Kaplan practice tests vs. AAMC tests

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What are some of the differences and similarities that you guys have noticed. I have taken two Kaplan tests and plan to take my first AAMC later this week.

 

[ADeadLois]

What are some of the differences and similarities that you guys have noticed. I have taken two Kaplan tests and plan to take my first AAMC later this week.

There are major differences:

PS: Kaplan's have a lot of math...whereas AAMC tests have nearly none.

VR: Kaplan's questions are more specific/detail oriented (in order to stress their strategy)

BS: Some similarities here...but Kaplan's is still more detail-oriented...AAMC is more reading comprehension.

 

[Anastasis]

Kaplan PS is much harder (but the curve will correct for that a bit) - VR is easier, I think. BS is about equal.

 

[bluenumber6]

So it is true that kaplan full length's are much harder than AAMC? I've only taken kaplans so far and they are quite difficult. There is so much detail and long calculations. On a scale of 1-10, can someone rate the difficulty of both full lengths?

 

[TSK]

I really found that the difficulty of the tests really do vary from test to test and by section but if you ask me...

Kaplan PS is ALWAYS harder as there are a lot of calculations as mentioned earlier. This is actually a good thing as I breezed through PS on Test Day. I finished pretty early b/c I was used to doing Kaplan's overly difficult lengthy ones and did ok, BS10.

VR is a toss up as it can depend on which types of passages are easier for you. For me, applying Kaplan strategies to any passage was sufficient. I went from a 7VR diagnostic to an 11VR on the real thing.

BS difficulty was about the same for me on Kaplan and AAMC. I feel like Kaplan downplays orgo. There wasn't more orgo on the real exam, I just felt like the orgo that was there was more difficult than the Kaplan exams

So it is true that kaplan full length's are much harder than AAMC? I've only taken kaplans so far and they are quite difficult. There is so much detail and long calculations. On a scale of 1-10, can someone rate the difficulty of both full lengths?

 

[HilfigerCelica]

PS: like everyone said, Kaplan has more calculations whereas the AAMC/ real MCAT have very little calculations. AAMC test are more like," if we where to increase the distance between the plates of a capacitor, would the capacitance increase by 2X,4X or decrease by 2X,4X. It's more about the relationships when it comes to the real MCAT. They test on the concepts more heavily. Make sure you know Ksp and solubility for the MCAT.

VR: I felt that the real MCAT was more ambiguous than Kaplan's VR. The VR section of Kaplan's FL were more specific whereas AAMC's are more touchy feely. You'll never feel good after doing a AAMC test cause you're never sure of any answers. In Kaplan's VR, there are more questions where you are sure the answers are right.

BS: They are pretty comparable.

Overall: I think Kaplan's test are pretty good indicators of how you'll do on test day. I was averaging between 25-29 on my practice test and got a 28 on the real MCAT. Everyone that *I* know also got within a few pts of the practice test.

 

[SN2ed]

Thread closed. Please do not bump an almost five year old thread.