Raising Score From 15 to...acceptance?

[pianola]

Hi guys,

I took my MCAT a while ago and I did fine (35+) so now I'm teaching an MCAT class. I'm currently waiting to hear back from schools.

HOWEVER, in the MCAT course that I'm teaching, more than half of the students in the class made a 15 (total score) on their diagnostic exams. This totally floored me because a 15 is apparently about a 7th percentile (also I've been reading SDN too much and the average score here seems to be about a 33). Do you guys have any particular tips for my students? How do you raise a 15 to a score that will be accepted by MD or DO schools in the US? <-- (22+ or so to be considered (??)).

I know I had to work extraordinarily hard to get my diagnostic (28) up to where it is now...I hope that it's a little easier for them. I want my students to have the options that they want and deserve. Advice would be appreciated. Maybe the 15s were just first-time jitters?

pianola.

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[SN2ed]

My sig might help.

 

[pianola]

Hmm...my diagnostic fit pretty well with where I believe I must have been at the time I took it (other tests confirmed).

But I guess other people have had other experiences. So that's definitely good news . I'll just take the scores with a grain of salt I guess.

 

[DrDre2001]

Diagnostics are ridiculous. Your 28 on your diagnostic might be the the highest ive ever heard.

I know for sure in my class of around ten students, none of us had higher than a 25. Most had lower than a 20.

I would think 10-15 points is the average improvement from your diagnostic score...if there even is an average.

Oh and also, different kids in your class might be in different situations. Some might be juniors who just took Orgo 1 and 2, Bio 1 and 2, and Physics 1 and 2. Some might be seniors who havent seen that stuff in two years. Some might be grad student who havent seen that stuff in like 4 years.

 

[xrevision]

I've heard of a 31 as a diagnostic score. That person was also satisfied with it, and didn't study very much. He ended up with a 32 on the real thing.

 

[Ariadne]

I did a self-diagnosis by taking AAMC 3 at the beginning of my summer of MCAT studying. After 3 months of studying, my score jumped 11 points on the real deal as compared to my first practice test.

So, you are in no way limited by your 'diagnostic' score. If anything you can only benefit from it by using it to improve your motivation and persistence.

 

[pianola]

Ok, well, I guess I'll just try to teach to the best of my ability. If subsequent tests aren't showing considerable improvement, though, I'm going to try to see if there are other things I can do that might help.

 

[BlueElmo]

My diag on TPR #1 was a 26. I got a 34 on the real thing. I also worked extraordinarily hard to get that 8 point increase.

But I also think the higher your diag score, the harder it is to increase upon that score. Maybe it's because you already have content knowledge, it gets more and more difficult to improve upon it. A score like 15 probably means you probably have no idea what MCAT is all about. Hence, it is easier to improve upon it after busting ass.

Just tell your students not to get discouraged but to keep working hard.

 

[pianola]

A score like 15 probably means you probably have no idea what MCAT is all about. Hence, it is easier to improve upon it after busting ass.

That was what I was thinking. I figured the 15 was more a product of "what the heck is this this crazy piece of paper?" than anything else. So after having sat through the diagnostic once and listening to me talk about it, I figure they're all at least 3 points higher.

Well, let's hope, anyway.

 

[anon y mous]

Not to throw off what everyone says but...

 

[zombiegirl1979]

I hadn't done sciences for 8 years before starting to study for the MCAT....so my diagnostic would've been a low useless mark. All it would've told me is that I need to study everything, which I already knew.

Now after going through all the EK books, I average low 30s on AAMC practice tests.

I wouldn't put much weight in a diagnostic at all.

 

[DrDre2001]

Ok, well, I guess I'll just try to teach to the best of my ability. If subsequent tests aren't showing considerable improvement, though, I'm going to try to see if there are other things I can do that might help.

Nice, atleast you care about this enough to be thinking about this.

 

[pianola]

waiting on the retake but am so scared to find out.

Good luck on your retake .

