Kaplan Diagnostic Tests

[hokiemon]

Did anyone who took a Kaplan or TRP course have to take the diagnostic exam the first day of class? If so, how did you do? I mean I'm not sure about most of you all, but the class begins right about when I intend to start studying for the MCAT. So on day 1 of the class, well i'll pretty much won't remember a lot from my classes. Does that really mean anything? I mean do most people usually get a really low score on the diagnostic

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[oxeye]

Yes, it is not uncommon to get a low score on the diagnostic. Most people do take it before studying, so at best it lets you know what areas you need to focus on. It doesn't indicate much about how you will score on the real thing.

I scored 13 points lower on the diagnostic than I did on the real thing.

 

[DrMidlife]

It's in Kaplan's best interest for you to score low on the diagnostic, because of the higher score guarantee.

Kaplan is giving me access to 11 practice tests and I'm using them all, one per Saturday. I'd say by practice test 6 I'll start having a predictor trend.

 

[ssquared]

The diagnostic is used for the higher score guarantee as much as it is a wake up call for many people. Since Kaplan lets you retake the course even if you do score higher than your diagnostic it's not rigged, it's made to help you realize what your weaknesses are. I took the diagnostic after not having seen any of the chemistry in over 2 years and some of the biology stuff I hadn't seen since high school. It was certainly an eye-opening experience. Don't bother studying for it, though...just take it cold, see what you need to work on, and then go from there.

 

[Instatewaiter]

Most people do very poorly on the diagnostic and slowly improve as you start to (re)learn the information. My diagnostic was a 23, then on the saturday exams I got a 25, 26, 28, 31, 33 respectively. The majority of people end up doing about as well (if not better) than their highest Kaplan practice exam. Take the diagnostic with a grain of salt. That said, the actual classes where the instructors lecture may improve your score by 2 or 3 points. The majority of the change will have to come from outside studying. By the end of Kaplan I stopped going to the classroom sessions and used the 3 hours to study on my own.