Is SAT score any of there business (should i report it)

[Sonya]

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hi,

for some reason, the medschools are asking my SAT in the secondaries. There is a box to check N/A or unknown.

But, if i took it, do I have to report it? Would reporting a 510 in verbal look bad? (with my MCAT VR also being my lowest of MCAT and my non-science gpa less then my science). SHould i just act like I f orgot my SAT scores. (I took the SAT before I finished HS english anyway).

Sonya

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

Im not sure of the answer you are looking for, but just wanted to say that I think its very funny that they are asking for an SAT score.

 

[bolton]

i dont really know if there is a right / wrong answer....but for mine...i just left it blank...if they really want to know they can ask me at an interview...i highly doubt that it will do anything to change their minds either way...might just let them see how you've been doing all along the path of your education

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by bolton
i dont really know if there is a right / wrong answer....but for mine...i just left it blank...if they really want to know they can ask me at an interview...i highly doubt that it will do anything to change their minds either way...might just let them see how you've been doing all along the path of your education

If you leave it blank, wont they think its because you have something to hide?

 

[dumbest premed]

Originally posted by exmike
If you leave it blank, wont they think its because you have something to hide?

They don't really care about high school. Plenty of people who did really crappy in high school and really crappy on the SAT's get into med school. It's the college gpa and the MCAT that matter. SAT scores aren't really something they care about if you're trying to hide it and if you leave it blank they probably wouldn't even question it.

 

[Downhill Racer]

Not a big deal I think the schools that ask for SAT (ie Jefferson) have combined BA/MD programs in which the SAT assumes the role of the MCAT in evaluating candidates. Or perhaps it is part of some statistical analysis... Regardless, they dont ask you to verify your scores (ie have official scores) sent so that leads me to believe it is not a "deal breaker". If you did well certainly report it. Although I am not certain if you sign the secondary forms attesting the honesty of your responses/disclosure... but that is a debate for another day!

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Since we're talking about SAT scores here (something you do in high school)...I looked at the Instruction booklet for the 2004 AMCAS application and it says that they INCLUDE college classes you took during high school in your AMCAS science/non-science GPA and your overall GPA. So if Student A took 30 units of communtiy college classes during high school and earned As in all of them, wouldn't his AMCAS GPA be inflated? Seeing that community college courses are usually easier than courses offered by 4 year universities, wouldn't it be unfair to other applicants to include these community college units in Student As GPA? Also, let's look at the flip side of the coin. What if Student B didn't do so well in high school and took a community college class while in high school and earned a C or D? Student B goes onto college and does excellently in his premed classes and other university courses because he now has the ambition and work ethic he lacked in high school. 5 years after high school, Student B applies to medical school (let's say he took a year off after graduation from college to do research or volunteering at a hospital)...is it fair that Student B has a college class that he took in HIGH SCHOOl pulling down his AMCAS GPA? Why should he be haunted by something he did over 5 years ago in high school? Please discuss.

Berkeley '05

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by Downhill Racer
Not a big deal I think the schools that ask for SAT (ie Jefferson) have combined BA/MD programs in which the SAT assumes the role of the MCAT in evaluating candidates. Or perhaps it is part of some statistical analysis... Regardless, they dont ask you to verify your scores (ie have official scores) sent so that leads me to believe it is not a "deal breaker". If you did well certainly report it. Although I am not certain if you sign the secondary forms attesting the honesty of your responses/disclosure... but that is a debate for another day!

What if there were two absolutely positively identical applicants, and they had to choose one of them (say, twin brothers or something), and one had a 1400 SAT and one had a 1300 SAT, which one would the adcomm take? 😀 😛

 

[deez4life]

the interview would decide it. i highly doubt your SAT score means anything to an adcom, your MCAT is what you should be worried about.

 

[Downhill Racer]

maybe we can get some of the math majors to determine the probability of our "twin" applicants... but to answer your hypothetical question I cant imagine the SAT scores would be a deciding factor since official score reports are not requested from the College Board. How can they even verify the score you report? Certainly, this can open a can of worms (ie misreporting information, again another story). But this raises the question why ask for the score if you are not even asking for official scores.... and like many other questions in this process I dont think there is an answer... but clearly losing sleep over this part of your app is not worth it (for me)

 

[Downhill Racer]

And Berkeley... Performance in college obviates the need to scrutinize high school work. Its all "what have ya done for me lately", upward GPA trend and all that bla bla bla that is spouted by adcomms. Certainly, we may have all had significant high school accomplishments/deficiencies which we built upon/rectified in our collegiate years that have brought us to become doctors.

