MCAT score averaging

[coolkul]

Does anyone have a good idea of what schools average multiple MCAT scores? I was interested in University of Arizona in particular.

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[OchemOficionado]

No, but you may be able to find more information on their website.

 

[Magyarzorag]

If schools like to see an upward trend in GPA, I don't know why they wouldn't want to see the same for MCAT scores. Someone who got 2.0 first semester freshman year but 4.0 every semester since will have a 3.75 (and they may view that more favorably than someone who got a 4.0 freshman and sophomore and 3.2 Junior

 

[Redpancreas]

Does anyone have a good idea of what schools average multiple MCAT scores? I was interested in University of Arizona in particular.

I would just assume every school now just looks at every score. Back when I was applying, there was a so-called list circulating on SDN and thought naively considered it gospel until I saw my MCATs added together and divided by 2 with a red pen on a adcom's interview sheet at a school that said on its own website they look at the best score. Maybe it was the interviewer's mistake, who knows? The process is inevitably subjective and programs hardly keep their promises with this sort of thing. It's just that some places are more transparent (by saying "it depends") than others who try to tell you they use some formula, because at the end of the day when push comes to shove and candidates are tied, things get messy.

I highly doubt anyone's just super-scoring, averaging, or taking your best MCAT these days and stopping there. All schools probably have a holistic review where they look at all scores in context and piece together the story. If you've got a story where you took the MCAT once and score OK, took it again after 6 months and improved in all areas, that will probably be seen as a positive, but taking it 3-4 times without a trend and they're definitely not looking at your high score.

 

[mwsapphire]

I would just assume every school now just looks at every score. Back when I was applying, there was a so-called list and thought naively it was solid until I saw my MCATs added together and divided by 2 with a red pen on a adcom's interview sheet at a school that specifically said it looked at the best score. It's just that some places are more transparent than others. I also highly doubt anyone's superscoring or taking your best MCAT these days. All schools probably have a holistic review where they at least look at all scores available. If you have a 508 and a 515 and they like you, they're probably more apt to consider 515 as your real score.

Oh man that's so stressful. Maybe they were an outlier?

 

[gyngyn]

If schools like to see an upward trend in GPA, I don't know why they wouldn't want to see the same for MCAT scores. Someone who got 2.0 first semester freshman year but 4.0 every semester since will have a 3.75 (and they may view that more favorably than someone who got a 4.0 freshman and sophomore and 3.2 Junior

The MCAT is more than a test of knowledge. It's also a test of self-knowledge and judgement.
It's also true that the people who make the test tell us to average scores...

 

[Magyarzorag]

Average the test is basically telling those who may have a lower score to just keep taking the exams in an effort to bring up the average (I/E: 501, 512,511,513)

 

[Redpancreas]

Oh man that's so stressful. Maybe they were an outlier?

I don't think so. I don't know the absolute truth for each medical school but I have seen enough admission committees meetings for medical school in session to understand that it's not an exact science/logic or else a computer would be doing it. The best comparison to what goes on in the meetings I have seen is watching Stephen A and Max Kellerman critique basketball superstars on First Take. There's a million takes to a scenario. "Lebron is the greatest of all time because he led his team single-handedly to the finals 9 consecutive years"..."no he's not because he's 3-6 in the finals, but MJ was 6-0, Kobe was 5-2, etc" and there's tons of nitpicking and the decision usually goes to the consensus. For those still yet to go on interviews, know that sometimes the question that may initially strike you as unfair is not the time for you to be defensive, but either to fully accept responsibility or give a genuine and thoughtful explanation to why you think it's not a concern.

 

[Goro]

If schools like to see an upward trend in GPA, I don't know why they wouldn't want to see the same for MCAT scores. Someone who got 2.0 first semester freshman year but 4.0 every semester since will have a 3.75 (and they may view that more favorably than someone who got a 4.0 freshman and sophomore and 3.2 Junior

Quoting the wise Homeskool: Taking the MCAT is like getting married: ideally you only do it once, and the more times you do it the worse you start looking to suitors with good judgment.

 

[Seihai]

If schools like to see an upward trend in GPA, I don't know why they wouldn't want to see the same for MCAT scores. Someone who got 2.0 first semester freshman year but 4.0 every semester since will have a 3.75 (and they may view that more favorably than someone who got a 4.0 freshman and sophomore and 3.2 Junior

You don't get to take Step 1 more than once (unless you fail it, which is already a massive problem in and of itself).

If you can't do well on a test the first time around, then schools aren't going to look at you favorably as it either shows poor judgement or poor test-taking skills, both of which are important for med school success.

 

[deleted853480]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread but do schools look at expired mcat scores?

 

[Peter Pan.]

Average the test is basically telling those who may have a lower score to just keep taking the exams in an effort to bring up the average (I/E: 501, 512,511,513)

They wouldn’t view it in a good way especially if you only increase a point each time. If you take it 3+ times it doesn’t look good even though you’re pulling up your average. Even with a 520+ it’s gonna hurt you at the more competitive schools.

 

[Seihai]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread but do schools look at expired mcat scores?

They can see them and they will look at them. However, they won't count for medical school admission requirements.

If you did very poorly 5+ years ago, they're probably going to consider it when looking at your app, but they'll be more focused on your most recent scores as that's more representative of who you are now.