To all the overconfident

[doc2b1977]

Man, there is so much that one could say to everyone who is predicting getting 35's and better. Frankly, I do hope that you do get those scores, especially if you studied hard and met what you believe to be your potential. I don't wish anyone bad karma when it comes to that test. I have been there.
Still, so much overconfidence! I mean, some of those people are basically saying "well, I probably got a 40 but I may have to settle for a 36 because I had a little headache that day. I hope that a 36 won't look too bad in the eyes of medical schools! God forbid I get a 30, my life will be ruined. I might as well kill myself." Solid advice given earlier about underestimating your scores and being pleasantly surprised. It is obvious that that person knows how difficult the MCAT is, the nature of the curve (easy vs. hard versions of the test), and the very real fact that the MCAT can bite you in the a#$ if you boast so much about your performance. It is just the nature of the game. Further, scores mean jack to committees if those people with scores in the mid-to-high thirties walk into an interview and do NOT know how to talk about anything but academics. I have seen it time and time again. Several of my friends are in medical school and conduct interviews. People think that high scores are a guarantee that schools will coming banging on your doors. In essence, they tell me, if you got no personality and other interests besides getting the highest scores on the MCAT EVER IN HISTORY, then it doesn't help your case. Again, those are their beliefs. To all those people who get scores in the upper 20s, have health care experience (showing that you have actually INTERACTED with patients before medical school and not just with your books studying for a year for the MCAT)/research, and have actually cultivated relationships with professors who gave you good letters of recommendation, be proud and sure that you are a strong candidate for medical school.

-"Hello, Peter. What's Happening?...Are you gonna have those TPS reports for me today?"-Lumbergh, "Office Space"

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[liverotcod]

doc2b, why the hostility? To my mind, the prediction game is just for fun. People will get what they get.

My predictions were based on 4 AAMC practice exams that many here and elsewhere have claimed are valid in predicting the real exam. But if my prediction is high, so what? Like you implied, a person's MCAT score does not paint a very accurate picture of a him or her.

Methinks you protest too much.

 

[blz]

I don't see the point of this thread... It's seems like you are trying to put down all the people who think they did well on the test so everyone can be miserable on this board. If some people are confident enough then let them be. If they want to act like a girl and cry about doing bad so they can be presently surprised when they get their scores...that's fine. Do whatever makes you feel better, but you accomplish nothing by bringing everyone down.

 

[doc2b1977]

Naw, guys. I didn't intend to sound hostile. I was really trying to respond to those people who feel like s#$% about their performance. Was just trying to say that scores are one part of the picture and that they should really be sure to highlight other aspects of their application if they didn't do as well as they wanted.
I really, sincerely hope that you do get those high scores.
Doc2b1977
Georgetown University School of Medicine Class of 2008

 

[Wahooali]

Dude, I know what you are trying to say, and I agree with you. No one has any idea how test day will affect them. Someone who was getting 35+ on practice exams could freak out and do much worse, and someone getting below 30s could have a really great day and pull out a 35+. You never know. And yes, it is fun to predict and see how things turn out, we need to be realistic with ourselves. With how small the percentage of people getting 35+ is, it is unlikely that everyone in this forum is getting that (although, that would be nice).

 

[no-see-um]

People could predict whatever they want. What's done is done. "How accurate are these predictions?", is the question. It will be answered for these persons soon enough. I take everything with a grain of salt until I actually see those score reports. Online, I think overconfidence usually wins out over underconfidence for obvious reasons...

 

[liverotcod]

Online, I think overconfidence usually wins out over underconfidence...

I disagree. Count the number of threads that can be paraphrased, "O my gosh, I bombed the MCAT Saturday," and count those where people felt they did pretty good. Both are predictions about performance. On the evidence of SDN, there are a lot more people worried about their score (perhaps unnecessarily) than confident.

My experience was: I took several AAMC practice tests. I took the real MCAT, and felt that it went approximately like the practice tests. It's not The Price is Right... going over won't hurt anyone.

 

[Lion-O]

1 out of 20 will get 35 or higher.

 

[IndyZX]

liverotcod, thats how i felt, too... i mean, the real thing was tough, but i thought the practice tests were hard too. i didnt really understand why everyone thought the real thing was SOOOO MUCH HARDER than the AAMC tests, i guess it was nerves

 

[Pinkertinkle]

To all those people who get scores in the upper 20s, have health care experience (showing that you have actually INTERACTED with patients before medical school and not just with your books studying for a year for the MCAT)/research, and have actually cultivated relationships with professors who gave you good letters of recommendation, be proud and sure that you are a strong candidate for medical school.

And to all those people who got scores in the upper 30s, have health care experience/research, and have actually cultivated relationships with professors who gave you good letters of recommendation, be proud and sure that you are an even stronger candidate for medical school than the person who did the same stuff but has an upper 20s MCAT.

 

[Notzfall]

The caliber of student who is applying to medical school is pretty good. Actually, the students are excellent. C-students don't take a test like the MCAT for fun. My point is that these students are used to making excellent grades. That's why they feel like they've done excellent or very poor. (because they must have made a good score because that's what they usually get, or, they usually feel 200% more confident on the exam than the MCAT they just took; so they must have done poor.)

Keep this in mind; a 30 on the MCAT is approximately 70% of questions right according to the raw score. Looks like a "C" to me. So, is a 30 a good score? Is it? Hmmmm....

Personally, I felt like my raw score was around 25. Not the score I wanted because I'm a 4.0 GPA student. So what should I expect? I'm guessing between 22-32.

Just a perspective. Don't be too arrogant (Don't get your hopes up) . Don't get down on yourself so much (Don't give yourself an ulcer or pick up applications at the 7-11).

 

[Blade28]

And to all those people who got scores in the upper 30s, have health care experience/research, and have actually cultivated relationships with professors who gave you good letters of recommendation, be proud and sure that you are an even stronger candidate for medical school than the person who did the same stuff but has an upper 20s MCAT.

VERY true.

Keep this in mind; a 30 on the MCAT is approximately 70% of questions right according to the raw score. Looks like a "C" to me. So, is a 30 a good score? Is it? Hmmmm....

Um...not good to think about it this way. People need to stop associating a certain percentage (e.g. 70%, as per your example) with a certain grade (e.g. a "C"). It just doesn't work that way. For the USMLE Step 1, for example, a passing grade is between 55-65%. That's, what, a D? Lower? But many people do just barely pass.

Look at shelf exams during third year. For many schools, a score of 80-85 may qualify you for honors. What's that, somewhere around a B? Again, doesn't always correspond.

But I like what you said about not getting your hopes up TOO much or getting too down on yourself. I think pre-meds as a group tend to obsess and worry about these kinds of things WAY too much. It's just part of the neurotic tendencies of the future med student.

 

[Premedtomed]

Don't worry about what others have to say. Don't compare your performance with theirs. It will make you feel more frustrated. By not caring about their sense of overconfidence or overachievement, you can stay calm.

relax, breath slowly, lower your eyes as if your mom's talking to you and it is really boring
then read the messages