Is it true that..

[HelloKitty7]

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Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

 

[DOPEDERSON]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

Nothing on you but really hope that is true.

 

[Herrick]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

I know you wanted to hear from med. students so you'll not be fully happy with me because I don't start until this fall. I got a 6 on verbal and a 26 overall--hey, you have one person beat! You must've knocked your science sections out of the park. Take confidence from that because your deductive reasoning under pressure is awesome. I think that's more important than one's ability to inference an author's motives. How are you with people in conversation (e.g. comfort of patient-doctor relationship)? I have recognized from friends and family members who have succeeded in medical school that their personal drive, ability to learn, and will to see a task through to its end are more important qualities than any of their MCAT sections. Some of them don't have the foggiest clue of their MCAT score because they were not taught to extrapolate its meaning like admissions committees try to do to us now. But we can't blame committees because they need objective criteria by which to judge applicants. Please do not worry about this. Go exercise, you'll feel better.

If similar responses do nothing for you, have your friends dust off the ouija board

 

[Fenrezz]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

I wouldn't worry about it. I seriously doubt how you did on verbal one day will predict how well you're able to put your nose to the grindstone and study for hours on end over 2 years.

I know people who have done well in med school with low verbal scores and those who were bottom of their class with double digit scores.

 

[sophiejane]

I wouldn't worry about it. I seriously doubt how you did on verbal one day will predict how well you're able to put your nose to the grindstone and study for hours on end over 2 years.

I know people who have done well in med school with low verbal scores and those who were bottom of their class with double digit scores.

I second that.

I'm living proof.

(although I did better in Verbal than anything else, MCAT still wasn't stellar--AND I did more than above average in years one and two--with a whole lot of sweat, however).

 

[electra]

The MCAT has absolutely nothing to do with how you will do in medical school. People can do a less than stellar job on the test and still do very well in their coursework. Considering the amount of physics that I have had to use since beginning med school, I don't know why it is even a subject for the MCAT.

One caveat, however. English is the language of medicine. If English is not your first language, begin to practice NOW, because when you get to the wards, patients will expect you to speak well. If writing is a problem, you might procure a book of basic writing styles to help you syhould you need to write an abstract, send a thank you letter, send a business style letter, write your CV or resume, etc.

Take that MCAT score copy that they send you and keep it somewhere just in case you have to provide an "official document." When you graduate fdrom med school, you can have a great bonfire with your physics book, O-chem notes, and that MCAT score. 🙂 Bring some marshmallows and enjoy!!

 

[OSUdoc08]

The MCAT has absolutely nothing to do with how you will do in medical school. People can do a less than stellar job on the test and still do very well in their coursework. Considering the amount of physics that I have had to use since beginning med school, I don't know why it is even a subject for the MCAT.

One caveat, however. English is the language of medicine. If English is not your first language, begin to practice NOW, because when you get to the wards, patients will expect you to speak well. If writing is a problem, you might procure a book of basic writing styles to help you syhould you need to write an abstract, send a thank you letter, send a business style letter, write your CV or resume, etc.

Take that MCAT score copy that they send you and keep it somewhere just in case you have to provide an "official document." When you graduate fdrom med school, you can have a great bonfire with your physics book, O-chem notes, and that MCAT score. 🙂 Bring some marshmallows and enjoy!!

I was under the impression that they had medicine in non-English speaking countries as well.

My pediatrician was Korean, and I never understood a word she said.

As a paramedic in Texas, half of my patients spoke Spanish and not English anyway.

 

[mddo2b]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

The MCAT is used to predict ONLY....if you want to do well in med school, study your ass off and you will do great...

 

[Boomer]

I was under the impression that they had medicine in non-English speaking countries as well.

My pediatrician was Korean, and I never understood a word she said.

As a paramedic in Texas, half of my patients spoke Spanish and not English anyway.

English is certainly the language used to TEACH medicine in those places that require the MCAT....so you should probably have some semblance of command of the language.

