What should I do after content review?

[SiakTiDoc]

Hey everyone!
So I've finished reviewing the Kaplan books about a week or so ago, and have moved onto doing Physics TBR passages, which have been quite demoralizing. I've been going back to my kaplan books to refine topics that I didn't do so well in, but should I be spending my time doing other practice problems?

I recently just got the AAMC Q-Bank and was wondering if it would be a better use of my time doing those and refining content that way?

My friend also offered her EK subject books to me, should I review those and then go into their passages, then AAMC?

I'm feeling pretty unorganized and a little overwhelmed with all the sources I have and I'm looking for some advice, on what I should be spending my time on. 😕

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[NextStepTutor_1]

Hi @SiakTiDoc ,

Congrats on getting through your content review! Since the next testing date isn't until January, that's pretty impressive 🙂. Anyway, the short answer to your question is simple: start taking full-length (FL) practice exams, and review them carefully. The idea here is that FL practice exams will help expose you to the full breadth of knowledge that you will be tested on (that is, not just physics), and get you used to (1) thinking about all of the MCAT subjects within a single day, (2) how these subjects are tested on the MCAT, and (3) the pacing that you need to optimize.

Keep in mind, though, that the real magic doesn't happen when you take FL exams (although you can build up some good habits by doing so), it happens when you review FL exams. As a rule of thumb, it should take you at least as long to review an exam as it does to take it. Here are a few tips for FL review:

• Review questions that you got right, as well as ones you got wrong. For one, you may have guessed correctly on a question. If so, you need to review that question just as much as if you had happened to guess incorrectly (after all, a guess is a guess). Second—and perhaps less obviously—you also want to invest some energy in reinforcing good habits, especially for challenging questions that you got right.
• For each question where you either made an error or were uncertain, a first step is to isolate the source of the problem. Was it a pure content issue? If so, go back and review the content, ideally in a bit more depth than the question specifically targeted (for instance, if you missed a question on insulin, you might want to review hormones in general). Was it a strategy issue? If so, what would you have had to do to get the question right? How can you recognize questions/traps like that ahead of time? Was it a timing issue? If so, it may be time to revisit your rhythm for approaching passages and questions. There may be other types of issues you identify, but you get the idea 🙂.
• For each question—including ones you got right—ask yourself: why is the right answer correct and why are the others incorrect? In some cases, that might be totally obvious, but for most MCAT questions, there's usually something going on there that is less obvious than "A is correct information, while B, C, and D are factually incorrect." The idea here is that you want to try to get into the head of the test makers, and understand their logic behind answer choices. By doing so, you'll be able to build instincts that will be advantageous later.

The end point of this whole process should be a set of action steps -- that is, things that you can put on a to-do list to either learn later (in the case of content) or to be aware of the next time you take an exam (for strategy issues). In the interim before your next practice exam, take action based on your action steps, and then take the next practice exam with those lessons in mind. Then repeat 🙂. There's no absolutely fixed number for how many FL exams to take, but I would suggest not doing more than one a week, especially this far out, because you want to avoid burnout and make sure that you have enough time to review them well.

Hope this is helpful, and best of luck!

 

[SiakTiDoc]

Hi @SiakTiDoc ,

Congrats on getting through your content review! Since the next testing date isn't until January, that's pretty impressive 🙂. Anyway, the short answer to your question is simple: start taking full-length (FL) practice exams, and review them carefully. The idea here is that FL practice exams will help expose you to the full breadth of knowledge that you will be tested on (that is, not just physics), and get you used to (1) thinking about all of the MCAT subjects within a single day, (2) how these subjects are tested on the MCAT, and (3) the pacing that you need to optimize.

