Going from AAMC FL3 510 to Altius FL1 497: Am I in bad shape?

[AirForceNaz]

Hey guys, I did all the AAMC FL's in February near the start of my studying (I know, stupid) and then did them again three months later after completing all AAMC and Khan material and got very improved results (although i'm sure the scores are inflated since i saw the material before). Then today I took an Altius test and got DESTROYED. I was knew i messed up with my timing today, but I did not expect my score to be as low as it was on this. Is Altius representative of the real exam? Am I f*cked haha?

Date Test Name: Score (CP / CARS / BB / PS)
2/21 AAMC FL 3: 495 (121/ 125 / 126 / 123) untimed
3/06 AAMC FL 2: 494 (122/ 127 / 122 / 123) untimed
3/13 AAMC FL 1: 495 (122/ 125 / 124 / 124) untimed
3/27 AAMC Sample: (49%/ 79% / 68% / 71%) untimed
4/10 Section Bank PS: 55% untimed
4/25 Section Bank CP: 50% untimed
4/29 Section Bank BB: 44% untimed

*Did all AAMC material, question banks, flashcards, all KA questions*

5/27 AAMC FL 3: 510 (126/ 130 / 127 / 127) test conditions
5/30 AAMC FL 2: 505 (126/ 124 / 127 / 128) test conditions
6/03 AAMC FL 1: 509 (126/ 126 / 129 / 128) test conditions
6/08 Section Bank PS: 73% timed
6/12 Section Bank CP: 70% timed
6/11 Section Bank BB: 64% timed

6/20 Altius FL1: 497 (!!!) (124 / 122 / 125 / 126) test conditions

6/30 Test day

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[premed74]

Keep in mind that your second round of AAMC full lengths are inflated scores. I would say that your probably looking at a 499-501 score on the real thing

 

[Thoroughbred_Med]

I agree with the above poster. Unfortunately, you're 510 on AAMC 3 and scores on all the AAMC re-takes are inflated. That Altius score is probably predictive but if you keep grinding until test day I'm sure you could pull a 505! If you are not content with that score I suggest voiding and re-scheduling for a later time. You can do it!

 

[AirForceNaz]

Amigos! Got a 510 (127/127/128/128). Trust your AAMC FL's!!!!

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Amigos! Got a 510 (127/127/128/128). Trust your AAMC FL's!!!!

Congrats on the score, but I’d still caution people who are retaking the AAMC FLs to not expect to score that highly if they saw a large increase. I think you took a lot of stuff in between each test, and you waited 3 months before taking them again, so I think it might have been more representative for you.

I will say that I saw similar deflation with my AAMC to third parties though. I took AAMC 1 and scored a 516. I took Kaplan FL 2 two weeks later and got a 507. And these were all first time attempts. So a 510 to a 497 is a big drop, but not that crazy.

Anyway, congrats on rocking it.

 

[Dochopeful13]

Amigos! Got a 510 (127/127/128/128). Trust your AAMC FL's!!!!

Nice job. Any advice? I am starting to study again next week.

 

[AirForceNaz]

Nice job. Any advice? I am starting to study again next week.

copy pasta what i told my advisors when they asked what i did to prepare, hope it helps!


I reviewed content casually for about 2 months, then casually test prep'ed with AAMC material for 2 months, and then studied very seriously (6-10 hours a day) for about 4 months. I performed all AAMC material and reviewed all questions I got wrong. I would recommend saving AAMC Full Length's until the last 1 or 2 months (I was an idiot and did them at the beginning).

Order of Priority:

1. AAMC FL's (Try to save these until the last 2 months of studying. These are gold)
2. AAMC Section Bank (These are also gold, review everything you get wrong. Do Section bank twice, it can't hurt)
3. AAMC Question Banks & other AAMC Material
4. Khan Academy Practice Problems (Very good, do them all, made by same people who make the MCAT)
5. Khan Academy Videos (Used these whenever I got a problem wrong and didn't understand the concept)
6. UWorld (HIGHLY recommend. I found out about UWolrd too late and was only able to complete their psycology questions, but was extremely helpful. They offer 15 day free trials)
7. Altius Full Length Practice Tests (Very hard FL's, will really help you get ready for the testing experience. Good for C/P & B/B passages. Averaged about 503 on these)

Additionally, I would advise someone studying for the MCAT to time themselves as much as possible. Ease into timed sections if needed, but getting used to answering questions with time crunching down and not dwelling on one hard question is definitely something that needs to be practiced. I wish I could have listened to my own advice but hindsight is 20/20!

 

[vrazzles]

I never scored above a 514 on a full length Altius.

AAMC FL1: 519
AAMC FL2: 520
Test day: 524

Altius is good, but I emailed the company about at least 15 different questions that were incorrect. Those tests are much harder than the real thing. Ditto for NextStep.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I never scored above a 514 on a full length Altius.

AAMC FL1: 519
AAMC FL2: 520
Test day: 524

Altius is good, but I emailed the company about at least 15 different questions that were incorrect. Those tests are much harder than the real thing. Ditto for NextStep.

Next step legit had 3 or 4 physics questions that were flat wrong.

 

[vrazzles]

Next step legit had 3 or 4 physics questions that were flat wrong.

Yeah they did. Same for their bio/chem section. For NextStep, I remember the CARS being particularly non-representarive of AAMC material.

I slightly prefer Altius over NextStep overall.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yeah they did. Same for their bio/chem section. For NextStep, I remember the CARS being particularly non-representarive of AAMC material.

I slightly prefer Altius over NextStep overall.

Agreed re: the cars section. NS was better than Kaplan though.