Does MCAT matter once you are accepted to med school?

[Creightonite]

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Once yoiu get accepted to med schools, do residencies or other places ask for your MCAT scores? or it turns out to be like SAT; once you are in, it does not really matter anymore.

 

[ForbiddenComma]

Does MCAT matter once you are accepted to med school?

nope.

 

[DoctorFunk]

Residencies don't ask about MCAT scores, but each medical school develops a social hierarchy built around them. Those with the lowest scores are designated for menial tasks like completing the gluteal anatomic dissection, while the high scorers serve as a royal court for the very lucky highest scorer in the class, known affectionately as King/Queen Poomba. To make sure that the sorting goes quickly, please report to your first day of class with a sheet of paper prominently displaying your score affixed to your chest.

 

[QofQuimica]

Residencies don't ask about MCAT scores, but each medical school develops a social hierarchy built around them. Those with the lowest scores are designated for menial tasks like completing the gluteal anatomic dissection, while the high scorers serve as a royal court for the very lucky highest scorer in the class, known affectionately as King/Queen Poomba. To make sure that the sorting goes quickly, please report to your first day of class with a sheet of paper prominently displaying your score affixed to your chest.

OP, I don't think so, but you probably should ask some residents this question. So far, in my admittedly limited medical school experience, the MCAT has not been the least bit important.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Nope. Either this excites you or makes you unhappy. Which is it?

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Only in that it's correlated with USMLE scores.

 

[Antigunner]

The occasional away rotation may want you to list it (I've even heard of some requiring undergrad GPA and SAT/ACT score), but for the most part it doesn't matter in the slightest

 

[braluk]

I use my MCAT score to dominate the women around me- my dignity has started to wane.

 

[NonTradMed]

I've heard MCAT verbal is a good indicator of your USMLE score, but I have nothing to substantiate it, only heard that's why my school may have looked favorably upon my application since my MCAT score was so lopsided with my verbal so high and my sciences relatively lower. But it's like the SATs post-college, the score itself is just a way to get you IN, no one cares after that. Now, everyone is hankering to do well on the USMLE...that's the exam we are focusing on (along with our individual exams in class, of course). If you did poorly on the MCAT yet got into med school, just count yourself lucky and don't look back! 🙂

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I've heard MCAT verbal is a good indicator of your USMLE score, but I have nothing to substantiate it, only heard that's why my school may have looked favorably upon my application since my MCAT score was so lopsided with my verbal so high and my sciences relatively lower. But it's like the SATs post-college, the score itself is just a way to get you IN, no one cares after that. Now, everyone is hankering to do well on the USMLE...that's the exam we are focusing on (along with our individual exams in class, of course). If you did poorly on the MCAT yet got into med school, just count yourself lucky and don't look back! 🙂

Evidence suggests that the verbal correlation is a myth. Instead bio sci is the best correlator, which makes intuitive sense.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/atta...2&d=1161248204

Physical Sciences: 0.49 correlation w/ Step I
Biological Sciences: 0.57 correlation w/ Step I
Verbal Reasoning: 0.34 correlation w/ Step I
Writing Sample: 0.10 correlation w/ Step I

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Evidence suggests that the verbal correlation is a myth. Instead bio sci is the best correlator, which makes intuitive sense.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/atta...2&d=1161248204

Physical Sciences: 0.49 correlation w/ Step I
Biological Sciences: 0.57 correlation w/ Step I
Verbal Reasoning: 0.34 correlation w/ Step I
Writing Sample: 0.10 correlation w/ Step I

👍

The only reason they have the VR in the first place is to weed out the applicant crowd

 

[evade]

Evidence suggests that the verbal correlation is a myth. Instead bio sci is the best correlator, which makes intuitive sense.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/atta...2&d=1161248204

Physical Sciences: 0.49 correlation w/ Step I
Biological Sciences: 0.57 correlation w/ Step I
Verbal Reasoning: 0.34 correlation w/ Step I
Writing Sample: 0.10 correlation w/ Step I

Neat.

The whole 'panicking over MCAT scores' thing was always so foreign to me. I took the MCAT the summer after my Junior year, which was before I was positive I wanted to go to med school. I knew if I waited 'till I was sure, I'd start to forget the o-chem and physics that I loathed so much. I said, "well, if I don't do well, I guess med school isn't the place for me."

If only I could have such a cavalier attitude toward the Boards!

