MCAT and ACT.....

[ekb1701]

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I was just wondering if there is a general correlation between what a student makes on the ACT and what he or she makes on the MCAT.

Yes, I know they're two totally different tests and are taken under two different situations, but humor me with some numbers 🙂

 

[etf]

well, i scored in the exact same percentile on the psat, sat, and mcat. i'm hoping the trend continues for the usmle.

 

[Husky85]

I wouldn't think there'd be any correlation... they're two different tests on different material taken for two different purposes and scored in different ways.

That being said, smart people will tend to do better on both simply because they will put in more preparation time and will actually care more.

I don't know much about the act (it's sorta like the SAT, but different), but for the MCAT an average score is about a 26. An MCAT score that will do you well for medical school will be at or above 30. I would assume that as far as the act goes, a score that will get you into school would be much lower with comparison to the average than the mcat and this would probably be your major difference between the two tests.

 

[MassTransport]

A correlation exists with the SAT, and it seems to correlate well. These were the two abstracts I found, the first from a 2000 paper published in The Advisor, the journal of the NAAHP, and the second from a 1986 Journal of Medical Education. I couldn't find anything for the ACT.

Correlates of MCAT Performance in a Postbaccalauraeate Population of Premedical Students

George Delahunty, Ph.D.

Abstract — The purpose of this study was to examine correlations between traditional indicators of academic performance, SAT scores and grade point averages, and MCAT scores in a population of postbaccalaureate premedical students. Data was collected from postbaccalaureate students at Goucher College from the academic years 1990-91 through 1994-95. A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants.

Correlations between SAT scores and MCAT scores of black students in a summer program.

Thurmond VB, Lewis L.

The purpose of the study reported here was to determine the relationship between Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores of black students who had participated in a summer program for minority students interested in health careers held at the Medical College of Georgia. A significant correlation was established between these students' SAT and MCAT scores. These findings suggest that students who are likely to perform well in medical school can be selected for medical school while they are still underclassmen, accepted conditionally, and admitted after completing a prescribed curriculum. Early selection has implications for increasing the number of minority students in medicine and for permitting more liberal arts in the premedical education than the present selection process.

 

[jae9970]

percentile-wise, i did much better on ACT than MCAT

but they test different materials, so..

 

[waytosuck]

I've been wondering about this too...
I'm actually a high school student still (graduating this year, probably LSU or Tulane next fall)... but I've been wondering what I have to do in the next couple of years to put myself in a position where I'd be competitive for medical school.

I've done well on standardized tests so far (204 on the PSAT... 32 on the ACT, still considering taking the ACT again just to see how well I CAN do), but what worries me is the fact that everybody going into medical school is an overachiever in some way. That's kind of scary for me.

 

[littlealex]

The tests materials are completely different, so in reality they should not correlate. That being said, the people that do well on the SAT/ACTs typically are smart test takers who knows how to study for the material.

I personally found my SAT score to correlate pretty well with my MCAT score in terms of %tiles.