Student A vs Student B

[shyfox9p]

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Student A gets a 20 in all the science sections
Student B gets 18 on both orgo and gen chem, but gets a 28 on the bio section.
Who has the advantage when the other scores are the same?

 

[BobbyBeavis]

Wouldn't the TS be higher for the student B anyways?

 

[emminent]

I'd probably say B since dental is more about Bio; pharm on the other hand focus on chemistry portion for pcat

 

[shyfox9p]

I feel like I'm in situation B. I'm gonna take my test soon, but the bio section is the one I'm dominating in. I taught it for a year so its showing on the practice tests.

 

[shaidester]

I feel like I'm in situation B. I'm gonna take my test soon, but the bio section is the one I'm dominating in. I taught it for a year so its showing on the practice tests.

Do you have any tips for pedigrees? I am struggling with determining a pedigree's classification without doing a punnett square. I did my searching around SDN but I still don't understand it.

Sorry I know it's off topic but it is killing me... surprisingly youtube hasn't been too kind to me for my struggle in this section of biology.

 

[valkyrie08]

I feel like I'm in situation B. I'm gonna take my test soon, but the bio section is the one I'm dominating in. I taught it for a year so its showing on the practice tests.

HA! I know what you mean! I'm excited to take the bio section, and when I'm studying bio... I actually enjoy it!

 

[chemkay]

Well either way the TS is 20 something , so I think it will be fine! You are going to do great!

 

[shyfox9p]

HA! I know what you mean! I'm excited to take the bio section, and when I'm studying bio... I actually enjoy it!

Same here!

Well either way the TS is 20 something , so I think it will be fine! You are going to do great!

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[briandamien]

Student A, no argument.

Being scientists, adcoms understand percent error and concepts in statistical sampling. Once you hit 22 or 23, scoring any higher isn't likely to be indicative of superior knowledge, since the raw score increase from 23 to 28 is only a matter of answering 1 or 2 more questions correctly. The difference between an 18 and 20 is much greater than 23 and 28, because the raw score difference in that gap is much greater (4 or 5 additional points).

Any normalized exam will lose credibility at the tail end, especially when we're only talking about 30 or 40 questions per section.

Student A answered a greater percentage of questions in TS correctly overall. Plus, they demonstrated that they knew their stuff in each section.

 

[shyfox9p]

Student A, no argument.

Being scientists, adcoms understand percent error and concepts in statistical sampling. Once you hit 22 or 23, scoring any higher isn't likely to be indicative of superior knowledge, since the raw score increase from 23 to 28 is only a matter of answering 1 or 2 more questions correctly. The difference between an 18 and 20 is much greater than 23 and 28, because the raw score difference in that gap is much greater (4 or 5 additional points).

Any normalized exam will lose credibility at the tail end, especially when we're only talking about 30 or 40 questions per section.

Student A answered a greater percentage of questions in TS correctly overall. Plus, they demonstrated that they knew their stuff in each section.

But isn't the biology section favored above the others?

 

[chemkay]

@shyfox9p : we are in the same boat, but my higher scores are in the chems. I would like to say this; I have spent hours upon hours worrying over this test, thinking I'm not good enough (all perfectly natural) but in the end, worrying is getting me nowhere. Buckle down, work hard, and play harder. You know your potential and who cares if you have lower chem if you have an outstanding bio score. No one on here is an Adcom, so I wouldn't worry about it. Where I am from and applying looks at your AA, which is really what counts.

 

[herkulis]

This ...

Student A answered a greater percentage of questions in TS correctly overall...

Medical and dental schools like well rounded individuals in general because most of them will be healthcare providers dealing with people, not researchers or academicians who just need to excel in a particular subject area. Having said that, if the scores in other sections of student B are 19's instead of 18's, it would be a tough draw and I think student B would have at least as much chance as student A, and 28 in Bio is increasingly seen more as an added bonus, and less as a score equalizer. Great discussions, by the way!