multiple mcats, top 5 schools

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Even a single 517 is around 25th percentile for most Top 5 schools. That being said, I do know of individuals who have gotten into T10/T20 med schools with multiple MCAT scores.
 
samualjhatfield said:
I don’t know about you, but I would rather be the best student at a lower school than the worst student at the best school
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Lol nah, if I could only choose between the two, I’d definitely take being the worst student at the best school :laugh:
 
StanleyYelnats said:
Is #6 not good enough for you?
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In truth, there are at least 10 schools in the Top 5

samualjhatfield said:
I don’t know about you, but I would rather be the best student at a lower school than the worst student at the best school
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ThrowawayShmoaway said:
Lol nah, if I could only choose between the two, I’d definitely take being the worst student at the best school :laugh:
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I know that you guys are joking, but it's a teaching moment anyway, given the way a lot of SDNers think: your MCAT score is not a reflection on you as a person. It does not define you.
 
Goro said:
In truth, there are at least 10 schools in the Top 5




I know that you guys are joking, but it's a teaching moment anyway, given the way a lot of SDNers think: your MCAT score is not a reflection on you as a person. It does not define you.
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Definitely, an MCAT score is not a good measure of if you are a good student or not. Only the student themselves can know that. But regardless of MCAT score, my original sentiment is how I think. I know I am choosing a school list T50>X<T20 so that I can be in a good enough school, but still near the top of that good enough school. It is a psychological thing: if a student performs better than their peers, they are more likely to have high confidence and perform at a higher level than if that same student performs worse than their peers. This leads to lower performance on standardized measures (MCAT/STEP) due to lower confidence going in. I am much more confident in my MED school application knowing I am the curve setter at podunk undergrad than I would be as the middle of the road applicant at Harvard.
 
samualjhatfield said:
Definitely, an MCAT score is not a good measure of if you are a good student or not. Only the student themselves can know that. But regardless of MCAT score, my original sentiment is how I think. I know I am choosing a school list T50>X<T20 so that I can be in a good enough school, but still near the top of that good enough school. It is a psychological thing: if a student performs better than their peers, they are more likely to have high confidence and perform at a higher level than if that same student performs worse than their peers. This leads to lower performance on standardized measures (MCAT/STEP) due to lower confidence going in. I am much more confident in my MED school application knowing I am the curve setter at podunk undergrad than I would be as the middle of the road applicant at Harvard.
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What is this T50 > x > T20 inequality? How do you know those are "good enough" schools and how you will be on top of that good enough school? Additionally, the impact that prestige of your med school has on residency ratings diminishes from T5 to T20 to the rest, so it doesn't make any sense to say that only schools from T20 to T50 are "good enough." It's all just arbitrary. To each his/her own I guess.
 
minimato said:
What is this T50 > x > T20 inequality? How do you know those are "good enough" schools and how you will be on top of that good enough school? Additionally, the impact that prestige of your med school has on residency ratings diminishes from T5 to T20 to the rest, so it doesn't make any sense to say that only schools from T20 to T50 are "good enough." It's all just arbitrary. To each his/her own I guess.
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It is between T50 and T20. It is not based on prestige, which is have no care for. It is where my stats match. The ‘good enough’ is not my view, as a US MD school is a US MD degree regardless of school. The ‘good enough’ is to point out how silly it is for the people who only apply T20. Additionally, the schools that fall in that range generally tend to have more resources available for students due to more money. Generally. My school list ranges from US NEWS #115ish to #10ish, but predominantly fall in the 50-20 range. However, you are correct the rankings are all relatively arbitrary.
 
I'm not sure their rankings but don't some schools like Mayo and Vandy have a 520 median?

517 is pretty nice but I would put it in the T25- T50 range. Not the T5 range.
 
samualjhatfield said:
It is between T50 and T20. It is not based on prestige, which is have no care for. It is where my stats match. The ‘good enough’ is not my view, as a US MD school is a US MD degree regardless of school. The ‘good enough’ is to point out how silly it is for the people who only apply T20. Additionally, the schools that fall in that range generally tend to have more resources available for students due to more money. Generally. My school list ranges from US NEWS #115ish to #10ish, but predominantly fall in the 50-20 range. However, you are correct the rankings are all relatively arbitrary.
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Many students who apply only T20 do so because some mid and lower tier schools reject students with higher stats on the basis that the student will likely not go there.

