HOw does a 7 on verbal look?

[45408]

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duh it looks bad. even the OP knows it. But he/she was probably trying to look for support. I wonder how you even got into medschool without even being able to maturely giving advice.

what i really mean to say is that i hope you don't treat your patients this way.

Please. You had to resort to the "bad doctor" argument? Give me a break. Besides, what was rude or immature? Go ahead and point it out.

 

[shnjb]

There is a high correlation between MCAT VR and success in med school, or that's what ADCOM at UCLA said.

A 7 looks horrible.
What do you expect?

But remember that people get in with far worse crimes, in some cases literally felonies.

 

[Kfire326]

One interviewer of mine told me he didn't really care for the verbal section in general. Yea, he asked me about my 7, but he said that he's seen plenty of people end up at the top of their class that came in with poor verbal scores. He did mention that usually its because English isn't their first language, but then he said, "but still..."

 

[pinfeathers6]

I posted in the MCAT 27-29 interviews thread, but it belongs here too...

Echoing what Nubbey24 said -- it is possible, and if you feel the need to apply without re-taking, go for it. And like Nubbey said too, these are anecdotes -- every applicant is different, and of course more 7s are rejected than accepted. But if you feel your application is otherwise robust, you stand a decent chance -- as long as you apply broadly and handpick schools that you feel will appreciate your strengths (based on the program's MS and what they identify as being important in selecting applicants).

My anecdote: I took the MCAT once and got a 7 V, 11 BS, 11 PS. I have a 3.55 GPA, am caucasian, and a CA resident. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Recognizing my weaknesses but unable to retake, I applied to 35 schools -- all tiers -- hoping that one might appreciate the strengths of my application (unique ECs, very strong letters, well-articulated essay, etc.). I have been lucky to receive 8 interviews, but only actually attended 3 since I was accepted to one of my top choices back in January. Shockingly though, among those 8 interview offers were Harvard, Yale and UCLA Geffen.

For me, the 7V was a kind of a fluke. On my practice exams I was averaging an 11 in V (no lower than a 9). Test day circumstances affected my concentration and -- honestly, without having a strong strategy for this section to fall back on (and being a slower reader by nature) -- it was the section that suffered most. I've been asked about it in two interviews and in both cases interviewers were satisfied with my reasoning and communication skills and wrote the score off to a bad test day.

Sorry for the long post, but I think this information is important for bringing into question those magical numerical cut-offs that people seem to think exist for, say, "top tens" or even as a general rule. There are always exceptions. I'm an outlier, but also proof that it is possible.

 

[45408]

My anecdote: I took the MCAT once and got a 7 V, 11 BS, 11 PS. I have a 3.55 GPA, am caucasian, and a CA resident. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Recognizing my weaknesses but unable to retake, I applied to 35 schools -- all tiers -- hoping that one might appreciate the strengths of my application (unique ECs, very strong letters, well-articulated essay, etc.). I have been lucky to receive 8 interviews, but only actually attended 3 since I was accepted to one of my top choices back in January. Shockingly though, among those 8 interview offers were Harvard, Yale and UCLA Geffen.

Hmmm. why do you think you got an interview from Harvard?

 

[pinfeathers6]

Who knows. My personal opinion? My experience and motivation to pursue underserved medicine. I have some other unusual aspects to my application, but I think the minority health emphasis encouraged them to view me differently. My interviewer told me that the Committee looks for people who demonstrate the ability to actively seek out and maximize opportunities, such as through identifying needs (on campus or in the community) and developing ways to address those needs. So for what that's worth.

 

[ocwaveoc]

I don't understand the some of the people who state that with 7 in Verbal they still got interviews/acceptances without mentioning their GPAs. Perhaps your GPAs were very high. Perhaps your BCPM was really high. I mean, this discussion is full of information that can be misinterpreted. To get a clearer picture on people with 7 in verbal and their successes, more information is needed.

 

[deleted106503]

I don't understand the some of the people who state that with 7 in Verbal they still got interviews/acceptances without mentioning their GPAs. Perhaps your GPAs were very high. Perhaps your BCPM was really high. I mean, this discussion is full of information that can be misinterpreted. To get a clearer picture on people with 7 in verbal and their successes, more information is needed.

