Difficulty of Kaplan FL vs real MCAT for 2015 test?

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user2992

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Hi,

I'm not doing as well as I'd like to on Kaplan FL tests, particularly the biology section. Is the score/passage difficulty indicative of the real MCAT? I saw that for the old MCAT, Kaplan was more difficult with a more lenient curve but I'm not sure whether this is still true.

It seems really hard to get a good feel for how I"ll do on the real MCAT, and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

Edit: Sorry, not the full length, but the SECTION tests.

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This is a compilation of real scores and practice test scores. Just scroll through it and see how people did on Kaplan tests and then look at their real scores.
 
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The Kaplan FLs are much harder, and have more of a knowledge/calculation focus than the real thing. The mcat is more of a reasoning test that expects foundational knowledge. In fact, I personally stopped using the Kaplan tests after the first section I tried because they were so different in focus that I felt they would demoralize and confuse me more than they would help me.
 
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The Kaplan FLs are much harder, and have more of a knowledge/calculation focus than the real thing. The mcat is more of a reasoning test that expects foundational knowledge. In fact, I personally stopped using the Kaplan tests after the first section I tried because they were so different in focus that I felt they would demoralize and confuse me more than they would help me.

Thanks so much for your response! That definitely helped. What would you recommend using to practice passage-based questions, then? I was planning on using Kaplan but I"m realizing maybe that's not the best option?
 
Thanks so much! This is definitely what I was looking for but couldn't find with all my googling haha. Thanks again, that's very reassuring. I asked this to another responder, but would you have any suggestions on non-Kaplan ways to get more passage based or FL practice for the real mcat?

EK all the way! Their FLs are pricey, but if you can afford even one it'd be good practice.

For passages, I recommend buying the AAMC Q packs if you don't already have access to old FLs. Or try getting your hand on a TPR science workbook. OR if you buy just one TPR content book, you'll get access to 3 of their FLs which you can use as FL practice or pick and choose passages to work on.
 
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Thanks so much for your response! That definitely helped. What would you recommend using to practice passage-based questions, then? I was planning on using Kaplan but I"m realizing maybe that's not the best option?

The resources I used were all AAMC (Guide questions, full-length, and question packs), which give the best sense of what will be expected of you on the test. The downside of this is that it left a little to be desired for pscyh/soc practice, but since I was a psych major I wasn't too worried. Your needs may differ, of course. If you are going to use non-AAMC resources, I would recommend doing the AAMC materials first and then judge third-party materials based on that standard, to prevent freaking yourself out.

Unfortunately since I haven't tried EK or TPR, I can't give an opinion on those either way.
 
Lol, everyone seems to say TPR exams are still harder than the MCAT. I really hope that ends up being true because I'm starting to do better on them.
 
This is reassuring, for sure. I have scored 495, 505, 505 thus far. It seems to me that the Psych/ Soc and Bio sections have been the most difficult. I have about 5 weeks before my exam and will continue taking a full length a week. Good luck to everyone!
 
Much harder. The highest I received on the kaplan full lengths was a 503. I got a 511 (85th percentile) on the real thing.
 
My highest was also a 503 with a 499 the week before the test. (SCARY)
My final percentile was 90-100% with estimated 514-516.
 
That's awesome! I got a 506 today. While I would love a phenomenal score like 514-516, a 510 would be just great.
 
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Hey guys, I'm a july test taker and prepped with Kaplan class and books. (subbed with some Khan, a TPR FL, and ALL aamc materials for the new test)

I answered a question someone asked me about Kaplan scores and such in a conversation but figured it would be helpful to post here.

"Yes, I did use Kaplan. I had originally planned on taking the MCAT in April so I took a Kaplan in person prep class that rand Nov-Mar every sunday for 3 hours. So I did all the assigned readings and PBQs each week which ended up being about 10 hours a week including the 3 hour class on Sunday.