Of course, I ain't never had no formal trainin' in English...just growed up in bassackward country Oklahoma....I gots me's a 4 on verbal, and I dids jus fine.

 

[OSUdoc08]

English is certainly the language used to TEACH medicine in those places that require the MCAT....so you should probably have some semblance of command of the language.

Of course, I ain't never had no formal trainin' in English...just growed up in bassackward country Oklahoma....I gots me's a 4 on verbal, and I dids jus fine.

Yes, it's been interesting moving to Oklahoma.

 

[MasterShakeDO]

The MCAT has absolutely nothing to do with how you will do in medical school.

Then what's the point of having us take the test? Sadistic admins I guess.
It was passed on anecdotally by my TPR verbal TA that there was a study done and the section that correlated the best was verbal. Correlations are pretty flimsy though, and remember it's averaged over every med student in the country. So don't worry about it. I bet he only said it to get us to study for verbal and not blow it off.
That being said, I hope it's true in my case.

 

[1viking]

I did a study about the MCAT, but it had nothing to do with success in med school. It had everything to do with acceptance to med school. You can search for it and find it--the findings were quite fascinating. I posted them on this website.

One of my fellow classmates at school scored in the low 20 (low low) and is doing just great (above average on all tests). Go figure.

 

[cornellmedic]

I shouldn't really be complaining but I got a 7 on verbal and a high overall and I am having no trouble with med school classes. I heard that it is the bio score that correlates the most with how well you do on the board; so I am not worried.

 

[Fenrezz]

Then what's the point of having us take the test?

Gotta have at least something to compare one student from another. Grades don't work well because some schools are easier than others. a 4.0 from one doesn't equal a 4.0 from another.

The MCAT is the equializer among applicants.

 

[macman]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

what was/is your major? Everyone brings their own strenghs. I rocked the MCAT verbal but I was a non-science major at a liberal arts school known for writing courses, etc. (bio was my low!) On the other hand, I came in with a weaker science background that many classmates. I remember one guy in my class who had a masters in either micro or biochem at a big science school, but I saw him write and it looked like a six-year old did it (both in handwriting and spelling/grammar). We both did very well, but for different reasons. Use your own strengths.

 

[kota315]

How does that correlate back to your performance in medical school exactly?

Since you got in already, it is obvious you have what it takes so don't listen to the peanut gallery!

 

[dr.z]

If you got in, you made the cut. Now just concentrate on working hard and doing well during medical school. Your MCAT score is just your past number.

 

[FutureSoxDoc]

I used to work for Kaplan, and there is a 93% correlation rate with getting a 10 in Verbal and passing USMLE Step 1. So yes, you should be concerned about boards, not about med school. But work your ass off and you should be fine.

 

[Elysium]

I got an 11 in Verbal and an S on the writing, but I found those skills to not be that helpful my first year. I'm good at reading and comprehesion and writing, but school is way more about just memorizing lists of crap. It doesn't take much in the way of reading comprehension skills to memorize the brachial plexus and the celiac plexus and the motor pathways and the basal ganglia. Matter of fact, it seems like I do a lot less reading in school than I expected to. I was also a non-science major, and I tell you, you do have a distinct advantage if you've seen some of this stuff before. Not that its not possible to do well, but you WILL have to put in extra time while your science major classmates RE-learn instead of learn for the first time.

 

[sophiejane]

I'm good at reading and comprehesion and writing, but school is way more about just memorizing lists of crap.

True, but 2nd year had a lot of memorizing lists of crap, unfortunately. Some interesting integration of concepts, too--but a whole lot of having to remember which chromosome goes with which disease and which drug for which bug....

 

[LukeWhite]

The MCAT has absolutely nothing to do with how you will do in medical school.

MCAT score correlates relatively well, and better than any other major tested factor like GPA, with performance in the first two years of medical school. The Verbal score, interestingly, correlates with students who did relatively poorly in their first two years and then were exceptional in their clinicals.

