question about mcat & usmle

[wetlightning]

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hi guys,

i'm usually in pre-allo, applying to med school this coming cycle for the class of 2010. i asked this question over in pre-allo, and got pretty bland responses, so i'm hoping to hear more from you!

just wondering if you guys have seen a significant relationship between your mcat performance and the usmle. i've heard many different things. i feel like my mcat was not wholly reflective of my grasp, but am not really complaining about my score (33S) since i didn't study all that hard...

anyway, would love to hear your input on this! thanks 👍

 

[Smurfette]

No, there is no proven correlation. And most people I know did much better on one than the other.

 

[Rzarecta]

hi guys,

i'm usually in pre-allo, applying to med school this coming cycle for the class of 2010. i asked this question over in pre-allo, and got pretty bland responses, so i'm hoping to hear more from you!

just wondering if you guys have seen a significant relationship between your mcat performance and the usmle. i've heard many different things. i feel like my mcat was not wholly reflective of my grasp, but am not really complaining about my score (33S) since i didn't study all that hard...

anyway, would love to hear your input on this! thanks 👍

Christ on crutches, take a breather! Here let me tell you what you so obviously need to hear: You're sooo smart and you will do sooo well on your boards and will be sooo rich and sooo powerful!!! Happy now?

 

[wetlightning]

Christ on crutches, take a breather! Here let me tell you what you so obviously need to hear: You're sooo smart and you will do sooo well on your boards and will be sooo rich and sooo powerful!!! Happy now?

hi...

no, i'm not really interested in the smart, rich, and powerful thing

but i really was curious about the boards...i think it's a natural post-mcat response to know if there will be a relationship between the two

 

[Rzarecta]

hi...

no, i'm not really interested in the smart, rich, and powerful thing

but i really was curious about the boards...i think it's a natural post-mcat response to know if there will be a relationship between the two

Yea...

Worrying about boards while one is still applying to med school just screams overzealous premed who needs a hobby.

 

[idq1i]

MCAT is a standardized test
USMLE is a standardized test

That's it.

You have a decent MCAT score. Start working on putting together a solid MCAS application. Forget about the mle.

Something tells me that the only reason for your post is to show off your "incredible" MCAT score (that you "didn't really study for"). Given the inherent selection bias of an SDN forum membership, there are thousands of posters here whose scores are significantly higher than yours

 

[Rzarecta]

MCAT is a standardized test
USMLE is a standardized test

That's it.

You have a decent MCAT score. Start working on putting together a solid MCAS application. Forget about the mle.

Something tells me that the only reason for your post is to show off your "incredible" MCAT score (that you "didn't really study for"). Given the inherent selection bias of an SDN forum membership, there are thousands of posters here whose scores are significantly higher than yours

Amen!

 

[wetlightning]

Something tells me that the only reason for your post is to show off your "incredible" MCAT score (that you "didn't really study for"). Given the inherent selection bias of an SDN forum membership, there are thousands of posters here whose scores are significantly higher than yours

DUH....that's why i'm asking...i definitely don't think my score is that great
and my earlier standardized test scores were much better, so i'm just inquiring. clearly, your profile says it all: cynic++

wow <heads back to pre-allo>

 

[idq1i]

so i'm just inquiring.

Your inquiry did not require the posting of your actual MCAT score. 😉

Once again: the only connection between the two exams is that they are both {Standardized Exams}.

Your performance on the MCAT is indicative of how well you perform under pressure, in a standardized testing environment. If you say that you didn't do as well as you had expected to, you can draw your own conclusions.

 

[wetlightning]

Your inquiry did not require the posting of your actual MCAT score. 😉

you know what, you're so right! sorry about that...didn't realize how that came across 🙁 it was unnecessary to post the score

anyway, i guess i'll worry about the boards when they come

thanks for the help 👍

 

[Wrigleyville]

No, there is no proven correlation. And most people I know did much better on one than the other.

Actually, there is a very strong correlation between MCAT scores and medical school performance as determined by both USMLE scores and preclinical grades. I'm not sure where you got the idea that there is no correlation. There are plenty of good studies on this subject, just do a pubmed search.

 

[Hawkeye Kid]

While I agree that your primary focus right now should be AMCAS/applying/interviewing/getting accepted, I think some of the above posts have been a bit harsh (and I'm usually one to think the opposite). You did well on the MCAT, so you're likely a fairly intelligent person. Assuming that the rest of your app matches your score and that you're not a social *****, and that you play the application game correctly, you'll probably get into medical school. Then, if you do well in your classes, you'll probably do well on Step 1.

I don't know about any of the studies that have examined correlations, but it stands to reason that if you do well on the MCAT you'll do well on Step 1 (as long as you learn your stuff). I do know, however, that there is no correlation between Step 1 score and how good of a doc you'll be. Step 2 apparently does correlate with this, though.

OK, enough about that--go write your personal statement!

 

[fun8stuff]

Although people on here often say that verbal score is most correlated with step1 performance, after reading several articles from a pubmed search, it seems that biological sciences score is most associated with step1 performance. Just do a search for "MCAT" and see for yourself. One article quoted a 5 pt increase for every point higher on the bio section of the MCAT. But you really must realize that getting a good score on the MCAT does not indicated you will automatically get a good score on step1. You will still have to work just as hard as you did in med school as you did in undergrad to make this possible...

 

[domukin]

Not that it isn't interesting to figure out a correlation (reason why I clicked on this thread), but does it really matter?? I mean, you are still going to study and do your best regardless (hopefully), I don't see how knowing a correlation will help you at all. 😕