Sucks but that's med school admissions for you. At the end of the day everyone is screwed.
 
It’s possible to get into a “top” school with multiple MCAT scores. Whether 517 is good enough depends on the school and the rest of your app. 516 is the 25% at many top schools so your score is obviously working for at least that many people.

Multiple mcats makes it a little harder to judge as schools view them differently and it’s not totally transparent in all cases how they look at it. Have a part of your school list reflect the 517 and another part reflect the average of the two scores to be safe.
 
itsanotherpremed said:
how do top 5 schools view multiple mcats? (eg 504 -> 517) provided cGpa, sGPA, ec's, recs, personal statement is all strong
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The other posters are probably right - a 517 isn't going to give you a stamp into a top 5. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply to some if you think you are competitive (along with some other schools). I don't think anyone answered your question on how top schools view retakes. I also don't know the answer!

However, for a little perspective - be proud of your score. 517 is very good, better than 95% of the people who take the test, even if SDN makes it feel like it is a middling performance.
 
I've written (aka complained) ad naseum about my multiple MCATs. I too took it several times unfortunately. I currently attend a top-20 school (could be higher ranked, intentionally leaving it at T20 for privacy).

The truth is ALL your scores are revealed. I had an otherwise spotless application, strong research, multiple pubs, killer cGPA, sGPA, Masters GPA + Masters degree, all other ECs an ideal candidate would require.

At all my interviews my multiple MCATs did come up. At the T20 interview schools the faculty were actually very kind and understanding and asked why I took it several times and what I did to change and ultimately raise it. I honestly had to admit I f*cked up and rushed into it in college. Then I honestly said the MCAT changed (went from 45 to 528) so my 2nd mcat wasn't the hottest. 3rd shot I mastered the exam and scored decently enough. The faculty actually admired my resilience and praised me extensively. Most if not all of the faculty said students usually go DO/Caribbean/alterneative career and its admirable I kept trying to improve and ultimately got the score.

I can't comment on T5 extensively cause those schools are essentially like Hogwarts, who the f*ck knows what they use in admissions, but I think it won't be a dramatic hindrance if you're invited for an interview. But, be warned, you'll be interviewing with students that scored a 517 or 520+ on their first shot. However, you're at the interview.

As a fun fact, at low and mid-tier schools I interviewed at they mocked me or put me down for multiple MCATs. One guy at an interview straight up told me I'm not fit for medicine cause I took it so many times. He can screw himself cause I'm at a way better school than his dump.

Good luck OP, let us know how things work out, fingers crossed for you.
 
Dr. Stalker said:
I've written (aka complained) ad naseum about my multiple MCATs. I too took it several times unfortunately. I currently attend a top-20 school (could be higher ranked, intentionally leaving it at T20 for privacy).

The truth is ALL your scores are revealed. I had an otherwise spotless application, strong research, multiple pubs, killer cGPA, sGPA, Masters GPA + Masters degree, all other ECs an ideal candidate would require.

At all my interviews my multiple MCATs did come up. At the T20 interview schools the faculty were actually very kind and understanding and asked why I took it several times and what I did to change and ultimately raise it. I honestly had to admit I f*cked up and rushed into it in college. Then I honestly said the MCAT changed (went from 45 to 528) so my 2nd mcat wasn't the hottest. 3rd shot I mastered the exam and scored decently enough. The faculty actually admired my resilience and praised me extensively. Most if not all of the faculty said students usually go DO/Caribbean/alterneative career and its admirable I kept trying to improve and ultimately got the score.

I can't comment on T5 extensively cause those schools are essentially like Hogwarts, who the f*ck knows what they use in admissions, but I think it won't be a dramatic hindrance if you're invited for an interview. But, be warned, you'll be interviewing with students that scored a 517 or 520+ on their first shot. However, you're at the interview.

As a fun fact, at low and mid-tier schools I interviewed at they mocked me or put me down for multiple MCATs. One guy at an interview straight up told me I'm not fit for medicine cause I took it so many times. He can screw himself cause I'm at a way better school than his dump.

Good luck OP, let us know how things work out, fingers crossed for you.
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Wow congrats!


What were your scores just out of curiosity?
 
Dr. Stalker said:
I've written (aka complained) ad naseum about my multiple MCATs. I too took it several times unfortunately. I currently attend a top-20 school (could be higher ranked, intentionally leaving it at T20 for privacy).

