Well, I took my first practice MCAT (3R) for this prep class I am taking. I scored a 24 and was 2 questions away from improving to a 26 scaled. I recieved a 9 in vr, a 6 in phy science, and a 9 in biological science. I was wondering how others were scoring as they just began to study for this monster of a test. Thanks ahead of time for your feedback.
Hey,
I had mine last Saturday. I too had a 24. 7’s on the sciences and 10 on VR. It was pretty rough the first time around. I hope it gets better. I just bought the audioosmosis CD’s on ebay. Hopefully they help. Later.
Hey guys, having taken the MCAT and done a Kaplan course several months ago, you guys are really in great shape. Especially given that your VR section is high already. Most of the people that saw improvement saw it in the sciences sections of my class, this includes me as well. Also, most folks in my class were scoring mid to upper teens on their first diagnostic - meaning your first scores are that much better. My score on the actual test went up 7 points total from my first diagnostic. Some went up more, some less, but as Mary R will point out, the MCAT is really a test of your preparation. Keep at it and you will be amazed at your actual score come April I would bet. Anyway, sounds like prospects look good for both of you. Good luck.
-Brendan
There have been many references to the osmosis CD on OPM… Would someone please educate me on this? Or, can you refer me to a website/source that can tell me about it. While you’re at it, and if you’re inclined, please share your impression about the product. Thanks!
PS: I take my first practice MCAT on Sunday for Kaplan. I need to buckle down and review my notes and take some more practice tests.
It’s the Audio Osmosis series of CD’s from Examkrackers - done by two guys with a somewhat quirky sense of humor.
The list price is aroun $150, iirc. I got mine in december from walmart.com, for right around $100.
Examkrackers also has a 10 week recommended sylabus for training, using their study package with the audio osmosis CD’s optional. I’m starting it on Sunday, 10 weeks before the April MCAT.
Thanks!
Hey, I just took my first full length Kaplan practice mcat today. I am feeling just terrible about it! I scored three points lower than I did on the diagnostic. And I’ve been studying a ton. I went down in VR, down in PS, and up quite a bit in BS. My main problem was that I couldn’t finish the passages in time. Up til now I’ve mainly been studying for science content, but obviously I need to work on passages and timing. Has anyone else had this experience? Do people commonly improve between the practice tests and the actual? I feel pretty confident about most of the basic science, but many of the PS passages were incredibly dense with detail. Any advice?
the Kaplan science passages get more and more unrealistically difficult and dense as you proceed from 1 to 5. This is a problem.
If you are feeling discouraged, take an AAMC practice test instead. They are available at your Kaplan center and you should be sure to use them as a more realistic reflection of the real MCAT. Numbers 3 through 6 are recent and decent. You will need to reverse the order of PS and VR, and they have 5 more questions in VR than the new test, but still they are good practice tests.
Keith,
I’ve taken the half length Kaplan diagnostic and the first full length Kaplan practice test and I got scaled scores of 26 on them both. I’m taking the real thing in April, just received my paperwork from the aamc this afternoon.
Good luck!
Good luck to all MCATers. I will be taking the April exam as well. A word of caution: AAMC 3R is not quite as difficult as 5R and 6R. And none of those can be as brutal as those freebie diagnostics some review courses offer. The goal is to shock you into spending $1,200 - $1,400 for the course. Also, a large gain in score is possible when you start the review course with the brutally hard test and finish with a more realistic practice test. That way, the big bucks don’t hurt as much as they leave your pocket.
I am also using the EK 10 week home study schedule and their complete set of books V.5. So far, I really like it, although it is tough working 50 hrs/wk and studying another 30 hrs/wk. I find that the study guide will allocate 2-3 hrs and sometimes it takes me 6 hrs to highlight and make notes for some chapters.
The thing I like about EK is they tell you what is important and what is just background information and not as critical. I used Kaplan for the Aug '03 test and didn’t like it as well. I am also using Audio Osmosis and find it helpful too. Probably wouldn’t work as your only source of information, but it is a great complementary tool. I bought mine off ebay for $100. The EK 5 set I got from Amazon ($120 I think) since WalMart was always out of stock.
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Hey, I just took my first full length Kaplan practice mcat today. I am feeling just terrible about it! I scored three points lower than I did on the diagnostic. And I’ve been studying a ton. I went down in VR, down in PS, and up quite a bit in BS. My main problem was that I couldn’t finish the passages in time. Up til now I’ve mainly been studying for science content, but obviously I need to work on passages and timing. Has anyone else had this experience? Do people commonly improve between the practice tests and the actual? I feel pretty confident about most of the basic science, but many of the PS passages were incredibly dense with detail. Any advice?
Don’t feel too badly. I and a lot of people I know never did well on any of the Kaplan tests. I think my problem was I knew they were just practice so they didn’t seem to matter to me. I know,… I paid $1200 to take the course, but I just couldn’t shake the practice mode out of my brain.
My AAMC scores were almost the same as my actual MCAT.
Try not to get to discouraged about your practice scores. I know it is easier said than done. You all still have time. Just do lots and lots of practice questions and tests. Good luck to all preparing for the April MCAT.
I took my first practice MCAT last Saturday and was a tad dissappointed as well. I really struggled with time issues. It was not fatigue, but really getting through the Physical Sciences section especially. Just really bogged down in details of the passages…
The problems I did get through I did OK on, but I had 3-4 passages left.
Anyway, the Kaplan teacher said that it is actually pretty normal for your first full length to go down past the diagnostic, so people shouldn’t feel too bad about it.
This is really like training for a marathon… I am hoping I am ready for the April, have registered, but I am old and mature enough to know that it is going to come down to the wire for me. If I take the last few full length AAMC MCATs and am not scoring about 30-32, I will wait until August.
This whole process is a marathon! Good luck and keep us all posted.
>I am also using the EK 10 week home study schedule and their
>complete set of books V.5. So far, I really like it,
What is the “EK” schedule/books?
Exam Krackers?