My Personal MCAT - Would Appreciate Feedback?

[WorldClassNeurosurgeon]

Hello Everyone,
I just have a quick question so I thought I would ask for everyone's feedback! So I am taking the August 7th exam--> Which is great, I am very excited! However, here's my issue: I am typically scoring around 10-12 in physical science and 10-11 in Biological Science sections on the practice AAMCs but my VR score is rather lower - 6-7 on the practice Exam. I am typically getting about a 20-22/40 every-time I take it. Now when I took the Kaplan Practice Test my score went up to what I am aiming for. I will be satisfied with a 28-31 but I am obviously aiming higher. However, I have not be able to keep up that mentality due to the low scoring in VR. I have honestly practiced VR all summer and my scores vary..
-So at this point I am very worried, because my Science scores are much higher than my VR and I am trying to get a passable score for the MCAT -

I know that the Curve for the AAMC is a little exaggerated - I mean a 40/52 is barely a 10- I know it's not going to be as exaggerated on the real exam, but I definitely feel very prepared so I do not know why my scores are varying so much. Typically If I score about a 20-24 on the REAL MCAT in VR, that should put me at a 7 or 8 I think...but not on AAMC (Cause they are significantly easier as well) - no matter how hard the material, I always get the same score -I really do think it's my test taking ability, but on the Kaplan I am getting much higher so I don't know

I will be taking another practice exam tonight; I hope to get a much higher AAMC score, but I think the reason I am scoring so low in each section is because I am either getting tired, or choosing some wrong answers WITH this HEAVY curve that's pushing my score significantly lower. I know many people score so highly in these sections, and I feel that I am definitely prepared so most of the time it's just me choosing the answer that sounds right at the time, and then I realize it's wrong later..
I guess what I am asking is am I able to get that 28-30 on the MCAT even though I am typically getting lower scores on the practice due to the curve and How do I manage this in the week I have left? I cannot reschedule , perhaps I will do VERY well tonight on the practice test. Even if my VR score is bumped by 1 point that could be the difference between 12PS/7VR/11BS which is a 30..Do you know what I mean?
Thanks so much, sorry for all the text!!

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[lNVlNClBLE]

Hello Everyone,
I just have a quick question so I thought I would ask for everyone's feedback! So I am taking the August 7th exam--> Which is great, I am very excited! However, here's my issue: I am typically scoring around 10-12 in physical science and 10-11 in Biological Science sections on the practice AAMCs but my VR score is rather lower - 6-7 on the practice Exam. I am typically getting about a 20-22/40 every-time I take it. Now when I took the Kaplan Practice Test my score went up to what I am aiming for. I will be satisfied with a 28-31 but I am obviously aiming higher. However, I have not be able to keep up that mentality due to the low scoring in VR. I have honestly practiced VR all summer and my scores vary..
-So at this point I am very worried, because my Science scores are much higher than my VR and I am trying to get a passable score for the MCAT -

I know that the Curve for the AAMC is a little exaggerated - I mean a 40/52 is barely a 10- I know it's not going to be as exaggerated on the real exam, but I definitely feel very prepared so I do not know why my scores are varying so much. Typically If I score about a 20-24 on the REAL MCAT in VR, that should put me at a 7 or 8 I think...but not on AAMC (Cause they are significantly easier as well) - no matter how hard the material, I always get the same score -I really do think it's my test taking ability, but on the Kaplan I am getting much higher so I don't know

I will be taking another practice exam tonight; I hope to get a much higher AAMC score, but I think the reason I am scoring so low in each section is because I am either getting tired, or choosing some wrong answers WITH this HEAVY curve that's pushing my score significantly lower. I know many people score so highly in these sections, and I feel that I am definitely prepared so most of the time it's just me choosing the answer that sounds right at the time, and then I realize it's wrong later..
I guess what I am asking is am I able to get that 28-30 on the MCAT even though I am typically getting lower scores on the practice due to the curve and How do I manage this in the week I have left? I cannot reschedule , perhaps I will do VERY well tonight on the practice test. Even if my VR score is bumped by 1 point that could be the difference between 12PS/7VR/11BS which is a 30..Do you know what I mean?
Thanks so much, sorry for all the text!!

The actual exam may be scaled slightly better, but I can almost guarantee you that a 20-22/40 on VR will not net you a 7/8.

 

[abtl31]

Practice, practice, practice VR. Go over your past PT's and see how your answers differ from the correct answers. That should help you see what you are doing wrong. Hope that helps. Be confident, the MCAT tests basic science so don't let the complex passages intimidate you. Good luck!

 

[WorldClassNeurosurgeon]

Thank you! I am trying my best!!

 

[WorldClassNeurosurgeon]

I was told to like try really hard on 5 passages, and like just do a quick estimate for two other passages

 

[orangetea]

I was told to like try really hard on 5 passages, and like just do a quick estimate for two other passages

That sounds about right.. pretty much if you can nail 5 passages and do OK on 2 you'll at least get a 8/9 depending on the scale!

 

[WorldClassNeurosurgeon]

Exactly, It's just frustrating that I score so low on the AAMC and then on all other Practice MCATs I'm scoring like much higher, I really don't get it..Honestly, everyone says that AAMC is closest to your score, but it can't be considering you pretty much have to get 49/52 to secure a 13...that's unreliable...

 

[orangetea]

Exactly, It's just frustrating that I score so low on the AAMC and then on all other Practice MCATs I'm scoring like much higher, I really don't get it..Honestly, everyone says that AAMC is closest to your score, but it can't be considering you pretty much have to get 49/52 to secure a 13...that's unreliable...

The thing is the real test is a bit more forgiving. On my first try I literally guessed on like 3 PS passages (not even educated guesses) because I was not prepared/nervous/hotmess. And I ended up with an 8.......... to this day I donno how.. I should have gotten like a 5.

 

[WorldClassNeurosurgeon]

Really? That sounds about right! See That always happens to me, Like I NEVER or Barely guess, and I always get the same amount right vs wrong everytime. And everyone states that the AAMC exams are easier but I am starting to think that this is the case for people who are hitting like 32-36 cause I am hitting low on the AAMC but High on Kaplan-

In my observation, I get the same amount right or wrong no matter how hard the material so If I was to do that on the actual exam I'd be getting 35-40/52 on the sciences and that would not land me at a 7 (like how aamc says) but probably closer to a 9-10, which is more accurate--Probably why Kaplan was giving me VR scores of 7-8 and AAMC was giving me scores of 5-6. I really do believe that it will be curved in my favor and I can hopefully land close to my target score. I am reaching for M.D and it worries me ,but I have a high science GPA so I hope that I can still get into some USA M.D program..I don't want this score to be the factor that drives them away from me because Standardized tests is just not my thing- some people are GREAT at it.

It's the same when you see people who get great "Board" scores but here that they had a hard time with the MCAT. It's very selective & it's unfortunate cause I def. feel prepared but the questions really throw me around..I definitely do more over-thinking that I normally would do on a class test.