Am I a minority with a 1020 on my SAT?

[Littlemantate]

So I was about as unmotivated in HS as one could be. I also sucked and still suck at reading(hated verbal on mcat)-so anyway I actually tried and got a 1020 on my first SAT-not even enough to getinto my state school-retook and got a 1040, the bare minimum to get into state.

I went on to double major and get a 4.0 in undergrad, got a 29 first attempt mcat (crappy verbal of course) and a 32 on my next. Got into a top 30's (usnews wise) med school. Got 220 on step 1 and 2.

And all these years, in variosu conversations, mostly joking around about SAT's I never have met anyone in my pitiful range. I mean nobody seems to have gotten under 1200 in this profession. I sometimse wonder how the SAT really tests someone. I feel my motivation got me very far and determination to succeed rather than pure intelligence. But to get this far I must have some degree of intelligence.

Just an interesting thing-gotta love america. In no other country could I have done this-I would have been tracked into the plumbing business in most Eastern countries. And Canada I would not even have made it into undergrad there!

USA-the land of opportunity-Me being an MD is proof!

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[MushieCookie]

So I was about as unmotivated in HS as one could be. I also sucked and still suck at reading(hated verbal on mcat)-so anyway I actually tried and got a 1020 on my first SAT-not even enough to getinto my state school-retook and got a 1040, the bare minimum to get into state.

I went on to double major and get a 4.0 in undergrad, got a 29 first attempt mcat (crappy verbal of course) and a 32 on my next. Got into a top 30's (usnews wise) med school. Got 220 on step 1 and 2.

And all these years, in variosu conversations, mostly joking around about SAT's I never have met anyone in my pitiful range. I mean nobody seems to have gotten under 1200 in this profession. I sometimse wonder how the SAT really tests someone. I feel my motivation got me very far and determination to succeed rather than pure intelligence. But to get this far I must have some degree of intelligence.

Just an interesting thing-gotta love america. In no other country could I have done this-I would have been tracked into the plumbing business in most Eastern countries. And Canada I would not even have made it into undergrad there!

USA-the land of opportunity-Me being an MD is proof!

your not alone my friend...i'm a little higher in your ballpark...but not by much.
Who the hell cares anyways? Look where you are now.

 

[Shah_Patel_PT]

So I was about as unmotivated in HS as one could be. I also sucked and still suck at reading(hated verbal on mcat)-so anyway I actually tried and got a 1020 on my first SAT-not even enough to getinto my state school-retook and got a 1040, the bare minimum to get into state.

I went on to double major and get a 4.0 in undergrad, got a 29 first attempt mcat (crappy verbal of course) and a 32 on my next. Got into a top 30's (usnews wise) med school. Got 220 on step 1 and 2.

And all these years, in variosu conversations, mostly joking around about SAT's I never have met anyone in my pitiful range. I mean nobody seems to have gotten under 1200 in this profession. I sometimse wonder how the SAT really tests someone. I feel my motivation got me very far and determination to succeed rather than pure intelligence. But to get this far I must have some degree of intelligence.

Just an interesting thing-gotta love america. In no other country could I have done this-I would have been tracked into the plumbing business in most Eastern countries. And Canada I would not even have made it into undergrad there!

USA-the land of opportunity-Me being an MD is proof!

Similarly for MCAT....??

 

[chicamedica]

So I was about as unmotivated in HS as one could be. I also sucked and still suck at reading(hated verbal on mcat)-so anyway I actually tried and got a 1020 on my first SAT-not even enough to getinto my state school-retook and got a 1040, the bare minimum to get into state.

I went on to double major and get a 4.0 in undergrad, got a 29 first attempt mcat (crappy verbal of course) and a 32 on my next. Got into a top 30's (usnews wise) med school. Got 220 on step 1 and 2.

And all these years, in variosu conversations, mostly joking around about SAT's I never have met anyone in my pitiful range. I mean nobody seems to have gotten under 1200 in this profession. I sometimse wonder how the SAT really tests someone. I feel my motivation got me very far and determination to succeed rather than pure intelligence. But to get this far I must have some degree of intelligence.

