MCAT Scores – Interpreting Practice Tests and Raw MCAT Scores




The Pre-Med Podcast show

Summary: Episode 17: What do people really score? And, how to interpret practice tests so you can accurately predict your score on the real MCAT. [blip.tv ?posts_id=2212060&dest=-1] ******************************************************* Announcements: * CD of the Month Club is now in it's 21st month. The infrastructure for mass production is now in place. Check out the new MCAT podcast interviews with GOLD STANDARD MCAT author, Dr. Brett Ferdinand The Medical Mastermind Community is now live! Call me on our next pre-med conference call! ******************************************************* A future doctor recently told me she made a 16% on a full-length Kaplan Practice MCAT. While that sounds bad, let's put that score into perspective and look at how overall core knowledge deepens - specifically, how that is reflected in practice test scores. We'll also delve into how to predict what score you'll make on the actual MCAT. This was my answer: "I sincerely understand your frustration and experienced it myself after taking the Kaplan course and my grades averaged out to be the same, having taken the MCAT 3 times. As a premed adviser now, I get this question a lot. You are not alone." You have a multi-part topic, so let me take each item in turn: 1. What do people actually make on the MCAT? What is the MCAT cut-off? Please give me real numbers! It's on a bell curve so if you've taken statistics you know that they can separate out the elite by keeping people away from the 100% correct end of the spectrum. In fact, 60% raw correct answers can actually be solid and each test is weighted differently. See, each test is drawn from a bank and each question is weighted for it's own usefulness. There are a significant amount of test questions that are being assessed as keepers, but are not part of your grading. Here is where you can find the most recent REAL MD MCAT scores in Texas, Osteopathic MCAT Scores, and AMCAS MCAT Scores. 2. Do practice MCAT tests commonly show low scores? [Better yet, do these low practice scores really reflect how well I'll do on the real MCAT?] ANSWER: A full-length practice MCAT form a reputable source, such as Kaplan, AAMC, or Princeton review are reasonable reflections of how well you'll do on the real thing. How to interpret your performance on these tests is actually more useful in real life. As a rule of thumb, scoring between 60-70% is actually average and approaching a solid score. Let me be clear, I'm not talking about little quizzes because the sample size of questions does not give you an accurate representation of your body of knowledge. Only pay attention to full-length, timed tests. I recommend you do between 3-7 of them, until you consistently get your overall average over 60% correct. If you expect to ace the MCAT you'll want closer to an 80% average. 3. Is there another way to prepare for the MCAT? ANSWER: The best way I teach people to prepare for the MCAT is to start learning the material from the first day in undergraduate, if possible. Buy a respected review book and take notes in it while in undergrad and taking those classes. Write down revelations and pearls of wisdom as you begin to get insight into the different prerequisite disciplines - keep the book near you and review it periodically. Too many people only "review" for the MCAT, which often means RELEARNING material form 1.5 years ago or more and this is a tremendous waste of brainpower, not to mention the added stress has been shown to decrease long-term memory (cited resource is a meta-analysis). ******************************************************* Residency Spotlight: Surgery After 4 years of medical school, General Surgery takes 5 years. Many people sub-specialize after that and go to fellowships. Fellowships may be in GI Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Trauma, or transplant. There are some training programs that are surgical which do not require a General Surgery residency fir