MCAT with SAT/ACT

[LuckMC11]

hey, i just wanted to know if the MCAT was more like the SAT or more like the ACT...does it ask trick questions like the SAT or is more straightforward like the ACT?

the only reason i ask is cuz im considerin combined programs and my ACT score is like sooo much higher than my SAT score right now, and the only reason im thinkin of the combined programs is cuz i dont think i would do well on the MCAT according to my sat score, but might do well on the MCAT according to my ACT score.

any help? thanks

[ChubbyChaser]

Umm try neither, think of the MCAT of a thinking like test like both the ACT and SAT, but not on common knowledge stuff, but on everything you learned your first 2 or 3 years of college. Know your stuff as well when you take the MCAT as you did in the final exam

OVerall i dont think theres much correelation

[LuckMC11]

o really? no like "tricks" or anything dumb like that? i can do tests on stuff ive learned..just not the sat lol

[ChubbyChaser]

Yeah, just cause you didnt ace the SAT doesnt mean you cant do well on the MCAT, personally i know a guy who got an 1180 who got a 37, but me i scored a 1480, and am only averaging 33-34ish. So dont be scared of the mcat just because of a subpar sat

[LuckMC11]

o really? wow alrighty, thanks!

[xrevision]

There are a lot of things on the MCAT you will have never seen before. Especially with some of the experiment passages. So while it does test what you already know, you also have to be able to think and reason to most of the answers. Only about 10-15 of the questions are going to be straightforward. You're just going to have to take some practice tests to see.

[LuckMC11]

k thx again

[RPedigo]

Originally Posted by amwatts0322

Yeah, just cause you didnt ace the SAT doesnt mean you cant do well on the MCAT, personally i know a guy who got an 1180 who got a 37, but me i scored a 1480, and am only averaging 33-34ish. So dont be scared of the mcat just because of a subpar sat

1280 SAT [out of 1600], 39T MCAT. There's really not that much of a correlation-- they are two different types of tests. Also, many people take the SAT without any practice, whereas most people pour their heart and soul into the MCAT. Don't worry, and good luck!

[chad5871]

Originally Posted by RPedigo

1280 SAT [out of 1600], 39T MCAT. There's really not that much of a correlation-- they are two different types of tests. Also, many people take the SAT without any practice, whereas most people pour their heart and soul into the MCAT. Don't worry, and good luck!

Yeah, I got a 1330 and I can promise you that I did not get a 39 on the MCAT. There's not too much of a correlation - I posted a poll a while ago about this. Additionally, I studied for one day for my SAT.

[littlealex]

There is a correlation, just a really weak one. Most people I know with 1500+ SATs got 35+ MCATs.

[axp107]

People with very high SAT scores will tend to get high MCAT scores.. although it's less likely for them to score low
Test taking skills can help no matter what..

BUT

people with low SAT scores CAN still score as high

make sense?

[Ookluh]

Very different from either test, in my opinion (I took both and, like you, did much better on the ACT than the SAT). I don't really recall the SAT having trick questions, but I suppose a lot has changed about the SAT in the past six years.

[RPedigo]

Originally Posted by littlealex

There is a correlation, just a really weak one. Most people I know with 1500+ SATs got 35+ MCATs.

If you want to know the actual correlation, maybe someone could convince WashU to calculate it, since they ask for it in their secondary application.

[majik1213]

umm try neither .. totally different exam .. i got a 1450 on SAT and a 29T on MCAT .. like I said .. totally different.

[Lacipart]

The MCAT is more like a final exam for a science class.

[LuckMC11]

oo k good

but then how come its hard to get like above a 40 on it?

[chad5871]

Originally Posted by LuckMC11

oo k good

but then how come its hard to get like above a 40 on it?

Well once you get up in the stratosphere with your scores (14 or 15 in a section), it's basically all luck...

[RPedigo]

Originally Posted by LuckMC11

oo k good

but then how come its hard to get like above a 40 on it?

Because getting a 1600 on the old SAT is probably as hard as getting a 30 on the MCAT.

[scgamer2000]

Originally Posted by LuckMC11

oo k good

but then how come its hard to get like above a 40 on it?

It's because it's a norm-referenced test, so only a certain percentage will receive a a 40 or above (it's less than 1 percent). Consider say, a test with 10000 questions. The average number of questions correct could be 9000 (90% success!), the lowest score 8700 and the maximum score 9300. On a norm-referenced test, that person with 87% correct will be in the 0th percentile (not quite 0 since he himself got the score, but you get the idea), despite an 87% being a rather solid grade by any objective standard.

The difference between the MCAT and a final exam is the final exam is usually criterion-referenced. In other words, if everybody gets 95% of the questions correct, everybody will get an A.

[postbaccer2006]

Well I think in the end test-taking skills do have a lot to do with it. I got a 1580 SAT and a 39 on the MCAT. But I don't think I'm necessarily smarter than people with lower scores.

[LuckMC11]

oo i get it now

[mindquick]

i found the reading comprehension on the SATs very similar to MCAT verbal, although a couple people i knew who got perfect 800s on the SAT verbal only got 11s on MCAT verbal. MCAT verbal is harder, but the questions are pretty similar.

[LuckMC11]

Originally Posted by mindquick

i found the reading comprehension on the SATs very similar to MCAT verbal, although a couple people i knew who got perfect 800s on the SAT verbal only got 11s on MCAT verbal. MCAT verbal is harder, but the questions are pretty similar.

k thanks again