Possible interview question: MCAT

[NeuralNetwork]

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In thinking about potential weaknesses that can come up in my interviews, I was thinking about how I would respond to a discussion on my MCAT. I got a 32T with a 9 in verbal, and while I know this is a good average score, I also know that an interviewer might decide to pick it out. Additionally, I took the test only once, despite the fact that I scored 34+ frequently on my practice tests. How would one respond to a question asking why you didn't retake, why there was a 9 in verbal, etc? Is this a reasonable thing to prepare for?

 

[Barcu]

It's very unlikely you would be asked about this. Trying to defend an average (or slightly above) score and to portray it as a weakness would not go over well.

 

[orthomyxo]

I got a balanced 33M with an 11 verbal. If they ask about that writing score, I am replying that while I was disappointed with my writing score and know I can do better, I thought I had done fairly well over all. I decided it was more worthwhile to pursue the research and clinical volunteering that I did during the next year and a half rather than study to retake the test again.

Dude, chill out. Nobody gives a crap about the writing portion.

 

[FattySlug]

I got a balanced 33M with an 11 verbal. If they ask about that writing score, I am replying that while I was disappointed with my writing score and know I can do better, I thought I had done fairly well over all. I decided it was more worthwhile to pursue the research and clinical volunteering that I did during the next year and a half rather than study to retake the test again.

We got the same score 33M but my verbal is 10. Anyway I don't think adcoms would dwell too much on a 9 in verbal. What do they expect for an answer? It is what it is.

Edit: Does writing not matter much? That gave me some peace of mind.

 

[gravitywave]

In thinking about potential weaknesses that can come up in my interviews, I was thinking about how I would respond to a discussion on my MCAT. I got a 32T with a 9 in verbal, and while I know this is a good average score, I also know that an interviewer might decide to pick it out. Additionally, I took the test only once, despite the fact that I scored 34+ frequently on my practice tests. How would one respond to a question asking why you didn't retake, why there was a 9 in verbal, etc? Is this a reasonable thing to prepare for?

no one will ask about this. besides, you got a T on the WS, clearly your verbal skills aren't in question.

 

[phnerd1105]

We got the same score 33M but my verbal is 10. Anyway I don't think adcoms would dwell too much on a 9 in verbal. What do they expect for an answer? It is what it is.

Edit: Does writing not matter much? That gave me some peace of mind.

No, writing really doesn't matter that much. The only way that they might use it is to compare it to your essays. If your essays are astounding but you scored poorly in the writing section, they may question if the writing is actually yours.

 

[235788]

Dude, chill out. Nobody gives a crap about the writing portion.

haha agree.

 

[duress]

Hey, just wanted to help you out if you're still stressing. I had a 9 in verbal w/ a score similar to yours. I interviewed at 6 places last cycle and was asked about it at only one school, something like "do you think you could have done better?" I think I said something about how I felt the verbal section was so variable because you can end up with a bunch of passages that have unfamiliar subjects. He told me he only asked because he thought I was more articulate than the score would imply(???, lol), and it wasn't something that needed an excuse. I got in there.

So yeah, I guess have a reason if you really want, but as far as I remember it didn't matter.

 

[Local Native]

Dude, chill out. Nobody gives a crap about the writing portion.

As long as you don't receive an "O" in the writing section, then no one cares. I can totally see how a 76 year-old adcom member would look at a "13-12-11-O" spread and think it's a zero. "Y u no do bettah?!"

Edit: