MCAT diagnostic scores vs. REAL MCAT scores

[drjds]

For those who have taken the real test (once or more times): If you don't mind, please posts your diagnostic scores and your real scores. Also, post which diagnostic/practice you used and put the breakdown of each section. Thanks.

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[littlealex]

I took all the original full lengths from my friends:

AAMC 3R - 12PS/10V/12BS
AAMC 4R - 12/10/12
AAMC 5R - 12/10/12
AAMC 6R - 13/11/12
AAMC 7R - 12/10/13
AAMC 8R - 13/11/12

Actual test, CBT: 14/10/12

In general I think the AAMC tests are VERY predictive. The actual CBT test felt a lot harder than the AAMC practice tests, but it turned out to be curved to be almost identical.

Also I only had about 2 weeks to prepare for the MCATs, so I took the 6 practice tests the 6 days before MCAT instead of spreading them out.

 

[J ROD]

I took all the original full lengths from my friends:

AAMC 3R - 12PS/10V/12BS
AAMC 4R - 12/10/12
AAMC 5R - 12/10/12
AAMC 6R - 13/11/12
AAMC 7R - 12/10/13
AAMC 8R - 13/11/12

Actual test, CBT: 14/10/12

In general I think the AAMC tests are VERY predictive. The actual CBT test felt a lot harder than the AAMC practice tests, but it turned out to be curved to be almost identical.

Also I only had about 2 weeks to prepare for the MCATs, so I took the 6 practice tests the 6 days before MCAT instead of spreading them out.

Now that's consistent! Nice scores!!

 

[AppleseedCast]

Kaplan Diagnostic: PS 7 VR 9 BS 6......22
Kaplan FL1: 6/6/8..........20
Kaplan FL2: 10/11/13.....34
Kaplan FL4: 11/8/12.......31
Kaplan FL5: 10/12/11.....33
Real test: 13/11/13.......37R

I thought that the Kaplan exams were much more difficult than the AAMC practice tests, but they were also much more leniently curved. I took most of the practices during the 3 weeks before the MCAT as my spring semester studying schedule completely went down the hole. Red bull + Doritos snack crackers are the reason why I did so much better on the real test.

 

[J ROD]

Kaplan Diagnostic: PS 7 VR 9 BS 6......22
Kaplan FL1: 6/6/8..........20
Kaplan FL2: 10/11/13.....34
Kaplan FL4: 11/8/12.......31
Kaplan FL5: 10/12/11.....33
Real test: 13/11/13.......37R

I thought that the Kaplan exams were much more difficult than the AAMC practice tests, but they were also much more leniently curved. I took most of the practices during the 3 weeks before the MCAT as my spring semester studying schedule completely went down the hole. Red bull + Doritos snack crackers are the reason why I did so much better on the real test.

Did you think the Kaplan verbal resembled the real CBT. I find Kaplan verbal the easiest of all. Then AAMC, EK. What were your AAMC scores?

 

[Phoenix.]

I used all AAMC tests:

1/25 - --- 3R - 7 PS 8 BS 11 VR 26
2/12 - CBT 4 - 8 PS 10 BS 12 VR 30
3/06 - CBT 5 - 8 PS 11 BS 9 VR 28
5/12 - CBT 7 - 8 PS 9 BS 10 VR 27
5/31 - CBT 6 - 10 PS 9 BS 11 VR 30
6/04 - CBT 8 - 10 PS 9 BS 11 VR 30
6/10 - CBT10 - 10 PS 11 BS 10 VR 31
6/12 - CBT 9 - 9 PS 11 BS 12 VR 32
6/15 - MCAT- 8 PS 10 BS 12 VR 30

I didn't really start studying seriously until about a month before the 6/15 MCAT. A little irked that the studying didn't seem to matter, since I got the same exact score and breakdown as the practice exam I took four months before the MCAT. All that PS work and still got an 8. And VR and BS didn't really improve either - although they were fine to start with.

 

[AppleseedCast]

Did you think the Kaplan verbal resembled the real CBT. I find Kaplan verbal the easiest of all. Then AAMC, EK. What were your AAMC scores?

I thought the real CBT was much more difficult than the Kaplan ones I took. I still think the Kaplan verbal was much harder than the AAMC practice VR sections. I only took one AAMC test and I believe I got either a 34 or 35 (don't remember the distribution)

 

[ChePibe]

The AAMC tests I took:
AAMC 3 don't remember
AAMC 4 PS 15 VR 14 BS 15 TS 44
AAMC 5 PS 15 VR 11 BS 14 TS 40
AAMC 6 PS 14 VR 12 BS 13 TS 39
AAMC 7 PS 15 VR 13 BS 14 TS 42
AAMC 8 PS 14 VR 11 BS 12 TS 37
AAMC 9 PS 14 VR 12 BS 13 TS 37
AAMC 10 PS 14 VR 10 BS 15 TS 39
Real MCAT (6/15) PS 14 VR 9 BS 13 TS 36

 

[AppleseedCast]

44?

 

[ChePibe]

44?

Well we can all agree that that was a real fluke.
Furthermore, I wish I had stepped up like you did instead of stepping down. I'm an ode to what burnout can do to a person.

