Direction After A Bad First Tpr Fl

[HappyAndHopeful]

Hello everyone,

 

I write my MCAT on August 19th, and I have finished reviewing all the material.  I was feeling pretty good about it until I took my first TPR full-length test today.  My goal is to get 127+ in each category, but I did AWFUL on the practice test today, scoring 494 (122/125/122/125).  I felt really good about CARS and psych especially, so I was surprised to only get a 125 in those categories.  How well do the TPR full-lengths usually predict the actual score?  Should I expect to get about the same on the real thing?

 

Over the next week and a half, I'm going to look over concepts I don't know as well, and do more practice tests (I have access to 5 more - 2 TPR and 3 Kaplan).  Do you think it is possible to reach the 127+ goal with this plan?  I'm quite disappointed and hope that I can do a lot better on the real thing. 

[Egg_McMuffin]

Have you done any AAMC stuff? Those are way better indications of how you'll perform on the real thing.

[HappyAndHopeful]

No, I haven't yet. I was thinking of reviewing and doing 1-2 more practice tests, then doing the AAMC one on Friday. I'm really hoping I can bring my score up!

[Click]

I just did the AAMC practice test recently and got about 10 points higher on the AAMC practice test compared to the TPR FL's.  It seems like the TPR tests were harder in comparison.  Have you also been doing passages throughout your review?

[isitlunchtimeyet]

I agree, TPR are extra difficult so don't get discouraged. I find the AAMC ones to require more common sense/reasoning, whereas TPR is more knowledge based. 

[HappyAndHopeful]

Thank you for your responses, I feel a little better now!  I was doing the practice passages at the end of each chapter, yes, and was either getting all the questions correct, or getting 1 or 2 wrong.  When I was taking the full-length, I felt like I had to guess on quite a few questions on chem/physics and bio/biochem.

[Click]

Thank you for your responses, I feel a little better now!  I was doing the practice passages at the end of each chapter, yes, and was either getting all the questions correct, or getting 1 or 2 wrong.  When I was taking the full-length, I felt like I had to guess on quite a few questions on chem/physics and bio/biochem.

 

You should try to do as many passages as you can throughout your review.  I would also recommend doing the AAMC practice tests/question packs/section banks/online guide. 

[RicardoKaká]

You should be focusing way more on practicing vs content review.

 

The way I studied this time around was 1 month of content review. Was done content review by Mid Mayish and then focused on Khan passages and any practice I could get my hands on.

 

The end of chapter passages are useless, usually they are testing on content directly on what you just read. I mixed up all my studying, usually doing 3 subjects/day.

 

Come June I was doing practice tests (not FL but individual sections or 2 sections/day) I saw where my lower scores were and then started to focus more on those sections.

 

For example: I was getting 128-130 on C/P consistently - so I knew just to lightly review concepts here. Whereas I was initially scoring 125-126 on P/S so I definitely knew I needed to memorize more terms. By the end of my studies and a few days before I wrote my test I scored 512 on the AAMC Scored test.

 

I felt like I had hit my peak and no more studying would have helped me, just critical thinking on test day.

 

I know there isn't much time before your mcat, so study hard and think critically. Whenever I didn't know the answer to a question, before resorting to random guessing, I tried to look for patterns in the passage (figures etc.) or reasoning beyond the text. I felt like this helped huge and definitely got a few questions right by thinking like that on test day.

 

All the best

[HappyAndHopeful]

Thank you very much for your advice! I feel like I've just about hit my peak as well. I have been trying to think more critically when I come across a question I don't know, and it's made a huge difference for me. Fingers crossed that it goes well on the real test!

[HappyAndHopeful]

So, I did two more practice tests. I scored 499 (122/126/124/127) on my second TPR, and did the AAMC today and only scored 499 (124/124/122/129).  The CARS score was especially disappointing as I felt good about my ability to do well on that section.

 

For those of you who did the AAMC practice test, how did your scores compare to the real test?  Particularly in the CARS?  I am starting to get nervous that I will score around the same, and my exam is only 4 days away!

[RicardoKaká]

So, I did two more practice tests. I scored 499 (122/126/124/127) on my second TPR, and did the AAMC today and only scored 499 (124/124/122/129).  The CARS score was especially disappointing as I felt good about my ability to do well on that section.

 

For those of you who did the AAMC practice test, how did your scores compare to the real test?  Particularly in the CARS?  I am starting to get nervous that I will score around the same, and my exam is only 4 days away!

 

Ah the AAMC Scored FL is a pretty good predictor (+/- 2)  from what I have been hearing. As unfortunate as this may seem, it isn't likely that your score will jump up to anything more than a 510+ in my opinion. However, I wouldn't let this discourage you. Approach the test with a fresh mind and try your best, also the experience of writing it will help with the exam nerves if you have to write it a second time. There are definitely some pro's to write, however, just keep in mind if you plan on applying to the states that a low score can hurt you on your applications there.

 

That Bio should be way up, not sure if you have a bio or biochem background but that score points out lack of knowledge on content.

 

Best of luck!

[HappyAndHopeful]

I figured as much, but I'm hoping for the best! I decided to write the MCAT to be able to apply more broadly (I previously was just planning on applying to NOSM and and Ottawa U), and just started studying at the beginning of July while working full time. So, I'm optimistic, but I know that if it doesn't work out, I can stick to my original plan and write it again next year. Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it