So OP, MCAT isn't nothing...it's a *very* well written test and does have a lot of predictive value. As far as Verbal goes, I've written Verbal passages for a test prep company for awhile now and worked on curriculum; I'm convinced, even beyond what the research shows, that Verbal is the best predictor of raw logical power.

With that said, don't worry too much! I had a high Verbal score and was decidedly middle-of-the-road in the first two years. While I was above average in the parts of the curriculum requiring reasoning, deduction, abstraction, these things are few and far between in preclinicals. By and large, it's raw memorization: Work ethic is probably the best predictor of performance in your first two years.

 

[Elysium]

MCAT score correlates relatively well, and better than any other major tested factor like GPA, with performance in the first two years of medical school. The Verbal score, interestingly, correlates with students who did relatively poorly in their first two years and then were exceptional in their clinicals.

So OP, MCAT isn't nothing...it's a *very* well written test and does have a lot of predictive value. As far as Verbal goes, I've written Verbal passages for a test prep company for awhile now and worked on curriculum; I'm convinced, even beyond what the research shows, that Verbal is the best predictor of raw logical power.

With that said, don't worry too much! I had a high Verbal score and was decidedly middle-of-the-road in the first two years. While I was above average in the parts of the curriculum requiring reasoning, deduction, abstraction, these things are few and far between in preclinicals. By and large, it's raw memorization: Work ethic is probably the best predictor of performance in your first two years.

Excellent points and very interesting.

👍

 

[Idiopathic]

MCAT score correlates relatively well, and better than any other major tested factor like GPA, with performance in the first two years of medical school. The Verbal score, interestingly, correlates with students who did relatively poorly in their first two years and then were exceptional in their clinicals.

So OP, MCAT isn't nothing...it's a *very* well written test and does have a lot of predictive value. As far as Verbal goes, I've written Verbal passages for a test prep company for awhile now and worked on curriculum; I'm convinced, even beyond what the research shows, that Verbal is the best predictor of raw logical power.

With that said, don't worry too much! I had a high Verbal score and was decidedly middle-of-the-road in the first two years. While I was above average in the parts of the curriculum requiring reasoning, deduction, abstraction, these things are few and far between in preclinicals. By and large, it's raw memorization: Work ethic is probably the best predictor of performance in your first two years.

The truth of the matter is that the MCAT actually is the best independent predictor of performance on the USMLE. WIth that said, all the associations are still fairly loose. I would wager that the connection likely has something to do with one's proficiency on standardized tests.

 

[Idiopathic]

Gotta have at least something to compare one student from another. Grades don't work well because some schools are easier than others. a 4.0 from one doesn't equal a 4.0 from another.

The MCAT is the equializer among applicants.

How would you even know what a 4.0 from anywhere equals?

Now, if you were to begin comparing 2.3's from different places, I might stand up and take notice.

 

[LukeWhite]

The truth of the matter is that the MCAT actually is the best independent predictor of performance on the USMLE. WIth that said, all the associations are still fairly loose. I would wager that the connection likely has something to do with one's proficiency on standardized tests.

There *is* a strong correlation between MCAT and USMLE step 1, and there is also a strong correlation between MCAT score and performance in the first two years of med school, so general standardized test aptitute probably only accounts for part of the relationship. Of course, there's no good way to test that, as any test of the hypothesis would have to be...standardized.

None of this speaks to the cause behind the correlations. But then again, med school admissions committees don't (and shouldn't) care about that. As their job is to turn out good docs, they're interested in whatever test will best predict performance in med school. Eg: The USMLE (and med school curriculums in general) have become more case-based and less focused on hard science, and the MCAT has in the same time-frame deemphasized orgo knowledge on the bio section while making analysis and comprehension much more important.

Some trivia for all you MCAT-philes: The MCAT used to have a "general knowledge" section, which was essentially trivial pursuit...questions about current events, the course of ancient battles, etc. The idea was that a good doctor would have a broad knowledge base outside of medicine. As adcoms' ideas of what they want in students have evolved, so has the MCAT. The computer test is around the corner, and in a few years the writing sample may possibly be replaced by a listening comprehension section.

