Practice MCAT vs The Real Thing?

[SanDiegoSOD]

So for those of you who have taken the real MCAT, how would you say that it measures up to the practice ones that you have taken? Not fake MCATs that some A**hole wrote to try and make a buck, but the actual ones administered in the past. Easier, harder, too difficult to tell? Opinons please.

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[UCLAstudent]

The AAMC practice tests were much easier than my real MCAT, but my real score was still in the same ballpark. The thing to remember is that the curve will adjust for differences in difficulty.

 

[MoosePilot]

So for those of you who have taken the real MCAT, how would you say that it measures up to the practice ones that you have taken? Not fake MCATs that some A**hole wrote to try and make a buck, but the actual ones administered in the past. Easier, harder, too difficult to tell? Opinons please.

I thought the real thing seemed exactly the same as AAMC 5R and 6R.

 

[rgporter]

Nearly identical in difficulty, and I recieved the same score as the real MCAT, in 2 of the 3 sections every time I took one of the AAMC online MCAT's. The third section was only low by 2 points.

 

[CaptainJack02]

Nearly identical in difficulty, and I recieved the same score as the real MCAT, in 2 of the 3 sections every time I took one of the AAMC online MCAT's. The third section was only low by 2 points.

really? i felt the real MCAT was WAY WAY easier than the practice tests. in fact, I would recommend you save the 80 dollars u would have spent on practice tests and buy a nice belvedere or two. and just walk into the test center with a pencil in hand and socks on ur feet. I really don't even know why they still use this test to determine who gets to make life and death decisions. all in all, a breeze and nothing to worry over. go back to watching everybody loves ray...

 

[Arginine]

I found the practice MCATs to be a bit easier than the actual MCAT, but they were still very helpful. From going through the practice tests and reading the explanations of answers, I learned pattern recognition for topics that are commonly tested on the MCAT. The practice MCAT questions were far superior in clarity, compared to the ridiculously convoluted Kaplan practice questions I tried.

 

[bigdan]

I thought the real thing seemed exactly the same as AAMC 5R and 6R.

Ditto.

dc

 

[Rugger81]

I thought the AAMC practice exams (6R and 7R) were easier than the real one. The real one was way more biased to certain subjects, not covering as many topics as the practice ones. Ironically, I did a little better on the real one.

Then again, I heard that damn sanddollar passage may have been an experimental...

 

[rgporter]

really? i felt the real MCAT was WAY WAY easier than the practice tests. in fact, I would recommend you save the 80 dollars u would have spent on practice tests and buy a nice belvedere or two. and just walk into the test center with a pencil in hand and socks on ur feet...

Slippers or flip flops are optimal for comfort's sake but socks will do in a pinch.


I think the AAMC online tests are a good way to judge your preparedness. How you achieve that state is different for every person.

 

[MedSkooler]

I took the AAMC MCAT 6R the week before the real thing, and I got the EXACT SAME score. However, while I was taking the actual test, I thought I was performing poorly. Nevertheless, I was extremely ecstatic when I got my score back.

So for those of you who have taken the real MCAT, how would you say that it measures up to the practice ones that you have taken? Not fake MCATs that some A**hole wrote to try and make a buck, but the actual ones administered in the past. Easier, harder, too difficult to tell? Opinons please.

 

[vhawk]

MedSkooler,

Thats exactly how I felt. Same exact score between real and the last practice, but at lunch break I wanted to jump out a window. Advice here being, although you might get less right, that doesnt matter. Scores are adjusted, similar to how the practice tests are, so if you are an 85th percentile type, you are an 85th percentile type. Dont get frustrated and lose your cool, thats the only way you will do much worse on the real MCAT.

 

[MabdulD]

I actually found the differences in difficulty to be pretty significant. I thought the science sections on the real MCAT were easier, while the verbal was much harder. It might be different for different people depending on which MCAT they took, though. Mine was April 2003.