Truth in MCAT & GPA

[ryanpj]

I would prefer that senior members only reply to this post. From the statistics that I have gathered the avg. MCAT is 24 and GPA 3.4. I am confused now because the members of this board like to boast and brag. So to cut to the chase, I am asking your personal opion on averages. Thank You.

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[Test Boy]

Are you sure the average scores are 28 at UHS? Where did you get that information from? According to U.S. News, the average is around 25 for the 1998 entering class. How can you explain this discrepancy?

 

[UHS2002]

The average is just that...

Actually, the GPA average you mentioned is pretty close to what the average for my entering class was (I think it was around 3.45). As for the 24 MCAT, no way!!! We had a very large entering class and, if I recall correctly, the average MCAT was around 28. Which means that there may have been some people that got in with a 24 and many more that got in with something higher than a 28, so that the average turned out to be 28.

My advice to the pre-meds out there that think DO schools accept applicants with low GPA and MCATs is: if their numbers are on the low side so they think that, at least, they have a garanteed DO acceptance, they put their money where their mouth is and go ahead and apply with their current scores.

 

[larryj]

Check it out, compare all schools for yourself.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/grad/gradmed.htm

 

[njdevil]

MCAT score averages for Osteopathic medical schools are on the high side 28.5 (Texas and KCOM). On the low side is West Virginia at about 22.5 (but notice that they are almost 100% in-state).

As far as GPA, avg GPA doesn't mean anything b/c your GPA is rescaled according to the undergraduate school you goto. I was told during two interviews that two to three tenths of a point was added to mine b/c of my undergraduate background.

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Adam

KCOM '03

 

[DocGibby]

ryanpg,

The numbers are gonna vary any way you look at it. Like UHS2002 said, if his class avg was a 28 then their accepting above and below. For the most part 7's and 8's on the MCAT is good enough with a GPA (after conversion to the AACOM standard) of around 3.3. That should get you in the door. Then it's everything else like volunteer, hospital work, etc.. that get's you accepted.

Some people on the lounge got acceptances with 6's or gpa's lower than 3.3. This is mainly because they got their applications in early, while the applicant pool was still small. Hence the advantage to applying early. When the applicant pool gets larger (as it is now) low scores will kill you.
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DocGibby
MSUCOM class of 2004

[This message has been edited by DocGibby (edited 11-01-1999).]

 

[UHS2002]

Test Boy,

I got the info from the school, on the first day of orientation. They compile data such as GPA, MCAT, number of advanced degree holders, state of residency and so on of the entering class.

Truthfully, I don't see any reason for the school to lie, since we are already sitting in at orientation, which means that we all turned down other schools to be where we are and we all have paid our tuition already.
As for the numbers reported by USNews, I would take them with a grain of salt, since a couple of their numbers are way off. For instance, their male/female ratio may have belonged to some previous class, since we have a lot more females than only 32%. Also, no way that our current enrollment is 10% minority.

How can I explain the discrepancy?! I can't. I think it is like the weather forecast, they say the sun is shining outside while you are looking out the window and it is pouring...

When I was applying to med school I got the Princeton book with the stats on all the med schools, and selected the ones that, I thought, were more likely to look at someone with my numbers and background, all according to the numbers from the book. When I showed this to my pre-med advisor he just about fell off the chair laughing. My MCAT was close to 30, so I had selected schools that had a reported average MCAT for the last entering class in that range. He just enlightened me that some of the schools I had picked weren't even looking at anybody below the 31-32 range. So much for the stats in the book, and the darn thing costed me money too...

 

[Jim Henderson]

I think the key point here is that at every level, the average is harder to achieve, and while the MCAT average may be 24, the average accepted MCAT is higher.

You gotta be really smart to get an average MCAT score. You gotta be even smarter to get an average board score once in medical school.

The people throwing around big MCAT numbers around this board are people who will probably get in. Those with "average" MCAT scores will be below average when compared among the accepted class.

If you have an average MCAT score and average grades, you need to have something outstanding to have a good chance at admission.

I wish you the best!

Jim Henderson, MD http://www.medicalstudent.net

[This message has been edited by medicalstudent.net (edited 11-01-1999).]

 

[njdevil]

I disagree with Doc Gibby. No offense but you aren't attending medical school yet and you really don't have the knowledge to state for the most part 7s and 8s is good enough.

Ask osteopathic medical students at any medical school in the country and they will say 9s with an occassional 8. The mean for the country is over 8. A seven won't kill you but you are fighting without legs. In terms of Osteopathic Medicine, we are talking mostly about 9's with an occasional 8. In terms of allopathic medicine, we are talking 10's with occassional 9.

GPA, once again depends on where you attended, but you want to approach 3.5.



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Adam

KCOM '03

 

[DocGibby]

Njdevil,

I never said that 7's and 8's is a definitive shoe-in. If you read the whole post you would understand the point that I'm getting at here. When I say 7's and 8's, I mean perhaps 1 seven and 2 eights (not all sevens). Furthermore, I specifically state that those scores will get you in the door. That does not mean accepted. Like I said then you gotta take everything else into consideration like volunteer work, experience, etc.... It's the whole package. If you look around this site your gonna see people with 6's and 3.1 that got accepted and vice versa people with 4.0's and all 10 or 12's. That's why they call this an AVERAGE. Remember Grades are a factor, but they are not the only factor.

Also, my info comes directly from MSUCOM. Residential status aside, if you have all 7's and a minimum of 3.5 with good credentials you can get accepted (that's the cut off). If you have 8's and a 3.4 with good credential you can get accepted.

Obviously, some schools are gonna be lower or higher than MSUCOM. So I roughly avg the scores of the people getting interviews and acceptances here. That comes out to be around (some combination of )7's and 8's with a GPA at about 3.3-3.4.

Furthermore, as I said in my previous post alot of this is relative to when you apply. When your early, there's alot of leeway on the numbers especially if you really shine in the credentials category. As you get closer to the deadline the competition get continually more fierce due to the increasing applicant pool.

Averages aside, the higher the scores the better your chances(obviously). The lower your scores the lower your chances. You may get in with lower than avg scores, you may not. You may have a valid explanation for low scores, you may not. You may have stellar scores and horrible interview and not get accepted. It's always a gamble. There's no mimimum number to shoot for (Why would you). If you've got the funds I recommend applying with low scores anyway. you never know.
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DocGibby
MSUCOM class of 2004

[This message has been edited by DocGibby (edited 11-01-1999).]