Diagnostic test vs. real score

[luckyfeet]

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Hi everyone!


I took a kaplan diagnostic and got a 12 :/.......which is so bad! I just started really studying for my mcat (may 31st) so I have a good 3 months.

I took the kaplan course last year which is so NOT helpful.Due to some circumstances I had to push it back to now. Anyways I am a senior and hope to apply by August 1st, 2012. Top choices being CSPM (love the admissions office, have spoke with them a lot) and Barry (have family there).

Anyways, what have you all scored on your diagnostics before you even started studying for the MCAT?
The Kaplan review notes are about 300-400 pages, I feel like they give YOU TOO MUCH INFO! and after a lot of paragraphs it says "you wont need this for the mcat, but you will learn this in meds school" which is so ridiculous, they are making the book longer for no reason.
I am still going over material, would you guys recommend any other material books?
My friend is giving me all her 1001 books which I will start working on soon when I feel comfy with all the material.
When should I start taking full lengths? I was thinking end of march for a straight two months, I want to take 1-2 every week so about 15-16 full lengths before the actual exam!

 

[Tam099]

You'll probably find a better response in the MCAT sub-forum. This is what worked for me though:

Bio: Examkracker
Physics: Chad's video, Examkrackers, TBR when needed
Chemistry: Chad's video, Examkrackers, TBR when needed
O-Chem: Examkrackers
Verbal: Nothing

For practice tests I took AAMC 3,4,5,10,11

 

[dyk343]

Hi everyone!


I took a kaplan diagnostic and got a 12 :/.......which is so bad! I just started really studying for my mcat (may 31st) so I have a good 3 months.

I took the kaplan course last year which is so NOT helpful.Due to some circumstances I had to push it back to now. Anyways I am a senior and hope to apply by August 1st, 2012. Top choices being CSPM (love the admissions office, have spoke with them a lot) and Barry (have family there).

Anyways, what have you all scored on your diagnostics before you even started studying for the MCAT?
The Kaplan review notes are about 300-400 pages, I feel like they give YOU TOO MUCH INFO! and after a lot of paragraphs it says "you wont need this for the mcat, but you will learn this in meds school" which is so ridiculous, they are making the book longer for no reason.
I am still going over material, would you guys recommend any other material books?
My friend is giving me all her 1001 books which I will start working on soon when I feel comfy with all the material.
When should I start taking full lengths? I was thinking end of march for a straight two months, I want to take 1-2 every week so about 15-16 full lengths before the actual exam!

A 12 is pretty low score... very low.

My MCAT score was 1 point above my average of all the official online MCAT practice tests. I took all of the tests online which I recommend you do as well (pricey but way worth it).

Exam Krackers worked well for me. I didnt take the Kaplan course or even look at their books (although I did take some of their practice tests).

Studying is important, but IMO (or what worked for me) was to take as many practice tests as possible. A great portion of the MCAT is learning to take the test and learning how to extract the answers, which are often given to you if you read closely enough, from the passage.

But scoring a 12 says that you need to go back and gain the fundamental knowledge before taking any more exams, as its obvious you were just guessing for every answer. The national average is a 24 for the MCAT.

Study hard and turn it around.

 

[luckyfeet]

Thanks for the replies,

dyk343, I got a 12 last year when I hadn't taken Ochem or BIO 2, I had to take a diagnostic to register for the course, but had to drop the class anyway due to personal reasons, but I am on my grind and hopefully all goes well so I can apply this August!

Thanks TAM!🙂

 

[SuperFeisty]

The Kaplan realistically gives you a grade about 3-4 points higher than ur real test. I was averaging 35s and got a 30 on mine. My English was my best section on practice, but I tanked it on the actual test.

 

[bobdolerson]

I only used examkrackers and found no surprises on test day. I found their material to be far more concise and generally it only had what was necessary without any of the extraneous stuff.

As for O-chem, from what I hear and from my own experiences, it doesn't really matter how much you study for it because the questions are absolutely ridiculous. I left the exam thinking I did better on physical section than bio specifically because of the o-chem, but apparently it was hard enough that everyone had a tough time with it and bio ended up being the better score of the two.

My diagnostic score was lower from the examkrackers tests than my real score by about a point per section.

My advice is to get the examkracker series, ignore everything else unless you find a concept you can't figure out with the books. Study as much as possible, being sure to understand the practice problems and some of the common ways to trick you up.

I think just being familiar with the wording of questions and how they'll sometimes ask you things in a sneaky way probably grabbed me a couple questions on exam day.

To be honest, I don't know what to say about the bio sciences section...I didn't study the biology until a bit before the test, did the worst in those classes by far, didn't think I got but one or two organic chem questions right and somehow that was a higher score than my physical section, which I thought I rocked.

Anyway...good luck. Hopefully the nuggets of advice amidst a sea of rambling is helpful. Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[freckles1109]

I never took a Kaplan diagnostic test. A friend, however, kept taking Kaplan practices and was getting 30s and only received a 21 on her latest MCAT try.
On Barons, which i ABSOLUTELY do not recommend (so many typos and wrong answers in the book) I was getting 33's on Baron's after a while. I started taking the AAMC practice tests and I was ranging between 23-28. I ended up getting a 25 on the actual test.

In short, I'd say don't go by any test scores besides the actual AAMC practices.

 

[dyk343]

In short, I'd say don't go by any test scores besides the actual AAMC practices.

👍

Whatever you do don't look on torrent websites for the exam krackers, and Kaplan practice exams because that's illegal.

 

[jsssully]

You need to get cracking. Most of the knowledge you should already know from classes. I took the kaplan diagnostic and got a 25 without studying. I poured through their books took about 10 practices and ended up with a 31. Hopefully the material is review for you. Good luck!

 

[tvigneau]

Kaplan Diagnostic: 27 (2/12)Actual MCAT: 32 O (5/31/12)


Keep calm and carry on.

 

[ilovefeet]

wow thats awesome tvigneau! congrats 🙂

did u take any classes while studying for your MCAT?

 

[ManUnderFire]

9 diagnostic...28 actual. Why the discrepency? I didn't know diddly squat for the diagnostic. I found out it pays to study : )

Just understanding the material can get you a 24-25. Knowing how to apply it? Sky's the limit.