Can't break 500 on a Kaplan FL

[theNDhopeful44]

Hey guys. I'm in a really rough place with my MCAT prep, which I didn't think would happen. I'm enrolled in a Kaplan classroom course, and since the start of the course, have taken the diagnostic and the first two full lengths. I received a 501 on my diagnostic, but sequentially went down two points on each one: 499 on FL 1, and 497 on FL 2.

I feel really discouraged/disheartened by everything right now. I've reviewed each test in-depth, and spend every week doing content review on the areas that I'm clearly doing poorly on.

The breakdowns:

Diagnostic: 125 C/P, 125 CARS, 126 B/B, 125 P/S
FL 1: 124 C/P, 125 CARS, 127 B/B, 123 P/S
FL 2: 124 C/P, 124 CARS, 126 B/B, 123 P/S

I'm really not sure where to go from here. To be honest, I didn't think I'd be doing this poorly so far. My test date is exactly two months away (May 20th) and I feel like absolute garbage at this point. My plan has been to apply this cycle, considering every other aspect of my file (academics/research/volunteering/shadowing) is solid; I just feel like this is the only thing holding back.

Any thoughts/opinions are appreciated. I feel like I want to cry.

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[Phoodie]

Try some other company's FLs. Kaplan is not representative of the test whatsoever. Search for the compilation of user scores. You still have two months so you'll be fine.


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[Terror Billy]

Kaplans FLs are terrible, by far the worst I've seen (I've used/at least seen EK, TPR, NS, Altius).

I think EK + Altius have good FLs if you want to find something more indicative of the real thing.

Not sure if you're in the Kaplan course, but I also found their section/test bank to be pretty poor as well (outside of psych/soc)

 

[aldol16]

The key here is to diversify your portfolio of FLs. You shouldn't do all Kaplan or all NS or all TPR. Work in a mixture and also go through the AAMC for the most representative versions of the exams. Also go through the Section Bank questions, as they will prepare you for the exam. Finally, Kaplan FLs are good for identifying areas you're struggling in while not being too representative overall. People tend to do anywhere from 5 to 15 points better on the real thing than on their Kaplan FLs.

 

[zhonghang]

@PhiGamDoc How are you scoring on those Altius tests? I've been averaging ~506 on Altius 1-5 but not sure if that's good or not...

 

[Terror Billy]

@PhiGamDoc How are you scoring on those Altius tests? I've been averaging ~506 on Altius 1-5 but not sure if that's good or not...

ha I just have taken the HLE and FLE1 (small sample size), I'm in their program but from what I've heard people generally score a bit higher on the real thing from theirs, but not as big of a difference as Kaplan.

I know someone who was routinely getting 496-499 on Kaplan, on the real thing they got a 515. The person I knew who did Altius scored I think like 2 or 3 points higher than their average exam score after 10.

 

[theNDhopeful44]

Oh, @PhiGamDoc, I'm from Bro-hio too!