Difference in MCAT practice exams and actual MCAT scores?

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aznb0y129

aznb0y129

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Hey, I was just wondering if I could get some feedback from people who've already received their MCAT scores. Did you notice a difference in your score versus your average on the practice exams?

I'm getting nervous because I've read several threads where people lament about getting 25 on the MCAT even though they were averaging 33+ on the practice exams, which puts me in deep trouble (I've only taken 2 practice exams, first was a 27, second was a 30).

Also, if you could list the prep class you took (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Exam Crackers, none, other), that would be helpful too.
 
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You need to take a lot more practice exams to get a better sense of what your "average" score is.
 
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I know, but I was just curious if I need to be concerned that I "only" scored a 30 on my last practice test because that equates to a 27 on test day or something.
 
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aznb0y129 said:
Hey, I was just wondering if I could get some feedback from people who've already received their MCAT scores. Did you notice a difference in your score versus your average on the practice exams?

I'm getting nervous because I've read several threads where people lament about getting 25 on the MCAT even though they were averaging 33+ on the practice exams, which puts me in deep trouble (I've only taken 2 practice exams, first was a 27, second was a 30).

Also, if you could list the prep class you took (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Exam Crackers, none, other), that would be helpful too.
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You'll be fine, first time studying for MCAT's last summer, I took Kaplan course (while working full-time, which wasn't the smartest idea in retrospect), on the first 2 Kaplan FL's, I also got a 27 and 30 respectively. After that I took about 3 more Kaplan FL's and got 34-36 and 2 AAMC's. I ended up getting a 29M (9V, 10 BS, 10PS) on the test.

Decided to retake this past January, resigned up for Kaplan online course, and got the PR books. Took all of the AAMC tests (no Kaplan ones), averaged 33-36. Ended up getting a 37M (13V, 12 BS, 12PS).

So for me, it went both ways, first time I got a few points below my practice test averages, second time, got a few points above 🙂. Definitely take as many of the AAMC full lengths as you can though (Kaplan's grading scale is too lenient), those probably helped the most.
 
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aznb0y129 said:
I know, but I was just curious if I need to be concerned that I "only" scored a 30 on my last practice test because that equates to a 27 on test day or something.
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It seems like most ppl score +/- 3, but there are some exceptions. I know a girl that was +6
 
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Thanks for the advice, our situations are eerily similar. This is also my first time studying the MCATs (in Kaplan prep class also) and I am also currently working full-time as well. I have two weeks before test day though and I will be off-work until then, so I'll take as many AAMC full-lengths as I can and hope for the best I guess.
 
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I was a -3 (after content review of course) unfortunately--I got worked in PS and VR but BS came out like all the rest of my BS practices. However, it's still the first and last time I'll ever take the test so I'm happy.
 
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Seriously, now I'm starting to worry. Seems like most people lost 3 points from their practice scores, so that's my new barometer from now on. Anything less than 33 is unacceptable.
 
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aznb0y129 said:
Seriously, now I'm starting to worry. Seems like most people lost 3 points from their practice scores, so that's my new barometer from now on. Anything less than 33 is unacceptable.
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I wouldn't go that far. It's tough to get in, but not impossible. Yes, a 33 would be great, but I wouldn't say anything less is "unacceptable".
 
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+2 from my average, but -1 from my last practice exam before the real thing.


I'm the kind of person who work better under stress though, so dunno how accurate that might be for other people
 
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I meant 33 on my practice tests, so that I would get a 30 on test day. That's the goal at least. I shouldn't say unacceptable, that's probably too much.
 
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35 average on practice exams, 35 on the real thing. With Kaplan course and practicing under exam conditions (as close as possible).
 
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aamc tests in order-

26
29
30
33

Actual- 31. AAMC tests 7-10 are the most accurate. I took no prep course, only examkrackers books
 
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Practice tests scores from old to new (mostly Kaplan): 31,36,39,35,39,33,40,37,34,37
Average MCAT: 36
Actual MCAT: 35
 
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I scored pretty much on my average after I started studying. I had taken two AAMCs a month before the real thing w/o studying and got a 25 and a 26. So I went up +4 from those. I didn't take a prep course.
 
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I took 9 full length practice tests, 6 Kaplan and 3 AAMC. My scores ranges from 35-38 on my last 7 tests. I ended up with a 33 on test day, lame.
 
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beyondbethany said:
I took 9 full length practice tests, 6 Kaplan and 3 AAMC. My scores ranges from 35-38 on my last 7 tests. I ended up with a 33 on test day, lame.
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Haha...I feel ya! I used to feel happy for those people who did considerably better on test day than their averages. Now they just piss me off 😛 jk But it is sort of unfair... I wish I could send in a printout of my last several AAMC's rather than my actual MCAT. :laugh:
 
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tncekm said:
Haha...I feel ya! I used to feel happy for those people who did considerably better on test day than their averages. Now they just piss me off 😛 jk But it is sort of unfair... I wish I could send in a printout of my last several AAMC's rather than my actual MCAT. :laugh:
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hahah yeah
 
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+2 from my average. The points distrubution was special. However, verbal was "what the F...ck?" 😱 I was averaging 11-13 on the last few practice tests, but hey am not complaining at all. I am happy and blessed with my score.
 
