MCAT Miracles??

Started by listener23
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ProbablyAPenguin said:
Hahaha I literally almost cried after the ps section (my highest score) and I seriously considered canceling my score. I did cry when I left. Clearly I'm a horrible predictor of my test day performance.
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You aren't alone. PS was my worst section (although it was the best on all my AAMC/Kaplan px tests), and I felt just rattled enough after finishing it that I was really worried about it affecting my later sections. Immediately after leaving the testing center, I felt relieved to have it done; one week later, I was slowly preparing myself for the prospect of a re-take. My anticipated score (two-weeks post-test) was just over 10 points away from my actual score. Clearly I have no idea what the heck I'm doing/talking about ever.
 
I will echo the sentiment that the AAMC practice tests are extremely consistent. All of my practices were with 3 points of each other. I ended up scoring one point below my average, which was a full standard deviation given the tight spread.
 
my mcat score was tied with the lowest score i received on a practice, and about 3 points below my average. I felt I did pretty well when I walked out...

moral of the story is miracles can happen, but so can crappy flukes that poop on your soul. post test feelings often mean squat. all you can do is prepare the best you can and hope for the best.
 
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It could go either way i.e, +/- 2 (excluding out-liers). So don't bank on no miracle.
 
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I scored my average overall, but 3 points lower on VR than my average (averaged 13, scored 10.... never got below an 11 on a single practice test).
 
Catman21 said:
I averaged 26 on my AAMC practice tests, and got a 32 on the real thing, honestly. idk how lol, but i aint even mad :=|:-):
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Wow 6 points! What was your breakdown when you was averaging 26 and what was breakdown when you scored a 32
 
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awetmop said:
I don't know if this is motivation but when I took the MCAT this August. I was so nervous because my average mcat was a 25-26 on the practices: 10-11 on PS, 6-7 on Verbal, and 9 on BS.

Aug 21 MCAT: 30!! (10/10/10) 😍
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Catman21 said:
I averaged 26 on my AAMC practice tests, and got a 32 on the real thing, honestly. idk how lol, but i aint even mad :=|:-):
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In poker, sometimes you make the wrong decision and win anyways. The results do not make it the right decision in hindsight.
 
listener23 said:
Wow 6 points! What was your breakdown when you was averaging 26 and what was breakdown when you scored a 32
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Practice average: 9/8/9
Test day: 10/11/11

honestly idk why my practice verbal averaged at an 8, because i feel like its naturally my strongest section, my biology degree helped a ton for the bio section, and i tutor gchem and ochem and bio classes on campus. Physics always really crushed my soul. Thats really entirely what i studied for was propping up my PS section. my PS practice test %s for physics were horrid. I'd usually miss like over half the questions if they had anything to do with physics.
 
I averaged around a 32.5 on my practice tests and ended up with a 34, so I was pretty much in my range. Definitely glad I came out on the upper end of my range, though.

Incidentally, my actual MCAT score ended up being exactly the same (subsection scores and all) as my AAMC 10 score.
 
Silverflash said:
I averaged around a 32.5 on my practice tests and ended up with a 34, so I was pretty much in my range. Definitely glad I came out on the upper end of my range, though.

Incidentally, my actual MCAT score ended up being exactly the same (subsection scores and all) as my AAMC 10 score.
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I think it has some to do with the scaling and how they curve the real thing, they say that the curve is pretty much the same curve they use for the practice tests, but i'd be willing to bet they curve nicer for the real test, I mean aamc 11 was pretty rough for me, the test in general was much harder than anything i had seen, i'd venture to say it was harder than the real test, well my particular test anyway. AAMC 10 felt a little easier for me than the 10/25/14 test, but i only scored a 30 on aamc 10. so idk how it works but thats my 2 cents
 
Catman21 said:
Practice average: 9/8/9
Test day: 10/11/11

honestly idk why my practice verbal averaged at an 8, because i feel like its naturally my strongest section, my biology degree helped a ton for the bio section, and i tutor gchem and ochem and bio classes on campus. Physics always really crushed my soul. Thats really entirely what i studied for was propping up my PS section. my PS practice test %s for physics were horrid. I'd usually miss like over half the questions if they had anything to do with physics.
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How did you feel leaving the exam
 
listener23 said:
How did you feel leaving the exam
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wanted to jump off a bridge, i felt like i bombed it hard. my bio passages were not about things i was familiar with, the VR i didnt get to finish, i had to guess on the last two problems, and the PS felt okay. Being that i felt the best about the PS made me worry... alot lol
 
I'm a pretty "lucky" person when it comes to final exams. I always assumed I just react well in stressful situation. Hope I get the same thing happening on the real MCAT. A know a little part of me isn't giving it my all on practice tests because I know they don't count.
 
I still to this day do not know how I scored as well as I did on the real MCAT. I took the Princeton Review practice tests and was averaging mid 20s. I think on a couple I got around 23. I took one of the AAMC tests about a week before my test date (I forget which one, but I remember reading here at the time that it was one of the easier ones and that I shouldn't predict to score that high) - got a 30.

Real thing - 32. I literally guessed on questions for the last 2 passages in the verbal section because I ran out of time (7 or 8 questions!). Still got a decent breakdown 12 PS/11 BS/9 VR. I always wonder if they mixed up my score with someone else's.
 
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I don't think I remember a single question from the PS section, it was just that mind-blazingly incomprehensible. I still scored my average so I'm happy. Thought I murdered the verbal section. I still scored my average and was upset. I thought I did average on the bio section. I scored average, so meh.

Lesson in point: The AAMC exams are very consistent.
 
I had a friend who didn't study at all for it (and knowing what he did in his spare time I doubt he did any preparation) and scored a 36... he's going to Harvard next year.
Another one of my friends was scoring 29-31s and he pulled a 9/11/13 on the real thing.
So crazy stuff does happen... on the flip-side I feel like for every miracle there are 2 stories where people shank the real thing.
 
I was averaging a 34-35 on the Kaplan and AAMC tests I did. I think I did 7 practice tests in total though I don't remember which ones specifically. I ended up scoring a 39 (13/13/13) on the real deal which was my best score in PS by a couple points and tied for my best is BS from all my practice tests.
 
I suppose I'm one of the miracles.

Best practice score was 38. On the actual thing I got 40. (Plus 1 on PS and 1 on BS. VR was no change.)
 
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I jumped four points (30 -> 34) from my highest AAMC practice exam, but the week before my MCAT I did very serious review of the questions I had missed on all the AAMC tests I had taken, and I think that made a big difference.
 
sunflower18 said:
I scored my average overall, but 3 points lower on VR than my average (averaged 13, scored 10.... never got below an 11 on a single practice test).
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That happened to me too! My average for VR was super high and then on test day I dropped to an 11 which is still fine but I was hoping for at least a 12. Luckily my PS bumped up a few points to make up for it.
 
For those of you who actually received miracles, would you suggest sacrificing a chicken or just go all the way with a goat or something?
 
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