 

[DrSmiles]

I used to work for Kaplan, and there is a 93% correlation rate with getting a 10 in Verbal and passing USMLE Step 1. So yes, you should be concerned about boards, not about med school. But work your ass off and you should be fine.

Well I guess I am in that small percent that does not correlate with the 93% since I didn't get close to a 10 on verbal and did just fine on USMLE Step 1.
My friend got into UCSF with a 6 in Verbal (and 13's in the sciences) and guess what? She aced Step 1 as well. And yes, English is her native language.
I personally think the MCAT is a bogus test and is perhaps even outdated. It really has no relevance as to how someone will do in med school, although they would like you to think otherwise. I know of many many students that had mediocre or even subpar MCAT scores who not only graduated at the top of the class, but aced the boards.
I had a crappy MCAT score and I am in the top half of my class and I did well above the mean on my boards.
The MCAT is simply a screening tool, one more tool the admissions committee can use to evaluate the thousands of applications they receive. Thankfully, my school looked past my MCAT numbers, but there are a lot of schools who simply rely on the MCAT, and I think that is rather unfortunate.

 

[LukeWhite]

I personally think the MCAT is a bogus test and is perhaps even outdated. It really has no relevance as to how someone will do in med school, although they would like you to think otherwise. I know of many many students that had mediocre or even subpar MCAT scores who not only graduated at the top of the class, but aced the boards.
I had a crappy MCAT score and I am in the top half of my class and I did well above the mean on my boards.

But as I'm sure you agree, anecdotal evidence and $500 will register you for boards. The MCAT is a *very* well written test and correlates well with preclinical performance. Whether this was true for you and your classmates is interesting, but not broadly relevant.

As for verbal scores and the USMLE, it's neither suprising nor meaningful if that 93% correlation exists. Don't 80-odd % of allopathic students pass the USMLE total? A few points in addition to that correlating with being two stdevs above the average on verbal isn't that big a deal.

 

[dcratamt]

Is it true that the verbal score tells how well you will do in medical school?

I got a 6 verbal with an overal of 30 so I'm just concerned.

Is anyone else in medical school with a low verbal score like mine? How is school going for u?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanx

HelloKitty7,
It is true! I had a 36 overall MCAT and only a 6 verbal and i am really struggling in med school. I don't know what it is. I got here and now i can't read, write or comprehend anything that teachers or classmates are saying. I suggest you take the MCAT over as many times as you need to until you get at least a 12 in the verbal section. Maybe even study in England for a year, but for god sakes don't try med school without that 12. Good luck.

 

[OSUdoc08]

HelloKitty7,
It is true! I had a 36 overall MCAT and only a 6 verbal and i am really struggling in med school. I don't know what it is. I got here and now i can't read, write or comprehend anything that teachers or classmates are saying. I suggest you take the MCAT over as many times as you need to until you get at least a 12 in the verbal section. Maybe even study in England for a year, but for god sakes don't try med school without that 12. Good luck.

Troll.

 

[DO it right]

The truth of the matter is that everybody thinks different. But I can tell you that no single test can rate the effort that put into things. Kick ass on your boards, what's MCAT to say that you can't do good??

 

[Vince]

I don't have time to read all the above posts, because I'm heading to LAX for Cozumel in about an hour, but I'll add my $0.02. 😉

IMHO, the MCAT doesn't say how well you'll do in medical school. It's all about the effort that you put into medical school once you are there. I got an 8 on verbal (average, I think), and a 26 overall. I did above average the first two years of DO school, and well above average the last two years. Did above average on USMLE and COMLEX. There were people in my class who had higher GPA's and MCAT's than me and did worse in medical school, and a couple that flunked out.

Once you are in, you are in, so work hard and you will succeed. I was able to get into a good MD radiology residency so if you work hard it will pay off in the long run. 👍