Are scores on the August MCATs lower than the ones on the April MCAT

[Dr. Starostik]

I talked to my pre-med advisor today about the MCAT and she told me that the scores on the August MCAT are usually lower than the ones on the April MCAT? Is this true and if so, why?

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[bonez318ti]

I think that many people who take the august MCAT are retakers because they didnt do too well on the earlier administration. Although some people will do better in August, most do not (statistically). So basically, the August test is like the April test without the stronger testers, so grades will be lower overall. Sure.. this is a vast simplification.. but probably not too far off the mark.

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Yup. No matter how much it sucks and discourages retakers, the statistics do show that most of them don't improve more than a point or two overall. Of course this does not apply to SDN retakers as statistically SDN'ers rock the damn thing Alot of August people are retakers so that may contribute to lower overall numbers. None of that really matters though; all that really does is how hard you work and the time you put in to doing your absolute personal best, whenever you decide to take the test.

 

[afabela]

Yup. No matter how much it sucks and discourages retakers, the statistics do show that most of them don't improve more than a point or two overall. Of course this does not apply to SDN retakers as statistically SDN'ers rock the damn thing Alot of August people are retakers so that may contribute to lower overall numbers. None of that really matters though; all that really does is how hard you work and the time you put in to doing your absolute personal best, whenever you decide to take the test.

so if in general most of people that are taking the august MCAT dont get as many answers correct on the exam compared to the april exam, will this mean a bigger curve?

 

[silkworm]

Theoretically, they base the scores on the past performances of MCAT takers, so I don't think August people will really get any advantage.

 

[YzIa]

so if in general most of people that are taking the august MCAT dont get as many answers correct on the exam compared to the april exam, will this mean a bigger curve?

Nope, the august MCAT scores (based on previous years) will be overall lower - meaning the 15 point scale (ie: avg of 7.3 in aug vs. avg or 8.5 in april)which should bring the avg score overall very near the typical yearly avg (ie: 8)

The total avg should also drop to a 25, I think, based on previous years. I am not sure but I believe its sitting at a 25.5-26 as of now.

The trend is shown year in and year out.