***Official AAMC Practice Exams Discussion Thread***

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I took the free practice test and I had a few questions. How does it compare to the other tests available? I didnt think it was too bad particularly with verbal and p.s. I ended up with a 10 on verbal and 11 on p.s. Most of my verbal mistakes were downright stupid and I took the p.s without any studying really just to get a feel for it. Somebody told me though that this was the easiest test and I should have gotten at the very least above a 12 on both of those sections to even consider getting above a 10 on the real thing. I am taking the actual mcat may 27th. I changed it from mid april so that I can study more. My biggest strength is P.S. I just finished engineering so im very confortable with those types of questions. My biggest weakness is the biological sciences. I have only taken biology 1 and 2 and by the time the mcat rolls around I would have finished o chem 1 and barely started o chem 2. My strategy for the biology is mainly to use EK with some other sources on any subjects that give me a harder time. Is this a wise idea? I took the biology courses AGES ago and to be honest I dont remember any of the stuff with respect to physiology and body parts. What do you guys recommend with respect to how I should approach studying for this test.

Congrats, you did very well. The AAMC tests are pretty accurate in estimating your actual score. Although that is supposedly one of the easier ones, there is little to believe that you won't score similar on the real test.

"Somebody told me though that this was the easiest test and I should have gotten at the very least above a 12 on both of those sections to even consider getting above a 10 on the real thing."

-THIS IS A COMPLETE AND UTTER LIE.... does that even make sense?! Many have started with lower than 10 and gotten well passed 10 on the real thing. I wouldn't even understand why someone would even say this unless they are cynical or just plain stupid.

Yeah, that kid has no idea what he's talking about.

What's true:
AAMC3 is much easier than the later practice tests, and will be easier then your real exam.

What's false:
You need to be able to score at least 12s on the AAMC3 to even think about getting 10s or higher on the real thing. This is so off, it's not even funny. You have like 4.5 months to study. In that time you can definitely start getting 35+ on the later practice exams, and 35+ on the real thing.

FACT#1:
I scored a 33 on AAMC3 at about the same point in my studying that you were. (I think it was 10PS 12VR 11BS)

FACT#2:
I got a 40 on the real thing. (15PS 11VR 14BS)

You're fine man. You've got plenty of time to study and get comfortable with the test. Don't let that kid wreck your confidence. Just stay the course, and good luck!

What is the difference between these two option on the aamc tests? Does it have to do with ordering questions with difficulty level?? thanks

anyone please?

On the real MCAT the questions will be presented in the sequential format--being 2 passages then a few non-passage based questions and so on. The AAMC presents the passages in this matter from I->VII not to say VII is any harder or easier than I and random order is just what the name implies-- sometimes you get IV or a non-passage based questions first, sometimes last, you never know. The random function is somewhat pointless and for practice sake you should do these tests in the standard setting of timed, sequential and not in any ascending or descending order of difficulty (which you could add).

I was taking the AAMC 4 today and the passages on the BS are messed up. three of the passages were missing and two of them were out of order. Never had problems with this on any other aamc and there was no difference on the settings I chose. Is this a known problem or should I call the aamc for another copy of CBT?

just took 3 and the bio section ****ed me up too

Wow I haven't done any CBTs yet but that sounds lame as hell... they're so expensive too :\

I dont know what you mean, but yesterday i was taking the 6 and i had a very long passage for just one question it was crazy....

I had 2 physical science passages in my bio section with questions that were supposed to be referring to a bio passage. I think the server is messed up because things were lagging quite a bit too. AMCAS BLOWS

Huh, they fine when I took them in the summer.

yeah, this happened to me too. it was weird. totally ruined my chance at my best practice score ever too.

I just got a 36 on AAMC 7! Finally clicked! I know there are probably a lot of you are taking the later AAMC tests right now leading up to the January test date... So, how is it looking? AAMC 7 is the first one where I feel like things really clicked... breakdown! PS: 11 V: 13 BS: 12

I was very excited, so how are your AAMC tests going leading up to the January test date??

