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jewel2

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Can any medical student message me what they got for SAT?
I know this is a stupid question, but I want to know at least estimate so that I can know whether or not I should go for med school. My parents told me they don't want me to attempt and fail and waste all their money...
 
jewel2 said:
Can any medical student message me what they got for SAT?
I know this is a stupid question, but I want to know at least estimate so that I can know whether or not I should go for med school. My parents told me they don't want me to attempt and fail and waste all their money...
Click to expand...

F. your parents. Do it if you want to do it. That's what government loans are for.
 
By always taking the safe route, you would never accomplish anything you are truly proud of, which is a sad thought.

Besides, "attempting and failing" is how you learn in life. Now, attempting something you don't even really want, thats a whole nother story. My advice is to figure out what you want, then go for it 100% regardless of your parents (or your SAT score).
 
jewel2 said:
Can any medical student message me what they got for SAT?
I know this is a stupid question, but I want to know at least estimate so that I can know whether or not I should go for med school. My parents told me they don't want me to attempt and fail and waste all their money...
Click to expand...

That is horrible reason to decide whether or not to go to med school. How will you know if you never try?

Trust me when I say that there are going to be alot of nay-sayers along the way. Its just part of the process. I would honestly say that there were more "advisers" that said I shouldn't try to get into med school than there were those that said I should go for it. F*** all of them. Grow some stones and take charge of your life. If you think you got what it takes, go for it and go all the way. The worse that could happen is you fall short, way better in my opinion than regretting that you never even got the chance see if you could make the cut.

P.S. I never took the damn SAT and I'm in med school, and had an 26 ACT
 
The SAT will not determine your success in medical school. Doing well on your SAT bodes well for getting into a good college, but that doesn't always mean everything for getting into medical school. In my class, we have people that went to Ivies and people who went to state school (not that some states schools aren't excellent). Your grades, experiences, ECs will all come into play.

You should concern yourself with finishing high school and enjoying college. Excelling in college will help with medical school. Don't be afraid to explore what's out there. Many of my friends from high school and college that started out as pre-meds found other passions along the way.

I got a 1360 on the 1600 scale. I'm not at the top of my med class, but I'm pretty content staying in the middle. Don't let some silly test like this stand in the way of pursuing your dreams.
 
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i got a 920 on the SAT... got a 30T on the MCAT... been accepted a few good medical schools...

I did do quite a bit of pot back in highschool though if that helps😀
 
1220 on the 1600 scale... I know they've changed it up since then. But as the above posters said, go for what you want. SAT scores should not be a predictor of what you choose to do for the rest of your life. Figure out what you want and GO FOR IT!

"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt."
~W. Shakespeare, "Measure for Measure", Act 1 scene 4
 
SAT is, by definition, an "aptitude test", whereas the MCAT is more of a test of knowledge and skills. I don't think there's any real relationship between what you scored on the SAT and how you will do on the MCAT or in med school.

Relatedly, I have no idea what I scored on the SAT. I took it once and then forgot about it, and got into my top-choice college by applying early decision. They didn't care much about SAT scores one way or the other and were more interested in my ECs.
 
FrickenhugeMD said:
That is horrible reason to decide whether or not to go to med school. How will you know if you never try?

Trust me when I say that there are going to be alot of nay-sayers along the way. Its just part of the process. I would honestly say that there were more "advisers" that said I shouldn't try to get into med school than there were those that said I should go for it. F*** all of them. Grow some stones and take charge of your life. If you think you got what it takes, go for it and go all the way. The worse that could happen is you fall short, way better in my opinion than regretting that you never even got the chance see if you could make the cut.

P.S. I never took the damn SAT and I'm in med school, and had an 26 ACT
Click to expand...


This is the absolute truth. I remember meeting a woman for the very first time (who was visiting my friend's mother). My friends mother was exciting for me that I was intending to apply to medical school (I was a soph in college at the time). The lady's response was "well you know just about no pre-meds actually make it to medical school." Those were the first words this lady ever spoke to me

But yeah, I guess a lot of people feel that if they didn't or couldn't get in, there's no possible way you could either and just try to shoot you down to make you feel better.
 
I think I got somewhere around 1500 range in the SAT, the one where 1600 was the maximum. But seriously, there is very little correlation between your performance on this exam and your aptitude to become a doctor.
 
hahah I did AWFUL on the SAT. really, AWFUL...
and I'm still going to medical school next year 🙂

test scores dont mean ****, if its your dream, go for it. You can make it happen. Just work hard.
 
phospho said:
i got a 920 on the SAT... got a 30T on the MCAT... been accepted a few good medical schools...

I did do quite a bit of pot back in highschool though if that helps😀
Click to expand...

