Kaplan takers and others - what did you start off with as a diagnostic?

[deleted36260]

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I took the Kaplan diagnostic last week and see my score online today. It's a 22.
8/8/6 physical/verbal/biological

I am only half way into my first semester in Organic I, so the organic kicked my ass on the bio side.

I guess I'm wondering if this score is low or par for the course as a starter 6 months before test time? I know there are other threads, but if you take the time to post your original starting score I would appreciate knowing your final score too.

🙂

Thanks guys!

 

[smuwillobrien]

I tried to take a Kaplan test out of their Comprehensive Review book, but I got sick because it was insane. I studied for a month after that and took my first practice test - AAMC 3R - and I got a 35 (ended up with a 36 on the real thing). I've seen a lot of people start in the low 20s on Kaplan and end up with 30 - 40 on the real thing.

 

[mongmong]

I got 23 on the Kaplan diagnostic and ended up w/32 where I went up 2-4 points on each section after 10 weeks of studying.

 

[AZhopeful]

i got like a 26 on the diagnostic and ended up with a 38.

similar to you, i was in the middle of 2nd-semester o-chem. the diagnostic exam was at the beginning of the summer session, and the real exam was after the end of the class. i think part of the big difference between diagnostic and real-thing is because of how much ochem i learned and how fresh it was in my mind when i took the real thing.

big leaps can definitely be made, especially if you are still in the middle of one of the sciences that the mcat tests for. i went from not knowing what a carbohydrate really was to having ochem be one of my strong suits on the mcat, and it really helped.

 

[ratjo077]

8p/11v/7b for a 26 on Kaplan Diagnostic
9p/9v/7b for a 25N on April 2006 MCAT (??)
11p/10v/11b for a 32O on August 2006 MCAT (more what I was expecting)

Studied on my own during the summer. Took AAMCs 5r, 8, and 9. (Went over every wrong answer, and took notes on theory behind the question) Studied EK 16 mini MCAT book and EK Biology cover to cover. Kaplan subject book for physical sciences. Read books for verbal, but no studying other than practicing on the full lengths.

Work your tail off! My summer was ruined because I did not take things seriously the first time around, and I feel that it is going to hurt me b/c my applications are coming in late.

 

[Jahorgasen]

Diagnostic: 5 PS , 6 VR , 6 BS = 17
Real thing: 10 PS, 9VR , 12 BS = 31

I was in the middle of physics so maybe that can (partially) explain why I did worse in that section. I think the section they are worst at predicting (and teaching, for that matter) is the verbal. For example, I have a friend that got a 6 on it, completely ignored their strategies on it, and got a 12 on the section. That section seems highly variable.

My scores indicate that, yes, if you do poorly on the diagnostic then there is definitely hope for you. You can definitely do well or amazing on the real thing. In my case, I was downright awful at the diagnostic and then almost doubled my score. Most people I know start in the low 20s on it, but it is really important to remember that it is the starting point of your odyssey of fun with the MCAT and that it should never be viewed negatively.

 

[The pK]

Kaplan daignostic: 5ps, 5vr, 8bs
Aug 06 MCAT: 7ps, 10vr, 10bs
don't know what happened with PS. 😕 i'm still in shock.

 

[Mr_Doc]

5ps/6v/6bs for Kaplan diga test. I guessed on 80% of it though so i dont really think much of the score. Hopefully it goes up