Improvement from Kaplan Diag to Real MCAT

[Yogi Bear]

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Hi,

I just took Kaplan's Diagnostic and I did really poorly. Could those of you who took Kaplan post your diag score (v,bs,ps) and what you got on the real tests? Also, it'd be helpful if you could provide info on how much you prepared.

 

[Trek]

you're supposed to do poorly cos a) you haven't ever experienced anything MCAT like before and b) you forgot all the physics, chem, bio and orgo. Don't worry about your diag score, it's not even an issue. How much can you expect to go up? How much work do you wanna put in? One friend of mine went up 16 points, the other barely 4. It's up to you. Best of luck --Trek

 

[Loki]

Better to figure this out now than on the real test. I know of lots of people who never take any timed practice tests before the actual exam...they end up with scores similar to your diag on the real thing.

My scores went...WAY from the diag...just practice..

 

[WonderBoy]

meddude,

As my TPR instructor said, "It's not where you start, but where you end up that matters." So don't worry about the diag scores, cause they are just that diagnostic. Just study hard.

 

[dtreese]

Don't forget to look at the number of problems on the diagnostic. Missing one on that hurts you much more than missing one on the real thing.

Anyway, my MCAT composite was 12 pts higher than my diagnostic composite.

 

[Coalboy]

Ditto on what everyone said: you're not supposed to do well on the diag.

My score went up 13 points from my initial diagnostic:

Verbal: Up 1 point (I started pretty high)
Physical: Up 7 points
Bio: Up 5 points.

Don't sweat the diagnostic. If you start doing badly on the full lengths, then you should start to worry.

 

[zancudo]

I laughed when I saw this thread. Like COALBOY, I did 13 points better on the real thing. Needless to say, I studied pretty hard for the test. Dont worry about the diag, but use it to focus on those areas that need work. Good luck!

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by meddude03:
•Hi,

I just took Kaplan's Diagnostic and I did really poorly. Could those of you who took Kaplan post your diag score (v,bs,ps) and what you got on the real tests? Also, it'd be helpful if you could provide info on how much you prepared.•

It can't tell you my score on the diagnostic -- it was soooo bad, I think I've blocked it. I took the August MCAT and studied for two solid months beforehand, 5-8 hours per day, doing lots of problems and taking lots of practice tests. I didn't bother with the classes, just watched the videos (where they put their best teachers) and used their study materials. I feel that going over every problem I missed to understand why I missed it was the key to my improvement. I scored V12, PS8, BS10. I had been aiming for 10's across the board, and had never scored that high on verbal on practice tests. Good luck!
🙂 And welcome to SDN!! 😀

 

[The Fly]

I also did REALLY crappy on my first diagnostic and scored something like a 17. However, I busted my ass for three months, probably working 4-6 hours/day, got my hands on every practice problem I could.

My score went up 17 points...11,11,12, T

If you take the class, DO ALL the homework carefully. If you don't, make a syllabus for yourself and stick to it. Otherwise, that diagnostic score will end up a real score!

 

[SnudgeMuffin]

Meddude, I took all the KAPLAN's practice exams, I scored best out of all on Verbal and Physical, but score 1 point lower than my best on Bio. I hope this helps! Are you starting already for April MCAT? Wow! Good luck to ya! 🙂

 

[TiBore]

On my first Kaplan test I did poor too, but if you do all the work they give you your score will improve, mine went up 13 points!

BS went up 5
PS went up 6
VR went up 2

All my friends had similar experiences too, one guy took his verbal score from a 4 on the 1st Kaplan test to an 11 on the real. I think that Kaplan purposely makes the first test extremely hard so that it scares you in to studying.

Good luck
JIM

 

[Trek]

well, partly to scare you into studying, but also partly so you'll go "wow! my score went up 12 points! These kaplan people rule!" and tell all your friends to take the class. --Trek

 

[Rumit]

Yeah...the diagnostic is there mostly to make you glad that you are spending all that cash. After only a couple weeks of reviewing you'll probably do better. I also think that they make the diagnostic harder than the other practice tests to really help convince you that you need the class. That's just my opinion. I ended up improving about 13 points from the diag to the real thing. But, I improved 6 or 7 from the diag to the first full length practice, so...I dunno.

I'll stop rambling now.


Adam

 

[AUDREYHEPBURNFAN]

I took Kaplan this past summer and my diagnostic scores were as follows: Verbal 9, Physical Science 7, and Biology 8. I felt ****ty afterwords because I missed so many things I should have known. I finally realized that I wasn't stupid, but rather simply forgot the science material. I'm sure this is the case for most people. Don't worry too much because everything comes back to you once you begin reviewing. The classes don't really help that much because everything seems redundant if you recently had chem, bio, o-chem, and physics. Two weeks after the diagnostic, I took the first practice test and my score went up to a 31 and my verbal stayed the same. This jump gave me confidence and after so many kaplan tests, the actual MCAT will feel like you are just taking anohter kaplan practice exam on a saturday morning.Don't worry so much. Once the science information comes back to you, your scores will shoot up and the changes in your scores are entirely dependent on how much time you put into the kaplan practice items. I skipped a few of the kaplan classes because it was in the morning and it was the summer, but I made sure I went to the center to do all the topical tests and I took notes on the questions I missed. I focused on the concepts in the questios I got wrong. I am not a good standarized test taker and I think a lot of it has to do with how confident you are. After doing so many topical tests, the 5 kaplan exams, and AAMC Tests #1-5, I felt confident when I finally took the real thing. I hope this helps.

 

[gobears]

I took Kaplan and went from a 23 on my diagnostic to a 37 on the real thing. I'm actually an MCAT teacher right now and I can honestly tell you that I've seen all kinds of scores on the diagnostics. With a couple exceptions, they're almost always very low.

I agree with Rumit in that the test is designed with the hidden agenda to make you think that the class made you improve by a lot. Another hidden agenda is to "scare" you into studying hard. Bottom line: don't be discouraged by your diagnostic. The Kaplan practice tests and AAMC tests (those are actual ones from past years) are much more indicative of how you'll do on the real test.

Good luck.

 

[none]

Don't rely on commercial test prep companies for your practice tests! Use the most recent AAMC publications only before deciding to take a class!!!

 

[EpiII]

I took a six month course that Kaplan offered because it had been about 7 years since I took any courses that contain material that the MCAT tests. This allowed me to study at the Kaplan center each Saturday and then read and study each night after work.
Here is how I improved over the diagnosic test.
VR +2
PS +7
BS +5
I took as many full length tests as I could as well many other practice questions.