What is the MCAT equivalent of a 2200 SAT?

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BeastfromthEast

BeastfromthEast

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just wondering, because usually a 2200 and up on the SAT is considered to be a really good score, good enough for top schools.
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From the perspective of percentiles, 2200 on the SAT is 99th percentile. 99th percentile on the MCAT is 39-45. Average MCAT for applicants is around 26, average for matriculants is around 31. A 35 is 95th percentile and is usually considered to be a very good score.

Of course, doing well on the SAT doesn't necessarily mean that you will do well on the MCAT. You face different competition. The average MCAT test taker has scored well on the SAT - at least well enough to enter a 4 year college. A good MCAT score also requires solid knowledge of the sciences; without studying for the MCAT, most people with good SAT scores will not score well on the MCAT.
 
Keep in mind the caliber of the people taking each test. Almost everyone in high school takes the SAT, whereas the people taking the MCAT are only the ones who made it to a 4-year school and who deem themselves as having a chance of getting into med school. That being said, being in the n-th percentile on the SAT does not equal the n-th percentile on the MCAT. I'm not sure my point is really making sense, but say you were valedictorian of your HS class, and you go off to a college where all of your classmates were also valedictorian at their HS... obviously not everyone can still be at the top of the class so your old "ranking" no longer matters since your sample is from a completely different pool...

For what it is worth, I scored a 1540 out of 1600 when I took my SAT and my MCAT score was nowhere near as good percentile-wise!
 
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BeastfromthEast said:
just wondering, because usually a 2200 and up on the SAT is considered to be a really good score, good enough for top schools.
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They're two entirely different exams content wise, so "comparisons" are null here.

Perhaps you are asking about test-taking abilities and how that correlates to taking the MCAT? I think the MCAT is a two-layered exam: it's concerned with your science knowledge and your ability to be tested on it on the spot in standard form. Your SAT score says to me that you are good at taking standardized exams, which might mean you have to focus less on learning how to take the exam and more on the actual information.

Regardless you won't know how you fair until you take a practice exam and take the courses!
 
ok thanks! i also got a 1540 out of 1600. out of 2400, i got a 2240.
 
Really guys, really?:eyebrow:

THERE IS no equivalent because they only way they are related is in the fact that they are both tests.

Comparing how well you did on the SAT to the MCAT would be no different then comparing an ASVAB or Drivers licence test result to the MCAT.


:troll:
 
No correlation whatsoever between the two. If it makes you feel better thinking your 2200 SAT will give you a 40 MCAT then go ahead and get shocked. I'd love to be there to laugh at you when you suck it up.
 
A long time ago, I think the thread may have been from 2006 or so, there were self reported SAT and MCAT scores. The spread, although having a positive slope, was very, very spread out. No correlation.
 
Just to give you a guide - I got a 1560 on the old SAT (out of 1600) and a 35 on the MCAT.
 
shan564 said:
Just to give you a guide - I got a 1560 on the old SAT (out of 1600) and a 35 on the MCAT.
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How is this a guide? This is nothing more than stating two mostly unrelated variables and nothing should be taken from this.

OP, all you need to know is that success on the SAT does not indicate success on the MCAT. People that sucked in high school (and on SAT) have destroyed the MCAT and people that were high school all-stars (and on SAT) have tanked the MCAT. These are not rare cases, these are extremely common. College is a clean slate and don't expect your previous successes to carry you forward.
 
I disagree there being no correlation. If you score 99th percentile on the SAT chances are that you are somewhat "bright", or at least that you are good at taking standardized tests, which the mcat is.
Get into college, keep up the trend, do well on your requirements, study hard for it and most likely you will do well on the mcat...probably not 99th percentile, but at least 80th or so, which is about a 30-31 at a minimum....anything less than that and you probably did not work through college at your full potential.
This would be a harder thing to say to someone who scored 40th percentile on the SAT.
 
