What is the lowest MCAT score POSSIBLE...and still get in (true) stories!?

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nanomed

nanomed

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Hi all,
I am posting another question, this time I am looking any true stories (from a friend or from personal experience) about the lowest MCAT score you have ever heard of still getting into medical school (in the states, not counting puerto rico, etc.). I always see that schools say there is no cut-off, but it is hard for me to believe that is true. So does anybody know???:confused:

Thanks ahead of time for your post!:luck:
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if you search around, there are PLENTY of true stories that have already been posted.
 
you could probably do a search on mdapplicant (set the mcat to lower than, say, 25 etc) and find tons people..
 
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I worked with a guy in a lab who had a sub 20 MCAT score. He got in to a school like the day their classes started (off waitlist). He had a good undergrad GPA (4.0) but a not too good graduate GPA.
 
Define "med school" - edit: ah I see you specified in the US, but are you limiting it to allopathic / MD only schools?
 
Good question...

allopath/MD schools only thread.
 
nanomed said:
Good question...

allopath/MD schools only thread.
Click to expand...

Absolute minimum for an overall "average" package - 27, with no single section below a 7. Apply widely.

Absolute minimum for an applicant whose GPA is realllly high (3.9ish) - lower, but who knows? 23, 24, maybe. Some guy said sub-20, but I think that's just ridiculous unless there was some other outstanding condition (e.g. "I started vomitting blood during the verbal section, which explains the score").

Please note that you'll need to apply to a crap load of schools. A crap load. Or, just retake the damn thing.
 
Well, he got waitlisted, and my PI (who is an absolute gem, best PI in the whole wide world) fought for his admission.

I hear he aced his first two years and did reasonably well on the boards, so gravy.
 
crazy_cavalier said:
Absolute minimum for an overall "average" package - 27, with no single section below a 7. Apply widely.

Absolute minimum for an applicant whose GPA is realllly high (3.9ish) - lower, but who knows? 23, 24, maybe. Some guy said sub-20, but I think that's just ridiculous unless there was some other outstanding condition (e.g. "I started vomitting blood during the verbal section, which explains the score").

Please note that you'll need to apply to a crap load of schools. A crap load. Or, just retake the damn thing.
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I don't know if a 23 or 24 would work even with a 3.9. In fact, a 3.9 and 23 (or even 27) might be even more troublesome than with a (slightly) lower GPA.

I think the "cutoff" is generally around a 28. You want to be above 30.
 
I've heard of a 19/3.98 getting into MCG....
 
Geez, OP keeps changing things up. You come to SDN for true stories of low mcat score acceptances? Think about the population you are sampling...

Try using mdapps (www.mdapplicants.com)
 
It think you can have a lower MCAT score if English is not your first language. Without that, I would imagine a 27, but you would need something amazing on your ECs (Peace Corps, shadowed the Dali Lama, discovered new gene)
 
At my interview in San Antonio the Dean said they have accepted someone with an 18 MCAT before... (more like he gave a range 18-42 MCAT, etc)
 
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In the MSAR it shows the range of sub scores accepted. It's not a perfect way to see lowest composites (how many schools look at composites instead of individuals?) For most schools the sub scores went all the way down to 6, even the top tier ones. I found that very surprising. Of course, one should never bet anything on a low score.
 
one of my friends got a 14 and still got into med school.. he had LOTS of unique ECs, lots of research, and was good at interviewing, but i honestly thought he wouldnt get in!
 
futureneonateMD said:
one of my friends got a 14 and still got into med school.. he had LOTS of unique ECs, lots of research, and was good at interviewing, but i honestly thought he wouldnt get in!
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shut up and stop lying.
 
what school did he get into?
 
I think Mayo accepted someone with a 24 in the last couple years. For a top tier school that's pretty unusual.
 
baylormed said:
During one of my interviews, the dean of admissions said they once accepted someone with a 19 (no, it's not a typo...I said 19). Obviously, the guy had a good gpa, and I'm sure he had other good qualities.
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Like the quality of having the same last name as a few wings of the hospital. :cool:

At some point your MCAT is doing you a favor keeping you out of medical school. If you are getting triple 6, you are going to be in big trouble with the breakneck academic pace of medical school (which assumes you have a very solid science background).
 
So you guys think that if you don't get a 27 or above that you won't be successful in medical school? :confused: I don't quite understand that. One of my close friends got a 25 and is at Vanderbilt doing great. Why is everybody so set on "you have to get a 30 or you won't get in?" I know I won't break a 30 or get close, but I do know that I will be in medical school next fall. :D
 
BlackDr2b said:
So you guys think that if you don't get a 27 or above that you won't be successful in medical school? :confused: I don't quite understand that. One of my close friends got a 25 and is at Vanderbilt doing great. Why is everybody so set on "you have to get a 30 or you won't get in?" I know I won't break a 30 or get close, but I do know that I will be in medical school next fall. :D
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I seriously doubt the claim that anyone has ever been accepted to Vanderbilt with a 25. The dude must have walked on water in every other part of his/her application. The reason everyone says you need a 30 is because, basically, you need a thirty. Just below thirty and you might be OK. Below 27 and you're SOL. That's just the way it is.
 
