Kaplan Diagnostic Test results, and later outcome??

[michmaki]

---

Members don't see this ad.

What did y'all score on your Kaplan diagnostic exam (the first one, first day of class), and what did you end up scoring on the MCAT???

 

[indianboy]

I think I started with a 21 (hadn't taken E&M yet), then got over 15 points higher on the real thing. I give all the credit to my trustee AndroGel cream. Testosterone makes everything look crushable.

Hope that Helps.

P 'Hairier than Chewbacca' ShankOut

 

[bosco]

My score went up 10 pts from the diagnostic to the real thing. My real test score was also 2 pts higher than my best Kaplan practice test score. I thought the Kaplan tests were the best thing about the course and would recommend taking advantage of each one. Lectures weren't that great though... I learned more reading on my own. Take advantage of all the material in the Kaplan library too.

 

[Trix]

My score went up 12 points from my first practice exam, and my actual score was 2 points higher than my highest/last practice exam.

 

[Jumpu]

I improved 8 points from my diagnostic on the real thing, and 1 point better than my best practice test.😀 I thought the library at kaplan was the best feature of the course, while the lectures were a waste of time.

 

[abw]

Hey! I went up 12 points from a <20 original score.

 

[calipremed]

My actual MCAT score was 11 points higher than my Kaplan diagnostic and 1 point higher than my highest practice test. I studied about 15 hrs/wk and made good use of the materials available at the Kaplan library, although I didn't get through everything. A friend of mine, though, said he thought that Kaplan made him feel overconfident and he ended up doing worse on the real exam.

 

[TroutBum]

I scored 11 points higher on the real thing than on the diagnostic, and I think 5 points higher than my highest practice test. One thing I really liked about Kaplan was I thought that they made their tests harder than the real thing, which really kicks your butts into shape.

 

[Curci]

Well, first let me say that I did NOT take a Kaplan course. I took one of their free diagnostic tests cold without even knowing the format of the MCAT. I spent the next five months studying on my own, and I went up 10 points. If you can treat the MCAT like another class and study on your own, then you don't really need to sink a lot of money into the Kaplan class to do well.

 

[nero]

scored 11 higher than my diag...and 4 higher than any kaplan...however, aamc v was exact to my score..

nero

 

[Rapid Decomposition]

Originally posted by Jumpu
I improved 8 points from my diagnostic on the real thing, and 1 point better than my best practice test.😀 I thought the library at kaplan was the best feature of the course, while the lectures were a waste of time.

Hear hear! I wish there was just some way to access the library and not take a class (maybe there is, in which case the joke's on me). I actually started out pretty high; taking the diag cold I got >30 (part of this was a fluke-ily high verbal, higher than I actually got on the MCAT), but I still managed to improve by five points.

 

[lola]

my score went up 1 point from my kaplan diagnostic.

 

[Desdemona]

Mine went up 8 points, and 2 higher than my highest practice test. The classes itself are useful for basic reviewing if you have forgotten stuff, but I think the best part is the practice tests. As much as it sucks taking them on teh weekends, they really really help you on the real day in terms of test endurance, etc. I recommend taking 2 advil at breakfast and 2 more at lunch, because your neck / shoulders will be sore from hunching over all day.

 

[Desdemona]

I forgot to write that it's hard to gauge how much you will go up on the real thing from the diagnostic. It seems to me that people who had lower initial scores improved by a lot more than people with higher diagnostic scores. Just try not to stress over your diagnostic; the more realistic scores will be on the practice tests when you presumably have studied the material and are familiar with the test format. Oh, and if you do take Kaplan, don't worry if you do horribly on the topical tests. I thought I was going to do terrible on the real MCAT because I would get about 50% of the questions on the topical tests wrong, but I did really well. They make those practice questions way harder than the real thing, which is discouraging at first ,but I think it helped me in the long run. Good luck!

 

[Doctor Octopus]

up 13 points from diag

 

[MaggieD]

I got a 27 on the diagnostic. I hope I seen gains like some of the posters did, I'd be estatic.

Does anyone else find the Kaplan review books terrible? They are way to complicated. I like Kaplan for the structure and full format tests, but I am getting alot more out of Examkrackers review books that Kaplans. Kaplan reads like the phone book.

