Is there any accepted wisdom on what people get on the practice tests vs. the real MCAT when just starting their review? Probably not, this sounds like a “that other site” question to me already, but I’m just curious.
With no prep or review yet, I took a practice test and yikes. I expected it on some level – I haven’t even had physics II yet – but it freaked me out as well.
Which practice tests did you take? AAMC? Kaplan?
Kaplan’s are notoriously MORE difficult than any AAMC test. Kaplan knows this and also skews the score a little (emphasis on a little).
The AAMC practice tests are closer to the real thing but slightly easier … until you get to AAMC #11… that’s the one that was thrown out in August due to a cheater (now in jail, btw).
So, if the practice tests are Kaplan and presumably any other major test prep company’s, then take them as “areas to work on indicators” not “this is approximate to actual score” …
IF, however, it was AAMC #11, then … yeah, I’d be scared too.
(Reference material from my Kaplan instructors for 2014 MCAT)
It was AAMC, but not 11. I know I just need to calm down. My MCAT class hasn’t even started yet. I’m just starting to feel the pressure build up already. Arg.
The practice test wasn’t necessarily even difficult, I just realized how much I need to review in just a few months. Eek.
I’d treat the test you took as a diagnostic (Kaplan will make you take one too) and not touch he rest of the practice tests until you’ve reviewed all the material. Otherwise you’ll just be psyching yourself out at this point.
I found my actual test to be somewhere in between the difficulty of the AAMC tests and the Kaplan tests. No idea which numbers I took for AAMC. After taking the full course, I averaged between 29-36 and got a 32 on the real thing (I think it was my average on the practice). General rule of thumb, as I understand it, is expect to score within your practice range but probably slightly lower than your average.
Good idea. I will burn through the rest of the old AAMC ones by the end of the month (because they go away permanently after that) and then save the other practice ones I’m getting through EK for at least a month.
To avoid burnout, I ended up breaking a bunch of the FL tests into section tests. I had more motivation at the end of the sections to review/learn than when I did them as FL. FL definitely helps with stamina though…
- Tallulah Philange Said:
I will burn through the rest of the old AAMC ones by the end of the month (because they go away permanently after that)
I would NOT do that! The new MCAT is NOT like the old one that is administered until 1/23.
Passages are different, question types are different, content is different (less physics, more biochem), more integration of gen chem with biology, more integration of all sciences...
So instead of long passage about dumb cat jumping from a tall building upward at a velocity of x and which point will cat hit maximum peak and how far out will the cat have traveled and where will said cat land, it will be more like:
biochem allows cat to jump and reaction of whole body to the jump as well as how far and how high ...
To me, taking the old AAMC exams for the current edition would be wasted effort and better spent mastering content for new exam... content which you can get from AAMC site.