2015 Kaplan Full Length 1

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Heisenberg 41

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2013
Messages
161
Reaction score
187
Just finished my first Kaplan full length 2015 MCAT... 7.5 hrs is a looooong time to sit through a practice test. I hope kaplan's first full length is harder than the real thing... I haven't really started any science content review yet, though.

Not too sure what to make of my score:
496 (Chem/Phys: 122 CARS: 126 Bio/Biochem: 124 Psych/Soc: 124)

Anyone else taken a full length yet?

Members don't see this ad.
 
I took Kaplan's FL #1 as well. And yes, 7.5 hours is a very long time to sit in one place, especially when it makes you realize that your desk is actually just a little bit too short for your desk chair. :(

It's hard to draw conclusions based on a scoring system that, at this point in time, is little more than an educated guess. To me, all your score says is that your weakest point is Chem/Phys, so a good portion of your review should focus on that.

I also took the full length prior to starting content review. I scored similarly to you: 499 (Chem/Phys: 123 CARS: 128 Bio/Biochem: 124 Psych/Soc 124). For what it's worth, I took Next Step's 1/2 length free diagnostic two weeks later and scored 503. Do I think the little bit of review I did in those 2 weeks managed to bump my score 4 points? No, it was probably due to fluctuations between different tests/companies. I'm planning to take Kaplan's 2nd FL at the end of spring break (2nd week of March). If I see a score increase on that exam, I will be more encouraged because the exams were made by the same company.
 
Could one of you guys please send me the link to buy just the exams?
Kaplan doesn't sell ONLY exams exclusively. You have to be enrolled in the course which gives you 11 FL exams or buy their 7 book set on amazon which comes with activation for 3 FL exams. I believe those are different exams because that's how it was in the past but yeah that's all I know.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Back in the old days when we had the old MCAT, Kaplan's stuff was pretty bad. It didn't test the same sorts of things as the AAMC material. Back then, Kaplan paid its question writers to take actual MCATs so they knew what the questions were like. I shudder to think how unrepresentative their material will be when they don't even have a real 2015 MCAT to base it on.
 
I have taken the first 2 Kaplan FLs and plan on taking the AAMC FL at the end of the week. I will let you know how they compare.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Let us know how it goes! I'm finding that Kaplan's stuff is pretty freaking hard, so I'm curious about your report of the AAMC one. Hopefully it's a bit easier. Kaplan's practice questions basically require you to be a physics encyclopedia.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Okay, I just finished the AAMC exam, and I'm really happy with how I did compared to the Kaplan FLs. I am just going to compare Kaplan FL2 and the AAMC test because I took them three days apart in the same testing environment. As a disclaimer, I did study general chemistry (my weakest subject) and a little psych during those three days, so some score improvement may be attributed to studying.

Score comparisons by percentage of questions answered correctly:
Kaplan FL2: Chem/Phys: 39% CARS: 88% Bio: 76% Psych/Soc: 49% All Sections: 67%
AAMC: Chem/Phys: 69% CARS: 98% Bio: 71% Psych/Soc: 88% All Sections: 81%

My overall impressions (n=1):
Chem/Phys: In general, I think AAMC was even more bio-based than Kaplan (which I liked). I thought the AAMC test had more biochem, less physics, and less gen chem than Kaplan. I thought AAMC had a little more organic than Kaplan, but most of the organic questions were incorporated into biochem passages.
CARS: The two tests were fairly similar. I enjoyed the AAMC passages more, but that will vary between different tests.
Bio: Similar content covered.
Psych/Soc: This is where I saw the most discrepancy between the two exams. My psych studying between the two tests was minimal (1 chapter). I think the huge difference in my Psych/Soc scores was due to significant differences in the exams. There seemed to be fewer questions on specific scientists/theories on AAMC than Kaplan (although AAMC still had some of these questions). AAMC seemed to have more application-based questions and some common-sense questions.

Please keep in mind that I am just one person and these are my subjective impressions. If anyone else has taken both of these exams, I'd love to hear your comments!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
Okay, I just finished the AAMC exam, and I'm really happy with how I did compared to the Kaplan FLs. I am just going to compare Kaplan FL2 and the AAMC test because I took them three days apart in the same testing environment. As a disclaimer, I did study general chemistry (my weakest subject) and a little psych during those three days, so some score improvement may be attributed to studying.

