Strong candidate with low mcat score

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

xsxoxfx7

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
89
Reaction score
54
Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insight on my chances of getting accepted to a medical school and what tier of school.

I'm a 23 year old female, not from a disadvantaged background.
3.89 cumulative GPA, 3.92 science GPA
5000+ research hours at major research institutions (multiple harvard teaching hospitals and columbia teaching hospital)
I have one paper publication (third author) and multiple poster/abstract publications.
3000+ clinical hours, working with diverse populations... psychiatric, homeless, inmates.
I have been a TA for multiple courses

I volunteer 6 hours a week in addition to working 45 hours a week. I took my premed courses through a well-known postbac program while being involved with research on the side. And I graduated from a tier 1 university for undergrad.

I'm scheduled to take the MCAT in 10 days and I haven't been doing well on the practice tests. I expect I'll score around the 70th percentile, but I'm somewhat unsure since there isn't much to go off of.

All things considered, with a mediocre MCAT score, what are my prospects for medical schools? What schools would be realistic for me?

Thank you

Members don't see this ad.
 
70% percentile will kill your chances for MD schools, but still OK for DO.

Do NOT take this exam if you aren't ready.


Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insight on my chances of getting accepted to a medical school and what tier of school.

I'm a 23 year old female, not from a disadvantaged background.
3.89 cumulative GPA, 3.92 science GPA
5000+ research hours at major research institutions (multiple harvard teaching hospitals and columbia teaching hospital)
I have one paper publication (third author) and multiple poster/abstract publications.
3000+ clinical hours, working with diverse populations... psychiatric, homeless, inmates.
I have been a TA for multiple courses

I volunteer 6 hours a week in addition to working 45 hours a week. I took my premed courses through a well-known postbac program while being involved with research on the side. And I graduated from a tier 1 university for undergrad.

I'm scheduled to take the MCAT in 10 days and I haven't been doing well on the practice tests. I expect I'll score around the 70th percentile, but I'm somewhat unsure since there isn't much to go off of.

All things considered, with a mediocre MCAT score, what are my prospects for medical schools? What schools would be realistic for me?

Thank you
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
the trick is no one is a strong candidate without the right mcat......get your assesment exams in the right range before you take the real thing
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Appreciate the advice. I figure if I don't take it now, I'll have to wait another year, which will give me plenty of time to improve my score.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf
According to this, 61.2% of applicants with a GPA above 3.8 and an MCAT score between 27 and 29 are accepted to a medical school.

Based on this, I assumed that it would not kill my chances completely. Does this seem logical?
 
Well, take the MCAT and see how you do.

I have to say that you have the wrong mentality going into the test. Firstly, you think you aren't going to do very well. That's an awful thing to thing before taking a huge test like the MCAT. But, perhaps just as fatal, is that you're going in thinking you can retake it. Sure, you'll always be able to retake it; there will always be the opportunity to redo it if you mess up. Thinking like this will keep you from doing your best. Good luck...try to improve your mentality a bit.
 
My advice - from personal experience - is NOT to take the MCAT until you are ready. Why would you apply at anything less then your best? You might not want to wait a year to apply, but if you take the MCAT and end up waiting a year anyway, and you'll be worse off.

Take it once, and only when you are as ready as you can be.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to spend the next ten days studying as much as I can, 5+ hours/day on weekdays, 9+ hours on Saturday and Sunday. I'll see where I'm at next week and consult with my premed advisor. For personal reasons, I don't want to wait another year. I tend to test better than I expect so hopefully I'll manage to get my score up -- I'm also basing my scores off of the old percentiles which is most likely not an accurate representation.
 
Honestly, don't take it if you're not consistently scoring 80%+. Maybe you'll have success with a lower MCAT, but the road will undoubtedly be tougher.
 
Since there are no official percentiles to go off of, its hard to know what would count as a 75th v. 80th percentile. I assume that the percentiles will be different this year, since it is a new test so no one really knows what to expect/what to prepare for.
 
Appreciate the advice. I figure if I don't take it now, I'll have to wait another year, which will give me plenty of time to improve my score.

https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/factstable25-4.pdf
According to this, 61.2% of applicants with a GPA above 3.8 and an MCAT score between 27 and 29 are accepted to a medical school.

Based on this, I assumed that it would not kill my chances completely. Does this seem logical?

If you don't mind me asking... why such a hurry? you have a chance at getting into low MD schools with a 29 MCAT. Why not wait a year and have a chance at top MD schools?
You have obviously worked very hard to get where you are now... why throw all that away by being impatient?
 
