<p>they dont allow you to wear a watch into the testing room</p>
<p>Okay, this thread has made me second guess my D’s choice to self study. Actually it is more like you’ve scared the bejeezus out of me thinking she is missing all the surrendering and timing stuff. Although it does seem like most or all of you have used a prep course, can anybody speak to results, differences, or difficulties that you may have heard of from your “self-study” friends? There is a Kaplan course that is online with a teacher that starts in 3 weeks and ends on April 6th, with the MCAT 3 days later. She will need to make a decision on this soon and I will need to go out and stock up on ramen noodles since that will be the only thing in my food budget for the next few months! :(</p>
<p>so is the MCAT an online test like the GRE? </p>
<p>Can you skip a question and go back? or go back and check answers?</p>
<p>Okay, this thread has made me second guess my D’s choice to self study. Actually it is more like you’ve scared the bejeezus out of me thinking she is missing all the surrendering and timing stuff.</p>
<p>That’s what I’ve been thinking, too. Since son has another year, the issue isn’t pressing, but will need to plan for that. I think he was thinking of self-study and using Examkrackers and such, but I’m thinking he’d really benefit with a Kaplan’s class. I don’t mind paying if it will even mean a one point improvement. </p>
<p>BTW…the Examkrackers set is a good price on Amazon. </p>
<p>Does anyone recommend a flashcard set as well?</p>
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<p>D1 did very well self-studying for the SAT, she used xiggi’s method and was done in one sitting and her score was high enough to be a Presidential Scholar nominee. However, after hearing from many posters on this forum how much a prep course helped, or how the lack of one hurt, I’m convinced we should invest the time and money in her taking one. When you look at the cost of applying and attending Med school, it’s a relatively small amount. And since the MCAT is such a big part of the Med school app, it seems warranted to us.</p>
<p>AAMC provides a free practice MCAT which you can take online under “real world” conditions. It’s an actual MCAT from years past. <a href=“https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/85158/orderingpracticetests_mcat.html[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/preparing/85158/orderingpracticetests_mcat.html</a> After you take the test it gives you a complete diagnostic report showing what type of questions were missed and what you tended to get right. (It doesn’t grade the essay, of course.)</p>
<p>I was curious about what kind of preparation for the test would be most helpful so I took it myself. I figured that the score of an aging appellate lawyer who never took college level biology or chemistry would illuminate how much of the test tests test-taking ability, and how much it tests substance. Of course - I was under no pressure, and I zipped through the test, finishing in about 2/3 the time allotted. (That was easy - I had no clue what many of the science section answers were, so I didn’t waste a lot of time trying to figure them out.) But I think a few tentative hypotheses could be drawn from my experience.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Verbal Reasoning? I read and write for a living - been doing it for decades. And I read and write for comprehension and persuasion, involving varying, frequently complex subjects. I should be good at this one… Nonetheless I found this part of the test to be very difficult, and I took more time per question here than on the rest of the test. I scored an 11. Missed 6 out of 40. This makes me think that understanding the approach the test-givers take is important, in addition to simple competence at reading and comprehension. I can see that a strategy such as Kaplan’s might be very helpful for this section.</p></li>
<li><p>Physical and Biological Science. I should be hopeless here. I last studied the subjects in high school, 45 years ago. I have only a basic understanding of Newtonian Physics and a little about electricity and not much of anything else you wouldn’t pick up in a mass market magazine. Still, I scored 7 on Physical Science and 8 on Biological Science. Which suggests to me that anyone scoring lower than that probably needs to brush up on their test-taking technique rather than studying the subject matter itself. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Conclusion: an MCAT prep course is probably a good idea.</p>
<p>This is a sample of one, I recognize, and a not-very-representative sample either. I think it would be interesting to see the experience of other parents of college students to see if the hypotheses hold up on this cohort. :)</p>
<p>26, Kluge – not bad! :)</p>
<p>Not good enough to get me into medical school, though. Probably just as well - I’d be eligible for Medicare before I graduated! :D</p>
<p>I’m a senior in high school and after reading kluge’s post I took the test.</p>
<p>Verbal Reasoning - 9
Physical Science - 7
Biological Science - 7</p>
<p>I got a 690 CR SAT, so I’m a little surprised that I did decently on the verbal. As for the other, I haven’t taken a biology class since freshman year, and I only have a semester of physics under my belt (with a notoriously poor teacher…). So a 23; I guess I have about three years to get that up to a 35/36. Not bad.</p>
<p>Overall, I found that VR is mostly just comprehension…no surprise there. The others were doable when I didn’t even know half of the information. So after a class, it really shouldn’t be that difficult. I think this pretty much just proved to me that the method of taking the test is just as important as knowing the information.</p>
<p>I kind of want to do it now. See how much my score has dropped in the past six years. (Goodness.)</p>