Score comparisons by percentage of questions answered correctly:
Kaplan FL2: Chem/Phys: 39% CARS: 88% Bio: 76% Psych/Soc: 49% All Sections: 67%
AAMC: Chem/Phys: 69% CARS: 98% Bio: 71% Psych/Soc: 88% All Sections: 81%

My overall impressions (n=1):
Chem/Phys: In general, I think AAMC was even more bio-based than Kaplan (which I liked). I thought the AAMC test had more biochem, less physics, and less gen chem than Kaplan. I thought AAMC had a little more organic than Kaplan, but most of the organic questions were incorporated into biochem passages.
CARS: The two tests were fairly similar. I enjoyed the AAMC passages more, but that will vary between different tests.
Bio: Similar content covered.
Psych/Soc: This is where I saw the most discrepancy between the two exams. My psych studying between the two tests was minimal (1 chapter). I think the huge difference in my Psych/Soc scores was due to significant differences in the exams. There seemed to be fewer questions on specific scientists/theories on AAMC than Kaplan (although AAMC still had some of these questions). AAMC seemed to have more application-based questions and some common-sense questions.

Please keep in mind that I am just one person and these are my subjective impressions. If anyone else has taken both of these exams, I'd love to hear your comments!

I only took the AAMC PS section (and all of Kaplan FL #1). I have to say that the AAMC one was not as convoluted and made more sense. There was definitely more biochem than I had hoped (I majored in Biochem, but I've forgotten it all somehow...).
Also, that's an amazing verbal score!! You said that the passages were more fun in the AAMC test; did you also feel like the questions were easier/more straightforward?
 
Thanks! I agree that the AAMC version of that section was less convoluted. I'm in biochem right now, so that definitely helped me.

I didn't notice a big difference between the CARS questions on Kaplan vs. AAMC. One thing that was different is that Kaplan had approximately the same number of questions per passage, but AAMC had varying numbers of questions. One passage had ~12 questions, while another only had 4 or 5. I was worried that I would not like how the AAMC only shows you one question at a time, but I found that I preferred that format. It helped me focus on one question at a time.

I only took the AAMC PS section (and all of Kaplan FL #1). I have to say that the AAMC one was not as convoluted and made more sense. There was definitely more biochem than I had hoped (I majored in Biochem, but I've forgotten it all somehow...).
Also, that's an amazing verbal score!! You said that the passages were more fun in the AAMC test; did you also feel like the questions were easier/more straightforward?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thanks! I agree that the AAMC version of that section was less convoluted. I'm in biochem right now, so that definitely helped me.

I didn't notice a big difference between the CARS questions on Kaplan vs. AAMC. One thing that was different is that Kaplan had approximately the same number of questions per passage, but AAMC had varying numbers of questions. One passage had ~12 questions, while another only had 4 or 5. I was worried that I would not like how the AAMC only shows you one question at a time, but I found that I preferred that format. It helped me focus on one question at a time.
Thanks so much for letting us know! Does Kaplan do a good job with the research based passages? I took a kaplan fl but there were none of those in it..there were "experimental" passages but that was similar to the old exam. also have you taken any princeton review fl?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Nice, thanks for that report! That is absolutely encouraging. I've been studying gchem and physics and have been getting mauled by the Kaplan practice questions. They're ridiculously difficult. I like that the makeup of the PS section on the actual AAMC test seems more bio geared and less physics. I don't honestly enjoy that physics is even on the MCAT.

Sounds like I'm not as doomed as I thought!
 
Thanks so much for letting us know! Does Kaplan do a good job with the research based passages? I took a kaplan fl but there were none of those in it..there were "experimental" passages but that was similar to the old exam. also have you taken any princeton review fl?

I haven't taken any TPR FLs, but I may in the future. I'm not sure what you mean by research-based passages. The majority of the passages in the Chem/Phys, Bio, and Psych/Soc sections were based on research. Many questions asked you to interpret tables/figures.

Nice, thanks for that report! That is absolutely encouraging. I've been studying gchem and physics and have been getting mauled by the Kaplan practice questions. They're ridiculously difficult. I like that the makeup of the PS section on the actual AAMC test seems more bio geared and less physics. I don't honestly enjoy that physics is even on the MCAT.

Sounds like I'm not as doomed as I thought!

You can do it! I am not a fan of physics either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Okay, I just finished the AAMC exam, and I'm really happy with how I did compared to the Kaplan FLs. I am just going to compare Kaplan FL2 and the AAMC test because I took them three days apart in the same testing environment. As a disclaimer, I did study general chemistry (my weakest subject) and a little psych during those three days, so some score improvement may be attributed to studying.

