What's a good MCAT score to other SDNers?

Boost your MCAT score by 12 points or more.
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
T

TheBlackHand

Junior Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
I've been doing a lot of thinking on this topic and it the definition of a great score from person to person is crazily different. For me, i think bad = <28, decent = 28-31, good = 32-34, great = 35-38, and everybody is jealous and hates you range is 39+. Anyways, i'm just curious what score people are shooting for. (My realistic goal is 34 *cross fingers* and my longshot goal is 38 :rolleyes: )
Members don't see this ad.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
I am hopeful that my score begins with a '3.' I averaged a 30 on the seven full-length exams that I took, so hopefully the real one corresponds to that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
look at the percentiles....31 = ~82% = great in my book. so i would actually say 28-29 = good, 30-31 = great, 32+ = awesomeeeeeeee!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
I think 28-30 great, 31+ FANTASTIC! This time around my practice scores were 28-31ish. I want 30 so I can post in the "For those of you who got 30+..." thread. :D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I believe that a score of 30 is solid (average MCAT of accepted students). Anything above that is nice. It also depends on what else you have to offer as an applicant - GPA, ECs, Work Experiences, Research. No two applicants are the same, IMO.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
25> = elation, <25 = depression, In reallity i don't care if i get a 10 overall, as long as i get in. no one is going to ask you two years in what you made, no one cares...all i know is i am getting pretty cranky sitting here waiting on those damnn scores... +pissed+
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
bella_dottoressa said:
look at the percentiles....31 = ~82% = great in my book. so i would actually say 28-29 = good, 30-31 = great, 32+ = awesomeeeeeeee!
Click to expand...


i agree.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If you hit 30 you're sitting pretty (unless you want to go to an ultracompetative school).

A 28-29 is still good.

27 or below was my retake score.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I would seriously have to examin my scores before I would decide to retake if they were low. I couldn't just decide on a cut off. 28 = ok :thumbup: , but 27= retake :thumbdown: . I mean, is a 9,9,10 that much better looking then a 9,9,9. You can't just look at the total score, and decide to retake. If I got a 12, 12, 6 (30), I would retake. I don't think you can pre-decide on what a retake score is and what is not. You have to see your scores first before you can make that decision. And I believe deciding to retake (aside from obvious scores (ex. 21)) could be a bad move, because remember, you can always do worse. Lata...

- jeff
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
9 or above in each category is good for the population as a whole.

Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
9 or above in each category is good for the population as a whole.

Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
Click to expand...

Aye, try not to focus on other people's scores, it will just bring you down.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
And remember that a lot of the people who post scores this Monday or Tuesday will be people with 0+ posts saying, "I got a 38!!" So the average score posted on SDN will be higher than the average score of the people who usually post on here.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Members don't see this ad :)
And the people who score really high are more likely to post. When they post, it makes people with mid-range scores less likely to post.

It's a vicious cycle.

Or maybe I just wanted to use that phrase.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
Click to expand...

yeah, I read the amcas forum every now and then and the average for scores seems to be like 25. People aren't afraid of posting their 22's and 23's whereas here I rarely see anything below 25 on SDN.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
LiNk said:
yeah, I read the amcas forum every now and then and the average for scores seems to be like 25. People aren't afraid of posting their 22's and 23's whereas here I rarely see anything below 25 on SDN.
Click to expand...

That AMCAS board is like SDN Lite.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
9 or above in each category is good for the population as a whole.

Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think there tends to be a lot of liars on SDN. Last year, it seemed like most people on SDN scored above a 35, which is crazy, considering that is in the 95th percentile. I'm sure some of them are honest, but I wouldn't be suprised if a decent amount are not.

Anyway, I wish you all lots of luck in getting your scores. My score last year was a 28, and I got into two allopathic schools, so it is possible to get in with lower than a 30. :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
9 or above in each category is good for the population as a whole.

Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
Click to expand...

haha, yeah i guess thats pretty true....I don't even really post threads but I read the site and what people have to say all the time and i was pretty intimidated to read how well people were doing through their SDN posts for the past April MCAT....guess I have to weed out the "gunners and liars" from everyone else to get a real idea this time around
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Quakkilla said:
25> = elation, <25 = depression, In reallity i don't care if i get a 10 overall, as long as i get in. no one is going to ask you two years in what you made, no one cares...all i know is i am getting pretty cranky sitting here waiting on those damnn scores... +pissed+
Click to expand...

agreed....if i dont get more than 25...ill dig myself a hole...and live in it...forever... :scared:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
There is an SDN'er who got a 23 in April who has already interviewed at Vanderbilt. Scores don't make the man. Chill, peeps.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
<=30 My life is over. I better apply to dental school :(

31-35 Crap, I must have screwed up a few passages :confused:

36-39 Cool! :cool:

40+ Gravy :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
palminator2003 said:
<=30 My life is over. I better apply to dental school :(

31-35 Crap, I must have screwed up a few passages :confused:

36-39 Cool! :cool:

40+ Gravy :)
Click to expand...


31-35 is still pretty good. plenty of people are in med school right now with 31-35. i know i am. good luck.


.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
medicalstudent9 said:
31-35 is still pretty good. plenty of people are in med school right now with 31-35. i know i am. good luck.


.
Click to expand...

Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what percentage of people get in who have 31-35? It's the vast majority of those who apply and much higher than those who apply with a sub 30 score.

There is actually statistical information about this released by the AMCAS people. I don't have it right now but I'm going to go search for it now.

If you get above a 30, you're doing well.

