Kaplan MCAT Instant Analysis

Discussion of the new computer MCAT from the experts at Kaplan.

What was the hardest part about the computer testing interface?

“when reviewing just the marked problem you couldn’t tell that the ‘marked’ questions were marked until you clicked on them. if you hit next button it took you to the next passage instead of the next marked question. so if there were mulitple questions on the same passage that were marked you had to go through them all or reload the review screen.”
–ARIZONA

“old school computer monitors! I was literally sitting less than 10 inches away from the screen.”
–CALIFORNIA

“because I had practiced only on the computer, i was used to it, so i didn’t think that the interface was especially difficult”
–CONNECTICUT

“My computer froze and that threw me off.”
–ILLINOIS

“It was not so much the interface as the checking in and out and fingerprinting on every break.”
–MINNESOTA

“The screen was archaic and gave me a headache. Also it reflected the lighting in the room. It was distracting.”
–NEW YORK

“they gave me the wrong questions with my passage and so was unable to finish my verbal portion of the exam and could not be re-allotted the time which was taken from me while reporting to my test center administrator”
–TENNESSEE

Which of the following best describes how you handled questions that required calculation?

	January Computer MCAT	August Paper MCAT
I usually solved the equation to a final number	19%	25%
I usually estimated and picked the closest answer	81%	75%

For each section of the exam, please tell us whether you think it would have been easier on computer, easier on paper, or about the same:

Section	Easier on computer	Easier on paper	About the same
Physical Sciences	26%	32%	43%
Verbal Reasoning	20%	52%	28%
Writing Sample	77%	7%	16%
Biological Sciences	33%	18%	50%

How much do you feel your performance on the MCAT this weekend was negatively impacted by anxiety?

Not at all	17%
Not too much	47%
Somewhat	27%
Very much	9%

Which section of your exam did you find MOST difficult?

Physical Sciences	44%
Verbal Reasoning	40%
Writing Sample	3%
Biological Sciences	13%

Note: multiple respondents reported a glitch during the Verbal section, in which questions did not match the passage with which they were paired.

Bookmark this link! Stay tuned as we’ll be posting Instant Analysis from today’s first-ever administration of the new computer MCAT format.

Today is the first official administration of the new MCAT, and we’ll be blogging here today and Monday as we learn more about the big debut.

If you’re testing today or Monday, good luck from all of us on the MCAT Team at Kaplan!

MCAT Tactics: Taking the Exam In/Out of Order

On the Physical Sciences section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	58%
In a different order	42%

---

On the Verbal Reasoning section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	67%
In a different order	33%

---

On the Biological Sciences section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	52%
In a different order	48%

---

When did you do the Discrete (no passage) questions in your Physical and Biological sections?

At the beginning of the section	52%
All in the middle of the section	8%
All at the end of the section	0%
In the order they appeared	25%
In another order	13%

---

MCAT Tactics: Approaching Passages

On the Physical Sciences section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	51%
I read parts of the passage	25%
I skimmed the whole passage	23%
I went straight to the questions	1%

On the Verbal Reasoning section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	86%
I read parts of the passage	8%
I skimmed the whole passage	6%
I went straight to the questions	0%

On the Biological Sciences section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	56%
I read parts of the passage	25%
I skimmed the whole passage	19%
I went straight to the questions	1%

---

MCAT Tactics: Calculation

Which of the following best describes how you handles quesitons that required calculation?

I usually solved the equation to a final number	25%
I usually estimated and picked the closest answer	75%

Which section of your exam did you find MOST difficult?

Physical Sciences	32%
Verbal Reasoning	36%
Writing Sample	2%
Biological Sciences	31%

Some stories from Kaplan students in the prior April 2006 exam:

it was absolutely perfect. great table space, great proctors, perfect weather. everything was great.
MISSOURI–Saint Louis, Saint Louis C C - Forest Park

loved it, huge tables all to yourself, not too many people, good temp, no noise, nice proctors
WISCONSIN–Oshkosh, Univ of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

There were animals in the hall making a lot of noise during verbal reasoning because we were in the Animal Science Bldg. Also, we had very tiny desks, about 10×12 inches whereas other students had large tables.
NEBRASKA–Lincoln, Univ of Nebraska - Lincoln

I actually was assigned to Boston University Law School and the testing site would have been spectacular if our room was not taken by a law convention. Due to this the origination was totally messed up and the exam did not start till 10:00. We did not get out of the testing center until 7:00. If I did not take the Kaplan prep MCAT’s my energy would have been spent!!! But was ready to expect anything and Kaplan helped prepare me for any situation. As a result this confusion did not mess with my mental toughness or concentration.
MASSACHUSETTS–Boston, John Hancock Conference Center

It was freezing cold and the desks were the size of my hand!
ILLINOIS–Champaign, Univ of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

loved the room, a little cold but nice and spacious few real distractions
NEBRASKA–Omaha, Univ of Nebraska at Omaha

This is the worst place to test. The school band was playing, a different test was taking place and the proctor had to continuously leave the room to tell people to be quiet in the halls. It was very loud in there.
NEBRASKA–Omaha, Univ of Nebraska at Omaha

