How come I couldn't do well on MCAT

[JimmyB123]

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I'm wondering if SDN could offer some perspective on this:

I have several friends who got around a 35 or higher on the MCAT. These people killed the SATs (2300+), as did I. But on the MCAT, I was only able to pull off a 31. These are all hardworking people and so am I. Any idea why I couldn't get an MCAT score similar to theirs? Even though we got similar SAT scores...

 

[Doctor Strange]

Getting a high SAT score does not entitle you to a high MCAT score. The SAT was babytown frolics compared to the MCAT.

 

[deleted407021]

This thread title is misleading. A 31 isn't a reason to think you didn't do well, by any means.

 

[DermViser]

I'm wondering if SDN could offer some perspective on this:

I have several friends who got around a 35 or higher on the MCAT. These people killed the SATs (2300+), as did I. But on the MCAT, I was only able to pull off a 31. These are all hardworking people and so am I. Any idea why I couldn't get an MCAT score similar to theirs? Even though we got similar SAT scores...

The SAT does not = the MCAT. That being said a 31 is not a bad score.

 

[claduva94]

Correlation between SAT and MCAT is far from perfect. No reason to compare apples to oranges.

 

[JimmyB123]

The SAT does not = the MCAT. That being said a 31 is not a bad score.

Isn't it rare though? To crush the SAT only to do average on the MCAT?

 

[claduva94]

Isn't it rare though? To crush the SAT only to do average on the MCAT?

No. Most college students take the SAT. Only those poised to enter medical school take the MCAT. You are dealing with two very different populations.

 

[DermViser]

Isn't it rare though? To crush the SAT only to do average on the MCAT?

No. Bc you have 2 different populations taking both exams. All college students vs. those wanting to get into med school.

 

[PantherPride]

No. Most college students take the SAT. Only those poised to enter medical school take the MCAT. You are dealing with two very different populations.

Not to mention the group of people that take the MCAT also excludes those who were weeded out through the prereqs. The top 1% of of MCAT scorers are different from the top 1% of SAT scorers. For example, the average Rice student scores in the top 1% on the SAT (+2200). On the other hand, the average MCAT for med school applicants from Rice was a 33, which is the top 10%.

http://students.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/Academic_Advising/Health Professions Advising 2012.pdf

 

[RussianFrolic]

Isn't it rare though? To crush the SAT only to do average on the MCAT?

In addition to what the people above said: the subject matter is very different as is the difficulty level. I had a good SAT score (2100), but got an excellent MCAT score. There is no definite relationship. You will be fine with that MCAT score and if you don't feel happy with it you can always re-take.

 

[Aerus]

There IS a correlation between how you do on the SAT/ACT and how you do on the MCAT, but it isn't incredibly strong. The MCAT is a much harder exam to do well on and you're being compared against all the people who survived the prereqs and weren't discouraged to take the test. Being in the top 1% in the whole population on a test isn't quite the same as being in the top 1% as all premeds who made it past the prereqs on a test.

I scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT/ACT with minimal effort. If I want to score even in the 90th percentile on the MCAT, I would already have to work much harder. I'm sure a lot of the 99th percentilers on the MCAT (even if they did badly originally on the SAT/ACT), would crush the SAT/ACT if they applied the same study habits retroactively. Two different tests with two completely different populations.

 

[Goro]

We can't answer this any more than we can answer why is my BP 100/70 while yours is 120/80.

Maybe they studied a little bit harder; maybe you're not as good at pattern recognition; maybe they're a little smarter; maybe they're just better at standardized tests? Who knows???! You got a good score and you're competitive. Run with that. There arwlays will be better and worse people than you. The only person you should be competing against is yourself.

I'm wondering if SDN could offer some perspective on this:

I have several friends who got around a 35 or higher on the MCAT. These people killed the SATs (2300+), as did I. But on the MCAT, I was only able to pull off a 31. These are all hardworking people and so am I. Any idea why I couldn't get an MCAT score similar to theirs? Even though we got similar SAT scores...

