Is the MCAT a joke to current medical students?

[OnMyWayThere]

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Once you're a MSI or MSII , do you feel like " oh, the MCAT was a joke" or " I can't believe I was worried about such an easy test".

The reason I ask is because I am just wondering how much more difficult medical school is. Thanks in advance.

Your response would be appreciated

 

[Fermata]

Hehe.

Word is Step I is the MCAT on steroids.

Just take the process one step at a time and relax. 😀 😀

 

[UCSBMed1]

Well, you can be assured that med school is much more difficult than undergrad, and Step 1 will have you thinking about why did you stressed so much about the MCAT.

Thats a fact of life. The steps we take after the ones we've completed will always be more difficult. Just like 2nd grade was easier than 1st grade, etc.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

yikes!

 

[Bobblehead]

It's not that it's a joke. It's that it just doesn't really matter any more. SAT scores become irrelevant in college, MCAT in medical school, USMLE Step 1/2/3 (take 3 during residency)in residency, board scores in practice, etc. For one thing it really makes for bad manners to brag about entrance scores after you're "in". Also realize that all these exams test different abilities/material. The only exams that vaguely resemble one another would be USMLE Step 2 and 3 and perhaps internal medicine boards (simply because there's such an overabundance of internal medicine on the Step 3 exam). So while you could have been quite well prepared to take Step 1, by the time you took Step 2 that knowledge will have been replaced by something more useful to Step 2. Step 1 looks nothing like the MCAT.

 

[Neuronix]

Frankly, no it's not a joke to me now and it wasn't then. I love the attitude that some people get when they're suddenly "above" someone else. You all know what I mean.

The fact is that medical school really acts as the gatekeeper to medicine. Once a student enters a program, he or she has a 99% chance of finishing. The vast majority of US allopathic students pass the boards on the first try. Yes, it's still hard. Yes, you still have to study. But, you will still be an MD (or a MD/PhD) when you are done. When you go into the MCAT, you don't know if you're going to get into medical school and it seems like your career rests on that one exam. Of course, it's only one (major) piece of your app, and you can retake, but I can certainly still understand the stress that pre-meds go through.

 

[mison]

At one of my interviews two MSIIIs were debating about which was harder, MCAT or Step 1. One said he thought the MCAT was harder and the other one thought Step 1 was harder. The other MSIII there was so worn out from being on the OB/GYN floor for the past 24 hrs she just gave them a mean look, made a few incoherent sounds and put her head on the table for a moment of rest. Since I am not a med student yet I can only conjecture, but maybe there is something of a split opinion on this matter because the tests are so different. Maybe some people perform better with the MCAT format and others have styles that are more conducive with Step 1.?. 👍

 

[carrigallen]

I'm with Eric on this. It seems they try to make the process of entering medical school as difficult and independent as possible - you must organize and schedule almost everything yourself, with little opportunity for support. Once you enter, they have a strong interest in making sure students pass the step exams, etc..to the point of providing free counselling services, seminars, etc. just to make sure students observe the deadlines.

 

[omarsaleh66]

at my med school we have block exams so like every month, there is a week where we take exams for those classes.

I think to pass those tests, its kinda like stduying for the mcat. Like I feel that I study all the time in med school the way i was studying for the MCAT.

But once ur in med school, there is no stress. The worst thing that can happen if u dont get A's will be u wont get into derm, or opthamology. So if u just pass u can still get a buch of cool specialties or residencies in other fields so there is no pressure.

For example, in premed, u needed to aim for a 4.0, here u can get by with a 2.0 or a 3.0. Which is still alot of work. But its alot more stressfree.

 

[picklespin]

But once ur in med school, there is no stress. The worst thing that can happen if u dont get A's will be u wont get into derm, or opthamology. So if u just pass u can still get a buch of cool specialties or residencies in other fields so there is no pressure.

For example, in premed, u needed to aim for a 4.0, here u can get by with a 2.0 or a 3.0. Which is still alot of work. But its alot more stressfree.

I love you

 

[SketchsaurusRex]

Party Foul! 👎

 

[MrBurns10]

I love you

It's great if you're in love with a bunch of specialties. People like that exist, and their experience in med school is probably like how omar described.

What sucks is when you get to rotations and you realize that there's only one specialty you really love and can't see yourself in pretty much any other field. What sucks even more is if that specialty is competitive.

 

[Gotcha!]

I like how the OP is already a 3rd year..possibly 4th.

 

[Narmerguy]

Just like 2nd grade was easier than 1st grade, etc.

😕

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I think some of the MCAT-downplay is due to the "recency" effect. We are much more likely to place higher value in things that just happened. This is perhaps best illustrated with all the people saying that michael jackson was the best musician to ever live, and so on. How about Elvis, or the Beatles? Mozart? Beethoven? So most med studetns will prbably say the boards are tougher, but I think other posters above hit the nail on the head in terms of the MCAT actually being more serious in terms of potentially limiting your career path.

It is also variable depending on the test taker. The singular fact that the USMLE will not have a verbal section pretty much means that for me, regardless of the volume or difficulty of material, it will be an easier test. But that's me.

 

[Alvarez13]

at my med school we have block exams so like every month, there is a week where we take exams for those classes.

I think to pass those tests, its kinda like stduying for the mcat. Like I feel that I study all the time in med school the way i was studying for the MCAT.

But once ur in med school, there is no stress. The worst thing that can happen if u dont get A's will be u wont get into derm, or opthamology. So if u just pass u can still get a buch of cool specialties or residencies in other fields so there is no pressure.

For example, in premed, u needed to aim for a 4.0, here u can get by with a 2.0 or a 3.0. Which is still alot of work. But its alot more stressfree.

I love this post.

 

[BlueElmo]

5 year old thread.

 

[GeorgeMichael B]

The MCAT and Step 1 are completely different tests in almost every way. MCAT is harder in that you have to be a quick reader, good at gathering facts from passages, and good at interpreting passages (verbal). Step 1 is harder in the sheer volume of information that you have to remember (with a fair share of analysis/”thinking”). I actually think the MCAT is harder overall because there seems to be more of a ceiling in performance, no matter how much you study, whereas Step 1 scores can be consistently improved with more and more work put in.

I'm an MS3 right now, and the MCAT is completely irrelevant at this stage of the game. I can’t think of a single useful thing from that MCAT at this moment, and maybe that is because most of the biology section is so basic. Contrast that to Step 1, which has a ton of useful and core concepts that you will use for the rest of your medical career. Remember, MCAT is an ADMISSIONS test, while step 1 is a LICENSING exam….much more important.