10th percentile end all and be all?

[Master3930]

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If you are below the 10th percentile by 1 point (old scale) on one subsection of the MCATs but have a strong overall application (i.e. upward trend on both GPA and MCAT) are your chances still sunk at that school?

 

[ndafife]

I don't think there is a huge difference between essentially the 9th percentile and 10th percentile.

Remember, 10th percentile isn't the bottom limit. There is a chunk of the class that comes in below it. Your chances aren't good but its totally possible.

 

[Lancer]

If you are below the 10th percentile by 1 point (old scale) on one subsection of the MCATs but have a strong overall application (i.e. upward trend on both GPA and MCAT) are your chances still sunk at that school?

I don't think the subsection percentiles themselves are the defining factor, unless there is one extremely low section score. By my understanding, med schools generally look at the whole score

 

[chemist16]

The 10th percentile isn't a hard cutoff for anything. It's a simple metric that people on here seem to like to use to gauge high reach schools. 10 percent of the school's class is below that mark and they got in. It's just a mark to let you gauge your own chances of acceptance.

 

[Catalystik]

If you are below the 10th percentile by 1 point (old scale) on one subsection of the MCATs but have a strong overall application (i.e. upward trend on both GPA and MCAT) are your chances still sunk at that school?

Historically, there have been some schools don't look at individual subscores and only consider the total.

And, you are only sunk at a given school if they post a hard cutoff for a subscore and you're below it.

 

[chemist16]

^And the 10th percentile score could never be the hard cut-off score.

 

[Follow_my_blog]

10% percentile just means that if you’re below that, you need to understand it is a reach school.

 

[Catalystik]

^And the 10th percentile score could never be the hard cut-off score.

Exactly!

 

[Goro]

Maybe not in VR, but there better be something really good in your package to counter it and the good scores that all the other applicants have.

If you are below the 10th percentile by 1 point (old scale) on one subsection of the MCATs but have a strong overall application (i.e. upward trend on both GPA and MCAT) are your chances still sunk at that school?

 

[packersfans]

I didnt get any interviews at any schools where I was below the 10th percentile. I know N=1 , but consider the insanely large number of schools I applied to I would have expected at least one reach to take a further look. So as said above you likely need to have something extremely standout if below 10th percentile.

 

[bluegreen91]

Exactly!

Maybe not in VR, but there better be something really good in your package to counter it and the good scores that all the other applicants have.

What are examples of non-numerical things that can make one stand out when the schools are below average?

 

[Catalystik]

What are examples of non-numerical things that can make one stand out when the schools are below average?

When one's scores are subpar, they might be overlooked for exmilitary, Peace Corps workers, Olympic Gold winners, and other members of rarer demographic groups.

 

[Goro]

Let's add any pro athlete, or even Olympic qualifier, significant service to a community, founding a successful foundation or charity, and being related to the Dean. having a large donation check also helps.

When one's scores are subpar, they might be overlooked for exmilitary, Peace Corps workers, Olympic Gold winners, and other members of rarer demographic groups.

 

[darkjedi]

Sure you can be below 10th percentile in even things like GPA and overall MCAT score and still be accepted, but those people are typically 90th percentile in multiple areas of their application, stats and experiences. If you have an otherwise mediocre application, don't expect much.

Also just one MCAT section is less of a deal if the overall score is strong.

 

[MrLogan13]

My cGPA was waaaaay below the 10th percentile of all the medical schools. Every school was a reach for me. Got four II's and one acceptance. So it's definitely not a hard cut off. But like you said, you need to have a compelling application, strong upward trend, and a good MCAT score.

 

[Banco]

I don't think one subsection being below 10th percentile is necessarily an app killer, but I guess it depends. If the 10%ile for VR is 9 and you have an 8, I think you're okay if your overall score is good. But if you have like a 5...then maybe not so much.

 

[LizzyM]

^And the 10th percentile score could never be the hard cut-off score.

It could be... If there are 100 students in the class and 12 of them have a score of x and no student has a score < x then x is both the 10th percentile and the floor.

 

[Master3930]

I didnt get any interviews at any schools where I was below the 10th percentile. I know N=1 , but consider the insanely large number of schools I applied to I would have expected at least one reach to take a further look. So as said above you likely need to have something extremely standout if below 10th percentile.

but @packersfans was it a subsection score that was below the 10th percentile or your overall score, because I feel like in some cases they are two very different things.

 

[chemist16]

It could be... If there are 100 students in the class and 12 of them have a score of x and no student has a score < x then x is both the 10th percentile and the floor.

Good point. But for it to be a hard cutoff as well, the school would have to arbitrarily and consciously reject any application with numbers below that. I find that really unlikely, as a 3.69 is functionally indistinguishable from a 3.70.

 

[LizzyM]

And 3.30 is indistinguishable from a 3.29 but you can make a GPA cut off of 3.30. I think it might be more likely with MCAT than with GPA.

 

[starstruck20]

Are there are higher GPA cut offs than 3.0? What about MCAT?

I wasn't able to find anything in the MSAR about it.

 

[chemist16]

And 3.30 is indistinguishable from a 3.29 but you can make a GPA cut off of 3.30. I think it might be more likely with MCAT than with GPA.

Are there schools with a hard cutoff at 3.30? I don't know of any but would like to find out...