Wait and see, that is the summary of all possible discussion on this thread. Unless you are seriously considering not going pre-med because of a fear of the MCAT then you really gain nothing by attempting to predict your score years before you take it. One way or another, it will not affect what you get in the end.
 
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I scored low 1400's on the SAT (out of 1600) but I did much better on the MCAT, percentile wise. There is probably a correlation, but its strength depends on your internal consistency (motivation, ability, etc.).
 
Comparing how well you did on the SAT to the MCAT would be no different then comparing an ASVAB or Drivers licence test result to the MCAT.
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Agreed.
 
what do you think the average doctor made on their SAT?
 
Manbean2 said:
what do you think the average doctor made on their SAT?
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:rolleyes:

I didn't take the SAT, but I took the ACT and got a 27. Not a great score. Took the MCAT and got a 35. It's useless and meaningless to extrapolate scores on the MCAT with scores from the SAT or ACT.
 
addo said:
I disagree there being no correlation. If you score 99th percentile on the SAT chances are that you are somewhat "bright", or at least that you are good at taking standardized tests, which the mcat is.
Get into college, keep up the trend, do well on your requirements, study hard for it and most likely you will do well on the mcat...probably not 99th percentile, but at least 80th or so, which is about a 30-31 at a minimum....anything less than that and you probably did not work through college at your full potential.
This would be a harder thing to say to someone who scored 40th percentile on the SAT.
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Any correlation is so weak that it's useless to make predictions from. Sure, if you were in the 99th percentile you might be able to make that statement. But for the other 99% of the population, these correlations aren't useful.
 
Correlation is when you are able to take two sets of data and construct best-fit lines or other statistically accurate lines to predict the result of one from another. Asserting that someone scored X from SAT and Y from MCAT with X,Y being high scores is a poor judgment because there are too many variables to consider, including the types of tests, amount of materials, and changes that surround individuals at college.

If there was such a correlation, then all people who score well on SAT should remain pre-med and be admitted to medical schools based on high MCAT. This is certainly not true.
 
Narmerguy said:
Any correlation is so weak that it's useless to make predictions from. Sure, if you were in the 99th percentile you might be able to make that statement. But for the other 99% of the population, these correlations aren't useful.
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I am seeing a lot of false information on this thread. Please, people, do your research before you post. The correlation between MCAT scores and SAT & ACT scores has been shown to be moderately weak (around 0.2<r<0.3, depending on subsection). This is not insignificant, although it is fairly small. An SAT or ACT score alone isn't worth much; however, combined with GPA, both your SAT & ACT scores can give a decent picture of what you might want to shoot for on the MCAT and could be useful in terms of determining when you are ready to take it and/or when you should consider retaking.

That being said, the OP's question is answered quite clearly by the MCAT Estimator in the Med School Selection Spreadsheet (of course the results from this application are simply what one would expect as there are hundreds of other factors that play into your MCAT and/or ACT/SAT scores and/or GPA.) The application addresses the concerns previous posters have had (incl. population differences) using known research comparing the populations taking the two exams (e.g., there is a 1 SD difference, meaning the 50th percentile of MCAT test takers is the 84th percentile of SAT/ACT test takers). The answer, in case anyone is curious, is, assuming equal Verbal and Math subscores (of 730), that a 2200 (converts to 1460/1600) is equivalent to a 33 (11/11/11) MCAT score. This is a great score, but it is by no means extraordinary.
 
Silverfalcon said:
Correlation is when you are able to take two sets of data and construct best-fit lines or other statistically accurate lines to predict the result of one from another. Asserting that someone scored X from SAT and Y from MCAT with X,Y being high scores is a poor judgment because there are too many variables to consider, including the types of tests, amount of materials, and changes that surround individuals at college.

If there was such a correlation, then all people who score well on SAT should remain pre-med and be admitted to medical schools based on high MCAT. This is certainly not true.
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Your description of correlation, while somewhat accurate, is used to assert a false conclusion.
 
