Accuracy of AMCAS exams for Re-Testers?!?

[radiohead55]

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For anyone that took the test twice, and used AMCAS exams, how accurate do you think your scores were on the real thing?

I took the exam 2 years ago, and am retaking all the AMCAS exams I took the first time I was studying. Oddly enough, there are some Verbal passages I still remember, and faintly some bio passages.

I have been scoring really well on them (12-13's) although I am not sure whether or not I can attribute it to an improvement in my knowledge.

Any thoughts? I don't have any other material I havent seen before. Test is 2 weeks away...I'm nervous about how much confidence I should have in these numbers.

Thankyou in advance for your response.

 

[Chemist0157]

Is there any other reason your scores would go up? Have you studied more/differently? If not, those subscores could be bogus. I know that I remember those passages pretty well.

 

[radiohead55]

Is there any other reason your scores would go up? Have you studied more/differently? If not, those subscores could be bogus. I know that I remember those passages pretty well.

Well, I'd like to think that I have studied more. I guess my main question for the retakers is:

Did your second MCAT score fall into line with your practice AMCAS test scores? Even if you already prepared with the AMCAS tests??

 

[SN2ed]

It is imperative that you take some new MCATs to get a good gauge of your progress. I don't think those tests will hold any predictive power because you remember some of the passages.

 

[radiohead55]

It is imperative that you take some new MCATs to get a good gauge of your progress. I don't think those tests will hold any predictive power because you remember some of the passages.

See, thats the problem, I dont have any "new materials" because I took every exam available from AMCAS and Kaplan 2 years ago.

I know that people take the MCAT more than once without meaning to, so I am assuming I am not alone in this situation. Ideally, before you take the real MCAT you have taken all the practice exams you possibly can. BUT if you have to retake it, how do you guage your progress from the same exams?

Thanks!

 

[SN2ed]

I suggest you pick up Berkeley Review's CBT or Gold Standard's CBT.

 

[dhbighit]

Ok, I am a retaker and kind of ran into the same problem and heres is what I think, so take it with a grain of salt.....

I did all the kaplan verbals the first time, so I was worried about the same thing second time around. I tried to do as many different ones, such as AMCAS this time, but I also did some of the kaplan ones again. What I noticed is that there was no MAJOR difference. I was getting around 9-10 on amcas, and around 9-10 on the kaplans I had already taken (which was about 2-3 points higher then my first round practice tests). I was worried that I was doing better because I remembered some passages, but it didn't dramatically increase my score. So I say that it is IMPERATIVE to get your hands on atleast 3-4 non amcas tests to see if your scores compare, if they do, then keep trusting the amcas ones.... thats my opinion, hope it helps

 

[trojanMD]

Ok, I am a retaker and kind of ran into the same problem and heres is what I think, so take it with a grain of salt.....

I did all the kaplan verbals the first time, so I was worried about the same thing second time around. I tried to do as many different ones, such as AMCAS this time, but I also did some of the kaplan ones again. What I noticed is that there was no MAJOR difference. I was getting around 9-10 on amcas, and around 9-10 on the kaplans I had already taken (which was about 2-3 points higher then my first round practice tests). I was worried that I was doing better because I remembered some passages, but it didn't dramatically increase my score. So I say that it is IMPERATIVE to get your hands on atleast 3-4 non amcas tests to see if your scores compare, if they do, then keep trusting the amcas ones.... thats my opinion, hope it helps

I am retaking my MCAT this friday and have been contemplating the very issue being discussed. I have retaken all my AAMC exams and have scored in the 36-40 range, drastically up from the 31-34 range I was scoring when I took these same exams nearly 3 months ago studying for the 6/13 MCAT. Interestingly, I have also taken a few TPR exams which I have never taken before and am scoring in the 32-33 range, up from other TPR tests I have taken 3-4 months before ranging from 28-30. I have also taken a few Kaplan exams which I have never taken before and am scoring in the 35-39 range. SO, although I dont know for sure whether I can attribute these higher AAMC scores to just sheer improvement, my new Kaplan and TPR scores seem to support the fact that I am improving. Bottom line: I think you can bank on the fact that you are improving (however much is debatable) if you are scoring well above what you scored before when you took them (+3 points at least). I suppose you also just have to be honest with yourself too: how much do you actually remember of these exams you're retaking? I have a terrible memory and hence did not remember any of the questions specifically, however the topics and experiments were familiar when I retook the AAMC exams. I guess we'll see how valid my theory is this coming friday