<p>Hey all</p>
<p>My MCAT's coming up. 2 weeks and a day (Yikes!). I'm done reviewing and have taken a couple of AAMC's and scored a 35(aamc 4), 31(aamc 3), 33 (aamc 5 and 6). Do scores go up the more tests you take or can I assume that I levelled off at a 33?</p>
<p>I don’t know how instructive my kid’s history is (because she didn’t take a course …or prepare enough …and took it after soph year) but here it is FWIW. From my D’s very first practice test (after first-year and prior to orgo or physics) to her last practice test before the MCAT, she went up a grand total of 5 points. Her MCAT test day was 3 down from the average of her last three tests. From what I’ve seen students score within 3 up to 3 down of the average of their last 3 tests.</p>
<p>I’m with curm on this one. My first “full-length” (Kaplan’s diagnostic, I think it’s really only 3/4 length) with zero prep and having only taken a semester of physics was 25. Throughout preparation I hit just about every score up to 34. Unfortunately for my testing ego, my last full-length practice test (taken 5 days before the big day) was my worst–26? 27? </p>
<p>I ended up with a 30 when I was averaging around 31-32 on my practice tests (before the screwy one). I’ve heard a good rule of thumb is that your score will probably be within 2 of your ACT score–I had a 32 on the ACT and was therefore expecting 30-34–which is the range of scores I hit most often with practice tests. </p>
<p>I bet if you’ve gotten a few 33s, then your score will be around a 33–I’ll go out on a limb and project 32-35, depending on how stable your section scores have been and how you handle test anxiety. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for a way to continue practicing without having to do more full lengths (I don’t blame you, they totally suck), my recommendation would be to do section tests. Have you done an individual section test yet with AAMC? You just choose which section to take on a full-length you haven’t yet taken. Then you’re only spending an hour on the test and it’s a lot easier to manage.</p>
<p>Did you take a prep class? One of the things that I think was quite valuable about my Kaplan class was all the strategy they go over with you about the week or two leading up to your testing day, specifically to start focusing on your strengths to make sure you haven’t slacked off on them during preparation (for example, I’m really good at bio, so I studied bio the least, but in not preparing for it I saw my section score gradually decrease–I’m glad I picked it up again the week before, and the ego boost of really rocking the subject matter was priceless (especially after coming off a bruised ego)). </p>
<p>I’m always happy to talk MCAT, especially with another St Louis kid, so let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK! I’m sure you’ll do great.</p>
<p>Kaplan practice exam, before organic/physics: 28 (PS: 10, VR: 12, BS: 6)
Kaplan diagnostic: 27 (PS: 9, VR: 10, BS: 8)
Kaplan exams #1-4: 27 (PS: 9, VR: 10, BS: 8), 33 (PS: 10, VR: 11: BS: 12), 35 (PS: 11, VR: 13, BS: 11), 35 (PS: 10, VR: 13, BS: 12)
AAMC exams #8-10: 34 (PS: 11, VR: 13, BS: 10), 36 (PS: 12, VR: 12, BS: 12), 37 (PS: 12, VR: 12, BS: 13)</p>
<p>I took a five week break after Kaplan exam #3. Dumb idea. I took AAMC exam #10, made a 29, realized I had squandered away all my previous work and wasn’t prepared, and started studying again. Then I took Kaplan #4 and AAMC exams #8-10 (repeating 10, hadn’t looked up any answers though) in the 1.5 weeks before my (new) exam date.</p>
<p>Actual exam: 37 (PS: 14, VR: 12, WS: P, BS: 11)</p>
<p>Good job Steeler!!! I hope I can have a trend like yours. That would be nice. Do you think your rise in scores was due to get used to the test or reviewing?</p>
<p>Haha, Steeler your MCAT distribution was the exact same as mine, except for writing</p>
<p>To add to the anecdotes, yeah I believe the AAMC practice test scores are pretty similar to the actual MCAT. My actual MCAT score was a 37, and here are my practice tests:</p>
<p>29 (test taken without studying), 34, 35, 36, 32( dip occurred because I took a break from studying due to finals), 37, 40, 37</p>
<p>Yes, I improved just because I was getting more comfortable with the timing needed for the test. The first few Kaplan exams I did, I improved without studying.</p>
<p>Right when I walked out of the test, I guessed my exact score breakdown. The more I thought about it, the lower my prediction went, haha…</p>