If the real MCAT is harder than aamc practices....

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surfguy84

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Why are people scoring about their aamc practice test average?

Is the scale more lenient on the real mcat?
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Can't tell you if the scale is more lenient. They don't release them. That said, I scored 3-4 below my average. But it varies from test to test.
 
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The AAMC practice tests does a pretty decent job predicting your score within 2 points. Mine was basically exactly my averages as well. The later ones are probably the ones that reflect the test you will take the most.
 
I felt the real MCAT was very close to AAMC 11, with the only difference being real MCAT verbal passages felt a little longer.
 
I didn't think the real test was easier -- I felt like its difficulty was very accurately represented by the practice tests, especially 10 and 11. I also scored my average exactly.
 
surfguy84 said:
Why are people scoring about their aamc practice test average?

Is the scale more lenient on the real mcat?
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I don't think the scale between the FLs and the real things are drastically different. Part of the reason people score higher could be because of a test day nerves.
 
I thought it was hard to predict my score since my AAMC practice results varied greatly - - I went from scoring a 39 on test #7 to a 32 on test #8 taken within a few days of each other. However, in the end my actual MCAT was in fact within two points of my AAMC average.
 
Person0715 said:
I don't think the scale between the FLs and the real things are drastically different. Part of the reason people score higher could be because of a test day nerves.
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This. I scored about my AAMC average on my retake, but immediately afterward I was terrified I bombed it due to nerves. I think the real thing would have felt the same as the practice tests if I'd taken it in my office in my basement instead of at Prometric.
 
Opinions on this vary so much around sdn.... Some threads are all, "omgg the real.deal was 10000x harder" and others are more like this one... tough to gauge.

You guys think a slight score increase isn't out of the question? I know people say +/- 2 points. ...but nearly everyone seems to be on the minus side of that....
 
I scored 1 point above my practice test average. I will say that I left the testing center feeling like I completely bombed. Maybe there were some experimental questions.
 
I did the one free practice test the day before the real MCAT, and my real score was 5 points higher than my practice score. *shrug*
 
Did all the AAMCs, scored 4 points above my average. Felt the more recent ones were similar to the real thing.
 
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I'd say it depends on how well you perform under pressure. My actual MCAT score was the same as the highest practice test score I had earned (and only got that score once). I think I was better able to focus when it was the real deal, as opposed to just sitting in the library taking a practice test.
 
I scored 3.3 points below my average of the last 3 AAMC. My test was harder than the AAMC, but it also had a lot of Ochem 2, which I had not taken (and I almost never missed a OChem problem on the AAMC tests). Had to completely guess on 2 questions on my actual MCAT which had never happened on the AAMC.
 
Scored -4 from my highest practice AAMC test, -2 from my average. -3 for my average verbal =(
 
I did 2 points above my average practice score. I felt awful when I left the testing center, but I think it boiled down to being more focused in the real thing.
 
I'm sure people have varying experiences, but for me, I consistently set my target 3 points above what I wanted my score to be. Rightly so, on test day, I scored 2 points below my usual testing average, but still was happy with my score. Quite a few people have told me that they shared the same experience, of ending up with a lower score than their practice test averages. So over aim a bit!
 
Quick point, but is the MCAT easier now that people don't have to take the writing portion. I imagine all the questions on the current MCAT had their statistics based off people who also had to take the writing portion (and thus were more exhausted). I wonder if this is inflating MCAT scores at all
 
nabilesmail said:
Quick point, but is the MCAT easier now that people don't have to take the writing portion. I imagine all the questions on the current MCAT had their statistics based off people who also had to take the writing portion (and thus were more exhausted). I wonder if this is inflating MCAT scores at all
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MCAT scores aren't inflated because they are curved.
 
Leslie_Knope said:
MCAT scores aren't inflated because they are curved.
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They are not curved, curves are premade before people take an actual MCAT test based off the statistics gathered for each question. The thing is, those statistics were gathered for questions that were included in the longer version of the exam.
 
nabilesmail said:
They are not curved, curves are premade before people take an actual MCAT test based off the statistics gathered for each question. The thing is, those statistics were gathered for questions that were included in the longer version of the exam.
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And when they publish this year's distribution we will most likely still see a perfect bell. /shrug I apologize for mistyping.
 
surfguy84 said:
Why are people scoring about their aamc practice test average?

Is the scale more lenient on the real mcat?
Click to expand...

not everyone scores around their practice average. This has more to do with the average neurotic premed mentality though. When they're freaking out, thinking they failed, and saying the real test is harder often times it's the same as when they say they failed a test right after it and actually ended up with an A.
 
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because it's not harder than practice tests?

people claim its harder because that's just a natural mental defense mechanism after taking a test as difficult as the MCAT.
 
As others have stated, the real MCAT is on par with AAMC 9, 10, 11. I believe it's very fair, trust your averages.
 
