MCAT score.. does it mean much?

[Dr Gerrard]

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So what do you all think MCAT score actually means?

does it tell you your critical thinking ability, how well you can memorize, how well you read, etc?

if you get a significantly higher mcat than someone else, does this actually mean anything, or is it more like the SAT where people say it doesnt matter at all.

just curious what you all think really.

 

[Kaustikos]

So what do you all think MCAT score actually means?

does it tell you your critical thinking ability, how well you can memorize, how well you read, etc?

if you get a significantly higher mcat than someone else, does this actually mean anything, or is it more like the SAT where people say it doesnt matter at all.

just curious what you all think really.

It matters. I'd say there is a significance between someone scoring a 24 and someone scoring a 32. But that's just me.

 

[Brittanyboop115]

Honestly, I don't think the MCAT score means much of anything. You can know all of the material and master it, but just not be a good test taker. And this doesn't mean you wont be a good doctor. I think the MCAT is just a way to weed people out. We all know that medical school, as well as being a physician is stressful, and medical schools just want to see if you would be able to handle it. For example, I know a couple people who wanted to become doctors but gave up because they couldn't handle the stress of the MCAT. That tells me these people really didn't want to be doctors to begin with...because I know for me, I wouldn't let ANYTHING stop me from pursuing my dreams!

 

[Dr Gerrard]

It matters. I'd say there is a significance between someone scoring a 24 and someone scoring a 32. But that's just me.

what about the difference between like a 38 and a 30? same thing?
how? obviously its not just a better doctor kind of thing, because there is much more to being a doctor than this.

what is the significance though?

 

[student1799]

Does the MCAT really predict how good a doctor someone is going to be? Probably not.

Does it predict a student's likely score on Step I (the first of the 3 medical licensing exams)? Moderately well.

Do med schools care about your MCAT score? You betcha. They care quite a lot.

 

[Dr Gerrard]

Does the MCAT really predict how good a doctor someone is going to be? Probably not.

Does it predict a student's likely score on Step I (the first of the 3 medical licensing exams)? Moderately well.

Do med schools care about your MCAT score? You betcha. They care quite a lot.

there is a stronger correlation between mcat and step 1 than there is between mcat and sat then?

i guess i just started thinking at how much it blows my mind that all those smart ivy kids dont do amazingly well on the mcat. i mean im sure there is a higher percentage of 35+ in those schools than maybe your state school, but still.

 

[Kaustikos]

what about the difference between like a 38 and a 30? same thing?
how? obviously its not just a better doctor kind of thing, because there is much more to being a doctor than this.

what is the significance though?

32+ = great. I mean, at that that point, you're arguing 1 question differences, which is no real indicator that you're that much better. But below, the differences are significant.

I won't argue the validity or correlation between MCAT and successful doctors because then it gets complicated. I've seen lots of 38+ that aren't common sense idiots.

 

[Kaustikos]

there is a stronger correlation between mcat and step 1 than there is between mcat and sat then?

i guess i just started thinking at how much it blows my mind that all those smart ivy kids dont do amazingly well on the mcat. i mean im sure there is a higher percentage of 35+ in those schools than maybe your state school, but still.

Abso-****ing-lutely.

 

[Againstalloddz]

One very valuable aspect of the MCAT is that it levels the playing field. What I mean by this is different schools grade differently and some are genuinely harder then others. I know for a fact its easier to get A's at certain colleges in my state then my public school, so the MCAT is a nice equalizer in that regard.

And even visa versa. I studied with several students from a prestigious top 20 university and they were bombin while I was flyin.

 

[cfx]

My guess is that there will be two answers to this question: the one from everyone who has done really well on the MCAT ("why yes, the score means everything! It is a perfect indicator of your raw intelligence and innate ability") and the one from everyone who has done mediocre to poorly on it ("means NOTHING"). I would tend to side with student1799. Also, I really don't buy the "great equalizer" thing.

 

[zer0crew]

I think a lot of what the MCAT tests is your ability/willingness to study, work hard and prepare for an exam. If you step back and look at what it covers (first year of Bio, Chem, Physics and Organic), most pre-meds have at least seen almost everything that can be covered on the MCAT by the end of their sophomore year. Granted, most of us probably sucked at a lot of it (especially organic), but at least we'd seen it before. So the concepts are not mind-blowingly hard, but the test is just so incredibly broad and it covers a SOO MANY different semi-dificult topics, that almost nobody can just simply remember every concept and every formula from their first two years of college. Almost no matter how smart you are, you will not do well if you don't prepare. So I think most of what it tests is your ability to focus and prepare yourself, as opposed to just testing your raw intelligence.

I would say people who score well on the MCAT tend to score well on the USMLE Step 1 for two reasons;
1) They're somewhat bright (~20%),
2) They study for it and work very, very hard (or very effectively) (~80%)

Those that worked really hard and studied a lot as a pre-med will probably continue to study and work really hard while in med school. The effort that got them a decent MCAT score will get them a decent Step 1 score. But there is definitely a portion of it that just represents intangible ability to just pound/beat/bludgeon the right answer out of a passage or list of possible answers.

This is a completely off-the-cuff, totally unsubstantiated opinion though... not unlike many things on SDN.

 

[cubssox2000]

Every piece of the application process tells more and more about you.

