April 2006 MCAT Progress and/or Regress

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So, how is everyone doing? Myself just picking it up. In other words, I just woke up! 😀


Here are my scores so far. Thought I add a human touch. There are some superhuman MCAT testers on SDN.

2/5-AAMC 4---19
3/19-KAPLAN 1---21
3/22-KAPLAN 2---21
3/24-KAPLAN 3---28
3/26-KAPLAN 4---24


I will update daily.
 
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oxeye said:
Well, I hope I can give someone hope at least because my Kaplan diagnostic was not even close to where I am scoring now.

Kaplan Diagnostic: 24 (7PS, 9VR, 8BS)

FL #1: 33 (11, 10, 12)
FL #2: 35 (11, 13, 11)
FL #3: 35 (12, 12, 11)

AAMC 3R: 38 (13, 12, 13) - I took 3R somewhere in the middle here - might have been after Kaplan FL #2.

FL #4: 35 (12, 12, 11)
FL #5: 37 (13, 12, 12)
FL #6: 35 (12, 12, 11)
FL #7: 36 (12, 12, 12)

AAMC 9: 38 (13, 12, 13)

I don't think I'm going to do anymore Kaplan FL's. I have AAMC 4-8 to do between now and the test and I think that will be more than enough. I'm spending my time now just really focusing on my weak content areas. I miss quite a few questions just because I've put off really trying to understand the material that I don't necessarily like. ;-)

And I'm definitely going to take the last week off. I'll take my last AAMC test the Saturday before the MCAT and then I'm done. I'll do a little bit of review (maybe 30 minutes max) the week before. That close to the exam, there's really not much I can do that it going to make a huge difference, you know?
Click to expand...


That post someone made recently in another thread about a 40 being possible. I believe it. I think you might still be surprised and hit the 40+ mark if you are getting 38's on your AAMC diags. I also think its a good idea that you are focusing on AAMC tests now, because with 3 weeks left to go, its probably a better bet as a predictor of score.


GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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Anastasis, I think you'll do fine as well. Teerawit, the same to you. I've seen your score progressions and they are pretty high up there. So don't worry about it too much. 😛

All of you all........GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
 
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gujuDoc said:
Anastasis, I think you'll do fine as well. Teerawit, the same to you. I've seen your score progressions and they are pretty high up there. So don't worry about it too much. 😛

All of you all........GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks Guju! 😍 😍 😍
 
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score progression [this time around]:

Kaplan FL #6: 29 (10 PS, 10 VR, 9 BS)
AAMC 3R: 31 (11, 11, 9)
Kaplan FL #7: 31 (10, 11, 10)
AAMC 6R: 30 (11, 9, 10)
AAMC 7: 28 (10, 9, 9)

my plateau has started a downward trend. i need to get back up there!!
 
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gujuDoc said:
That post someone made recently in another thread about a 40 being possible. I believe it. I think you might still be surprised and hit the 40+ mark if you are getting 38's on your AAMC diags. I also think its a good idea that you are focusing on AAMC tests now, because with 3 weeks left to go, its probably a better bet as a predictor of score.


GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Thank you Guju! 🙂
 
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gujuDoc said:
Anastasis, I think you'll do fine as well. Teerawit, the same to you. I've seen your score progressions and they are pretty high up there. So don't worry about it too much. 😛

All of you all........GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

aww, thanks 🙂
 
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AAMC 3R just out of the oven!

2/5-AAMC 4---19
3/19-KAPLAN 1---21
3/22-KAPLAN 2---21
3/24-KAPLAN 3---28
3/26-KAPLAN 4---24
4/3-AAMC 3R--27


Still need 8 mo' exams and practice and review. 3 weeks is still lots of lots of time...mo' practice mo' money.
 
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sandros1 said:
Kaplan Diag: 24
Kaplan FL#1: 27
AAMC 3R: 32
Kaplan FL #6: 29
Kaplan FL #2: 30

Kaplan FL #3 this weekend after a stressful week of exams at school...oughta be interesting. I'll be very surprised if any of my section scores go up this weekend. 🙁
Click to expand...


Kaplan FL #3 31 - Finally back up in Bio. 11PS 10VR 10BS

I was so out of it with a headache that I'm just glad I didn't go down. With some more effort this week, there is hopefully more room for improvement. Whew, I feel like I dodged a bullet.
 
