The Official August 16, 2013 MCAT Thread

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gettheleadout

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Welcome everyone! For those following the SN2ed or a similar 3-month study schedule, prep should begin in the next few weeks.

Hope to see some ambitious and optimistic people here with me, and shout out to the 3/23'ers from before I bailed on that test date.

Let's go!

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Gettheleadout, first I would like to congratulate you on your score. I have to ask you though, should I be disappointed in my 32? My goal has been and continues to be acceptance into Emory University.. from that standpoint, my 32 feels very average and I'm actually rather disappointed with it. 35 was my aim. What is your take on my situation?

Whoa dude, there's no way I can answer that. I'll come back to that in a second, first I can comment on your situation.

First, you said you expected a 34, what was your AAMC FL average and range? Second, you said your 32 is one point below Emory's mean right? That right there should tell you there is no way it will keep you down. If the mean is 33, and you have a 32, there's zero reason to expect that it won't be good enough. With half the class entering with 32 or less, imagine how many Emory med students are walking around having gotten in with your score?

You say your 32 feels very average. I understand where you're coming from, looking at the average score for Emory matriculants, but I feel like you shouldn't look at this from only one, possibly limited, perspective. 2012 data puts a 32 at 87.5th percentile. That's certainly not average. Emory is not your average medical school either, and hitting around the caliber of their average student (who, by the same status, is not the average medical student), is no small feat.

So what does that mean for you? I can say with some confidence that you will not be hurt in applying to Emory with a 32. If your score is good enough for your dream school, is it good enough for you?

Ultimately, your perspective on your score depends on your own expectations of yourself, and on what the score means in a practical sense. The MCAT isn't a measure of success as a physician; it doesn't represent how well you'll treat your patients, how you'll treat your colleagues, or how you'll serve your community. It is a step toward the end of being a physician. Your MCAT score not only lets you do that, but at 32 it gets you past that hurdle into your dream school! With regard to the first factor, your own expectations, I can sympathize that you were aiming for 35. While people might kill to be in my shoes as far as the MCAT goes, I hope no one thinks my success in this arena implies that I have never failed myself. Everyone, no matter how successful in any given regard, has to deal with coming to terms with their own limitations, and their own shortcomings (and everyone has them). You too must consider this in examining your own feelings about your performance.

I hope these thoughts can help you. Feel free to comment back as needed.
 
Whoa dude, there's no way I can answer that. I'll come back to that in a second, first I can comment on your situation.

First, you said you expected a 34, what was your AAMC FL average and range? Second, you said your 32 is one point below Emory's mean right? That right there should tell you there is no way it will keep you down. If the mean is 33, and you have a 32, there's zero reason to expect that it won't be good enough. With half the class entering with 32 or less, imagine how many Emory med students are walking around having gotten in with your score?

You say your 32 feels very average. I understand where you're coming from, looking at the average score for Emory matriculants, but I feel like you shouldn't look at this from only one, possibly limited, perspective. 2012 data puts a 32 at 87.5th percentile. That's certainly not average. Emory is not your average medical school either, and hitting around the caliber of their average student (who, by the same status, is not the average medical student), is no small feat.

So what does that mean for you? I can say with some confidence that you will not be hurt in applying to Emory with a 32. If your score is good enough for your dream school, is it good enough for you?

Ultimately, your perspective on your score depends on your own expectations of yourself, and on what the score means in a practical sense. The MCAT isn't a measure of success as a physician; it doesn't represent how well you'll treat your patients, how you'll treat your colleagues, or how you'll serve your community. It is a step toward the end of being a physician. Your MCAT score not only lets you do that, but at 32 it gets you past that hurdle into your dream school! With regard to the first factor, your own expectations, I can sympathize that you were aiming for 35. While people might kill to be in my shoes as far as the MCAT goes, I hope no one thinks my success in this arena implies that I have never failed myself. Everyone, no matter how successful in any given regard, has to deal with coming to terms with their own limitations, and their own shortcomings (and everyone has them). You too must consider this in examining your own feelings about your performance.