We can spout statistics all day long, but a correlation lower than 0.3 is really pretty useless whether it's statistically significant or not. It's well within the "duh" range of predictive power. Oh, people who kill the SAT are slightly more likely to do well on the MCAT? That's a stunner. Like everyone else has already said, there's too much at play for the comparison to be of any use at all.
 
MilkmanAl said:
We can spout statistics all day long, but a correlation lower than 0.3 is really pretty useless whether it's statistically significant or not. It's well within the "duh" range of predictive power. Oh, people who kill the SAT are slightly more likely to do well on the MCAT? That's a stunner. Like everyone else has already said, there's too much at play for the comparison to be of any use at all.
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I'd agree except that using more than one measure should give some idea of just how much noise is there and, if they are consistent, a valuable idea as to how you might do. The correlations actually range from 0.30-0.53 for ACT and are 0.37 and 0.55 for math and verbal of the SAT to MCAT respectively. UG GPA is 0.5-0.7, as is GRE. I actually followed my own advice and looked at the code for this post whereas I was going from memory before because I was using the published spreadsheet to find the values earlier (which does not display the actual values). With correlations of around 0.5, we're actually looking at about a 25% overlap in scores (between ACT/SAT and MCAT). Considering just how many factors are involved and that the MCAT's test-retest reliability is 0.92 (85% consistency in scores between tests), correlations around 0.5 when averaging in data that is 4+ yrs old by the time one takes the MCAT aren't really too terribly shabby. OTOH, they obviously aren't going to give anything even remotely close to a perfect prediction either. We already know there is 15% noise to begin with and the GRE has a 40% overlap (as does GPA), so 15% is quite possibly noise (i.e., changes in the environment, test taker's mood, etc.). That leaves 45% unaccounted for. That's huge but it still means we know something about the likelihood of a good score. I would guess much of that other 45% is due to such things as preparation and knowledge base.
 
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SU1989 said:
I think there is a correlation between SAT's and MCAT's verbal sections. Feel free to flame me, but I scored a 720 in SAT Reading (99th percentile) and a 12 in my first diagnostic for MCAT without any preparation. It was probably a fluke, but considering that most people find it hard to improve their scores on the verbal section even after vigorous prep, I believe that your SAT reading score is a good indicator of how well you'll do in MCAT's verbal.
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MCAT & SAT verbal have a correlation of r=0.55. Verbal is typically the highest scorer in terms of reliability.
 
SU1989 said:
I think there is a correlation between SAT's and MCAT's verbal sections. Feel free to flame me, but I scored a 720 in SAT Reading (99th percentile) and a 12 in my first diagnostic for MCAT without any preparation. It was probably a fluke, but considering that most people find it hard to improve their scores on the verbal section even after vigorous prep, I believe that your SAT reading score is a good indicator of how well you'll do in MCAT's verbal.
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While there may be some correlation, the SAT verbal isn't really indicative of a low/high MCAT v. From my experience with the SAT, it is more in depth and includes a vocabulary section which can drastically bring ones score down. However, the MCAT verbal (I've taken a few peterson passages and GS) is more straightforward and only has 4 answer choices, but the curve is BRUTAL which makes it difficult to score high on MCAT verbal and leads to some correlation between SAT and MCAT.
 
Anyone remember the good ol' days with the score was only up to 1600?
 
SU1989 said:
I think there is a correlation between SAT's and MCAT's verbal sections. Feel free to flame me, but I scored a 720 in SAT Reading (99th percentile) and a 12 in my first diagnostic for MCAT without any preparation. It was probably a fluke, but considering that most people find it hard to improve their scores on the verbal section even after vigorous prep, I believe that your SAT reading score is a good indicator of how well you'll do in MCAT's verbal.
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Just curious, but do you know of any papers to support this? I did horrible on my verbal SAT (670 on the second try) but managed to get a 12 on the MCAT verbal so take that with a grain of salt.