 

[LadyBug9933]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
Since we're talking about SAT scores here (something you do in high school)...I looked at the Instruction booklet for the 2004 AMCAS application and it says that they INCLUDE college classes you took during high school in your AMCAS science/non-science GPA and your overall GPA. So if Student A took 30 units of communtiy college classes during high school and earned As in all of them, wouldn't his AMCAS GPA be inflated? Seeing that community college courses are usually easier than courses offered by 4 year universities, wouldn't it be unfair to other applicants to include these community college units in Student As GPA? Also, let's look at the flip side of the coin. What if Student B didn't do so well in high school and took a community college class while in high school and earned a C or D? Student B goes onto college and does excellently in his premed classes and other university courses because he now has the ambition and work ethic he lacked in high school. 5 years after high school, Student B applies to medical school (let's say he took a year off after graduation from college to do research or volunteering at a hospital)...is it fair that Student B has a college class that he took in HIGH SCHOOl pulling down his AMCAS GPA? Why should he be haunted by something he did over 5 years ago in high school? Please discuss.

Berkeley '05

wow, okay, this is hitting me hard!

I was not the most ambitious high school student, and I took pre-calculus as a sophomore at a local comm college and got a C. this is going to be added into my GPA when applying to medical school? please telll me there is SOME WAY I can not report these grades or something...🙁

 

[vinoyp]

Hi,

I believe college courses taken during high school count only if you took them for college credit. For instance, I took Art History at a community college during my senior year in high school so that I could get out of my high school's Fine Arts requirement. I got an A in it, but I did not list it on my AMCAS. Pre-calculus sounds like something you would take to get out of your high school's requirement, so I wouldn't list it.

When I applied last year, I called them and asked if I needed to list my Art History course given the circumstances, and they said no. If I were you, I'd call them to make sure you don't have to list pre-calculus.

Hope this helps,

--Vinoy

 

[LadyBug9933]

Originally posted by vinoyp
Hi,

I believe college courses taken during high school count only if you took them for college credit. For instance, I took Art History at a community college during my senior year in high school so that I could get out of my high school's Fine Arts requirement. I got an A in it, but I did not list it on my AMCAS. Pre-calculus sounds like something you would take to get out of your high school's requirement, so I wouldn't list it.

When I applied last year, I called them and asked if I needed to list my Art History course given the circumstances, and they said no. If I were you, I'd call them to make sure you don't have to list pre-calculus.

Hope this helps,

--Vinoy

thanks soooo much! you've helped relieve my temporary freaking out!

 

[deez4life]

Originally posted by vinoyp
Hi,

I believe college courses taken during high school count only if you took them for college credit. For instance, I took Art History at a community college during my senior year in high school so that I could get out of my high school's Fine Arts requirement. I got an A in it, but I did not list it on my AMCAS. Pre-calculus sounds like something you would take to get out of your high school's requirement, so I wouldn't list it.

Hmmmm, AMCAS specifically asks for you to list ALL post-secondary institutions you have ever attended, regardless if they count toward your degree or not. I even had to list my EMT class that I took at a local CC, and I called AMCAS and they verified this.

Did your CC class never get counted on their transcript or something? If they have a file on you, with a transcript and a grade, then AMCAS requires that you report the grade. But if they never recorded a college grade, which I find unbelievable because you enrolled and took a class at the CC, then I guess you've found a loop-hole. Wish we could all be so lucky. 😉

 

[lipid]

you know what? it all depends on how cute you are. if you're cute, just send them a picture of yourself and it won't matter how you did on your SAT's. i think that more cute girls should be accepted to med school. what do you guys think?

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by lipid
you know what? it all depends on how cute you are. if you're cute, just send them a picture of yourself and it won't matter how you did on your SAT's. i think that more cute girls should be accepted to med school. what do you guys think?

i agree! the admissions officers at johns hopkins ugrad obviously didnt admit based on appearance (except of course all the SDNers). we can use more cute girls in med schools!

 

[imperator]

You confuse there and their, then and than, have really low verbal scores... this doesn't look so good. Forget the SAT score, you should work on trying to get out of having to write a personal statement!

 

[doepug]

You should report your SAT score.

We can all speculate on why various adcoms ask for it, but if they request it and you took it (who hasn't?), you should report it.

Ethics dictates that you honestly disclose yourself on these applications. Hiding your less-than-perfect SAT score is deception. No one can tell you for sure how much impact it will have on your application (probably not much...), but leaving it blank is dishonest.

Taking responsibility for all of your achievements (including those you'd like to forget) is a critical component of being a physician. Don't start your career in medicine by lying.

Best,
doepug (MS IV)