AAMC Scored vs real exam

[ambitiousMED]

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I tried looking for an older thread for this but I wasn't able to. Sorry if I am posting this again. I was wondering how similar the real exam was compared to the AAMC scored exam that AAMC recently released? Were all sections similar in difficulty to the real one? Was AAMC scored score a good indicator of your actual exam score?

 

[AnonPanda1]

It was about the average difficulty between the scored and the section bank.

 

[aldol16]

The scored FL is very easy compared to the real thing. On test day, you'll definitely get easy passages and these will be similar to what you've seen on the scored and sample FLs. But you'll also get several difficult passages as well and those model the Section Bank.

 

[JKlay7]

Just curious, what would you say is the ratio of "easy" to "hard" passages? About even?

 

[aldol16]

Just curious, what would you say is the ratio of "easy" to "hard" passages? About even?

I'm not sure if that's something I'm at liberty to reveal so I'll let someone else do it.

 

[AnonPanda1]

The problem is that hard can sometimes be qualitative. Some people were claiming how insane certain sections were and I realized that I didn't find it that insane only because it happened to be my strong suit or that I do research on the topic.

 

[ambitiousMED]

The scored FL is very easy compared to the real thing. On test day, you'll definitely get easy passages and these will be similar to what you've seen on the scored and sample FLs. But you'll also get several difficult passages as well and those model the Section Bank.

Are you talking about the Biochemistry, Psychology, Sociology section bank? How about CARS? Are they similar to the Question Packs or the sample FL and scored FL?

 

[ambitiousMED]

How about the scoring compared to the real one and the AAMC scored one?

 

[aldol16]

Are you talking about the Biochemistry, Psychology, Sociology section bank? How about CARS? Are they similar to the Question Packs or the sample FL and scored FL?

Yeah. CARS I thought was pretty invariant across QPacks and FLs with the exception of the first half of QPack 1.

How about the scoring compared to the real one and the AAMC scored one?

If you look at the spreadsheets floating around on here and Reddit, you will see that most people scored at or around their scored AAMC FL score, though you have to take into account reporting bias.

 

[ambitiousMED]

Yeah. CARS I thought was pretty invariant across QPacks and FLs with the exception of the first half of QPack 1.



If you look at the spreadsheets floating around on here and Reddit, you will see that most people scored at or around their scored AAMC FL score, though you have to take into account reporting bias.

Great thank you!

 

[FCMike11]

I'm rolling in with the same question as OP- took some kaplan exams and scored sub-500 - definitely had me freaking out. Then I pull a 508 on my AAMC scored. Has anyone else seen such a discrepancy? I know i've read Kaplan is really tough, but it was a 9 point increase for me between the two exams.

 

[Marine2MD]

I'm rolling in with the same question as OP- took some kaplan exams and scored sub-500 - definitely had me freaking out. Then I pull a 508 on my AAMC scored. Has anyone else seen such a discrepancy? I know i've read Kaplan is really tough, but it was a 9 point increase for me between the two exams.

There was a reddit forum (I think it was reddit) that had a compilation of Kaplan results. There was a few individuals who were scoring sub 500 on FL1 and rocked the actual with 520 +/- 2. There was no qualifying data between FL1 and anything else they may have taken though.

 

[aldol16]

I made this visual a month ago: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/kaplan-fl-vs-mcat-2015.1188648/

 

[FCMike11]

There was a reddit forum (I think it was reddit) that had a compilation of Kaplan results. There was a few individuals who were scoring sub 500 on FL1 and rocked the actual with 520 +/- 2. There was no qualifying data between FL1 and anything else they may have taken though.

Ahh, ok thanks. I've basically got 4 days that I will study before my MCAT (May 6). Going to review my weak subjects and take one more practice exam. Can you recommend, one way or another, if I should take EK #2 or the practice AAMC (non-scored) exam? AAMC seems like the natural choice, but i've seen a lot of people using it just for a pre-study diagnostic. Thanks again.

 

[Marine2MD]

I would go with AAMC, its from the company and it is what everyone was using prior to the scored AAMC came out. Use it to identify anywhere that you still might be weak and need a good recap of. Just my opinion though.

 

[ambitiousMED]

I'm rolling in with the same question as OP- took some kaplan exams and scored sub-500 - definitely had me freaking out. Then I pull a 508 on my AAMC scored. Has anyone else seen such a discrepancy? I know i've read Kaplan is really tough, but it was a 9 point increase for me between the two exams.

What percent of the questions are you getting correct total on your AAMCs?

 

[FCMike11]

What percent of the questions are you getting correct total on your AAMCs?

So, the exam I took yesterday it was 75% / 77% / 80% / 65% . Behavioral sciences is my absolute weakness, which reflects my prep for that portion. Am doing a lot of reading/khan academy/analyzing my test results. Honestly I am not the strongest science student - second career, did them minimum as far as pre-reqs but I am a really good test taking; deductive reasoning. My test prep has been not ideal, I work full-time, just been making the best of it (McatJelly's schedule).

This is compared to the EK #1 full length I took a couple of weeks ago and my overall % was ~ 70%.

 

[ambitiousMED]

So, the exam I took yesterday it was 75% / 77% / 80% / 65% . Behavioral sciences is my absolute weakness, which reflects my prep for that portion. Am doing a lot of reading/khan academy/analyzing my test results. Honestly I am not the strongest science student - second career, did them minimum as far as pre-reqs but I am a really good test taking; deductive reasoning. My test prep has been not ideal, I work full-time, just been making the best of it (McatJelly's schedule).

This is compared to the EK #1 full length I took a couple of weeks ago and my overall % was ~ 70%.

Thank you! Good to know someone else scoring around the 70's on AAMCs as well. I understand you pain. It's really difficult to work full time and study for this exam. I tried doing that last semester and had to quit my job and enroll in classes! Good luck on your MCAT!