Lots of people still get in with 27-29. But below that things get dicey.

I'll be back with data later.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
stoic said:
Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what percentage of people get in who have 31-35? It's the vast majority of those who apply and much higher than those who apply with a sub 30 score.

There is actually statistical information about this released by the AMCAS people. I don't have it right now but I'm going to go search for it now.

If you get above a 30, you're doing well.

Lots of people still get in with 27-29. But below that things get dicey.

I'll be back with data later.
Click to expand...

Data shmata... the 31-35 bracket is INDEED solid. Why would so many people want to score at LEAST a 30 if they knew that it definitely wouldn't get them in to SOME school?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Nakhrewali said:
Data shmata... the 31-35 bracket is INDEED solid. Why would so many people want to score at LEAST a 30 if they knew that it definitely wouldn't get them in to SOME school?
Click to expand...

I am convinced that people don't read each other's posts. The poster you quoted IS SAYING THE SAME THING YOU ARE. What are you disagreeing with?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It looks to me like they are actually agreeing with the previous post, not disagreeing....
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
willthatsall said:
And remember that a lot of the people who post scores this Monday or Tuesday will be people with 0+ posts saying, "I got a 38!!" So the average score posted on SDN will be higher than the average score of the people who usually post on here.
Click to expand...
Look who is talking!!!you have 1000+ post and you told everybody the lie about AAMC canceling Aug 2004 scores.
:thumbdown:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
9 or above in each category is good for the population as a whole.

Here on SDN, we have the pleasure of being in the company of a disproportionate number of gunners and liars. So it tends to be higher in the posts on this site. Ignore them.
Click to expand...


I'm not a liar...here is my score report:

c4v7s
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
if that's an april '04 report, why is the verbal still first?

but awesome to see a sample to prep us all for the big unveiling :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dnelsen said:
I'm not a liar...here is my score report:
Click to expand...

Assuming that I'm stating that "noone on SDN scores that high" is to misconstrue my argument. It would be absurd to argue that. Furthermore, countering such an argument is an equally pointless exercise.

If you look back at the April scores almost every score that was posted was above 34. It's an amazing "coincidence" that the top ten percent are so well represented.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well, I'm part of the top 5% and I know for a fact that there are a lot of other posters on this forum who had really, really good scores. There are a few posters on here with scores that make mine feel inadequate (like dnelsen).

I think that the disproportionate representation of high scores on the mcat is due to the fact that those who are going to sit around and post in a forum about being a premed all day are generally the same type of person who will bust their ass for the MCAT and do quite well on it.

There are undoubtably liars, but I don't think there are too many. SDN is an unrepresentative slice of the MCAT test taking population.

Also, those who score well are going to want to share it and those who don't are going to want to keep it to themselves. It's just human nature.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well spotted, Bella :D

Oops...
Actually, I went to check my April scores just to be sure and the Verbal is listed first there too. So, they must just always do the score reports that way...



bella_dottoressa said:
if that's an april '04 report, why is the verbal still first?

but awesome to see a sample to prep us all for the big unveiling :)
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I know, I was actually just checking that thread to see what percentage of reported scores were over 34.

Approximately 50% of the scores reported in that thread are over 34. About half of those are from people who have fewer than 100 posts. A few of them are from banned users.

Some guy got a 31S and asked if he should retake.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Damn...busted :D


It took you all a while to figure it out. Anyway, I had no intention of deceiving you (in the long run at least). I simply wanted to show how easy it is to doctor the score page. There is absolutely no way you can be sure someone is telling the truth when they share their score, unless you are standing right there with them as they log in and you see the score on their computer screen.

Should I take down the image or leave it up as a valuable reminder?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UseUrHeadFred said:
I'd leave it. I'm gonna post one here in a second.
Click to expand...

Cool.

If anyone is wondering how I made such a good fake, I saved the MCAT page to my desktop. Then I opened the page in notepad and edited my score and re-saved it. Then I took a screen shot of the page. Bada-bing-bada-boom...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
lol

this give me a fun idea for games when scores come out.

"OH MY GOD... I GOT A 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should help some of the folks feel better about things if they didn't do as well as they wanted.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
For me...I'd be ecstatic if I get a 30...anything more than that is a miracle. The only top-tier school that I applied to was Stonybrook and even that's open to debate.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
tsk tsk, any score that gets you into med school is a *good* score. you should know that by now, mr. BlackHand.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheFlash said:
tsk tsk, any score that gets you into med school is a *good* score. you should know that by now, mr. BlackHand.
Click to expand...

bah Flash! Don't listen to him Mr. BlackHand... I'm drawn back to the infamous words painted on the old Monte Vista High School gymnasium, "if you can believe it, you can achieve it." hehe...:p I guess what that means at this hour while anxiously awaiting a score that isn't going to be posted any time tonight is... set goals, but be realistic (hence your realistic and long shot goals). In the end I'm sure you'll be happy with your performance on this test known as the BEAST. I'm confident everyone on this damn forum did awesome! :thumbup:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

I
MCAT Score Aim?
Replies
5
Views
724
j_diggity
j_diggity
I
MCAT Score Increase Chances
Replies
3
Views
545
AJS59
AJS59
E
MCAT Score and chances of admission
Replies
12
Views
528
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
P
  • Question
How to boost b/b and p/s MCAT score
Replies
5
Views
628
ClashRoyaleKing
ClashRoyaleKing
E
Is 124 on TPR CARS a good score for little practice? I took it again and got 124 again.
Replies
1
Views
1K
playoud48
playoud48
Top