime between 9:00-6:00 Mon-Fri, you will get an email from EK telling you how to access your activated test. If you still can't access it at that point, give them a call (happened to me).
 
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rachiie01 said:
How are you guys all balancing your studying with filling out your applications? What's the goal for submitting?
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I am just waiting on two more transcripts and I will be ready to submit. Snaaaaaail Mail.

I think everyone should be good as long as we submit at least 4-5 weeks prior to when we get out scores back to be safe.
 
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rachiie01 said:
How are you guys all balancing your studying with filling out your applications? What's the goal for submitting?
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Proud to say that after about 2 months of planning and writing my PS and activities, I'm ready to submit on Tuesday! Holy hell that personal statement was hard to cut down...1st draft had ~7500 characters.
 
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Well I just definitely just found a theme and rambled and rambled...and rambled..etc...etc.. haha. After over a month of editing is sliding in at just under 5300. Whew. I don't think taking a week or two and making sure everything is super perfect would seriously affect how quickly your application gets verified though.
 
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Sir.SavaLottaLife said:
I usually get 7 or 8 /10 right. They are specific for sure and they purposely make them hard. A lot of times they'll throw something in that one may get wrong based on the way it was covered in the chapter just to teach you a specific case/exception.
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My average is right around 6/7 correct out of 10. I was getting worried because I would think I had a very good understanding of the material until I do the questions! I'll be doing the AAMC practice test soon though to see where I really stand 🙂
 
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Chubaka31 said:
What material do you guys use for practice questions, practice passages, and practice exams?
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I have tried a bunch but I think the Khan passages are most closely related to the official guide questions. I haven't done the practice test yet though.
 
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stressingout said:
My average is right around 6/7 correct out of 10. I was getting worried because I would think I had a very good understanding of the material until I do the questions! I'll be doing the AAMC practice test soon though to see where I really stand 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah, it can get a frustrating at times, and I imagine your name is exactly how you feel 🙂, as is the case with many of us. Good luck with the practice.

Chubaka31 said:
What material do you guys use for practice questions, practice passages, and practice exams?
Click to expand...

I'm using both TPR and Kaplan and supplementing Khan in there.
 
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Kaplan's practice exams are pretty tough man... Barely reaching 500 and I got a 122 in PS lmao
 
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Still haven't started my PS.... I'm not sure I can call it procrastinating as it's time spent on the MCAT.

Halfway through the Physics questions pack.. Over all it is much easier than any other MCAT style Physics I've encountered. It's still by far my weakest area, though
 
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