Im an August MCAT taker and I just got back my not so great scores and am wondering if there is a cutoff for the UC's because I know they screen for secondaries. Thanks for your help
i know some people in my class who scored around a 29ish. the uc schools use mcat, gpa, and other factors to initially screen their applicant pool. interestingly, i know more than a few people with scores over 35 who were rejected without interviews from some uc schools. at ucsf there isn't a mcat cut off that is black and white. your whole application is taken into consideration. my mcat score was below the average mcat score for matriculating students, but i am not sure as to whether or not it fell within the standard deviation. what i learned is that the application process becomes more and more about factors that are not numerical. ucsf is huge on the personal statement, letters of recommendation, and the interviews.
souljah, Thanks! Exactly the reassuring words I was hoping for! You've always given such level-headed feedback in this forum. I'm in the 28-29 range, and have been worried @ the UC's. My scores are in the acceptable range for private low/mid-tier schools, but right now, waiting to hear from the UC's @ interviews is giving me horrible insomnia (i.e. tonight). One thing I can relay, though, is that Kathy from the ucsf office said that they prefer for apps to have @ least 8 on each section. From speaking w/ them, I also got the impression that they try to look @ the whole person. Most of the people in that office are wonderful! They recently accepted/waived some of my bio & chem prereqs--I'm so relieved.
dear souljah1, thanks so much for your reassuring words =D however, are those people in your class who got around 29ish URMs?
yeah, i'm pretty worried about the uc's. this was my first time taking the mcat and my scores were not as good as they could have been. if they have a cutoff i doubt i made that luckily i didn't get below 9 (or above 9 )on any section. i guess we'll see what happens!
Some are and some aren't. In the preliminary screening stage, URMs are given some extra points that fall under the category of background. However, a lower mcat score can be off-set by unique experiences and a kick-ass personal statement, gpa, or whatever else is ranked at the onset of the application process. I've posted this somewhere else, but 70% of my class (I'm an MSI) has taken atleast one year off from school at some point prior to applying. Lots of people have done some pretty amazing things. It is pretty diverse. We have those who probably got 40's and we have those who fell just short of 30. There are data on gpa and mcat of URMs and non-URMs published by UCSF (search on google) and the non-URMs that matriculate generally have higher gpas and mcats. I don't think it matters all that much. The hispanic nuclear engineer in my class who grew up in rural new mexico that got a 29 is just as valuable in the profession of medicine as the upper middle class jewish-american girl who grew up in Long Island and got a 36. Merits extend beyong numbers and include the overcoming of certain obstacles, etc.. Hope this helps some more. The application process can be incredibly long (I know that mine was). You have to trust this fact: Your application is going to be thoroughly evaluated numerous times by numerous people as you proceed through the application process. Also, those that sit on the admissions committee, for the most part, are those who are truly interested in selecting good candidates based on a lot of different criteria. They are not a bunch of elitists who would reject someone based on their photo, their tie, their earrings, etc..The 'dean team' here is really an excellent group of people that are committed to a holistic education. Part of that commitment extends itself to the admissions process, for character, maturity, and personal struggles are prized highly. Best of luck.
