Disappointing first FL score

[hopingforagoodscore2020]

I took my first Kaplan FL score on Sunday and scored a 494. I was pretty disappointed by this score, but I have not completed all of the content review yet (I have about 4 chapters left in each book). I am worried that I will not be able to get my score up to a 510, as I have my exam scheduled for the end of April (3 months away). Any advice in quickly improving scores, and when should I decide if I have to push my exam date back?

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[paradoxic_toxic]

but I have not completed all of the content review yet (I have about 4 chapters left in each book).

Well.. there's the problem. Idk what you were expecting.

1. Review all of the content first.
2. Practice questions (UWorld, back of the book questions, AAMC question packs, AAMC section banks, EK 30 min exams, etc)
3. Take full length exams (NextStep, Kaplan, Princeton, AAMC)

At this point, 3 months is more than enough time to prep IMO.

 

[GreenDuck12]

I took my first Kaplan FL score on Sunday and scored a 494. I was pretty disappointed by this score, but I have not completed all of the content review yet (I have about 4 chapters left in each book). I am worried that I will not be able to get my score up to a 510, as I have my exam scheduled for the end of April (3 months away). Any advice in quickly improving scores, and when should I decide if I have to push my exam date back?

the goal of taking FL exams, especially by 3rd party providers like Kaplan or Next Step, is to gain familiarity with the structure, timing, and length of the MCAT, as well as to identify content gaps. I am highly skeptical of the predictive value of third party exams. Kaplan is pretty notorious for having their free FL exam score deflated to help push you to buy their resources.

as the poster above mentioned, you’ve got two solid months. During this next month, finish content review and start taking practice FL exams. i used Next Step because of the experimental passages but other third party exams are fine. Use them to get used to the pacing and to identify areas of weakness that you need to fill in. Get a subscription to UWorld, it has over 2000 practice questions and passages. Use it to take simulated MCAT sections (59 questions for CP, BB, PS in 95 minutes) to practice pacing and to identify content gaps. Start AAMC cars question pack, it’s the best practice.

When you’re 6 weeks out from the MCAT, take your first AAMC FL exam to see where your at. At 4 weeks out, switch to all AAMC prep materials to understand the test. Take a FL exam each week under timed conditions. While the score on these exams is important try to pay attention to the trend and aim for an upward trend. An encouraging sign is when you see scores go 505, 508, 512, 515.

as an aside, I took a kaplan FL and scored a 493, took Next Step FL exams and scored between 503-507, and then never scored below a 510 on AAMC exams. third party exams are just different than the MCAT and I found the MCAT exam to be a much more reasonable exam.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Take your Kaplan exam scores with a grain of salt. Use them as ways to practice taking the MCAT and for content review, but the only scores you should really care about are your AAMC FL scores.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

I took my first Kaplan FL score on Sunday and scored a 494. I was pretty disappointed by this score, but I have not completed all of the content review yet (I have about 4 chapters left in each book). I am worried that I will not be able to get my score up to a 510, as I have my exam scheduled for the end of April (3 months away). Any advice in quickly improving scores, and when should I decide if I have to push my exam date back?

whatever you do, don’t take the exam until
you score where you want to on the practice tests. Especially the AAMC they are very indicative of what you will get. I scored within 2 points of all of them and then my MCAT was what my second exam score was.

 

[bdawg0426]

I pulled my score up 16 points in 10 weeks of full time studying and 10 full length practice tests. Save the AAMC Sample exam for the week before the MCAT, and take one of the 3 soon to boost your confidence and get a better idea of your true score. Focus on your weaknesses as you near the test date, and look specifically not just at what topics are hurting you but the type of questions as well. I used Next Step and it gave me incredible detailed reports but in general I found 3rd party tests were 3-5 points below what I would score on AAMC. I will not say that is true for everyone, but it is a trend I noticed. So if you scored a 494, first off that could easily be a 499, which is right at the 50 percentile. So starting off at 499 instead of 494, if you work HARD you could get that up to a 515. The hardest to improve is the CARS section, but even that is just a matter of practice, practice, practice. I looked over a dozen or so study plans and noted all had 2 things in common. One, 25% of each day dedicated to CARS. Two, rotation through all sections weekly. Don't study 100% physics then 100% gen chem then 100% organic etc. Do a little on each one, each week. I did all my studying Monday through Friday for the first 8 weeks, and took full length exams on Saturdays, the same day of the week as my MCAT date. The idea is to take as many practice tests as you can do but also keep studying and practicing in your weak areas, but work on all of them every week. Estimated total time for pure MCAT test prep runs 300-500 hours.