Keep in mind, though, that the real magic doesn't happen when you take FL exams (although you can build up some good habits by doing so), it happens when you review FL exams. As a rule of thumb, it should take you at least as long to review an exam as it does to take it. Here are a few tips for FL review:

• Review questions that you got right, as well as ones you got wrong. For one, you may have guessed correctly on a question. If so, you need to review that question just as much as if you had happened to guess incorrectly (after all, a guess is a guess). Second—and perhaps less obviously—you also want to invest some energy in reinforcing good habits, especially for challenging questions that you got right.
• For each question where you either made an error or were uncertain, a first step is to isolate the source of the problem. Was it a pure content issue? If so, go back and review the content, ideally in a bit more depth than the question specifically targeted (for instance, if you missed a question on insulin, you might want to review hormones in general). Was it a strategy issue? If so, what would you have had to do to get the question right? How can you recognize questions/traps like that ahead of time? Was it a timing issue? If so, it may be time to revisit your rhythm for approaching passages and questions. There may be other types of issues you identify, but you get the idea 🙂.
• For each question—including ones you got right—ask yourself: why is the right answer correct and why are the others incorrect? In some cases, that might be totally obvious, but for most MCAT questions, there's usually something going on there that is less obvious than "A is correct information, while B, C, and D are factually incorrect." The idea here is that you want to try to get into the head of the test makers, and understand their logic behind answer choices. By doing so, you'll be able to build instincts that will be advantageous later.

The end point of this whole process should be a set of action steps -- that is, things that you can put on a to-do list to either learn later (in the case of content) or to be aware of the next time you take an exam (for strategy issues). In the interim before your next practice exam, take action based on your action steps, and then take the next practice exam with those lessons in mind. Then repeat 🙂. There's no absolutely fixed number for how many FL exams to take, but I would suggest not doing more than one a week, especially this far out, because you want to avoid burnout and make sure that you have enough time to review them well.

Hope this is helpful, and best of luck!

Thank you for the advice, and I'll definitely follow those tips you mentioned when I do take my FLs,
Though because we only have access to so many, I was hoping to save those Until December/ end of November.

For now I wanted to sharpen my content review a bit more, but at the same time I wanted to start getting use to passages and applying my knowledge. Then Once I feel comfortable with that I'll move on to the FLs, if that makes sense?

 

[NextStepTutor_1]

Hi @SlakTiDoc,

You're right that there are only 3 AAMC scored practice tests right now—as well as the unscored sample—so you do want to be careful about when you use them. However, it really can be useful to get some realistic practice even while you're still reviewing your content, because so much of success on the MCAT is not about what you know, it's about how you apply it. There are a couple of options for how you can do that without burning through the AAMC scored practice exams. One is to use the AAMC Official Guide questions, and really dissect them in terms of the logic of the questions and how they test content. Another option, depending on your budget, is to explore the world of third-party practice FL exams.

I totally get where you're coming from in terms of wanting to finish content review first, before putting your knowledge into practice, but as counterintuitive as it may seem, it really is helpful to do some realistic practice during content review—both to build up mental habits that will promote success on the MCAT and to make your content review more efficient by giving you a sense of how content areas are tested. The MCAT doesn't test content in quite the same way college coursework does. This discrepancy is probably most notable for physics, but it's true throughout the sciences.

Best of luck!!

 

[Altius Premier Tutor]

If you feel comfortable with content review and are looking for more practice, but don't want to burn through the scored AAMC exams until later, I would STRONGLY recommend that you begin working through the UNSCORED AAMC materials and the best third-party exams. That allows you to continue practicing while leaving the AAMC scored resources for accurate predictive value later on. In particular, the Section Bank gives you a realistic idea of what to expect. Most test takers continue to be *surprised* on test day by the difficulty/acronyms/pathways and overall experimental nature of the real exam. My students have not had that same experience if they have focused on the Section Bank as "what to expect."

Bottom line: You've got AAMC unscored, section bank, and third-party full-length exams, PLENTY to keep you busy practicing!

 

[rabbott1971]

Do the section banks before you do the AAMC practice exams. The section banks are humbling and very hard, but many people believe they are the most beneficial study tool out there.

 

[SiakTiDoc]

@rabbott1971 @Altius Premier Tutor
Thank you both for the advice!
I'll move on to the AAMC material. At some point should I try to juggle in the other material I have or just focus on the AAMC items?

 

[AZRobbins]

Practice, practice, practice!

Make sure you thoroughly review the material for questions you missed or guessed on- not just enough to answer the question correctly, but enough so that you really understand it.
I'd also recommend making flashcards for the equations you should know (if you haven't already). It made me feel better to have these to study from up to the day of the exam.

I think whether you supplement AAMC material with other stuff is a matter of how much time you have. If the AAMC material alone leaves you with a lot of extra time, I would maybe throw in a Nextstep practice exam. But don't let the scores you get on non-AAMC material discourage you.