A competitive applicant?

[ilovescrubs]

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so you scored higher than 33. congratulations. now I want to ask if you got into harvard or johns hopkins with your "competitive" score. oh don't even bother replying if you didn't get into any top medical schools in the USA.

I just feel bad for this kid's patients...

 

[luv2sd]

Don't be a douche. I scored a 30 the first time around, including a 7 on physical sciences. I'm in at Ohio State University and I'm on a waitlist at Duke. Is that what you're looking for?

I'm trying to explain to you and other people the common error of the "SDN sample." This isn't an AVERAGE! So getting your feelings hurt by looking at other scores on SDN is needless worry.

Seriously, though, talking about MY personal score and the schools that accepted ME is a lame way to come back. If you are going to post these sweeping generalization you ought to be ready to defend them and take a little criticism.

no I wasn't really trying to attack anyone
I just didn't notice what you were trying to say

 

[luv2sd]

I just feel bad for this kid's patients...

what's wrong with seeing a competitive doctor?

 

[QofQuimica]

took april MCAT and got 33 Q
I'm going to take it again though

If your score was reasonably balanced (all subscores are 8 or better), it would be foolish as h*** for you to re-take the test. For the sake of sanity, don't do it. A 33 is about the 90th percentile; here on Planet Earth, that is VERY competitive, especially if you also have 3.8+ GPA.

You absolutely cannot use mdapps to gauge what a "competitive" score is, for two reasons: 1) selection bias for only the highest scorers to post, which several posters have already mentioned, and 2) people lie. You want to get reputable data, go to the AAMC MCAT website.

 

[ryandote]

no I wasn't really trying to attack anyone
I just didn't notice what you were trying to say

It's cool, let's forget it.

I see what you are trying to do and I appreciate it. There are lots of threads this time of year when new people get started on SDN titled "How can I be competitive?" - It's nice to give people an idea about some of the basics.

Good luck.

 

[luv2sd]

If your score was reasonably balanced (all subscores are 8 or better), it would be foolish as h*** for you to re-take the test. For the sake of sanity, don't do it. A 33 is about the 90th percentile; here on Planet Earth, that is VERY competitive, especially if you also have 3.8+ GPA.

You absolutely cannot use mdapps to gauge what a "competitive" score is, for two reasons: 1) selection bias for only the highest scorers to post, which several posters have already mentioned, and 2) people lie. You want to get reputable data, go to the AAMC MCAT website.

they are not balanced... but if 33 is competitive (which I wasn't aware of until people started making angry replies...) then I guess I would have to talk to my advisor first and decide what to do next

 

[QofQuimica]

they are not balanced... but if 33 is competitive (which I wasn't aware of until people started making angry replies...) I guess I would have to talk to my advisors and decide what to do next lol

Yes, 33 *is* a competitive score. I don't know how unbalanced you are; if you have one subscore that is 6 or lower, you may need to retake. Definitely do go meet with your advisor before you decide what to do. to you. 🙂

 

[ryandote]

they are not balanced... but if 33 is competitive (which I wasn't aware of until people started making angry replies...) then I guess I would have to talk to my advisor first and decide what to do next

So I mentioned my 7 in PS on my first MCAT.... I hadn't practiced much (like an idiot) and I had my timing WAY off. I left somewhere between 20-25 questions completely blank. Not even bubble-guessed.

That's why, even though the random "odds" of me scoring better than a composite 30 were in the crapper, I took it again. I had a very easily identifiable and definitely fixable mistake. Turns out I left 5 PS questions blank this second MCAT, but there is no chance I'd retake it. Even if I wasn't accepted this time around.

 

[QofQuimica]

So I mentioned my 7 in PS on my first MCAT.... I hadn't practiced much (like an idiot) and I had my timing WAY off. I left somewhere between 20-25 questions completely blank. Not even bubble-guessed.

That's why, even though the random "odds" of me scoring better than a composite 30 were in the crapper, I took it again. I had a very easily identifiable and definitely fixable mistake. Turns out I left 5 PS questions blank this second MCAT, but there is no chance I'd retake it. Even if I wasn't accepted this time around.