The truth is ALL your scores are revealed. I had an otherwise spotless application, strong research, multiple pubs, killer cGPA, sGPA, Masters GPA + Masters degree, all other ECs an ideal candidate would require.

At all my interviews my multiple MCATs did come up. At the T20 interview schools the faculty were actually very kind and understanding and asked why I took it several times and what I did to change and ultimately raise it. I honestly had to admit I f*cked up and rushed into it in college. Then I honestly said the MCAT changed (went from 45 to 528) so my 2nd mcat wasn't the hottest. 3rd shot I mastered the exam and scored decently enough. The faculty actually admired my resilience and praised me extensively. Most if not all of the faculty said students usually go DO/Caribbean/alterneative career and its admirable I kept trying to improve and ultimately got the score.

I can't comment on T5 extensively cause those schools are essentially like Hogwarts, who the f*ck knows what they use in admissions, but I think it won't be a dramatic hindrance if you're invited for an interview. But, be warned, you'll be interviewing with students that scored a 517 or 520+ on their first shot. However, you're at the interview.

As a fun fact, at low and mid-tier schools I interviewed at they mocked me or put me down for multiple MCATs. One guy at an interview straight up told me I'm not fit for medicine cause I took it so many times. He can screw himself cause I'm at a way better school than his dump.

Good luck OP, let us know how things work out, fingers crossed for you.
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. Similar experience. I got "reprimanded", for lack of a better word, for not having research experience at a school that is unranked on USNWR research rankings. Meanwhile 8 interviews with Top 20 schools and they couldn't have cared less.
 
theKingLT said:
. Similar experience. I got "reprimanded", for lack of a better word, for not having research experience at a school that is unranked on USNWR research rankings. Meanwhile 8 interviews with Top 20 schools and they couldn't have cared less.
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LMAO it was also an unranked school that was giving me heat. My interviewer chewed me up and was like "to be honest, I don't think you're going to get admitted" and he must've been quite vocal cause I did get rejected. Whatever. My T20 >> him and his school. If he's reflective of the type of faculty at that institution, I don't think I would want to study there.
 
FWIW: T10; MCAT 33 (514)-->524. The MCAT score was not what got me in, but it sure didn't hurt. No one cared about my first take.

Also, more importantly, out of a class of 100+ people, I know ONE other person's MCAT score. After you get in, no one cares anymore, and only real weirdos actually use it as some sort of "best student/worse student" ranking mechanism. You're all at the same school, pissing matches are pointless.
 
Once someone gets invited to interview, the MCAT is almost meaningless. I do interviews, but do not decide who gets invited - others on ADCOM do this, but it almost never comes up in the ADCOM meetings where we discuss the applicants. And I think the only time it did come up in the meeting, it was bc someone with 520 took it again and got 516! We thought they had poor judgement. Other parts of his interview also did him in...

As an interviewer, my favorite applicant ever scored a 512 on his MCAT (though our school average is about 519-522, depending if you use mean or median and depending on the year). And I have never penalized a student for retaking after a poor or middling score...I consider their higher of two scores their score...the only time I talk about MCAT during an interview was when people get a perfect score - I am interested in how they did it and how they humbly respond to that question!
 
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moggat said:
FWIW: T10; MCAT 33 (514)-->524. The MCAT score was not what got me in, but it sure didn't hurt. No one cared about my first take.

Also, more importantly, out of a class of 100+ people, I know ONE other person's MCAT score. After you get in, no one cares anymore, and only real weirdos actually use it as some sort of "best student/worse student" ranking mechanism. You're all at the same school, pissing matches are pointless.
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So true, no one gives a damn what your MCAT is once you are in med school. After you are accepted you can literally forget everything MCAT related for the rest of your life because it is useless. All the MCAT tests is "how badly do you want to be a doctor"
 
gorowannabe said:
Once someone gets invited to interview, the MCAT is almost meaningless.
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I'm sure you know this but for the sake of people reading, it's worth mentioning that this is NOT the case at many if not most schools. It seems to be more common among the really top schools like yours, but in lower tier schools MCAT will play a big role throughout the process. I've had an adcom from a low ranked public school tell me that when they interview a high Stat applicant (think 520+ MCAT when the school average is 508) who has checked the boxes for clinical hours it's basically just a formality. They can determine whether or not he/she is a total psychopath in the first 2 minutes and after that there's not much they can do wrong to not get accepted. In other words, the idea that all applicants on are on "the same playing field" after the interview invite, regardless of stats, is far from true.
 
