What would be a safe MCAT score for someone with a 3.7 gpa

[emilyemilyemily]

I have a cumulative gpa of 3.7, what MCAT score would almost guarantee an acceptance to an average medical school. my goal isn't to be accepted into the top ten med schools; an average school would be sufficient

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[kpcrew]

be black or hispanic and get above a 39
gives you 100% guarantee

 

[monkeyMD]

i have a cumulative gpa of 3.7, what mcat score would almost guarantee an acceptance to an average medical school. My goal isn't to be accepted into the top ten med schools; an average school would be sufficient

30+

But numbers are not everything.

 

[VisionaryTics]

I have a cumulative gpa of 3.7, what MCAT score would almost guarantee an acceptance to an average medical school. my goal isn't to be accepted into the top ten med schools; an average school would be sufficient

45T.

Admissions are a crap-shoot. Nothing will make you a "safe" applicant. Do as well as you can in everything you do.

 

[Bforn]

According to the "MCAT and GPA Grid for Applicants and Acceptees to U.S. Medical Schools, 2008-2010" from AAMC, an applicant with a 3.6-3.79 with a 30-32 MCAT has a 72.1% chance of being accepted. If you score a 33-35 that increases to 80%. 36-38- 85%. 39-45- 85.5%. Take your pick of what you think "guaranteed" acceptance score would be.

 

[mejorization]

Hope this is helpful OP.

https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/app...mcat-gpa-grid-by-selected-race-ethnicity.html

 

[Mooglies]

30 + is kind of the go to number to possibly get in SOMEWHERE. But the guys above me are pointing out that the process is hard to quantify and it involves several factors.

GPA scGPA and MCAT are basically the numbers that will get you screened out if they aren't up to par.

PS along with ECs and LORs are what get you into an interview.

Who you are is what gets you into medical school. Or some crap like that. Aim for 45T and study for a 45T. If you aim for a 30 it could turn out bad. I imagine you don't want to go through the MCAT process twice.

 

[aSagacious]

http://i55.tinypic.com/v4o2om.jpg

Source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=838625

 

[octupus]

If your ECs and PS are fine and you are not horribly socially awkward, then I would say a 34 would be relatively safe in terms of getting into a school. However, if you're looking at top heavy schools, no score is safe. For numbers sake though, probably >36.

 

[eHombre]

http://i55.tinypic.com/v4o2om.jpg

Source: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=838625

Interesting (and somewhat unrelated) observation from that graph that I hadn't noticed before: according to those data, the MCAT is overweighted in the LizzyM score.

Example: compare a 3.3/36 applicant with a 3.8/31 applicant (LizzyM scores of 69). Both should have equal chances of overall admission, yet the 3.8/31 applicant has a ~77% chance while the 3.3/36 applicant has only a ~59% chance of admission.

I'll allow that it could be that a 3.8 GPA correlates with other good applicant attributes (e.g., more academic engagement, fewer red flags), and this accounts for the difference. Nevertheless, it seems like GPA should be multiplied by some factor greater than 10 so that its weighting matches that of the MCAT in estimating admission chances.

 

[johnisles2011]

I don't like questions like these.
Technically there is no safe score. You know this. Look at the statistics. Do the best you can. Aim to get a 45.
Mid thirties would be solid.

 

[octupus]

I don't like questions like these.
Technically there is no safe score. You know this. Look at the statistics. Do the best you can. Aim to get a 45.
Mid thirties would be solid.

Well, I think we all just want to feel like we're on the right side of things in this crazy long and complicated process. In the beginning, we tend to think that numbers matter so much... but we soon realize that we've only made it pass step 1 in the trillion-step-staircase (to heaven)

Aim for the 45, be happy with a 35 and spend your time doing other important things

 

[eHombre]

Nevertheless, it seems like GPA should be multiplied by some factor greater than 10 so that its weighting matches that of the MCAT in estimating admission chances.

As a followup, given a 31 MCAT to start, let's see how many MCAT points would be required to make up a 0.2 pt GPA deficit going down the scale:

3.9/31 = 82% = 3.7/35 (+4)
3.8/31 = 77% = 3.6/36 (+5)
3.7/31 = 72% = 3.5/36 (+5)
3.6/31 = 64% = 3.4/35.5 (+4.5)
3.5/31 = 56% = 3.3/35 (+4)
3.4/31 = 48% = 3.2/34.5 (+3.5)

There's an interesting upward bend in mid-range, but it looks like 4 MCAT points roughly equals 0.2 GPA points in this quadrant of the graph. To track that data the LizzyM score should weight GPA double. That is:

LizzyM* = GPA*20 + MCAT

This 0.1:2 relationship seems to hold up well for a 0.1 pt GPA deficit as well (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.7/33 and 3.6/31 = 3.5/33). For a 0.3 GPA deficit, though, you need more than 6 pts extra on your MCAT (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.5/39)

 

[deleted261193]

agreed with everyone else here. i have a 3.7 and an mcat that according to aamc should give me ~80% chance of acceptance... but none here so far and only a few interviews too. SOOOOOOOOO numbers aren't everything, and med school admissions are super random, basically!