I hope these thoughts can help you. Feel free to comment back as needed.

I admired you before, but this post makes me admire you even more. Very humble, sage, inspiring, and reassuring advice. Thanks so much for taking the time to say those things.

Also, congrats upon congrats for your amazing score :thumbup: you're a great role model GTLO and I just want to commend you for all that you do for the SDN community. You deserved that score :)
 
super congrats on your MCAT score gettheleadout!

how long did you study for the MCAT? how many practice exams and passages did you take?

on average, how long did you study per day?

your 42 is putting my 35 to shame...and tempting me to consider a possible retake...
 
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I admired you before, but this post makes me admire you even more. Very humble, sage, inspiring, and reassuring advice. Thanks so much for taking the time to say those things.

Also, congrats upon congrats for your amazing score :thumbup: you're a great role model GTLO and I just want to commend you for all that you do for the SDN community. You deserved that score :)

Couldn't agree more. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I admired you before, but this post makes me admire you even more. Very humble, sage, inspiring, and reassuring advice. Thanks so much for taking the time to say those things.

Also, congrats upon congrats for your amazing score :thumbup: you're a great role model GTLO and I just want to commend you for all that you do for the SDN community. You deserved that score :)

Couldn't agree more. :thumbup::thumbup:
That means a lot guys, I really appreciate it. :)
super congrats on your MCAT score gettheleadout!

how long did you study for the MCAT? how many practice exams and passages did you take?

on average, how long did you study per day?

your 42 is putting my 35 to shame...and tempting me to consider a possible retake...
I studied for just over 100 days, I did all the AAMC FL's and Self-Assessments but no other practice tests, I have no idea how many passages I did in total haha. I might count that up actually, since I have my log book. I can say that I didn't complete all the TBR passages (though I did mostly follow SN2ed's schedule otherwise). I probably studied between 5-12 hours a day, with the high upper end being rare. An average day was probably 6 hours or so.

And nooooo, you can't look at it like that haha! Besides, you hit the jackpot on VR.
I appreciate your response, I realize I asked quite a loaded question. Your answer offered a different perspective.. I had the mindset "I know I could have done much better," your answer helped change my outlook regarding the score. Obviously, there is little or no need to retake as I had considered for a moment.
Glad I could help. :) Best of luck with Emory!
Thanks man! You too!! Obviously your success is quite inevitable too, haha.

Where do you think you'll apply?

Haha thanks! I don't have a complete school list yet, and I'm glad I have like 8 months until I need to have one finalized haha. Yale, UChicago, and Mayo are a few that interest me in particular (relevant factors there being the Yale System and class sizes, respectively). I think I'll try to make a list of school characteristics I would like (e.g. true P/F preclinicals) and then try to select schools from that. I anticipate applying to ≤20 schools, taking into consideration chances and cost.
 
Congrats! And I definitely agree with the bolded.

Congrats to others on their great scores! For those with not-so-great scores, don't stress out. Forget about the MCAT for some time and plan on retaking if you need to.

Thanks so much! And congratulations to everyone else who hit or surpassed their mark. Those who didn't I wish you the best of luck applying and/or on your next MCAT.
 
Congrats on the 39! What were the individual averages of your AAMC FL's vs Kaplan FL's? I'm wondering because a 39 from a ~32 average means you're either the luckiest person in the world, or your Kaplan FL's were dragging your average down haha.

Either way, nice. :)

Thanks! Congratulations on your score too, a 42 is absolutely amazing!

Haha, I'm leaning towards luckiest person in the world! I don't know how I pulled that off. The only difference between the real test day and my practice FL's was a full night's sleep and no studying the day prior, but I don't think those 2 variables alone account for such a large score increase. Luck almost certainly factored into my 39.