 

[hopingforagoodscore2020]

the goal of taking FL exams, especially by 3rd party providers like Kaplan or Next Step, is to gain familiarity with the structure, timing, and length of the MCAT, as well as to identify content gaps. I am highly skeptical of the predictive value of third party exams. Kaplan is pretty notorious for having their free FL exam score deflated to help push you to buy their resources.

as the poster above mentioned, you’ve got two solid months. During this next month, finish content review and start taking practice FL exams. i used Next Step because of the experimental passages but other third party exams are fine. Use them to get used to the pacing and to identify areas of weakness that you need to fill in. Get a subscription to UWorld, it has over 2000 practice questions and passages. Use it to take simulated MCAT sections (59 questions for CP, BB, PS in 95 minutes) to practice pacing and to identify content gaps. Start AAMC cars question pack, it’s the best practice.

When you’re 6 weeks out from the MCAT, take your first AAMC FL exam to see where your at. At 4 weeks out, switch to all AAMC prep materials to understand the test. Take a FL exam each week under timed conditions. While the score on these exams is important try to pay attention to the trend and aim for an upward trend. An encouraging sign is when you see scores go 505, 508, 512, 515.

as an aside, I took a kaplan FL and scored a 493, took Next Step FL exams and scored between 503-507, and then never scored below a 510 on AAMC exams. third party exams are just different than the MCAT and I found the MCAT exam to be a much more reasonable exam.

Thank you so much for this advice. I knew that Kaplan scores were deflated to begin with, but I wasn't sure how much they were deflated. I knew I was not going to initially get a great score especially since I haven't completed all of the content, but I began to overthink and worry too much (you know how it is).
I will definitely use this great advice!!!!

 

[hopingforagoodscore2020]

I pulled my score up 16 points in 10 weeks of full time studying and 10 full length practice tests. Save the AAMC Sample exam for the week before the MCAT, and take one of the 3 soon to boost your confidence and get a better idea of your true score. Focus on your weaknesses as you near the test date, and look specifically not just at what topics are hurting you but the type of questions as well. I used Next Step and it gave me incredible detailed reports but in general I found 3rd party tests were 3-5 points below what I would score on AAMC. I will not say that is true for everyone, but it is a trend I noticed. So if you scored a 494, first off that could easily be a 499, which is right at the 50 percentile. So starting off at 499 instead of 494, if you work HARD you could get that up to a 515. The hardest to improve is the CARS section, but even that is just a matter of practice, practice, practice. I looked over a dozen or so study plans and noted all had 2 things in common. One, 25% of each day dedicated to CARS. Two, rotation through all sections weekly. Don't study 100% physics then 100% gen chem then 100% organic etc. Do a little on each one, each week. I did all my studying Monday through Friday for the first 8 weeks, and took full length exams on Saturdays, the same day of the week as my MCAT date. The idea is to take as many practice tests as you can do but also keep studying and practicing in your weak areas, but work on all of them every week. Estimated total time for pure MCAT test prep runs 300-500 hours.

Thank you so much for the advice! I have been working incredibly hard since I took this first FL; reviewing the exam, what I got wrong, why I got it wrong, and what areas I should be concerned with and reteaching myself that material. I definitely need to focus on CARS and just reviewing the content and practice! The words of encouragement (and testimonials) always help to calm my mind

 

[ThePotatoDoctor]

I generally think pushing the test date back to May or early June is a good idea unless there is some other really pressing thing in life that doesn't really allow that. Admissions will see it the same and it's worth it to squeeze a few more points out by studying another month or two. That being said, you can definitely make some huge jumps. I recommend taking plenty of Full lengths exams and seeing a lot of MCAT style questions since that will help as much or more than actual content review.