You should never leave any questions blank on the MCAT; there's no penalty for guessing. For those of you who have yet to take the test, fill in something for every question.

Ryandote, congrats to you on your acceptance. 🙂

 

[luv2sd]

So I mentioned my 7 in PS on my first MCAT.... I hadn't practiced much (like an idiot) and I had my timing WAY off. I left somewhere between 20-25 questions completely blank. Not even bubble-guessed.

That's why, even though the random "odds" of me scoring better than a composite 30 were in the crapper, I took it again. I had a very easily identifiable and definitely fixable mistake. Turns out I left 5 PS questions blank this second MCAT, but there is no chance I'd retake it. Even if I wasn't accepted this time around.

well at least you have an acceptance lol. and if you get accepted into duke, then you must have a very competitive application there 😱

 

[ilovescrubs]

Oh, where were you accepted ryandote? Just curious, it's always encouraging to hear about acceptances for those of us just beginning to apply. 😀

 

[ilovescrubs]

Oh, oops. Read the previous post. Congrats, Ohio is a great school. Just goes to show you that these things do work out.

 

[ryandote]

You should never leave any questions blank on the MCAT; there's no penalty for guessing. For those of you who have yet to take the test, fill in something for every question.

Ryandote, congrats to you on your acceptance. 🙂

Listen to her kids. The first time around our proctor didn't give any time warnings, which I would really like to blame for my poor score, but it is my own fault. The second time around I got plenty of warning. I had strategized to leave the last 6 minutes for cleanup. 5 minutes to read through some of the questions that I had narrowed down to 2 choices, and 1 final minute to shut my test booklet and bubble any blanks. I didn't stick to my strategy and tried to read and re-read and re-read all the way through that last minute. At "pencils down!" I really wanted to bubble in those last 5 but decided it wasn't honest and didn't want to risk my whole test.

 

[ryandote]

Oh, oops. Read the previous post. Congrats, Ohio is a great school. Just goes to show you that these things do work out.

I got lucky. Out of all my interviews, those were my 1st and 2nd choices for a few different reasons. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[mq123]

Imagine self-reported scores not being a very accurate measuring stick.... this actually brings up one of my favorite topics on SDN. I harp on it every now and then: Self-Selection.

People with higher scores are more likely to report them, even in an anonymous setting. People more interested and dedicated to attending medical school are more likely to find SDN and mdapps and report their scores. You don't have a representative sample of the population here, you have a prime sample of the population. Half of all med school applicants are accepted each year. What percent of SDN is accepted each year? I would bet my hat it's more than 50%.

Exactly...I've seen so many 35s and 36s on the MCAT, I feel below average now😕

 

[jae9970]

hey ryandote,

going with your earlier idea about SDN being a better-than-average pool..

just by joining SDN, your acceptance rate jumps from ~50% to a higher rate

so joining this website is the best thing you could ever do as an applicant ! Don't do research, study for MCAT or take additional classes to increase your GPA.. just join SDN and your acceptance rate goes up by a whopping 20% or so !

 

[pagemmapants]

I do not plan to be partying while in medical school...just when I get in haha.

:ROFL: tell me that again in the middle of MSI.

 

[Tropicana100]

Under hobbies: Designing superintelligent robots.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jkft2qaKv_o

 

[badasshairday]

they are not balanced... but if 33 is competitive (which I wasn't aware of until people started making angry replies...) then I guess I would have to talk to my advisor first and decide what to do next

You are kidding. When you got your MCAT score back did you not look at the percentile?

 

[neopentanol]

hey ryandote,

going with your earlier idea about SDN being a better-than-average pool..

just by joining SDN, your acceptance rate jumps from ~50% to a higher rate

so joining this website is the best thing you could ever do as an applicant ! Don't do research, study for MCAT or take additional classes to increase your GPA.. just join SDN and your acceptance rate goes up by a whopping 20% or so !

To say that on average, people who frequent SDN have a 20% higher chance of getting into med school than those who don't does not make any comment on causation. So, he's not saying that if someone registers with SDN their acceptance rate goes up. What he is saying is that people who come to SDN are typically people with computers, internet access, their **** together, know how to find info resources, are involved in their medical pursuits enough to stay current, and involve themselves in a community of like-minded people-all characteristics that go with an applicant who is more likely to be accepted, or any successful person in general.

