MCAT Score Average Depressed

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aggiedoc2010

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So a friend of mine who is an officer in AMSA said a Kaplan representative came and spoke about their program. The representative said something rather interesting though, and told everyone that this year’s (May 09' application) MCAT score average has actually gone down despite in recent years seeing a gradual increase. Has anyone else heard of this, or is this representative full of misinformation? I am not looking for personal anecdotes based on personal scores, but more solid findings or similar statements by supposedly reputable sources. Thanks everyone!
 
aggiedoc2010 said:
So a friend of mine who is an officer in AMSA said a Kaplan representative came and spoke about their program. The representative said something rather interesting though, and told everyone that this year’s (May 09' application) MCAT score average has actually gone down despite in recent years seeing a gradual increase. Has anyone else heard of this, or is this representative full of misinformation? I am not looking for personal anecdotes based on personal scores, but more solid findings or similar statements by supposedly reputable sources. Thanks everyone!
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that doesnt seem to make sense. first, MCAT scores are normalized, so the average score for all test-takers shouldn't change from year to year. obviously, it's possible that more people are applying with lower scores, which would change the applicant average. but the 2009 AMCAS hasn't even opened yet, so how would kaplan know who will decide to apply or not.
 
Yeah I figured it was to early to tell, the only thing I can think of is that Kaplan is going by their own surveys that they do post test. Although that may be only a reflection that their program is not doing well, and the rest of the programs and self studiers may have stable scoring.
 
aggiedoc2010 said:
so a friend of mine who is an officer in amsa said a kaplan representative came and spoke about their program. The representative said something rather interesting though, and told everyone that you better drop 3 grand on our services. Lower averages. You are screwed, here is the sign up sheet. Has anyone else heard of this, or is this representative full of misinformation? I am not looking for personal anecdotes based on personal scores, but more solid findings or similar statements by supposedly reputable sources. Thanks everyone!
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:d
 
When I read the title I thought that the OP was depressed about his/her MCAT score.
 
chief illiniwek said:
that doesnt seem to make sense. first, MCAT scores are normalized, so the average score for all test-takers shouldn't change from year to year. obviously, it's possible that more people are applying with lower scores, which would change the applicant average. but the 2009 AMCAS hasn't even opened yet, so how would kaplan know who will decide to apply or not.
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Methinks Kaplan failed stats.
 
Bahaha that is why I am not a member of AMSA and the Pre-Med society was helpful in getting me a few community service activities and $200 off MCAT prep. To be perfectly honest my 1st round MCAT score sucked, but life goes on and I certainly am not depressed especially when I am on track to have a 4.0 semester with including Biochem II.
 
The average MCAT score, and thus the distribution, does change a tad. This is because the curve is normalized, but if the distribution is funky it can jerk the average around a little. This is why the average is about 1 point lower in Auguest than May, I believe....
 
I do see the different angles from the above posts. However, it seems that the magic number for the forseeable future is 30 MCAT.
 
I don't think any of us really have any idea how AMCAS works their statistical magic. You guys are citing that the scores are normalized, but does anyone really know how they are? Is there some sort of literature one could read, specifically dealing with MCAT scores?

I thought our questions were based on the performances on past students, and the results from the experimental questions were used in future tests.
 
mmmcdowe said:
The average MCAT score, and thus the distribution, does change a tad. This is because the curve is normalized, but if the distribution is funky it can jerk the average around a little. This is why the average is about 1 point lower in Auguest than May, I believe....
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So you're saying that my 32 at the first CBT administration with all of our flustered nerves could be worth more than a 32 on the previous MCAT?

REDEMPTION!!!!11!!1!1!
 
I believe medical schools are experiencing a large increase in the number of applications this year. Generally when times are bad, applications to medical school go up (since doctors enjoy good job stability, and generally are well paid). And right now times aren't so good, especially if you're in finance.

I don't know how scores are normalized, but if I'm not mistaken, MCAT scores are supposed to be consistent (standardized) from year-to-year. If this is the case, I would imagine a large increase in applicants could very well affect the average/median MCAT score.
 
Brent8927 said:
I believe medical schools are experiencing a large increase in the number of applications this year. Generally when times are bad, applications to medical school go up (since doctors enjoy good job stability, and generally are well paid). And right now times aren't so good, especially if you're in finance.

I don't know how scores are normalized, but if I'm not mistaken, MCAT scores are supposed to be consistent (standardized) from year-to-year. If this is the case, I would imagine a large increase in applicants could very well affect the average/median MCAT score.
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i don't think this is true. firstly, i've heard both things about the number of apps this year-- that they'll go up, and that they'll go down. basically i'm waiting until AFTER the cycle to make a judgment about that.

secondly, i don't think med school apps go up when times are bad-- at least, not this quickly after the "bad times" started. med school isn't like a lot of graduate programs because you need years of pre-reqs and certain ECs to be competitive as an applicant. you can't just up and decide to go to med school like you can with, say, a master's program in education or something.

(for the record i know nothing about master's programs in education or anything else for that matter. i'm operating on the assumption that the requirements are not nearly as specific and lengthy as those of the pre-med curriculum.)
 
