MCAT v. Step 1

[mfleur]

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I heard a rumor that your science MCAT's correlate with your step 1 USMLE and your verbal scores tend to correlate with how well you do during your clinical years. For anyone who has taken it, any truth to that???

 

[kcrd]

I think there was a discussion of this a few months ago here. I can't remember what the consensus was, but you can always search for the thread. There may be a correlation, but I think the best indicator of how well you will do is how hard you worked the previous 2 years, and how much effort and time you put into test prep. If you didn't put the time into the courses, you'll struggle with reviewing the material for boards, regardless of your mcat score. I didn't work hard in my first year physio course, and even though I spend the longest time on physio during usmle prep (6 days), I was still weak in the subject for boards.

 

[TulaneKid24]

Originally posted by mfleur
I heard a rumor that your science MCAT's correlate with your step 1 USMLE and your verbal scores tend to correlate with how well you do during your clinical years. For anyone who has taken it, any truth to that???

That is NOT TRUE.

Your performance during the 1st and 2nd years of medical school is more indicative of your performance in years 3 and 4 as well as your performance on the USMLE Step 1. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you learn the material of the preclinical years well, you will then do well on the boards and the wards. Medical school is meant to flow together. For example, if you don't know the basic science behind your treatment options, you won't be about to formulate treatment plans very well.

On the other hand, I believe the MCAT is more of a verbal reasoning test (the bio and physics sections included). If fact, I know a few non-science majors (English, Sociology, and Poli Sci) who did very well on the MCAT (32+) after only taking the just the core pre-req's and very, very few other science classes in college. I also know some people with less than stellar MCAT scores who kicked butt on the USMLE!

My advice is to work as hard as you can in medical school and learn as much as possible. A great foundation = an easier time later on in your training.

 

[MrObvious]

I don't think that the MCAT correlates well with Step 1. I used to teach the MCAT Review for PR, and believe me, it's amazing how well someone with limited knowledge of the topics could score if they had good strategies/test taking skills. I'm not saying that is how people who scored 35 on their mcats got their scores, I'm simply saying that it can be done without as strong of a hold on the info as you would need to score 255 on step 1.

The boards don't seem to have the tricks/patterns that the mcat does...they're much more info based. The tricks are there, but not as often as the mcat. A lot of people swear by this review book or that review book, but I honestly think the best preparation for Step 1 is your first 2 years of med school. Do well there and you won't go wrong.

Good luck.

 

[smedly2]

What about the time factor?? Speed was my only issue on the mcat. Is a quick pace as important during step1 as it was in the mcat.


thanks