for ther love of God

[YML]

does this sound normal?
i keep scoring significantly better on the kaplan full lengths then on the aamc exams.
i keep reading that the kaplan tests are harder but thats not what my scores indicate.
case and point kaplan's full length 4 VS aamc #5
Kaplan: PS 10 VR 12 BS 9
AAMC: PS 8 VR 10 BS 8


what is going on?
are the aamc better predictors fr the real thing than AAMC or vice versa?

I feel like im going to vomit uncontrollably

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[ExplodingBoy]

aamcs always give a better idea.

maybe you just werent as on for the aamc tests. Sometimes you just have a bad day. The physics should have definatly gone up, aamc's physics isn't as bad as kaplan or tpr

 

[YML]

its so wierd. i had the same trend in all the other full lengths and aamc tests i took.
what does this all mean???

back to vomiting

 

[strangelight]

AHH, and I thought I was the only one! Everyone seems to be doing better on the AAMC's than kaplan, which is easier & the better predictor supposedly, but yeah...that isn't the case for me. I was at least hoping for the AAMC to give me a boost of confidence, but it did the exact opposite. I have no idea what's up with that either...

 

[doctorohboli]

hey,
I just posted the same question on the pre allo forum under "MCAT" thread.
I am in the same boat, however I was told that the KAPLAN is harder and somehow they do the curve to fit the real test. For me it was like "how come the real test (6R) has a higher curve than KAPLAN" ?
But dont freak out. It will be ok. Keep reviewing what u missed. That all you can do now with a week left.

 

[YML]

at kaplan the instructors were saying that AAMC will give you a huge confidence boost....NOT AT ALL!!!!!

I am honestly rethinking whether to take the test next week or not

 

[doctorohboli]

I am right there with the vomiting.. and I cant sleep too. I have formulas going through my head at 3 am... u know the usual

 

[YML]

i woke up last night at 5:00 AM, opened my eyes to discover, get this, i was doing the right hand rule!!! WTF???

 

[doctorohboli]

yep I was reciting the endocrene and circulatory system.. and then started reciting all the physics formulas
I slowly proceed to insanitly

 

[Dr. N]

does this sound normal?
i keep scoring significantly better on the kaplan full lengths then on the aamc exams.
i keep reading that the kaplan tests are harder but thats not what my scores indicate.
case and point kaplan's full length 4 VS aamc #5
Kaplan: PS 10 VR 12 BS 9
AAMC: PS 8 VR 10 BS 8


what is going on?
are the aamc better predictors fr the real thing than AAMC or vice versa?

I feel like im going to vomit uncontrollably

I am in the same boat. Kaplan scores are increasing steadily by 2 to 3 points eact time, and AAMC tests not!!!!! When I take AAMC test I feel that they are much easier than Kaplan tests. Also I am starting to suspect that there are something going on with kaplan grading system.

 

[Scandal]

I am right there with the vomiting.. and I cant sleep too. I have formulas going through my head at 3 am... u know the usual

Uh huh. Me too. Ick. I keep drifting off in conversations at work because my brain is moving on to genetics, circuits, etc. You know the drill. At least it'll all be over soon.

 

[dandelion]

I bought a book of Kaplan practice tests, but those questions seemed so different from the real thing. I stopped doing them when I got to a question that made it obvious to me the person who had written it hadn't a clue as to how voltmeters & ammeters worked.

The problem is that you have been trained to think like those Kaplan questions, whereas the real thing is much more straightforward. I think that if you practice using just the AAMC tests this last week, you're likely to see your score go up. I'm using the Examcrackers 1001 series for additional practice: Those books have errors in them too, but at least they (mostly) stick to basic concepts.

You've learned the material, you've just got to learn how to take the test now. Good luck.

 

[pbehzad]

I am in the same boat. Kaplan scores are increasing steadily by 2 to 3 points eact time, and AAMC tests not!!!!! When I take AAMC test I feel that they are much easier than Kaplan tests. Also I am starting to suspect that there are something going on with kaplan grading system.