 

[TheRealMD]

Reasons why SDN has a higher acceptance rate:

1) People on SDN are usually much more resourceful than those who aren't. Really easy to ask a question and have 20 different people answer it in a day or so (even if it's wrong, it's a much better answer than you could have come up with yourself).

2) Applicants on SDN are scared to **** about a *good* SDN score (33+ we'll say), think anything lower than a 31 is just "average", and learn to position themself MUCH better as an applicant (better PS, more research, more clinical work, etc..) When they realize that their MCAT score IS good, they've probably already gotten in somewhere.

3) SDN prevents people from putting stupid stuff on their application most of the time. (i.e. "I graduated in 3 years!!!")

4) People can look at SDN interview bank to get a much idea what kind of questions will be in an interview.


You get the picture...

 

[ryandote]

To say that on average, people who frequent SDN have a 20% higher chance of getting into med school than those who don't does not make any comment on causation. So, he's not saying that if someone registers with SDN their acceptance rate goes up. What he is saying is that people who come to SDN are typically people with computers, internet access, their **** together, know how to find info resources, are involved in their medical pursuits enough to stay current, and involve themselves in a community of like-minded people-all characteristics that go with an applicant who is more likely to be accepted, or any successful person in general.

Yeah, that's quite a bit closer to what I meant. 12th theorem of p-values is that correlation does not even imply causation.

3) SDN prevents people from putting stupid stuff on their application most of the time. (i.e. "I graduated in 3 years!!!")

ha!

 

[TheRealMD]

Yeah, that's quite a bit closer to what I meant. 12th theorem of p-values is that correlation does not even imply causation.



ha!

Lol, someone wanted to use it as an EC! That's what's really funny.

 

[ryandote]

Lol, someone wanted to use it as an EC! That's what's really funny.

Oh, I was in on that thread. good times.

 

[dantt]

Obviously, it's not just a numbers game. If the average MCAT score is 35 at JHU and Harvard, then think about it... wouldn't these schools have a fair number of matriculants scoring from 36-45? So obviously, there should be an EQUAL number of matriculants scoring from 25-34. If the distribution is a bell curve, most people should be falling in the 33-37 range.

I think the rest of your application determines what your MCAT score means.

The distribution is not a bell curve.

 

[dantt]

took april MCAT and got 33 Q
I'm going to take it again though

Good luck luv2sd! It's definitely possible to raise your score. I went from low 30's to low 40's after taking it the second time.

 

[TheRealMD]

The distribution is not a bell curve.

Yeah, I'd say that the distribution is a pretty skewed bell curve with a majority making slightly below an average, but a few people WAY above the average to balance it out.

 

[luv2sd]

You are kidding. When you got your MCAT score back did you not look at the percentile?

I already said I have unbalanced scores...

 

[luv2sd]

Good luck luv2sd! It's definitely possible to raise your score. I went from low 30's to low 40's after taking it the second time.

what did you do to raise your score? what did you use?
maybe osmosis? 1001?

 

[dantt]

what did you do to raise your score? what did you use?
maybe osmosis? 1001?

The first time I took the test, I took a class and wasn't really into it.

The second time, I reviewed all the class materials. Did all the problems again and checked and looked at all answers in the back of the book whether I did them right or wrong. Did every practice exam I could find and checked answers. Did exam krakers and checked all answers. Day of test, I jogged a couple miles in the morning and had a really light lunch. I perform better when I have a slight hungry edge.

Increased VR2, PS 1, BS, 4

 

[trevagandalf]

I would say you probably need only 6- 10 of the aspects on your original list to be competitive. But hey, why are people so set on Havard and JHU anyways? Tuition is soo high.. if you are competitive, I'd recommend Baylor...

EDIT: And asians are sometimes a self-destructive race (and I only have the right to say this b/c I'm asian)

 

[xshooshix]

You need a really good verbal scores on your MCATs... if you don't, they are going to wonder, can this person communicate well with patients? Is he personable, can he articulate in a social setting, etc...