practice test average >35 what was your real score?

[startoverat40]

---

Members don't see this ad.

i would like to know if practice test scores about 35 also predict the real MCAT score, or if the predictive power holds better for ~30 averages.

if you scored above 35 on practice tests, please let us know your practice average and your real MCAT score.

 

[Rabolisk]

..But what if you averaged 41-45?

Also, what if you didn't do better or worse than your practice averages?

 

[startoverat40]

good points but i don't seem to be able to edit the poll any more.

if averaged above 40 vote for the 38-40 option. if scored same as average, vote as scored above.

 

[NickNaylor]

Understand that the average score is only a PREDICTOR. It's not perfectly accurate, and everyone is probably going to get a different score (above or below) compared to their average.

If you're averaging 35+ you're more than likely in good shape.

 

[ridethecliche]

I think that you're going to see more variability with the group that has scores above 35 because one question here or there can make a huge difference.

If you're getting 10's and 11's then you have a little more wiggle room.

 

[ilovemcat]

Lol, some of you are so full of it. 3 people voted 38-40 avgs. I know this is SDN, but ...come on.

 

[SmurfinUSA]

Lol, some of you are so full of it. 3 people voted 38-40 avgs. I know this is SDN, but ...come on.

hahaha

 

[Rabolisk]

Lol, some of you are so full of it. 3 people voted 38-40 avgs. I know this is SDN, but ...come on.

Hardly impossible.. You don't have to be a genius to get 38.

 

[Etorphine]

Hardly impossible.. You don't have to be a genius to get 38.

Completely agree. I know at least two people in real life that average slightly higher than that, and scored even higher on the real thing. One's a CT surg resident now.....

 

[ridethecliche]

Hardly impossible.. You don't have to be a genius to get 38.

True!

There's a 2x10^-87 probability that you can get a 45 by guessing answers on every question!

 

[startoverat40]

I think that you're going to see more variability with the group that has scores above 35 because one question here or there can make a huge difference.

If you're getting 10's and 11's then you have a little more wiggle room.

that may be true on the practice exams which have tighter curves. but the real test probably has a wider curve, because it is harder than the practice. i don't think on the real test missing one or two questions would drop you from a 15 to a 13. so i think if one can keep good time and answer all questions without rushing, and minimizing stupid mistakes, one should be able to get a high score. that's why i put up the poll, try to see if the wider curve on the real test helps those who are generally getting only a few wrong questions.

 

[0919mmk]

that may be true on the practice exams which have tighter curves. but the real test probably has a wider curve, because it is harder than the practice. i don't think on the real test missing one or two questions would drop you from a 15 to a 13. so i think if one can keep good time and answer all questions without rushing, and minimizing stupid mistakes, one should be able to get a high score. that's why i put up the poll, try to see if the wider curve on the real test helps those who are generally getting only a few wrong questions.

What are you basing that on? I'm curious, did I miss something? As far as I know, the practice AAMCs are reflective of the real MCAT to a pretty good degree, therefore they shouldn't be easier. By that logic, everybody's real MCAT should be lower than their AAMC average. Just curious. I averaged around 36-37 on my practice AAMCs, and I guess I am hoping for a 34+ on the real thing (took it last weekend).

I guess maybe you are saying the real thing is harder due to the added stress of it being real? That could make sense to me.

 

[Rabolisk]

What are you basing that on? I'm curious, did I miss something? As far as I know, the practice AAMCs are reflective of the real MCAT to a pretty good degree, therefore they shouldn't be easier. By that logic, everybody's real MCAT should be lower than their AAMC average. Just curious. I averaged around 36-37 on my practice AAMCs, and I guess I am hoping for a 34+ on the real thing (took it last weekend).

In a curved exam, being harder on a raw scale (lower average raw score) doesn't mean that the average curved score would go down. It makes perfect logical sense.

 

[startoverat40]

the practice exams seem to have a lot of low difficulty questions, and very few high and almost no very-high difficulty questions. my guess is, and maybe you can verify since you took the real test, that the real test has more high and very-high difficulty questions. so the overall difficulty is higher, and the point spread on the curve is wider. like the Kaplan FL tests. so if you stay on pace and finish the questions and stay focused and consistent, you should be able to match or exceed your practice scores. it's harder to get very high scores on the practice AAMC tests. but i think it should be possible to do it on the real test. like the Kaplan tests. I got 40 on 4 of the kaplan FL, but only one AAMC test.

it's all conjecture anyway. maybe it's not worth it to over analyze this test so much 🙂

 

[bassvp]

I had no idea that the real thing was any different than the practice exams (even if the scaled score compensates for that). Are there others who would agree with this? I just need to know so that I'm not sideswiped on test day.

 

[NickNaylor]

Also keep in mind that the real exam contains "experimental" questions which do not impact your score. I think that might be what leads to the feeling that the real test is "harder."

 

[ridethecliche]

the practice exams seem to have a lot of low difficulty questions, and very few high and almost no very-high difficulty questions. my guess is, and maybe you can verify since you took the real test, that the real test has more high and very-high difficulty questions. so the overall difficulty is higher, and the point spread on the curve is wider. like the Kaplan FL tests. so if you stay on pace and finish the questions and stay focused and consistent, you should be able to match or exceed your practice scores. it's harder to get very high scores on the practice AAMC tests. but i think it should be possible to do it on the real test. like the Kaplan tests. I got 40 on 4 of the kaplan FL, but only one AAMC test.

it's all conjecture anyway. maybe it's not worth it to over analyze this test so much 🙂

So what do you think now that you're done?