I'm not sure I have a good reason for not wanting to wait. I think partially, the classes are fresh in my head right now. I completed all of the coursework in the past 2 years. I received A's in all of my coursework. I started reviewing material January through March. For the past month I have been studying nonstop as well. I scored decently high on the ACT considering I didn't study (92nd percentile overall) during high school but I know that the MCAT is a different demographic of students. I don't necessarily think that my score is going to increase substantially if I wait another year. I'm not a great test taker and I don't think that will change. In addition, I have an older parents, one with many chronic conditions. This is concerning to me and I feel that it would be better for me to move away while I still have other siblings in the area who can assist with anything if necessary. I feel that the earlier I get my life together, the earlier I can be more supportive.
 
I'm not sure I have a good reason for not wanting to wait. I think partially, the classes are fresh in my head right now. I completed all of the coursework in the past 2 years. I received A's in all of my coursework. I started reviewing material January through March. For the past month I have been studying nonstop as well. I scored decently high on the ACT considering I didn't study (92nd percentile overall) during high school but I know that the MCAT is a different demographic of students. I don't necessarily think that my score is going to increase substantially if I wait another year. I'm not a great test taker and I don't think that will change. In addition, I have an older parents, one with many chronic conditions. This is concerning to me and I feel that it would be better for me to move away while I still have other siblings in the area who can assist with anything if necessary. I feel that the earlier I get my life together, the earlier I can be more supportive.

If you are content going the DO route this is a perfectly fine course of action. You have valid reasons for applying now.

If you are insistent on getting into an MD school this is a poor choice. First off your practice tests are in the 70th percentile. Many people score worse on the real MCAT compared to the practice tests. So it is very possible if you take the test now you won't even hit the 70th percentile which just won't cut it for MD schools in all likelyhood. If you want to go to an MD school you have to be willing to put in the effort and time to trying to increase your MCAT score to MD standards. Saying "I don't think it'll improve anymore" isn't good enough if your goal is MD. Will it improve if you wait a year? There are no guarantees. But you have to be willing to make the commitment, make sacrifices, put in the massive time commitment needed and live with the consequences for better or worse.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
The problem is that there aren't any scores to compare mine to. I have seen another SDN forum where people have posted their practice aamc mcat scores, and my scores were higher than the majority of those who posted. I realize this data is somewhat skewed, since people who scored very high probably aren't searching online about percentiles. I am getting approximately 75% of the questions correct. I have no idea how this actually correlates so it is very hard to say.
 
Raw score of 75% of the questions correct is pretty good; 75%ile is not so good. Hard to say how that'll translate of course, but 75% of the questions correct would be like ~31-33 level on the old MCAT.
 
That's encouraging. I have been getting between 70 and 75% on practice tests but I'm seeing my where I'm making mistakes and think I can probably increase to between 75 and 80% correct. I was basing my rough percentiles off of aamc practice mcat cbt raw scores I found online.
 
Raw score of 75% of the questions correct is pretty good; 75%ile is not so good. Hard to say how that'll translate of course, but 75% of the questions correct would be like ~31-33 level on the old MCAT.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf

75th percentile is a 29 not 31-33. 70th percentile is 28-29. If OP is getting 70th percentile many times people get lower than their practice tests. If the goal is MD taking the test now is a poor decision
 
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/361080/data/combined13.pdf.pdf

75th percentile is a 29 not 31-33. 70th percentile is 28-29. If OP is getting 70th percentile many times people get lower than their practice tests. If the goal is MD taking the test now is a poor decision

75% of questions correct is the raw score, not percentile. That would be like a 31 at least on the old exam if I remember correctly.

I agree 75th percentile isn't that great - that was the whole point.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
OP this is all hypothetical until you get your real score. But like many have said don't take the test until you are ready and scoring consistently at your target on pretests. None of us can predict your chances or what tier of school until you have your score. So when that happens come back and let us know. But again don't rush things. Hopefully you aren't planning to apply this year. You only want to apply once with the best possible application. In your case it seems to rest on the MCAT to determine if you'll have a good shot at an interview. If you read these threads you'll find out quickly that absolutely nothing is guaranteed in the application process.
 
75% of questions correct is the raw score, not percentile. That would be like a 31 at least on the old exam if I remember correctly.

I agree 75th percentile isn't that great - that was the whole point.

This is the wrong way to interpret things

There is no way at all of knowing what raw scores concert to. AAMC practice tests are clearly MUCH different than the real thing. Raw score conversions are impossible to predict and are based off percentile rank which is all that matters. Hell raw score conversions vary from MCAT perhaps even significantly(again we don't know what raw score converts to only for AAMC which is only somewhat comparable in style of questions nothing else)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
This is the wrong way to interpret things

There is no way at all of knowing what raw scores concert to. AAMC practice tests are clearly MUCH different than the real thing. Raw score conversions are impossible to predict and are based off percentile rank which is all that matters. Hell raw score conversions vary from MCAT perhaps even significantly(again we don't know what raw score converts to only for AAMC which is only somewhat comparable in style of questions nothing else)

Generally speaking, the raw scores (for the old MCAT) were fairly predictive - I took all the AAMC practice exams and that was what I noticed. These practice tests also matched very closely to my final MCAT.

