MCAT Vs. Practice

[Premed315U]

I'm planning to take tons of full length practice tests (including AAMC I-V), PR 481-484, and the practice tests in Columbia Review book, Kaplan big book, Kaplan workbook, and an Examkrackers full length test. Does anyone have any other advice for practice tests? Also, can you please give me advice about how each of these tests compare to the real thing?

I've done PR 482 and 483 so far. Do you think these compare well to the real thing?

Thank you.

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[none]

I think the latter AAMC tests are quite similiar to the current exam. I'd focus on those. The rest will likely be at least somewhat different.

 

[punkin2]

Originally posted by Premed315U:
•Also, can you please give me advice about how each of these tests compare to the real thing?•••


Here is a great link of people listing thier various practice scores and thier actual scores on the MCAT this past April. Hope this helps!

<a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=002250" target="_blank">SDN Topic: Review Scores vs Real Thing </a>

 

[VC15]

Here's another page with comparisons of practice scores vs. the real thing: <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=004965" target="_blank">Practice vs. actual </a>

Best of luck!

 

[UCLA2000]

I took the PR course. Here's the DL on their stuff. They give you a really hard exam (481) in order to scare the hell outta you and make you study your ass of for the MCAT. This is also the exam that they use as a recruiting tool. I believe I scored a 16 or 17 on it. As the course progressed I took 482..3..4..5. Frankly the exams get easier. However NONE of the PR exams are representative of the actual MCAT.

I also took exams from Flowers, Columbia review, Kaplan, and the AMCAS exams. In total I took 23 full length MCATs prior to the test. Here's what I found...

Don't look at the scores. The only exam that will accurately predict your MCAT score...is your MCAT. I scored a 30 on amcas 1. a month later a 29 on amcas 2, then like a 31 on 3, 32 on 4, and a 27 or so on amcas 5. My actual MCAT score was much higher than what I had scored on any of the practice tests.

Use the AMCAS exams as a predictor of the types of questions that you may see on the actual MCAT. Make sure to really understand what they are asking. After a while you'll see that they are focusing on certain topics. Know those topics inside and out. Don't just take the tests and score them...better yet DON'T score them at all. Learn what you missed, and why you missed it. Go back and re-learn the topics associated with what you missed.

Good luck.