scoring higher on the real thing than your best AAMC practice test?

[jpostbac]

for those of you who've taken the MCAT - did any of you end up scoring higher than your highest AAMC practice test score? or is it pretty much general consensus/experience that you always score lower than your highest AAMC practice test?

just wanted to confirm that where we stand now is close to, if not more than, what our actual score's going to be -

it takes a ton of stress off of me (now and after the test, while i wait for scores) to know that what i've done so far is all i can do and that my score will pretty much be around, if not lower, than my AAMC practice scores.

conversely, if anyone's been nicely surprised by their actual scores (being higher than their practice tests), that'd be nice to hear too.

thanks and good luck to everyone taking it tomorrow.

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[jpostbac]

2 very good friends of mine scored about 3-4 points higher then their highest practice score this past spring.

Both had a 32 as their highest practice score. For one person the 32 was on 5R and the other had a 32 on AAMC 8.

They weren't getting higher then these scors on the other aamc tests.

The one who got a 32 on 5R got a 35R (10 11 14 R PS,VR,BS respectively).

The one who got a 32 on AAMC 8 got a 36R with a breakdown of 14 11 11 R in PS VR BS respectively.

Oh and the R's of course are the writing sample scores.

Both started with diags in the mid 20's.

wow - that's really encouraging. my highest score was on AAMC 9R, but i've had weird ups and downs (stupid 7R and 4R).

i'm not going to hold my breath for similar results (although that would make my day... and rest of year), but at least i know it's possible.

i think a part of me is just looking for further justification for taking it easy today, rather than really "making the most" out of these last remaining hours and obsessing about how much i still feel like i don't know.

in other words, i'm just trying to justify my laziness and complacency.
but, there's really never an excuse for any of that.

i also wonder if this MCAT is going to be harder than any other test AAMC has administered because it's the last paper/pencil. i'm worried that AAMC just might want to go out with a "bang"...

let's hope not.

 

[stoicist]

My highest scores were around 31-32 on AAMC tests and I ended up with a 35. I didn't do the AAMC tests in numerical order (3,4,5...) but skipped around a bit. My scores were up and down too. I started getting consistent towards the actual exam date.

On the actual exam, I also noticed I had a lot of genetics and molecular bio over organic chem, which might have contributed to the score increase. It depends on what form you get. I guess it's mostly hard work but also a bit of luck.

Good luck tomorrow!

 

[KeyLime]

I got 4 points higher than my best practice test. Just do you best tomorrow!

 

[Orthodoc40]

People definitely do score higher by a little, but a lot of people score lower than their practice scores too. Every time I've taken it to this point, my actual scores have been a little bit lower than my practice scores.
I'm planning to move into the group that scores a little bit higher than their practice scores tomorrow though!

 

[nikorette]

I did peak on MCAT day! It does happen... Up till then my highest was a 37, and I scored a 38. Not crazy higher, but higher...

 

[Ginkneephur]

The highest score I ever got on a practice AAMC test was a 32 then I ended up getting a 35 on the real thing. So it can happen.

 

[Anastasis]

4 pts higher on the real deal than highest practice. yeah, definitely happens.

 

[monaheel]

It can definitely happen; I had a friend who scored 3 points higher than his last AAMC pratice exam... but I also know that he tends to do really well under pressure, which I think is an important factor for the people that do score higher on the real thing.

 

[pirata]

I scored three points higher on the actual MCAT than any previous practice tests. It depends on how you study, and the test of course, but it can happen.

 

[tch001]

4 pts higher on the real deal than highest practice. yeah, definitely happens.

me too, highest practice was a 30 on AAMC 7R (PS 9, VR 10, BS 11), actual was 34R (PS 11, VR 12, BS 11). it happens!

 

[87138]

Before today I thought maybe I'd be scoring higher than the AAMC's. After today, I'm pretty sure I won't.