For the new one, I can't really say. Main point is there is a difference between raw score of 75% and percentile of 75% - so if OP is going off percentile then their MCAT is weak, if they are reporting their raw practice score then we can't really say.
 
Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insight on my chances of getting accepted to a medical school and what tier of school.

I'm a 23 year old female, not from a disadvantaged background.
3.89 cumulative GPA, 3.92 science GPA
5000+ research hours at major research institutions (multiple harvard teaching hospitals and columbia teaching hospital)
I have one paper publication (third author) and multiple poster/abstract publications.
3000+ clinical hours, working with diverse populations... psychiatric, homeless, inmates.
I have been a TA for multiple courses

I volunteer 6 hours a week in addition to working 45 hours a week. I took my premed courses through a well-known postbac program while being involved with research on the side. And I graduated from a tier 1 university for undergrad.

I'm scheduled to take the MCAT in 10 days and I haven't been doing well on the practice tests. I expect I'll score around the 70th percentile, but I'm somewhat unsure since there isn't much to go off of.

All things considered, with a mediocre MCAT score, what are my prospects for medical schools? What schools would be realistic for me?

Thank you

I've been hearing that 500 is the new 30.
That being said, if you can't show that you can test well on a standardized exam, you will significantly lower your chances of getting in...unless you're from a disadvantaged background maybe.
Schools want to know you'll be able to test well through your boards and MCATs are pretty much the only way they can assess that during the application process.
 
Hi all, I'm wondering if anyone can offer some insight on my chances of getting accepted to a medical school and what tier of school.

I'm a 23 year old female, not from a disadvantaged background.
3.89 cumulative GPA, 3.92 science GPA
5000+ research hours at major research institutions (multiple harvard teaching hospitals and columbia teaching hospital)
I have one paper publication (third author) and multiple poster/abstract publications.
3000+ clinical hours, working with diverse populations... psychiatric, homeless, inmates.
I have been a TA for multiple courses

I volunteer 6 hours a week in addition to working 45 hours a week. I took my premed courses through a well-known postbac program while being involved with research on the side. And I graduated from a tier 1 university for undergrad.

I'm scheduled to take the MCAT in 10 days and I haven't been doing well on the practice tests. I expect I'll score around the 70th percentile, but I'm somewhat unsure since there isn't much to go off of.

All things considered, with a mediocre MCAT score, what are my prospects for medical schools? What schools would be realistic for me?

Thank you
Taking the MCAT now is a really bad ideas, you are going to severely limit your options. Please don't be stubborn and push ahead anyway
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I don't get it…why shouldn't OP try to take the MCAT and see how she does? I mean, she can always take the year off if she does bad and retake right? Why would taking it now be a death sentence??
 
I don't get it…why shouldn't OP try to take the MCAT and see how she does? I mean, she can always take the year off if she does bad and retake right? Why would taking it now be a death sentence??
A weak MCAT never goes away.
It sits there in the center of the application like a blight.
The AAMC recommends averaging scores.
Even schools that say they don't average scores have evaluators that do.
There is nothing better than a single strong score
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
I don't get it…why shouldn't OP try to take the MCAT and see how she does? I mean, she can always take the year off if she does bad and retake right? Why would taking it now be a death sentence??
Because schools don't take students based on how they will do on their third step1 attempt.....they want sure first try success
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Yes, clearly my deciding to take the MCAT when I was scheduled to, and sending my "pitiful" 80th percentile MCAT along with my applications was poor decision making. It was so poor that 6 schools (ranked in 40s, 50s, and one in the 80s) offered me interviews. Sdn needs like a great place to come for negativity.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Yes, clearly my deciding to take the MCAT when I was scheduled to, and sending my "pitiful" 80th percentile MCAT along with my applications was poor decision making. It was so poor that 6 schools (ranked in 40s, 50s, and one in the 80s) offered me interviews. Sdn needs like a great place to come for negativity.

Amen.
 
I've been hearing that 500 is the new 30.
500 is roughly the median or 50th percentile. That's closer to a 25 on the old exam, not 30. ~507-508 is the "new 30," coming in around the 80th percentile.
 
Yes, clearly my deciding to take the MCAT when I was scheduled to, and sending my "pitiful" 80th percentile MCAT along with my applications was poor decision making. It was so poor that 6 schools (ranked in 40s, 50s, and one in the 80s) offered me interviews. Sdn needs like a great place to come for negativity.

Pot, meet kettle.
 
Top