920? Wow you must have really smoked a lot of pot. I know even "student" athletes at my school scored higher than that.:laugh:
 
Are you seriously basing a decision to go to med school off your SAT score? That's absolutely ridiculous.
 
Let me just say that the SAT has nothing to do with what you learn in school and nothing to even do with your "reasoning" ability. After taking numerous practice tests and the SAT twice, it really comes down to if you know what the question is asking and if you really studied to learn what the types of questions will be.

It's almost as if your score shows how much you studied, which colleges might use to see how motivated students are.
 
I did really bad on my SAT. Good thing med school didn't ask for my scores😀
but I did good on the MCAT. Even so, I still got 6 acceptances and had over 15 interviews (I lost count). So, the SAT has nothing to do with whether you will get into medical school.

Oh yeah, you're parents don't need to pay for your med school education, most people get governments loans.
 
BlueElmo said:
920? Wow you must have really smoked a lot of pot. I know even "student" athletes at my school scored higher than that.:laugh:
Click to expand...
Scoring poorly on the SAT doesn't mean your on drugs. Not all high schools (or middle schools) are made equal, it really depends on where you live and your family circumstances, whether or not you can get a quality education and do well on the SAT. It's, of course, different in college because everyone can get a good education due to the high standards of most universities. Plus, you can typically get away from distracting family situations.
 
I had a 3.2 GPA and a 1600 SAT (out of 2400), and I'm trying for medical school. It makes a big difference when you have some motivation to actually try and apply yourself. :luck:
 
I didn't take the SAT, but I landed somewhere between a 22-23 ACT. I ended up somewhere above the 90th percentile on the MCAT...I haven't applied to med school yet, but I'll let you know how it goes.

What do you mean by your parents not wanting you to fail and waste their money? Are they only supporting you get a college education if you eventually become a doctor? I have to suggest you get the education regardless of your ultimate career decision.
 
binko said:
SAT is, by definition, an "aptitude test", whereas the MCAT is more of a test of knowledge and skills. I don't think there's any real relationship between what you scored on the SAT and how you will do on the MCAT or in med school.

Relatedly, I have no idea what I scored on the SAT. I took it once and then forgot about it, and got into my top-choice college by applying early decision. They didn't care much about SAT scores one way or the other and were more interested in my ECs.
Click to expand...


http://www.naahp.org/abstract_fourflat.htm

"The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance"

"More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT."

"A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants."
 
shindotp said:
http://www.naahp.org/abstract_fourflat.htm

"The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance"

"More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT."

"A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants."
Click to expand...

Assuming that the person doesn't change over the 4+ year span. People mature and change the way they think a lot, especially in the years of college. It's only an accurate predictor if the person doesn't change at all in their mode of thinking.

And it's not what I'd consider to be something that determines "natural aptitude", because something that would determine natural aptitude would not be something you could study for, and you can most certainly study for the SAT/ACT, and that is a strong indicator of why some students do far worse than others.
 
Crazyday said:
Assuming that the person doesn't change over the 4+ year span. People mature and change the way they think a lot, especially in the years of college. It's only an accurate predictor if the person doesn't change at all in their mode of thinking.

And it's not what I'd consider to be something that determines "natural aptitude", because something that would determine natural aptitude would not be something you could study for, and you can most certainly study for the SAT/ACT, and that is a strong indicator of why some students do far worse than others.
Click to expand...

Don't think you understand basic statistics...
 
I got a 2120 on the new SAT, 35 on the ACT, and a 40 on the MCAT. I've always been pretty good at standardized tests. But there are definitely a lot of people who prove that they can change their testing scores. If you study enough and practice, you should be able to pull off a good score not matter your SAT or ACT scores.

There's no point in not trying. If you are worried, major in something that could be your fallback plan. That way even if you decide against medical school, you'll still have a degree to apply to another career.
 
shindotp said:
http://www.naahp.org/abstract_fourflat.htm

"The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance"

"More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT."

"A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants."
Click to expand...

I somewhat agree that there is an underlying correlation in standardized test score performance, even if it's small. I got a 1340 on the SAT, but the math and verbal scores were so unbalanced--verbal scores was like 600 and math was 740 or something...my MCAT? Same thing, verbal was my lowest score. I'm just not "verbal" I guess, so I think one can get a very rough idea of how you might expect to do on the MCAT (on the verbal at least) based on your SAT.
 
megamega said:
Scoring poorly on the SAT doesn't mean your on drugs. Not all high schools (or middle schools) are made equal, it really depends on where you live and your family circumstances, whether or not you can get a quality education and do well on the SAT. It's, of course, different in college because everyone can get a good education due to the high standards of most universities. Plus, you can typically get away from distracting family situations.
Click to expand...

Of course it doesn't. It's just that Phospho was admitting in her post she was taking a lot of pot in high school (hopefully not?).
 