Just an interesting thing-gotta love america. In no other country could I have done this-I would have been tracked into the plumbing business in most Eastern countries. And Canada I would not even have made it into undergrad there!

USA-the land of opportunity-Me being an MD is proof!

Intelligence? Since when is the SAT an IQ test? you said it yourself, you were unmotivated in high school so you did poorly. Then you got motivated later on, so you succeeded. Perhaps intelligence is directly proportional motivation? I tend to believe it is, and you're a classic example.

btw, were you ever evaluated for dyslexia? that could explain a few things, including the lack of motivation in hs.

 

[deleted113029]

btw, were you ever evaluated for dyslexia? that could explain a few things, including the lack of motivation in hs.

how do you get the feeling he had/has dyslexia from his post? you just said he was unmotivated. obviously he didn't have it because he excelled in school, did well on his mcat(s), and did average on his steps.

 

[Littlemantate]

haha ya sometimes I wish I could just say I was dyslexic to explain that away-but no-I am not. It is a product sadly of probably reading a total of 6 books in my life (like non-text fiction type). As a kid, teen etc I played every sport known to me, watched tv or did something with friends at every moment and just hated to read. My mom pushed me to read at this super young age, like younger than most and that probably turned me off of it. So anyway my reading comprehension and vocabulary which I believe are strongly tied to books read-were piss poor

So anyway-when it came to reading text books that I enjoyed-like phsyio or something, or any text book taht was factual, not fiction, I enjoyed and could read and actually did well on those passages on the MCAT-it was the fiction/humanities type BS that talked about van-gho or some classical music synopsis or some crap. I have ZERO artistic qualities to me definetly the mathy science type-so anyway its not that I care-I was just honestly surprised that I did not run into anyone this past 4 years with a score even NEAR mine and yet we were indistinguishable at this point in life-

anyway not a big deal but if any *******es out there who bombed sats are reading-dont give up!

 

[elinj]

hey littlemantate...im with you. hahaha you had 10 pts over me on the sat's but very similar mcat(2nd one)

i think is ironical cause i dont recall studyin ever in highschool involved in every club possible and got a lacrosse ride to great school (GO BlueJays!!!!!!) but around then i learned to study and focus, got into med school. Its funny how since highschool i have learned its not all grades(cause i barely got by) but the total package. with all the interviews i'm learning the same thing over again....wished i did more in med school (research/volunteer/kiss more butt )

so for all the average people....KEEP AT IT!!!

BTW i do not have dyslexia hahahaha....lazy thats all

 

[Littlemantate]

lazy thats all

word-this also explains why I did virtually no EC's in medschool-life is just too fun to not enjoy and kissing ass and doing reserach is not my idea of fun.

 

[ice_23]

I don't mean to rain on this weird parade, but it's obvious America has always glorified special talent over those who "do well in school". Only in this country does having mediocre grades/test scores become second priority if you're good at a musical instrument/sport/other specialized talent to get into academic institutions (university). If the latter is true, you can even get into professional schools with below-average stats. Somehow, it's thought that being good at these skills makes one "well rounded" or something to that effect which somehow logically translates to being a "better" doctor/etc. So it's certainly not surprising that in America one of you would get into a good college without motivation to study in hs due to a lacrosse scholarship. Hats off to your motivation in university, but it's certainly not surprising in America.

And before/if I get flamed, think about the converse. In general, do people get scholarships for football/gymnastics teams in college or into the boston conservatory/juliard for music, etc. if they had shown no motivation in those particular disciplines but instead had a 4.0 and a 2400 on their SAT? Of course not; most would find that laughable. We gleefully accept merit as paramount in the reverse.

Now if you had NO specialized talent AND had incredibly bad test scores/grades throughout, then you certainly beat the system, and I give you props. I'm just pointing out that it's not only possible, but it's also incredibly frequent that people with low test scores still make it through the system in this country.