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JDOC13 said:
35 average on practice exams, 35 on the real thing. With Kaplan course and practicing under exam conditions (as close as possible).
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This was the case for me as well. I took TPR and only did their first three practice tests before switching over to the AAMC ones (much better). I did all of the AAMC practices that were available online in their entirety.

As someone else mentioned earlier, trying to recreate the testing environment is crucial. Go through the routine that you will on the actual test day. Get up in the morning at the appropriate time, envision yourself taking the real deal when completing the practice, and take the breaks in between sections (if you plan on doing so come test day).

Having taken over ten practice tests, I went into the testing center nervous but not out of my mind. It helped knowing that I had gone through this routine numerous times and had scored well. After about six practice tests I could predict my score within a point or two.
 
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My actual score was close to my AAMC practice scores...a point or two higher, I think.
 
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jon2727 said:
Oh my God. You must have been KILLING those practice tests.
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Read it somewhere that the higher scores on practice exams (say 38+) are less reliably predictive of actual MCAT scores, so maybe that explains Dulcina's "drop" from practice to actual 39...
 
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+5 from aamc tests (4 of those can be attributed to verbal...guess I needed a little pressure to not start daydreaming during some of those passages.) and I used a Kaplan book to study.
 
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aznb0y129 said:
Seriously, now I'm starting to worry. Seems like most people lost 3 points from their practice scores, so that's my new barometer from now on. Anything less than 33 is unacceptable.
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Worrying isn't going to help your score at this point, if anything, it will put more pressure on you, not something you want. What other people got won't change your score one bit. Doing more practice tests, however, will. Aim for 1 full length every other day for the next 2 weeks. Thoroughly analyze every practice test, figuring out how and why you missed each question. Your goal is to not make the same mistake twice, do lots of practice sections if a particular section is giving you trouble. You can still improve a lot in the next 2 weeks, and remember, if you don't do well the first time, it's not the end of the world, you can always retake it 🙂, good luck!

Feel free to PM me if you need help, I'm going out of the country Aug. 4th but I can answer any questions you have before then.
 
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Thanks jdover52, I'm gonna take my first practice AAMC on Monday, hopefully that will give me a better indication of what my score should be.
 
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Practice exams seemed like a walk in the park compared to the real deal, especially in BS and VR. I was scoring in the 40s on practice but I ended with a mid 30s score (same as my diagnostic exam).
 
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i took tons of tests (mostly kaplan) and i got overall +2 on the real thing. but, my breakdown shifted a lot.
 
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I took 2 AAMC practice tests and scored around ~36 or so. Got a 38Q on the real deal.

My only studying was from the Examkrackers books. On their test I think I scored in the lower 30s. The questions in those books are far harder than the real questions.

Personally, I think I perform better under pressure. I wouldn't take the practice tests as seriously because I knew they didn't count and I wasn't as thorough at double checking answers and thinking slowly.
 
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i got pretty much the same score as my practice test which wasnt stellar... but i came out of the mcat thinking i did horrendously, in the 10s. so i have accepted my grade (which is a 28P) since i seriously expected much lower. also, my verbal was surprisingly my highest (i got a 9 but was averaging a 6-7 on practice tests)
 
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I took 5 AAMC practice MCATs within the two weeks before my actual MCAT.
Total score when up by one point on each test, including the real one.
Prep was a (non-racemic 😉) mixture of kaplan and audio osmosis.

Nothing beats real, TIMED practice tests!
 
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I took princeton course. Did their practice tests and absolutely BOMBED the first two.. then I decided to study and vaguely remember seeing the mid 20s halfway through the course. By the end I was studying and seeing late 20s. Up until the weekend before the test I never broke into the 30s. I was content going into it that I'd probably get 27-29 because my verbal just wouldn't go up beyond an 8.

Point is, I jumped up 6 points on the real one. (I kept looking at the score and the name.. convinced it was a mistake). My advice would be don't worry about scores, don't worry about taking practice tests to see where you are. Just study all you need to study, just worry about the stamina of taking the FLs like a month before the real deal. I took a few of princeton's hard Verbal timed full lengths the 2 days before the exam.
 
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No review course taken, just studied the examkrackers books; if I did not fully recall the topic after the examkrackers book, I then studied my old text books.

Took all the AAMC practice tests, with the final practice test taken the weekend before actual MCAT; practice tests in low 30's, actual MCAT 34.
 
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Quick update. Good news guys, took my third practice test yesterday (Kaplan FL 3) and definitely fixed my bio problem. 33 (10, 11, 12 phys verb bio). Moving on up! I'm planning to take AAMC 7-10 (one every other day) from here on out. 12 days before test day ><
 
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Through kaplan and AAMC I averaged around a 35. My last 5 AAMC tests were from 36-38, but the individual section scores really jumped around a lot. I ended up with a 32 (kind of a bummer after rocking some 38s) but it was nice and balanced. 11, 11, 10.
 
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+5 (I never scored higher than a 26 on any given practice test)

i almost postponed since my practice scores were so low but i know i do better under pressure. perhaps a bit risky, but i brought my PS science score up 5 points so i'm not complaining.
 
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