IL Pre Med said:
As others have stated, the real MCAT is on par with AAMC 9, 10, 11. I believe it's very fair, trust your averages.
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11 is the most comparable, I wouldn't consider that test fair though, especially seeing as often times they blindside you with behavioral science questions and anatomy in discretes without listing it in the topic list anywhere.
 
mrh125 said:
11 is the most comparable, I wouldn't consider that test fair though, especially seeing as they blindside you with behavioral science questions and anatomy in discretes without listing it in the topic list anywhere.
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Behavioral science? That's MCAT 2015..

Anyways I think it's fair. How else could you level the playing field and test everyone from different educational backgrounds on equal footing? It may not be perfect but it's the best tool admissions has and I see it's purpose.

Also I should mention, you are responsible for knowing your anatomy and physiology, it's on the MCAT syllabus. Source: https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf
 
IL Pre Med said:
Behavioral science? That's MCAT 2015..

Anyways I think it's fair. How else could you level the playing field and test everyone from different educational backgrounds on equal footing? It may not be perfect but it's the best tool admissions has and I see it's purpose.
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There's behavioral science questions on the real mcat as well that they just put on discretes because "deal with it". Not the 2015 one either. It'd be a lot fairer if they stuck to testing on material they actually listed on their outline. If you ask me, the SAT was way fairer than the MCAT. They also have a monopoly over medical school admissions standardized testing so if you don't like it "too bad".
 
mrh125 said:
There's behavioral science questions on the real mcat as well that they just put on discretes because "deal with it". Not the 2015 one either. It'd be a lot fairer if they stuck to testing on material they actually listed on their outline. If you ask me, the SAT was way fairer than the MCAT. They also have a monopoly over medical school admissions standardized testing so if you don't like it "too bad".
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Where did you see behavioral science questions? I took it last August and didn't encounter any in my practice material or my real MCAT, this is the first I'm hearing of this and I put in over 700 hours in studying...
 
IL Pre Med said:
Where did you see behavioral science questions? I took it last August and didn't encounter any in my practice material or my real MCAT, this is the first I'm hearing of this and I put in over 700 hours in studying...
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Biosci discretes. I also saw an anatomy discrete that's material wasn't listed anywhere in the outlines. It was really cheap and below the belt.
 
mrh125 said:
Biosci discretes. I also saw an anatomy discrete that's material wasn't listed anywhere in the outlines. It was really cheap and below the belt.
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Frankly we have much more reason to believe you're just misinterpreting the outline and/or missing what subcategory the material falls under...
 
gettheleadout said:
Frankly we have much more reason to believe you're just misinterpreting the outline and/or missing what subcategory the material falls under...
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I didn't and other people who took that test said the same in indirectly. I'd post the question but i'd rather not be disqualified and have to take that blasted exam again. If you want examples of unfair curveballs like that there's a question on classical conditioning on one of the practice full-lengths. I'd be very interested to see how that could be rationalized into fitting into of those categories.
 
mrh125 said:
11 is the most comparable, I wouldn't consider that test fair though, especially seeing as often times they blindside you with behavioral science questions and anatomy in discretes without listing it in the topic list anywhere.
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More likely you're interpreting the questions as something that required specific knowledge in one of those fields when it really could have been figured out using some critical thinking and general biology knowledge.

The AAMC isn't out to get you. They don't just put in questions that you shouldn't be prepared for so they can sit back and laugh.
 
mrh125 said:
I didn't and other people who took that test said the same in indirectly. I'd post the question but i'd rather not be disqualified and have to take that blasted exam again. If you want examples of unfair curveballs like that there's a question on classical conditioning on one of the practice full-lengths. I'd be very interested to see how that could be rationalized into fitting into of those categories.
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You'd actually be barred from ever taking the exam again, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. In any case, the question you're referring to is from AAMC 3, which was released in 1995, back when that question fell under a category that has since been excluded. Yes, it is imprudent for the AAMC to retain the question on AAMC 3, but that is their oversight. Regardless, when the question was administered as a scored item to test takers, it was valid. So again, we have no reason to believe you in this case.
 
gettheleadout said:
You'd actually be barred from ever taking the exam again, so you wouldn't have to worry about that. In any case, the question you're referring to is from AAMC 3, which was released in 1995, back when that question fell under a category that has since been excluded. Yes, it is imprudent for the AAMC to retain the question on AAMC 3, but that is their oversight. Regardless, when the question was administered as a scored item to test takers, it was valid. So again, we have no reason to believe you in this case.
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There's another one on one of the latter Full lengths that I was referring to. I think it's 11 or 10 or 9.
 
Would like to see as well

speaking of.. I'm very annoyed with AAMC actually. One of the two questions I know I got wrong in PS was pure simple math and well.. simple math is NOT on the outline.

i will remember my inability to take the average of two numbers on my deathbed.
 
gettheleadout said:
I don't recall but you'll have to be the one to go looking for it. I do still have access on e-MCAT so if you can point it out I'll take a look.
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mcat FL #10 Biosci #144.
 
Jepstein30 said:
Would like to see as well

speaking of.. I'm very annoyed with AAMC actually. One of the two questions I know I got wrong in PS was pure simple math and well.. simple math is NOT on the outline.

i will remember my inability to take the average of two numbers on my deathbed.
Click to expand...


mcat FL #10 Biosci #144.
 
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