Primary factor: Is your test timeframe determined by a program or admissions deadline?

If you have a limited, preset timeframe because of an admissions deadline or a program requirement (such as a pipeline program or early decision), take a practice test soon if you haven’t taken one yet (or haven’t taken one in the last few weeks). Think of this first practice test as a temperature check so you can plan efficiently.

If you have a broader timeframe, start by prepping around your known weaknesses and any content areas that feel rusty. Then take multiple practice tests at regular intervals to track progress. Use the data from each test to plan the next round of prep between practice tests.

How early should you take a practice test?

Practice tests serve several purposes. Don’t treat a practice test like something you have to “pass,” and don’t wait until you feel “ready.” You may never feel fully ready, and you need practice-test data to decide where your prep time will have the biggest payoff.

A practice test is a checkpoint, not a crystal ball. It won’t definitively predict (or limit) your final score. It’s more like a carpenter’s level or tape measure: you use it early and then at multiple points during the project to plan, adjust, and course-correct.

• If you have several months of prep time and you already know certain content is rusty (or you didn’t cover it in undergraduate courses), spend up to one month addressing those areas first. Then take your first practice test to get the big picture.
• If you’re not sure what you don’t know (or what you’ve forgotten), start with a practice test. Use the results to identify gaps and build a data-informed plan.

This course includes multiple practice tests, located at the end of the course, but are usable at any point that you need performance data to determine how to approach your preparation.

How to interpret test results and turn your data into a personalized prep strategy

Step 1: Look at your overall (superscore) and section scores to determine which exam sections need the most work.

• Plan to work on the weakest exam section first, or allocate more time to it in your daily or weekly study. This helps pull up weaker areas while also improving your overall score.

Step 2: Analyze your score report at the question level.

• Time is often a limiting factor during prep, so you’ll usually need to prioritize how you spend it. Reviewing your incorrect answers is typically much higher-yield than reviewing all questions.

  • Why? Correct answers usually happen because you knew the content well and processed the question correctly, or you knew enough to reason your way to the best answer. That isn’t truly guessing; it’s still an application of knowledge.
  • Only a small percentage of correct answers reveal a knowledge gap or test-approach issue, so reviewing every correct answer can take a lot of time for relatively little new information.
  • In contrast, when you miss a question, there’s almost always a reason: a content gap, misreading or misinterpreting the question, or changing your answer after doubting yourself. A high percentage of incorrect answers reveal something you can fix, so reviewing them tends to produce more improvement per minute spent.

• Consider using a template such as this one to analyze missed questions and label the source of the problem (unknown content vs. a test-approach issue). Test-approach issues - such as rushing, missing key details, overthinking, and doubting yourself - are patterns of thinking and behavior. They can cause wrong answers even when you do know the content.

Step 3: Address needed content and strategies by working through this prep course textbook.

• You can jump to a particular exam section’s chapter first, or mix chapters from different sections each day - choose the approach that matches your content priorities. Work on any thinking and test behavior issues you identified by implementing psych strategies as you do practice questions in each section.

Here are several common thinking and test behavior issues with a strategy to implement:

Issue 1: Rushing or taking too long on some questions.

• Make a table of “mile markers” that show where you should be in the questions/passages and on the clock, such as the one pictured.

Issue 2: Missing key words/phrases or details, misreading

• Use a wet-erase page or whiteboard to jot down short forms of key words. This primes your brain to look for those points, which makes you less likely to miss them. While you can use the highlighting feature built into the exam, it’s easy to overhighlight, which becomes counterproductive. For many overhighlighters, jotting down key words works better.

Issue 3: Changing to the incorrect answer or choosing the wrong of the two you’ve narrowed it down to.

• Notice when your thinking shifts into doubting or second-guessing yourself, since that’s often the root of this issue.
• Never change to (or lean toward) an unfamiliar answer choice just because you don’t recognize it. Only choose the unfamiliar option if you’ve eliminated all other choices using logic (pure process of elimination).
• Use what you do know to build a logical case and stick with it, even if you’re not totally sure. An unsure “this mostly makes sense” is usually better than “I don’t know what that is.”