Looking for people to test CBT practice site

[R26]

Hi MCAT testers,

 

I'm just about ready to launch a site that offers free CBT practice passages and I'm looking for a few people to do some initial beta testing. If you're interested, PM me and I'll provide you with the url.

 

At the moment there are about 12 verbal passages and 3 bio passages uploaded. More verbal passages are in development and a number of phys passages are on deck.

[rugbyman7]

Hi R26 - I'd be happy to test out some of your passages...what is the purpose of the site? Perhaps e-mail me at MatthewWard_Prep101@hotmail.com and let me know the details....thanks...

[cor5]

I saw your post. May I have access to your beta?

What is the URL?

[medtech]

I'll try it out, PM me the URL plz

[hkmedic]

His website will lead to virus and malware. Just a heads up!

[R26]

As I said in the other post, I'm not sure where you got your virus, but I assure you it did not come from my site. The site doesn't run activeX, flash, or require you to download anything. It does run some client side javascript with AJAX, so if your security settings are sensitive, your browser will give you a warning.

 

I really don't have any bad intentions, and I have put a lot of time into this, so you can understand that I'd like to resolve this as fast as possible. Can you tell me what the virus was? What browser you were using, along with the version? and what was the warning you were getting. I would prefer a PM, but if you like to post in the open, I'm okay with that too.

[Prion]

If that's true, that's a pretty big d*ck move on his part. People here are genuinely trying to find help in any form they can for what is quite possibly the biggest exam of their lives (to this point). For shame R26. I hope karma catches up with you one day and you get all that you deserve (if what hkm91450 said is true). I also hope, R26, that if you are an aspiring premed, that the system (for once) works and weeds you out, because you would be the last person I would want treating me. I don't want someone who is underhanded and... just plain idiotic with increasing their odds by any means necessary as a doctor. I have other words for you, but your type of people are not worth my frustration and anger.

 

Can we get the mods in here to remove this thread and the other one? That way no one will get their computers FUBARed by some @$$hole.

 

... what's with the over-reaction? I checked out the site, I thought it was pretty good work. It's probably the unintended scripts on the site that triggered the browser alarm, why would he go through so much trouble just to throw you a few virus or run a malicious script? What would OP gain from it? If anything I think he/she did a pretty good job with the website, I applaud the work and the initiative.

 

Oh and... how do you like the doctors that jump to the conclusion without the slightest investigation and caution?

[R26]

Many thanks Prion. I pledge to do my best to clean up the code to avoid future scares.

 

For other interested potential users: there is a known error when using the chrome browser that reports it as a malicious site. We are actively investigating this issue. Please PM me if you encounter this problem or if you hsve any other feedback.

[cnb88]

... what's with the over-reaction? I checked out the site, I thought it was pretty good work. It's probably the unintended scripts on the site that triggered the browser alarm, why would he go through so much trouble just to throw you a few virus or run a malicious script? What would OP gain from it? If anything I think he/she did a pretty good job with the website, I applaud the work and the initiative.

 

Oh and... how do you like the doctors that jump to the conclusion without the slightest investigation and caution?

 

lol... you have a very good point with that, but I didn't want to investigate (for obvious reasons- I'd rather my computer NOT get a virus, and I'm not computer savvy enough to know how to prevent that when going to another site). Yes, I did overreact, I'll admit that, but you have to admit that there are (sadly) people out there that would do something like that. It's better to be safe than sorry with things like computer viruses.

OP: My apologies for my original post in this thread (and the other one!) You have a great idea, and I'm happy to know that it doesn't contain a virus or malware:)

[R26]

cnb88: No need to apologize. With the hyper-competitive environment that is premed, I'd be suspicious too. Thanks for the kind words.

 

Apparently the ongoing issue is only with Google Chrome. But the website is functional and I so far have had 6 people (4 firefox, 2 IE) confirm that it's doing what they expected it to do with no malware. If anyone else is interested in trying it out, the url is www.roscospracticetests.com.

[R26]

For those interested, the chrome browser issue has been resolved.

 

Thanks to all those who gave it a try and sent me feedback on the site. I'll continue to try to clean up the interface as several of the beta testers requested and upload more passages as they are created.

 

Keep the feedback coming. We also take requests, if anybody has a particular topic that they might need extra practice in.

