MCAT score too high?

[humuhumu]

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Have you heard of an adcom rejecting applicants because their MCAT scores are way above the average matriculant at their school? Even if everything else (GPA, ECs, etc.) looks good? I could imagine an adcom concluding that applicants with really high numbers aren't a "good fit" (i.e., because they would feel academically superior to their classmates) or not worth the trouble (i.e., because they would end up matriculating at a "better" school).

BTW, I don't know yet how I did on the MCAT. I'm expecting a strong score, but not high enough to be worried about it.

 

[Law2Doc]

Have you heard of an adcom rejecting applicants because their MCAT scores are way above the average matriculant at their school? Even if everything else (GPA, ECs, etc.) looks good? I could imagine an adcom concluding that applicants with really high numbers aren't a "good fit" (i.e., because they would feel academically superior to their classmates) or not worth the trouble (i.e., because they would end up matriculating at a "better" school).

BTW, I don't know yet how I did on the MCAT. I'm expecting a strong score, but not high enough to be worried about it.

I assume you are being facetious, but in case you aren't - no, schools don't reject people because their scores are way above the norm. However, lower tier schools have been known to pass on people whose credentials are such that they are very likely to get in at better places and not attend the lower tier place. Thus it's not uncommon for people who get into top 10 schools getting rejected from a lower unranked school.

 

[DHMO]

I assume you are being facetious, but in case you aren't - no, schools don't reject people because their scores are way above the norm. However, lower tier schools have been known to pass on people whose credentials are such that they are very likely to get in at better places and not attend the lower tier place. Thus it's not uncommon for people who get into top 10 schools getting rejected from a lower unranked school.

I'm convinced that this happens often (though I have no conclusive evidence to supportit). If you find yourself in a position where your scores are much higher than the average at your top choice school, make sure you contact the admissions office and let them know how much you want to go to that school.

 

[humuhumu]

I'm convinced that this happens often (though I have no conclusive evidence to supportit). If you find yourself in a position where your scores are much higher than the average at your top choice school, make sure you contact the admissions office and let them know how much you want to go to that school.

Good advice.

And no, I wasn't being facetious.

 

[Denn]

I assume you are being facetious, but in case you aren't - no, schools don't reject people because their scores are way above the norm. However, lower tier schools have been known to pass on people whose credentials are such that they are very likely to get in at better places and not attend the lower tier place. Thus it's not uncommon for people who get into top 10 schools getting rejected from a lower unranked school.

That's just speculation. If somebody is rejected by their state schools or low tier private school, then his/hers odds of being accepted to Harvard or Johns Hopkins or any other top tier schools are probably zero.

 

[IgweEmeka]

Why do people automatically think a high score on the mcat means you are academically superior? The mcat is not an indicator of intellectual ability. It is a bulls**t gen chem and physics exam which you would not see at all in med school. I mean if you are one of those students who took AP chem and physics in high school and took like the honors gen chem and physics courses, then you are obviously going to do well on the mcat. doesn't mean you are smarter, just means you are an overachiever. If you talk to most med students, they would tell you that the most successful med students are those that have balance, concentration, and longevity. A one day exam has nothing to do with your academic superiority in med school. For example, the physician who seperated the first succesful siamese twin joined in the cranium was about to quit during his M1 because he was overwhelmed but he finally learned the art of balancing things out. He did not get a 40 or so on the mcat.

 

[IgweEmeka]

Not done yet.
Don't get me wrong, there might be some difference in intellectual ability between a kid that gets a 23 on the mcat and one that gets a 39. But this does not equate to academic superiority in med school, maybe in other fields. But when you get to the more sticky situations like a kid that gets a 33 versus one that gets a 40. Maybe the guy with a 33 made a few judgement mistakes on a couple of questions on the physical sciences or overthought his answers on the verbal. These things happen to the smartest individuals. Or maybe the guy that got a 40 made a few better guesses than the 33. I mean at most 10-12 questions is all that seperates a 33 from a 40.

 

[silverdime]

That's just speculation. If somebody is rejected by their state schools or low tier private school, then his/hers odds of being accepted to Harvard or Johns Hopkins or any other top tier schools are probably zero.

Do you define BU as "low tier"? Because I know some (admittedly snobby) people that do and I'm friends with a former BU application reader (who worked until about two years ago). I heard first-hand from him that they do, in fact, reject people that they think are going to pass them up for a higher-ranked school.

Granted, this might be an isolated case because of BU's massive number of applications. And in calling them low tier I'm using the definitions of people who applied to BU, were rejected, and ended up at a better-ranked school (Northwestern and Yale, respectively)...not my own opinion. Personally, I'd be thrilled to get in to any med school.

But this sort of rejection of top candidates by lower-ranked schools does occur in at least one medical school, just like with undergrad adcoms.

 

[Denn]

Do you define BU as "low tier"? Because I know some (admittedly snobby) people that do and I'm friends with a former BU application reader (who worked until about two years ago). I heard first-hand from him that they do, in fact, reject people that they think are going to pass them up for a higher-ranked school.

Granted, this might be an isolated case because of BU's massive number of applications. And in calling them low tier I'm using the definitions of people who applied to BU, were rejected, and ended up at a better-ranked school (Northwestern and Yale, respectively)...not my own opinion. Personally, I'd be thrilled to get in to any med school.

But this sort of rejection of top candidates by lower-ranked schools does occur in at least one medical school, just like with undergrad adcoms.

Fairy tales...............
I don't say it NEVER happens that somebody who is rejected by some so-called "low-tier" school cannot gain an acceptance in better ranked schools. However, it happens very rarely and is redundant to think about it when you apply to medical schools.

 

[xSTALLiONx]

Why do people automatically think a high score on the mcat means you are academically superior? The mcat is not an indicator of intellectual ability. It is a bulls**t gen chem and physics exam which you would not see at all in med school. I mean if you are one of those students who took AP chem and physics in high school and took like the honors gen chem and physics courses, then you are obviously going to do well on the mcat. doesn't mean you are smarter, just means you are an overachiever. If you talk to most med students, they would tell you that the most successful med students are those that have balance, concentration, and longevity. A one day exam has nothing to do with your academic superiority in med school. For example, the physician who seperated the first succesful siamese twin joined in the cranium was about to quit during his M1 because he was overwhelmed but he finally learned the art of balancing things out. He did not get a 40 or so on the mcat.

Because, all you have to do is study those subjects for 2 months just like you'll have to study the USMLE Step 1 in two years.. and then you get tested on how much you know... if you know basic physics and another kid knows basic physics and you're given the same problem and you can't figure it out while the other guy breezes through it.. then maybe it was a fluke.. yet if he consistently beats you... he's more intellectually superior in that subject AND his ability to learn a subject...

whether intellectual superiority is the determining factor of what makes a good doctor... is up to the person... my personal opinion though.. i don't care if you call me a biotch and slap me before my surgery.. but if that doctor performs a flawless surgery.. he's a great doctor .. (i don't care about my doc's interpersonal skills)..

 

[JDWflash44]

go to MDapplicants, you will see plenty of people that were accepted at a "top" school like hopkins or yale, but did not get interviews at "lower tier" schools.