 

[MamadP]

Well we can all agree that that was a real fluke.
Furthermore, I wish I had stepped up like you did instead of stepping down. I'm an ode to what burnout can do to a person.

u must have felt invincible after u got that score..haha

 

[hamidace]

The AAMC test I took:
AAMC 4 PS 15 VR 14 BS 15 TS 44

Good Mother of God!!!!!!! It is like a dream to meGood job man. I wish you the best..

 

[ChePibe]

u must have felt invincible after u got that score..haha

I believe that was my downfall. Everything went downhill from there.

 

[ChePibe]

Good Mother of God!!!!!!! It is like a dream to meGood job man. I wish you the best..

That is exactly what I thought, Good mother of God! What is wrong with me?!
Good luck in your preparation.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

3R 30
real test 39

 

[drjds]

Kaplan Diagnostic: PS 7 VR 9 BS 6......22
Kaplan FL1: 6/6/8..........20
Kaplan FL2: 10/11/13.....34
Kaplan FL4: 11/8/12.......31
Kaplan FL5: 10/12/11.....33
Real test: 13/11/13.......37R

I thought that the Kaplan exams were much more difficult than the AAMC practice tests, but they were also much more leniently curved. I took most of the practices during the 3 weeks before the MCAT as my spring semester studying schedule completely went down the hole. Red bull + Doritos snack crackers are the reason why I did so much better on the real test.

Was the reason that you scores were much lower on the first 2 tests is because you took them before you had really started studying?

 

[AppleseedCast]

yea the difference between the first two and the rest was a little content review since i'm a social science major and handn't seen the stuff in a while. The majority of my studying was during the 3 weeks before where i took the rest of the full lenghts.

 

[artaxerxes]

I felt the AAMC test predicted very well, I averaged 14/15 for PS and BS on all but one that I took, and between 10-12 on the VR

Real was 14PS 11VR 15BS

Kaplan's test's curve is not very relavent to the real test

 

[lawnboy313]

I started studying exactly 1 month before the exam. I took a Kaplan course, but missed the first few classes and stopped going to class about half way through. On the days I took practice tests, I didn't do any other studying. On other days I did about 8 hours of studying a day. I used Kaplan materials (books, flashcards, online site) for all of my studying, getting through a good portion of the subject tests, review quizzes, etc.

Kaplan Diag - 1/10 - PS 8 VR 9 BS 8 = 25
Kaplan FL 1 - 5/25 - PS 9 VR 8 BS 10 = 27
Kaplan FL 2 - 5/27 - PS 12 VR 9 BS 13 = 34
AAMC CBT 7 - 6/4 - PS 11 VR 9 BS 13 = 33
AAMC CBT 8 - 6/5 - PS 12 VR 12 BS 11 = 35
AAMC CBT 9 - 6/6 - PS 12 VR 11 BS 12 = 35
AAMC CBT 6 - 6/8 - PS 15 VR 9 BS 13 = 37
AAMC CBT 5 - 6/11 - PS 12 VR 11 BS 14 = 37
AAMC CBT 10 - 6/13 - PS 12 VR 11 BS 13 = 36
REAL MCAT - 6/15 - PS 15 VR 11 BS 12 = 38Q

The big score jump from FL 1 to FL 2 is from when I started memorizing formulas for PS and reviewing some of the bio stuff I had never really learned.

The 15 on PS on the real MCAT I attribute to pure luck--it felt like one of the hardest PS sections I had ever encountered. I couldn't be happier with my overall score and feel tremendously lucky to have done so well.

I agree that AAMC CBT's are great predictors.

My advice after all this: in practice or for real, never get tripped up by how you felt during a previous section...you may have in fact done much better than you thought. Also--since I was a little nervous when I got a 27 with 3 weeks to go--know that it's possible to pull a fantastic score without studying for months on end. Some on the posts on this site made me feel like I should have been doing a lot more, when in the end, I wouldn't have done anything differently.

Good luck!

 

[corbis11]

Well I don't remember the breakdown, but I took my first test ever(3R) three weeks before the real thing and scored a 31. Highest was 37(10). Scored a 32 on real thing. Should have been higher, but I facked up my PS section by double checking my calculations and second guessing myself = wasted way too much time.

 

[ACD]

x

 

[Lacipart]

40s?! wow guys, I longer longer feel that proud of my 31 on CBT3
:|

 

[axp107]

just found this thread.. figured I'd bump it

 

[TheElement]

Is the curve for AAMC 4 jacked up? I missed 2 and got a 15 on bio. I was like wha???

 

[shevie]

ya, apparently! I missed three and got a 13, whereas usually missing three means an 11 or 12..

 

[futureMD4294]

Kaplan Diagnostic: PS 7 VR 9 BS 6......22
Kaplan FL1: 6/6/8..........20
Kaplan FL2: 10/11/13.....34
Kaplan FL4: 11/8/12.......31
Kaplan FL5: 10/12/11.....33
Real test: 13/11/13.......37R

I thought that the Kaplan exams were much more difficult than the AAMC practice tests, but they were also much more leniently curved. I took most of the practices during the 3 weeks before the MCAT as my spring semester studying schedule completely went down the hole. Red bull + Doritos snack crackers are the reason why I did so much better on the real test.

How many months did you prep for this? I am looking for a similar score improvement.

 

[premed1244]

How many months did you prep for this? I am looking for a similar score improvement.

Bruh..