Test Taking Tips and Prep for MCAT, SAT, BAR, GRE Exams

It isn’t at all uncommon to feel at least a little bit nervous (and sometimes quite a bit nervous) in the lead up to some of the more important tests and examinations you take in your life.

The MCAT, SAT, BAR, and GRE examinations are some of the most difficult tests to move through successfully, tests that open up a world of opportunities for those that are able to pass – but are created to be difficult enough to weed out those that do not have the aptitude or work ethic for these kinds of opportunities in the first place.

Unfortunately, the fact that these kinds of examinations cover material that you usually will not have had been tested on in the past – and that they are structured in a way that is usually totally unique to that examination specifically – makes preparing for them even more challenging.

Thankfully though, armed with the test taking tips and prep for MCAT, SAT, BAR, GRE exams we highlight below you shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever successfully navigating these stress inducing examinations (or other high stress tests and exams) ever again.

Let’s dive right in!

Maintain a Positive Attitude

Believe it or not, one of the biggest things that will impact your ability to successfully navigate these kinds of tests and examination comes down to the attitude that you have about the test as well as your own personal aptitude to succeed while under pressure.

A lot of people sort of psych themselves out when they go to take tests like the MCAT or the BAR, recognizing that these are huge examinations and very important steppingstones that will either allow them to pursue educational opportunities and career opportunities that they have been working towards for years – or not.

Though there are a lot of things that will remain totally out of your control in the lead up to and during these examinations it’s important to remember that your attitude is always under your own control.

Keep and maintain that positive attitude through the test, even when obstacles present themselves, and you’ll find that your odds of success skyrocket significantly.

Study with a Plan

Far too often individuals that struggle with tests and examinations never realize that the reason they aren’t able to succeed while under pressure has little to do with the fact that they haven’t mastered the material that they are studying (in fact, many of them are world-class researchers and study years) but instead everything to do with the fact that they do not study intentionally with a plan set up for success.

This is why there is so much value in test prep course work and examination prep guides, programs that are designed from top to bottom to not only help you figure out what material you should focus on (and what material has a lower priority) but also what the test itself looks like as far as its structure is concerned.

When possible, take advantage of test prep and examination prep guides well in advance of taking tests like the MCAT, SAT, BAR, or GRE. The amount of resources available to help you better navigate these tests with “practice rounds” is almost staggering and you have to be at least a little bit crazy not to capitalize on everything that these resources have to offer.

This is one of those test taking tips and prep for MCAT, SAT, BAR, GRE exams that you don’t want to ignore.

Study Consistently

With examinations like the BAR or GRE the last thing you can afford to do is waste all of your precious study time in the weeks leading up to that examination only to cram the night before, hoping to squeeze as much raw material into your mind as possible to squeeze out a passing grade.

This kind of approach is a surefire way to cause even more stress and anxiety than you may have been dealing with already and it is almost inevitably going to backfire on you.

Sure, your short-term memory may be able to recall a handful of details that you have cramped already – but the odds are even better that you’ll have overwhelmed yourself, wasted precious time you could have spent sleeping and relaxing, and stacked the deck against yourself when examination time comes around.

Instead have designated study times that allow you to tackle specific subsets of the material you want to master in more bite sized chunks. Take 30 minutes every day for a couple of weeks to focus on one (ONE) core area of the test that you want to a and study it like crazy before moving on to another area for 30 minutes the next day.

Allow your knowledge to accumulate with this kind of approach and you’ll find that  you are much better prepared for these types of examinations. This is definitely one of the best test taking tips and prep for MCAT, SAT, BAR, GRE exams you’ll want to keep in your back pocket for any serious examinations you take in the future.

Manage Your Exam Time

With examinations like the MCAT, the SAT, the BAR, and the GRE you do not necessarily have to move through the entire test from start to finish sequentially.

Instead you can bounce around a little bit from area to area, focusing either on the harder parts of the examination that you want to get out of the way ASAP or tackling the “easy win” portions of the test so that you can build momentum that will carry through to the rest of the exam.

Take a little time before the examination starts to scan through everything from start to finish, looking at how the exam is structured and leaning on the time you spent with your preparatory materials. This will help you create a game plan of how to best move through the exam strategically, one of the most important test taking tips and prep for MCAT, SAT, BAR, GRE exams we can share with you for sure.