MCAT or GPA

[Stressd-premed]

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Ok, so I know both are important but is one more important than the other?

 

[ChymeofPassion]

MCAT. 520 3.1 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 500 4.0

See AAMC Table 24 for more.

 

[Goro]

Ok, so I know both are important but is one more important than the other?

Strongly suggest that you do not place emphasis on single metrics.

 

[doc05]

Ok, so I know both are important but is one more important than the other?

Everything is important.

 

[jarednogeek]

Kind of like saying what’s the essential part of a ham sandwich? The meat or the bread? Maybe the meat but you need both and that sandwich would be a lot better with toppings and condiments.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Kind of like saying what’s the essential part of a sandwich? The meat or the bread? Maybe the meat but you need both and that sandwich would be a lot better with toppings and condiments.

Bad analogy, you can have a cheese sandwich, two pieces of bread is what makes a sandwich by definition.

 

[jarednogeek]

Bad analogy, you can have a cheese sandwich, two pieces of bread is what makes a sandwich by definition.

Post is now rectified and logically sound, you get the point anyways 😛

 

[Drakozord X]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

[jarednogeek]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

The egg, next question

 

[Goro]

Bad analogy, you can have a cheese sandwich, two pieces of bread is what makes a sandwich by definition.

But is a hot dog a sandwich? Asking for a friend.

 

[efle]

Which would you rather have, someone capable of learning at the MD level (good MCAT), or someone studious enough to actually do the learning (good GPA)?

You need both, and you really need the former.

 

[MyOdyssey]

Which would you rather have, someone capable of learning at the MD level (good MCAT), or someone studious enough to actually do the learning (good GPA)?

You need both, and you really need the former.

Isn't med school more about volume than conceptual depth whereas a lot of hard undergrad STEM courses have less volume vis a vis med school courses but more conceptual depth, yes?

 

[chemdoctor]

Which would you rather have, someone capable of learning at the MD level (good MCAT), or someone studious enough to actually do the learning (good GPA)?

You need both, and you really need the former.

While I agree, I’m being more convinced that a strong MCAT measures one thing: ability to take a test and do well on the MCAT. There’re students that get in with mediocre MCATS

Some DO schooks have MCAT averages in 499!!! And these students do fine, matriculate and match.

Yes I know you said the md level but I feel like do and md are the same in terms of learning. In fact DO’s learn manipulative medicine too. (I know you know this, just saying)

All due respect again. Don’t want this to turn into a flame war

 

[ChymeofPassion]

But is a hot dog a sandwich? Asking for a friend.

Only if the middle crease is broken

 

[MyOdyssey]

The egg, next question

dinosaurs --> birds --> chicken--> egg

 

[efle]

Isn't med school more about volume than conceptual depth whereas a lot of hard undergrad STEM courses have less volume vis a vis med school courses but more conceptual depth, yes?

Totally depends. My personal experience was that making straight A's, especially in sciences, was much harder than scoring high on the related MCAT sections. But, not all GPAs are created equal, and there are thousands and thousands of applicants every year who have a competitive GPA but a sub-500 MCAT. If I was an adcom and I saw a 3.7/498, the MCAT would make me doubt the validity of the GPA, not the other way around. To me that says the person worked hard at a school where pure effort made for good grades, rather than basic concept mastery. That's not gonna fly for med school. There's not many med school topics that can make you scratch your head like a tough physics or organic chemistry problem can, but you do need to be able to move through a lot of basic concepts and relationships at a fast pace.

While I agree, I’m being more convinced that a strong MCAT measures one thing: ability to take a test and do well on the MCAT. There’re students that get in with mediocre MCATS

Some DO schooks have MCAT averages in 499!!! And these students do fine, matriculate and match.

Yes I know you said the md level but I feel like do and md are the same in terms of learning. In fact DO’s learn manipulative medicine too. (I know you know this, just saying)

All due respect again. Don’t want this to turn into a flame war

Haha, take it up with the AAMC if you feel the MCAT doesn't function like they think as a readiness assessment and predictor. I'm just the messenger about what it's designed to do and how it's interpreted. I'm sure there are plenty of medical students who barely pass their preclinical exams and then barely pass the USMLE and are still wonderful docs...but the schools will understandably be risk averse and want to avoid that being common.

 

[chemdoctor]

@efle

Not arguing your point. Too many variables in this process. I guess the MCAT does function that way, but that’s just something to think about. Some people just aren’t good standardized test takers

Furthermore, many people just hate how the MCAT works in general. So it depends man

 

[efle]

I get what you're saying, but I have bad news for anyone that dislikes computer-based multiple choice exams on science topics, that is heading to med school.....

 

[chemdoctor]

I get what you're saying, but I have bad news for anyone that dislikes computer-based multiple choice exams on science topics, that is heading to med school.....

HAHHHA

So true man! How does one get better at standardized tests? Some people are naturally born with it. But...

 

[survivors]

dinosaurs --> birds --> chicken--> egg

So aren't you saying that the egg came first? Dinosaurs & birds hatch eggs, no? So then what came first, the egg or the dinosaur?

 

[MyOdyssey]

So aren't you saying that the egg came first? Dinosaurs & birds hatch eggs, no? So then what came first, the egg or the dinosaur?

Birds evolved from a class of two legged meat eating dinosaurs called theropods, which included the raptors and their larger cousins allosaurus and T-rex. Theropods in turn evolved from some earlier life form. And so on. And so on. In no way is an egg the first in this chain.

 

[MacBee]

Birds evolved from a class of two legged meat eating dinosaurs called theropods, which included the raptors and their larger cousins allosaurus and T-rex. Theropods in turn evolved from some earlier life form. And so on. And so on. In no way is an egg the first in this chain.

LOL, I think this is getting way off-topic from the thread’s point, but this is just a friendly reminder that reproduction is a pretty important aspect of evolution...so the egg has to be in the equation somewhere, bud. I don’t think you really “solved” the question as much as you might think by pointing out what evolved from what.

 

[MyOdyssey]

LOL, I think this is getting way off-topic from the thread’s point, but this is just a friendly reminder that reproduction is a pretty important aspect of evolution...so the egg has to be in the equation somewhere, bud. I don’t think you really “solved” the question as much as you might think by pointing out what evolved from what.

Off-topic: Not all eggs are external, which is belied by the assertion that the egg precedes the [animal].

 

[Goro]

Birds evolved from a class of two legged meat eating dinosaurs called theropods, which included the raptors and their larger cousins allosaurus and T-rex. Theropods in turn evolved from some earlier life form. And so on. And so on. In no way is an egg the first in this chain.

Reptiles -> eggs -> dinosaurs and birds.

Eggs came first.

 

[bullmood]

guys what are actually the units when you want to calculate your GPA ??

 

[ak-aka-dak]

Only if the middle crease is broken

What about one piece of bread with pb&j on it folded in the middle with no crease?