My Testing Material Scores (AAMC + TPR)

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RxMeds

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Hey everyone,

So I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I figured I would make a thread with my current scores for several popular MCAT prep items in order to 1) doc my MCAT journey because why not, 2) get any and all feedback, and 3) show my performance so that others can compare or ask questions, etc.

I started studying religiously at the end of April, right after the semester ended. I've been logging 8-9 hours a day since then, with a couple days only 2-4 hours because I needed a break. Until now, I used the Princeton Review Self-Paced course and took their practice exams. My test day is June 29 so I'm focusing on AAMC materials. Here's my scores! Please please comment with your opinions or if you have questions!

*the first test was taken after one week of review, and then every recurring Friday after that
TPR
TPR MCAT Course Test 1: 502 (124, 123, 128, 127)
TPR MCAT Course Test 2: 501 (124, 124, 126, 127)
TPR MCAT Course Test 3: 504 (125, 125, 127, 127)
TPR MCAT Course Test 4: 506 (126, 125, 128, 127)
TPR MCAT Course Test 5: 504 (125, 125, 127, 128)

AAMC Section Bank
C/P: 69%
B/BC: 79%
P/S: 71%

AAMC Q-Packs
CARS 1: 69%
CARS 2: 72%
Bio 1: 88%
Bio 2:
Chem:
Physics:

AAMC Tests - LOL CARS
Sample - 6/15/2017: (81%, 83%, 85%, 76%)
Test 1 - 510: (130, 123, 131, 126) ---> % Correct: (90%, 64%, 93%, 78%)
Test 2 - 511: (131, 122, 131, 127) ----> % Correct: (93%, 57%, 95%, 81%)
Real deal: Goal = 510+

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Bump - can anyone give me some feedback about my AAMC Sample Test score? Potentially a converter for percentages or an estimate? Thanks guys!
 
There's a link on Reddit to a spreadsheet where you enter percentages and it gives you a score range for the sample but I think it could inflated d/t the fact that there seems to be a major skew of only high scores self reporting in the Reddit data. So take it with a grain of salt. Just from what I read on here tho a sample test in the 8x% range gives you a good shot at your 510 goal


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There's a link on Reddit to a spreadsheet where you enter percentages and it gives you a score range for the sample but I think it could inflated d/t the fact that there seems to be a major skew of only high scores self reporting in the Reddit data. So take it with a grain of salt. Just from what I read on here tho a sample test in the 8x% range gives you a good shot at your 510 goal


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Great, thanks so much!
 
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The best predictors are AAMC FL 1 & 2.
Anything else has little predictive value.
Even the Sample Test is typically regarded as being easier than the real thing.
 
Hey I've been freaking about my stats too, but here's the information that I've accumulated through hours of stress surfing the web about this stuff. The best indicator of where you're at would be the AAMC test. For the most part the grade conversion excel sheet for AAMC sample test floating around here and on reddit is inflated (especially CARS). The AAMC practice test 1 seems to be a bit harder than the actual test. People seem to have gotten somewhere in between the two on the actual exam. As far as all the exams offered by prep companies they tend to be on the harder side, with Kaplan having the most notable grade deflation. Hope this saves you a few hours from procrastinating lol
 
You're in good shape bromigo. Maybe add 3 cars passages every day.
Thanks! Yeah my CARS started out really brutal and I've been doing passages everyday. Wish I would have known how tough it was going to be so I could have started months ago but it's all good. The Sample Test CARS was the easiest i've done, only because of the questions being easier/more straightforward. IMO the actual length and difficulty of the passages themselves was similar to all others I've done. Hoping for a 127 on test day.
 
Hey I've been freaking about my stats too, but here's the information that I've accumulated through hours of stress surfing the web about this stuff. The best indicator of where you're at would be the AAMC test. For the most part the grade conversion excel sheet for AAMC sample test floating around here and on reddit is inflated (especially CARS). The AAMC practice test 1 seems to be a bit harder than the actual test. People seem to have gotten somewhere in between the two on the actual exam. As far as all the exams offered by prep companies they tend to be on the harder side, with Kaplan having the most notable grade deflation. Hope this saves you a few hours from procrastinating lol
Thanks for the info! Yeah I have also heard AAMC 1 is harder, mainly b/c of CARS. Hoping for a 126 on AAMC 1 come monday! I've heard the CARS section on it is for the most part more difficult than the actual exam's CARS. (unless you get hit with a tough one)
 
Good news for you frankly is that your lowest score -- psych/soc -- is the easiest to raise, IMO. [edit whoops no, it was CARS, sorry...]
 
