Third party and CARS

[drthedude]

Hello everyone! My goal MCAT score is a 505. I have taken some third party exams under testing conditions and have received the following:
My diagnostic from NS was a 488 (120/125/120/121)
My NS FL 1 was a 509 (129/127/125/128)
My Altius FL 1 was a 516 (131/128/129/129)
My Kaplan FL 1 was a 507 (130/124/127/126)
My CARS diagnostic tool was a 87%, Chem q pack a 91% and physics q pack at 87%.
My questions are 1. what can I expect from AAMC FL's due to these third parties? and 2. Should I be worried about the drop in CARS with Kaplan? The questions and even some passages seemed extremely convoluted. Thank you!

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[MyOdyssey]

Kaplan's FLs are notoriously deflated.

Third party CARS passages are thought to differ from the real thing.

NS FL are supposed to be only 1 or 2 points off from the real thing.

You might want to practice on UWorld and AAMC Section Bank questions. Both should prepare you well for the real thing.

 

[BeMoConsulting]

Hi there! The best way to prepare for the MCAT is to use the study resources of the AAMC. It is, after all, the organization that administers the test, so you know you will be practicing with realistic materials, and you will know how to interpret AAMC’s FLs. The AAMC offers question packs for each section of the MCAT, including two volumes for the CARS section, each containing 120 passages and questions. Practicing with these materials will allow you to gauge your true performance level and work to improve it before your test. As for CARS, practicing with test materials is good, but you should extend your practice to other, similar written materials. Consider reading about classic literature, journal articles, and other readily available texts like The New Yorker, The Economist, The New York Times, Humanities and Social Science Journal Articles, or even literary classics like Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, or Margaret Atwood. Hope this helps!