theKingLT said:
I'm sure you know this but for the sake of people reading, it's worth mentioning that this is NOT the case at many if not most schools. It seems to be more common among the really top schools like yours, but in lower tier schools MCAT will play a big role throughout the process. I've had an adcom from a low ranked public school tell me that when they interview a high Stat applicant (think 520+ MCAT when the school average is 508) who has checked the boxes for clinical hours it's basically just a formality. They can determine whether or not he/she is a total psychopath in the first 2 minutes and after that there's not much they can do wrong to not get accepted. In other words, the idea that all applicants on are on "the same playing field" after the interview invite, regardless of stats, is far from true.
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Fair point, though this thread by OP was originally about MCAT retakes and T5 schools. So I was responding about MCAT and top (20?) schools, which is what I am most familiar with myself.
 
gorowannabe said:
The only time I talk about MCAT during an interview was when people get a perfect score - I am interested in how they did it and how they humbly respond to that question!
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How many perfect scores have you seen? There's got to be less than ten per year!
 
Walter Raleigh said:
How many perfect scores have you seen? There's got to be less than ten per year!
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I do see them on occasion - certainly not a ton, but I am sure that many of these top kids apply to my school. And interestingly, no one batted an eye at the general adcom mtg where we discuss the applicants when I recommended flat out rejecting at least 2 of them.
 
gorowannabe said:
I do see them on occasion - certainly not a ton, but I am sure that many of these top kids apply to my school. And interestingly, no one batted an eye at the general adcom mtg where we discuss the applicants when I recommended flat out rejecting at least 2 of them.
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Like train wrecks and auto accidents, SDNers are fascinated by those ~10% of perfect applicants who get rejected. Can you share details on those rejectees? teaching moments are always good.
 
Goro said:
Like train wrecks and auto accidents, SDNers are fascinated by those ~10% of perfect applicants who get rejected. Can you share details on those rejectees? teaching moments are always good.
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One said that it was his goal to get a perfect MCAT and seemed to have dedicated himself to nothing else for many months, might have been for a good part of a year - after college. (Just like a recent SDN poster planned to do). Good to have a goal, and achieve it, but we are looking for multi-taskers. Also took an expensive prep course and hired private tutors. He just came across as very selfish. There is no need to get a perfect MCAT and the way he achieved it was a big turnoff.

Another perfect scorer was really unable to communicate. Had been home-schooled as a kid and when I asked him about the pros and cons of homeschooling, he was mute. I would think someone who was home-schooled should have pretty strong feelings about the advantages and disadvantages (note to others who might be in same position!) It was late in the interview season, so I would have expected much better, as this is a predictable question in an open-file interview, especially since he mentioned it in his PS.

And a third applicant spent most of the time staring at the floor. Did not make eye contact. Was MSPE and I think he was accepted against my opinion, bc of his strong research, but pretty sure he chose another school.
 
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gorowannabe said:
One said that it was his goal to get a perfect MCAT and seemed to have dedicated himself to nothing else for many months, might have been for a good part of a year - after college. (Just like a recent SDN poster planned to do). Good to have a goal, and achieve it, but we are looking for multi-taskers. Also took an expensive prep course and hired private tutors. He just came across as very selfish. There is no need to get a perfect MCAT and the way he achieved it was a big turnoff.

Another perfect scorer was really unable to communicate. Had been home-schooled as a kid and when I asked him about the pros and cons of homeschooling, he was mute. I would think someone who was home-schooled should have pretty strong feelings about the advantages and disadvantages (note to others who might be in same position!) It was late in the interview season, so I would have expected much better, as this is a predictable question in an open-file interview, especially since he mentioned it in his PS.

And a third applicant spent most of the time staring at the floor. Did not make eye contact. Was MSPE and I think he was accepted against my opinion, bc of his strong research, but pretty sure he chose another school.
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Many thanks for sharing, colleague!

the bolded we have seen at my school as well with super-duper high stat people.

As an aside, I remember reading on a military website that home-schooled kids don't adapt well to life in the Army...poor team skills.
 
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