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Thanks for the info! Yeah I have also heard AAMC 1 is harder, mainly b/c of CARS. Hoping for a 126 on AAMC 1 come monday! I've heard the CARS section on it is for the most part more difficult than the actual exam's CARS. (unless you get hit with a tough one)
i got 95% cars on the sample, then only a 127 on aamc 1, followed by a 128 on aamc 2.i dunno if that helps at all.
 
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i got 95% cars on the sample, then only a 127 on aamc 1, followed by a 128 on aamc 2.i dunno if that helps at all.
That does help, thanks! I think hoping for a 126 come Monday is a reasonable goal for me on AAMC 1. My main problem is honestly the timing. Even on C/P, I struggle with timing. Barely finished it. For B/BC I had >10 extra mins, and for P/S I had >20mins, maybe I should have reviewed my P/S section more and could have possibly caught some mistakes.
 
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Bump.
Took AAMC 1..

510: (130, 123, 131, 126)

Seriously that CARS section was unbelievable. I ran out of time and guessed a LOT. Also, the psych/soc section was frustrating. It was much harder than the sample. What are your guys' thoughts on my score and the comparison of the CARS section to the real deal? Thanks.
 
Good news is, If you start doing three cars passages every day, and read the 300pg khan academy psych notes, your mcat will be competitive for any school in the country. congrats.
 
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Good news is, If you start doing three cars passages every day, and read the 300pg khan academy psych notes, your mcat will be competitive for any school in the country. congrats.
Thank you I appreciate the feedback! My current plan is to re-read the TPR Psych/Soc book. Do you think that would be a good plan? Should take 2 days, I test in 9. I've also been doing CARS passages daily, but that CARS section was brutal. -Also, can you link me to the khan notes?
 
They are on reddit. I have the TPR psych book and didn't find it helpful. TPR P/S was mostly a vocabulary test, whereas the real mcat makes it feel like a mini cars section. Passages are long. often no charts or graphs. Take your nine days and really focus on CARS, and a little on psych. going from 123 to 126 is easier than going from 126 to 128.
 
They are on reddit. I have the TPR psych book and didn't find it helpful. TPR P/S was mostly a vocabulary test, whereas the real mcat makes it feel like a mini cars section. Passages are long. often no charts or graphs. Take your nine days and really focus on CARS, and a little on psych. going from 123 to 126 is easier than going from 126 to 128.
The AAMC P/S passages have been decent for me, and the sample test i finsihed with tons of time left over. I only missed 13 on the section and I guess that's a 126. If I were to score that on a TPR exam, it would have been a 128. Similarly, If I were to miss 19 on a TPR exam, I would have scored a 125. So idk.
 
Bump - Just finished AAMC 2. (131, 122, 131, 127). Test is on the 29th. Yeah so idk what's going on with CARS. Obviously I suck at it, but I didn't think I was this bad. Hoping the real test is slightly more curved? Hoping for a 125 on the real deal at this point. Any suggestions?


Edit: my problem with CARS is timing, I had to randomly guess on 7 questions and there were lots I had to make educated guesses on. At the half way mark I think I was on like question 20...
 
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Figure out how much time you're spending just reading the passage. It may be way too much. There are threads about CARS timing -- I think general wisdom is something like 10 minutes per passage (and all related questions). Work the timing problem, you don't want to run out of time and have to guess on so many questions.
 
Figure out how much time you're spending just reading the passage. It may be way too much. There are threads about CARS timing -- I think general wisdom is something like 10 minutes per passage (and all related questions). Work the timing problem, you don't want to run out of time and have to guess on so many questions.
Thanks for the advice! I had been trying to follow the whole "don't look at the clock until half way to see where you are" strategy, but this obviously doesn't work for me. So this is what I did. I did not review my CARS section from AAMC 2, and instead decided to re-do it. Obviously it was much easier to follow along for 8/9 of the passages since I had already read them once before. However, this time I made sure I was within or extremely close to the 10 minute mark per passage. I managed to finish the section with 2 minutes to spare, and I've never been able to do that. I ended up scoring a 127 (81% Correct). That's a huge jump to go from missing 23 (57% correct), to missing 10. So even if it's dumb because I'd already read them, I am happy with how it went! Thank you for the suggestion.
 
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Good news is, If you start doing three cars passages every day, and read the 300pg khan academy psych notes, your mcat will be competitive for any school in the country. congrats.
How long does the CARS daily drill take to start seeing improvements?
 
How long does the CARS daily drill take to start seeing improvements?
Individual independent for sure. Depend on where you start as well. In my case, with TPR, I started in the 60's and progressed pretty quickly to the 70's, hung out there for a week and hit the 80's for 2 weeks. By then I realized TPR =/= AAMC and slacked off for a while. 100% on aamc sample, and high 80's low 90's on FL 1+2.
 
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