 

[nichols195]

most people posting on here are in the 95th percentile or hhigher in terms of improved score....that really doesnt tell you jack about what to expect...the average score is improved 7 points from diagnostic to the actual test day. that is what kaplan told us on the first day of classes....so for every 11 point kid there are a few 5 point kids, it all depends on how much you study, but as a rule of thumb, expect to improve ~7 points

 

[McTaggart]

27 diag, 41-43 actual = a 14-16 point gain.

I eventually stopped going to the classes, but can definitely credit the increase to spending days and days in the stacks going through every single question in Kaplan's library. Taking timed half-length and full-length exams qd for two weeks really helped build my rapid reading skills.

McT

 

[scootad.]

20 diagnostic, 31 real thing

 

[Allygator89]

I bought the $65 Kaplan "red" book and studied on my own for the April MCAT. Then I decided to take the Kaplan course, and my diagnostic was three points lower than I actually scored. I did everything in their library, studied my butt off, and when I got my August MCATs, they were LOWER.

Kaplan is a waste of money. Use the materials, but bag the class. I would try examcrackers or something else instead. Having teachers that scored well on a test read from the "Kaplan" book is such a waste of your time, and most of them can't answer your questions that well anyway!

 

[Jalby]

Started with a 33, and ended up with a 37.

 

[beanbean]

Diagnostic score: 22

Actual MCAT: 33S

When I took the diagnostic I had not reviewed anything at all. I went to about 2/3 of the Kaplan classes, did about 2000 practice questions, used Examkrackers Audio Osmosis and Nova MCAT Physics.

Don't freak out over a low diagnostic score! It is meant to be a very difficult test. If everyone scored a 30 on it no one would feel they needed to take the Kaplan class.

 

[Woots32]

Diagnostic - 26

Actual score - 37P

I was teaching the Strategy session last night, and you could just see everyone get their results and start freaking. I spent quite awhile telling people not to be scared, that scores will go up. 🙂

 

[Dr Chooch]

Increased by 13 points....mid 20 diagnostic. I wasn't a fan of the classes, but I found Kaplan's library very helpful...especially the physical science stuff, which I thought tended to be quite a bit harder than the PS stuff on the real test.

 

[Iffy premed]

does anyone teach mcat for kaplan? I am training to be a teacher, so was just wondering what everyone thinks about kaplan mcat teaching

 

[LukeWhite]

Iffy-

I've been teaching for Kaplan for 3.5 years, and it's by far the best job I've ever had. As you can see from this thread, some teachers aren't as good as others. If you put a minimal amount of time into prepping your lessons, the students will eat you alive, mistakes will be made, and it will not be fun.

If you really know your lessons thoroughly, though, the classes are easy and efficient and the students enjoy themselves. You can also branch out into other tests if you want to work more and can make the scores. A well-taught class is great fun.

To add my piece to the OP: I went up significantly through the class (though I can't remember quite how much) even though I just went to class and didn't use the training library. If you do both, you're golden.

 

[Mylaina]

I also taught for Kaplan for about a year and a half- did some SAT stuff until my MCAT scores and then changed to teach for that. It's a lot better now- they pay you for the amount of "study" time you put into prepping for the lessons. When I started, all you got paid for was the time you were in class, which was a decent pay, but didn't pay off considering you had to know your information inside and out. But the great thing is that if you teach a number of different classes for the same test, you have to do SO much less prep work.

For the most part I loved teaching-- I often spoke with the students after class and talked with them about my experiences applying to medical school and interviewing. Some students are jerks-- trying to show that they have stupid details memorized and inferring that because I didn't know them, I am stupid, but that's just typical of teaching.

One great thing-- TUTOR! As long as you are friendly and knowledgable, you will get a good evaluation from the student- which means BONUS! ;-)

Plus, you get to meet pre-meds from your school if it's huge, other schools, or other teachers which is always fun!

Enjoy!

PS: Bonus is that if you work for Kaplan for two years, you get ANY course for FREE- yes, that means that the USMLE prep course costs NOTHING!!!!! (saves you thousands!)