February, Free On-Campus Kaplan Diagnostic: 26 (don't remember individual sections)
February, AAMC FL 3: 24 (7/10/7)
July, AAMC FL 4: 33 (12/11/10)
July, AAMC FL 5: 30 (7/12/11)
August, AAMC FL 7: 29 (8/11/10) *bad testing environment (noisy people in library and interrupted by a friend halfway through PS)
August, AAMC FL 9: 35 (12/11/12)
August, AAMC FL 8: 30 (10/10/10) *bad testing environment (started late so was in huge rush, didn't take breaks, and library staff were closing up/trying to kick me out as I was finishing BS)
August, AAMC FL 11: 31 (11/10/10)
August, AAMC FL 10: 34 (11/11/12)

I didn't consider the 2 practice tests from February into my FL practice average since I took these with no preparation, I had not yet taken GenChem2, any Physics (high school or college), or any Organic, and it had been 1.5 years since my last bio class. So I feel that these two scores were irrelevant.

Besides the Kaplan Diagnostic I didn't take any Kaplan practice tests. I started to take a Kaplan FL about 1.5 weeks before the actual test date but the format was so different that it drove me crazy and I quit before finishing the first section. (I was also trying to take it at a public library with shoddy internet and screaming children, so that factored in to my decision to not finish).
I feel that the way material was tested on the Kaplan FL I started wasn't very representative of the AAMC material. I love their strategy (with the exception of verbal), but their testing format isn't exactly MCAT style. Regardless, I feel the Kaplan course was well worth the money.
 
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Dude you're so lucky.

No kidding. I'm considering driving to Vegas this weekend and putting it all on red.

But in all serious I keep checking the score to make sure that it's not some horrible mistake that they are going to catch and change.
 
Congrats! I'm a freshman and I really would like to have the same score as you. You sir, serve as inspiration.
Best of luck!
I blame GTLO for this :thumbup: :D
Haha NED!!!
Thanks! Congratulations on your score too, a 42 is absolutely amazing!

Haha, I'm leaning towards luckiest person in the world! I don't know how I pulled that off. The only difference between the real test day and my practice FL's was a full night's sleep and no studying the day prior, but I don't think those 2 variables alone account for such a large score increase. Luck almost certainly factored into my 39.

February, Free On-Campus Kaplan Diagnostic: 26 (don't remember individual sections)
February, AAMC FL 3: 24 (7/10/7)
July, AAMC FL 4: 33 (12/11/10)
July, AAMC FL 5: 30 (7/12/11)
August, AAMC FL 7: 29 (8/11/10) *bad testing environment (noisy people in library and interrupted by a friend halfway through PS)
August, AAMC FL 9: 35 (12/11/12)
August, AAMC FL 8: 30 (10/10/10) *bad testing environment (started late so was in huge rush, didn't take breaks, and library staff were closing up/trying to kick me out as I was finishing BS)
August, AAMC FL 11: 31 (11/10/10)
August, AAMC FL 10: 34 (11/11/12)

I didn't consider the 2 practice tests from February into my FL practice average since I took these with no preparation, I had not yet taken GenChem2, any Physics (high school or college), or any Organic, and it had been 1.5 years since my last bio class. So I feel that these two scores were irrelevant.

Besides the Kaplan Diagnostic I didn't take any Kaplan practice tests. I started to take a Kaplan FL about 1.5 weeks before the actual test date but the format was so different that it drove me crazy and I quit before finishing the first section. (I was also trying to take it at a public library with shoddy internet and screaming children, so that factored in to my decision to not finish).
I feel that the way material was tested on the Kaplan FL I started wasn't very representative of the AAMC material. I love their strategy (with the exception of verbal), but their testing format isn't exactly MCAT style. Regardless, I feel the Kaplan course was well worth the money.

Dude you're so lucky.

You can say that again haha, man... What's the PowerBall at again? ;)
 
Thanks! Congratulations on your score too, a 42 is absolutely amazing!

Haha, I'm leaning towards luckiest person in the world! I don't know how I pulled that off. The only difference between the real test day and my practice FL's was a full night's sleep and no studying the day prior, but I don't think those 2 variables alone account for such a large score increase. Luck almost certainly factored into my 39.

