How does the free AAMC MCAT practice test compare to the real thing?

[skaran17]

I took the test out of curiosity yesterday. I’m nowhere near ready, I’m a older career change student basically just starting out with my science prereqs (in bio 1 right now) so on a lot of it I had no idea what I was looking at, but I wanted to get an idea what it was like so it was basically a pretest for me.

Are the difficulty and content pretty accurate to the real thing? Also, when it comes to the content, is most of it stuff you would reasonably know and understand after taking 2 semesters each of bio, chem, orgo, and physics or is it designed to be stuff most undergrad students haven’t seen before?

Also, are those score conversion calculators accurate? (eg this one) because if so I scored better than I was expecting (505) and am pretty hopeful about my improvement after I’ve actually finished my prereqs.

My hope is to score 520+ on the real thing in order to offset my GPA. I have a 3.07 undergrad (1 science class though, with an A+). I'm a lot better at discipline now. But even if I get straight As on everything going forward, my cGPA would only get up to 3.42. If I get 2 C's that would drop me to a 3.36. With a high sGPA and high MCAT, would I still have a chance?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

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[DOcSto]

If you got a 505 without studying on the practice then you'll be fine once you start actually studying. Good luck!

 

[skaran17]

If you got a 505 without studying on the practice then you'll be fine once you start actually studying. Good luck!

Thank you! Definitely the hardest test I’ve ever taken, but I’m hoping once I’m more familiar with the bio and chem stuff I’ll do much better. The CARS and behavioral I got almost everything right (social science BA) but the rest I got about half.

 

[DOcSto]

Thank you! Definitely the hardest test I’ve ever taken, but I’m hoping once I’m more familiar with the bio and chem stuff I’ll do much better. The CARS and behavioral I got almost everything right (social science BA) but the rest I got about half.

I'd say that's a pretty good start. My estimated on the practice (after months of studying) was a 501 and I got a 511 on the real thing. It's a lot about test taking strategy overall, but having a good foundation in the sciences is key as well. You're on the right track.

 

[Doctoscope]

I've heard that it's a little easier than the real thing, with fewer passages, but the question types are similar. If you're starting 505 with 0 studying, 517+ should be very well within reach.