 

[PremedGunner]

As a followup, given a 31 MCAT to start, let's see how many MCAT points would be required to make up a 0.2 pt GPA deficit going down the scale:

3.9/31 = 82% = 3.7/35 (+4)
3.8/31 = 77% = 3.6/36 (+5)
3.7/31 = 72% = 3.5/36 (+5)
3.6/31 = 64% = 3.4/35.5 (+4.5)
3.5/31 = 56% = 3.3/35 (+4)
3.4/31 = 48% = 3.2/34.5 (+3.5)

There's an interesting upward bend in mid-range, but it looks like 4 MCAT points roughly equals 0.2 GPA points in this quadrant of the graph. To track that data the LizzyM score should weight GPA double. That is:

LizzyM* = GPA*20 + MCAT

This 0.1:2 relationship seems to hold up well for a 0.1 pt GPA deficit as well (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.7/33 and 3.6/31 = 3.5/33). For a 0.3 GPA deficit, though, you need more than 6 pts extra on your MCAT (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.5/39)

only on sdn, where people major in pre-med

 

[Myuu]

You could have a 3.7 and a 45T and still get rejected for being completely oblivious to social cues.

Do the best you can. Nothing is guaranteed.

 

[eHombre]

only on sdn, where people major in pre-med

Nah, I just like data.

 

[BSU]

As a followup, given a 31 MCAT to start, let's see how many MCAT points would be required to make up a 0.2 pt GPA deficit going down the scale:

3.9/31 = 82% = 3.7/35 (+4)
3.8/31 = 77% = 3.6/36 (+5)
3.7/31 = 72% = 3.5/36 (+5)
3.6/31 = 64% = 3.4/35.5 (+4.5)
3.5/31 = 56% = 3.3/35 (+4)
3.4/31 = 48% = 3.2/34.5 (+3.5)

There's an interesting upward bend in mid-range, but it looks like 4 MCAT points roughly equals 0.2 GPA points in this quadrant of the graph. To track that data the LizzyM score should weight GPA double. That is:

LizzyM* = GPA*20 + MCAT

This 0.1:2 relationship seems to hold up well for a 0.1 pt GPA deficit as well (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.7/33 and 3.6/31 = 3.5/33). For a 0.3 GPA deficit, though, you need more than 6 pts extra on your MCAT (e.g., 3.8/31 = 3.5/39)

I love this post.

 

[JESSFALLING]

I'm pulling this out of somewhere dark and airy, but I really think that a 33 or higher is the magic number. First, it's a realistic score if you study hard and effectively, and test well. Second, it's definitely an above-average score that is very competitive at the majority of US Allo schools, and all US DO schools.

 

[LizzyM]

Before I opened this post, a 34 came to mind. Of course, the higher the better but a 34 is "safe" if one applies broadly and has at least satisfactory social skills, rationale for a career in medicine, etc.

It is true, too, that not every 3.9+/40+ is sure to admitted. Some of those academic superstars get rejected (not even waitlisted) due to deficits in social skills.

 

[pfaction]

Yikes...I was just aiming for low 30's, i guess I really gotta step it up.

 

[Knocked Up]

Before I opened this post, a 34 came to mind. Of course, the higher the better but a 34 is "safe" if one applies broadly and has at least satisfactory social skills, rationale for a career in medicine, etc.

It is true, too, that not every 3.9+/40+ is sure to admitted. Some of those academic superstars get rejected (not even waitlisted) due to deficits in social skills.

Oh, I see now... So the bare bottom LizzyM score at your school is around 71. Good to know...

My activities seem to have boosted me a point or two then with your colleagues at other fine institutions. Some not though (I'm guessing your institutions would qualify here since your fellow adcoms seem to take a HARD stance on numbers). Care to share with this great forum what the magic number is taking LizzyM + the (elusive) subjectivity scale into account at the LizzyM SOM.

 

[MedPR]

As others have already said, no score is safe. Good ECs and LORs with a 3.7/35 will probably get you interviews though.

 

[nuitsansetoiles]

As high as possible.

 

[LizzyM]

Oh, I see now... So the bare bottom LizzyM score at your school is around 71. Good to know...

My activities seem to have boosted me a point or two then with your colleagues at other fine institutions. Some not though (I'm guessing your institutions would qualify here since your fellow adcoms seem to take a HARD stance on numbers). Care to share with this great forum what the magic number is taking LizzyM + the (elusive) subjectivity scale into account at the LizzyM SOM.

My estimate had nothing to do with my school but with a MCAT that would be "safe" for someone wishing to get into any medical school (not just top tier) with a 3.7 gpa.

The LizzyM score is just a back of the envelope calculation to use when comparing one's list of schools to one's stats. I started promoting it some years ago after becoming dismayed at students who bemoaned not getting any interviews after applying to 11 schools (e.g. Dartmouth, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Duke, UCSF, UCLA, Stanford). It compares your stats to the average stats at the target school. Of course, it is possible to get an interview with less than average stats, but not too much less.

I do think that there are some things that will increase the likelihood of an interview in an applicant with a below avg LizzyM score but it tends to be idiosyncratic by reviewer and while one will love varsity athletes, another will particularly favor anyone who rowed crew, and another may have a particular soft spot for immigrants, or orphans, or cancer survivors. This is why the admonition to "apply broadly" applies and why it sometimes seems like a "crap shoot" to get an interview invite.

 

[future_dr]

Just think of getting in as a lightning strike. You have no idea where its going to strike. Even if you had an idea you still don't know the exact spot. If you want lightning to strike then put on as much metal as possible (GPA, MCAT, interviews ect.) If you don't have the bare minimum, don't bother showing up to the storm. Just stay inside.

 

[mehc012]

Just think of getting in as a lightning strike. You have no idea where its going to strike. Even if you had an idea you still don't know the exact spot. If you want lightning to strike then put on as much metal as possible (GPA, MCAT, interviews ect.) If you don't have the bare minimum, don't bother showing up to the storm. Just stay inside.

Dude, lightning either struck or it didn't. But at this point, OP knows where it strikes because the storm blew over years ago.

Nice necro