MCAT Score & Prep

24 M
7 Physical
9 Verbal
8 Biological

Test Date: 20 Aug 2005

Opinion of test: (written the day after I took the test)
From BJ

PS wasn't bad. I found it to be more gchem than physics. I felt the most confident in the section. VR started off easy and got worse. I ran out of time, and I ended up guessing on the middle passage (more than 8+ questions. I skipped this one on purpose becuase it had the latest copyright date 2004, I think. I was hoping that it would be the experimental!) BS was harder than I expected. Only 2 passages and a few discretes had orgo.

Note: Here is a good website that tells you about picking the experimental passage. I don't know how accurate it is, but I think about this guys ideas often: Experimental passages.

Test center was good, but someone's telephone started going off for the last 30 minutes of bio. It borke my concentration!

I have this bad feeling that I will be taking it again in April.

Testing Center: University of Southern Mississippi
Conditions: Very Good. The room was large and there were an above average number of students taking the test according to the proctor. The proctors were from the USM Testing Center and were knowledgeable about the test and conditions. Everything went smoothly. The room had stadium seating with long tables and attached, swing-out chairs. There was usually at least one empty seat between each student. Plenty of room to stretch out. Testing room was void of outside noise. Testees were required to place all belongings in the front of the room, but someone's cell phone starting going off during the last section.

Preparation: This is sad. I didn't really study as much as I should have. (Edit - Just so you know how I think - I never feel like I study enough. I can study for three days straight, ace an exam and still not feel like I studied adequately!)

Kaplan Course (Nov 03 - Apr 04) New Orleans, LA
I paid $2000 for the Kaplan Course, but found the classroom lectures to be boring. I stopped attending the lectures and began viewing the lectures via computer through the online portion of the course. The books were too meaty to go through without being put to sleep. It was like studying with a whole text book. I did like the instructor. He gave really good tips. I also really liked the flashcards.

Here are some scores:
19 Kaplan Diagnostic
21 Kaplan Test 1 (7P 6V 8B)
I didn't take any of the rest of the exams.

Opinion - Only take a classroom course if you are not motivated or organized enough to study on your own. The program will give you structure. If you really want the materials and have a high speed internet connection, for $1600, you can get all of the materials but not the classroom portion. You get to view the online tutorials and the online "mini-tests." Plus, you can get the classroom lecture via internet by a teacher that gives the best lecture possible. I found that my teacher often skipped parts of the lecture, but the online version goes over the entire lesson throroughly.

Examkrackers
You can buy all of the examkracker MCAT materials for under $400 on Amazon.com. This includes Audio Osmosis, MCAT Complete Study Package (6th ed.), 101 Passages in VR, 1001 questions MCAT Biology, 1001 questions MCAT Chemistry, 1001 Questions MCAT Organic Chemistry.

Opinion: I loved this method. They even have a 10 week study guide available that outlines how to use the study materials. I didn't make it through the 10 week study plan. I used it mostly for VR, and it did help me to raise my score 3 points in the last few weeks before the test. The Audio Osmosis has some cheesy points, but I felt like it helped me remember because it was so cheesy.

e-MCAT.com
Go here and take the sample test. If I had to do everything over, I would have purchased all of the tests and used them along with examkrackers. I thought this was a great value. I did take the sample test, but I don't remember my score.