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The title...
Which DO schools automatically screen out a sub-500/25 MCAT score?
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Rvucom and TUNCOM are 2 that come to mind... There's more of course
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That new Arkansas COM does (and I think they have 125 subsection cutoffs as well) and they have something like a <3.2sGPA <3.0cGPA cutoff
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CCOM with 125 section cutoffs
A
AnatomyGrey12
Aim for the mewer schools, most of the more established ones will screen for a 125 in each sub section if I remember from their websites
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I had no idea RVU had that cutoff.
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KCU
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Many (unless you have something $pecial)
Retake the MCAT assuming the rest of your stats are ok!
Retake the MCAT assuming the rest of your stats are ok!
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I'm going based off of their website. It says you need a minimum of a 500 or 25 on the MCAT.
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Sorry, do these schools screen below 500 or below 125 per section? I am expecting my mcat to have c/p below 125 but the others not...
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The below 125 per section screening is a bit more nebulous, but those schools and Nova from what I've read all screen out below 500's now. There might be exceptions on a very select case by case basis (if you have to ask you aren't in that category), but if you have below a 500 you're automatically eliminated.
Once eliminated retaking the mcat doesn't automatically un-eliminate you either!
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I have to add a caveat here-- from just what I've seen on sdn. For example, ppl are saying that CUSOM is screening below a 500, yet you'll see a few ppl got interviews and acceptances at CUSOM this past cycle with a score below 500 (either a 499 or 498).
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Those people have something probably spectacular about their application. I wouldn't bank on that acceptance. They are the exception to the rule. Perhaps they served in the military, etc.
Also, I don't think you should try to get OP's hopes up when his/her chances are pretty low with a sub 500 score. It is important to be realistic and tackle the admissions process as best as possible.
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Play it safe, anything below a 500 should be a retake especially with DO school acceptance stats rising every year.
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This isn't me trying to be nice to OP or anyone else; This is me trying to present the facts as I see them. These are the stats of ppl who got interviews last cycle and their stats. As you can see, there are some who fall below the 500 MCAT threshold (although low). So for OP and anyone else, take a look at this chart and see where you fall in comparison.
For that matter, I also noticed not a single interview invite with an MCAT score of 23 or 497 or below. Also, if you notice many ppl got interviews with low GPA's (around 3.0) so that's another thing to consider as well if you have a low GPA/high MCAT combo and wondering about your chances.
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Another thing I want to note is that as you can see, there are a fair amount of 25 MCAT scores on the board. But, when you look at the MCAT percentile conversion, you see that a score of 25 = 49% = 499 on the new score. So unless stats have risen DRAMATICALLY in the past year, I'd expect over this next application cycle for people to be talking about a 499 as the cutoff.
Schools may say they want a 500+ score, but if they see many of their applicants coming in with a sub-500 score what can they do? For the last application cycle, most applicants still applied with the old MCAT. This year it's going to be much more new MCAT scores so the landscape of defining cutoffs will be different.
Schools may say they want a 500+ score, but if they see many of their applicants coming in with a sub-500 score what can they do? For the last application cycle, most applicants still applied with the old MCAT. This year it's going to be much more new MCAT scores so the landscape of defining cutoffs will be different.
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If you haven't noticed, scores did rise at least one point for last year for many of the established DO schools. It has become 29 average MCAT. This year, I would start to believe it has become 29.5. For this coming cycle, it's going to be around 30 for the most established schools, and around 27-28 for the newer schools. Perhaps the newest DO schools may be fine with 25-26, but again, they're usually very heavily mission oriented.
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The AACOM book does not say this though IIRC. Last year was around a 28 or so but the as using the old MCAT score. I don't have the book in front of me at the moment so I will double check. The point is it seems plenty of 25 to 27 are being accepted so a 25 could net you an acceptance like at LECOM, no? (assuming GPAs are up to par).
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Is the average you're posting the average of accepted students, or those that matriculate? Because I also recall @AlteredScale stating for his school that the average was about 1 point or more lower for students who matriculated compared to those who were accepted.
Also, why is GPA not being accounted into this? How is someone with a 500 MCAT and a 3.9 GPA compared to a student with a 504 and a 3.4 GPA?
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My source comes from directly the school's websites where I made a school list with average GPA/MCAT.
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I'm half expecting this cycle to stall in competitiveness. I think we saw a surge this year because so many people didn't want to retake their MCAT under the new format.
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Most of the ones that have been around 10 years or more will screen out a score that low. Also a point to note is that many successful applicants have scores that are on average comparable to lower tier MD schools about a decade ago.
Maybe you can try that one in that Bernie Sanders gave a speech at, Liberty, I ran into someone who goes there, he put "Medical School" on his Linked In resume rather than put the name of the school. Thought that was hilarious.