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2/5-aamc 4---19
3/19-kaplan 1---21
3/22-kaplan 2---21
3/24-kaplan 3---28
3/26-kaplan 4---24
4/3-aamc 3r--27
4/7-aamc 5r--25 (v=6 🙁 )
 
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I haven't posted in a while due to this hectic semester, so I'll make a rare post.
The tests are in chronological order taken:

Kaplan Diag: 24 (in 2005)
Kap FL #1: 27 - 10,9,8
AAMC 3R: 33 - 12,10,11
AAMC 4R: 31 - 10,11,10
Kap FL #2: 29 - 10,11,8
AAMC 5R: 32 - 11,10,11
Kap FL #3: 33 - 10,11,12
AAMC 6R: 34 - 12,10,12

The general trend seems to be an upward trends after 4R for the AAMC tests. I didn't realize why I was making lower scores in one subject until I learned that for the bio sections I would crap out b/c lack of stamina on the kap FLs. I was able to increase my scores on the sciences by actually going slower. Before, I would rush through the test and finish with 10-15 minutes to spare. Now, that I'm going slower, I'm making fewer dumb mistakes (but they still occur for 1-2 questions, which usually keep me from a 13). I saved 7,8, and 9 for the upcoming weeks, and tomorrow I'm taking my final kap FL; I realized the kap FLs are more to see how much content you know, and aren't as important as the AAMCs. I'm shooting for a 36 or higher; can anyone else vouch that an upward trend is usually a good thing? I have a little less than two weeks left to train for the test (I'm ceasing all test-taking and review after Tuesday before the test).
 
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Took FL #4 yesterday, the PS section sucked!

Kaplan Diagnostic: 22 (7 PS, 7 VR, 8 BS)
Kaplan FL #2: 30 (10, 10, 10)
Kaplan FL #3: 34 (11, 13, 10)
Kaplan FL #4: 32 (10, 12, 10)

I'm happy with verbal, just starting to get really frustrated with bio. That was the only thing I studied this past week and I still haven't improved on it.
 
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Fl1: 22 (ps9/vr6/bs7)
Fl2: 25 (ps8/vr7/bs10)
Fl3: 31 (ps11/vr10/bs10)
Fl4: 30 (ps10/vr10/bs10)
 
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Okay - I'm progressing again! 😀 I just got a 39 (13, 12, 14) on AAMC 7. My scores were consistently dropping on the AAMC tests, but those were on the older exams. I did very well on AAMC 9 also, so hopefully I'm just better with the new exams and my regression wasn't really a sign that I was getting burned out with all this studying.

I'll finish AAMC 8 in the next few days and then I'm officially done with practice tests!
 
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oxeye said:
Okay - I'm progressing again! 😀 I just got a 39 (13, 12, 14) on AAMC 7. My scores were consistently dropping on the AAMC tests, but those were on the older exams. I did very well on AAMC 9 also, so hopefully I'm just better with the new exams and my regression wasn't really a sign that I was getting burned out with all this studying.

I'll finish AAMC 8 in the next few days and then I'm officially done with practice tests!
Click to expand...


On 4R, your score probably was 2 points lower then the 38 because the difference in scales. The scale for 4R is a lot harder then the scale for the later AAMC tests. Actually if you do a comparison of the scale for 8 and 9, you'll find they are the same and slightly more lenient then 4R's scale. But you'll find a big difference between 4R's scale and test 8 or test 9 because 4R requires you to get more questions right for the same score.

That probably is what accounts for a slightly lower score then your average on test 9, granted that there's not much of a difference between a 36 and 38.

Test 6R is supposed to be one of the tougher exams. That could account for the slightly lower score there, but then again it just might have had a lot of topics you were a bit iffy on, or perhaps you were just making careless mistakes. At any rate, 35+ is all good.

Take test 8 and then spent the last week just rereviewing through old tests and weak spots especially. Then relax the day before the test.
 
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Thanks for your thoughts Guju. 😀 My plan is to finish test 8 by Friday, relax over the weekend (going to a dog show with my mom actually, hehe) and then do very light review the week before.

And thanks for your thoughts on AAMC 6. I completely bombed VR there - I was completely spaced out and had a horrible time keeping my mind from wandering. And I made a bunch of careless mistakes on PS and BS combined with a couple topics that aren't my strong points. AAMC 7 BS and PS seemed to have my stronger topics. Based on that, I realistically expect around a 36-38 on the actual test. I hope that I will get lucky with the subject matter, though. 😉
 
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oxeye said:
Thanks for your thoughts Guju. 😀 My plan is to finish test 8 by Friday, relax over the weekend (going to a dog show with my mom actually, hehe) and then do very light review the week before.

And thanks for your thoughts on AAMC 6. I completely bombed VR there - I was completely spaced out and had a horrible time keeping my mind from wandering. And I made a bunch of careless mistakes on PS and BS combined with a couple topics that aren't my strong points. AAMC 7 BS and PS seemed to have my stronger topics. Based on that, I realistically expect around a 36-38 on the actual test. I hope that I will get lucky with the subject matter, though. 😉
Click to expand...

The bolded describes my friend when she took test 9 this past weekend. She got a 30 on it but said she would have done better in BS if she hadn't rushed through it to the point that she had 30 minutes to spare. Focus is everything. I spaced out during the VR of the real deal last year, that's why I went down from my practice scores on VR last April. But I'll kick butt this August. Hopefully anyways. 😛

P.S. Dog show sounds fun. 😎
 
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gujuDoc said:
On 4R, your score probably was 2 points lower then the 38 because the difference in scales. The scale for 4R is a lot harder then the scale for the later AAMC tests. Actually if you do a comparison of the scale for 8 and 9, you'll find they are the same and slightly more lenient then 4R's scale. But you'll find a big difference between 4R's scale and test 8 or test 9 because 4R requires you to get more questions right for the same score.

