how would you rank MCAT scores?

[Broccoli]

So completely ignoring GPA, how would you rate the competitiveness of applicants to MD schools based on their MCAT scores? What ranges would you consider not competitive, competitive, and then very competitive (ie, has a good chance at top 15 schools)?

Not competitive: Under 29
Competitive: 29 - 34
Very competitive: 35+

How does that sound?

Also, let's say you have an overall competitive score but one section is a 9, would that be grounds for a retake?

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[superwillis]

how did u do broccoli?

 

[Broccoli]

how did u do broccoli?

I PM'ed you.

 

[UMP]

So completely ignoring GPA, how would you rate the competitiveness of applicants to MD schools based on their MCAT scores? What ranges would you consider not competitive, competitive, and then very competitive (ie, has a good chance at top 15 schools)?

Not competitive: Under 29
Competitive: 29 - 34
Very competitive: 35+

How does that sound?

Also, let's say you have an overall competitive score but one section is a 9, would that be grounds for a retake?

well... I think a 9 would be necessary for a competitive score of 29.

I'd say 9-10's and above is a competitive score

 

[anon-y-mouse]

So completely ignoring GPA, how would you rate the competitiveness of applicants to MD schools based on their MCAT scores? What ranges would you consider not competitive, competitive, and then very competitive (ie, has a good chance at top 15 schools)?

Not competitive: Under 29
Competitive: 29 - 34
Very competitive: 35+

How does that sound?

Also, let's say you have an overall competitive score but one section is a 9, would that be grounds for a retake?

well, on my first taking, i got 15's in B and V, but only 10 in P... a dean advised me to retake, which I did, and I got a much better, more balanced score... currently now on an almost full scholarship at med school. balance is important to be competitive, i think.

 

[cnoevil]

huh....you retook with a 40?

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

well, on my first taking, i got 15's in B and V, but only 10 in P... a dean advised me to retake, which I did, and I got a much better, more balanced score... currently now on an almost full scholarship at med school. balance is important to be competitive, i think.

You got a much better balanced score? How much better can you do than a 40?

 

[stiffany]

You got a much better balanced score? How much better can you do than a 40?

I call that bull****ing.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

I call that bull****ing.

T T T roll...

 

[Misfit!]

So completely ignoring GPA, how would you rate the competitiveness of applicants to MD schools based on their MCAT scores? What ranges would you consider not competitive, competitive, and then very competitive (ie, has a good chance at top 15 schools)?

Not competitive: Under 29
Competitive: 29 - 34
Very competitive: 35+

How does that sound?

Also, let's say you have an overall competitive score but one section is a 9, would that be grounds for a retake?

i heard "competitive" was 27+ (as in, has a chance somewhere)

also, I might consider 34 "very competitive"

 

[coralfangs]

well, on my first taking, i got 15's in B and V, but only 10 in P... a dean advised me to retake, which I did, and I got a much better, more balanced score... currently now on an almost full scholarship at med school. balance is important to be competitive, i think.

u sure that was a dean and not some random **** off the street?

 

[notdeadyet]

T T T roll...

He's not a troll. Just a med student who had a friggin' insane advisor. A 10 is nothing to sneeze at on its own, but combined with two 15's???

 

[notdeadyet]

He's not a troll. Just a med student who had a friggin' insane advisor. A 10 is nothing to sneeze at on its own, but combined with two 15's???

That said, anon-y-mouse improved his score and is on scholarship at a medical school while I'm trying to sell a kidney to get in to University of Pi$$water Falls, so what do I know?

 

[eraser]

well, on my first taking, i got 15's in B and V, but only 10 in P... a dean advised me to retake, which I did, and I got a much better, more balanced score... currently now on an almost full scholarship at med school. balance is important to be competitive, i think.

on my first taking, I got 45S but I spoke with Chuck Norris and he laughed at my score. so I had to retake and now I'm completely happy with a more balanced score...

 

[premedbruin]

although I am quite happy with my score, would this be considered 'balanced'?: PS: 14, VR: 11, BS: 14, W: S

 

[Wrigleyville]

Jesus people. They look at the whole thing together -- if one section is a catastophe (7 or less) it raises a red flag (often this is the verbal section). No one cares if one section is a few points lower than the others.

 

[SortOfMcDreamy]

although I am quite happy with my score, would this be considered 'balanced'?: PS: 14, VR: 11, BS: 14, W: S

Bruin, my scores are friiiighteningly close to yours. Damn that verbal section. I rocked it in practice!

 

[Kikaku21]

i heard "competitive" was 27+ (as in, has a chance somewhere)

also, I might consider 34 "very competitive"

Damn straight 34 is very competitive. I say this because I got a 35 and want to be very competitive.

 

[Kikaku21]

although I am quite happy with my score, would this be considered 'balanced'?: PS: 14, VR: 11, BS: 14, W: S

Nope. That is not "balanced". Who cares though. You are above a 10 in every section. That is GREAT. Find a school where the average VR is much above an 11. WashU tops the list at around 11.8 or something like that.

