MCAT "harder" than Med School?

[MAnne]

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I know of really good doctors that did not do well on MCATs and had to re-take, but how does this compare to how well they ended up doing in med school?

What are everyone's thoughts?


~M

 

[DrBowtie]

No.

 

[yellowfish]

I know of really good doctors that did not do well on MCATs and had to re-take, but how does this compare to how well they ended up doing in med school?

What are everyone's thoughts?


~M

There's some correlation, but the last significant study to get this result was done many years ago. AAMC still claims the MCAT has impressive explanatory power, but who knows. Regardless, the MCAT leaves a lot of variation in success in medical school unaccounted for. You don't have to get a high MCAT score to do well in medical school. There are hundreds of other factors that come into play other than your ability to analytically reason through a test like the MCAT. Is that what you're asking?

 

[SN2ed]

Not even close.

 

[WiseOne]

The skills required to do well in med school are much different than the skills required to do well on the MCAT.

 

[montessori2md]

To do well in MCAT you need to be able to learn the material and answer multiple choice questions correctly. This is exactly what medical school requires of you, as well as the board exams you'll take for the rest of your career. However, MCAT's content is completely different than what physicians and medical students need to know.

Medical school and board exams make MCAT look like high school. Physicians who retook MCAT and then did well in medical school probably had not learned the material the first time they sat for MCAT. Just because you weren't prepared for a test the first time doesn't mean you can't ever be. But pull that crap for USMLE and you can destroy your dreams.

 

[WiseOne]

I do not disagree with you. The content on the MCAT is entirely different from what is learned in medical school (apart from Bio). I do not think someone who does badly in PS or verbal will do bad in medical school, even if he/she did study for those sections.

 

[JohnSnow]

The best reason that I can think of for the MCAT is that it makes you hit the books for 3 straight months, there really aren't any short cuts around it, and if you can do that then you're probably going to be able to do it when it comes time to prepare for the USMLE... other than that I don't know why it's used. Verbal Reasoning? Physics??

It's also a big money maker for AAMC and they like ripping people off. $230 exam + $35 practice exams. They probably make at least $300 per person for a computerized multiple choice exam.

 

[MAnne]

Thank you, these are great responses. I'm not looking for anything in particular. Just wanted to see what others' opinions were. I understand med school is waaay harder in the amount of material you need to know and be tested on. But I like what Montessori said about not learning the first time around like say, Physics, and having to know it for the MCAT. It's different. Agree with WiseOne - I think the material you need to know in med school is more applicable, unlike PS. Yech.

So I'm trying to stay positive through this MCAT studying. You guys are giving us some hope!

 

[SN2ed]

I think PS is useful in medical school. For instance, you use physics in cardiology to understand the resistance of blood vessels, cardiac output, compliance, etc. It's also present in respiratory with Laplace's law and some other equations. Gen chem is used as well, but by the time you get to medical school, the basics have become so ingrained you take it for granted. Topics like le chatelier and how acids/bases work are second nature, but they're rooted in gen chem.

VR is used as well through its emphasis on critical thinking. I don't think I need to explain why critical thinking is necessary.

WS is helpful in that it demonstrates how well you can synthesize new ideas, see different sides of an argument, and, most importantly, it shows how well you can communicate your ideas to others.

BS I believe is pretty self explanatory.

On the whole, the MCAT is about taking the basic knowledge you obtained in undergrad and applying it to new situations. You do the same thing in medical school except the knowledge base is far, far greater.

 

[Knocked Up]

No.

Not even close.

I think this highly depends on the student. Step 1 (the most important aspect and to some residencies the only aspect that actually matters) is not like the MCAT where you can study every single detail in the review book and still get a test that doesn't test one single aspect of it. You CAN get an MCAT Bio section that DOES NOT test anything in the review book, but is purely reading comprehension and graphical analysis. Needless to say the same applies for verbal reasoning.

The MCAT is nothing like medical school. If you have a photographical memory you will ace your first two years (not that it matters though) and perform very well on Step 1 (this matters). That is why you see people who do poorly on the MCAT and very well on the Step. The MCAT is all about critical reading and comprehension and logical deduction of jargon in the way the test writer sees it that particular day. Medical school is not.

