Hoote Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I am studying with TPR and was wondering if I had to choose between doing TPR practice exams or AAMC, would you recommend AAMC only if I could only do, say... 6 exams? Or try to mix it up? Thanks! Hoote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gametime24 Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I am studying with TPR and was wondering if I had to choose between doing TPR practice exams or AAMC, would you recommend AAMC only if I could only do, say... 6 exams? Or try to mix it up? Thanks! Hoote I would recommend AAMC, I only have time to do 7 or 8 and that is what I'm going with as it seems that they are the most similar to the actual MCAT (from what people on the forum have said) Hope that helps! Anyone else feel free to jump in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekarza Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I am studying with TPR and was wondering if I had to choose between doing TPR practice exams or AAMC, would you recommend AAMC only if I could only do, say... 6 exams? Or try to mix it up? Thanks! Hoote I would definitely focus more on the aamc tests. They are the most accurate practice mcat tests. If you have time though I would start out with the tpr tests and then closer to your test I would practice the aamc ones. Mixing it up probably wouldn't be a bad idea because from what I have heard tpr tests are a bit harder so they may help to solidify tough concepts, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanillabear Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I am studying with TPR and was wondering if I had to choose between doing TPR practice exams or AAMC, would you recommend AAMC only if I could only do, say... 6 exams? Or try to mix it up? Thanks! Hoote TPR suggests you do AAMC 10, then TPR 1, 2, 3 and then AAMC 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vdoon Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I would suggest writing all of the sections in one sitting (with small breaks) if possible. I found the test quite tiring when doing it in the comfort of my home, and it was even worse while in a room full of people clicking typing and shuffling back and forth to the sign in desk. I felt the same way about my practice scores (they seemed too high). When it came to the actual test, I scored a single point lower, so I felt they were a pretty reasonable reflection of the actual test. In my experience, the Kaplan tests I took matched pretty well with the AAMC tests (in terms of scoring). The Kaplan tests were a little harder, but somewhat more generous with the score conversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedLily Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Is anyone aware of a way to get some of these materials without going broke? I really want to do well, it's just hard to get review books, practice questions AND aamc tests Right now I have the complete EK set for review, and am trying to decide what to buy to get specific questions to practice with. It seems like the aamc tests are worth it, but what do you guys think about the EK 1001 series? What's the general consensus on what to use to actually have good study questions to practice with, without having to practice with a full length test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lekarza Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Is anyone aware of a way to get some of these materials without going broke? I really want to do well, it's just hard to get review books, practice questions AND aamc tests Right now I have the complete EK set for review, and am trying to decide what to buy to get specific questions to practice with. It seems like the aamc tests are worth it, but what do you guys think about the EK 1001 series? What's the general consensus on what to use to actually have good study questions to practice with, without having to practice with a full length test? Remember that this is all an investment for your future and hopefully putting the time and money into it now will pay off. But if you don't feel comfortable spending all of that money (which I totally understand because I am in the same situation) there are many other options for study materials. Here are a couple of threads that have links to free MCAT tests and study material: http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51808&highlight=free+online+mcat http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27685&highlight=free+mcat+materials If you can afford it, I would get a couple of the aamc tests and, like people have said before, you can split the cost with a friend so it won't be as expensive (I think someone on this thread was interested in splitting with someone). In terms of the ek 1001 series, I have only used the verbal which I found to be extremely helpful. If you can manage it I would buy it but remember there are a lot of free stuff online available to you. You can also go the other route and torrent all of the books (not sure if I can say this or not) if you really don't want to buy anything lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amalwa12 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 I totally understand your point- I started off by getting the EK content books first as well but they're not enough in terms of practice. I was going to buy the EK1001s when I got superr lucky and a friend of mine who took the tpr course last year gave me all her material. So I suggest looking around forums for a bit trying to find used versions of the tpr material or kaplan or berkely review. I saw a lot of posts on the student doctor forum where people were selling this material (with free shipping from the States). And if you think that's beyond you budget, do try to arrange for the EK1001s, because I really think the EK content books are inadequate in terms of practice material. And of course, getting AAMCs is very important for nearer to the test date. I suggest just posting around here to try to find someone to split with. And I found this a few weeks ago, just going to post this for you. Prep101 has some free practice material on its site. TPR and Kaplan also have free practice tests on their site. Also check out the EK site for more resources. http://www.prep101.com/mcat/free-mcat-study-aids/ Good luck!! Is anyone aware of a way to get some of these materials without going broke? I really want to do well, it's just hard to get review books, practice questions AND aamc tests Right now I have the complete EK