High MCAT?

[TIGIBedHead]

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People often refer to applicants with low gpa, high MCAT. What is considered a high MCAT score?

 

[Labslave]

People often refer to applicants with low gpa, high MCAT. What is considered a high MCAT score?

It kinda' depends. Here on SDN, nobody is going to be impressed with a 34, but you shouldn't take this to heart (in fact, many here consider a high MCAT score to be at or approaching 40). Take a look at some of the data supplied by the AAMC and decide for yourself.

 

[MoosePilot]

I'd say a high MCAT would be 33+. That's just a personal mark. I don't think it has to be 40+, 'cause that's truly rarified territory.

 

[Indryd]

People often refer to applicants with low gpa, high MCAT. What is considered a high MCAT score?

A 38 puts you in the 99th percentile, a 36 is 97th, I think a 34 is close to the 90th.

 

[Long Dong]

I'd call a high mcat 35+, and a high step 1 250+. People with a 40+ mcat and a 260+ step 1 I would call realy high and would get wow from me.

 

[Law2Doc]

I'd call a high mcat 35+, and a high step 1 250+. People with a 40+ mcat and a 260+ step 1 I would call realy high and would get wow from me.

You'd pretty much have to be high to still remember your MCAT score once you were already past the boards. 🙄

 

[Long Dong]

You'd pretty much have to be high to still remember your MCAT score once you were already past the boards. 🙄

I pretty high (red bull vodka) right now coming back from club.

 

[Billy Rubin]

I'd take 11-11-11 over 14-14-6.

SDN scores do tend to be high. And some of them are trolls.

If you're at or above 35, you're a star. Nobody in their right mind could fault that score or say it's 'not high enough'.

 

[Centinel]

I'd say high is 36+, but for one reason alone: If you're out of state, UMich will give you an auto interview with a 3.8 GPA & 36+ MCAT. So yeah, I'll usurp their definition of 'high' MCAT.

 

[Chris127]

Applicants average a 24, matriculants average a 30, so I would would consider a 33-34+ to be a really solid score. Of course, plenty of people get in with scores of 29-32.

 

[TIGIBedHead]

Applicants average a 24, matriculants average a 30, so I would would consider a 33-34+ to be a really solid score. Of course, plenty of people get in with scores of 29-32.

Chris, it seems that 24 is the average score of MCAT examinees. The average applicant score in 2004, according to the AAMC website, was 27.3. The average score of matriculants was 29.9.

Do you think there's that much of a difference between a 32 for instance, and a 34? I mean, once you're up there, how much of a difference does 2 or even 3 points really make?

 

[Law2Doc]

Chris, it seems that 24 is the average score of MCAT examinees. The average applicant score in 2004, according to the AAMC website, was 27.3. The average score of matriculants was 29.9.

Do you think there's that much of a difference between a 32 for instance, and a 34? I mean, once you're up there, how much of a difference does 2 or even 3 points really make?

I suspect that if you looked at the averages for matriculants in eg. top ten - fifteen (per US News research rankings) brackets, they would be several points above the average score of matriculants you listed. Thus if the average at these top schools is, say, a 33, then for that school, the 32 would not be a "high" score, while a 34 would be. Not sure if there is any real difference in consideration you would get with one score or the other, but certainly one of those scores might let you help the school boost its average, while the other would serve to lower it. No idea if they take this into consideration.

 

[Blue Planet]

On top of that, each MCAT score in the middle of the bell curve (20-30) represents 4-5% of all test takers, which is a lot. Once one gets to the "rarefied" regions (38+, for example), points really don't matter: the difference between a 40 and a 41 is 0.3%, or about 180 people out of a testing population of 60,000.

 

[Risa]

On SDN I feel very average, so I was pretty surprised when my Cornell interviewer said that I "kicked butt on the MCATs" with a 34.

 

[45408]

You'd pretty much have to be high to still remember your MCAT score once you were already past the boards. 🙄

I don't see why you'd forget it. I still remember my ACT score, and I suspect most of SDN remembers their SAT/ACT score. My research prof still remembers what he got on the GRE.

 

[QofQuimica]

I don't see why you'd forget it. I still remember my ACT score, and I suspect most of SDN remembers their SAT/ACT score. My research prof still remembers what he got on the GRE.

That's because you haven't been out of high school for very long. 😉 I found that while I did still basically remember the ranges where I scored on the SAT and ACT tests, I didn't remember the actual scores, and a lot of it was because I would confuse my SAT with my GRE and my ACT with my college MCAT score. Some secondaries actually ask you what your high school test scores were, and I had to go look them up so as not to falsify my app.

Anyway, to answer the OP's question, I basically agree with Moose. 33-34 is the 90th percentile on the MCAT, so I'd say anyone who scores 33+ has a "high" score. A 33 would make you reasonably competitive at any school in the country, even if it is a couple of points below a few schools' MSAR MCAT averages.

 

[Maerad]

Yeah, looking around here and MDapplicants.com skews one's perspective a bit. A 34 or 35 is by no means an uncommon score on these sites, but "out there" in the real world, it's a pretty good score.The magic number is a 30, so anything above a 33 is what I would consider high.

