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What sort of MCAT score would be considered 'competitive' at a relatively well-known medical school, say, top 50?
What is a competitive MCAT score?
- Thread starter ixitixl
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Around or above 30 sounds about right.
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how much of a difference btw a high 20 (like 28 or 29) and a 30?
not too much i'd guess...???
not too much i'd guess...???
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i think its just psychological having that 3 in the tens place rather than the 2.
i guess its like having a 1290 and a 1300...the 1300 just looks a lot better than the 1290.
so thats why i say 30 is a good number imho.
i guess its like having a 1290 and a 1300...the 1300 just looks a lot better than the 1290.
so thats why i say 30 is a good number imho.
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I would say a 33 I think that is the cutoff for getting an auto interview from UMich. There was thread earlier about acceptance percentages based on MCAT scores and people from 33-38 all had about a 80% acceptance rate. It fell off significantly below that.
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I got into the first place I interviewed - my MCAT was below 30 so eat me! I mean....a lot is possible still if you didn't get at least 30.
Warm fuzzies to you all!
Warm fuzzies to you all!
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the high 20's were a depressing place for me and my mcat score to be. although i got a 10 and 11 in the other 2 sections, the cursed physics gave me an 8!!! all i wanted was a damn 30.
but, although it was psychologically painful, i did interview at about 80% of the schools i applied to, was accepted at half i interviewed at. a few of those were top 20s. although most schools seemed to beleive it was the total package, there were some that cut me off just based on MCAT score (UMich, Northwestern for instance)
but, although it was psychologically painful, i did interview at about 80% of the schools i applied to, was accepted at half i interviewed at. a few of those were top 20s. although most schools seemed to beleive it was the total package, there were some that cut me off just based on MCAT score (UMich, Northwestern for instance)
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Brickhouse, you rock.
Are you this entertaining in person, or is it just the anonymity of the web that allows you to be such a character?
I need to buy you a beer, sometime, for all the times you've made me laugh . . . and distracted me from my homework.
Thanks!
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Yes yes, the thing you must remember is that this site is scary. The reason it is scary is because it is a place for people to voice anonymously their accomplishments and their strengths. You know how premeds are, how many times have you been sucked into that stupid conversation about your stats, your ecs, your medical school progresss with your fellow premeds?
People are more likely to announce their MCAT scores, GPA, etc. if it was good to great than if it was average (even a bit above) or lower. Even if they got in. You just have to uncover the masses of lurking average-looking good applicants to get the real picture. For example Brickhouse and me both got in with sub 30 MCATS (my GPA wasn't anything to brag about either).
Honestly, focus on being the best you can be, (because who doesn't want to live up to their potential?), but you don't have to be perfect.
That's my fluffy Tony Robbins speech.
People are more likely to announce their MCAT scores, GPA, etc. if it was good to great than if it was average (even a bit above) or lower. Even if they got in. You just have to uncover the masses of lurking average-looking good applicants to get the real picture. For example Brickhouse and me both got in with sub 30 MCATS (my GPA wasn't anything to brag about either).
Honestly, focus on being the best you can be, (because who doesn't want to live up to their potential?), but you don't have to be perfect.
That's my fluffy Tony Robbins speech.
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Here, here! (stands and applauds)
And to the previous posters - I am actually known in my social circle as "the funny one" - come to think of it I'm also known as "the tall one" and on occasion "the uncontrollable drunk".....but that's neither here nor there...
Oh and Northerner I love your signature quote...
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The thing that bothers me about most of the people here is that they write things as if they're definitive. None of us know. People say 30 and 3.5 are magic numbers. That's bull. It's so variable and I doubt if any of us have ever sat in on an admissions committee meeting. And if the average is 29.7 that means there is a stand deviation too. So, +/- a couple of points too. But that still says nothing.
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the higher the better, dont focus on tryin to get a 30 as much as trying to do the best of your ability on the MCAT. I got way less than a 30, but I'm sittin on 1 acceptance. Remember most schls are looking for a well rounded applicant, and someone who is more than scores and grades, other things make up a doc!!
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So the question is, are you one of the 10% who knows what they are talking about? If not, does the person on SDN that you got your post from know what they are talking about?
I would say that 30 is a decent number to be satisfied with if that is what you got. You are slightly above the average for matriculants so take that for what it is worth.
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I think that a 45 sounds pretty competitive, but I guess a 42 will do it too.
