Correlation between Kaplan tests and the real MCAT?

[Guest sally2001]

Hey everyone,

Just wondering how people find their Kaplan Full-Length test results compare to the actual administered MCAT? I've heard that Kaplan's test to be "harder" than the real thing? I'm taking the Kaplan course and got a 8-7-8 on Test 1 followed by a wonderful 9-8-5, yes 5 on Test 2. Of course I'm studying much harder, but I"m not really sure what to expect...

[Guest driedcaribou]

I've heard that the Kaplan Science section is harder than the real MCAT but that the VR section is longer on the real MCAT.

[Guest ryguy]

I took the course last year and scored 7's and worked my way up to 9's (roughly). Then on the actual day I scored 11's accross the board.

 

I thought their tests were great compared to the real thing.

[Guest Valani9]

The practice science sections are definitely good enough.

 

For verbal - you would do well to practice more with the real AAMC material. Kaplan will give you practice tests, and you can get it off the AAMC website. It's worth the $50, or whatever it costs.

 

These companies don't really know exactly how to simulate verbal. I had the Princeton Review VR down cold, but I fould the real one to be somewhat different.

 

Good luck.

[Guest aneliz]

I find that some of the Kaplan science passages are WAY too difficult...and would never be on the actual MCAT. That said, if you can score well with the Kaplan tests, you should be fine come test day.

 

Kaplan VR passages tend to be either slightly easier or much harder then the actual MCAT VR....

 

But, the Kaplan material is still excellent prep material and if you can do well on it, you should be in good shape for the real thing.

 

I would suggest that you practice with the Kaplan material and then try out the AAMC practice tests close to the end of your studying. The earlier ones are pretty easy (I-III) but the later ones are very close to what you will actually see. I found that the AAMC V was almost identical in terms of difficulty and question types to what I actually saw on test day...and my scores were almost identical. I know that there is an AAMC VI out now too. Even though the AAMC stuff is expensive, it is totally worth the $$$...it is the closest stuff out there to the real thing!

 

Good luck!

[Guest Namgalsip]

From my personal experience, I found that the Kaplan test gives you approx. 1-2 scores below the actual test results. I found Kaplan's VR to be slightly more difficult (I scored a woppin' 3 points higher on the real MCAT than my consistent score on the Kaplan practice tests). The Kaplan physics section is MUCH harder than the MCAT but the scoring scale is adjusted so that your achieved score is still similar to the real MCAT. I personally thought that the Kaplan biology section is easier than the MCAT and focuses more on previous knowledge than extrapolation from the passages. (however, both my biology and physics scaled scores were similar to my Kaplan scores).

 

Also, if you register for the Kaplan prep-course, you have access to all 6 AAMC tests. (which I personally found MUCH easier than the real MCAT...not scoring wise but question wise).

 

wooo, that was a mouthful.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Nams

 

p.s. Also keep in mind that the Kaplan tests are scored based on how other people taking the prep-course scored. As a whole, people who take the course do better on the MCAT, so when scaling the score it's how you did compared to people who are generally more prepared. Hence the score tends to be lower than actual