Like others have said we can quote what we got on the SAT and MCAT all day but that is not really saying much. They really are two entirely different tests. The SAT is nothing compared to the MCAT imo.

You can go by "percentile" comparison for accepted applicants but that isn't saying much.
 
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indianjatt said:
While there may be some correlation, the SAT verbal isn't really indicative of a low/high MCAT v. From my experience with the SAT, it is more in depth and includes a vocabulary section which can drastically bring ones score down. However, the MCAT verbal (I've taken a few peterson passages and GS) is more straightforward and only has 4 answer choices, but the curve is BRUTAL which makes it difficult to score high on MCAT verbal and leads to some correlation between SAT and MCAT.
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(sorry I admit I didn't read all of these before posting)

The curve is extremely brutal. I found the test to be extremely easy personally. However it's the scoring that will bring you down. If you miss 3 questions out of 40 you're probably already down to a 12. You have to be flawless on the verbal to do well.
 
Just curious, but do you know of any papers to support this? I did horrible on my verbal SAT (670 on the second try) but managed to get a 12 on the MCAT verbal so take that with a grain of salt.
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Mybubbles, I don't see how 670 is horrible. It is in the 97th percentile.

The reason why I think SAT's reading section would be a good indicator for MCAT's verbal is because in both sections reading habits play an important role when it comes to success. And changing one's reading habits is really, really hard. Both SAT and MCAT want you to read the texts in a specific way and if you can't do that, no matter how much you study, you'll end up doing poorly.
 
1370 or 1380 on the SAT (i don't remember), 30 on the ACT, and 36 on the MCAT. i would say there is no correlation. the only possible small correlation could be between the verbal section on the SAT (which i sucked at - 620 i think) and the verbal section on the MCAT (which i still kinda sucked at - 10). my writing score on the PSAT (790) and on the SAT II (800) seemed to have also made the jump into the MCAT (S). but the other scores? no correlation.
 
indianjatt said:
While there may be some correlation, the SAT verbal isn't really indicative of a low/high MCAT v. From my experience with the SAT, it is more in depth and includes a vocabulary section which can drastically bring ones score down. However, the MCAT verbal (I've taken a few peterson passages and GS) is more straightforward and only has 4 answer choices, but the curve is BRUTAL which makes it difficult to score high on MCAT verbal and leads to some correlation between SAT and MCAT.
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While it's true that the MCAT verbal is harder because of the curve, I don't think that's what really gets people. And the vocab section on the SAT is the easiest part, are you kidding? I think most MCAT takers would agree that they'd MUCH rather have vocab than what verbal really is. And more "in depth"? All the SAT has going for it is that there are a lot of different types of questions (reading comp, vocab, etc) which is supposed to help you, not hinder you (so even if you're not a reading comp master you can still do decently).

The real problem (in my opinion) is that when you're a science major, you train yourself to read a text and immediately absorb details. You look for relevant data (this is really pretty subconscious) and internalize it. Vocab is easy- you can learn it. Most pre-meds would probably be great at memorizing a couple hundred index cards. The verbal section on the MCAT on the other hand expects you to read a passage about something other than science and really understand it globally. What did the author REALLY mean? What was his view about the issue? Was he biased? Is there a statement that would weaken his argument or strengthen it? Knowing every word of the passage won't help- you have to really "get it". And most pre-meds just aren't used to that. I almost think you're more likely to do well on the MCAT verbal as a high school student, while you still are forced to take liberal arts classes, than as a pre-med, especially for those who are really far removed from the liberal arts and haven't read a non-science scholarly article or a book for fun in years.

For what it's worth, I did fine on the SAT verbal and very well on the MCAT verbal (99th percentile). I didn't crack open a Kaplan book. I just had a literature major in college, and I try to read a few novels every break that I get. It's not skill, or intelligence, or any instinctive mumbo-jumbo some people will say it is. It's just about practice.
 
