Okay guys, just received my first diagnostic scores from TPR. I was shooting to get anything above 20 and I received a combined score of 21. I had 6 6 9, I wish it would have been 7 7 7 but, beggers can't be chosers! Anyways, the one thing that I do not understand is that TPR verbal passages are a lot longer than aamc ones hence although there are only 60 questions there is hardly any time to get through all. I have purchased the EK 101 verbal a la 2003 MCAT format and received an 8 on my first verbal with them. I am now certain that TPR is making the passages purposedly longer for what? I do not get it. Anyways, I will for sure work on verbal and of course physical science. On bio I will review but not stress too much over it. Anyone else would like to share?
Hell fo lot better than my first TPR diag score! I got a 16! My last TPR diag was a 35 or 36. My actual was a 29 (10-bio/11-phys/8-verbal/R or S in writing).
I would say that was one hell of a strong start!! You go girl!!! I think the highest OPM MCAt score I have seen so far was a 37 on the real McCoy…can't say who until I verify & get his/her permsission to blab it.
God, right now I am just hoping that I get a 29 or above on the real deal. This is soooo hard, to study for classes, study for MCAT, and remain sane! I am at school in the library taking AAMC I (yeah, I know it is one of the easiest tests out there…) and I can barely do the physical sciences WTF? I am guessing on almost all, if this is the easy one what the heck is going to happen to me for the real deal? I am stressed out now… oh well just keep practicing I guess.
I was overjoyed with my Diag score, considering I haven’t done Physics or Gen Chem in 5+ years! I got a 9-10-9 (physical-verbal-bio) for a combined 28. I would be able to apply to med school with that score on the real deal, so I’m psyched! Now we’ll see if lots of studying and Kaplan can get me even further! 
Theresa
| QUOTE (efex101 @ Jan 30 2003, 01:55 PM) |
| I am guessing on almost all, if this is the easy one what the heck is going to happen to me for the real deal? I am stressed out now... oh well just keep practicing I guess. |
You're doing fine! And good guessing is, in some ways, the best thing...when you sit for the test perhaps one or two answers will strike you as "no way" answers...the remaining answers are good, the right one depends on reasoning correctly. If you can get it down to two answers, go with your best guess! You've done great work to get this far...you'll do it. Good luck!
Holy cow! Theresa, that is awesome congrats on your first diag!
that is a good start. I won’t be studying any Bio at all for the MCAT due to…well, taking medical biology right now and I am filled to the brim with Physio and Neuro. Think I can nail the bio questions?
I took a sample bio exam a few days ago and scored a whopping 12. Biochem really helped, plus all the Orgo kinda slid right into what we are doing right now. She makes us learn the structures and I can remember aldehydes and ketones well enough. I also learned to READ THE FRIGGIN QUESTIONS. RTFQ!
I do need to concentrate on Physics and Gen Chem since I have been out of it.
We have a group doing that starting next week.
Cheers 
I have a question about the diagnostic exam. I met with my pre-med advisor today, and discussed my diag. score (26 – taking the Kaplan course). He told me to take it with a grain of salt because, his feeling is that they are in the business of selling their service – so you can get a 30 or a 20, and they'll tell you you scored low to mid-20s to encourage you to take the course.
Any thoughts on this? In the past, how much improvement have you seen from the diagnostics to the real deal?
Futr, sound like you have a good plan in place. I think the fact that I took Genetics and Biochem really helped me on the Diag because the knowledge in Bio and Orgo is reinforced in those classes.
Laruscht, I take those scores with a grain of salt myself. However, Kaplan does promise that they are representative of the scores of people at the beginning of the prep course. They make no promises about your final outcome. (as far as # of points improvement) I was told that with my score I could expect a 5 point overall improvement “if I study hard.” Of course they don’t want me to drop! Students with lower scores are told they have more opportunity for improvement.
Theresa
| QUOTE (larushct @ Jan 31 2003, 12:11 AM) |
| I have a question about the diagnostic exam. I met with my pre-med advisor today, and discussed my diag. score (26 -- taking the Kaplan course). He told me to take it with a grain of salt because, his feeling is that they are in the business of selling their service -- so you can get a 30 or a 20, and they'll tell you you scored low to mid-20s to encourage you to take the course. Any thoughts on this? In the past, how much improvement have you seen from the diagnostics to the real deal? |
I am inclined to disagee with your advisor on this one. If you ask enough folks, the ones who do not advocate the prep courses will frequently tell you some fable such as that. Those who are proponents will likely extoll the virtues of how much the prep course helped them out.
When I took my course, my mcok-MCATs started relatively easy and then progressed on to be extraordinarily difficult. In fact, I still feel that my last TPR diagnostic exam, 7 days prior to the real thing, was harder than the real MCAT. My perception is that they adopt a progressively difficult format to motivate you to push harder on your own prep work. The concept being if you can perform acceptably at a higher level, then the real-level will not be so hard. The TPR workbooks are constructed such that is you focus on these groups of questions, they will be at or just above the level of the real one. And they provided a supplemental set that was intended to be much harder than the real deal to provide just that effect -- this was expressly stated during the course. I am certain Kaplan has a similar format.
Furthermore, of course they trying to sell their service! They are a business for Christ's sake. However, if their product was only a sham or they were falsely lowering scores to "sell their product", how long do you think they could stay in business? The results that they sell themselves on are how folks feel about how well they did on the real MCAT...diag scores do not count in your application. If they were BSing you, the word would spread like wildfire and all of the would be bankrupt but quick.
Mybe your professor should obtain some objective info, or at least subjective info from both sides of the coin, before he starts firing torpedoes based purely upon opinions?