-Ice

 

[yaah]

I find that interesting too, Ice, even though I have lived here all my life. It never ceases to amaze me that people will glorify talent which is often more innate(i.e. athletic ability, ability to sing, etc) but ignore talent which is intellectual and cultivated. People call someone who goes on american idol "hard working" with a "lifelong dream," and think they are deserving of success but ignore the poor schlub who studies math and call him/her a sellout. And when the person with the special talent manages to get an average grade, it's somehow more admirable than someone who works hard and aces it, but doesn't also have that special talent.

Obviously, these are generalizations. This is not to say that people with athletic/musical talent do not work at their craft, because many do and do so very intensely. But the fact remains that working hard at intellectual pursuits is seen as less desirable by very many people in this society. Pathetic, methinks. There is something to be said for someone with diverse interests and experiences, but I agree that it is vastly overblown and certain types of interests and experiences carry far more worth than others to people who make these decisions.

 

[souljah1]

I can beat your low score with a 960. I had a bit too much angst. I was way more focused on sports, friends and girls. Back then, I always considered myself intelligent - but I also had a lot of rebellion for lots of reasons - which led to me kind of flying the middle finger to any thing standardized. My world view centered around friends and family, college wasn't part of it. I also had no intentions of going to college, but that sort of changed over time.

I goofed around after high school at a community college and got myself a dozen of C's in all sorts of classes. I dropped out and started working with my stepfather to save up enough money to travel around a bit. During my "exploring", I did a fair amount of introspection and eventually realized I was wasting my life away. I went back to school at a community college and got straight A's in premed classes and eventually transferred to Berkeley where I graduated with a 3.8'ish GPA and a 32 on the MCAT. Went on to Master's degree program while applying to medical school and got into UCSF. Got a 241 on Step 1 and a 249 on Step 2 and I'm now an internal medicine resident at a "Top 5" program.

Bottom line - you get what you put into it. I wouldn't trade in my high school years for any thing. I had a ton of fun and had some amazing experiences. I also wouldn't trade in my time working and traveling. I may have subconsciously been screwing myself when I took the SAT, but I think I'm much better for it.

My life will be portrayed on a lame lifetime show that is coming to a theater near you.

 

[skidmark]

I didn't even take the SAT. Took the ACT and got a 20 the first time and then a 22 (pretty pitiful). Went to a state school made nearly 4.0 but only got a 26 on the MCAT (darn verbal). Retook it and only improved to 28. Took me 3 attempts to get into medical school.
Now I am a 4th yr medical student-->AOA, 240+ step 1, 260+ step 2, applying for radiology.....go figure.

Its all about persistence and hard work.
God bless America

 

[Raerfani10]

haha ya sometimes I wish I could just say I was dyslexic to explain that away-but no-I am not. It is a product sadly of probably reading a total of 6 books in my life (like non-text fiction type). As a kid, teen etc I played every sport known to me, watched tv or did something with friends at every moment and just hated to read. My mom pushed me to read at this super young age, like younger than most and that probably turned me off of it. So anyway my reading comprehension and vocabulary which I believe are strongly tied to books read-were piss poor

So anyway-when it came to reading text books that I enjoyed-like phsyio or something, or any text book taht was factual, not fiction, I enjoyed and could read and actually did well on those passages on the MCAT-it was the fiction/humanities type BS that talked about van-gho or some classical music synopsis or some crap. I have ZERO artistic qualities to me definetly the mathy science type-so anyway its not that I care-I was just honestly surprised that I did not run into anyone this past 4 years with a score even NEAR mine and yet we were indistinguishable at this point in life-

anyway not a big deal but if any *******es out there who bombed sats are reading-dont give up!

Thanks! I bombed the SAT two years ago.

 

[LanceArmstrong]

Dig this my college GPA was 3.0, I never took the MCAT and went to a carib med school...gues my SAT....1500+

 

[TUCOMSam]

HS, College, & Medschool GPA: 4.0

SAT: 1550
ACT: 34
MCAT: 38
Step I: 255
Step II: 268

IQ: 89

Social Skills: 10th %ile

Athletic Prowess: 99.99999999 %ileI

Inflating (ok flat out LYING about) my life's achievements? Priceless

I don't think I could even tell you what I got on Step II which was a few months ago much less what I got on the SAT! What you lack in SAT abilities you truly make up for in long term memory!