February, Free On-Campus Kaplan Diagnostic: 26 (don't remember individual sections)
February, AAMC FL 3: 24 (7/10/7)
July, AAMC FL 4: 33 (12/11/10)
July, AAMC FL 5: 30 (7/12/11)
August, AAMC FL 7: 29 (8/11/10) *bad testing environment (noisy people in library and interrupted by a friend halfway through PS)
August, AAMC FL 9: 35 (12/11/12)
August, AAMC FL 8: 30 (10/10/10) *bad testing environment (started late so was in huge rush, didn't take breaks, and library staff were closing up/trying to kick me out as I was finishing BS)
August, AAMC FL 11: 31 (11/10/10)
August, AAMC FL 10: 34 (11/11/12)

I didn't consider the 2 practice tests from February into my FL practice average since I took these with no preparation, I had not yet taken GenChem2, any Physics (high school or college), or any Organic, and it had been 1.5 years since my last bio class. So I feel that these two scores were irrelevant.

Besides the Kaplan Diagnostic I didn't take any Kaplan practice tests. I started to take a Kaplan FL about 1.5 weeks before the actual test date but the format was so different that it drove me crazy and I quit before finishing the first section. (I was also trying to take it at a public library with shoddy internet and screaming children, so that factored in to my decision to not finish).
I feel that the way material was tested on the Kaplan FL I started wasn't very representative of the AAMC material. I love their strategy (with the exception of verbal), but their testing format isn't exactly MCAT style. Regardless, I feel the Kaplan course was well worth the money.

Wow....congrats on murdering teh test far beyond your average!! How did you feel after you took the real thing? Did you think you made any careless errors/had any weak topics tested or were you just like "hello mcat. You look easy today I shall murder you b/c I am the ZebAkers."
 
So I got 10/7/10 and I am going to retake. I know I didn't spend enough time on the verbal and didn't really know how to study for it. I even feel I could have done better on PS and BS since I was averaging 12's, so a retake would be beneficial in more than one way.

Anyone have some tips on how to improve the verbal? I was planning on getting the EK 101 verbal passages book and a couple FL's each week during my month winter break.
Is this enough time to learn verbal better and just brush up on PS and BS?
 
AAMC FL Average: 40.75

AAMC FL Range: 39-42

ACTUAL MCAT SCORE: 14 PS / 13 VR / 15 BS - 42 overall

:soexcited:

Elated right now!

Congrats! It seemed like you were already off to a strong start when taking the MCAT....26 as a freshman?!

Would you say that you really tried to master the material when you took your prereqs or was the majority of your success due to those 100 days that you studied?

You're such an inspiration. =) You're going to be a huge success.
 
Wow....congrats on murdering teh test far beyond your average!! How did you feel after you took the real thing? Did you think you made any careless errors/had any weak topics tested or were you just like "hello mcat. You look easy today I shall murder you b/c I am the ZebAkers."

Thanks so much!! Haha I wish I had been that confident, probably would have saved a few grey hairs that came in over the last month!

Honestly, I felt absolutely awful after taking it! However I am a compulsive under estimator of personal test performance.

I started out the test as a nervous wreck, but after PS I was feeling pretty confident. Then I got to verbal and felt like I just couldn't get "in the zone", which wrecked the confidence I had gained in PS. BS had waaayyyyy too much Organic for my liking (had just struggled through Orgo1 in a month-long summer class and hadn't taken Organic 2 yet), and I felt like the Bio topics did not cater to my strengths. By the time the test was over I was convinced that I would be lucky to get a 30. However over the next few weeks, after my nerves had recovered, I reevaluated and gauged my performance around 31-32. I never imagined making over a 35.

I don't feel like I made any careless errors, but I do feel like 75% of the BS topics were weaknesses of mine.
 
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Did anyone else get completely slaughtered by PS? I didn't think i did that bad but when I got my score I had 11V 10BS and 7PS!!! and i averaged 10-11s on my practices. i thought it was a weird section when i was taking the test but i honestly wasn't expecting a 7. i figured i at least pulled a 10, worst case scenario 9. feeling the mcat blues since i get to take it again now.
 
