The AAMC material, developed and published by the actual test-maker, more closely approximates the MCAT than any third-party material. They offer full length practice tests, unscored practice exams (called Sample Test), and question packs.
Students should attempt AAMC practice exams and Question Packs early in their preparation to build stamina and identify content gaps. The Section Bank can be an invaluable resource, yet should only be undertaken after having used the other items mentioned here.
What is the AAMC?
AAMC provides practice tests and material designed to assist premed students in preparing for the MCAT. Their practice tests and material provide the closest approximation of what will be tested, making it essential as part of students’ preparation efforts. They should be the foundational basis of preparation.
However, they can be somewhat challenging as their questions tend to be more advanced and content-heavy than those found with other prep companies. AAMC, for example, is moving away from traditional passages towards experiment-based passages that are harder to read and analyze.
Students suffering from test anxiety often perform poorly on the AAMC exams. To overcome this obstacle, they should take full-length practice tests towards the end of their preparation period so that questions will still be fresh in their mind when taking the real MCAT.
What are the full length practice tests?
AAMC provides four official full length practice exams designed to simulate an actual MCAT examination and assess your stamina, content gaps and stamina levels. The first practice test tends to focus on more content while the last exam most closely represents what an actual MCAT will look like.
As part of your preparation, it is recommended to spread out these exams throughout your timeline rather than trying to cram all at once in the last month before your test date. This allows for optimal test day experience while preventing anxiety-driven changes to your score.
Take mini practice tests after each material module to test what you have learned and witness how your score improves over time. This can give a snapshot of what to expect on exam day and provide insight into whether your performance has increased.
What are the official guide questions?
These questions are an excellent way to test your strengths and weaknesses before the real exam, giving a good representation of the test itself. To get an accurate sense of your score, it is recommended that one or two of these exams should be performed early on in your studies as well as one more each month after.
The AAMC provides an affordable Question Pack bundle. These packs contain 120 questions that include both discrete and passage-based questions; this resource makes an excellent supplement to full length practice tests; additionally it makes for an easy selection if you don’t know which prep company to go with; these packs include two biology packs, two chemistry packs, and one CARS Question Pack; however these questions may no longer reflect current test questions as accurately.
What are the flashcards?
The American Academy of Mammalogy has issued flashcards with practice questions printed onto them to facilitate learning complex concepts like chemical equations or the periodic table of elements that cannot be easily captured in one question. These flash cards provide an effective learning method.
Reserving full-length scaled AAMC practice tests until the last month of preparation is strongly advised, in order to give yourself timed practice answering the questions under timed conditions and familiarize your mind with exam day conditions.
AAMC full length scaled exams offer you an ideal way to attain realistic scores and practice timing, although other resources like Question Banks or Question Packs may help too – though beware that they might not reflect what’s on offer as closely.
What are the old AAMC tests?
AAMC provides practice tests and question banks for the MCAT, serving as official MCAT prep material produced by those responsible. As it’s created by those creating the exam itself, its practice tests and question banks more accurately reflect actual test conditions than anything else available.
Bryan is joined by Next Step MCAT tutors to discuss this breakthrough news and compare AAMC full length exams to those offered by Kaplan and Princeton Review test prep companies.
AAMC full-length scaled practice exams are excellent tools, but you should space them out over your preparation period to avoid cramming. They offer more rigor than unscored Sample Tests.