Nice

I took 6 last week and got a 36 on it too. I plan to finish the rest soon. Taking 7 tomorrow. Try other materials too (Kaplan).. especially Physical Sciences and see how you do.

Originally Posted by bozz

Nice

I took 6 last week and got a 36 on it too. I plan to finish the rest soon. Taking 7 tomorrow.

I believe I got a 33 on #6... come back and post after you take 7 tomorrow... good luck!

Realistically, verbal can fluctuate for any of us... you have verbal down... but don't 100% count on your real score being a 12 or 13. Just to be safe, assume you'll get a 10 VR on the real deal. I'm in a similar situation.. I'm trying to break the 12 hump in sciences. Try to replicate that 36... but with 13s on sciences
I'm trying to :'(

wow! congrats everyone! How did ya'll do it? What strategies have you used to get to where you are now ?

Was AAMC 7 the one released in 2005? If so, I think got a 37 on that, just a week or two before getting a 33 on the real thing. Not that it really means anything. I just thought the real MCAT was a little bit harder than the practice exams.

Originally Posted by DrJD

I just got a 36 on AAMC 7! Finally clicked! I know there are probably a lot of you are taking the later AAMC tests right now leading up to the January test date... So, how is it looking? AAMC 7 is the first one where I feel like things really clicked... breakdown! PS: 11 V: 13 BS: 12

I was very excited, so how are your AAMC tests going leading up to the January test date??

I just took AAMC 7 and got a 36 with 10 / 14 / 12. Looks like we're pretty close to being in the same boat. I do think this must have been an easier incarnation of the test, as I've been nowhere near that on recent ones. I've been busting my ass though, and plan on continuing to do so through the re-starting of school in a week. (Yuck-- don't you wish break lasted until the 28th?)

Does anyone have any idea which AAMC tests are the hardest? At $35.00 each, I want to get my money's worth. I haven't bought any other than 7 so far.

As far as other stuff goes, I've been using the Kaplan 45 book (there's no significant difference between the '07 and '08 editions, FYI), TPR's "Cracking the MCAT", the EK. I need to start doing more of the 1001 Series... my organic skills are my weakest, and the biggest area in which I've been making mistakes is misreading questions or making small math errors. Very rarely has it been, "I didn't know that concept at all." Hopefully 10 hours/day of steady practice over the next nine, and whatever I can cram in when I'm back at school will alleviate those problems.

Good luck everyone!

Originally Posted by bozz

Realistically, verbal can fluctuate for any of us... you have verbal down... but don't 100% count on your real score being a 12 or 13. Just to be safe, assume you'll get a 10 VR on the real deal. I'm in a similar situation.. I'm trying to break the 12 hump in sciences. Try to replicate that 36... but with 13s on sciences
I'm trying to :'(

Ya, it is the sciences that I am working on the hardest. I took the actual MCAT 4 years ago and got an 11 on the verbal, so I'm not too worried about that, but I, like you and trying to break the 12 hump in sciences.

Need to get the scientific notation math down!!

DrDrummer, the o-chem is the place I am the weakest as well! I think I missed most of the questions in that section! blah! What are you going to go through to up the O-Chem?

PS.
I'm planning on taking 8 next weekend, and then 9 and 10 the weekend after that, what is the actual MCAT schedule for the rest of you?

Here are my scores so far:
AAMC 10 (fives weeks ago - diagnostic) - PS: 9 VR: 9 BS: 8
AAMC 8 (after four weeks of study) - PS: 10 VR: 9 BS: 11
AAMC 3 (yesterday) - PS: 11 VR: 11 BS: 12

I'm kind of worried about AAMC 8, but after doing some searching, it seems most people agree it was the hardest practice test.

I still have quite a bit of material left to review (esp. physics formulas and a quick biology brush up) in these last few weeks, so hopefully with eight more days of solid review before school starts, I will be able to increase both science scores to 12s (and by solid review, I mean hardcore 8-10 hours of study for each day).