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FYI a 500 on the new is 51 percentile and 25 on old is 49 percentile
BCOMNM 124 section cut offs
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BCOMNM 124 section cut offs
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Correction: 500 = 53% percentile for this app cycle.
I'm just confused on how many of these schools say they have cutoffs at 125 per section, when their MCAT average is roughly a 26,27,28 (501/502/503). That means that there has to be a LOT of students they accept that have below 125 on at least one section. The chances someone gets a 500 or 501, but doesn't have anything below a 125 is very slim. The stats just aren't adding up. Anyone with more insight into this?
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The previous classes might have had a lower cutoff which explains the lower average.
My school 3 years ago had an avg of 25 but the next year the cutoff was 24.
Thats possible, but most schools aren't going to increase by whole MCAT points per year.
For example, LUCOM says no individual section under 125, but their average MCAT score would be around a 498/499. That means the majority of students they took last year had a section score that would be below a 125.
Another example, Kansas City-COM, has an average of a 27 MCAT, which is about a 501.5. The likelihood that a decent portion of their accepted students have scores under a 125 per section is very high. I just don't understand the idea of schools turning away prospective applicants that check their website for minimum requirements, only to turn around and accept a large portion of students that are below their "minimum marks." Just don't list minimum requirements to begin with.
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KCU had an average of 25 for the c/o 2017 and a 27+ for c/o 2018. The new dean came in and revamped admissions criteria.
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The averages for matriculants aren't 29. That's crazy talk. The average for all DO matriculants is 27.5ish. Is that an increase, absolutely, do some schools have averages in the 28/29 range, absolutely, but that is far from the majority of schools. DO schools expect a LizzyM in the low to mid 60s.
That said, a lot of schools have cutoffs in the 24-25 range. That's basically the range at which you start to see a sizeable percentage of med students (15-20%) fail boards on their first attempts. It makes sense. If you have a score in that range, buckle down, study, and retake.
There is a huge difference between accepted applicant averages and matriculant averages and it is not uncommon for the matriculant averages to drop a full 1-2 MCAT points from the accepted applicants average. The higher end people get in to better schools and MD schools and the lower end people retain their spots.
Yeah, sometimes schools are really good about stating their averages, other times they aren't. Schools might even give a cutoff, but will have no problem dipping a little below it if they need to. They aren't mandated to publish matriculant averages, so there is no streamlined way of calculating those averages. One common trick I remember from some schools is to not include the people matriculating from their Masters classes with linkage as part of the matriculant class average.
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So general idea is you Should still apply to school with those sub 125 cut off right?
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It's only money and a little time. The 125 cutoff is much more gray than overall cutoffs.
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Sorry, does this mean to that 15 to 20% of people who have scores around 24 to 25 fail their boards, or that 15 to 20% of all those who fail have those MCAT scores? Also do you have a citation for this claim, or have you heard/been told this anecdotally?
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15-20% of medical students with <24 fail on first attempt of Step 1. This is based on the study by I think the AAMC. It's been a while since I saw the summary report. I'd have to look for it.
EDIT: Found something with the info: on page 48. https://www.aamc.org/download/434596/data/usingmcatdata2016.pdf
Basically 21-23 is like 77% pass, 24-26 is 86%, 27-29 is 93%, 30+ is 96-100%.
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That's very impressive. I must have looked at old stats then. Kudos to whoever that new dean is, any medical school would kill to increase an average by 2+ points in one cycle.
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Thanks for this. 77% rate though with those mcat scores is higher than I would have thought, but still pretty low relatively speaking.
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I know people who have had success with scores in the 498 range. It is great to have, no, but From what I've been told by schools, 498-500 seems good enough.
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For some schools if you have well above avg stats in all other areas or some exceptional qualifications like being a urm then absolutely. The problem is people think that they will be the exception just because they feel their life story is unique. 60% don't make it in, so if you can make your app competitive with the 40% who do then you have a realistic shot vs just gambling.
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But my mommy says I'm special and that ill make the bestest doctor ever
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Possible they know someone who knows someone, alums have a lot of pull at some schools
A
AnatomyGrey12
Since CUSOM hasn't graduated a class yet I doubt that is the the case. Most likely they realized they needed to accept some of those lower stat people if they wanted to make sure to fill their class
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I got accepted to CUSOM, and they offered me a gigantic scholarship, so they could easily attract higher stat people in general by just offering them scholarships. You could get tuition around $20k/year after scholarships!
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I don't want to hijack the thread, but on a side note, I didn't realize DO schools offered scholarships... is this common practice or are there only a few specific schools that have scholarships available?
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All schools and other state and federal organizations will have different types of scholarships. For many, you have to apply and they are of a limited amount. Most are merit-based, primary care based, regional, ethnicity-specific, etc. My school's financial aid office forwards scholarships to us regularly, both from the school and from outside organizations.
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I can confirm that, as while I obliterated three out of four sections, I had one below 125 and one of the aforementioned schools sent me a secondary.
