How much did your MCAT increase from the baseline?

[Buttermellow]

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I haven't taken the MCAT yet, but took a practice exam online via kaplan (not a diagnostic, but just a general practice test) as a baseline score before I started studying. I am now trying to figure out which schools I might be competitive at, so it would be helpful to know how much other peoples' scores increased from a practice exam before they started studying to their actual MCAT score.

I think there were other sorts of posts on this, but none with raw data.

 

[vivalavie]

12 pts. from the diagnostic, I went in cold though, never having seen an MCAT before. My advice, don't try to figure this out yet. too many variables.

 

[Buttermellow]

12 pts. from the diagnostic, I went in cold though, never having seen an MCAT before. My advice, don't try to figure this out yet. too many variables.

Yeah, there are a ton of variables. just want a general idea of whether I can expect 2 points or 10 points.

 

[nicolemeooow]

7 points =\

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[Techmed07]

8 points 👎

 

[Buttermellow]

From 27 to 36.

Nice!

I got a 25 on my practice test before studying, and I'm hoping for a 32+.

 

[buckeye2012]

22 to 38 on practice test, but ended up with a 36 on the real deal. If you put the time in you can definitely increase your score by a good amount.

 

[Political]

I heard that kaplan diagnostics are much harder than the real thing, is it true?

 

[hiyaman]

20 --> 33


knowing how many points you increase from baseline doesn't help much, you just gotta work.

 

[omgyou8myrice]

From 30-33 on practice to 43 on the real thing. I'll voice the same sentiments as the others, though. What other people went up doesn't matter much to you, what matters is what kind of effort you're willing to put in to increase your score. For me, that meant several months of studying for hours a day after heavy work schedules.

 

[phnerd1105]

I heard that kaplan diagnostics are much harder than the real thing, is it true?

Nope. All of my friends took the Kaplan course/tests and they said it was wayyyyyyyyyyy easier than the real thing. Some were getting 35s on kaplan tests and didn't break 30 on the real thing.

Princeton review's tests are known to be harder than the real thing. They're also not written very well, but practice is practice.

 

[Ursa]

13 points... my first diagnostic was TPR #1.

 

[sphun65]

I took Kaplan #1 first (not the diagnostic test) and got a 24. This was about 2 weeks into studying. My actual score was a 30.

 

[nabeel76]

From 30-33 on practice to 43 on the real thing. I'll voice the same sentiments as the others, though. What other people went up doesn't matter much to you, what matters is what kind of effort you're willing to put in to increase your score. For me, that meant several months of studying for hours a day after heavy work schedules.

Wow! Congrats on that score. Was the 30-33 what you were getting on your first couple of practice exams? Or did you go from a practice average of 30-33 across all of your practice exams and then roll into the MCAT and walk out w/ a 43?

 

[gettheleadout]

What's the difference between Kaplan's diagnostic and their full length?

 

[HBSlim]

11 points. I didn't use Kaplan though. I used the tests on the AMCAS website.

 

[Mizoodles]

20 on the Kaplan diagnostic... (which, in my opinion, is skewed towards the lower end). High 20's to low 30's on actual practice tests. Ended up with a 35 when all was said and done.

 

[jam3rz]

Scored a 30 on Kaplan's free diagnostic...studied about 2 weeks and scored 32 on the actual test.

 

[Malice]

14 pts from first diagnostic to real deal.

 

[tomh98]

I scored something in the twenties on my first full-length practice exam but went up to a 35 on the real thing. Good preparation makes all the difference.

I think verbal is the subject people are most likely to gain in.

 

[omgyou8myrice]

Wow! Congrats on that score. Was the 30-33 what you were getting on your first couple of practice exams? Or did you go from a practice average of 30-33 across all of your practice exams and then roll into the MCAT and walk out w/ a 43?

I hovered around 30-33 on most of them. I did get a 34 on one and a 36 on another, but that was as high as it went before the actual test.

 

[OrkidLover]

First practice test that I took cold I scored 20. Went through basic science classes really half-@$$ed and slacked off towards the end of college so expected that much. Buckled down and studied for the MCAT for three months with test scores 30-40. Took the test and expected a 15. Scores came out and I got a 35, so 15 points. It's weird looking at the screen. First I had to make sure I scored above 30, only then did I have the guts to check each section score. Then for 2 weeks I logged in every day to make sure my 35 didn't change to a 15.

 

[gettheleadout]

I hovered around 30-33 on most of them. I did get a 34 on one and a 36 on another, but that was as high as it went before the actual test.

I think you got extremely lucky.

 

[apumic]

I scored something in the twenties on my first full-length practice exam but went up to a 35 on the real thing. Good preparation makes all the difference.

I think verbal is the subject people are most likely to gain in.

Perhaps early on (i.e., when someone is very unacquainted w/ VR) but if we measure from the point of equivalent familiarity w/ VR materials and science materials, BS/PS improvement will beat VR improvement every time. VR scores are much more closely related to tests of long-term intelligence as they are a test of reading comprehension (i.e., cognitive factors such as memory and executive processing), while the BS & PS sections are more based on application of content. As a result, it is much more cost-effective to improve one's knowledge of content. In a sense, it is the difference between implicit and explicit memory & learning.

 

[patel2]

17-----32 (first attempt 27)

 

[CougarMD]

13 points.

Biggest subject jump: 6 points.

 

[Br33zy]

Kaplan diagnostic:30 to a 35 on the real thing. Didn't study as much as I should have though. Not sure how I did so well on the first one, went in cold. Guess standardized testing is my thing?

 

[teddy bear doc]

Kaplan diagnostic was a 31, real thing was 33. I would've liked a more dramatic jump, but oh well...

 

[OwlsGK30]

My real MCAT score went up 8 points from Kaplan diagnostic.

 

[matterotime]

I went up 16 points from my Kaplan diagnostic.

 

[hopki099]

28 on Kaplan diagnostic

28-33 on ~10 practice exams

33 on real MCAT

 

[omgyou8myrice]

I think you got extremely lucky.

I find it hard to take a comment on the MCAT from someone who has yet to take it.. let alone the basic pre-reqs for it, very seriously. But that's just what I think.

 

[gettheleadout]

I find it hard to take a comment on the MCAT from someone who has yet to take it.. let alone the basic pre-reqs for it, very seriously. But that's just what I think.

It wasn't an insult, I'm just commenting on your trend. You had lower 30's practice scores and one 36 and you get a 43 on the real thing? Tell me something about that test didn't cater to your knowledge base. Or something. I mean really...

 

[g8orlife]

6 points 🙂

 

[hopki099]

it wasn't an insult, i'm just commenting on your trend. You had lower 30's practice scores and one 36 and you get a 43 on the real thing? Tell me something about that test didn't cater to your knowledge base. Or something. I mean really...

+1