That probably is what accounts for a slightly lower score then your average on test 9, granted that there's not much of a difference between a 36 and 38.

Test 6R is supposed to be one of the tougher exams. That could account for the slightly lower score there, but then again it just might have had a lot of topics you were a bit iffy on, or perhaps you were just making careless mistakes. At any rate, 35+ is all good.

Take test 8 and then spent the last week just rereviewing through old tests and weak spots especially. Then relax the day before the test.
Click to expand...

ya i just did 6r today and the bio section seemed a lot tougher than the other ones but it happens to be the highest ive ever scored on bio

6r 36 ps13 vr10 bs13
 
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Kaplan FL1: 29
Kaplan FL2: 30
AAMC 8: 29

Doing 7 and 9 this week. My first MCAT was a 24, so I'm pretty pleased with the 5 point average jump.
 
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lordmickytron said:
ya i just did 6r today and the bio section seemed a lot tougher than the other ones but it happens to be the highest ive ever scored on bio

6r 36 ps13 vr10 bs13
Click to expand...


A friend, now accepted to medical school, told me when he was studying for the MCAT 6R was the hardest test he took. I think either 6R or 7 was the latest one out at that time. That's why I said what I did. Who knows?? I guess it depends on your strengths and weaknesses.
 
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Going back down. Funny stuff, starting to look like a normal curve, yikes!!

2/5-aamc 4---19
3/19-kaplan 1---21
3/22-kaplan 2---21
3/24-kaplan 3---28
3/26-kaplan 4---24
4/3-aamc 3r--27
4/7-aamc 5r--25 (v=6 🙁 )
4/12-kaplan 5--23
 
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goodcook said:
Diagnostic: 14
Kaplan 1: 17
Kaplan 2: 16

It's not looking good for me. I felt that I scored at least a 20 at the end of the second full length. I was having such a great week too...I almost ace an exam, I win a scholarship, then this. Words of encouragement are welcome.
Click to expand...

I think you'll still be fine if you work really hard between now and then! I've just got 3 suggestions for you:

1. Practice only up to the point where you're comfortable with the test format and question types. Make sure you can finish all sections (esp. VR) in time. Don't spend your time taking excessive practice tests, because at this point, you should...

2. Memorize all the science material in your review books. It's seriously not as hard as it sounds. Highlight, teach it to a friend, make flashcards, do whatever you need. I didn't start this step until the last week before the MCAT, but I made 660 flashcards and 40 pgs of notes when I ran out of cards, and that really helped me memorize all the stuff.

3. Stop posting on SDN! Go memorize your stuff, and come back to the forums after you take the MCAT. 😉

I took a total of 5 practice tests to get comfortable w/ the format, and that brought up my score 9 pts.
Then, I brought up my score another 5 pts in the week before the test by making and memorizing my flashcards. The thing is, if you memorize everything, when you get to a problem you don't immediately know, you can tell yourself that you have the knowledge necessary to reach a solution...you just have to think of what information to use.

Also, if things don't go as well as you're hoping, you can always re-take the MCAT. I know a ton of successful applicants who've done that. I would recommend taking a Princeton Review course (and not just b/c I'm a PR teacher 😉 ). I found the PR course I took to be very helpful, and it supposedly provides a more thorough review of the material than Kaplan does (if that's what you're looking for). In any case, try taking the Aug MCAT if the Apr one doesn't work out...it's soon enough for you to still remember a lot of the material, and it'll streamline your studying!

I'll be wishing you and everyone else good luck!!

P.S. If you have any q's, feel free to PM me.
 
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Just finished taking 7R.

AAMC
3R: 34 (12,12,10) - 9 weeks ago.
4R: 27 (9,11,7) - 6 weeks ago.
5R: 31 (11,11,9) - 3 weeks ago.
6R: 35 (12,12,11) - 5 days ago.
7R: 34 (12,12,10) - 20 minutes ago.

I guess I'm ok...although my bio score scares me a little bit.
 
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Okay, I'm really depressed right now. I just took the 5R and my score SUCKED. My net improvement through studying: ONE LOUSY POINT. The ENTIRE semester of studying amounted to ONE point.

AAMC 6: 31
AAMC 3: 35
AAMC 8: 34
AAMC 5: 32

And that doesn't include the EK tests (under 30 for each one). I was hoping for at least a 34... 🙁
 
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i'm pretty happy with my final practice test.

Kaplan FL 6: 29 (10, 10, 9)
AAMC 3R: 31 (11, 11, 9)
Kaplan FL 7: 31 (10, 11, 10)
AAMC 6R: 30 (11, 9, 10)
AAMC 7: 28 (10, 9, 9)
AAMC 8: 29 (11, 9, 9) (1 point away from 12 in PS)
AAMC 9: 31 (11, 9, 11) (1 point away from 12 in PS again! argh!)

good luck to everyone. don't stress too much this week! 😀
 
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