It’s a great site! Highly recommend it. Courteous staff, quiet environs, spacious rooms and comfortable seating.
TEXAS–Dallas, Bill J Priest Inst for Econ Dev

construction was occurring on the other side of the wall - drills, hammers, jackhammers, you name it
TEXAS–Austin, Univ of Texas at Austin

It was the Spring Festival weekend at Brown. Although they posted a number of signs around the testing site, there were noise problems. At one point, one of the proctors went outside to quiet a rock cocert that was going on nearby.
RHODE ISLAND–Providence, Brown University

the tables were wobbly and it smelled funny. Kind of like fish sticks
VIRGINIA–Lexington, Washington and Lee University

the chairs were very uncomfortable and the desks were way too small. The exam proctors had no idea what they were doing. All in all it was a very unpleasant experience
ILLINOIS–Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology

It was very nice! The proctors were efficient. There were no test abnormalities. Everything went according to plan.
MARYLAND–Rockville, Univ of Maryland System

We were RIGHT next to the metro rail, which although wasn’t annoying on it’s own, would set off a car alarm. The car alarm went of 5 TIMES during the Biological Sciences protion of the exam. It was RIDICULOUS!
FLORIDA–Miami, Miami Dade Coll - Wolfson Campus

COLD, then HOT, then COLD again. Cold was less distracting. Wear shorts, but bring snowpants. Other than that it was fantastic.
UTAH–Ogden, Weber State University

Excellent, but a weird painting of the people whom the building was named after freaked me out.
ILLINOIS–De Kalb, Northern Illinois University

the proctors did an excellent job. We had to use a computer lab and that was not the BEST place to seat for an exam of this nature
MISSOURI–Kirksville, Truman State University

It was well organized.
MICHIGAN–East Lansing, Michigan State University

How much do you feel your performance on the MCAT this weekend was negatively impacted by anxiety?

Not at all	16%
Not too much	38%
Somewhat	39%
Very much	8%

Did you study at all during your break time between sections this weekend?

Yes	66%
No	34%

We’re beginning to hear from East Coast test takers. Bookmark this site — we’ll be updating with more information all evening.

Some Test Day rituals from the previous exam date (April):

Starbucks: Triple Grande Extra Hot Non Fat Sugar Free Vanilla Latte

Blare the song “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky on the way to the testing site.

I went to yoga and went climbing the day before. I did this to relax and tire my body, so I could sleep the night before and so that I would be able to sit through the exam.

lucky boxers that i wear for all science tests this semester…always shower the morning of the test and listen to my ipod, usually the same songs

Wore the same outfit that I wore when I took a test and received a high score. Put up “dream catchers” in my room the night before the exam. Had a good luck note from my mom in my pocket.

I go to a pet store where they let you play with puppies- very relaxing the day before the test

Just everything that Kaplan suggested

I met with another examinee at 7am at Starbucks. We had coffee and went over flash cards for an hour before reporting to the test center. It really helped me wake up and get my mind going before sitting down to take the exam.

I played some Queen music (We will Rock You and We are the Champions)

I went to the testing room the night before the exam and sat in the seats. I got a feel for the room, to see if it was hot/cold, if the lighting was good/bad, etc.

Every Saturday for the past 5 weeks, I’ve packed the same lunch and snacks for the practice tests and the real tests. Helped to make the MCAT seem like “just another Saturday practice.”

snap my fingers 4 times

I watched a happy movie the night before. And for all my sit ups, time on the back/treadmill, etc, I did “37″ of whatever- my target score.

I listen to happy Disney songs before the exam

I had pizza on a pier, I drove by hospitals in order to get psyched up.

Bookmark this page! We’ll be sharing results here from our Instant Analysis Survey about today’s exam.

Did you study at all during your break time between sections this weekend?

Yes	68%
No	32%

MCAT Tactics: Taking the Exam In/Out of Order

On the Physical Sciences section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	61%
In a different order	39%

---

On the Verbal Reasoning section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	70%
In a different order	30%

---

On the Biological Sciences section this weekend, did you read the passages in the order they appeared in your test booklet?

I read the passages:

In the order they appeared	53%
In a different order	47%

---

When did you do the Discrete (no passage) questions in your Physical and Biological sections?

At the beginning of the section	49%
All in the middle of the section	6%
All at the end of the section	1%
In the order they appeared	31%
In another order	12%

---

MCAT Tactics: Approaching Passages

On the Physical Sciences section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	54%
I read parts of the passage	22%
I skimmed the whole passage	22%
I went straight to the questions	2%

On the Verbal Reasoning section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	86%
I read parts of the passage	6%
I skimmed the whole passage	8%
I went straight to the questions	0%

On the Biological Sciences section this weekend, how did you approach each passage before attempting to answer the questions?

I read every word	53%
I read parts of the passage	24%
I skimmed the whole passage	22%
I went straight to the questions	1%

---

MCAT Tactics: Calculation

Which of the following best describes how you handles quesitons that required calculation?

I usually solved the equation to a final number	23%
I usually estimated and picked the closest answer	77%

Which section of your exam did you find MOST difficult?

Physical Sciences	24%
Verbal Reasoning	35%
Writing Sample	3%
Biological Sciences	38%