Why are you so focused on the only section, VR? You think only a high GPA can combat a low VR score? When you see what is in the entire application, one subsection score is really not that much. You have GPA, both BCPM and overall, ECs, LORs, PS, secondary essays, MCAT PS, MCAT BS, MCAT WS, etc. You think that if someone is above average in ALL of these, the lone VR score can destroy all of it? No, that's why people still get interviews and acceptances with VR7 and below for US MD schools.

 

[nubbey24]

I don't understand the some of the people who state that with 7 in Verbal they still got interviews/acceptances without mentioning their GPAs. Perhaps your GPAs were very high. Perhaps your BCPM was really high. I mean, this discussion is full of information that can be misinterpreted. To get a clearer picture on people with 7 in verbal and their successes, more information is needed.

3.6 overall and BCPM...it is a good GPA, but I would hardly call it fantastic.

What does that do for your theory? I don't know why you have to be so antagonistic. The fact of the matter is...no matter what you GPA, you need a good MCAT score in order to have a strong chance. For example, if you have a 4.0 and a 25 MCAT...good luck. Had my verbal reasoning been a 10, I feel fairly confident in saying that I would have had a number of more interviews.

Your whole application does matter. I can tell you why I got so many interviews/acceptances:

1. Awesome letters of rec.

2. A lot of publications.

3. A well thought out personal statement that didn't just reiterate everything in my amcas activities section (way too many applicants do this in my opinion).


Nubs

 

[yeeseng]

I heard from my pre-med advisor that someone got into U of Michigan med sch with a 5 in verbal. She refuses to disclose his name though.

 

[Critical Mass]

I heard from my pre-med advisor that someone got into U of Michigan med sch with a 5 in verbal. She refuses to disclose his name though.

We should have a rule against describing the one case out of several thousand in the interest of providing sound advice to typical applicants. This is probably urban legend anyhow.

7 in verbal? Probably too low in Cali. The OP is low percentage.

Keep your chin up and retake it. 👍

 

[cnoevil]

7 on verbal does not look great, but you will be fine if the other parts of your app shine.

In short, asking a question like this on sdn will get you the same results as a one legged man would get in an ass kicking contest. It appears that 99.9% of the sdn population has a 35+ MCAT w/ 3.9 gpa and they like to shoot it straight from the i am god/ocd/anal retentive perspective. So, if you haven't been perfect since the moment of birth you might as well give up on life and panhandle on the streets...

 

[gujuDoc]

I heard from my pre-med advisor that someone got into U of Michigan med sch with a 5 in verbal. She refuses to disclose his name though.

But that is strictly anecdotal. The OP probably has a chance at lower tier schools based on stats in the MSAR but it is very probably that they may or may not have a chance at the Cali schools. Seeing how Cali schools are far more competitive and UMich too, it is likely that the people who get in with those kind of scores must have had something phenomenal on their app to be looked at beyond that 5. That person probably still had a hard time getting in a lot of other places.

Now here's a point that REL made in one of the other threads about a 7. Usually any subscore lower then a 7 is looked down upon (granted there are exceptions). However, a 7 will often be overlooked if the remaining subsections (the two science sections more so then the writing) are very strong. For instance, you got 12's in the sciences but a 7 in Verbal. it can also be overlooked if on top of that your GPA is great and the remainder of your app is strong. These were not his exact words but the general gist of what he stated in a previous post elsewhere.

At the institution that he is an adcom director for, my personal experience of what I witnessed with my friends is that those who got in with a 7 and had an overall score of 26-27 were people who were waitlisted first and then got in once waitlist movement started. Since the Fl. schools have a high percentage of waitlist movement the chance were very high of these people getting in. Mainly th chances were high of getting off waitlists because people with multiple acceptances to all or more then one Fl. school or out of state schools among the more competitive applicants. Some of those applicants also had multiple out of state acceptances and scholarship offers. However, if said population of more competitive people didn't drop initial acceptances the number of people with a 7 or less getting in would probably decrease dramatically.