MCAT - judge of how well you learn/retain material + stress
Application - judge of what you have done in your life
PS - judge of why you want to be a doctor
Interview - judge of your personality + stress

Each of these is a choke point that will weed out students. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it does work pretty well. You need to be at least somewhat well rounded plus have a personality plus be able to handle stress to get through all of it. If you are lacking in any of these characteristics, you will have a much harder time getting an acceptance.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

i have to wonder about these claims of really smart people who are just bad test takers. seriously, what's holding them back? besides perhaps stress, exams are not inherently more difficult than anything else one does in school

 

[Perrotfish]

The VR section is a test of your reading comprehension and general test taking ability, just like the SAT. It's an intelligence test. It's also probably the best predictor of your odds of passing the USMLE, which is why med schools care so much about it.

The Bio and Physics sections are a little more fuzzy since they're more a blend of reading comprehension and how much you know about the pure sciences. Unlike the USMLE, you could theoretically pass these sections without studying for them. Unlike the SAT it's not just an intelligence test and you will do better if you have a stronger background in those subjects. So probably not great predictors of anything, though med schools certainly use them anyway.

The writing section is useless, which is why no one uses it as anything except a last resort tiebreaker.

i have to wonder about these claims of really smart people who are just bad test takers. seriously, what's holding them back? besides perhaps stress, exams are not inherently more difficult than anything else one does in school

People are not 'smart' in general, intelligence is situational. The classic example of the bad test taker is the ESL kid who, though he can conduct interviews and analyze labs better than his peers, can't read nearly as fast. So in a completely artificial situation like the USMLE where you need to digest a block of written text and spit out an answer in a short amount of time he does poorly.

 

[Neurocentric]

i have to wonder about these claims of really smart people who are just bad test takers. seriously, what's holding them back? besides perhaps stress, exams are not inherently more difficult than anything else one does in school

For me, it's stress and second-guessing myself. I notice at some points during tests, I will go back to a previous answer and wonder if it's right. I'll either leave it be or change it, and 9 times out of 10 my changing it screws up my score because my original answer was actually correct.

Sometimes it's also the way a question is worded. I'm one of those people who can sometimes read a sentence over and over and still not understand it. Maybe I'm just distracted, or maybe I'm really not getting it. However, for something like the MCAT, if you've done a dozen or more practice tests, you should have a good understanding of what the wording will be like.

To answer the OP's question, I feel the MCAT is part of the weeding out process. I'm a pre-med who has NOT taken the test yet, so my answer here is not a biased opinion because I either did or did not do awesome on the exam. Will it determine how competent a doctor you will be? Probably not. But it does kind of give the medical schools a chance to see how you retain tons of information, along with keeping up good grades, EC's, etc. Medical school is all about retaining a ton of information, so it's a good way to see how someone can handle it.

I've always thought of the MCAT as a factor in how well you can handle what is to come. Just my opinion, there.

 

[Iso4ane]

Besides being a test of relatively basic sciences, and read comp. I see the MCAT as a test of one determination. Those who have done well in their classes, and then really really study for the MCAT, will most likely do better than those who half-hearty study. Studying longer does not necessarily mean you are determined, cause I can "study" and watch TV at hours at a time, but if you really focus, you can get it done.

And the way I see it, depending on the split, once you hit about a 36-37, any higher is about virtually the same. The difference between a 15 and 13 on the science some years is only 2-5 problems,{14 is one problem, 13 is 2-5} (90%+). While the difference between a 15 and a 12 is like 5-10 problems (80%-90%). So if your split is like 13, 13, 4 or a 30 it could easily have been a 34 if you were lucky.

 

[runrunrudolph1]

just like your GPA is a "predictor" of how well you will be able to perform in your medical school classes, your MCAT predicts your ability to study and perform well on standardized tests (Steps... Board exams etc etc). Sure, it's flawed, but they have to compare us somehow

 

[roseglass6370]

Your MCAT score decides whether or not you get into medical school. To me, that means a heck of a lot.

What else the score implies matters little, if at all, to me.

*shrug* just my $0.02 🙂

 

[ILikeDrugs]

I dunno. Why don't you get a really low score on purpose, apply, and come back and tell us how many acceptances you received.

 

[MCAT guy]

Your MCAT score actually determines your value as a human being.

 

[nfo2010]

I listened to a lecture by Lani Guinier in which she found that LSAT scores are accurate at predicting year-one law school grades only ~13% of the time. In fact, she said, LSAT scores were more indicative of the wealth of one's grandparents than of success in law school (money/land/property in the family is passed on, education is passed on, more likely to afford test prep, the rich get richer/poor get poorer and so on).

I don't know how, exactly, the MCAT relates to medical school success. It could be completely opposite that of the LSAT and law school, but it's something to think about, nonetheless.

 

[andrewnwi]

Comparing the MCAT with the SAT ...still waiting for the punchline.

 

[Pisiform]

Remember, MCAT is just a test. If you **** up, it doesn't mean you're a ****up. That said, try not to **** this up. It's pretty important.

 

[IvyHopeful20]

There's a correlation between the MCAT and USMLE scores, it makes sense medical schools want people who can pass the boards. Plus, it's an equalizer - if I'm up against an ivy league grad, it's my chance to show that I have learned the material just as much/more.