set for review, and am trying to decide what to buy to get specific questions to practice with. It seems like the aamc tests are worth it, but what do you guys think about the EK 1001 series? What's the general consensus on what to use to actually have good study questions to practice with, without having to practice with a full length test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gametime24 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Hey, I know people have been saying the aamc are very close to the real thing.. I have found that the passages in the EK content books in class tests have been substantially more difficult that the passages in the aamc 3R, 4R, and 5R.. I was getting not so good marks on a lot of the EK books, but have scored 11-13 in each of the PS and BS sections of all three of the first aamc tests.. Are the tests in the content books just harder? I found they required a much deeper understanding of the material than the aamc tests have so far... Can I expect that I will only need the level of understanding for the aamc tests? I have 6R-11R to do still so I will obviously do all of those. I would be happy with a 12 on both sections and am just wondering if I should devote this last week to trying to get the knowledge base I have deeper (more to the level of what was asked in the content books) or doing aamc practice tests? Also, can anybody say how much optics was on their actual mcat? It doesnt look like more that 2 or 3 questions max per aamc test. Same thing for the electricity and magnetism? The aamc passages on that haven't really required a thorough understanding of it so far... Thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokaroo Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 What the letters next to the numbers next to your AAMC test numbers (i.e 3R?) I always they were were just numbered. Do the letters indicate a different level or difficulty or just version? Also, how does one know the scores on each test? I mean from what I know your can print the offline correct? Then how do we know the curving for each AAMC version? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numero0121407 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Hey, I just did a VR section from EK, and one passage I just completely couldn't get anything out of it as I was reading. Something about some judge and supreme court blah blah, it just made no sense to me. I didn't know what to do? I panicked and messed up the last two passages after it as well...What do you guys suggest in a situation like this? Skip it and focus on the rest? ((( ....I was hoping this test will boost my morale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gametime24 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 What the letters next to the numbers next to your AAMC test numbers (i.e 3R?) I always they were were just numbered. Do the letters indicate a different level or difficulty or just version? Also, how does one know the scores on each test? I mean from what I know your can print the offline correct? Then how do we know the curving for each AAMC version? Thanks, You seem to have quite a few typos.. so I'm not sure if this post will have all of the information you are looking for. As far as I know, the numbering (ie 3R, 7R, etc) is only to designate the version and is not representative of the overall difficulty. However, some people may find some harder than others simply because of the topics chosen for each test. (you might get lucky and have all the stuff you're good with on 5R but have all of the stuff you are weaker in on 8R, or vice versa) Also, there are correlation charts for each of the practice tests that convert your raw score (number of questions correct) to a scaled score (what you would get as an mark on the mcat) Hope that helps Anybody able to answer my question about how much waves, E and M, and optics I can expect on the actual mcat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gametime24 Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Hey, I just did a VR section from EK, and one passage I just completely couldn't get anything out of it as I was reading. Something about some judge and supreme court blah blah, it just made no sense to me. I didn't know what to do? I panicked and messed up the last two passages after it as well...What do you guys suggest in a situation like this? Skip it and focus on the rest? ((( ....I was hoping this test will boost my morale I have found the EK tests to be more ambiguous and have more difficult passages than the aamc practice tests so far, so don't get discouraged by that! If you know that a bad passage is going to destroy your focus for the rest of the test, it might be best to skip it, do the rest, and come back to it after, but make sure you keep a good enough pace! Ideally though, you would try to improve your ability with the difficult passages.. There was a good post at the beginning of this thread about how to deal with difficult passages (by PastaInhaler I believe). I have found that has helped me improve my score on the tough passages a bit! Read it over and try it out! Hope it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDR Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Would anyone like to split with me? I would be forever grateful and consider offering you my firstborn child. Pagan, still looking for someone to split AAMC's with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asta Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Hey, I just did a VR section from EK, and one passage I just completely couldn't get anything out of it as I was reading. Something about some judge and supreme court blah blah, it just made no sense to me. I didn't know what to do? I panicked and messed up the last two passages after it as well...What do you guys suggest in a situation like this? Skip it and focus on the rest? ((( ....I was hoping this test will boost my morale I have had a couple passages like that with EK. I make myself keep reading, reading each word but reading swiftly. I don't get stuck re-reading over and over, because that doesn't help. I have been pleasantly surprised to get to the end of the passage and finding the questions easy to answer. I really don't recommend skipping passages - the passage content difficulty is often not indicative of the question difficulty. Also, don't leave anything blank. If you really can't figure it out, guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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