What was your goal MCAT?

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lexswift

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What was your goal MCAT prior to starting prep and during prep? Did you end up hitting your goal?

I ask because the FLs from prep companies for the new mcat tend to be really discouraging and deflated so I am interested to hear what people's mentality was regarding their scores.
 
My goal was around a 510, sadly I fell 5 points short so I am studying for a retake. I used princeton review and I was scoring between 506-511 on those. I think the biggest problem was that: I got nervous during the exam and didn't follow my strategy how I wanted. Tbh, I think the scoring system on all the new practice tests by TPR, Kaplan, etc is pretty wack. These tests weren't really similar to my actual test. These practice tests are important for identifying areas of weakness so you can work on those. Don't use these are a real indicator of what score you will get on the actual test.
 
GCS-15 said:
My goal was around a 510, sadly I fell 5 points short so I am studying for a retake. I used princeton review and I was scoring between 506-511 on those. I think the biggest problem was that: I got nervous during the exam and didn't follow my strategy how I wanted. Tbh, I think the scoring system on all the new practice tests by TPR, Kaplan, etc is pretty wack. These tests weren't really similar to my actual test. These practice tests are important for identifying areas of weakness so you can work on those. Don't use these are a real indicator of what score you will get on the actual test.
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Oh really? Darn. I am using TPR right now. I love all of the practice questions, but it's a bummer that the practice tests might not be a good indicator.
 
My goal was a 520 and I am nowhere near that right now 🙁
 
Eh...goal was 520 but I think it will be around 515.
 
My dream was a 35-36. Realistically hoping for at least a 33-34. Ended up scoring above all that :horns::horns::horns:
 
lexswift said:
You are very lucky you had 8 AAMC tests to help you gauge your readiness. I feel so unlucky.
Click to expand...

That's very true. My average for the first 6 tests was a solid 34, then by the 7th and 8th test, it clicked. The average of my 7th and 8th AAMC was my actual score.
 
Whyamionhere said:
Got 508 on every damn practice test I took so I was like welp ok guess this is it hopefully I don't get any lower, but ended up getting a 517, but was glad to have set my goal too low vs being disappointed? Don't settle though. Anyways this answer was supposed to be like 2 words so I'll shut up
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That is so great. I am not even getting a 510 at this point which is very, very worrisome for me. What practice tests did you use? I feel like I would probably cry if I got a 517.
 
I bought a nextstep package of tests, and I liked that they were harder than the actual tests. I never did the AAMC FL practice, which seems stupid, so do that one. I also took the 2015 test when it was pretty new (still is) and so there may be many more tests now.
 
People seem to do much more variably on the new rest than the old MCAT. You knew what score you would get going into it...now not so much.

Just aim to always answer lots of questions and figure out what you did wrong. The Section Banks helped me a lot!
 
My goal was 513 or above. I studied using TPR and ended up at 521. In my experience, the practice tests are great for concept review and to remind you which concepts you need to take another look at, but they are definitely not good predictors of actual outcome. My average on the TPR practice tests was just a touch above 500.
 
Lost In Transcription said:
Just aim to always answer lots of questions and figure out what you did wrong. The Section Banks helped me a lot!
Click to expand...

The section bank is tough but I will definitely do it at some point. I heard it covers nearly every topic on the AAMC content guidelines. Did anyone try treating this as a practice test?
 
lexswift said:
What was your goal MCAT prior to starting prep and during prep? Did you end up hitting your goal?

I ask because the FLs from prep companies for the new mcat tend to be really discouraging and deflated so I am interested to hear what people's mentality was regarding their scores.
Click to expand...

Agree with @MaxPlancker . Aim high for 528. It's better to set high expectations and falling short rather than low expectations and meeting them.

gyngyn said:
15 points per section. I was going for 11-12 per section, about 94th percentile.
Click to expand...

Now this is really interesting but i won't ask further to respect anonymity.
 
My goal was 39. I got a 37. I was genuinely disappointed for a few days after getting my score before realizing I was being silly.

Average AAMC practice score was 38, Average Kaplan practice score was 35.
 
LuluLovesMe said:
My goal was 39. I got a 37. I was genuinely disappointed for a few days after getting my score before realizing I was being silly.

Average AAMC practice score was 38, Average Kaplan practice score was 35.
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#Overachieverrrr

"Only one of the top masters, not a challenger...boo hoo" 😛
 
gyngyn said:
15 points per section. I was going for 11-12 per section, about 94th percentile.
Click to expand...

I bet back in your day you had more than 2 AAMC tests to gauge your readiness 🤔
 
MaxPlancker said:
#Overachieverrrr

"Only one of the top masters, not a challenger...boo hoo" 😛
Click to expand...

I'm stuck at plat 1. That means I'm as good as Phoenix 1 right? 😛

Edit: It says you're in Boston. Where are you going to school?
 
LuluLovesMe said:
I'm stuck at plat 1. That means I'm as good as Phoenix 1 right? 😛

Edit: It says you're in Boston. Where are you going to school?
Click to expand...
Lol wow...I'm only Gold 3... >.>>>

HMS...definitely not based on my lol skills ha.