Narmerguy said:
Any correlation is so weak that it's useless to make predictions from. Sure, if you were in the 99th percentile you might be able to make that statement. But for the other 99% of the population, these correlations aren't useful.
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I don't blame you guys for wanting to believe that there's a significant (let's say &#8805; 0.30) correlation between SAT scores and the MCAT, but keep in mind that:

- You are testing different populations. A HUGE group of maybe-college-bound high school kids is not the same thing as a largely self-selected group of maybe-medical-school bound kids.

- The test-taking / "intelligence" capabilities of those two groups are not equal.

- The tests cover considerably different subject matter. There is a correlation between the MCAT, especially the biological sciences portion, and scores on the USMLE Step 1 (see here if you're a source Nazi), but when you start talking about the SAT versus the MCAT, that's pretty different.

I quoted Narmerguy because that's exactly right -- sure, high scorers on the SAT probably fare marginally better prediction-wise when it comes to the MCAT just like people who score 92% on pharmacology exams might be predisposed towards high scores on British romantic literature exams, but beyond that, you'd be equally accurate if you said that it rained because you washed your car.
 
lol you guys can argue all you want, I know this fact: I will not have to take either of those ****ing tests again. And I am perfectly happy with that. Believe what you want, those of us who HAVE actually taken it say there's minimum correlation and those that HAVEN'T taken it says there is... who do you believe :rolleyes:?
 
ButImLETired said:
While it's true that the MCAT verbal is harder because of the curve, I don't think that's what really gets people. And the vocab section on the SAT is the easiest part, are you kidding? I think most MCAT takers would agree that they'd MUCH rather have vocab than what verbal really is. And more "in depth"? All the SAT has going for it is that there are a lot of different types of questions (reading comp, vocab, etc) which is supposed to help you, not hinder you (so even if you're not a reading comp master you can still do decently).

The real problem (in my opinion) is that when you're a science major, you train yourself to read a text and immediately absorb details. You look for relevant data (this is really pretty subconscious) and internalize it. Vocab is easy- you can learn it. Most pre-meds would probably be great at memorizing a couple hundred index cards. The verbal section on the MCAT on the other hand expects you to read a passage about something other than science and really understand it globally. What did the author REALLY mean? What was his view about the issue? Was he biased? Is there a statement that would weaken his argument or strengthen it? Knowing every word of the passage won't help- you have to really "get it". And most pre-meds just aren't used to that. I almost think you're more likely to do well on the MCAT verbal as a high school student, while you still are forced to take liberal arts classes, than as a pre-med, especially for those who are really far removed from the liberal arts and haven't read a non-science scholarly article or a book for fun in years.

For what it's worth, I did fine on the SAT verbal and very well on the MCAT verbal (99th percentile). I didn't crack open a Kaplan book. I just had a literature major in college, and I try to read a few novels every break that I get. It's not skill, or intelligence, or any instinctive mumbo-jumbo some people will say it is. It's just about practice.
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I guess I mainly talked from my perspective and my experiences. I apologize. For me, the verbal was hard because I didn't memorize any vocabulary words, but rather tried to use process of elimination with the words I did know. It didn't turn out well, but that was expected and caused a huge drop in my score. I like the MCAT passages better, haha. They're much more interesting than what the SAT throws out. When I meant more indepth for the SAT, I meant that the questions are more under the surface.

Going to do some more MCAT passages today. :p (Anyone else get mad when they miss 2 questions on a passage? I seem to usually get 1 wrong, but when I get 2 and look back I realize how I chose the wrong answer choice. >.< Even with 1 wrong, it's like a 10... and some passages could be HORRIBLE which can drop you even lower. :()
 
cum hoc ergo propter hoc

Statistical correlation does not imply causation between the two variables (SAT and MCAT). In this instance the correlation is quite poor, not surprising considering the numerous variables that cannot be controlled for in this example. As others have mentioned, the two assessments are quite different in their subject matter, normed populations, etc.

