Real mcat and practice mcats

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So having done a bit of searching, it seems that the real mcat is in reality more difficult than the practice ones we are given. Yes being nervous is a factor, but many have commented that the sciences are more difficult.

Given this fact, why is it said that the averages of the practice FL exams are good indicators of real mcat performance?

I'm doing really well on my exams and I really don't want to lose this performance come test day

the real mcat was tough, but honestly the kaplan 8-11 practice exams have all had bio sections that were much harder then mine. Ridiculous open ended questions. It was rough on the real mcat but not this rough -_-.

if i recall, the PS section was tough but doable. It wasnt really stuff that wasnt convered in prep books. No huge shocks. I just didnt study.

And I thought VR was cake.

Overall on mine, bio was the hardest section I though.

Originally Posted by chiddler

So having done a bit of searching, it seems that the real mcat is in reality more difficult than the practice ones we are given. Yes being nervous is a factor, but many have commented that the sciences are more difficult.

Given this fact, why is it said that the averages of the practice FL exams are good indicators of real mcat performance?

I'm doing really well on my exams and I really don't want to lose this performance come test day

The real MCAT was different, but I don't think mine was any harder. I think the real scale might be a little more lenient than the AAMC scales.

Also you have to keep in mind that a the difference between a 33 and a 39 is not very much in terms of the number of questions you get right/wrong.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it will reflect on your score. Everyone else will likely have a hard time as well and that will be reflected on the curve.

Originally Posted by TheShaker

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it will reflect on your score. Everyone else will likely have a hard time as well and that will be reflected on the curve.

We can only hope!

Makes sense. I hope you're right.

It wasn't necessarily harder material, it was just presented in a weird way which makes it seem hard. The PS you need to be quick with your calculations and pull formulas out of your head as if they were part of your first name. For BS, you need to sharpen your critical thinking skills. The passges didn't really test you on facts that you memorize, they tested you more on interpreting data that were presented in the passage. Obviously you need to have a lot of background knowledge but don't underestimate the amount of information presented in the passage because a lot of times the answer will be right in front of your face. As for VR, it was easier to read, but because of that I think the curve is much more strict than the AAMC's.