So.

Chill.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

SORRY: I was really sleep deprived (I ****ing hate the ****ing head and ****ing neck) and so I posted my retake score for one section. I got a 10P and 10B, and then a 15V my first time. 35 the first time. SORRY. But I suppose now you can see why I was told to retake, with low science scores... granted, this was summer of my soph year (where I didn't put too much effort into studying) and I hadn't taken orgo, physics II, or any upper level bio courses yet.

 

[heeseop]

i personally see the scores breaking down to something like this:

26-: below average - bad chance at allopathic schools.
27~29: average - good chance at lower tier schools
30~33: competitive - good chance at mid tier and can set ur foot in the door for some top tier.
34~36: very competitive - ok chance at top tier schools (it won't hurt but it won't help incredibly either)
37~39: super competitive - great chance at top tier schools
40+: godlike - can have their pick of schools anywhere (assuming other aspects are good).

 

[solitude]

SORRY: I was really sleep deprived (I ****ing hate the ****ing head and ****ing neck) and so I posted my retake score for one section. I got a 10P and 10B, and then a 15V my first time. 35 the first time. SORRY. But I suppose now you can see why I was told to retake, with low science scores... granted, this was summer of my soph year (where I didn't put too much effort into studying) and I hadn't taken orgo, physics II, or any upper level bio courses yet.

makes more sense. I've known people to retake with 35, but to retake with a 40 (and two 15's to boot) would be reckless.

 

[solitude]

i personally see the scores breaking down to something like this:

26-: below average - bad chance at allopathic schools.
27~29: average - good chance at lower tier schools
30~33: competitive - good chance at mid tier and can set ur foot in the door for some top tier.
34~36: very competitive - ok chance at top tier schools (it won't hurt but it won't help incredibly either)
37~39: super competitive - great chance at top tier schools
40+: godlike - can have their pick of schools anywhere (assuming other aspects are good).

I disagree with the upper range of your breakdown. The general consensus here is that once you are in the 35 or 36+ range, MCAT score differentials are a nominal factor in actually getting accepted. The exception might be the number ****** (WashU, Duke come to mind).

 

[UMP]

I disagree with the upper range of your breakdown. The general consensus here is that once you are in the 35 or 36+ range, MCAT score differentials are a nominal factor in actually getting accepted. The exception might be the number ****** (WashU, Duke come to mind).

didn't hear that about Duke, but WashU's median MCAT score is 38... while all the other top-tiers (including Harvard/JH) are 35 If you are above average above harvard then I think you are very competetive

 

[Law2Doc]

didn't hear that about Duke, but WashU's median MCAT score is 38... while all the other top-tiers (including Harvard/JH) are 35 If you are above average above harvard then I think you are very competetive

Most of the top tiers will take people with lower 30s scores who have done amazing things. I don't buy the "number *****" argument for the Harvard/Hopkins/Duke type schools as I have seen enough evidence to the contrary at those schools. Can't comment on WashU, though.
I wouldn't consider yourself out of the running anyplace with a 35, unless it was badly balanced. (Eg. if you had a 15, 15, 5, you could potentially not get into any med school regardless of the high total score)

 

[MadHopsMD]

well, on my first taking, i got 15's in B and V, but only 10 in P... a dean advised me to retake, which I did, and I got a much better, more balanced score... currently now on an almost full scholarship at med school. balance is important to be competitive, i think.

you had a 15, 15 ,10 and retook it ? my god, that is the worse advice anyone gave you. Doesnt matter even if it turned out to be good...Especially if you had a A in Physics and Chem, it was totally useless for you to re-take it.

 

[superwillis]

wow, i can't imagine being so disappointed in 15,15,10 that i'd even be willing to retake. Even if i was a little disappointed in the breakdown...i'd be so scared i'd go down! Bad decision in my opinion, but I'm glad it worked out well for you.

 

[solitude]

Most of the top tiers will take people with lower 30s scores who have done amazing things. I don't buy the "number *****" argument for the Harvard/Hopkins/Duke type schools as I have seen enough evidence to the contrary at those schools. Can't comment on WashU, though.
I wouldn't consider yourself out of the running anyplace with a 35, unless it was badly balanced. (Eg. if you had a 15, 15, 5, you could potentially not get into any med school regardless of the high total score)

Agreed, but there just aren't that many applicants in the lower 30s with "amazing" EC's, by definition. I agree that Harvard and Hopkins are not so much number ******, because they don't really care about their ranking. They're able to maintain relatively high GPA/MCAT stats because often the best students also have the best EC's, and these are the applicants that end up at H or H. But Duke is known to take high GPA/MCAT applicants with pretty weak EC's (particularly from Duke undergrad), and WashU is known for the same thing as well. It's basically a ploy to enhance USNews ranking, and it works.