I felt that the PS was pretty hard on this exam. It was a lot more physics heavy than I'd thought it'd be, which sucked for me because I'm definitely stronger in gchem. I was surprised that I got an 11 on PS -- I was expecting a 10 or worse. But then again BS was pretty hard for me too and I felt that it would be my worst section, but I ended up with a 12.
 
Congrats to you all with wonderful scores, especially gettheleadout with a monster 42. I took my exam on the 16th as well. I scored a 23 and the breakdown was 9/4/10. I thought the PS was alot of calculations and basically don't even remember the verbal section. My aamc fl avg was a 28 11/6/11. Clearly I need to improve verbal and need to practice more but I just don't know what strategy to use. Yes English is my secondary language. Everyone did so much better than me on here that I wasn't even going to post this because I feel pathetic compared to the score you all have. I really need help with verbal because I am retaking in January, so please advice me what materials to use and how to approach this section differently. I did make a new thread so anyone outside the August test date can reply as well. Thanks! http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1033579
 
Actual MCAT Score (PS/V/BS): 12/11/13 (Composite: 36)

Trial Section: 84% (Psych/socio)

Predicted MCAT Score: 30-32

MCAT Prep Materials (Content/Practice Materials and FLs):

When the summer began, I was set on following the SN2ed schedule. I even made my own calendar with all the assignments per day and printed it out. However, as I started the schedule I realized that I was constantly "behind schedule." There were some concepts that took longer for me to understand, and some chapters took the whole day to read (leaving me too tired to practice problems those days). After a few weeks of lagging behind, I decided to ditch the pre-made plan. For some reason, I disliked TBR's way of presenting content so I started replacing it with Chad's Videos and TPRH. This really helped me, because those resources often were more straightforward and concise compared to TBR, and thus speeded content review quite a bit.

Overall, for content review I had an MCAT binder with 5 sections (Bio, Gen Chem, Physics, Orgo, Verbal). I am a big fan of annotating and making detailed study guides, so as I went through each chapter or video I would take notes on looseleaf. Then, I would do 2 or 3 passages per chapter before I called it for the day. To be honest, I felt SN2's 1/3rd passages strategy was way too much to handle in one sitting. I also found that hard TBR passages demoralized me to the extent that I started losing motivation to complete the passages. Thus, I started mixing in TPRH practice passages which were much more realistic in terms of difficulty.

AAMC and Other FL Averages: I only did AAMC full lengths (all of them), with an average around 34.

Comments/Feelings/Tips:

I felt like I bombed each section of the test. For Physical Sciences, I felt that it was more convoluted and time-intensive than any of the FL sections. Verbal seemed really fair, but for some reason my brain literally froze towards the last two passages and I felt I was just reading words without being able to understand them. Bio had some random topics (especially the Orgo passages), with some out-of-the-blue questions. Overall, I didn't feel like the questions were overly difficult, but I did feel like common topics had been twisted up to make them seem novel and unfamiliar. Because of this, I did not feel confident at all coming out. But looking back, I think that's what makes the MCAT so challenging...it really tests the ability to think critically about concepts that you have seen but may not be able to recognize in different scenarios. Content review is not what gets you a good score....it's practicing how to approach passages with these twisted ways of describing basic science. But to be honest, I don't feel TBR helped me as much as it helped others because it was difficult in the sense that it often presented advanced topics that require advanced understanding of the science (something the MCAT is not testing). The best thing to do is to take ALL of the AAMC Practice tests...the sheer amount of practice will help you get used to the true MCAT style of passages and questions!
 
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Congrats! It seemed like you were already off to a strong start when taking the MCAT....26 as a freshman?!

Would you say that you really tried to master the material when you took your prereqs or was the majority of your success due to those 100 days that you studied?

You're such an inspiration. =) You're going to be a huge success.
Thank you! Haha yeah, the 26 was about a month into college; I had taken AP Physics B in high school, but no other related AP classes and didn't prep. I took the free test given on campus by Kaplan just to get acquainted with the format. I was pretty surprised that I got that high, but it definitely built up my confidence and expectations for my eventual prep later on.
Wow. Huge congrats to you!