 

[AspiringERMD]

Not to mention the group of people that take the MCAT also excludes those who were weeded out through the prereqs. The top 1% of of MCAT scorers are different from the top 1% of SAT scorers. For example, the average Rice student scores in the top 1% on the SAT (+2200). On the other hand, the average MCAT for med school applicants from Rice was a 33, which is the top 10%.

http://students.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/Academic_Advising/Health Professions Advising 2012.pdf

Sounds about right. I got a perfect score on the ACT and was scoring very well in MCAT practice (36-38), but wound up with only a 33 on the real MCAT. Mom is pushing me to retake it, but for a multitude of reasons, I overruled her. It wouldn't have been a good decision even if my pride is a little hurt. A 33 and a 31 are both decent scores that should grant an acceptance or two. Don't worry, OP.

 

[Holmwood]

I'm wondering if SDN could offer some perspective on this:

I have several friends who got around a 35 or higher on the MCAT. These people killed the SATs (2300+), as did I. But on the MCAT, I was only able to pull off a 31. These are all hardworking people and so am I. Any idea why I couldn't get an MCAT score similar to theirs? Even though we got similar SAT scores...

Comprehension is inherently harder when done on a computer screen as studies have shown.

And regrettably, the MCAT is all about comprehension (passages out the wazoo).

Some adapt better, some not.

 

[mehc012]

There IS a correlation between how you do on the SAT/ACT and how you do on the MCAT, but it isn't incredibly strong. The MCAT is a much harder exam to do well on and you're being compared against all the people who survived the prereqs and weren't discouraged to take the test. Being in the top 1% in the whole population on a test isn't quite the same as being in the top 1% as all premeds who made it past the prereqs on a test.

I scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT/ACT with minimal effort. If I want to score even in the 90th percentile on the MCAT, I would already have to work much harder. I'm sure a lot of the 99th percentilers on the MCAT (even if they did badly originally on the SAT/ACT), would crush the SAT/ACT if they applied the same study habits retroactively. Two different tests with two completely different populations.

Except that the SAT is not a studying-type exam...
I've had this discussion on SDN before, where apparently people actually prepped for the SAT, but at my highschool, it was definitely not something you studied for, it was just something you...took. And yes, we scored well on it. I can't even fathom what I would study for that test.

Now, the MCAT is a bit different. But even so, it's not as much of a content exam as it seems upfront. My score on FLs did not change significantly between having covered 75% of the material vs 95%.

 

[Aerus]

Except that the SAT is not a studying-type exam...
I've had this discussion on SDN before, where apparently people actually prepped for the SAT, but at my highschool, it was definitely not something you studied for, it was just something you...took. And yes, we scored well on it. I can't even fathom what I would study for that test.

Now, the MCAT is a bit different. But even so, it's not as much of a content exam as it seems upfront. My score on FLs did not change significantly between having covered 75% of the material vs 95%.

I strongly disagree. Perhaps you and I were able to get away with not really studying for this exam, but if you analyze it, the SAT or ACT can definitely be studied and rigorously mastered. Just about any test out there can be prepped for, which is why test companies are so profitable. Let's look at the SAT objectively:

-Critical Reading: A watered down version of the MCAT verbal with some vocabulary. If one can improve one's score on the verbal section of the MCAT (I'm sure you've seen Biosadist's verbal strategy that doubled his score from 7's to 14's and 15's), then the SAT critical reading can definitely be mastered. The passages are much easier to understand and the questions are, in my opinion, a lot less subjective than the ones on the verbal section of the MCAT. There is a huge list of high yield vocabulary words that can be memorized. Latin roots can also be learned. Not a difficult section to get an 800 in if you put enough time into it.

-Math: Arguably the easiest section to get an 800 in. Requires a good understanding of basic algebra and geometry, which can definitely be studied. There are a handful of "tricks" that test makers use on this section that can be learned and mastered.

-Writing: I argue that fully understanding the English language and taking a couple practice exams are enough to get a perfect score on the multiple choice portion. If your English isn't so good, then just study English grammar for a few weeks and take a couple practice exams and voila! The essay is probably the hardest section to master, since the grading is the most subjective part of the test, but you don't need a 12 to get an 800.

I also took the ACT in addition to the SAT (just for the laughs, as I had zero prep for this exam and basically walked into the testing room not realizing that there was a science section) and I thought it was similar. All the sections were study-able. On the ACT, you only need a 35.5 average on all sections or above to get a 36, so you don't even need perfect scores on everything.

