![]() Saving all of the official AAMC practice tests until the end of your MCAT preparation is a mistake because you will not truly know what you are up against. If the AAMC practice tests are the most representative of the real MCAT, shouldn’t you save them for later in my MCAT practice? Nope! To best determine how to study for the MCAT you’ll need to look at official MCAT questions. How hard is the MCAT? Check out our video for additional discussion on this singularly difficult exam: This is the best way to ensure that your baseline score is accurate, to see how you cope with the grueling test length, and to ensure that the study schedule you create will effectively address your gaps in knowledge and test-taking strategies. We recommend using one of the AAMC’s full-length practice MCAT exams. Take this practice exam in one sitting with breaks and, ideally, in an environment that mimics test-day conditions. Although “at the outset” is the general rule for when to take your diagnostic MCAT, more specifically you should only take it when you’re truly ready to start preparing. Don’t take it on a whim during your first year of college, nor at any other time before you’ve completed your important introductory-level medical school prerequisites in chemistry, biology, physics, and so on. Think of the diagnostic MCAT as your first day of official MCAT preparation, and only take it when you’re ready to begin the work in earnest.Īs noted, the best diagnostic MCAT is one that matches or replicates the actual test, right down to the ratios of questions per subject. Before you start making study plans, you’ll need answers to basic questions like “ How hard is the MCAT?” and “ How long is the MCAT?”, and the best way to really internalize this information is with a comprehensive diagnostic test. Part of this is also providing yourself with an approximate MCAT score so you know where you stand, allowing you to use a score converter to obtain your scaled score from the number of correct answers. You may feel unready to take a diagnostic test before reviewing content in each of these areas, but this is the wrong attitude. Performing well on the diagnostic is not important-you simply want to know where you’re at now, and then proceed from here with clear and comprehensive knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses. The only truly accurate way to gauge your baseline performance is to do a full-length MCAT that covers each of the MCAT’s sections, which are: With each full-length practice exam taking seven and a half hours to complete, this may seem like an unnecessarily time consuming step, but a good diagnostic test is completely necessary. Why? A proper diagnostic test that mimics the structure and length of the actual MCAT will give you an accurate measure of your current knowledge, without which you’d only be guessing at what you need to review and improve upon. The MCAT is also different from exams you have taken up until this time, both in length and the amount of content it covers, so you should not rely on how you did on other exams as a proxy. However, no matter what your timeframe is or what you need to focus on during your studying, the first step is always the same: a full-length MCAT diagnostic test. When you’re ready to embark on your months of preparation you’ll assuredly wonder where to start. ![]() If you are wondering how to study for the MCAT and where to start, you are not alone. Why Should I Take an MCAT Diagnostic Test?Īlthough there are some medical schools that don't require the MCAT, most of them do. Since it’s a grueling, day-long exam, you’ll need to plan your study schedule well ahead of time in order to perform well. Additionally, you want to do everything you can to avoid needing to retake the MCAT, so making sure you optimize your study plan is essential. You don’t want to have to do all this again a few months later!
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