What a legend.

Much obliged. :)
 
Thank you! Haha yeah, the 26 was about a month into college; I had taken AP Physics B in high school, but no other related AP classes and didn't prep. I took the free test given on campus by Kaplan just to get acquainted with the format. I was pretty surprised that I got that high, but it definitely built up my confidence and expectations for my eventual prep later on.

d00d quit making me feel bad 'cause I got a 35 on a Kaplan campus test in February absolutely cold and only made +1 improvement 6 months later (granted studying was only like 7-8 weeks).............................. :mad::mad::mad:
 
Sounds like there are some great scores out there!

9/12/10 for a 31. Wish I had gotten 1 more point in everything, but just about everyone does haha. PS was physics heavy, which sunk me there, not sure what happened in BS.

Any threads with advice on where to apply?
 
Sounds like there are some great scores out there!

9/12/10 for a 31. Wish I had gotten 1 more point in everything, but just about everyone does haha. PS was physics heavy, which sunk me there, not sure what happened in BS.

Any threads with advice on where to apply?

Yeah, tons. Use search.
 
Whatsup everyone, I was following this post for a while and thought I'd join and and contribute by sharing my experience for anyone interested.

I started studying in early June, using TPR's summer program. I studied about 7 hours a day, 6 days a week, doing an AAMC on the 7th day. my AAMC's ranged from 29-36, with an obvious trend upwards (although my last 2 scores were both under 33!).

On exam day I was beyond pumped, I felt like I memorized everything Princeton taught me. The problem was, they DIDN'T teach me everything I needed to know. Many things appeared on this MCAT that I have never seen before in my life. PS, always being my best section, had me absolutely shocked. Verbal, I felt, was rather long but quite straightforward. BS was more difficult than your average AAMC as well. I left the test center not depressed or relieved, but angry that I put in so much time to learn things for what seemed like a different exam.
Post exam prediction: 28-34 (I know that's a big range, but I really could not judge my efforts based on answering so many questions not blindly, but via "educated guesses").
The past month has been depressing and my post test predictions began to drop as I began to second guess my answers on a few questions.
I finally had the balls to check my score after reading all the posts on this thread and was extremely surprised and overjoyed at my final score:
PS:12, V:10, BS11 - Final Score of 33

I know as a freshman I dreamed to score a 36. My dream 2 nights ago was to just score above a 29. I can enjoy my junior and senior year stress free!!
 
Thank you! Haha yeah, the 26 was about a month into college; I had taken AP Physics B in high school, but no other related AP classes and didn't prep. I took the free test given on campus by Kaplan just to get acquainted with the format. I was pretty surprised that I got that high, but it definitely built up my confidence and expectations for my eventual prep later on.

Haha I remember our convo via PM about your score a couple of years back lol.

And I didn't see until now that there's a link in your sig to my Verbal rant!
 
Actual MCAT: 12 PS/10 VR/11 BS
Quite disappointed, but I shouldn't complain. Still aiming for Harvard and Stanford, hoping my 3.9 GPA and Ph.D. help me out a bit...

Lotsa luck needed there, bro. :luck: I'd just keep reality in mind, though.

I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".
 
I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".

They all say that but let's be honest, if you got a 40+ on your MCAT with a 3.9+ GPA, you could be a complete sociopath and get into medical school somewhere. Schools main focus is increasing their stats because increasing their stats increases their prestige and increasing their prestige increases grants and the price they can charge for tuition. As doom and gloomy as it sounds, like everything else, it's all about money ultimately. Your great personality doesn't translate well into statistics and therefore can't be used to justify charging more and getting grants.
 
Lol no admissions person is going to honestly tell lots of people to not apply because that would decrease applicants, increase the rate, and result in less secondary fees.
 
exactly. Subconcious thought goes something like this, "Oh you want to give us $50 for us to toss your secondary app in the trash...sure!"

