What Are The Best Practice Questions To Review For MCAT 2023

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is an important exam for all premedical students. The purpose of this standardized test is to assess a student’s knowledge and ability to apply concepts from various fields of science. These fields include biology, chemistry, and physics. A proven way to be successful in these types of exams, is to take practice tests, do practice questions, and review the answers to those questions thoroughly. In this blog post, we will discuss the best practice questions to review for the MCAT in 2023 and provide answers to some commonly asked questions about preparing for the MCAT.

 What is the Best Way to Review Content for the MCAT in 2023?

The best way to review content for the MCAT is to use a variety of resources. You should begin by reviewing the content areas covered on the exam. This includes biology, biochemistry, organic and general chemistry, physics, psychology, and sociology. You can use textbooks, online resources, and review books to study the material. It is also helpful to create a study schedule and set aside dedicated time to review each content area.

When making your study schedule, be realistic about the time you have available. Don’t overload yourself. You don’t want to burn out before test day. When reviewing all this material don’t forget to take breaks and pace yourself. Finally, make sure to review all the sections. To keep content fresh, focus on a different section every day, or two days.

As you move through the material, we recommend using a mix of Anki flashcards, and question banks to test your knowledge. This will ensure that you are retaining the information that you’re learning. Specifically, we recommend Anki because of how effective the spaced repetition is in seeing the cards. This is the most effective way to retain all the material that you review for the MCAT.

Beyond this, you should also familiarize yourself with the exam’s format and content. The MCAT consists of four sections: Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems, Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems, Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior, and Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills. Each of these sections is 90-95 minutes. Therefore, taking practice tests will help build stamina. Doing practice questions will also help you familiarize yourself with the format of different sections. This will help you develop test-taking strategies to approach these questions as well as stamina. You don’t want there to be any surprises on test day.

What Are the Most Accurate MCAT Practice Tests?

Practice tests are an excellent way to gauge your readiness for the exam and identify areas that require further review. 

The most accurate MCAT practice tests are the official ones provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The same team that designs the actual MCAT in 2023 also creates these practice tests. This makes them the best representation of the real test. The AAMC offers four practice tests. These tests use real MCAT questions and are designed to closely simulate the actual exam experience. After completing an exam, you will also receive a score report. This will offer detailed feedback and insights into your strengths and weaknesses.

Sometimes you may want to take practice tests made by other companies to build stamina and see more questions to review. As the AAMC only provides four full-length tests, many students will turn to other resources for full-length practice tests. However, the AAMC practice tests are the best predictors as they’re written by the company that writes the actual MCAT test. Other companies are great for building stamina, but the AAMC practice tests will be the best predictor of how well you’ll do on the actual test. We recommend taking at least two of these within the last month of your review to get an estimate of how you’ll score on your actual exam.

Remember – whenever you take practice tests make sure to look for tests that are similar in format and difficulty to the actual MCAT and include detailed explanations of each question. By using accurate practice tests from various sources, you can prepare more effectively and increase your chances of success on the MCAT.

What is the Best Question Bank for MCAT in 2023?

One of the most effective ways to prepare for the MCAT is by using question banks. These are online platforms that provide practice questions and answer explanations to help you prepare for the test.

As of 2023, the AAMC offers a question bank called the MCAT Question Pack Bundle. This offers 720 different practice questions, including passage-based questions and discrete questions. The questions are similar in format and difficulty to the ones on the actual MCAT exam. This is an excellent resource for students. This is the most comprehensive and authoritative source for MCAT preparation.

Additionally, the AAMC offers section banks that are designed to test a student’s knowledge and critical thinking skills on specific topics. If you realize you need a little extra practice in a certain area you can get one of these section-specific question banks. Each section-specific pack comes with 120 practice questions and is only $15.

Another very popular question bank is UWorld MCAT. UWorld is a highly respected resource for MCAT preparation, and its MCAT question bank includes more than 2,000 practice questions, detailed explanations, and in-depth analytics to track your progress. One of the best features of UWorld is their detailed answer explanations that often highlight high-yield topics to know and include great figures and tables to supplement your studying!

Other private companies also have question banks that can be useful as an additional supplemental tool. However, all the UWorld and AAMC questions and practice tests should be more than enough to review for the MCAT.

How Many Practice Questions Should You Do for the MCAT?

There is no specific number of practice questions that you should complete for the MCAT. However, it is recommended that students complete as many practice questions as possible to ensure they are prepared for the exam.

All students should aim to complete at least two full-length practice tests and several practice question sets for each content area. It is also important to review the questions and understand the reasoning behind the correct answers.

An ideal study schedule will involve taking all of the full-length AAMC practice tests and even one or two practice tests from other companies, over a period of three months. These will help you build stamina for the long test. Students should also be doing at least 1 hour of practice questions a day over about three months. Remember the recommended amount of prep time for the MCAT is 200-300 hours and at least 1/3 of that time should be dedicated to doing and reviewing questions!

How Do I Review Incorrect Questions From Tests and Question Banks?

Just as important as doing practice questions and practice tests is reviewing the correct answer and explanations. This helps you pinpoint areas that you should be focusing on studying. After you finish a practice test or a set of questions you should set aside time to review. If you are having trouble understanding where you went wrong, consider enlisting the help of an MCAT tutor or a classmate.

During this review time, read the explanation of the correct answer choices thoroughly and make notes of gaps in your knowledge or advice on test-taking approaches and strategies. For conceptual gaps, make Anki flashcards and review your notes. If it’s a topic you’ve already reviewed, you can add it to your notes or annotate whatever study resource you’re using. If it’s a new topic, make sure to take a little bit of time to review it in detail in addition to making flashcards.

When making Anki flashcards from missed questions, I also recommend making subdecks within Anki. For example, create subdecks for big topics such as Biology, Biochemistry, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, etc. This will help you stay organized as you move forward studying for the MCAT.

In Conclusion

Studying for the MCAT is one of the biggest academic hurdles in applying to medical school as of 2023. However, by doing enough practice questions and tests and reviewing them thoroughly, you can improve your chances of reaching your target score on the MCAT.

For additional help understanding your practice test score reports, creating a schedule, retaining content and more, consider enlisting the help of an MCAT tutor! Schedule your complimentary consultation today.