BlueElmo said:
Of course it doesn't. It's just that Phospho was admitting in her post she was taking a lot of pot in high school (hopefully not?).
Click to expand...

lol, i did!

but, for what it's worth, it was a horrible highschool, and I didn't know that till I started college and realized how underprepared I was. I know friends who were into crazier drugs, or smoked a lot more pot who did much better than me. But, they went to better highschools. Definitely not blaming my highschool, just saying that there's a possibility it wasn't only my fault😀
 
phospho said:
But, they went to better highschools. Definitely not blaming my highschool, just saying that there's a possibility it wasn't only my fault😀
Click to expand...
There is definitely a great disparity in high school educations in the US. Many people are fortunate enough to have parents who can send them to private schools, some are fortunate enough to live in an area with a good school, others are unfortunate enough to live in a poor area with a bad high school. Clearly, there is a correlation with this and the average SAT scores in the different schools.

The differences in quality of Universities in the US are not as large, so people from poor high schools can gain significant academic ground during their college years and score well on the MCAT, even though they scored poorly on the SAT. I definitely think that seeing such strong academic growth is impressive, and I'm glad that med schools see all aspects of your application, so that they can see the difficulties you overcame and the progress you made.
 
phospho said:
lol, i did!

but, for what it's worth, it was a horrible highschool, and I didn't know that till I started college and realized how underprepared I was. I know friends who were into crazier drugs, or smoked a lot more pot who did much better than me. But, they went to better highschools. Definitely not blaming my highschool, just saying that there's a possibility it wasn't only my fault😀
Click to expand...

:laugh:. Love your response.
 
1600/1600 SAT, 36/36 ACT, 39S MCAT... downward trend ftl.
 
jewel2 said:
Can any medical student message me what they got for SAT?
I know this is a stupid question, but I want to know at least estimate so that I can know whether or not I should go for med school. My parents told me they don't want me to attempt and fail and waste all their money...
Click to expand...



I got a 1240 on my SAT back when it was on the 1600 scale....a few years later I ended up getting a 32 on the MCAT and I got into some pretty good medical schools.


Your parents are idiots.
 
I like how the thread went from trying to comfort jewel2, to mutual masturbation over who 'only' scored in the 90% percentile on the SAT.
 
I didn't get in anywhere this year, but:

31 ACT
1430 SAT (650V, 780M)
99th+ percentile MCAT, but horrible writing score (N)

I don't think ACT/SAT predicts pre-med success (i.e. GPA, MCAT). I never studied at all for the college entrance exams, but I probably put in ~75 hours for the MCAT (well, not counting the million classes I took in bio/physiology/chem/ochem/biochem/inorganic chem/physics...).
 
Ha, you guys are crazy. I don't even remember my SAT score!
 
haha i took it 2+ years ago but i still remember my score

and why anyone thinks math + critical reading scores from x testing agency could strongly predict biology, chemistry, physics, critical reading and basic math from y testing agency is beyond me..

and satIIs wont work either because of how variable the curve is but at least comparing those would make sense (though i realize not everyone took satIIs or took them seriously). also i think the ACT has a science section so i can see why that may correlate better than the sat.
 
Looking back on the SAT/SAT II/ACT, I can't believe how easy they were compared to the MCAT.
Of course at that time, those tests were so hard for me.
 
ACT: 31, MCAT: 38O. Never took the SAT.

The main difference between my HS and college performance was that after two years my college GPA was high, and after my sophmore year of HS it was something like a 3.1 (I cleaned up my act grade wise at the end of HS).

But seriously, don't use the SAT as a judge of whether or not you should aim for medical school. It's only going to end up as defeatist or elitist depending on which way you fall, neither of which is particularly productive. Just try your best in college, and explore different career choices until you find something you like.
 
bigbad said:
People in that thread said some med schools want to see your sat score? Do any still do that?
Click to expand...

I got asked about my SAT score at my Case interview, in fact the interviewer talked about it for 5 minutes and seemed really impressed by it. She never asked about my MCAT or GPA at all though... +pity+:bang:
 
shindotp said:
http://www.naahp.org/abstract_fourflat.htm

"The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance"

"More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT."

"A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants."
Click to expand...

Whats the R2 of the model, the reg coeffecient of SAT scores and are they controlling for any other variables? That abstract is as good as useless on its own, so why bother presenting "evidence"? And then you condescend someone else for not "understanding basic statistics"...
 
shindotp said:
http://www.naahp.org/abstract_fourflat.htm

"The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance"

"More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT."

"A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants."
Click to expand...

Huh. Well I'll be...
 
1420 (720 verbal 700 math), 34 MCAT

hopefully excelsius compiles all this information into some snazzy excel graphs and provides an in-depth dissertation-level analysis of the correlation or lack thereof.
 
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