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I know there's a lot of threads out there asking about which company has the best exams and everyone says different things which makes it even harder to choose when you start scouring reddit and SDN.
Here I give my own opinions and personal experiences with the following: NS, Altius, Kaplan, and TPR.
First, here are my test scores in the order taken: (C/P : CARS : B/B : P/S)
AAMC OG: 70% / 83% / 70% / 50%
AAMC Sample: 81% / 85% / 75% / 68%
TPR Demo Test: 127 / 126 / 126 / 128 (507)
AAMC Scored 1: 129 / 127 / 131 / 127 (514)
Next Step FL 1: 128 / 126 / 129 / 128 (511)
Next Step FL 3: 129 / 128 / 130 / 128 (515)
Next Step FL 5: 129 / 128 / 129 / 128 (514)
Next Step FL 2: 129 / 127 / 130 / 128 (514)
Next Step FL 6: Quit half-way through the C/P section - NOT WORTH IT (nothing past FL 5 is)
Altius FL 1: 130 / 124 (WTF) / 130 / 128 (512)
Altius FL 2: 130 / 127 / 130 / 127 (514)
AAMC Scored 2: 130 / 132 / 130 / 126 (518)
I took a couple Kaplan FLs before taking the OG but don't have the scores anymore (they were around 503-505).
Kaplan and TPR: NOT representative. They test things that are way out of scope, and they test more rote memorization than what's really being tested on the MCAT. They could be useful early on because they can help you get your content down but don't pay attention to the scores.
Next Step: A lot of people say these are the most representative but that their C/P sections are more on the difficult side and extremely heavy on the calculation. This is definitely true in my opinion. Next Step FLs are harder than AAMC material but have somewhat of an easier curve. People have suggested to ignore their CARS section because it's not representative (which is true, it's extremely convoluted), but DO NOT IGNORE it. The fact that these passages are extremely long and confusing is a GOOD thing. If you can finish these sections within the time allotted, you'll have plenty of time to spare on AAMC material. Don't kill yourself over the scores, but don't brush off this section...it's still worth doing. Overall, NS is great practice. Their passages on all sections are longer and what I've noticed is that their answer choices typically include two answers that can be correct. It would drive me crazy and I didn't always agree with their explanation/logic, but when you take an AAMC test, you'll be surprised at how straightforward they seem after NS.
Altius: These are HARD. They're really good practice for experimental type passages. The hardest thing I found about these tests, especially on CARS, was that they give you answer choices that were so similar (just like NS but more). Again, I didn't always agree with their logic or explanations, but being forced to pick between choices that all seemed right is a GOOD thing. When I took AAMC FL 2 after Altius and NS exams, I was ALWAYS able to narrow the answer down to two choices. And most of the time, I was able to cross out three answers because I just KNEW they were wrong, even if I wasn't 100% sure of the right answer.
Basically, I strongly suggest Altius and Next Step exams. If you can only afford one, flip a coin lol. If you're buying ~10 tests, buy 5 of each. They really train you to eliminate WRONG choices, which is the easiest way to get a good score...DON'T PICK THE WRONG ANSWER, JUST DON'T DO IT (easier said than done on these practice tests)...
And again, DO NOT skip their CARS section just because "they aren't representative". It's always good practice, it helps improve your timing, and reading WTF passages makes AAMC passages seem like 5th grade reading material. I cannot stress how easy AAMC FL2 CARS felt after the crazy **** I read on NS and Altius.
My P/S section clearly needs work according to my AAMC scores. I would be happy with a 127-128, which is what I was getting on NS and Altius. Don't trust these scores. I felt their P/S sections were easier. On NS I barely had to read the passage to get 49-50 questions right. On Altius, the P/S sections were a lot more about data interpretation, which isn't a bad thing but if you lack general content knowledge (terms and definitions) like me, you need more than these exams. But they're still good practice nonetheless.