I f you do not have that type of score, with at least a 3.9 G.P.A do not even border applying this year.
😛 😛
I f you do not have that type of score, with at least a 3.9 G.P.A do not even border applying this year.
😛 😛
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I agree. Hence, my SDN Rule #1- 90% of people on SDN have no idea what they are talking about and are simply repeating something they've read on SDN.
That sounds like an hypothesis to me. Did u do some kind of testing or research to back ur 90% or are u one of those supposedly 90% of people that don't know what they are talking about.
MCAT scores are obviously important...any good adviser will tell you that 10+ on each section will be very competitive as far as MCAT scores go. If you're going to get a 9, better off in Verbal than the Sciences, although some schools like to look at Verbal as more of a raw intelligence score than the sciences (which are more applied learning).
Someone mentioned something about the difference btw a 28 and a 30. That's a pretty significant difference, as opposed to a 33 and a 35. The amount of percentile difference is much higher for a 28 and 30. I have a friend at U of Chicago off the waitlist last second who got a 27, so it's not the end of the world. You just have to be more patient.
To throw in my personal experience, I had a 3.6 from a top 10 undergrad and a 31 and I will be attending a top 10 medical school in the fall. You don't have to have the high high numbers if your ECs, LORs, and medical exposure is great. A good story for why you want to be a doctor always helps too.
I would recommend applying to more top 25 schools if your numbers are weaker than the averages for those schools. The bigger net casted, the better chance of catching an interview and an acceptance.
Last piece of advice, if you score poorly on the MCAT, think about re-taking it if practice scores were significantly higher and also see what other areas of your application could be strengthened to offset. When I received my score on that fateful June 20th morning, I was disappointed. I called about 20 Admissions offices and asked the opinions of each director/dean. EVERY ONE said don't re-take it. Medical schools expect students to score 2-3 pts higher the second time around. So a 31 the first time, they would expect a 33-34 a second time. You have the benefit of the doubt when your app is reviewed that you could get that 33. If you take it again and score say a 31 again, then you ARE a 31. There's no discussion. I thought that info was extremely helpful in deciding not to take it again. Plus, who really wants to take the MCAT twice. Ugh!
Someone mentioned something about the difference btw a 28 and a 30. That's a pretty significant difference, as opposed to a 33 and a 35. The amount of percentile difference is much higher for a 28 and 30. I have a friend at U of Chicago off the waitlist last second who got a 27, so it's not the end of the world. You just have to be more patient.
To throw in my personal experience, I had a 3.6 from a top 10 undergrad and a 31 and I will be attending a top 10 medical school in the fall. You don't have to have the high high numbers if your ECs, LORs, and medical exposure is great. A good story for why you want to be a doctor always helps too.
I would recommend applying to more top 25 schools if your numbers are weaker than the averages for those schools. The bigger net casted, the better chance of catching an interview and an acceptance.
Last piece of advice, if you score poorly on the MCAT, think about re-taking it if practice scores were significantly higher and also see what other areas of your application could be strengthened to offset. When I received my score on that fateful June 20th morning, I was disappointed. I called about 20 Admissions offices and asked the opinions of each director/dean. EVERY ONE said don't re-take it. Medical schools expect students to score 2-3 pts higher the second time around. So a 31 the first time, they would expect a 33-34 a second time. You have the benefit of the doubt when your app is reviewed that you could get that 33. If you take it again and score say a 31 again, then you ARE a 31. There's no discussion. I thought that info was extremely helpful in deciding not to take it again. Plus, who really wants to take the MCAT twice. Ugh!
I think this is a relatively straightforward question. What constitutes a competitive MCAT score depends on two factors: 1) which school you apply to and 2) the rest of your credentials. In order to assess the competitive value of your MCAT score at a particular school, find out the average MCAT score for matriculants at the school (for the past couple of years). Ideally, your MCAT score should be comparable to this average; HOWEVER, a considerably lower MCAT score should NOT discourage you from applying to a particular school. Having gone through the med school admissions process, I've learned that this process often seems incredibly arbitrary--often there is no discernible explanation for some AdComs' decisions regarding applications. In regards to the second factor, a particularly strong set of credentials can definitely overshadow any poor performance on the MCAT. If you typically bomb standardized tests, then you ought to beef up other parts of your resume, such as clinical and research experience, GPA, etc. The important thing to keep in mind about med school admissions, aside from the sheer randomness of it, is that AdComs strive to holistically assess applicants.
