Final Countdown & Score Discrepancy

[WMMCDNLD1]

I recently changed gears from content review to exam practice. This is what I have done so far.

11/18 Kaplan-1 500(125-124-127-124) <---still doing content
12/25 AAMC-1 512(129-127-130-126) <---Stopped doing content
01/01 Kaplan-2 510(127-128-130-125)
01/05 Kaplan-3 507(127-125-128-127)
01/07 AAMC Chemistry Q-bank 93% correct.

I was really surprised at the AAMC Q-Bank, but I dont feel like my c/p score on the FL correlates at all. Anyone experience this? I also feel like My kaplan scores are all over the place, which makes me nervous.... My actual MCAT is on the 25th and I plan to get through the Rest of the AAMC material plus 2 more kaplan exams before hand. My goal is a 512+, I would appreciate any input!

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[alkylgroup]

Does "Q-Bank" refer to Question Packs or Section Banks? In my experience the latter were much more challenging, but also much better practice for the real exam. I remember getting what I felt were artificially high scores on the Question Packs, since they test more content rather than 'content and its relation to a passage'. I also had 7-8 pts higher score on the AAMC 1 and 2 than on the Kaplan half-length (and virtually any other company's practice exams).

 

[Lawpy]

Question packs are too easy since they just assess content review, although verbal question packs are somewhat realistic of the real CARS section. The Section Bank is a lot harder and the passages are among the hardest you will see on test day.

Also, Kaplan exams are not good, as they are not realistic and often have deflating scores. I would practice from NextStep or ExamKrackers exams as non-AAMC resources. But with a few weeks from the real exam, I would heavily prioritize on all AAMC material and do a very solid post-exam review. You need to understand AAMC reasoning to do well on test day.

 

[Zenabi90]

Please understand, the general consensus lately is that only the official AAMC FL1 and FL2 are actually representative of the score you will likely achieve, if and only if these three conditions are met:
1. Done within one week of your actual MCAT
2. Done under proper simulated test conditions
3. You haven't taken them before

Modify any of these conditions with FL1 or FL2, or use a non-AAMC FL and you lose most predictive value.

A lot of what I have read indicates that NextStep and Altius are the closest to AAMC in terms of predictive value, and Kaplan/TPR are the farthest (I won't comment on the theories as to why).

I would suggest that you replace your planned Kaplan FLs with AAMC FL 3 and FL 1, leaving FL 1 for last. If you need more, then I would also recommend ditching Kaplan and spending money on Altius or NextStep.

 

[BTC0821]

Please understand, the general consensus lately is that only the official AAMC FL1 and FL2 are actually representative of the score you will likely achieve, if and only if these three conditions are met:
1. Done within one week of your actual MCAT
2. Done under proper simulated test conditions
3. You haven't taken them before

Modify any of these conditions with FL1 or FL2, or use a non-AAMC FL and you lose most predictive value.

A lot of what I have read indicates that NextStep and Altius are the closest to AAMC in terms of predictive value, and Kaplan/TPR are the farthest (I won't comment on the theories as to why).

I would suggest that you replace your planned Kaplan FLs with AAMC FL 3 and FL 1, leaving FL 1 for last. If you need more, then I would also recommend ditching Kaplan and spending money on Altius or NextStep.

How much have you seen about the predicative value of Altius? I'm curious as last week I took the AAMC sample and got an average across sections of an 80% and AAMC FL3 scoring similar in sections with an overall of 511. This week I've taken two Altius exams scoring a 498 and a 504. When doing AAMC materials, my scores have been fairly consistent but those Altius scores hurt. It gave me the impression that they are severely deflated but I could be an outlier in this, not sure.

 

[Zenabi90]

How much have you seen about the predicative value of Altius? I'm curious as last week I took the AAMC sample and got an average across sections of an 80% and AAMC FL3 scoring similar in sections with an overall of 511. This week I've taken two Altius exams scoring a 498 and a 504. When doing AAMC materials, my scores have been fairly consistent but those Altius scores hurt. It gave me the impression that they are severely deflated but I could be an outlier in this, not sure.

If I remember right, both NextStep and Altius provide 10 different tests, but with both companies, many state that there are 5 specific exams that are top notch, and the other 5 aren't close to the same quality. A quick search should provide you with the answers you need.