Glad to say I uninstalled to save myself for med school 😛
 
528 obvi....

In all seriousness, I wanted to hit 509. I ended up scoring 514 on the practice scored FL. I wanted to hit 514 after that, but ended up nailing 509 on the dot on the actual exam. Can't complain since it's what I original wanted, but a 514 would have been solid.
 
MaxPlancker said:
Lol wow...I'm only Gold 3... >.>>>

HMS...definitely not based on my lol skills ha.
Click to expand...

Whoa HMS! You must be amazing. I'll be an hour away at UMass 😛

I don't mean to brag or anything but though I'm only plat 1, my toxicity is at least challenger level.
 
LuluLovesMe said:
Whoa HMS! You must be amazing. I'll be an hour away at UMass 😛

I don't mean to brag or anything but though I'm only plat 1, my toxicity is at least challenger level.
Click to expand...
Lol nah there's honestly so much luck involved in the cycle even if you have the "right" stuff.

Hahaha I blame the toxicity for being stuck in gold... 😛
 
Judson said:
In all seriousness, I wanted to hit 509. I ended up scoring 514 on the practice scored FL. I wanted to hit 514 after that, but ended up nailing 509 on the dot on the actual exam. Can't complain since it's what I original wanted, but a 514 would have been solid.
Click to expand...

What do you think caused the significant score decrease? I do hear most people score within 2-3 points of their AAMC scored practice test but have heard of a few people having a 5+ point decrease...
 
P/S: 132 B/B: 132 P/S: 131 CARS: lol maybe 129...

Real thing: not too far off. But CARS **** my **** up. Well deserved

I did 2 FL only though the AAMC ones. I didn't see the need to "practice" but now I kinda do, but just for the damn CARS section. Maybe retake... or not.
 
gyngyn said:
We didn't have any as far as I know.
Click to expand...

I would have been a nervous wreck if I was born in your generation 😳. At least you all had Kaplan maybe?

Now I feel like a brat for complaining that we only have two AAMC practice tests...
 
lexswift said:
I would have been a nervous wreck if I was born in your generation 😳. At least you all had Kaplan maybe?

Now I feel like a brat for complaining that we only have two AAMC practice tests...
Click to expand...
All we had was Kaplan. It was 50 miles away...
If I recall correctly, the test was only offered 4 times a year.
 
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Last edited:
lexswift said:
What was your goal MCAT prior to starting prep and during prep? Did you end up hitting your goal?

I ask because the FLs from prep companies for the new mcat tend to be really discouraging and deflated so I am interested to hear what people's mentality was regarding their scores.
Click to expand...
Before I knew anything about the MCAT my goal was a 520
After I started prep and realized how difficult it was, my goal went down to a 515
When I took the AAMC scored, I got a 520, which once again became my goal score
Got a 520 (130,130,130,130) on the real thing
Used NS for practice
 
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baratheonfire said:
Before I knew anything about the MCAT my goal was a 520
After I started prep and realized how difficult it was, my goal went down to a 515
When I took the AAMC scored, I got a 520, which became my goal score
Got a 520 (130,130,130,130) on the real thing
Used NS for practice
Click to expand...
That score breakdown is the most satisfying way to get a 520, I swear
 
freak7 said:
That score breakdown is the most satisfying way to get a 520, I swear
Click to expand...
It really was lol
And the weird thing is I felt terrible about C/P, amazing on CARS, ok on B/B, and terrible on P/S
 
Goal was 515+. Got a 503 on my first Kaplan test and thought about finding a new career. Then I got a 514 on the AAMC practice test and was pretty pleased. Ended up with a 510 on the real thing. Moral of the story, practice tests are pretty terrible predictors of your actual score.
 
My goal was 520+, I got a 519.

At the risk of sounding annoying, my practice test scores were all 520 and up, so I was just a little disappointed.

I set the goal of 520+ because it is a round number and because I had already taken like 2 practice exams and scored in that range. If I had known what the scores mean prior to taking the practice exams, I probably would have been more humble and set a goal of like 512.

My college held a practice MCAT day and I just showed up and took it without knowing what the scores mean. I am slightly disappointed that I literally did worse after two months of studying compared to that first practice test. But also, it was not realistic. It was basically a Princeton Review advertising event, and they didn't use a realistic test to set me with realistic expectations. I probably would have gotten like 500 on the real MCAT if I had walked in with that little studying.
 
A competitive score, which apparently I obtained. I've made a personal point to never reference my actual score ever again, as it's irrelevant to me now. Looking forward, and never backwards. Don't get too hyped over a certain score, get hyped over a score in a range where you know will be competitive for what you want.
 
Started my prep hoping for a 516, then that jumped to hoping for a 524 after taking the AAMC practice tests, and after feeling terrible about my performance on test day, I'm hoping for a 516 again when scores come out in a couple weeks
 
redferrari said:
A competitive score, which apparently I obtained. I've made a personal point to never reference my actual score ever again, as it's irrelevant to me now. Looking forward, and never backwards. Don't get too hyped over a certain score, get hyped over a score in a range where you know will be competitive for what you want.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's a good point, I probably will never reference my score again after [knocks on wood] being accepted
 
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