- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Messages
- 1,641
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I myself benefited from this! I was trying to substitute something else for a prerequisite English course. The admissions staff person checked my MCAT VR AND WS scores, decided they were adequate, and granted me the substitution. Saved me over $400 and a bunch of time!
What's most interesting is that this staff person told us that although VR indicates reading comprehension, only WS indicates writing ability, and that she sees marked differences in scores between the science majors/engineers and the humanities majors. A higher WS score (at least 50th percentile) means she is likely to allow a student to substitute a philosophy, history, etc. course for a required English course. A low score means forget it.
We can argue about whether one's ability to write a nice essay has any relevance to one's technical writing ability, which is what doctors really need, but at last I have documented proof that someone actually cares what you get on the writing sample.
What's most interesting is that this staff person told us that although VR indicates reading comprehension, only WS indicates writing ability, and that she sees marked differences in scores between the science majors/engineers and the humanities majors. A higher WS score (at least 50th percentile) means she is likely to allow a student to substitute a philosophy, history, etc. course for a required English course. A low score means forget it.
We can argue about whether one's ability to write a nice essay has any relevance to one's technical writing ability, which is what doctors really need, but at last I have documented proof that someone actually cares what you get on the writing sample.
