what is the real mcat like?

[sweetsaja]

i've heard from several people recently that the actual mcat was different from the practice tests they had taken....For someone who has recently taken the mcat, who's practice tests r more like the real thing? kaplan or exam krackers or aamc? What is so different about the mcat?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Omni]

I've only taken 2 kaplan's exam, but this is what I have to say: Their verbal is something that I'd describe as rape. It's tough as hell. They're long as hell and most of the questions require you to go back and look at the passage to find the answers. They're too detail oriented and because of that I can never finish on time.
When comparing it to Exam Krackers' 101 passages, I tend to do A LOT better on EK (9-11 average). From what I hear, people say that EK verbal is a lot more representative of the Kaplan verbal

 

[Naijaba]

i've heard from several people recently that the actual mcat was different from the practice tests they had taken....For someone who has recently taken the mcat, who's practice tests r more like the real thing? kaplan or aamc? What is so different about the mcat?

Hi,

I took the Kaplan course, read the ExamKracker's books, read the Kaplan Advanced book, and took the MCAT twice (but I voided the first time).

Here's a breakdown:

Kaplan: Class was almost useless, online material was good, tests were only marginally harder than the AAMC.

Kaplan Advanced: The physics passages were harder than the actual MCAT, but in a number-intensive sort of way. The verbal section was also more detail oriented than critical thinking.

ExamKrackers: Outstanding preparatory material. I listened to AudioOsmosis twice, completed their Bio, Ochem, and Physics books (I teach AP chem so I didn't study chemistry too much). I then did 50 or so of their 101 passages. Let me tell you, in the beginning I would get 4+ questions wrong per verbal passage, but after those 50 passages I was consistently getting 0-2 wrong.

AAMC Tests: Easier than the real thing, but identical in structure. It's the same software.

Actual MCAT #1:
Physical sciences: INCREDIBLY more difficult than what I had prepared for, and this is usually my best section.
Verbal: I was unable to focus after that physics section. Then I was given a ridiculous political science passage that I couldn't follow. At that point I lost hope.
Biology: Didn't see it, didn't care.

Overall I think I fried my brain by intensive cramming for the previous two weeks.

Actual MCAT #2:
Physical sciences: I liked it. There was a crazy question about Einstein's time dilation equation and I nailed it.
Verbal: I understood every passage. Two thumbs up.
Biology: 3 back-to-back passages of ochem...brutal, but overall I again understood every passage. One thumb up.

Summary: The real thing is pretty tough even when compared against rigorous prep. materials. Read the EK books and definitely do all 101 of their verbal passages if you're weak in that area.

 

[sweetsaja]

Hi,

I took the Kaplan course, read the ExamKracker's books, read the Kaplan Advanced book, and took the MCAT twice (but I voided the first time).

Here's a breakdown:

Kaplan: Class was almost useless, online material was good, tests were only marginally harder than the AAMC.

Kaplan Advanced: The physics passages were harder than the actual MCAT, but in a number-intensive sort of way. The verbal section was also more detail oriented than critical thinking.

ExamKrackers: Outstanding preparatory material. I listened to AudioOsmosis twice, completed their Bio, Ochem, and Physics books (I teach AP chem so I didn't study chemistry too much). I then did 50 or so of their 101 passages. Let me tell you, in the beginning I would get 4+ questions wrong per verbal passage, but after those 50 passages I was consistently getting 0-2 wrong.

AAMC Tests: Easier than the real thing, but identical in structure. It's the same software.

Actual MCAT #1:
Physical sciences: INCREDIBLY more difficult than what I had prepared for, and this is usually my best section.
Verbal: I was unable to focus after that physics section. Then I was given a ridiculous political science passage that I couldn't follow. At that point I lost hope.
Biology: Didn't see it, didn't care.

Overall I think I fried my brain by intensive cramming for the previous two weeks.

Actual MCAT #2:
Physical sciences: I liked it. There was a crazy question about Einstein's time dilation equation and I nailed it.
Verbal: I understood every passage. Two thumbs up.
Biology: 3 back-to-back passages of ochem...brutal, but overall I again understood every passage. One thumb up.

Summary: The real thing is pretty tough even when compared against rigorous prep. materials. Read the EK books and definitely do all 101 of their verbal passages if you're weak in that area.

how did u study differently for the second time around?