<p>Kaplan’s tests were definitely harder than the real thing. I think I recall doing 4 points better on the real thing in bio, phys sci sections than on the practice tests kaplan gave me. The catch is, for some reason my Verbal took a 2-3pt hit on the real thing. I guess all in all, I had a net positive from doing the Kaplan book, so I’d recommend that.</p>
<p>Take my rec with a hint of salt though. I did only spend 1 week ‘studying’ for my MCAT. I picked up the book, ran through the practice tests, and then went into the real deal. Maybe it was the complete lack of perception of stress that helped…</p>
This is how I originally thought, but I think I would rather have had something that was more accurate and similar to the actual MCAT. It’s harder, but it’s different. Kaplan Verbal is nothing like MCAT verbal and Kaplan science tends to be harder than MCAT science (I like their science prep/review but not practice tests). To compensate for it Kaplan’s grading scales are heavily inflated and I actually did 2-3 points worse on the real thing than my Kaplan average.</p>
<p>I would recommend taking some of the AAMC exams as well, but only because it gives you a feel for the format. They seem to be a tad easier than the actual MCAT.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of Nova, but have not heard anything about its quality.</p>
<p>I’d stick to the more well-known companies if I were you.</p>
<p>edit: mmmcdowe is right about the fake reviews; about 8 of them are by “A Customer”.
edit2: unless that is the default name for reviewers without an account</p>
<p>Question: Would it be ok for me to take a MCAT prep course during the last semeseter of Orgo and take the MCAT as soon as i’m done with Orgo? Or should I wait till I’m officially done with all the prereq’s?</p>
<p>DS just received his MCAT scores and is flipping out. 33 total-- 12 PS, 12 BS, and 9 (herein lies the rub) in verbal. Has a great GPA from highly academic LAC, but has been hoping to pursue a career in academic medicine. He says that he will need to retake the MCAT. Does he?</p>
<p>Yes, he thinks so. He had a problem with 4 proctors talking outside of his testing room during the verbal (first) section of the exam, and did file a complaint with AAMC, although I suspect did not follow up with Prometrics. Really a shame, because after they finally quieted down, he did do much better on the subsequent sections. But it was a horrible summer prepping for him…hate to have him do it again. And what happens if his scores go down?</p>
<p>I am in process of researching Med. Schools info including MCAT averages and such. I have found few good ranked with this score, although your S’s verbal is lower, but total is about the same. Examples: OSU - 33 total average, Vandi - 34 total average. Verbal is my concern for my D. also who will take MCAT in spring. Thank goodness, she needs 27 (in combined program) total with average no lower than 9. She would be happy with your S’s score, but it all depends on personal circumstances / goals. I imagine that they take GPA into consideration in combo with MCAT.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you. Blue devil mike (btw, my hs mascot was the blue devil, too!), DS just received a letter from AAMC where they agreed that his testing environment was compromised-- they got more than his complaint-- and said that he could include their letter with his application stating that. Guess that it is impossible for him to retake the one section though? And the question…to re-take or not? Think that I will just move out-- can’t take the tension here!!!</p>
<p>I’m pretty ambivalent about this. Honestly, if he’s asked at a med school interview about the adverse testing conditions, “People talking outside” is not going to play very well. And a 9 is a bit of a problem. If he wants an academic-medicine-type of medical school, I might recommend a retake. </p>
<p>Bluedevilmike- thanks. DS has learning issues which make distraction more of an issue for him than for most, but, for the most part overcomes it with an unbelievable work ethic. He wants academic medicine, and if you feel that the 9 will be an issue, I’ll pass on the advice to re-take the exam.</p>
<p>So I took the MCAT without much preparation (3 days of studying, 1 practice test.) This was obviously a poor choice, but I was leaning towards applying to PhD-only programs when I took it. I got a good score (11BS/14PS/11V/Q) but I’m worried about my bio score. Do I need to retake it to be competitive for MD/PhD programs in computational biology? I think I could raise my score a few points if I just practiced doing questions for long periods of time, but I have GREs to study for and would rather spend free time on my research.</p>
<p>malvenuto, Good job. You are good to go. 36 with a low section score of 11 means the MCAT will never be the reason you are rejected. Something else might be, but not that.</p>
<p>DS took the Kaplan lecture-led course last summer, but was “side-tracked” and did not take the MCAT test then. He might have skipped one or two classes, so he is not qualified for a free retake of the class. I think he likes their online material very much and would like to be able to access it again, but he was told by Kaplan that he needs to re-register the class at a discount price $499, even just for his online account to be reactivated. (He did take the first 5 Kaplan FL tests but did not take any AAMC test before the time ran out, i.e., when his Kaplan account was deactivated last summer.)</p>
<p>I looked at kaptest.com but could not find any $499 class. Does any of you know what that kind of class is and how we can register it online? Do you think it may be good enough for him to purchase the individual AAMC tests from AAMC instead and also review his Kaplan printed materials?</p>
<p>I think it is $35 per AAMC test at AAMC site. It would cost $350 for 10 AAMC tests. The price difference ($350 vs $499) is not that much and he could not access other Kaplan online materials (what are these materials?) if he goes that route. I do not know how useful the Kaplan online material is for a student like him (who has sat through most of the classes already.)</p>
<p>Our family is willing to shell out the money. In fact, we as parents are happy that he is willing to go back to this not-so-pleasant task :)</p>