 

[Iffy premed]

Thanks lukealfredwhite and Mylaina for the advice
I hope none of my students will show me up, but I am sure it will happen. I do alot of prep, if anything, I think I am studying more for this than I was for the real thing. The pay is good, and hopefully I will have time to do this when I am in medschool, but I doubt it. But USMLE course for free does sound awfully good. 😉

 

[Mylaina]

I considered teaching while in school, but unfortunately, I do not have a car with me in the city, so the commute to and from the school would take just about as long as the class, which is not worthwhile. If you teach a class here and there, it wouldn't take very much time out of school. I know a lot of people in school that work while in class and everything, and they don't have troubles. Personal preferences though, of course!

 

[Woots32]

I just started teaching last semester. So far the thing that amazes me the most is the variation in attitude between classes. One night they'll all be staring at me like they wish me dead, the next night everyone is participating and we have a great lesson. Go fig.

 

[LukeWhite]

And I wouldn't worry too much about students showing you up, iffy....it's bound to happen, just as Mylania's mentioned. It's an excellent opportunity to point out that details don't get points; critical thinking does. While the student doing the showing-up may not be impressed by this, the class as a whole will realize that you've aced the test and so presumably know what you're talking about. Some students will get a little agitated when you answer an irrelevant question by saying that it's not needed for the test (and indeed, some bad teachers have been known to fall back on that answer to escape relevant questions) but as long as you know your stuff, life as a kaplan teacher is happy and sunshiney.

 

[nikoo]

what is in the kaplan library?

 

[michmaki]

gold in the form of thousands of practice items

 

[gotgirth]

Originally posted by indo
Moral of the story:
Kaplan scares everyone who takes their diagnostic exam into taking their mcat course. Great marketing!

33--->38O

moderate studying (~3 practice exams + ~40 hrs reviewing Kaplan's red book)...I'd have to agree with the diag being harder than the real thing.

 

[persia]

I'm bumping up this thread because my Kaplan score went down from the Diagnostic (27 to 26 dropping from 10/10 in PS and Verbal to 8's (Bio 10, went up).

You all say the diag is so much harder but I was surpirsed to see a drop since I've been wroking my butt off (so I thought) on these EK practice problems, etc. Grrr......

Also, I thought the classes were a waste since the teacher didn't seem to know ****. I'm not sure if I should just start cranking out the full lengtth practice exams. Dang, this score is the same score I got last August and I've been studying basically ever since then. So I feel pretty stoopid considering ...

 

[Iffy premed]

Persia:
it is only 1 point difference. I won't stress over it. No matter how "standarized" the test is, it is still different each time. If this is your first test after the diag, then I won't stress so much over it. There is still time till the next full length. If the teacher is really incompetent, then maybe you can switch to another class with different teacher. Remember, Kaplan is a business, and they aim to please. No need to wast your money.

 

[lattimer13]

i scored a 41 on the diagnostic.

unfortunately i only scored a 16L on the real thing!!!!

i studied 50-60 hrs per week for 7 months prior to the big day.

 

[kreno]

i scored 22 on the diagnostic, and a 33S on the real thing

 

[persia]

Thanks guys, I think it was the switch to passages that threw me. I've been doing the EK discretes and general review. For some reason the PS was so much way harder and I thought maybe my mind had gone for a walk.

I was shocked to go down 2 points in the section and not go up. 😱

 

[xaelia]

My score went up three points from the diagnostic to the real thing because after the diagnostic I went back and studied the sections of information I'd been uncertain about before the actual exam. I scored exactly the same as the sample test on verbal and biology, and three points higher on physics.

 

[Tremblez]

27 Diagnostic --> 31 real thing
Can't blame Kaplan. With 20 hours/wk at my job and a full courseload, etc., it was a good week if I put in more than an hour of studying. I know others with the same or smaller gains also due to a complete lack of time. It's all in how much time you are going to put into it.

 

[kevinf911]

Diagnostic = 17

Real thing = 28

Commuted 90 miles to the Kaplan center EACH WAY, while working 60 hours a week. It works, but you only get out what you put into it. Don't think I could've gotten in without it though.