[Missingtooth]

The site keeps asking me to log in every time I try to take a practice test.

[R26]

Hi Missingtooth,

 

I had to temporarily shut down the site just for a bit to implement some of the suggestions I've gotten. I'll post when the site is up and running again. Should be back up in a few days. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your interest .

[champ]

can you pm me the url aswell, and some background info on this.

[R26]

For those who have been helping out with testing the new site, it is now back online and slightly newer and slightly improved. Give it a try if you're interested.

 

champ: You can find the practice MCAT test site here.

[karimlalani]

For those who have been helping out with testing the new site, it is now back online and slightly newer and slightly improved. Give it a try if you're interested.

 

champ: You can find the practice MCAT test site here.

 

I FREAKIN LOVE YOU

[karimlalani]

do you think you could add the same marking tools that will be provided on the real thing ? like a highlighter, etc. that would just make it more realistic

 

major props on starting this thing. you have no idea how long ive been searching for cbt-like practice questions/tests

[R26]

do you think you could add the same marking tools that will be provided on the real thing ? like a highlighter, etc. that would just make it more realistic

 

major props on starting this thing. you have no idea how long ive been searching for cbt-like practice questions/tests

 

Actually that's a really good idea. I don't know why I didn't think about that before. There is the ability to mark a question to be reviewed later, but the highlighting tool is not there. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get started on adding that feature right away.

[karimlalani]

Actually that's a really good idea. I don't know why I didn't think about that before. There is the ability to mark a question to be reviewed later, but the highlighting tool is not there. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get started on adding that feature right away.

 

sweet. thanks so much !!

 

and how often do you think you'll add more questions/passages to each section ??

[R26]

sweet. thanks so much !!

 

and how often do you think you'll add more questions/passages to each section ??

 

My goal at the beginning was three passages per week (one passage from each of the three sections with an average 6 questions per passage). But realistically, I think I can only churn out 2 per week.

 

Any feedback on the quality of the passages themselves? In particular, I'm interested in the difficulty or authenticity of the verbal passages. Good or bad, I'm interested in hearing any thoughts so I can adapt future passages.

[karimlalani]

sounds good. i havent taken any of the tests yet just because i want to prepare first...but personally, id like it if all the passages for all the sections were harder than those youd find on the real thing...cuz then the better i do on these, the even better id do on the real thing

 

but thats just me

[Missingtooth]

My only complaint is that it would be alot better if you grouped the passages into tests or maybe sections to get a more realistic feel for the MCAt. But I really like what you've done and it's about time someone put something together like this. It's by no means a complete study package, but it'll definitely help level the playing field. Great work! :D

[R26]

Thanks for the feedback Missingtooth. At the moment, only individual passages are being uploaded because our writers haven't had time to work on stand-alone questions at the moment. I think most people prefer to practice passage questions anyways. When we reach our goal of 100 passages uploaded, we plan to switch gears and churn out some stand-alones. Then we can start putting together a full test.

 

Thanks for giving it a try. Much appreciated.

[macrylinda1]

His website will lead to virus and malware. Just a heads up!

 

As I said in the other post, I'm not sure where you got your virus, but I assure you it did not come from my site. The site doesn't run activeX, flash, or require you to download anything. It does run some client side javascript with AJAX, so if your security settings are sensitive, your browser will give you a warning.

 

I really don't have any bad intentions, and I have put a lot of time into this, so you can understand that I'd like to resolve this as fast as possible. Can you tell me what the virus was? What browser you were using, along with the version? and what was the warning you were getting. I would prefer a PM, but if you like to post in the open, I'm okay with that too.

[mavrik13]

I took a look at your website. While your effort is evident and noble, I found your passages (I only looked at two) tened to ramble, and didn't feel like a real MCAT passage. They contained spelling and grammar mistakes, and it just didn't read very well. You also need to add spaces between the paragraphs, its near impossible to read as is, even with increasing the font size on my browser.

 

Perhaps your biggest issue is that you have 5 answers per question - the first thing you should notice on a real MCAT is that there are only 4 answers per question.

 

Good luck - I think this is a great idea, but in order to make it a great product, I felt you needed some more critical (and hopefully constructive?) feedback.