 

[Centinel]

Yeah, the median accepted student at WashU (and medians tend to be lower values than means, for the statistically oriented) had a 37 MCAT. Holy. Crap.

 

[Maerad]

I never cease to be amazed at how they can convine so many smart people to move to St. Louis.

 

[ahumdinger]

I never cease to be amazed at how they can convine so many smart people to move to St. Louis.

I don't know what this has to do with the thread, but I will give you an answer anyway. Smart people move to St. Louis for medical school because living is cheap as hell, and when you're a student, any type of student, cheaper is better.

 

[javert]

I'd call a high mcat 35+, and a high step 1 250+. People with a 40+ mcat and a 260+ step 1 I would call realy high and would get wow from me.

Man, where do you go to med school? A 250 is what you would consider high?! Isn't the average step 1 score like a 212? Last year, my school had the higest national average of all schools and that was about a 235-237. I think people who get 250+ are few and far between... certainly a lot less than people who score a 35+ considering the average MCAT score of my class is a 35. Just my 2 cents... (Btw, If I break 230, I'll jump for joy... you must want to do rad onc/optho/derm/neurosurg.. or something?)

 

[Long Dong]

Man, where do you go to med school? A 250 is what you would consider high?! Isn't the average step 1 score like a 212? Last year, my school had the higest national average of all schools and that was about a 235-237. I think people who get 250+ are few and far between... certainly a lot less than people who score a 35+ considering the average MCAT score of my class is a 35. Just my 2 cents... (Btw, If I break 230, I'll jump for joy... you must want to do rad onc/optho/derm/neurosurg.. or something?)

I think my school is going to claim the highest with their new curriculum 🙄. But did you see the stanford post about them having the highest in the nation, and did you see the people from UF stating in that thread that their school told them at interview that they had the highest step 1 in the nation. Just goes to show you so many schools claim to have the highest step 1. But yeah a 235 mean is pretty high your school is doing a good job, or maybe the people who got in in the first place are just that good, put them at podunk U and they well still rocket it. As for people with 250+ go to the usmle forums and you'll see a good number of them and even a good number of 260+.

 

[CIA]

I think my school is going to claim the highest with their new curriculum 🙄. But did you see the stanford post about them having the highest in the nation, and did you see the people from UF stating in that thread that their school told them at interview that they had the highest step 1 in the nation. Just goes to show you so many schools claim to have the highest step 1. But yeah a 235 mean is pretty high your school is doing a good job, or maybe the people who got in in the first place are just that good, put them at podunk U and they well still rocket it. As for people with 250+ go to the usmle forums and you'll see a good number of them and even a good number of 260+.

Yeah well if you go to a magic show you might "see" someone cut in half, but does that mean it actually happened?

Everything you read on the internet is true.

Why would people lie about their scores? Who knows? Why are some people afraid to post their scores at all?

 

[Long Dong]

Yeah well if you go to a magic show you might "see" someone cut in half, but does that mean it actually happened?

Everything you read on the internet is true.

Why would people lie about their scores? Who knows? Why are some people afraid to post their scores at all?

Lying about your mcat or step 1 is about as lame as lying about how many girls you've boned. True players don't need to lie about those kind of things. But the majority of people in med school should have good bs detectors. So if some random guy just registered and posted he scored 270+, most people on the step 1 forums would call BS. As to some of the regulars who have posted in that forum for a long time I'd give them the benifit of a doubt, and when they were accused of bs they actually posted a picture of their score report. As for me, most of my classmates know who I am, and know I haven't posted bs about my step 1.

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[Maerad]

I don't know what this has to do with the thread, but I will give you an answer anyway. Smart people move to St. Louis for medical school because living is cheap as hell, and when you're a student, any type of student, cheaper is better.

I was making a comment, commonly referred to as a joke, at drinklord's post about WashU's incredibly high median MCAT and GPA. For whatever reason, I find it funny that a veritable Mecca of medical learning is situated in such a colossal sh*thole (the same goes for JHU).

 

[rhystheprince]

To go back to the original question, I have realized that if your
average MCAT score (i.e. sum of the numeric sections divided by 3)
is one full unit greater than the average at the school you
are applying to, you are in good shape.

E.g. Let's say you are applying to USC-Keck with an 11V,11P,11B,Q
average matriculant score reported on the MSAR. Then, if you
have an average score of 12, or a sum of 36 and up, it would be
highly unlikely not to receive an interview.

Of course like everything else in this hectic and random process,
no real rule will ever apply, but this is what I have seen.

Good luck!

 

[TIGIBedHead]

Thanks everybody for your replies.

rhys, your analysis seems plausible. I'm guessing it's rare for people with a 30+ MCAT to not get at least an interview from their state schools, right?

Good luck everyone!

 

[rhystheprince]

Hey TIGIBedHead,

I'm guessing it's rare for people with a 30+ MCAT to not get at least an interview from their state schools, right?

You are right! Yet, it will depend on which state we are talking about as well. For a Cali resident it is much easier to get rejected pre-interview by a UC even with a 30+, than someone from...almost everywhere else! Their applicant pool has just been ridiculous lately in terms of stats.

I am definitely interested in finding out what others think of my post.

Thanks, and good luck to us all!