is the mcat writing score that important?

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kevster2001

kevster2001

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I can't remember where i heard this but some peopel say the writing score on your MCATs really aren't that important and most adcoms dont care as long as you dont get a J
 
kevster2001 said:
I can't remember where i heard this but some peopel say the writing score on your MCATs really aren't that important and most adcoms dont care as long as you dont get a J
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I got an M and was never asked about it in any interviews. It may be important at some of the top schools though.
 
It is nowhere near as important as your numerical score. However, if one person has a 32 L and the other has a 32 R, and the other aspects of their applications are similar, who do you think they will take? You would be surprised how many people have similar applications. It is just one small way for schools to pick between applicants. It is a general consensus that the writing score is not that important, but if you get a really crummy score, it might be a red flag
 
paco4488 said:
I got an M and was never asked about it in any interviews. It may be important at some of the top schools though.
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I got an S and similarly was not asked about it in any interviews.
 
I think the writing sample is the most important section of the MCAT! 😛 But I really think they put another check that you could write, not only read, English. The immigration bills trying to be passed are not enough to keep illegals out of our medical schools!
 
Simply stated...NO
 
umm, the fact that it will cease to exist next year should tell you something
 
Not important. There was some AAMC report (sorry, too lazy to search for it) that showed a slight correlation with writing score and clinical grades in 3rd year (I think), but I took the report to be more justification of its inclusion in the test rather than for its use as a major factor in admissions decisions. I've also heard the reviewers of essays for tests like the MCAT and SAT writing sections spend literally seconds on each essay. I would still focus a little bit of time on it, like reading the Kaplan suggestions and doing a practice essay or two, but don't dedicated near 1/4 of your study time on it. And if you've already taken the MCAT, don't worry about it.

I got an average score, "O," and was never asked about it and got into some top schools. I wish I had actually read the Kaplan chapter on it, but like I said it didn't hurt me. If you have a low or average score, it may be more important to have a well-written PS, but I have no evidence for that.
 
Ah, the old "J" for Junk, "T" for Tops. 😀

I was under the impression that it mattered at some CA schools...but this was coming from my Kaplan instructor...and as we all know, the test prep people sometimes don't have the most accurate info.
 
well shoot, i was actually excited about my writing score too 😀
 
I got an N. I think I'm a good writer but I never could do timed writing tests, so I played it safe and made sure I didn't bomb it. Also if you're used to typing when you write, it's a big advantage to take the Computer Based MCAT.
 
posting this not because its original just because i havent seen it put on this thread yet. what ive been told is that the writing sample only really becomes an issue when you have an applicant with a poor mcat writing score but an excellent personal statement, in which case the question of who wrote the personal statement arises.
 
tcdulin137 said:
posting this not because its original just because i havent seen it put on this thread yet. what ive been told is that the writing sample only really becomes an issue when you have an applicant with a poor mcat writing score but an excellent personal statement, in which case the question of who wrote the personal statement arises.
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Not really, with the PS you're free to get as much help as you can get. You have weeks to think and plan out what you're writing. Its understandable to crap up on the MCAT's 1 hr writing test when you may not get a topic you know very well or you don't have the time management skills to finish your essay in time. I wouldn't immediately think someone had done anything wrong just because they wrote a good PS and did poorly on a timed writing test. The best indicator of someone's writing skills would be how well they did in the required 1 yr of writing classes.
 
Wookey said:
Not really, with the PS you're free to get as much help as you can get. You have weeks to think and plan out what you're writing. Its understandable to crap up on the MCAT's 1 hr writing test when you may not get a topic you know very well or you don't have the time management skills to finish your essay in time. I wouldn't immediately think someone had done anything wrong just because they wrote a good PS and did poorly on a timed writing test. The best indicator of someone's writing skills would be how well they did in the required 1 yr of writing classes.
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sorry if i hit a nerve. things obviously worked out for you because you got into a great school, and i'm sure your personal statement had something to do with it. i'm merely passing along what ive been told by pre-med advisor types and have also seen posted here by other sdners.
 
I got an L and it wasn't a problem, as far as I know.
 
ChymeChancellor said:
I think the writing sample is the most important section of the MCAT! 😛 But I really think they put another check that you could write, not only read, English. The immigration bills trying to be passed are not enough to keep illegals out of our medical schools!
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I encourage all you ballsy pre-meds to write this as your essay:

"Me no like essay. Me take MCAT. Me go med school."

😀

(I'm a bad person)
-Dr. P.
 
I don't understand the point of having a writing section on the MCAT. The verbal section should be good enough to gauge a person's English ability. If it needs to be on there, it should at least be P/F or have a similar grading format.
 
I got an L and I was actually told by a school (after I was rejected) that it was one of the lowest writing scores of the applicants they interviewed, and if I thought I could improve it to maybe retake the MCAT. My numerical score was a 38, so they must've thought it was pretty important. But, I spoke to a Duke University rep and asked them how important was the writing score, and he sarcastically asked "There's a writing score on the MCAT?" They have a bunch of essays in their secondary though.
 
Dr. Pepper said:
I encourage all you ballsy pre-meds to write this as your essay:

"Me no like essay. Me take MCAT. Me go med school."

😀

(I'm a bad person)
-Dr. P.
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I approached the writing section in a similar manner, i.e. put forth no effort at all. Though I forget what the prompt was, one of my essays turned into a rant against the Kennedys and I ended it with a smiley face.