<p>Mom2: yes, you can skip questions (Kaplan advises this), mark questions, come back to them, review them, etc. You can highlight the passage, strike out wrong answer choices, and do a bunch of other nifty things too. You also get a booklet to use for scratch paper–our booklets contained 5 sheets (10 sides) and we got 2 sharpened pencils. If you used up all the paper, you could raise your hand and get another booklet or switch them out during the 10 minute breaks that are between sections.</p>
<p>For physics and bio, you have 70 minutes to do 52 questions: 13 are just pure knowledge-based questions, and the other 39 are roughly evenly divided among 7 passages. Kaplan divvies it up so that you spend about 1 minute per knowledge-based question (13 mins for 13 questions) then 8.5 min per passage (4 to read, 4.5 to answer), or 17 minutes for passage pair (which is how Kaplan strategizes your time). Usually there’s like, 1 min left at the end to make sure you answered all your questions.</p>
<p>For verbal, you have 60 minutes for 40 questions over (I think) 7 passages. Don’t remember the minutes-per-section breakdown there.</p>
<p>The test goes like this: 70 minutes physics, 10 minute break. 60 minutes verbal, 10 minute break. 30 minute essay, 10 minute break. 30 minute essay, 10 minute break. 70 minutes bio, done. If you finish a section early, you can go back to that section and review, or just go to break, or go on to a new section. But if you finish, say, verbal early, you can’t return to physics. </p>
<p>GAMOM et al: I took a Kaplan class, so I can’t speak to Princeton Review or self-study–literally every single one of my premed friends took the Kaplan class with me. The reason I chose to take a class was much less for the content review and much more for the strategy and discipline it offered. Taking the Kaplan class forced me to spend at least 6h/week studying (and they encouraged you to do more! I didn’t do all the homework) and paced my studying very effectively. I also had access to like, way more full-lengths than I could ever possibly take (same for section tests, content quizzes, online videos about topics…) (I think I took like, 8) and each of them was scored instantly. Correct answers are provided and explained thoroughly–it often took me longer to go over the answers than to take the actual full-length practice test! Their method for the writing section was incredibly effective–on a scale of J-T (which corresponds with scores 2-12), I got an S (although I usually am a pretty solid writer).</p>
<p>All in all, I looked at the prep class as an investment in my future and did my homework to end up saving over $500 (through various discount codes). The $1200 price was a tough one to swallow, but IF it made the difference between getting in and not getting in, I think it was worth every penny. Keep in mind, the MCAT is not even remotely in the same league as the SAT or the ACT, and preparation for the MCAT is a huge undertaking if it’s going to be done thoroughly. (More work than any class I took that semester!) I have friends who have self-studied for other grad school exams (GRE, GMAT, LSAT) and gotten by with top scores no problem. At least among my crowd, the highest MCAT scores are always from the classes.</p>
<p>I’d take a Kaplan class with an instructor in a classroom 2x a week–the format I used–again in a heartbeat. Knowing what I do now, I’m glad I didn’t try to self-study. I know I would have prioritized classes over MCAT, wouldn’t have wanted to do content review months in advance, I doubt I would have done section tests, and probably would have only taken one or two practice tests. Additionally, the strategy sessions and writing strategies were really helpful. </p>
<p>That semester, I just didn’t have the discipline to study adequately on my own because I was really busy with other things, both academic and non-academic. Your kids might have the diligence I didn’t have that semester, and they might be able to self-study on their own just fine. I’ve read about a few CC people who self studied with great results. Hopefully one of them can add a perspective for you!</p>
<p>I would also caution against using the AAMC practice test that’s available for free (practice test 3) to gauge your performance. The curve is overly generous and it is a very old and outdated practice test (compared to some of the newer ones). I’ve seen many a test taker score 30+ on that practice test without studying only to end up with a 32 on the real thing.</p>
<p>I did not take a class and neither did any of my premed friends. I scored a 34 for what its worth and all of my friends scored above a 30. And I know two guys who scored a 38 and 39 with no studying (urgh don’t you hate people like that?) but they were both extremely strong in the sciences, tutored constantly and took a wide variety of upper level science classes.</p>
<p>I was actually involved in a MCAT class that my school does and I felt it to be an extreme waste of time, dropped out in a month. Fortunately because of some weird logistics I got most of my money refunded. The reason the MCAT class I was enrolled in (which taught off the EK books btw) was a waste of time for me was that the instructors basically read out of the book and I figured I could do that myself. </p>
<p>I can’t speak about any of the Kaplan tricks and stuff but for me self studying worked as long as I stuck to my schedule. I think thats the hardest part about self studying. With a course like Kaplan or Princeton Review you’re forced into going to class and therefore hopefully having prepped and done all the homework and what not for the class. It seems like everyone on CC actually took advantage of all their course resources but there are a lot of kids who just go to class and somehow expect that high score with minimum work.</p>
