Which practice tests to use?

[mmckuin]

Hey everyone I know threads like this one are very similar to others, but any help i would be thankful!

So I took my MCAT back at beginning of September, and took all the AAMC tests 3-11 throughout august. I am planning to retake it at the end of this April, and want to know which practice tests should I take this time around?

Others have suggested that I still take all the AAMC tests because it was a long time since I last took them and most likely don't remember the questions, and they respresent the MCAT the most obviously.

My low score on my last MCAT was my verbal, so I have been doing practice tests through the TPRH book and EK101, and feel that those practice will help that score. Then for the sciences, I have been doing practice passages everyday through TBR books. So, I feel like I'm basically taking practice exams with all these practice passages from all these books.

Let me know what you guys think I should do about which practice tests I should use?
THANK YOU!

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[SN2ed]

Stick with BR FLs as they're your next best bet.

Should I retake FL X?

I don't suggest it for a few reasons. First, your score will be inflated. This alone negates the predictive power of the test. If you don't need it to gauge where you are, fine, retake them. For instance, you could simply be going over the problems again to, as others have mentioned, understand the thinking behind it. However, if you are using it as a practice FL, don't.

One of the most important aspects of a FL is that it's material you've never seen before. It forces you to quickly analyze an unknown passage, tap into your knowledge, and answer questions you've never seen. If you knew exactly what was going to be on the test, it would take away from the somewhat frantic experience of getting that weird passage. It also makes you more relaxed overall because you know what's coming. Unfortunately, you will not have the luxury of either on the test. You will have to deal with weird passages. You will have to get out of your comfort zone of knowing what's ahead.

Then, you get into the timing issues which you MUST get down before the test. When you have prior knowledge of the material, you miss the chance at gaining more experience with the clock. Too many people underestimate the effect of the timer. Again, you have to get used to it and retaking problems won't help.

Think of the whole thing like sports practice. Sure, you go over some standard plays again and again to get a feel for them. However, to practice for a real game, you have a scrimmage match or an exhibition game. The other team doesn't tell you what plays they're going to run. If they did, it would eliminate the usefulness of the scrimmage or exhibition game.

 

[mmckuin]

Thanks SN2ed! You're always a great help for MCAT preparation.

Of the TBR exams, which ones r the best to take? Could you rank which tests from them are the most representative of the real MCAT?

Let me know thanks!

 

[Renaissance Man]

Hey everyone I know threads like this one are very similar to others, but any help i would be thankful!

So I took my MCAT back at beginning of September, and took all the AAMC tests 3-11 throughout august. I am planning to retake it at the end of this April, and want to know which practice tests should I take this time around?

Others have suggested that I still take all the AAMC tests because it was a long time since I last took them and most likely don't remember the questions, and they respresent the MCAT the most obviously.

My low score on my last MCAT was my verbal, so I have been doing practice tests through the TPRH book and EK101, and feel that those practice will help that score. Then for the sciences, I have been doing practice passages everyday through TBR books. So, I feel like I'm basically taking practice exams with all these practice passages from all these books.

Let me know what you guys think I should do about which practice tests I should use?
THANK YOU!

Although there are flawed questions, and sometimes annoying and kind of repeated questions, I think that the Gold Standard FL CBTs really helped me out. They are hard, I got through 7 of them and never scored close to what I got on the real thing. However, for me at least, it was good practice.

As stated AAMC retake scores will be inflated due to things you remember that you don't "remember."