During the first two weeks of school, I plan on taking another AAMC test (probably 7) as well as two Kaplan full lengths.

Good luck to all!

Originally Posted by DrDrummer

I just took AAMC 7 and got a 36 with 10 / 14 / 12. Looks like we're pretty close to being in the same boat. I do think this must have been an easier incarnation of the test, as I've been nowhere near that on recent ones. I've been busting my ass though, and plan on continuing to do so through the re-starting of school in a week. (Yuck-- don't you wish break lasted until the 28th?)

Does anyone have any idea which AAMC tests are the hardest? At $35.00 each, I want to get my money's worth. I haven't bought any other than 7 so far.

As far as other stuff goes, I've been using the Kaplan 45 book (there's no significant difference between the '07 and '08 editions, FYI), TPR's "Cracking the MCAT", the EK. I need to start doing more of the 1001 Series... my organic skills are my weakest, and the biggest area in which I've been making mistakes is misreading questions or making small math errors. Very rarely has it been, "I didn't know that concept at all." Hopefully 10 hours/day of steady practice over the next nine, and whatever I can cram in when I'm back at school will alleviate those problems.

Good luck everyone!

From what I've read and heard, it 8 is definitely the hardest. 6 and 7 are a bit on the easier side and 9 and 10 are somewhere in the middle.

I asked this in another thread, but I figured it's a helpful question and a new thread would attract those who have already prepared for and taken the MCAT.

Since the AAMC PTs cost $35.00 each, I'd like to spend my money wisely and take the tests that will kick my butt and motivate me to study hard for these last three weeks. Which tests did you find the hardest out of the ones available online? I've already taken 3 and 7, and found that 7 seemed much easier than 3.

Thanks!

10>4>8

I took the AAMCs a while ago... so I've forgotten the actual material on it.. I'm retaking them now

But 10 had by far the hardest Verbal section (got a 7 on it)

and 8 had by far the hardest BS ever

10 > 3> 8 >everything else

3 still makes me uneasy

easiest: 9

am saving the AAMCs for march since am taking the April test so I have only taken AAMC #3 so far and my scores were BS 10, PS 13, (which was all chemistry and am better at physics), VR 10. In comparison to the Kaplan FLs, AAMC 3 seemed way too straight forward to be representative of the real MCAT is it the easiest one or are there other test that are easier?

i'm pretty sure about this but are the options that are most like test day?

Timing: on
Delivery: sequential
Solutions: do not show
difficulty: all
entire test

will i be able to access the solutions afterwards?

You got it. You can view the solutions as part of your score report afterwards.

There are so many different threads about the AAMC exams, so I've combined all the ones on the front 2 pages into one big ol' thread in an effort to reduce forum clutter. Any new AAMC threads will be merged into this one.

I'll probably be doing this for some other multiple-thread topics as well, so be on the lookout!

awesome, just took 6 (first AAMC i took) and got 13P,12V,10B. The orgo killed me on 6 - is this how hard the orgo will be on other ones? Also I have taken Kaplan FL 1-6, and the PS is WAY easier on the AAMC tests than the Kaplan ones; the BS seems harder on AAMC than Kaplan. Anyone agree? I'm gonna take tests every dayd pretty much at this point and review them at night with studying during the day up until the 23rd or so. I have AAMC 3,4,5,7,8,9,10 (7 tests) and Kaplan FL 7-11 (5 tests) for a total of 12 tests in 18 days. Arg life sucks.

Originally Posted by streetlight

i'm pretty sure about this but are the options that are most like test day?

Timing: on
Delivery: sequential
Solutions: do not show
difficulty: all
entire test

will i be able to access the solutions afterwards?

yes, you can access them after it's been scored.

If you could buy only one of the practice mcats on the aamc website which would you buy? Which one is most representative of your real score?

I took the online mcat #3 and felt that it was way too ez. I recieved a score of 31 with no prep. I am extremely weak in the chemistries but have a good background in bio and physics and felt i did a alot better then i should of with the practice 3 test.

