The MCAT vs GPA argument from an ADCOM perspective...

[Goro]

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I've been trying to bang this into some of my colleagues heads for sveral years now. All I have to show for it are some sore hands!

People are bad at research and reading results I guess. The mcat has gotten harder and as such this study lost a lot of crediability, and then finally the face of the application cycle is potentially a lot different than that of the 2001-2004 cycle. This basically really makes the data in this study completely useless.

 

[Columbia09]

I should also mention the fact that your GPA is 3 - 4 years of work while the MCAT is just one day. I think it would be a very unwise decision to only consider the MCAT one day. I believe someone on here said that all the doctors he met did terrible on the mcat but continue to be very good doctors.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I've been trying to bang this into some of my colleagues heads for sveral years now. All I have to show for it are some sore hands!

What can I say, physiologists and doctors tend to be really bad at research methods and reading results.

 

[futuredoc331]

I think the ADCOM is spot on. GPA's are kind of a joke, in my honest opinion. I'm only speaking from the perspective of a student (as most of us are), but maintaining a stellar GPA isn't very hard if that is all you want to do.

I could very easily have a 3.8 GPA or higher in school. All it takes is taking courses that are of average difficulty, doing the assigned work, and studying for some exams. Surely, you won't get the most out of your college education, BUT you WILL have a high GPA. One could also skate through with easy classes.

I went to a 4 year public university and most of my classes literally had open book finals. If they weren't flat out open book we were given a review that was almost identical to the test to study from.

I'd say GPA is indicitive of your ability to follow through and stay the course. That is obviously very important, but can be shown in other ways. A test like the MCAT tests your actual retained knowledge much better than the GPA.

IMHO

 

[Dreamstoo]

I think the ADCOM is spot on. GPA's are kind of a joke, in my honest opinion. I'm only speaking from the perspective of a student (as most of us are), but maintaining a stellar GPA isn't very hard if that is all you want to do.

I could very easily have a 3.8 GPA or higher in school. All it takes is taking courses that are of average difficulty, doing the assigned work, and studying for some exams. Surely, you won't get the most out of your college education, BUT you WILL have a high GPA. One could also skate through with easy classes.

I went to a 4 year public university and most of my classes literally had open book finals. If they weren't flat out open book we were given a review that was almost identical to the test to study from.

I'd say GPA is indicitive of your ability to follow through and stay the course. That is obviously very important, but can be shown in other ways. A test like the MCAT tests your actual retained knowledge much better than the GPA.

IMHO

Sounds like the classes I'm required to take senior year (mostly easy electives) 👍

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I think the ADCOM is spot on. GPA's are kind of a joke, in my honest opinion. I'm only speaking from the perspective of a student (as most of us are), but maintaining a stellar GPA isn't very hard if that is all you want to do.

I could very easily have a 3.8 GPA or higher in school. All it takes is taking courses that are of average difficulty, doing the assigned work, and studying for some exams. Surely, you won't get the most out of your college education, BUT you WILL have a high GPA. One could also skate through with easy classes.

I went to a 4 year public university and most of my classes literally had open book finals. If they weren't flat out open book we were given a review that was almost identical to the test to study from.

I'd say GPA is indicitive of your ability to follow through and stay the course. That is obviously very important, but can be shown in other ways. A test like the MCAT tests your actual retained knowledge much better than the GPA.

IMHO

Open book finals really don't usually help. My stat and most stat classes are open book, but frankly if you don't know the material beforehand then chances are you're going to spend valuable time trying to find even basic applications.

 

[futuredoc331]

Open book finals really don't usually help. My stat and most stat classes are open book, but frankly if you don't know the material beforehand then chances are you're going to spend valuable time trying to find even basic applications.

With open book tests you don't have to retain the material. You have to be fresh enough with it to be able to find where it is in your notes and finish the problem. Being able to accomplish this is not a true assessment of your academic aptitude.

The point is it is very easy to game your GPA. You can't do that with the MCAT.