 

[mycurlyearly]

what exactly are "top-tier" schools? LIke, can you name some?

 

[IckeyShuffle]

Jesus people. They look at the whole thing together -- if one section is a catastophe (7 or less) it raises a red flag (often this is the verbal section). No one cares if one section is a few points lower than the others.

well put sir!

 

[Law2Doc]

what exactly are "top-tier" schools? LIke, can you name some?

Several were already named in the thread. Just look at the US News Research ranking (available on their website) and the top 10 to 20 would be what people would call "top tier". The ranking is meaningless in terms of "quality" as it is largely driven by research dollars, but those schools tend to be considered the most prestigious by many.

 

[solitude]

Several were already named in the thread. Just look at the US News Research ranking (available on their website) and the top 10 to 20 would be what people would call "top tier". The ranking is meaningless in terms of "quality" as it is largely driven by research dollars, but those schools tend to be considered the most prestigious by many.

Yep. If you are more interested in clinical training (i.e. you don't intend to become a professor at a medical school), then the USNews clinical rankings are much more pertinent. The research rankings really only indicate the prestige of the medical school, and are actually more indicative of the research rather than clinical training. Nevertheless, the two are often correlated.

 

[Beerpenguin]

Agreed, but there just aren't that many applicants in the lower 30s with "amazing" EC's, by definition. I agree that Harvard and Hopkins are not so much number ******, because they don't really care about their ranking. They're able to maintain relatively high GPA/MCAT stats because often the best students also have the best EC's, and these are the applicants that end up at H or H. But Duke is known to take high GPA/MCAT applicants with pretty weak EC's (particularly from Duke undergrad), and WashU is known for the same thing as well. It's basically a ploy to enhance USNews ranking, and it works.

______
Hi, I'm a first-year at Duke (class of 2010), and I'll definitely agree that there really are a lot of folks here that go for nothing other than numbers. When there's a test sometime in the next week, everybody's on-edge, worried, and basically just studying like crazy. I feel sometimes like I'm surrounded by a bunch of rate that are chasing pellets. I did fine in the first block (Molecules and Cells) but was amazed at how hard people were really trying for 100's. AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FIRST BLOCK IS STRICTLY PASS/FAIL. One guy got a 96 on a test and was absolutely LIVID--thoroughly pissed that they would DARE tell him some of his answers weren't right. A Harvard guy was really pretty irritated because another Harvard guy in the class beat him on one of the tests. Kind of stupid, honestly, specially since the class was Pass/Fail. But that's the way people are.....

Beerpenguin

 

[87138]

______
Hi, I'm a first-year at Duke (class of 2010), and I'll definitely agree that there really are a lot of folks here that go for nothing other than numbers. When there's a test sometime in the next week, everybody's on-edge, worried, and basically just studying like crazy. I feel sometimes like I'm surrounded by a bunch of rate that are chasing pellets. I did fine in the first block (Molecules and Cells) but was amazed at how hard people were really trying for 100's. AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FIRST BLOCK IS STRICTLY PASS/FAIL. One guy got a 96 on a test and was absolutely LIVID--thoroughly pissed that they would DARE tell him some of his answers weren't right. A Harvard guy was really pretty irritated because another Harvard guy in the class beat him on one of the tests. Kind of stupid, honestly, specially since the class was Pass/Fail. But that's the way people are.....

Beerpenguin

And that right there is a prime example of why I won't be going to a top tier school (well, that and the 33Q I got). I've always said I'm glad I wasn't a traditional pre-med (totally different major, but took the pre-req's on the side). I really get tired of the typical pre-med analness and ridiculousness. Which is why I'm interested to see what med school will be like, since that will include the most anal of the anal retentives. That said, I have no interest whatsoever to go into research or whatever, so the top tier schools don't interest me, and I have a feeling the people at those schools would probably get on my nerves.

I realize that is a gross overgeneralization, but there's some truth to it.

 

[solitude]

Wow that is insane gunnerism. Definitely a turn-off.

______
Hi, I'm a first-year at Duke (class of 2010), and I'll definitely agree that there really are a lot of folks here that go for nothing other than numbers. When there's a test sometime in the next week, everybody's on-edge, worried, and basically just studying like crazy. I feel sometimes like I'm surrounded by a bunch of rate that are chasing pellets. I did fine in the first block (Molecules and Cells) but was amazed at how hard people were really trying for 100's. AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE FIRST BLOCK IS STRICTLY PASS/FAIL. One guy got a 96 on a test and was absolutely LIVID--thoroughly pissed that they would DARE tell him some of his answers weren't right. A Harvard guy was really pretty irritated because another Harvard guy in the class beat him on one of the tests. Kind of stupid, honestly, specially since the class was Pass/Fail. But that's the way people are.....

Beerpenguin

 

[Quix]

Most of the top tiers will take people with lower 30s scores who have done amazing things.

Define "amazing", please. I'd like to know if I have a shot with my 32.