Score comparisons by percentage of questions answered correctly:
Kaplan FL2: Chem/Phys: 39% CARS: 88% Bio: 76% Psych/Soc: 49% All Sections: 67%
AAMC: Chem/Phys: 69% CARS: 98% Bio: 71% Psych/Soc: 88% All Sections: 81%

My overall impressions (n=1):
Chem/Phys: In general, I think AAMC was even more bio-based than Kaplan (which I liked). I thought the AAMC test had more biochem, less physics, and less gen chem than Kaplan. I thought AAMC had a little more organic than Kaplan, but most of the organic questions were incorporated into biochem passages.
CARS: The two tests were fairly similar. I enjoyed the AAMC passages more, but that will vary between different tests.
Bio: Similar content covered.
Psych/Soc: This is where I saw the most discrepancy between the two exams. My psych studying between the two tests was minimal (1 chapter). I think the huge difference in my Psych/Soc scores was due to significant differences in the exams. There seemed to be fewer questions on specific scientists/theories on AAMC than Kaplan (although AAMC still had some of these questions). AAMC seemed to have more application-based questions and some common-sense questions.

Please keep in mind that I am just one person and these are my subjective impressions. If anyone else has taken both of these exams, I'd love to hear your comments!

Thanks for all of the feedback @bee17 ! Just curious, what overall score did Kaplan give you for FL2? It's encouraging to hear that the AAMC was a bit more straightforward.
 
Kaplan gave me 498 for FL2. I am really hoping that is inaccurate. I want to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs, so I am aiming for a high score.
 
Kaplan gave me 498 for FL2. I am really hoping that is inaccurate. I want to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs, so I am aiming for a high score.
Wow that's a lot lower than I would have guessed... So what would you predict your score to be on the AAMC FL you took?
 
Wow that's a lot lower than I would have guessed... So what would you predict your score to be on the AAMC FL you took?

It's very hard to tell, because it depends upon percentile rank. I am confident that my CARS score will translate into a high percentile rank, because I could not have done much better. I have no idea about the other scores. Getting 88% of the Psych/Soc questions correct sounds great, but there is no way to tell how that section will be scaled. I am particularly worried about Chem/Phys, because it is my worst section and I hate studying for it.
 
Kaplan gave me 498 for FL2. I am really hoping that is inaccurate. I want to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs, so I am aiming for a high score.
Have you taken any other kaplan full lengths / seen any other variations since you posted this? they are kicking my butt but I'm saving the AAMC one as my last one before I take it - taking the April date :(
I have been getting around 496. but I took Kaplan FL3 and got a 504 so I thought my studying had finally paid off. then took Kaplan FL4 and got a 497. So really discouraged to say the least because even my fluke score (it seems) is not as good as I want it to be.
 
Have you taken any other kaplan full lengths / seen any other variations since you posted this? they are kicking my butt but I'm saving the AAMC one as my last one before I take it - taking the April date :(
I have been getting around 496. but I took Kaplan FL3 and got a 504 so I thought my studying had finally paid off. then took Kaplan FL4 and got a 497. So really discouraged to say the least because even my fluke score (it seems) is not as good as I want it to be.

I got 499 on Kaplan FL1 and 503 on NS 1/2 length diagnostic. My percentages on the AAMC are in this thread. I will probably take Kaplan FL 3 within the next couple weeks, but after taking AAMC, I don't feel as if Kaplan's questions are very accurate.
 
I got 499 on Kaplan FL1 and 503 on NS 1/2 length diagnostic. My percentages on the AAMC are in this thread. I will probably take Kaplan FL 3 within the next couple weeks, but after taking AAMC, I don't feel as if Kaplan's questions are very accurate.
How did you find the half diagnostic from NS? More accurate than the Kaplan exam? I'm thinking about purchasing their FL exam package, but don't want to spend the money if it doesn't seem worth it.
 
Thanks for the info @bee17!

With your knowledge of the FL discrepancies, what are you doing for practice questions and/or the rest of the FLs? I hear kaplan is adding the 720 question pack, but I wonder if its worth just buying it NOW instead of waiting...
 
How did you guys do on the Kaplan diagnostic? It's the only one I've taken so far and I did terribly. Been studying for about a month now so I should be taking my FL 1 soon, hopefully the score will be better.
 
How did you guys do on the Kaplan diagnostic? It's the only one I've taken so far and I did terribly. Been studying for about a month now so I should be taking my FL 1 soon, hopefully the score will be better.
I think you will be hard pressed to find anyone who feels they did well on the diag the first time around. I considered cheating and taking it post content review but decided the information provided on strengths/weaknesses would be more valuable in the short term...
 
