Kaplan Diag-Please

[Techmed07]

Kaplan Diag- 8,8,9 ----25


So I am enrolled in a Kaplan course. Recently we had to take a Diag. I had actually been studying the month before. Nothing really hardcore just looked over EK for physics and chemistry (I just did the practice questions at the end of each chapter, I did not do any of the EK 30 minute exams). I did not get to finish either of the books. I think I still have 3 chapters left between them. In addition I looked at some verbal (EK 101.. I was averaging 10s). I did not even touch Biology, I just did not have time nor did I care to at that moment. My score break down was 8 in PS (disappointing, I figured it would be higher), 8 in VR (VERY disappointng.. I figured it would be higher) and a 9 in BS ( strange it is my highest.. figuring I did not even look at Biology or Organic)..


I was wondering with a month of studying done and two more to go. How is a 25 for a base line (I am shooting for above a 30).. and being that my score is even across the board what would you suggest my plan of action be? Should I just review along with the course or just do more practice problems... any suggestions are appreciated. Taking the test late August or early September.



I understand this may be a repeat of thread I posted in the MCAT section. But that section of the forum has recently been monoplized by a small number of individuals.. I mean there is one poster that pretty much answers every question. Most of the other people just agree with him and off nothing more than what he says. I just need more varied responses. I know I can count on you all.


What I know is that Kaplan Diag is suppose to be harder than the real thing...(All this information is garnered form searching through threads) I heard they mean nothing if you have'nt studied. Well if you see above I refreshed myself more or less on the material before taking the diag. So I need opinions on how I should interpet the scores. Is it plausible to think I can possibly get a 30 or above?

Thanks guys!

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[Sinclaire]

I think people who do that are generally called moderators or admins... kind of have an obligation to do that in return for executive abilities on the forum.

As long as you read content and practice each section to see what you do and don't well consistently until your MCAT (and do this with confidence), it shouldn't really matter what you got on the diagnostic. It's what you consistently get wrong on practice tests and passages that should matter. Part of the purpose of a diagnostic from a test-prep company is for them to prove you need them(and need to buy all their stuff).

And read the forum stickys, moderators and others who did well on the MCAT made detailed guides and FAQS that can answer a lot of your questions and orient you in the right direction.

 

[Dartmouth2005]

Kaplan Diag- 8,8,9 ----25


So I am enrolled in a Kaplan course. Recently we had to take a Diag. I had actually been studying the month before. Nothing really hardcore just looked over EK for physics and chemistry (I just did the practice questions at the end of each chapter, I did not do any of the EK 30 minute exams). I did not get to finish either of the books. I think I still have 3 chapters left between them. In addition I looked at some verbal (EK 101.. I was averaging 10s). I did not even touch Biology, I just did not have time nor did I care to at that moment. My score break down was 8 in PS (disappointing, I figured it would be higher), 8 in VR (VERY disappointng.. I figured it would be higher) and a 9 in BS ( strange it is my highest.. figuring I did not even look at Biology or Organic)..


I was wondering with a month of studying done and two more to go. How is a 25 for a base line (I am shooting for above a 30).. and being that my score is even across the board what would you suggest my plan of action be? Should I just review along with the course or just do more practice problems... any suggestions are appreciated. Taking the test late August or early September.



I understand this may be a repeat of thread I posted in the MCAT section. But that section of the forum has recently been monoplized by a small number of individuals.. I mean there is one poster that pretty much answers every question. Most of the other people just agree with him and off nothing more than what he says. I just need more varied responses. I know I can count on you all.


What I know is that Kaplan Diag is suppose to be harder than the real thing...(All this information is garnered form searching through threads) I heard they mean nothing if you have'nt studied. Well if you see above I refreshed myself more or less on the material before taking the diag. So I need opinions on how I should interpet the scores. Is it plausible to think I can possibly get a 30 or above?

Thanks guys!

This is actually in the wrong forum. But, to answer your question, the Diagnostics don't mean that much. Search for a thread by SN2ed on the subject dealing with Kaplan. It will make you feel much better. People have gone from like 19 on the diagnostic to 30. I myself have gone from the low 20s on the first diagnostic to the mid 30s on my practice test since studying.

Get a bunch of old exams. You can never take too many.

 

[Ahsan]

How long have you been studying to see improvement?!
Can you elaborate on how or when you saw the improvement in your practice scores?!

 

[Techmed07]

Bump. I want to know if I will actually see improvement after the Kaplan course

 

[NickNaylor]

Bump. I want to know if I will actually see improvement after the Kaplan course

If you work hard enough you will. Unless I really missed out on something, though, courses don't magically increase your score.

 

[MCAT4life]

Study smart and you can bump that score up, disciplined self studying beats any course. You waste a lot of time doing stuff in courses (I did TPR, and we had many days of just doing verbal/writing in class, also there are a lot of stuff that you already know that they teach to other kids.

 

[FCBarca1990]

If it makes you feel any better, I took a Kaplan diagnostic a month ago and scored a 26. I was pretty alarmed because I had finished reading all the Kaplan books and had done a decent about of prep already. I stayed after my Kaplan class to talk to my teacher, who pretty much told me that he's never seen anyone score higher than a 28 on the diag.

That was about 5 weeks ago. I actually took AAMC 5 yesterday and scored a 40. You should not be worried about your diagnostic score. There are plenty of people who improve dramatically within a matter of weeks. This is not to say that the diagnostic is that much harder; instead, I think you start to see patterns and expect certain things on the MCAT that increase your efficiency and test-taking ability.

Of course, there are always people who score exactly as high on the MCAT as they do on a diagnostic. That being said, let your score be a motivator for you to study harder!

If you would like to talk about a self-study test prep method and how to engage it accordingly with the Kaplan course (which I personally feel has been a bit of a waste of time), feel free to PM me.