AAMC FL Interpretation

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dhopeful29

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Similar situation
C/P- 66%
CARS- 70%
Bio- 50% (though I'm pretty sure it was an anomaly)
Psych/Soc- 66%

Official Guide was better though
C/P- 63%
CARS: 63%
Bio: 60%:
Psych/Soc: 90%

Based on mcatjelly scale, I'm around the 26-27 scale (502-503).

Test is August 6th. I only really want like a 505+ b/c I'm aiming for DO schools.

Also OP, the deadline to cancel your test date is today and it's closed at 11:59pm. I hope you know that (and it's tomorrow at 11:59 for those taking August 6th test dates).
 
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I think you both should thoroughly review the AAMC FL and really hammer down the topics you are having trouble with. I would highly suggest taking NS FL 5 bc it is very similar to the AAMC FL. If you can review hard for the next couple days and take that FL this weekend it would be highly beneficial. For OP I think you will reach your goal if it is in the mid 500s because people with low 500s on Kaplan got upper 500s or 510s. I also had trouble with the chem section on the AAMC. I am going to keep reviewing chem concepts and keep practicing. That is the most important thing. Do kaplan passages to solidify concepts and do khan passages to solidify interpreting experiments and such. In the end of the day if you feel poorly about the test after you take it, you can always void it. I feel like you should at least try. Really try to buckle down these next few days.
 
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The percentages from the AAMC FL are very arbitrary and hard to gauge. I would say just go with how you felt about the exam. If you felt good about it and did not struggle too much with time then you are ready. Based on anecdotal evidence from friends and myself, getting below a 70% on any category does not equate to a 508+ score. I never used any kaplan FL, but I did far better on the actual exam than I did on examkrackers' or princeton reviews'. Pretty much everyone that I know did better on the actual test than the practice exams. If you feel really bad (like didn't finish all the questions bad) then you can void your exam. However, I will say that almost everyone walks out feeling pretty depressed no matter how they actually did.
 
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The percentages from the AAMC FL are very arbitrary and hard to gauge. I would say just go with how you felt about the exam. If you felt good about it and did not struggle too much with time then you are ready. Based on anecdotal evidence from friends and myself, getting below a 70% on any category does not equate to a 508+ score. I never used any kaplan FL, but I did far better on the actual exam than I did on examkrackers' or princeton reviews'. Pretty much everyone that I know did better on the actual test than the practice exams. If you feel really bad (like didn't finish all the questions bad) then you can void your exam. However, I will say that almost everyone walks out feeling pretty depressed no matter how they actually did.

It's most certainly not arbitrary for the majority of people. A quick glance at the google docs with the compilation of scores suggest it's a good indicator...

OP you are lacking in major content knowledge. Study up, hit the books and if you can, postpone the test if you're trying to score above the mean.
 
It's most certainly not arbitrary for the majority of people. A quick glance at the google docs with the compilation of scores suggest it's a good indicator...

OP you are lacking in major content knowledge. Study up, hit the books and if you can, postpone the test if you're trying to score above the mean.

I'm just saying that you can make below a 90% on them and still do well on the actual exam. In the end, a few percentage points on a practice test do not determine everything, but you are right these scores are troubling.

OP: I would agree with ready2go2 that you probably need a thorough review in content- especially in the natural sciences. If you can postpone that might be in your best interest.
 
Go through your exam first OP. I did and I honestly felt I just got overwhelmed in Bio. I felt I could have reasonably got 70% right when I went through it a few times.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies!! I didn't check SDN after I posted this.......had a nervous breakdown and I postponed my exam to Aug 22 lol. :p:cat:

I have been consistently scoring above 75% in all the sections except Chem/Phys [EKs, Qpacks] so I think I need to go over some more content review. I dunno what happened to my Bio section today, I felt pretty confident after the section, but 59% is not good! :bored:

Anyways....is submitting secondaries around September too late?