Ok I took Kaplan for the April test and I realized that Kaplan test give you a false sense of hope. I am retaking it now, and here is my take: Kaplan curves are ridiculous (missing like 40% on the physical science test and still getting a 10). Kaplan test are harder, but the curve is ridiculous. No AAMC test will be as hard as kaplan, therefore the curve is alot less. You can only miss 20 on the AAMC tests to get a 10 in the sciences, but on a Kaplan exam if u missed 20 you are probably getting like 11 or 12s.
I realized that Kaplan tests suck because there curves are in no way realistic to the MCAT curve. You are probably getting the same number of questions right on the AAMC test that you are getting on the Kaplan test, but due to Kaplan's curve you are getting a false sense of hope. The MCAT is going to have a curve more like AAMC than Kaplan, so don't expect that you can miss 50% on the real thing and get a 9 or 10 like you can on Kaplan tests.

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

kaplan avg for me = 28
aamc 5r: 6/8/7
if ur going to vomit can u hold me 1st
i feel like i have been jipped bc i learned to master KAPLAN tests

 

[willthatsall]

I definitely agree that the AAMC curves are more difficult, except in a few cases (FL 2 PS and FL 4 or 5 BS) where the Kaplan curve only went up to 14 because the test was easy. But my scores have been similar on both. The biggest difference is that you cannot afford any careless mistakes on AAMC tests.

 

[Dr. N]

kaplan avg for me = 28
aamc 5r: 6/8/7
if ur going to vomit can u hold me 1st
i feel like i have been jipped bc i learned to master KAPLAN tests

I just hope that in future people will not same mistake as I did. Kaplan --- DOES NOT WORK TOWARED GIVING YOU KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE, IT ONLY WORKS TOWARD TAKING YOUR MONEY AND TIME. I realized that about 3 weeks ago, and decided to complitly change my strategy, bought all the EK books. Oh, I wish I can go back in time and say NO to KAPLAN.

 

[willthatsall]

I just hope that in future people will not same mistake as I did. Kaplan --- DOES NOT WORK TOWARED GIVING YOU KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE, IT ONLY WORKS TOWARD TAKING YOUR MONEY AND TIME. I realized that about 3 weeks ago, and decided to complitly change my strategy, bought all the EK books. Oh, I wish I can go back in time and say NO to KAPLAN.

I think the materials are quality. The tests aren't exactly the same, but it's good practice. Definitely work on AAMC stuff before you take the real thing though.

 

[ethanolabsolute]

I get the same scores on both aamc and kaplan tests. I think I know why some people don't. A lot of people seem to study by taking lots of practice tests right off the bat, and learning how to take those tests better. If u did that with kaplan, I can see how that would screw u over. For me, I hadn't gone near the practice tests until a couple weeks ago because it took me so long to learn all the material. I agree that it is stupid that kaplan makes their tests so much different, they should try and make it as similar as possible.

 

[MDtoBe777]

Yeah...I was at B&N yesterday and I picked up one of the big Kaplan review books. It was strange because I thought the problems were soooo much harder than anything in the TPR Science workbook as well as on the AAMC exams. That was really discouraging. Well, I'm just hoping that the August MCAT will have a niccceeee curve! Oh, do you guys think the MCAT will have a lot of genetics? I took a genetics class before...do you think it pays to go back over all the old notes?

 

[hy2026]

i woke up last night at 5:00 AM, opened my eyes to discover, get this, i was doing the right hand rule!!! WTF???

you mean the RIGHT HAND HAND HAND HAND HAAAAAAND...............rule? he he he

 

[dandelion]

Actually, I can't say whether the Kaplan & AAMC tests correlate for me, because I never finished one of those Kap tests. I've been using Kaplan's comprehensive review extensively, though, and that's fine.

For the people who see a big difference between their Kaplan & AAMC scores, for this last week I think you should work strictly with AAMC materials, as I said before, & go over every single question afterwards to analyze the format of questions AAMC likes to ask. Don't just go over the questions you missed because there are probably a couple you got right by just sheer luck, not because you really understood. Read over the official AAMC explanations to questions you even remotely don't understand, including questions you got right.

Try to work as quickly and accurately as possible. Don't spend too much time on one question. (All the stuff everybody's been saying.)

In addition to that, I suggest using the next week to reinforce topics you've already mastered or are close to mastering. Simple stuff, like what is connected to what in DNA, and Newton's laws of motion, etc. Right now is probably not the time to be cramming the Nernst equation into your head if you don't already have it.

Don't sweat it. If you made strides like that on the Kap tests, you should be able to do the same thing for AAMC.