As I've stated in previous posts, a 7 won't keep you out but it will be tougher to get in especially if English is your first language and you still did not do well.

Now as far as Cali schools are considered, you'd have a much slimmer chance then someoe say in Texas of Florida because the schools are more competitive and many Cali people with competitive profiles don't even get in their own schools. that' what happens when you live in a state where the majority of the schools are highly ranked research schools and there's a much higher percentage of competitive applicants staying at their instate programs rather then leaving for other out of state schools.

Now even if you didn't pay attention to the rest of my post, pay attention to this last line and take it very seriously:

ASK THE ADMISSIONS DIRECTORS AT SCHOOLS OF INTEREST FOR THEIR ADVICE!!!! This is crucial because sometimes what is said on SDN and what is said by an adcom differ and it is not your SDN already accepted applicants that will be deciding your fate ultimately unless they serve on an admissions committee.

 

[Richter915]

28 with a 7 in verbal here...

White male
6 interviews (VCU, RFU, Penn State, OHSU, USUHS, and UVM)

3 Acceptances (VCU, Penn State, and UVM) Waiting on the others...

If you have a 7 in verbal, you need to be realistic about schools you apply to, and have something else in your application making the 7 look like an abnormality. I like to think that the 7 was a fluke and that I had some bubbling error, but maybe I am just ******ed. I guess we will never know. And to tell you the truth, now that I am accepted, it really doesn't matter.

A 7 will not kill you, but it will knock you out of the running at top schools (I am sure someone has an anecdote to refute this) and it will limit your chances of success. If you have a solid application otherwise you can get in somewhere though.

So bottom line is this: If you want to be sure of getting in somewhere, then retake and score better. If you want CA schools, then definitely retake.

My story is anecdotal as are other stories of 7's getting accepted. Take these all with a grain of salt. They are not the typical.

Good luck,

Nubs

on my most recent practice AAMC i got the same score as you...and to get into the schools you got into really gives me hope...what were your other creds if you don't mind my asking>

 

[Kfire326]

I don't understand the some of the people who state that with 7 in Verbal they still got interviews/acceptances without mentioning their GPAs. Perhaps your GPAs were very high. Perhaps your BCPM was really high. I mean, this discussion is full of information that can be misinterpreted. To get a clearer picture on people with 7 in verbal and their successes, more information is needed.

My stats:

Verbal: 7
Physical: 11
Biological: 11
Writing: P
Cum. GPA: 3.71 (raised to 3.74 after Fall 06 semester)
Sci. GPA: 3.64
Biochemistry major - upward trend in GPA, ending in 3 straight 4.0's (while taking physics I and II, pchem, biochem, inorganic chem, physiology).

I also had a fairly unique (and well written, according to 1 interviewer who was dean of admissions at a school) personal statement and pretty diverse extracurriculars. I tried a bunch of diff. things when I was deciding what to do with my life.

 

[cal_girl]

Rumor has it that the UCs screen for 8+ in all categories. Can anyone confirm this?

I have a friend who has an 8V and has gotten several UC interviews though. So, don't be shocked if you are slow to get secondaries if at all. And, being so late in the cycle, I have another friends with a 36 including 12V that is still waiting for secondaries from the UCs. If the rest of your app is solid, you can still get in some where. Cast that net wide all over the country.

That's totally not true. I've less than 7 on VR and I got into one of the best UC schools.

 

[AtreyuRocks]

I think it's agreed that 7 VR doesnt look so hot, but even if you do better on a retake, the whole application still plays a role in your potential for secondary/interview/acceptance. I received a 7 in verbal the first time, and 11 the second time. My other scores remained the same, with an overall total of 29. DESPITE my doing much better in VR the second time, one interviewer still felt compelled to mention the fact that I didnt do so hot the first time... So my advice would be that unless you are pretty damn sure you can do significantly better, or (in my case) a higher total MCAT score is needed to help the adcom even see your app, I wouldn't retake. 7 is often the cut-off point.