Nice, at least you care about this enough to be thinking about this.

Well, I have a small class and I only opted to take on one class so that I could really mentor and guide the students, where possible. I mean, I really want them to do well; I feel like I'm partly responsible for their success and I don't want to not-do something that could potentially be helpful.

 

[FutureDoc17]

Pianola,

What approach did you use to bump that score up? I'm assuming you took a similar course to that which you're teaching now?

And are you referring to the Kaplan diagnostic? Word on the street is that it's a poor indicator of AAMC success (with the bogus curve and all).

 

[pianola]

It's not Kaplan, actually. Or TPR. It's another test prep company...I'm not going to share the name for privacy purposes.

There really aren't too many secrets to raising a score. I guess "study a lot and study intelligently" is the best I can really come up with. There's not really going to be a *faster* way than that. Target your weak areas and build your endurance by taking tons and tons and tons of tests (as many as you can get your hands on). Review as much as necessary so that you don't forget things you've already learned.

That's about all I have, but others have said as much in the 30+ thread.

 

[pianola]

gujuDoc: Thanks for your post. So I guess my question for you would be then, did you learn 15-scaled points worth of science content/verbal skills? Or were there some things you just didn't realize the first time you took the test? Or did you run out of time on your diagnostic? Did you have trouble concentrating?

I'm just trying to understand what some of the major concerns might be for my class.

 

[tabletop]

when I took a kaplan course, they told us right before we took the diagnostic that the average score in the class would be about 15... which is exactly what happened. if you really want to gauge your students, have them take an AAMC test and see where they stand.

 

[Raryn]

I got a 32 on the Kaplan diagnostic, but really, I have to agree it doesn't mean much. No idea how the other people in my class did, but performance on a test before you even start studying is worthless as an indicator of... well.. anything.

 

[pianola]

Thanks, gujuDoc

I'll have to encourage them to follow healthy lifestyle habits -- eating and sleeping well. Hopefully that will help.

Congrats on the enormous improvement btw. I mean 15 points is NOTHING to sneeze at. Good job.

 

[Vihsadas]

Ok, well, I guess I'll just try to teach to the best of my ability. If subsequent tests aren't showing considerable improvement, though, I'm going to try to see if there are other things I can do that might help.

That's exactly what you should do. I've tutored a few students privately, and in my experience, I've been able to help them raise their diagnostic scores at least 10 points in each case. The first one went from 24 to 34 and the second went from 15 to 32. So yeah, the first diagnostic test is pretty worthless. How they learn and how they approach the exam are what is going to determine whether they improve or not.

 

[pianola]

How they learn and how they approach the exam are what is going to determine whether they improve or not.

Yeah, I'm definitely hoping the best for them. I'll do what I can.

 

[Lukkie]

Yeah, I'm definitely hoping the best for them. I'll do what I can.

the hardest part about teaching is realizing that all students learn differently. it is your job to figure out the best way to reach Joe and understand that Sarah might not learn in the same way as Joe. Obviously the company you are teaching for has learned through many years of experience how best to utilize the hour or two you have with the students to reach all of them as effectively as possible

 

[pianola]

^Yeah, I'll try to take that into account. Thanks for the advice.

 

[unsung]

I went from a 23 (TPR diagnostic) to 33 (real thing). I think a sub-25 score (and definitely a sub-20) score denotes complete lack of mastery over content... which makes your job infinitely easier. Once I did a decent once over of content, I was scoring low 30s. Then it was a matter of test taking skills & some luck. My highest AAMC practice was a 40. So, like other posters have said, the lower your starting value, the easier/more likely it is you will improve by leaps & bounds. I wouldn't worry too much. I would definitely emphasize the importance of content review tho', if I were you... for me, none of the test-taking strategies I learned in class mattered a bit until I actually finished content review. It was actually sort of a waste of time.

 

[pianola]

So, like other posters have said, the lower your starting value, the easier/more likely it is you will improve by leaps & bounds.

I agree, and I told them as much in class.