I did not feel confident at all after the class was over, it helped me learn strategies and timing, but I ended up realizing I needed to kick my content review into overdrive. I also took 2 Kaplan FL practice tests and did terrible, like a 489 and a 494 so I was crushed. (Don't let these scores get you down, they are so far off as you can tell from my Kaplan average of about 504 the month before the test and my 516 actual score). Anyway, I decided to take the summer to study and put in about 8-10+ hours per day every day May-July 17th. In total, that's about 600 hours from when I started the class. That is just me, mind you, many people study much less than that depending on how recently they took biochem, ochem, etc. I read through every book again, highlighted, took notes, made notecards of concepts/equations I didn't already have down pat. It was an insane amount of work but I really felt confident with the details which translated into a good understanding of the big picture concepts that the MCAT actually tests.

The PBQs are VERY difficult and not representative of the actual exam. It helps identify the topics you need to focus more on, but the questions are worded weirdly sometimes and the explanations often don't make sense. Nothing is that convoluted, so don't let it get to you like I did (so many mental breakdowns...)

I used the qbank a little bit, but eventually just chose to do the AAMC question packs instead because they are much more helpful for identifying weak content areas and won't make you feel like a failure.

Kaplan FLs are frusteratingly hard, but helpful for stamina, practice, etc. Just don't take the scores to heart. I went over each test thoroughly and took notes on things I didn't already know to go over later on. Do the AAMC FL for sure and official guide questions, that will tell you better where you're at. They are very similar to the actual MCAT, although the actual thing was more difficult IMO. I did 7 full length exams the month before the test in addition to those two really terrible ones I did earlier in the year, so 9 total. I don't think doing that many is necessary, maybe 5 kaplan and then the AAMC FL.

All in all,if you're breaking 500 on Kaplan FLs and scoring 75%+ correct on the AAMC FL and official guide, then you will be in a good spot to get that 508 everyone is hoping for. Don't underestimate the power of a lot of content review, memorizing equations slowly but surely, and trying to stay relaxed!

Sorry this ended up being so long!! I just know how crazy hard it is and if I can help out then that's great! I know it was super tough for me getting crushingly low Kaplan scores, so I'm more than happy to let other people know that those scores are WAY off, but doing the tests and PBQs were still helpful in the long run."
 
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EK tests all the way. Not a fan of Kaplan. EK is most representative and yet difficult.
 
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My friend was getting a 502 on princton review but got a 492 on the real thing? Idk who to believe lol is it really that much easier? Im getting a 501-503 on TPR and Kaplan full lengths and my test is under 2 weeks away. Am I in a goood situation? Its hard to believe its that much easier when EVERYBODY got over a 510, suspicious...hah
 
My friend was getting a 502 on princton review but got a 492 on the real thing? Idk who to believe lol is it really that much easier? Im getting a 501-503 on TPR and Kaplan full lengths and my test is under 2 weeks away. Am I in a goood situation? Its hard to believe its that much easier when EVERYBODY got over a 510, suspicious...hah
I'd have to say that your friend is an outlier.. cuz that's unusual. And yeh you should be fine with scores like that thus far.
 
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also, the practice packs the aamc gives seem way to easy...is that really representative of the actual test?
 
How did it compare to some full lengths you took with a study program if you happened to take one?
I didn't do a study program. NextStep tests I averaged a 506, EK tests I averaged in the low 70% (since they don't give you actually scores).
 
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Hi,

I'm not doing as well as I'd like to on Kaplan FL tests, particularly the biology section. Is the score/passage difficulty indicative of the real MCAT? I saw that for the old MCAT, Kaplan was more difficult with a more lenient curve but I'm not sure whether this is still true.

It seems really hard to get a good feel for how I"ll do on the real MCAT, and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

Edit: Sorry, not the full length, but the SECTION tests.

Hi, I took seven full-length practice exams before taking the actual exam in June 2016. I scored an average of 504 across all seven FLs, but ended up with a 511 (124/130/127/130) on the real thing.

I took:

3 Kaplan FLs
1 Next Step FL
1 The Princeton Review FL
1 AAMC FL (scored)
1 AMMC FL (percentile)

I felt that TPR was the most difficult FL, but my lowest score (499) was on my second Kaplan FL. It is my general observation that practice exams (especially those from third parties) tend to deflate one's scores a bit. I never scored higher than a 509 on any practice FL, but, as I said, managed two points above that on the actual test.

Below is a spreadsheet of the data from all seven of my practice FLs. Best of luck!
Screen Shot 2016-07-07 at 12.24.05 PM.png
 
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