Now all of this post is assuming that the test-taker had a reasonably decent educational background. If they didn't, it takes a little more effort than the way I described, but it's still doable. There obviously is an innate roof for everyone, but I believe the roof to scoring in at least the 90th percentile on this test isn't very high.

 

[Afford]

You said that you got a 35 on your retake, so I don't really get what you're trying to say.

 

[mehc012]

I strongly disagree. Perhaps you and I were able to get away with not really studying for this exam, but if you analyze it, the SAT or ACT can definitely be studied and rigorously mastered. Just about any test out there can be prepped for, which is why test companies are so profitable. Let's look at the SAT objectively:

-Critical Reading: A watered down version of the MCAT verbal with some vocabulary. If one can improve one's score on the verbal section of the MCAT (I'm sure you've seen Biosadist's verbal strategy that doubled his score from 7's to 14's and 15's), then the SAT critical reading can definitely be mastered. The passages are much easier to understand and the questions are, in my opinion, a lot less subjective than the ones on the verbal section of the MCAT. There is a huge list of high yield vocabulary words that can be memorized. Latin roots can also be learned. Not a difficult section to get an 800 in if you put enough time into it.

-Math: Arguably the easiest section to get an 800 in. Requires a good understanding of basic algebra and geometry, which can definitely be studied. There are a handful of "tricks" that test makers use on this section that can be learned and mastered.

-Writing: I argue that fully understanding the English language and taking a couple practice exams are enough to get a perfect score on the multiple choice portion. If your English isn't so good, then just study English grammar for a few weeks and take a couple practice exams and voila! The essay is probably the hardest section to master, since the grading is the most subjective part of the test, but you don't need a 12 to get an 800.

I also took the ACT in addition to the SAT (just for the laughs, as I had zero prep for this exam and basically walked into the testing room not realizing that there was a science section) and I thought it was similar. All the sections were study-able. On the ACT, you only need a 35.5 average on all sections or above to get a 36, so you don't even need perfect scores on everything.

Now all of this post is assuming that the test-taker had a reasonably decent educational background. If they didn't, it takes a little more effort than the way I described, but it's still doable. There obviously is an innate roof for everyone, but I believe the roof to scoring in at least the 90th percentile on this test isn't very high.

Like I said, my experience was that nobody studied for the exam and multiple classmates and myself got 2300+. This wasn't a prep school or a private school, just the public HS (though granted, I was in the Honors classes, so my classmates were more academically oriented than many others at my school). Unless you had a poor education system or specific challenges (language barrier, lack of access to libraries, etc), I just don't see the need to study for that sort of exam. Heck, even the subject tests really only required a good grasp on how to interpret multiple choice exams.

I truly believe that MC exams are 80% gameable...you should be able to score a B average on a multiple choice test without knowing the subject, just going by the format of the questions and answer choices. There's a spectrum, of course; the MCAT is less obvious about it than the SAT was, for example (though it could also be that I'm out of practice because my college had no MC exams), but still...a test can only be so rigorous in that format.

 

[Aerus]

Like I said, my experience was that nobody studied for the exam and multiple classmates and myself got 2300+. This wasn't a prep school or a private school, just the public HS (though granted, I was in the Honors classes, so my classmates were more academically oriented than many others at my school). Unless you had a poor education system or specific challenges (language barrier, lack of access to libraries, etc), I just don't see the need to study for that sort of exam. Heck, even the subject tests really only required a good grasp on how to interpret multiple choice exams.

I truly believe that MC exams are 80% gameable...you should be able to score a B average on a multiple choice test without knowing the subject, just going by the format of the questions and answer choices. There's a spectrum, of course; the MCAT is less obvious about it than the SAT was, for example (though it could also be that I'm out of practice because my college had no MC exams), but still...a test can only be so rigorous in that format.

It's also probably the culture. A lot of my classmates grew up with parents that either didn't speak English well or not at all. Certain colloquial is also associated with certain cultures, areas, and socioeconomic standings and that makes English a lot less intuitive (ex. should have -> should've -> should of). The vocabulary on the SAT is NOT what is expected an average high school student to know or even guess the definitions of. For the majority of the country, the SAT is a test that one must prepare for or risk not doing well.

 

[ciestar]

SAT prep for me was required by my high school, everyone had to take a Kaplan prep course. But the only way to "study" for that is to practice basically. Especially math you're rusty at and haven't even touched for 3 years (geometry..).