BlackDr2b said:
So you guys think that if you don't get a 27 or above that you won't be successful in medical school? :confused: I don't quite understand that. One of my close friends got a 25 and is at Vanderbilt doing great. Why is everybody so set on "you have to get a 30 or you won't get in?" I know I won't break a 30 or get close, but I do know that I will be in medical school next fall. :D
Click to expand...

Where at? Which medical school has accepted you?:)
 
Wow, first off, no school will admit someone with a 14 on the MCAT. Period.

Even 18 seems like a fairy-tale. There isn't even a single "good" way for an 18 to have a decent breakdown. 6 in each section? Give me a break.
 
To answer Zoom-Zoom, she is a regular student that did well here at my school and yes she did get into Vanderbilt with a 25 and she is on a full scholarship for all 4 years. And no she did not have a 4.0. You are not SOL if you get less than 27. It depends on wut you have in your app. Only about 15% of the population actually break 30, so you're saying that 85% of the population aren't getting into med school?
 
bruinboy310 said:
It seems more like 31 - this year's AMSA says 10, 10, 11 is the national median :cool:
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That doesn't mean you're SOL if you get below that though. By definition, half of the people got in with less than 31.
 
bruinboy310 said:
It seems more like 31 - this year's AMSA says 10, 10, 11 is the national median :cool:
Click to expand...

Median means there are people below that number who get in. I think having a 30 is nice but there are plenty of people who get sub-30 and go to medical school. I know someone who got a 29 and goes to UC Irvine. Another with a 29 got into UCSF last year.
 
i have a friend who scored a 23 and got into med school in colorado
 
BlackDr2b said:
To answer Zoom-Zoom, she is a regular student that did well here at my school and yes she did get into Vanderbilt with a 25 and she is on a full scholarship for all 4 years. And no she did not have a 4.0. You are not SOL if you get less than 27. It depends on wut you have in your app. Only about 15% of the population actually break 30, so you're saying that 85% of the population aren't getting into med school?
Click to expand...

You assume that everyone who takes the MCAT applies for (allopathic) med school. This is not so. A lot will decide to do other things (some because they realize their score is not compatible with getting into med school), others will go osteopath, etc.

I doubt 27 is an "absolute" minimum, but I would expect things to get tricky in the mid-20s.
 
Andre04 said:
You assume that everyone who takes the MCAT applies for (allopathic) med school. This is not so. A lot will decide to do other things (some because they realize their score is not compatible with getting into med school), others will go osteopath, etc.

I doubt 27 is an "absolute" minimum, but I would expect things to get tricky in the mid-20s.
Click to expand...

a friend of mine got in with a 24 and a 3.3 gpa off of a waitlist...
 
30 is a cut off eh? just goes to show you how biased an unreliable the advice on this forum can be sometimes.

UTSW says on their website that the range of accepted mcat scores was 24-42. someone got into Cornell Tri-I MD/Phd with a 29; and someone else with a 3.08 gpa (check website). the examples could go on and on.
 
my advisor always relates the same story of a student who got in to medschool (i believe suny buffalo) with a 3.6 and a 24 but i dont know if he is just using it to keep me sane... :laugh:
 
*Spoken in creepy narrative voice*

"Somewhere in the shadows, MWillie is lurking, waiting to pounce on the MCAT-challanged and thier stories of success..."
 
My cousin got in with a 20. She had a 4.0 however with excellent ECs.
 
3.95, 25.
(And no, he wasn't a minority)
 
LMAO...

I don't know where some of you get your information from...

You do NOT have to have a 30 to get into med school...

PLENTY of school will matriculate 25's, 24's, 26's, etc...

Yes, I do know this to be a fact, and yes I was told this by people in the admissions department at MCG...

By the way, the average at MCG is a 30.3, yet they still admit plenty of people in the mid to high 20's...

Think about how it's averaged people: for every 35, there has to be a 25 to make an average of 30...

Jeez...
 
BlackDr2b said:
So you guys think that if you don't get a 27 or above that you won't be successful in medical school? :confused: I don't quite understand that. One of my close friends got a 25 and is at Vanderbilt doing great. Why is everybody so set on "you have to get a 30 or you won't get in?" I know I won't break a 30 or get close, but I do know that I will be in medical school next fall. :D
Click to expand...

