Real MCAT Harder than the AAMC Practices?

[kech611]

Anyone else think that the real MCAT (at least the ones given this year), are a decent bit harder than the practice tests that they sell on their website?

At least the physical sciences...

I took 4/23 (voided) and 5/22. My average AAMC was 37 and I think I'll be happy to get a 34 or 35 on the 5/22 test...

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[dxr]

I took mine on the 22nd as well. I think the consensus is that the real exam is harder then the practice exams, but that its a completely different curve, which is how people come out of it feeling like they bombed it and then end up getting close the their practice scores. At least that is what I am hoping for... the whole thing seemed much harder then the real thing... it seemed to me like there were far fewer easy questions then on the practice exams.

 

[kech611]

I took mine on the 22nd as well. I think the consensus is that the real exam is harder then the practice exams, but that its a completely different curve, which is how people come out of it feeling like they bombed it and then end up getting close the their practice scores. At least that is what I am hoping for... the whole thing seemed much harder then the real thing... it seemed to me like there were far fewer easy questions then on the practice exams.

Yeah, some of the discretes on the practices could be answered in less than 10 seconds. Not true for the real thing I took.

I really do hope that the curve is more generous than the practice exams.

 

[SN2ed]

OP: You may find this thread helpful: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=530794

There was also a big poll a while back where people compared their AAMC FL scores with their actual MCAT score. Unfortunately, I can't find it.

 

[J ROD]

I think it was harder....

 

[Penner]

I would MUCH rather have a harder exam and generous curve than an easy exam and brutal curve (like SAT Math... Ugh, I got an 800 on Math L2 easily but I only got 800 on the SAT Reasoning math once out of the 3 times I took it just because I would always make a stupid mistake).

So I'm glad they're making this change... Gives you a bit of leeway. When it gets to the 13-15 range, it could be pure luck whether they ask you 2 questions that you simply forgot how to do or not if you know 99% of the material.

 

[etotheipi]

i agree with the post before mine.

i had a 38 average on the practice aamc. walked out of it thinking it wasn't terrible, but because of nerves, i spent a lot of time on each question. i answered all of them with time to spare, but not like i normally do. i was thinking a 33+. i got a 40. there's not use in saying don't worry about it because it's hard not to, but if you can, don't worry about it. you really need to preoccupy yourself with stuff this month because it's going to be a long one.

 

[ZeusonRoids]

Shhhh....this question has been asked over 457x

They are exactly the freaking same. The only reason some people do worse is cuz they get all anxious and freak themslves out. Other people stay calm during the test and do better than they expect.

 

[tbh4]

Shhhh....this question has been asked over 457x

They are exactly the freaking same. The only reason some people do worse is cuz they get all anxious and freak themslves out. Other people stay calm during the test and do better than they expect.

Not true. I was not nervous for the MCAT at all considering I already have an advanced degree and a job and if I failed it, oh well - I have a back-up plan. I thought the gen chem was much harder than the AAMC practices. I thought the AAMC practices are an absolute joke when it came to general chemistry. The 5/22 chem material was hard. I feel like the AAMC releases passages that are all easy/moderate and keeps the ones that are tricky locked away for further use.

 

[addo]

Off topic...
Do any of you find yourselves scoring higher after you have taken a break (I am talking about a couple of weeks) from studying and taking practice exams?

 

[MedicalMan14]

Nooooo; do not take off a couple of weeks.

 

[addo]

Nooooo; do not take off a couple of weeks.

well i found that to be the case personally, so i was wondering if anyone else had the same experience.

 

[MedicalMan14]

Well of course, everyone is different, and has their own individual strategies and factors which work. I was specifically told by both tutors and course instructors via Princeton not to do so.

 

[coach55]

Anyone recommend taking AAMC 3-10 or AAMC 7-10 & TBR 1-4 ?

 

[MedicalMan14]

AAMC 7-10 is a better indicator then 3-7. Figure; the added diffiulty difference between 3 and 7-10 = the added difficulty between 7-10 and the actual MCAT. Unfortunate but true. Then again; as a result the curve has an inverse relationship; I believe.

 

[UMICHPremed]

Have you guys done the problems in the Official Guide to the Mcat? I am working on them now. Are they of more comparable difficulty to the actual Mcat?

 

[Black Surgeon]

Shhhh....this question has been asked over 457x

They are exactly the freaking same. The only reason some people do worse is cuz they get all anxious and freak themslves out. Other people stay calm during the test and do better than they expect.

Don't believe This! My MCAT was a lot more difficult, and most importantly, the verbal passages were much longer.

 

[ZeusonRoids]

Don't believe This! My MCAT was a lot more difficult, and most importantly, the verbal passages were much longer.

DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!
my MCAT was exactly the same!

lol...some people are just better test takers. I am dumb as **** and I got a decent (not great) score. It is because I stay calm under pressure. I thought the practice tests were great at predicting what my actual score would be

 

[MLT2MT2DO]

DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!
my MCAT was exactly the same!

lol...some people are just better test takers. I am dumb as **** and I got a decent (not great) score. It is because I stay calm under pressure. I thought the practice tests were great at predicting what my actual score would be

I disagree, in the end the curve may account for the increased difficulty (if it doesn't I'm fubared) but my Verbal section was roughly a paragraph longer on EVERY passage and Bio on the practice exams didn't even come close to measuring up to my official exam.

I'm glad you had a much gentler test though.

 

[Lokhtar]

Todays PS was probably easier than some of the AAMC onlines. The Bio was harder (the passages were much more dense, detail oriented, and a bit longer - at least it seemed to me, but I was out of it by that time.)

Verbal was about the same.

 

[AH3]

Mine was harder than all the AAMC practices, especially the VR section. I finished pretty much all the practice VRs in time, but felt much more rushed on the real one. PS and BS were similar and Writing doesn't even really matter, but I guess the prompts were similar too.

 

[ZeusonRoids]

dudes...it is all the same in the end trust me. People who just took it always think they did ****ty on it. It will all work out. People get into medical school all the time. If dumb ****s like me can do it...you can too

 

[crazyasian]

The ps on my test was easier, but vr was much harder than the practice tests. My biology wasn't much harder, but it did have some extremely tough discretes that were pretty insane.

 

[loua0731]

Anyone recommend taking AAMC 3-10 or AAMC 7-10 & TBR 1-4 ?

My TPR instructors told me that AAMC 8, 9, and 10 were very indicative of their actual scores on the MCAT.

AAMC 3 is supposed to be significantly easier than the real MCAT.

And all the TPR exams are pretty difficult in relation to the real test.