I think you will be hard pressed to find anyone who feels they did well on the diag the first time around. I considered cheating and taking it post content review but decided the information provided on strengths/weaknesses would be more valuable in the short term...
I almost did the same. Figure a mixture of not having seen the material in a while + not having done passages in a long time = low score on a hard diag.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Precontent review diag: 502 - 125/125/127/125. FL1 504 FL2 502. Both take past 2 weeks - about 3 weeks out from when I finished the kaplan class I think. Feel like I should still be doing content review - mostly psych/soc, some chem/phys and only bio/biochem when I run into something I don't know well enough. These scores a bit of a bummer compared to my 10/10/13 pre content review AAMC #3 (took it the day before Kaplain diag)...

I wouldn't worry if your FL1 isn't a huge improvement UNLESS you started with very little knowledge.
 
Those are pretty decent scores. From talking to my kaplan classmates it doesn't seem like anyone in my class got 500+ in the kaplan half diagnostic.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Oh I should mention that the AAMC #3 VERY LIKELY just catered to my strengths so I HUGELY doubt I was anywhere near that score worthy before I started studying (probably was closer to around 26-28?)

I am curious if kaplan's latests tests will be easier than the earlier ones, or more like the aamc sample test or what...
 
Thanks for the info @bee17!

With your knowledge of the FL discrepancies, what are you doing for practice questions and/or the rest of the FLs? I hear kaplan is adding the 720 question pack, but I wonder if its worth just buying it NOW instead of waiting...

I bought the AAMC question packs, so I'm going to focus on those, the questions in the official guide, and Khan academy questions (haven't done those yet). I have the Kaplan book set and an old EK set to use for brushing up on content and extra practice. I did not review my answers for the AAMC practice test yet, so I am going retake it about a month after the first attempt to see if I can improve on my weaker sections. I will also take the 3rd Kaplan FL as well as a few from either NS or TPR. Even if the questions are not true to AAMC, taking the FLs will help me get used to the length and format of the test.

I am taking the test May 22nd, so I don't have a lot of time to wait for more materials!
 
How did you guys do on the Kaplan diagnostic? It's the only one I've taken so far and I did terribly. Been studying for about a month now so I should be taking my FL 1 soon, hopefully the score will be better.

I got 499 (123/125/127/124) without any content review. Physics killed me.
 
Last edited:
How did you guys do on the Kaplan diagnostic? It's the only one I've taken so far and I did terribly. Been studying for about a month now so I should be taking my FL 1 soon, hopefully the score will be better.
My diagnostic score was 499 as well: (124, 127, 123, 125) pre content review.
 
Psych/Soc: This is where I saw the most discrepancy between the two exams. My psych studying between the two tests was minimal (1 chapter). I think the huge difference in my Psych/Soc scores was due to significant differences in the exams. There seemed to be fewer questions on specific scientists/theories on AAMC than Kaplan (although AAMC still had some of these questions). AAMC seemed to have more application-based questions and some common-sense questions.

I hope you are right about the Psych/Soc section! I took Kaplan FL 2 today and it absolutely murdered me. :( I think it was partially because my stamina ran out at the end, but also I felt like it was testing on theories and concepts I've yet to cover in my content review.
 
I'm enrolled in a Kaplan course. It concluded three weeks ago. Here are my scores so far:

Diagnostic: 487
FL 1: 495
FL 2: 499
FL 3: 498

I do indeed hope the Kaplan material is more difficult. I'm trying to break the 500 mark for FL 4. I sit May 22nd and plan to complete Kaplan's FL 1-11 and AAMC's by then and hopefully a few others I can get my hands on, maybe Princeton Review?
 
I'm enrolled in a Kaplan course. It concluded three weeks ago. Here are my scores so far:

Diagnostic: 487
FL 1: 495
FL 2: 499
FL 3: 498

I do indeed hope the Kaplan material is more difficult. I'm trying to break the 500 mark for FL 4. I sit May 22nd and plan to complete Kaplan's FL 1-11 and AAMC's by then and hopefully a few others I can get my hands on, maybe Princeton Review?
I heard princeton sucks, try examkrackers FL's that just came out
 
I heard princeton sucks, try examkrackers FL's that just came out

I've heard some people being skeptics of TPR practice exams but honestly in the past few days, I can see people complaining about nearly every practice out there. Also Kaplan were known to having practice tests that did not represent AAMC VR on the old MCAT. Although, I found their challenging PS/BS sections great, I used to do them when I studied first time around but scaled them on AAMC standards instead of the lenient Kaplan curves. Reality is, we won't know what are the "best" practice tests for a few years now. I would say until AAMC releases 2 more test we can't really judge.

