<p>This sounds like a dumb question--but how do these two compare? I realize that obviously the more practice you get, the better you'll be, but are the questions fairly similar? Also, how is the Princeton Review's prep course? IS it worth it? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>1.) A prep course is usually worth it. Of course, the money means different things to different families. I liked Kaplan a lot, and PR has a good reputation too.</p>
<p>2.) Back in my day (2004), practice MCAT scores tended to rise come test day. One of my friends -- this is an exceptional story -- never once beat 29 in practice and called AMCAS repeatedly, even paying them to hand-score it, to confirm her 38. I went up four points from my last practice, as did one of my good friends (currently applying for an MSTP spot).</p>
<p>Nowadays, seems to me that most of the kids I know drop, some by as many as four or five points.</p>
<p>ohh I see. Do you have an idea of why AMCAS is making their actual tests harder than the practice ones?</p>
<p>It's all about curves. Everything is determined by how well kids are performing. What this means is that say my practice test was from 1999. Kids who took that test must have been more competitive than kids who took it in 2004, since the same kid (me) taking both tests received a higher score in 2004.</p>
<p>Since then, kids have become more competitive than they were in (hypothetically) 1999, so that now the same kid (for example, you) taking both the 1999 and the 2008 test will receive a lower score in 2008.</p>
<p>My son took 4 full practice exams last Summer, and his highest score was a 36. On the actual test he scored a 41.</p>
<p>^ oh wow, so in your case, it worked backwards. Did your son take any specific practice course that helped in do well?</p>