Was it because of nerves? Did it test unexpected material? Or you really just have no idea? Also, were you surprised to discover that you did worse than your average?
For those who scored worse than their average: Why?
- Thread starter skaht
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I was very surprised. The mcat didn't feel very difficult, it was just like any other practice test. I'm a very good test-taker (nerves don't really affect me), so I really don't know what went wrong. I guess the ones I guessed on I happened to guess them all wrong or something.
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I scored 5 points below my average of over 10 AAMC/Kaplan tests. When I found out that I had gotten a 27 on the test, I at first laughed because I didn't think the score was mine. There must have been an error.
I don't know what happened. I don't have bad test nerves. I felt like the test went okay and came out a little worried about the verbal section and nothing else... Boy was I wrong.
I think that what may have happened was my focus on the easy questions. I skipped any question that would take me longer than 2 minutes to solve, made an educated guess, then moved on. I believed that every question was worth one point. That was wrong. After thinking long and hard about it, I think this may be what happened. AAMC gives different points for harder than easier questions and I got screwed because of my strategy--Kaplan's strategy-- "every question is worth a single point." Wrong.
That's the only thing that I can think could have happened. The AAMC/Kaplan tests are graded by total points and not curved based on how hard the questions are, so my average of these practice exams could easily have been misleading based on my strategy.
Well, I learned a lesson and I know what I have to do now. Re-take.
Best,
C
I don't know what happened. I don't have bad test nerves. I felt like the test went okay and came out a little worried about the verbal section and nothing else... Boy was I wrong.
I think that what may have happened was my focus on the easy questions. I skipped any question that would take me longer than 2 minutes to solve, made an educated guess, then moved on. I believed that every question was worth one point. That was wrong. After thinking long and hard about it, I think this may be what happened. AAMC gives different points for harder than easier questions and I got screwed because of my strategy--Kaplan's strategy-- "every question is worth a single point." Wrong.
That's the only thing that I can think could have happened. The AAMC/Kaplan tests are graded by total points and not curved based on how hard the questions are, so my average of these practice exams could easily have been misleading based on my strategy.
Well, I learned a lesson and I know what I have to do now. Re-take.
Best,
C
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I think nerves got to me a little. Plus, my lifestyle could have been better (Ie. more exercise, more sleep). I averaged ~31 on the practise test with a high of 35 (near the end of prep) and a low of 28 (near the beginning of prep), where most were about 31. Ended up with a 26 on the real deal....Life goes on. I rewrite in a week.
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I scored about 4 points lower than my AAMC average and I think it was because I started getting cocky and eased up on my studying because I was getting good scores. Whatever you do make sure you keep pushing yourself until the very end so that you don't have any regrets when you get your score back.
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How do you know this? The AAMC doesn't even hint at their scoring methods. This is a rumor flying around that may or may not be true, but you shouldn't state it like a fact.
The real answer is that nobody knows.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=12782427&postcount=17
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This might work for some people, but for others it will lead to burnout and terrible scores.
Many people on this forum who did very well took a few days or a week off just before the exam to be sure they would go in feeling their best.
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Averaged around a 31 and got a 30+ on the last few AAMCs so I guess getting a 29 was within my expected scores, but I don't believe in that statistic.
Going into the exam I wasn't stressed at all and I didn't feel stressed during the exam. I think that hurt me alot because I felt like I was in a dream (no I didn't do drugs, I think I just spent all my adrenaline the prior 3 months). I think it helps to intersperse relaxing and studying the week before it so you don't burn out too much but be sure to focus near the end.
Going into the exam I wasn't stressed at all and I didn't feel stressed during the exam. I think that hurt me alot because I felt like I was in a dream (no I didn't do drugs, I think I just spent all my adrenaline the prior 3 months). I think it helps to intersperse relaxing and studying the week before it so you don't burn out too much but be sure to focus near the end.
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For me it was exam anxiety. And some unknown. I expected my bio to be way higher, i thought I knew most of problems on bio..the score came out unexpected.
This test is still a big wonder for me. LOL.
I guess something you just can't predict.
This test is still a big wonder for me. LOL.
I guess something you just can't predict.
On our 5/31 thread, one of the posters said he called the AAMC http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=12719168#post12719168 (post #358). He said that they told him, after much reluctance, that questions are graded on difficulty. I guess he could have been lying, but kasho11 is a very frequent poster and that would have been a weird thing to blatantly lie about.
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That's interesting - thanks for sharing.
To me it's still very odd that the AAMC would withhold that information from their website, documents, and emails and then suddenly reveal it to someone over the phone. I'm not saying he's lying either - it just adds to the mystery.
What we know is this: each test is different and the AAMC sets a predetermined scale for each test date. The vast majority of people score within a few points of their average, so the AAMC does a pretty good job at evening the tests out. If there is a difference in the worth of test questions, it's not a big difference and it doesn't matter for most people.
Ya know, with all this mystery surrounding their grading system, I was thinking that maybe they use a "ranked-choice" system of points. This would be a much more just approach (especially in VR, where there always seems to be two choices say the same thing). An example would be like this:
Q: The author's tone in this passage can best be described as
A) Delighted
B) Neutral
C) Critical
D) Sarcastic
Let's say the answer is "D", but "C" is not a bad guess since you at least picked up that the tone was negative. Is it fair that the person that picked "C" gets the same points as the person who picked "A", someone who completely missed the point or just guessed? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to award points like this: A-no points B-quarter point C-half point D-full point?
This is complete speculation, obviously. But maybe this is why it takes them so damn long to grade this test. I guess we'll never know (unless one of us ends up working for the AAMC one day
). LOL, this is what I think about as I'm waiting for my score to be released. Has anyone else talked about this in other forums?
PS: Ironically, I started thinking about this after reading a passage on "ranked-choice" voting on one of Kaplan's VR section tests.
Q: The author's tone in this passage can best be described as
A) Delighted
B) Neutral
C) Critical
D) Sarcastic
Let's say the answer is "D", but "C" is not a bad guess since you at least picked up that the tone was negative. Is it fair that the person that picked "C" gets the same points as the person who picked "A", someone who completely missed the point or just guessed? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to award points like this: A-no points B-quarter point C-half point D-full point?
This is complete speculation, obviously. But maybe this is why it takes them so damn long to grade this test. I guess we'll never know (unless one of us ends up working for the AAMC one day
). LOL, this is what I think about as I'm waiting for my score to be released. Has anyone else talked about this in other forums?PS: Ironically, I started thinking about this after reading a passage on "ranked-choice" voting on one of Kaplan's VR section tests.
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I eased up in the last 2 weeks of studying as well and scored the same as my AAMC average.
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Ya know, with all this mystery surrounding their grading system, I was thinking that maybe they use a "ranked-choice" system of points. This would be a much more just approach (especially in VR, where there always seems to be two choices say the same thing). An example would be like this:
Q: The author's tone in this passage can best be described as
A) Delighted
B) Neutral
C) Critical
D) Sarcastic
Let's say the answer is "D", but "C" is not a bad guess since you at least picked up that the tone was negative. Is it fair that the person that picked "C" gets the same points as the person who picked "A", someone who completely missed the point or just guessed? Wouldn't it be more reasonable to award points like this: A-no points B-quarter point C-half point D-full point?
This is complete speculation, obviously. But maybe this is why it takes them so damn long to grade this test. I guess we'll never know (unless one of us ends up working for the AAMC one day
PS: Ironically, I started thinking about this after reading a passage on "ranked-choice" voting on one of Kaplan's VR section tests.
I'm 100% sure AAMC is right or wrong. Not "Oh here we'll give you 1/2 a point since you picked the least wrong answer".
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