No they are saying if you get in the teens you are in trouble. However, mid 20's is pretty much the average score and minimal required at many schools. 24 is the required score at USF, MUO, UMiami and a few other schools i've looked into.

19 is just wayyyyy too low.

I think its definitely possible to get 24 or higher. I even think its possible to get at least 28. I don't think it predicts your ability to do well in classes but even though the correlation may not be +1, it is a positive correlation between MCAT and USLME scores.

I don't really know the full value or true value of MCAT but I fail to see how people get in the teens if they understand the sciences well. I'm no genius but I was able to do decent in the sciences when I retook and actually studied for the test by doing proper practice problems and what not. The Verbal was the only part that screwed me over mainly because I had had no sleep the day before and was soooooooo overly nervous and anxious.

For MD schools most schools have a minimum of at least 24 if they are state schools. If they are private top tiers you should at least get close to 30 if not higher.

For some schools there are no cutoffs but your chances are extremely low with something like a 19 or 18 even as a URM which is why I disagree with all these URM debates that go around every so often on SDN.

For DO schools you can get in with those scores.


I have however known quite a few to get in USF med or Miami with a 24-26 range. Also a couple people I knew got into FSU with that range.

Those who got into USF with that range were waitlisted first but high enough on waitlist that they eventually made it in.
 
Polynikes said:
LMAO...

I don't know where some of you get your information from...

You do NOT have to have a 30 to get into med school...

PLENTY of school will matriculate 25's, 24's, 26's, etc...

Yes, I do know this to be a fact, and yes I was told this by people in the admissions department at MCG...

By the way, the average at MCG is a 30.3, yet they still admit plenty of people in the mid to high 20's...

Think about how it's averaged people: for every 35, there has to be a 25 to make an average of 30...

Jeez...
Click to expand...

Well see I think this is subjective to what state you live in. for people like us in Georgia, Florida, or Texas it is easier to get into a school with that score if everything is solid even if we are waitlisted at first. For someone coming from Cali it may still happen and has happened to one former SDN girl who posted some years back. However, it is much rarer because the schools are higher ranked schools and hence more competitive schools. Also places like Pennsylvania which don't take mostly their own residents and aren't true state schools in the ful sense, this is less likely to be possible.

For florida residents, Tx. residents, and people in places like that i don't think its as bad because there is a preference towards their own residents.

I know plenty of people who got into state schools with score ranges from 24-26 but most of those people were waitlisted at first. None were minorities that I'm talking about. Those who got into USF with those scores either had a 3.8+ GPA to balance it out or they were part of the honors program at USF or they had extensive clinical background. That's from the ones I personally know.
 
gujuDoc said:
Well see I think this is subjective to what state you live in. for people like us in Georgia, Florida, or Texas it is easier to get into a school with that score if everything is solid even if we are waitlisted at first. For someone coming from Cali it may still happen and has happened to one former SDN girl who posted some years back. However, it is much rarer because the schools are higher ranked schools and hence more competitive schools. Also places like Pennsylvania which don't take mostly their own residents and aren't true state schools in the ful sense, this is less likely to be possible.

For florida residents, Tx. residents, and people in places like that i don't think its as bad because there is a preference towards their own residents.

I know plenty of people who got into state schools with score ranges from 24-26 but most of those people were waitlisted at first. None were minorities that I'm talking about. Those who got into USF with those scores either had a 3.8+ GPA to balance it out or they were part of the honors program at USF or they had extensive clinical background. That's from the ones I personally know.
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I absolutely agree. I can voucher for the Texas part. It has definitely happened. I know someone with a 20 who goes to UTSW.
 
if you don't mind telling us....what type of EC did you have?
 
UMichigan's admissions website has the range of 2005 enrolled students' MCATS, and it goes from 24 to 43.
 
bruinboy310 said:
but I doubt the people in the 20's are East or South Asians or whities...
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Dude this is the MOST RACIST **** I have heard on SDN. This is even worse than all the affirmative action bs people have been pulling out of their asses lately.
 
My EC's were pretty strong. I had community service, research (with first author publications in medical journals), leadership positions in college, etc.

In the end, I got in off of the wait list. The MCAT score was what caused that, but luckily in the end it worked out. Funny thing is I got into all of the grad PhD programs I applied to (Mayo, etc) even with signing bonuses! Just goes to show how numbers driven the MD process is. But, a low MCAT score is not the end all and certaintly doesnt predict how you will do in class or on the boards. It has just as much predicative ability as the SAT or ACT. Sure, there is a correlation but in this case, it is a skewed correlation (greater sample size for those with high MCATs compared to low MCATs). If you really want to do this study, then at least have similar numbers of students across of range of MCAT scores. Of course, this won't happen.
 
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