I heard that aamc 9 is most representative and 10+8 are harder. others are older and not as accurate.

sorry, i have few basic questions

what's the difference between exams aamc 3 and 3r?

Also, when i purchase the exams, will they be unlimited access, or a one time thing? Thanks!

Originally Posted by kev1n

sorry, i have few basic questions

what's the difference between exams aamc 3 and 3r?

Also, when i purchase the exams, will they be unlimited access, or a one time thing? Thanks!

I am not exactly sure what the difference between 3 and 3r is... I believe that 3 is the newer CBT version and that 3r is the older longer, paper version...

I do know the other one! You will have unlimited access for one year. You can take the test as many times as you want and look at the your score report for as long as you want as well.

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by DrJD

I just got a 36 on AAMC 7! Finally clicked! I know there are probably a lot of you are taking the later AAMC tests right now leading up to the January test date... So, how is it looking? AAMC 7 is the first one where I feel like things really clicked... breakdown! PS: 11 V: 13 BS: 12

I was very excited, so how are your AAMC tests going leading up to the January test date??

nice
if i remember correctly, 7 is one of the harder ones.

Originally Posted by bozz

Realistically, verbal can fluctuate for any of us... you have verbal down... but don't 100% count on your real score being a 12 or 13. Just to be safe, assume you'll get a 10 VR on the real deal. I'm in a similar situation.. I'm trying to break the 12 hump in sciences. Try to replicate that 36... but with 13s on sciences
I'm trying to :'(

I found this to be true. I rocked a 12 on VR on my diagnostic, then was consistently getting 13s on it for my last 5(?) official AAMC practices. I ended up with an 11 on the real thing.

Did anyone notice a difference in the online formatting recently? When I took AAMC 7 it looked really different than the previous ones... Did they all change or is 7 and higher just different than 6 and below?

Originally Posted by DrJD

Did anyone notice a difference in the online formatting recently? When I took AAMC 7 it looked really different than the previous ones... Did they all change or is 7 and higher just different than 6 and below?

I wouldn't get too comfortable with the formatting on any of the practice exams. The real thing looks/feels different. Don't get me wrong, you still have all of the same options, but the layout and the way that questions are administered is formatted differently.

Now, I realize that this comment might spark some fury, so let me explain.
It's not THAT different. You'll still have the passage on the left and the questions on the right. You'll still be able to use all the functions that you normally can, i.e. highlight, mark, cross out EXCEPT FOR THE "FIND" FUNCTION.
What is different is the interface/layout of the exam. It shouldn't be a big deal at all when you sit down to write your exam, but you should be aware of it. Good luck.

exactly the same as TPR cbts online

Actually

I just took AAMC 7... and the format was EXACTLY like it was on Aug 20th

They're revamping the layout I guess

Anyone wanna talk about AAMC #7s Bio:

1) The question about why antibodies are ineffective against h.pylori?
The passage says that the pathogen has developed effective ways to elude host defenses.

I put down h.pylori infection might suppress the activity of the immune system. This is the only way I can see the pathogen actively "eluding" the immune system. The answer was.. antibody proteins may be denatured in the stomach... seems very farfetched to me. I really didn't feel like it was the best answer.

2) The question about why the immune system doesn't attack it's own cells?
I said that a specific intracellular process recognizes only foreign antigens.
The answer was that the immune system suppresses cells specific to the body's antigens.... how are we supposed to know this? gahhh.. I hate BS

can you tell us the question #?

can someone rank all of the exams [if taken or most] from easy to hard?

Originally Posted by Hershi

can someone rank all of the exams [if taken or most] from easy to hard?

Easiest 3,7,6,5,8,9,4,10 Hardest

i've only taken 4,6,7,8 and i found:

Easiest 6,4,7,8 Hardest so far

i guess most people found 7 easy but i didn't for some reason

Easiest --> Hardest

7, 9, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 3

Originally Posted by bozz

Easiest --> Hardest

7, 9, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 3

3 the hardest? I take the 7 yesterday and the PS section was very easy, but the BS was hard.