Brent8927 said:
I believe medical schools are experiencing a large increase in the number of applications this year. Generally when times are bad, applications to medical school go up (since doctors enjoy good job stability, and generally are well paid). And right now times aren't so good, especially if you're in finance.
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That's true for other graduate programs, but not usually med school because it requires two years of pre-requisite work. Anyone can go to law school or business school. You need two years of science to go to med school.
 
dw2158 said:
i don't think this is true. firstly, i've heard both things about the number of apps this year-- that they'll go up, and that they'll go down. basically i'm waiting until AFTER the cycle to make a judgment about that.

secondly, i don't think med school apps go up when times are bad-- at least, not this quickly after the "bad times" started. med school isn't like a lot of graduate programs because you need years of pre-reqs and certain ECs to be competitive as an applicant. you can't just up and decide to go to med school like you can with, say, a master's program in education or something.

(for the record i know nothing about master's programs in education or anything else for that matter. i'm operating on the assumption that the requirements are not nearly as specific and lengthy as those of the pre-med curriculum.)
Click to expand...

Your argument definitely makes sense, but I remember seeing a chart about two years ago that recorded medical school applications over the past ~20 years or so, and the trend was that applications increased during and slightly after recessions/tough times.

My post-bac program is experiencing a large increase in applications too right now, though a post-bac program isn't as much of a committement as medical school.
 
well i'd be interested to know how soon after these "bad times" the apps went up. i doubt that it's the same/next year. duh that post-bacc apps are up--that's the first step towards med school for many.
 
I found the link: http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/charts1982to2007.pdf
There's a rough correspondance with the timing of recessions. The first recession in the 1982-2008 time frame was from 1980-1982 (see wikipedia's list of recessions in the US). After about a year or two (generally unemployment figures don't return to normal until a year or two after a recession) applications fall, since times get better.

When the recession of the early 90's occurs from 1990-1991, applications rise quite a bit. They then fall down quite a bit after things get better (the early 90's weren't too strong economically compared with the late 90's).

The next recession was caused by the dot-com bubble, but it was only six months long, and I don't think it caused the same worry and anxiety as the larger recession did. But there does seem to be a small steady increase in applications after this. And the curve gets steeper after 2006/07, when things started slowing down.

There were 42,315 applications last year. I haven't heard what this year's number is, so I can't compare, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it's a bit higher. I imagine however, that if applications really are tied to the economy, the larger increase would occur for those applying for 2010 entry, since things didn't get really sour until late last year.

I'm not an economist, and I'm not conducting a study--this is just an observation, so a number of other factors are definitely present, such as the number of children of baby boomers graduating from college (larger pre-med population).

But, it seems to me like there's a strong possibility that medical school applications and the health of the economy are connected. Researchers already agree that graduate school applications rise during/after recessions.

An increase in post-bac applications signals an increase in the number of people switching to pre-med. Often, you only attend a post-bac program (at least an expensive one like Mills, which is what I was referring to) if you are pretty sure you will be applying to medical school.
 
Hell, I thought the MCAT was depressed...

I could just imagine this sad little MCAT, sitting alone at the cafeteria cause no one likes him...🙁
 
Perhaps they meant that the average accepted students MCAT score dropped slightly?? I Could see this happening, with the new schols and increase in seats, perhaps it was easier to get in this year then years past.
 
ButImLETired said:
Hell, I thought the MCAT was depressed...

I could just imagine this sad little MCAT, sitting alone at the cafeteria cause no one likes him...🙁
Click to expand...

LOL! :laugh:

I'm imagining a paper test (or a really old computer with the CBT) sitting alone at a table, with a sad face.
 
ChubbyChaser said:
Perhaps they meant that the average accepted students MCAT score dropped slightly?? I Could see this happening, with the new schols and increase in seats, perhaps it was easier to get in this year then years past.
Click to expand...

•​
​
​
Physical Sciences,Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences​

• Although all test forms of the exam measure the same basic skills and concepts, each form
contains different questions. Since one form may be slightly more difficult or slightly easier than
another, we convert the raw scores to a scale that takes into consideration the difficulty of test
questions. Regardless of the particular test form used, equal scaled scores will represent the​
same level of skill mastery.

the blurb above is from amcas

I'd love to see the average scores drop slightly -- that would tell me that schools are looking more at non-score related applicant strengths than in the past. Just my .02
 
nontrdgsbuiucmd said:
•​
Physical Sciences,Verbal Reasoning, and Biological Sciences​

• Although all test forms of the exam measure the same basic skills and concepts, each form
contains different questions. Since one form may be slightly more difficult or slightly easier than
another, we convert the raw scores to a scale that takes into consideration the difficulty of test
questions. Regardless of the particular test form used, equal scaled scores will represent the​
same level of skill mastery.

the blurb above is from amcas

I'd love to see the average scores drop slightly -- that would tell me that schools are looking more at non-score related applicant strengths than in the past. Just my .02
Click to expand...
I would think the average will always stay between 24.5-25.5...but with more seats I could see the average accepted student dropping from 31 to 30.5, perhaps?
 
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