 

[Mixtli]

Evidence suggests that the verbal correlation is a myth. Instead bio sci is the best correlator, which makes intuitive sense.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/atta...2&d=1161248204

Physical Sciences: 0.49 correlation w/ Step I
Biological Sciences: 0.57 correlation w/ Step I
Verbal Reasoning: 0.34 correlation w/ Step I
Writing Sample: 0.10 correlation w/ Step I

Woo Hoo!!! Hopefully, I'm not going to be stupid after all!!!

 

[braluk]

i unofficially heard from several adcom members at my school that bio scores is incorporated into US News. Thus, if one wants to maintain a higher average for their school (even though US news is by no means a perfect indicator of school caliber, it certainly is what many students look at when applying and thus important in a business and marketing standpoint), it would make more sense to take applicants with a decent bio score to maintain that average on USNews, moreso than other scores. After all, according to MSAR averages, it seems that the self-reported MCAT averages seem to always indicate a higher bio average score than verbal and physical sciences.

I always thought verbal to be a good indicator of inductive reasoning, which might be helpful for later on when you're working with patients or something, but i never thought of it as that strong of a correlation between board scores and verbal success.

 

[njbmd]

Once yoiu get accepted to med schools, do residencies or other places ask for your MCAT scores? or it turns out to be like SAT; once you are in, it does not really matter anymore.

No but your USMLE scores matter a lot. MCAT is history.

 

[Law2Doc]

There are actually other studies which suggest verbal reasoning is important for USMLE, but not Step 1 in particular. I personally don't put much weight in a lot of the studies, given the number of years one has to follow the subjects and the changes both to the tests and the subjects along the way. (We won't rehash that debate) IMHO, the second year of med school is the best predictor of how you will do on Step 1.


See eg., a study correlating reading comprehension with both MCAT and USMLE, and an article indicating verbal is a good indicator for the Canadian MCC and should be for Step 2: http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.c...al,11,31;linkingpublicationresults,1:102488,1
http://www.im.org/AAIM/Pubs/Insight/Winter2005/page8.htm

But the answer to the OP's question is no -- the MCAT is over once you get to med school, and you will rise and fall based on how you do thereafter.

 

[BaylorGuy]

Only in that it's correlated with USMLE scores.

There are a couple of studies out there (i can't remember where or which ones) that say that your MCAT score is directly correllated to your Step I score. I don't know about the other steps of the USMLE exams, but i do know that schools and perhaps residencies now are going to place more emphasis on Step II (which is more clinical based and may have more to do with correlation to the verbal section, but i'm not totally positive).

 

[Pinkertinkle]

It's unfortunate my link no longer works, but if it did it would also show the highest correlation with Step II is biosci (at .49). As for schools placing an emphasis on Step II, that would be strange as most residencies begin evaluating applications and often make decisions before Step II scores are available.

 

[cyclegirl]

The Dean at my school said that there has been a lot of recent research that showed the MCAT really did not predict how you would do on USMLE/COMPLEX and that is was your GPA, not sure if it is undergrad or med school GPA, that predicted how you would do. I do not know the specific articles, just something I was told.

 

[RxnMan]

The Dean at my school said that there has been a lot of recent research that showed the MCAT really did not predict how you would do on USMLE/COMPLEX and that is was your GPA, not sure if it is undergrad or med school GPA, that predicted how you would do. I do not know the specific articles, just something I was told.

Imagine that. The test that tests your knowledge of your 1st two years of med school correlates to how well your med school thinks you did in your first two years. (when they say "GPA", or even "undergrad GPA", they mean medical school GPA - which is why residency is also called graduate medical education)

Not trying to knock you, cyclegirl, but there's a number of posts saying that a weak statistical anomaly makes it certain that high MCAT scorers get high USMLE scores. Your post is stating the patently obvious.

 

[Bertelman]

Not trying to burst the bubble here, but this score does follow you. On paragraph #2 of my dean's letter, sent to every residency program I have applied, is both my undergrad GPA and my MCAT score.

I can't answer the question of what value is placed on this score for residencies. Likely very, very little. After three years of med school, believe me, there will be enough relevant info for the PD to chew on, including USMLE, class rank, eval letters, personal statements, and your participation in Gross lab, which is assessed by secretly contacting your former lab partners.

Your MCAT will be exactly 2 digits on a 6-page paper, this paper being one of several things they use when considering you for interview. Once interviewed, some believe most of the fluff is tossed out the window, and they determine their crew by how well you interviewed.

 

[JimDiGriz]

I know some ortho residencies require it

 

[RaaMD]

I use my MCAT score to dominate the women around me- my dignity has started to wane.

LOL, this just cracked me up. Hehe.