<p>Self studying for me consisted of following the schedule in the EK 16 minimcat book and it worked out fine for me. I read the appropriate section, took the little subject exam, and did a bunch of basic science questions before moving onto passages. I didn’t bother studying for the verbal since I started off scoring strong and scored a little lower (11) on the real thing. </p>
<p>I think the most important thing in studying for the MCAT whether its through self study or an actual course is PRACTICE. After you have your science down, do every passage you can get your hands on without burning out. Kaplan does have a ton of practice material like the qbank, their own exams, and subject quizzes. But if you don’t feel like busting out 2000 on a prep course there are lots of other resources out there or you can just buy access to the online stuff on kaplan. A bunch of Kaplan’s stuff from back when the test was paper and pencil can also be torrented online. I am not sure I would recommend that since its a computer test and doing as much as you can on an actual computer is probably best. Also the later AAMC exams (7-11? or 8-11?) are supposed to be the best indicator of your actual score if you don’t want to buy all of them.</p>
<p>*I’ve seen many a test taker score 30+ on that practice test without studying only to end up with a 32 on the real thing. *</p>
<p>So, are you saying that after taking the online practice “without studying” that students who get a 30, will then often get a 32 “with” studying for the real thing? If so, I’m not sure of the conclusion that you’re drawing. But, I’m often dense. lol</p>
<p>I’m also not clear about something…is the real MCAT a paper test or an online test. From some answers above, it seems like the real MCAT is online, yet in other posts, it sounds like it’s a paper test.</p>
<p>I think what he meant was that they took the old practice test (which is much easier than the current one, apparently) and were tricked into believing they’d scored a legit 30, when really it was likely lower (due to how much easier it was relative to the current test). </p>
<p>After studying for a long time, they “only” improved 2 points, which means they likely had lower than a 30 to begin with and didn’t realize it. </p>
<p>It’s not unlikely for people to improve 10pts from Kaplan diag to real test or highest full-length. I improved about 10, friends ranged 8-11, and my roommate takes the cake with a whopping 13 point improvement (but her actual test was not that high–that highest score was on a full-length practice).</p>
<p>ChemFreak, glad you agree with what I had assumed. Seems like if you can have the discipline to self-study, it can be a really solid (and much less expensive!) way to go. I’m glad I realized early on that I wouldn’t be so disciplined (just had way too much on my plate that semester!) and signed up for the class. I’m sure I would be really bummed if I had a lower score, didn’t enjoy so much application success, and had to postpone med school another year (or more). I decided I’d give the application process quite a fighting chance this app cycle, and for me that meant shelling out the big bucks for Kaplan. No regrets!</p>
<p>Mom2, the MCAT’s a computer based test now (not sure if that’s the same as online–you can’t take it online (except the practice tests), you have to take it at an “approved testing center”). Switched over from a paper version sometime between like, 03 and 06 I think.</p>
<p>
shemarty at SDN self-studied and got a very good result a couple of years ago. (I think her BS subscore is 15.) I guess having the discipline of studying a couple of months all by yourself and having a very solid foundation in sciences could go a long way.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, MCAT is now an online test. It used to be a paper test a few years ago (and was a much longer, much grueling test then.)</p>
<p>
DS would not either. He once said one benefit he got out of the prep class was that he would not slack off and did very little study in the end. It gave him the structure by which he could study little by little. He also did not do all the homework just like you. He did not do enough to qualify for the high score guarantee (HSG?)</p>
<p>
Really? I thought the switch happened a couple of years later. I wonder whether NCG and Shades took a paper version. (My guess is they took the computer version.) BRM and BDM definitely took the paper version.</p>
<p>AAMC officially switched over from a paper version in 2007.</p>
<p>[What’s</a> Changing on the MCAT? | MCAT Test Change Resource Center](<a href=“http://www.kaptest.com/oneoff/mcat-test-change/computer-based-mcat-information.jhtml]What’s”>http://www.kaptest.com/oneoff/mcat-test-change/computer-based-mcat-information.jhtml)</p>
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<p>I’m saying that the 3R practice test offered on the AAMC website is not representative of current MCAT tests. </p>
<p>Average improvement from the diagnostic to the real thing depends on what you got on the diagnostic. If you score 26+on a legit diagnostic test, you should be getting 34+ on the real thing. If you score in the high teens-low 20’s on the diagnostic, you should be aiming for low 30’s on the real thing.</p>
<p>Ok…so it’s now an online test.</p>
<p>But, it sounds like you can “go back” and “skip” unlike the online GRE. </p>
<p>I wasn’t sure if it was online because of Kristin’s post…</p>
<p>yes, you can skip questions (Kaplan advises this), mark questions, come back to them, review them, etc. You can highlight the passage, strike out wrong answer choices, and do a bunch of other nifty things too.</p>
<p>But, I guess she meant that you can do this to the online screen. I read that as meaning it was a paper test…but I can see now that this can be done online.</p>
<p>Ah, apologies mom2. I thought you knew it was on a computer. Even though its on a computer, the testing interface allows you to do all those things I mentioned & you quoted. Once you get the hang of it, the computer part is no big deal.</p>