Lol no admissions person is going to honestly tell lots of people to not apply because that would decrease applicants, increase the rate, and result in less secondary fees.
 
I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".


I think it's very important to point out to the general viewing public that one does not simply get "put in the running" at Harvard.
 
They all say that but let's be honest, if you got a 40+ on your MCAT with a 3.9+ GPA, you could be a complete sociopath and get into medical school somewhere. Schools main focus is increasing their stats because increasing their stats increases their prestige and increasing their prestige increases grants and the price they can charge for tuition. As doom and gloomy as it sounds, like everything else, it's all about money ultimately. Your great personality doesn't translate well into statistics and therefore can't be used to justify charging more and getting grants.

To be fair, a 33 isn't super far off from Harvard's average. I don't think any school wants to bump their average up TOO high. It discourages many potential applicants. ;)

Just keep it high enough to be the best.
 
I don't think you guys are being fair to chison... Do you guys understand how difficult it is to get a publication into Science???? This guy points out that he has multiple. I would go as far as to say that there are way more applicants with 40+ mcats than applicants with science publications(granted it was 1st or 2nd author)... Just something to keep in mind



I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".
 
I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".

I know Harvard Dental School is a research heavy school. Don't know if HSM is the same.
 
Does anyone have a link to the spreadsheet where you can put in your GPA and MCAT and see which schools are most reasonable based on their averages? It was floating around SDN a few years ago but now I can't find it.
 
Thank you, Aerus and balla121. Certainly a 33 is near the average for Harvard and Stanford, and I agree there aren't many students coming in with a minimum of one first author Science publication. Heck, I don't know many students at Harvard coming out of their PhD with that.

To the others...I know (many) people at HMS who have similar scores as me coming straight out of college and with limited research experience. Also, the idea that medical school matriculants' data actually adds prestige to a program and increases funding at top research schools is absolutely ludicrous. Do you really think NIH asks for average MCAT scores from Harvard or Stanford? Not a chance. They care about research production.

And quite honestly, if you think that secondary admission fees are really what schools are looking for...seriously, you need to think a bit. 5000 applicants a year, $100/application...is $500K. That's not very much money for a top research school. And most of those funds are going towards having people look at your applications, not to the actual program.

Anyway, I wasn't looking to start a flame war. I simply wanted to point out to the people viewing these threads that they *should* apply if they have a strong application. A 33 on my MCAT is literally the worst thing in my application. You guys don't know that I'm a cancer surviver, etc., so I don't expect you to understand the entire package I bring. But I want to emphasize that if a low-30s MCAT is your weakest link, apply. Once you get an interview, it's a whole new ballgame. If you took an HMS class...you'd immediately notice that people are not chosen based on stats but based on being bright and personable.

Best of luck to everyone!
 
I know Harvard Dental School is a research heavy school. Don't know if HSM is the same.

lol what makes you think HDS would be research-heavy but HMS wouldn't? :confused::confused:

Everything at Harvard is research-heavy. That's why it's Harvard....(but actually)
 
I very much appreciate the well wishes. Thank you!

I think it's very important to point something out to the general viewing public. Anything above a 30 is decent, and anything above a (balanced) 32 puts you in the running at any school. I only know this from talking to the director of admissions at a top school. The simple fact of the matter is that all of the top schools take a holistic approach when evaluating candidates. So while a 35 would have been awesome had I gotten it (I was averaging 37 on the practice tests...), it probably would make no difference in my application. (To be fair, I have multiple Science publications and a PhD from a top school so it's not as fair...but...an MCAT just doesn't define you)

I'm certainly not trying to be a jerk or be overly defensive, I just know that some people won't have the same access to resources as I do. An MCAT score of 33 isn't studly, but it is certainly within range of all schools. So, I encourage anyone with a strong application to still apply to top schools, even if your MCAT is "mediocre".

lol what makes you think HDS would be research-heavy but HMS wouldn't? :confused::confused:

Everything at Harvard is research-heavy. That's why it's Harvard....(but actually)

I never said that HMS is not research-heavy.
 
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