Hopefully I can carry my AAMC FL2 performance on to the real thing. I'm retaking a 31 that's expired :/
Here I give my own opinions and personal experiences with the following: NS, Altius, Kaplan, and TPR.
First, here are my test scores in the order taken: (C/P : CARS : B/B : P/S)
AAMC OG: 70% / 83% / 70% / 50%
AAMC Sample: 81% / 85% / 75% / 68%
TPR Demo Test: 127 / 126 / 126 / 128 (507)
AAMC Scored 1: 129 / 127 / 131 / 127 (514)
Next Step FL 1: 128 / 126 / 129 / 128 (511)
Next Step FL 3: 129 / 128 / 130 / 128 (515)
Next Step FL 5: 129 / 128 / 129 / 128 (514)
Next Step FL 2: 129 / 127 / 130 / 128 (514)
Next Step FL 6: Quit half-way through the C/P section - NOT WORTH IT (nothing past FL 5 is)
Altius FL 1: 130 / 124 (WTF) / 130 / 128 (512)
Altius FL 2: 130 / 127 / 130 / 127 (514)
AAMC Scored 2: 130 / 132 / 130 / 126 (518)
I took a couple Kaplan FLs before taking the OG but don't have the scores anymore (they were around 503-505).
Kaplan and TPR: NOT representative. They test things that are way out of scope, and they test more rote memorization than what's really being tested on the MCAT. They could be useful early on because they can help you get your content down but don't pay attention to the scores.
Next Step: A lot of people say these are the most representative but that their C/P sections are more on the difficult side and extremely heavy on the calculation. This is definitely true in my opinion. Next Step FLs are harder than AAMC material but have somewhat of an easier curve. People have suggested to ignore their CARS section because it's not representative (which is true, it's extremely convoluted), but DO NOT IGNORE it. The fact that these passages are extremely long and confusing is a GOOD thing. If you can finish these sections within the time allotted, you'll have plenty of time to spare on AAMC material. Don't kill yourself over the scores, but don't brush off this section...it's still worth doing. Overall, NS is great practice. Their passages on all sections are longer and what I've noticed is that their answer choices typically include two answers that can be correct. It would drive me crazy and I didn't always agree with their explanation/logic, but when you take an AAMC test, you'll be surprised at how straightforward they seem after NS.
Altius: These are HARD. They're really good practice for experimental type passages. The hardest thing I found about these tests, especially on CARS, was that they give you answer choices that were so similar (just like NS but more). Again, I didn't always agree with their logic or explanations, but being forced to pick between choices that all seemed right is a GOOD thing. When I took AAMC FL 2 after Altius and NS exams, I was ALWAYS able to narrow the answer down to two choices. And most of the time, I was able to cross out three answers because I just KNEW they were wrong, even if I wasn't 100% sure of the right answer.
Basically, I strongly suggest Altius and Next Step exams. If you can only afford one, flip a coin lol. If you're buying ~10 tests, buy 5 of each. They really train you to eliminate WRONG choices, which is the easiest way to get a good score...DON'T PICK THE WRONG ANSWER, JUST DON'T DO IT (easier said than done on these practice tests)...
And again, DO NOT skip their CARS section just because "they aren't representative". It's always good practice, it helps improve your timing, and reading WTF passages makes AAMC passages seem like 5th grade reading material. I cannot stress how easy AAMC FL2 CARS felt after the crazy **** I read on NS and Altius.
My P/S section clearly needs work according to my AAMC scores. I would be happy with a 127-128, which is what I was getting on NS and Altius. Don't trust these scores. I felt their P/S sections were easier. On NS I barely had to read the passage to get 49-50 questions right. On Altius, the P/S sections were a lot more about data interpretation, which isn't a bad thing but if you lack general content knowledge (terms and definitions) like me, you need more than these exams. But they're still good practice nonetheless.
Hopefully I can carry my AAMC FL2 performance on to the real thing. I'm retaking a 31 that's expired :/