Edited: to include testprep
 
It's most certainly not arbitrary for the majority of people. A quick glance at the google docs with the compilation of scores suggest it's a good indicator...

OP you are lacking in major content knowledge. Study up, hit the books and if you can, postpone the test if you're trying to score above the mean.

I have to disagree. The scores fluctuate so drastically between Kaplan/AAML FL/AAMC Q Pack/etc. that you can't reference the google doc for an accurate indicator. Every person is different, I didn't like ANY of the practice material was representative of the official exam. All I can say is that test prep companies produce exams that are on average much harder than the official AAMC MCAT, so if you want a really good shot at a certain score then I would suggest scoring somewhere withing -3 points of your goal score. Just my .02.
 
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Thanks everyone for the replies!! I didn't check SDN after I posted this.......had a nervous breakdown and I postponed my exam to Aug 22 lol. :p:cat:

I have been consistently scoring above 75% in all the sections except Chem/Phys [EKs, Qpacks] so I think I need to go over some more content review. I dunno what happened to my Bio section today, I felt pretty confident after the section, but 59% is not good! :bored:

Anyways....is submitting secondaries around September too late?

Edited: to include testprep

For MD, yes. For DO, from what I have been told by my pre med advisor, any MCAT before September would still be considered "on time" assuming you do everything else right (submit your application by early September and have it verified along with your MCAT score by October). Or take the MCAT early in September and have your application submitted a day or so after your exam and then just wait for your score. These aren't ideal situations but a lot of people I know have said anytime before November for DO is fine. November and onward is definitely pushing it.

Lucky you also got an August 22nd seat... I had someone else check if certain locations that I really prefer were available on those dates and they weren't but they were plentiful for September. Deciding hopefully by 10pm at the latest tonight whether or not I'm canceling and changing the date.

Another risk I might take is take the August 6th test and if it really feels like a test I really have to void, I will and then try to find a test date/location again on August 8th (2 days after the test date, I think this is AAMC policy to when you can sign up again for another test date).
 
Lucky you also got an August 22nd seat... I had someone else check if certain locations that I really prefer were available on those dates and they weren't but they were plentiful for September. Deciding hopefully by 10pm at the latest tonight whether or not I'm canceling and changing the date.

Another risk I might take is take the August 6th test and if it really feels like a test I really have to void, I will and then try to find a test date/location again on August 8th (2 days after the test date, I think this is AAMC policy to when you can sign up again for another test date).

I know! I was really surprised I got the Aug date! I had already missed the January mcat and passed the deadline to cancel it, so voiding it next week counts as two tries for a year. So I thought I'd be better off if I just cancel this. :rolleyes:

Good luck with everything @Dreamstoo!! :thumbup::thumbup:

I am applying MD/DO. Got my secondaries prewritten and now hoping and praying for the best! :pacifier1:
 
I know! I was really surprised I got the Aug date! I had already missed the January mcat and passed the deadline to cancel it, so voiding it next week counts as two tries for a year. So I thought I'd be better off if I just cancel this. :rolleyes:

Good luck with everything @Dreamstoo!! :thumbup::thumbup:

I am applying MD/DO. Got my secondaries prewritten and now hoping and praying for the best! :pacifier1:

Hey dude I think it's 3 attempts per year AFTER April 2015 test.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/63060/data/mcatessentials.pdf

p. 14-p. 15.
 
Yeah that is correct, but I wanted to give myself 2 more chances this year :laugh: Just in case......

You do realize there are only 4 other test dates after Aug 22nd for the year right?

I don't think AAMC is planning to add more test dates for the year.
 
I hope they do add! Even if they don't, I think I needed the additional two weeks for more practice. :oops:
Are you still taking it next week?

I have to decide tonight. Leaning towards taking it, voiding it if I feel it went really bad. I've taken enough FLs (about 7) to really see if I'm comfortable with a test or not. Gotten pretty good at predicting my score too.
 
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