Hence for those that are far better at memorization and spitting back material, rather than reading a bs passage and answering half-baked questions, will perform better in med school (aka: all that matters the Step exam) than on the MCAT.

 

[pfaction]

I think this highly depends on the student. Step 1 (the most important aspect and to some residencies the only aspect that actually matters) is not like the MCAT where you can study every single detail in the review book and still get a test that doesn't test one single aspect of it. You CAN get an MCAT Bio section that DOES NOT test anything in the review book, but is purely reading comprehension and graphical analysis. Needless to say the same applies for verbal reasoning.

The MCAT is nothing like medical school. If you have a photographical memory you will ace your first two years (not that it matters though) and perform very well on Step 1 (this matters). That is why you see people who do poorly on the MCAT and very well on the Step. The MCAT is all about critical reading and comprehension and logical deduction of jargon in the way the test writer sees it that particular day. Medical school is not.

Hence for those that are far better at memorization and spitting back material, rather than reading a bs passage and answering half-baked questions, will perform better in med school (aka: all that matters the Step exam) than on the MCAT.

This. Oh god, this. I've spoken to MD's who teach at my Pharmacy school who say I will absolutely do great in medical school because of how I do in pharmacy. I find myself failing at MCAT subjects (besides Biology) and their answer types because it's not flat out memorization like they said med school was for them.

I have deficits in English (writing and speaking) and Math, so what SN2 said definitely does NOT apply to me. I stumble, stutter, and mispronounce words and create sentence fragments--even on the floors--but I sincerely doubt this will effect me when? if? I go for my MD.

 

[ridethecliche]

This. Oh god, this. I've spoken to MD's who teach at my Pharmacy school who say I will absolutely do great in medical school because of how I do in pharmacy. I find myself failing at MCAT subjects (besides Biology) and their answer types because it's not flat out memorization like they said med school was for them.

I have deficits in English (writing and speaking) and Math, so what SN2 said definitely does NOT apply to me. I stumble, stutter, and mispronounce words and create sentence fragments--even on the floors--but I sincerely doubt this will effect me when? if? I go for my MD.

Your writing is fine though, so you'd make a great radiologist.

 

[Dan1804]

I know of really good doctors that did not do well on MCATs and had to re-take, but how does this compare to how well they ended up doing in med school?

What are everyone's thoughts?


~M

The strongest correlation that exists is between performance on the MCAT and performance on Step 1.

"Undergraduate Institutional MCAT Scores as Predictors of USMLE Step 1 Performance":

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed...rgraduate_Institutional_MCAT_Scores_as.5.aspx

 

[MAnne]

The strongest correlation that exists is between performance on the MCAT and performance on Step 1.

"Undergraduate Institutional MCAT Scores as Predictors of USMLE Step 1 Performance":

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed...rgraduate_Institutional_MCAT_Scores_as.5.aspx

Here is a more recent study that I found interesting. "Strategies For Identifying Students at Risk for USMLE Step 1 Failure"

http://scholar.googleusercontent.co...ing+mcat+scores&hl=en&as_sdt=0,31&as_ylo=2008

~M

 

[valkener]

Obviously pressure is higher when taking the MCAT - it's a gatekeeper! Once you're in medical school the material is harder but the pressure is not as high. Even if you fail a test, it doesn't mean you have to leave. Tests in medical school and the MCAT are inherently different.

 

[Bean Counter]

I have heard from a number of my friends attending med school that it is completely different than the MCAT and the MCAT doesn't prove anything except that you know how to dedicate enough of your time to studying. Med schools know that you can't cram for this test and that's why they use it. It is as someone stated earlier a "gatekeeper" exam.

While med school is difficult for sure I don't think there's as much pressure to perform well on a single test as there is on the MCAT which makes things better. The USMLE is a different story all together.

 

[iceman132]

Do you JUST take the USMLE's in medical school?

For instance, in some graduate programs you just have one long ass test at the end of the semester. (Instead of several tests spread over the semester)

 

[pfaction]

Your writing is fine though, so you'd make a great radiologist.

Not sure if sarcasm...

 

[iceman132]

Not sure if sarcasm...

You need this picture.