And yes MossPoh, I miss the 1600 scale.
 
shan564 said:
Just to give you a guide - I got a 1560 on the old SAT (out of 1600) and a 35 on the MCAT.
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Antithesis: I got a 1350 on the old SAT and a 37 on the MCAT. There is some correlation, but not enough to use the SAT as a predictor for MCAT score.
 
Myuu said:
Antithesis: I got a 1350 on the old SAT and a 37 on the MCAT. There is some correlation, but not enough to use the SAT as a predictor for MCAT score.
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*Bangs head against the wall*

You can't have a statistically significant correlation, let alone a clear causation, when using anecdotal data points. Statistics are only as good as the research methods and design behind them.
 
lol, I have a stats test tomorrow... you mind taking it for me therapist4change?
 
1400 => 34 => 265

it all depends on how hard you work and practice for each
 
strv04 said:
1400 => 34 => 265

it all depends on how hard you work and practice for each
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you're my hero, I'm hoping for something like that so badly...
1430 => 39 => ??? (2011)
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
*Bangs head against the wall*

You can't have a statistically significant correlation, let alone a clear causation, when using anecdotal data points. Statistics are only as good as the research methods and design behind them.
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No, no. I'm not saying that that justifies any correlation at all. It is, after all, anecdotal. I should have been more clear. While there is some evidence for slight correlation in published research _elsewhere_ (as I understand it), there is none in saying "oh, look, I got this score, so this must be true." So, you can't just say "oh, look, I got a 1550 and landed a 34, so plan accordingly."
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
*Bangs head against the wall*

You can't have a statistically significant correlation, let alone a clear causation, when using anecdotal data points. Statistics are only as good as the research methods and design behind them.
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Heres an anecdote for ya. I got a 24 on the ACT and a 36 on the MCAT.

In the words of the late great John Locke (the Lost character, not the philospher) "DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!!!!"

Everyone has the potential to score well or bad. Everyone earns their score; it is not based on past events (well, except for any science learning you may have already had, but I digress).
 
BioBA said:
Heres an anecdote for ya. I got a 24 on the ACT and a 36 on the MCAT.

In the words of the late great John Locke (the Lost character, not the philospher) "DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!!!!"

Everyone has the potential to score well or bad. Everyone earns their score; it is not based on past events (well, except for any science learning you may have already had, but I digress).
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haha. i love Lost!
 
Bacchus said:
A long time ago, I think the thread may have been from 2006 or so, there were self reported SAT and MCAT scores. The spread, although having a positive slope, was very, very spread out. No correlation.
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http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=48033

Unfortunately the scatter plots in that thread have all been lost due to age. The final r value was about .5 which is actually a moderate correlation. I had a pretty average SAT score and very high MCAT score. I wish my Step 1 score was the same percentile as my MCAT score :laugh:
 
BioBA said:
In the words of the late great John Locke (the Lost character, not the philospher) "DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!!!!"
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^win.


Also note: your maturity at 17 when you take your SAT is not the same as when you'll take your MCAT. You'll have to actually study for the MCAT, you'll have difficult classes begging for your attention, etc etc.

The two are unrelated.
 
I did not take the SAT, but the ACT would have been a poor predictor of MCAT score in my case. I scored a 29 on the ACT and a 37 on the MCAT. My attitude towards studying was completely different for the MCAT than it was in high school. Things change, for better or worse. This is why I think college entrance exams are a very poor indicator of your MCAT success.
 
In the case of most/all of these assessments, they came about at the right time and worked well enough to get the designation as the "gate keeper" for each area. From a stats perspective I wouldn't want to be reliant on one, but each meets a need to have some sort of measuring stick to evaluate applicants.

Maturity as a construct probably does play a role in test taking, though I'm guessing things like age/ability/development are the factors that really influence a person's performance. Either way, this has been one of the more interesting hSDN threads I've read.

ps. Kudos for the LOST reference, John Locke's voice went through my head when I read that. :laugh:
 
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