 

[startoverat40]

i took the test today, and it was pretty much in line with all the aamc practice tests. when aamc says the real test is like the practice tests cause the practice tests ARE the real test, they're not lying.

i don't think the curve will be as lenient as the kaplan ones. i'm pretty sure i missed at least 3 to 5 questions on PS, so I'll probably get a 12 or 13 at the most.

VR was just like the practice, so I'll probably get same as those, 11.

BS was also about the same as practice. i'm going with a 13 or 14.

I might match my average of 38 if I'm lucky....

 

[Renaissance Man]

i took the test today, and it was pretty much in line with all the aamc practice tests. when aamc says the real test is like the practice tests cause the practice tests ARE the real test, they're not lying.

i don't think the curve will be as lenient as the kaplan ones. i'm pretty sure i missed at least 3 to 5 questions on PS, so I'll probably get a 12 or 13 at the most.

VR was just like the practice, so I'll probably get same as those, 11.

BS was also about the same as practice. i'm going with a 13 or 14.

I might match my average of 38 if I'm lucky....

Perhaps we had different tests, but you didn't think that the PS lacked a lot of calculations? I know (especially for AAMC 11) that I used a ton of scrap paper and finished with only like 3 minutes to go. Today I had plenty of time to finish but was more unsure about some of the theoretical stuff. VR and BS were pretty close to 11 IMO.

 

[startoverat40]

ya i felt the same way. on PS i went too slow and on last 2 questions i had to just guess. they were conceptually easy and i knew how to do them, but ran short on time. it was partly due to early morning brain sluggishness, and partly due to getting overconfident and letting the clock run down too fast. 🙁 i was pacing so i would have 8 minutes left for last passage, but i should've kept 10 mins. i also stupidly wasted a couple minutes on an easy discrete question cause i doubted myself and wasted time to prove to myself that i was answering it right.

 

[startoverat40]

bumping for 3/26 results

 

[GreenRabbit]

bumping for 3/26 results

I averaged 38 on the two AAMC practice tests I took (same 13 11 14 breakdown for each) and scored a 41 on the 3/26 test. The high rate of 38-40 improving on the real deal might not be due to liars. Forgive me if I generalize, but those numbers could be explained if you assume students scoring 38+ on the practice have plenty of extra time each section and don't find it worth the time to check answers on the off-chance they find and correct one of their few mistakes. It's much easier to just submit the practice and find out immediately what you overlooked. On the real test, I did actually use my extra time to check work and luckily corrected an orgo mistake that would've cost me the 15.

 

[startoverat40]

bumping for 4/9 results.
next week i'll be able to add my own scores.

 

[capn jazz]

I averaged around a 37 and got a 35.

 

[babydragon]

So I took the 3/26 exam and scored a 36 while averaging 37 across all 7 AAMC practice tests (range 35-38). I think if it weren't for test anxiety I would have scored higher, but I'm not complaining.

 

[cal2012]

I averaged across all the AAMC's at 40, and got a 39, so I guess it was a pretty good predictor for me.

 

[startoverat40]

practice average: 38
predicted score after test: PS13 VR11 BS14

actual score: PS12 VR11 BS14 - 37R

1 point below practice average, cause I screwed up my timing on PS and missed the last 2 questions, otherwise could've had 14. I think I also missed 1 no-brainer question.

seems like AAMC practices are predictive for all ranges of scores. to get 38+ on the real MCAT, the key is to stay ahead of the clock. don't get over confident, and don't freak out either.

 

[Philosophy]

i would like to know if practice test scores about 35 also predict the real MCAT score, or if the predictive power holds better for ~30 averages.

if you scored above 35 on practice tests, please let us know your practice average and your real MCAT score.

Avg score over last 3 AAMC's: 40.3 (38,42,41)
Avg score over last 6 AAMC's: 39.5 (...37,39,40)

MCAT Estimator.xls Predicted score on MCAT: 41

Actual score 5/7: 39S (14PS-10VR-15BS)

 

[xQuailmanx]

I averaged 35 on my practice tests (AAMC 3, 9, 10, 11) and got a 33 on the real thing.

 

[Gnomes]

Practice AAMC FL tests: 37 (Mean 37.3, st. dev. 1.97, n=6.)
Real test: 39 (14-13-R-12)

 

[Cinclus]

I only took three AAMC practice exams (3, 9, and 11), and my average score was exactly 39. On the real deal? I got a 39.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

You guys are insane.

 

[sydneyy]

You guys are insane.

insanely intelligent.

 

[bruinbasketball]

24 Kaplan Diagnostic, Kaplan FL 33, 35, 36, 37, 37, AAMC 36, 34.

Then I got a 39 (14, 12, 13) on the real thing.

So I guess you never know what's gonna happen.

 

[flodhi1]

..But what if you averaged 41-45?

Also, what if you didn't do better or worse than your practice averages?

Then shut the F up and don't reply. Just sayin......

 

[Sitagliptin]

AAMC Average: 35.56 (I took all 9)
Actual MCAT: 36