Research = better MCAT score?

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

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Weird question, I know.

As i've studied for the MCAT, I realized how important the critical thinking aspect is compared to the memorization aspect. The nature of the MCAT requires you to interpret, apply, and conceptualize everything within a matter of minutes. A friend of mine has suggested that doing research has helped him do a lot better on the MCAT due to the intense amount of reading, understanding, applying, conceptualizing of concepts, and that's just before he starts his experiments. He further needs to analyze the data and interpret it.

What are your opinions on this?

 

[bee17]

Being able to understand and apply something that you have read will certainly help on the MCAT, but there are many ways to go about acquiring those skills. Research may help, but many undergraduate research experiences don't involve conceptualizing and designing experiments independently.

 

[eteshoe]

Maybe. However there are people who do no research and still kill the MCAT

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

My high school friend did research and he scored a 39 on the old MCAT.

 

[aalamruad]

My high school friend did research and he scored a 39 on the old MCAT.

Woah. This is very solid evidence. Certainly proves not only correlation, but unequivocal causation.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I personally found the test a tad easier to digest because I had done reasearch but like other people have said, others do really well even without research experience

 

[Spinach Dip]

Reading research articles can help in the sciences in the same way reading Tolkien can help with the VR section.

 

[Moko]

Reading research articles can help in the sciences in the same way reading Tolkien can help with the VR section.

So you're saying there's a chance?

 

[SailorHg]

I did not have any research experience and found the bio section to be difficult to adjust to. I was taking two bio labs over the summer while studying and that helped. I ended up in the 89th %ile.

 

[MaxPlancker]

Well it can help if you get lucky...I got 2 passages that were based on methods that I knew from research and I did all the Q's without having to understand the techniques...had over 40 minutes leftover in the bio section 😛 But certainly, knowing how to analyze a paper and dissect figures is helpful and something that research can help you with.

 

[Bermie]

Woah. This is very solid evidence. Certainly proves not only correlation, but unequivocal causation.

Can we please just have the base assumption on threads like these that when it comes to anecdotal evidence n=1 without making obligatory sarcastic remarks about correlation and causation? I'm just envisioning in real life someone sharing an experience and immediately interrupting them and saying "whoah your sample size seems awfully small doesn't it?".


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[Lucca]

I think being familiar with reading literature and interpreting data is helpful for the new MCAT. Whether you hone this skill in a research position, through teaching labs, literature-based lecture courses, or any other way is not as important. When people say "research" is helpful I think they are using it as a proxy for literature interpretation skills which are actually what is being tested on the MCAT.

 

[aalamruad]

Can we please just have the base assumption on threads like these that when it comes to anecdotal evidence n=1 without making obligatory sarcastic remarks about correlation and causation? I'm just envisioning in real life someone sharing an experience and immediately interrupting them and saying "whoah your sample size seems awfully small doesn't it?".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

No. I think we're all gonna continue to call people out for not recognizing the distinction between correlation and causation. It's a pretty important concept to understand.

Edit: And I would definitely poke fun at my friends in real life for making a statement like that, just for the record. They'd deserve it, and I'd expect to be treated the same way

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

No. I think we're all gonna continue to call people out for not recognizing the distinction between correlation and causation. It's a pretty important concept to understand.

Edit: And I would definitely poke fun at my friends in real life for making a statement like that, just for the record. They'd deserve it, and I'd expect to be treated the same way

I think it's not fair to the person you called out because that person just stated a fact

The person never commented whether or not there was a causation

And you have not right to assume that the person did imply a causation

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

This entire premise is dumb. Yea maybe it helps a little, but almost anything intellectually stimulating can help a little on the MCAT.

Spending any substantial amount of time reading/thinking about scientific or intellectually demanding concepts, regardless of context will probably have a similar effect. I doubt research is any better than the same amount of time reading primary sources for a class project, personal interest, or any other reason.