I got an M by the way.
 
tcdulin137 said:
sorry if i hit a nerve. things obviously worked out for you because you got into a great school, and i'm sure your personal statement had something to do with it. i'm merely passing along what ive been told by pre-med advisor types and have also seen posted here by other sdners.
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Oh not at all. I just don't think any timed writing test is an accurate indicator of a person's writing skills. At best its a very rough indicator. To have that broad a scale is meaningless. That's probably why most schools don't care as much about the score m,n,o, etc.. , provided you don't completely tank it with a J or something.
 
Wookey said:
Oh not at all. I just don't think any timed writing test is an accurate indicator of a person's writing skills. At best its a very rough indicator. To have that broad a scale is meaningless. That's probably why most schools don't care as much about the score m,n,o, etc.. , provided you don't completely tank it with a J or something.
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I always saw the essay section as a "how well can you think on your feet" kinda thing since it makes you conjur up a coherent argument and convincing examples all in a short period time. I just tried to bring up good examples and let the essay write itself. WHo knows, looks like all the effort didn't matter
 
Yeah, I've heard it's only important if there are discrepancies...like bad writing score, good personal statement (as was mentioned above). It can work the other way too though. If you have a crappy verbal score, sometimes the negativity of that can be mitigated by a good writing score. Also, if you're an ESL applicant, it becomes more impt to have a decent writing score to show that you understand English (as if a good undergrad record wouldn't make that obvious already 🙄 ). It's good if you can get a high score, esp if there are some discrepancies, b/c it can't hurt your app and it might make you seem like a better communicator or smtg. If your score's crappy though and the rest of your stuff is good, I don't think most med schools will care at all. I have a friend who got either a K or an L and did a lot better in the process than I prob will, so it doesn't matter all that much. 🙂
 
The writing sample is there to remind premeds of why they're taking the MCAT instead of the LSAT. The English, Lit, and Writing majors will have the most fun with it, but as long as you don't bomb or ace it, it's not going to be considered nearly as much as will the big three.
 
Top 10 Schools tend to have average writing scores around Q (Duke's however is an N). Schools that US News ranks in the 50's tend to average O's and P's. I interpret that as an incidental difference between more competitive applicants at the top schools compared to middle-tier schools. In other words, I doubt your writing sample will get you into a better or worse medical school than you would have gotten into otherwise, but it could keep you out of medical school altogether (if you totally bomb it), or as others mentioned, it could serve as evidence that you can communicate effectively if your PS or secondaries were poorly written.
 
Dr. Giggles said:
Top 10 Schools tend to have average writing scores around Q (Duke's however is an N). Schools that US News ranks in the 50's tend to average O's and P's. I interpret that as an incidental difference between more competitive applicants at the top schools compared to middle-tier schools. In other words, I doubt your writing sample will get you into a better or worse medical school than you would have gotten into otherwise, but it could keep you out of medical school altogether (if you totally bomb it), or as others mentioned, it could serve as evidence that you can communicate effectively if your PS or secondaries were poorly written.
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Ummmm..... Duke's average writing score is a Q, not an N.
 
Hassler said:
Ummmm..... Duke's average writing score is a Q, not an N.
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According to US News, it is in fact an N. Where did you read differently?
 
kevster2001 said:
I always saw the essay section as a "how well can you think on your feet" kinda thing since it makes you conjur up a coherent argument and convincing examples all in a short period time.
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I agree--it's testing argumentation skills. Creating a passage of logical prose from scratch is not the same thing as answering multiple choice questions about a passage that's given to you.
 
I think if you have a poor writing score AND a low verbal score (or badly written PS/secondaries), it would be a cause for concern. But if the other factors are strong, then I don't think it matters very much, if at all. I did rather poorly on this section (M). But I had a good verbal score and interviewed at some top schools, so I don't think the writing score itself hurt me in the long run.
 
Me no write good.

Me get O.

Me stupid.




Though it was really funny when I looked at my score report for the first time, and was very confused. I thought it said 400.
 
I was so exhausted while taking the MCAT (< 3 hours sleep) that I panicked and blanked out during the first half hour of the writing section and literally wrote *a single sentence* for the first essay.

I didn't even bother trying to figure out the scoring and percentiles for the writing section, but I got an N and I did pretty well during the application process.

I guess in some cases it might be a tie breaker, but I think it just probably depends on the rest of your application.
 
The writing score is super important! I have a few other tips.

For test day comfort, I recommend Jordache jeans, a Members Only jacket, and a crisp pair of British Knights shoes.

Have a nice breakfast of Life Cereal, Tang, and Camel cigarettes.

On your way to the testing center, mellow out with some nice Dan Fogelberg or Air Supply on your 8-track player.

You'll do a swell job, chum!
 
rabbott1971 said:
The writing score is super important! I have a few other tips.

For test day comfort, I recommend Jordache jeans, a Members Only jacket, and a crisp pair of British Knights shoes.

Have a nice breakfast of Life Cereal, Tang, and Camel cigarettes.

On your way to the testing center, mellow out with some nice Dan Fogelberg or Air Supply on your 8-track player.

You'll do a swell job, chum!
Click to expand...
🤣
 
This is quite the necrobump...

On the other hand this is an amazing reminder that the MCAT could have been x10 more stressful for me at one point :laugh:
 
Jaigantic said:
You meant to say 10x LESS stressful right? I'd definitely prefer the old MCAT even with writing over the behemoth that it's become today.
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Even though it's a behemoth these days, I'm actually a fan of it being more critical thinking based personally. But that's just me - I might be the only one.

But to be fair, I SUCK at timed writing, especially essay writing. And it terrifies me in a special way.
 
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