On the side note, I really wish TBR had books out around this time and that their course wasn't just offered in California. Their old MCAT course had great reviews on here.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The old TPR exams were pretty great, IMHO, especially compared to Kaplan (which I am taking now- and hating). TPR exams were more like aamc and had nice explanations etc. vs. say Kaplan etc.


However, I don't know how well TPR did transferring over the content to their new exams though (e.g., are there errors that weren't there before, etc. I say this only because Kaplan's 'new' FL's seem to have issues).

Would be nice to hear from someone about the new TPR exams vs. the old...
 
Also taking the Kaplan full lengths. Yeah so far they are hard. They get part of me thinks the Social Sciences section is hard do to fatigue.
FL1 123,126,128,123 500
Fl2 125,125,127,124
FL3: did not complete poorly timed biological emergency messed up test rhythm aborted
 
Wanted to add to my previous post. I just took FL4. Got a 500 again 123,126,125.
Im actually taking it as encouraging because my SocSci is improving.
The Kaplan tests to me (especially 4) sometimes seem expect you arrive at an answer not by determining one answer to be correct but by determining the other answers to be wrong. This is particularly true when they give hypothetical scenarios. The explanations can sometimes be poor especially in verbal reasoning where some explanations seem like ""Your answer is wrong because F%$# You!" I find myself emailing my instructor allot to try to make sense of stuff.
Im going to try to take the AAMC question packs this week and see if that gives me an idea of where I'm at.
 
Wanted to add to my previous post. I just took FL4. Got a 500 again 123,126,125.
Im actually taking it as encouraging because my SocSci is improving.
The Kaplan tests to me (especially 4) sometimes seem expect you arrive at an answer not by determining one answer to be correct but by determining the other answers to be wrong. This is particularly true when they give hypothetical scenarios. The explanations can sometimes be poor especially in verbal reasoning where some explanations seem like ""Your answer is wrong because F%$# You!" I find myself emailing my instructor allot to try to make sense of stuff.
Im going to try to take the AAMC question packs this week and see if that gives me an idea of where I'm at.
I took 3 a few days ago and scored 125/128/122/125 verbal does make sense it's just that you're looking for the answer that makes the most sense. I've had plenty of questions where two answers make sense but one of them slightly makes more sense. Kind of ridiculous but that's how it is I suppose.
 
I took 3 a few days ago and scored 125/128/122/125 verbal does make sense it's just that you're looking for the answer that makes the most sense. I've had plenty of questions where two answers make sense but one of them slightly makes more sense. Kind of ridiculous but that's how it is I suppose.

Yeah I get what your saying and yes I understand that now I'm just whining but sometimes this crap is really subjective and the key is not to think like the author like they claim, but to think like the guy writing the test.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
The general consensus of old KAPLAN FLs is that the scores for the practice tests are inflated, and that the curves are generous.

Is it inflated for the new 2015 tests Kaplan created as well, or is it scaled appropriately now? ?

Has anyone had any experience with this?
 
The general consensus of old KAPLAN FLs is that the scores for the practice tests are inflated, and that the curves are generous.

Is it inflated for the new 2015 tests Kaplan created as well, or is it scaled appropriately now? ?

Has anyone had any experience with this?

Right now no one really knows because there is nothing to really compare it to. I can say this, I saw on person on the April test takers thread who was scoring in the 500-506 range say she ranked in the 80-90% range in every area on her real test. That may be about as good an answer as you will get right now
 
Right now no one really knows because there is nothing to really compare it to. I can say this, I saw on person on the April test takers thread who was scoring in the 500-506 range say she ranked in the 80-90% range in every area on her real test. That may be about as good an answer as you will get right now
i think this approach is rife with error. There are a number of biases at work in terms of one persons experience and extrapolating. Not only that but there is also bias associated with doing well where that person would be more likely to share a positive outcome with SDN.
 
i think this approach is rife with error. There are a number of biases at work in terms of one persons experience and extrapolating. Not only that but there is also bias associated with doing well where that person would be more likely to share a positive outcome with SDN.

Very true, plus everyone will be a little different. The larger point I was trying to make is that right now no one really knows how the Kaplan tests translate.
 
Hey guys,

I know I am not taking the 2015 MCAT but a close friend of mine who is doing Kaplan course was telling me his experience. He was also doing the Kaplan FLs and was scoring 495-500 and he said Kaplan material is hard to begin with which skews scores. His percentile on the April exam was 85-100% in all sections so don't freak out too much about your Kaplan scores. It will take time to iron out the kinks and ease the transition between test company FLs and the actual MCAT score but in the meantime, all we have is anecdotal experiences.

I'll ask him to create an SDN account and hopefully he can come back and give you guys some advice. Hang in there folks!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Top