PR practice exams harder than MCAT?

[hopefulmed195]

I took a diagnostic TPR 2-3 weeks ago and got 8 PS/3 V/4 BS (15 total). I studied for 2 weeks, although I'm still weak on second semester topics of Physics and Biology. I took TPR's Practice Exam I, and I got 6 PS/ 6 V/ 7 BS (19 total). Although I slightly improved and am taking MCAT in spring, my score is still much lower than I wanted. Are PR practice exams harder or similar to real MCAT? If it's harder than MCAT, how many points should I add to my TPR score? I haven't taken AAMC tests yet; I'm saving them for the winter.

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[Deanis]

I think the feeling is that TPR tests are pretty similar to the AAMC ones. Some people find them easier, some harder. There is a general concensus that the TPR verbal is a bit more difficult, but not by much. Personally, I don't think you should add any points to your TPR tests. With your scores, it seems you just need to brush up on the material. I think taking the tests without covering the material first is a bit of a waste of time, besides telling you that you are woefully under prepared.

My first TPR diag was a 20 (P6 V7 B7), and my second, three weeks later, was a 22 (P7 V7 B8). I did a third test about a month before the MCAT and got a 29 (P8 V11 B10). That's all the tests I was actually able to fit in because I was trying to make sure I covered all the material to a sufficient depth (which I finished the day before). I'm sure I would have scored better than 29 after I covered all the material.

My suggestion is don't worry about how predictive the scores from Kaplan, TPR, EK, etc. are. Use them as rough guides. If you get 20 like I did, rest assured you won't be getting much, if any, better than that on test day. Get through all the material first. Then do practice passages and all the tests you can get your hands on (Kaplan, TPR, EX, AAMC). They won't all be exactly like the MCAT, but they'll help give you the skills needed to do well.

 

[baller99]

PR are generally considered a good bit harder than the actual mcat. you can't really correspond this to a mcat score, since PR does not actually predict mcat score well at all. i would say add anywhere from 5 - 8 pts. it really depends how much you like the mcat-style questions.

 

[trojanMD]

Having experience, I think the TPR diags are a wee bit harder than the MCAT, but not by much. The verbal sections are more difficult by a point or 2, the physical sciences sections are about on par or maybe just a little harder, and I found the bio sections to be a little easier. Not to scare you, but I actually did worse on the real MCAT than on the avg. of my TPR diags however I was really nervous on test day, so this may not mean much. Point being, dont get to caught up in the hype that the TPR diags are much harder than the real MCAT b/c speaking from experience, that may not be true.