Why is it impossible to score 45??

[Ahmed786]

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I have heard that it is "nearly" impossible to score a 45 on the MCAT but if one were to get every single question right, why could it not happen? I have seen multiple instances of people scoring 15's on one or two sections but never on all 3. Also according to these stats, http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined06.pdf less than 0.0% of people even score a 43. Does that mean there are some years where no one can achieve this high of a score?

 

[JacobSilge]

1) It's hard to get every question right!
2) Since the exam is normalized, only the top 0.1% will be allowed to get a 15 on a given section. In many administrations too many people will achieve a perfect score making it impossible to have a 99.9 percentile. Therefore the highest score would be a 14 (this most commonly occurs on the Verbal reasoning). Now that the exam is computerized this is probably more common.

 

[QofQuimica]

I have heard that it is "nearly" impossible to score a 45 on the MCAT but if one were to get every single question right, why could it not happen? I have seen multiple instances of people scoring 15's on one or two sections but never on all 3. Also according to these stats, http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/examineedata/combined06.pdf less than 0.0% of people even score a 43. Does that mean there are some years where no one can achieve this high of a score?

Not necessarily. If fewer than 0.05% of test-takers score that high, then the percentage achieving the score will be rounded down to 0.0%. This happened in August 2004, when I took the MCAT and scored a 43. I asked the AAMC how many people scored 42s, 43s, 44s, and 45s for that administration. They told me that there were two people who scored 43s. But if you look at the stats for August 2004, it rounds down to 0.0% of test-takers getting a 43 because 2/35,000 is less than 0.05%.

When it comes to applying, having an MCAT score this high is not the boon many premeds assume it must be. There are many factors that play into whether an adcom selects a particular applicant, of which MCAT score is only one. My personal opinion is that once you have achieved a 35 (which puts you in the top 5% of all test-takers), doing even better on the MCAT is not particularly helpful as far as making you a more competitive applicant. Most matriculated medical students do not have 40+ MCAT scores, even at the top ranked schools.

to everyone applying. 🙂

 

[MattD]

You can get a 45. You USED to not be able to, back when the top score for VR was
"13-15". At that time the highest score you could get would have been "43-45". Luckily they realized how stupid that scoring system was....

 

[Ahmed786]

You can get a 45. You USED to not be able to, back when the top score for VR was
"13-15". At that time the highest score you could get would have been "43-45". Luckily they realized how stupid that scoring system was....

Is there any website or article regarding this?

 

[MattD]

Is there any website or article regarding this?

No clue. If you really need source verification on what was basically a historical observation, try google.

 

[gary yoghurt]

This thread makes me want to punch someone.

 

[MattD]

This thread makes me want to punch someone.

Please let it be me

 

[Dienekes]

Please let it be me

Hmmm....I didn't have you pegged as a masochist.

 

[MattD]

Hmmm....I didn't have you pegged as a masochist.

Thank you sir may I have another?

 

[Dienekes]

Thank you sir may I have another?

 

[Ahmed786]

This thread makes me want to punch someone.

Hhahaha Its more just out of curiousity than shooting for that score

 

[MattD]

Hhahaha Its more just out of curiousity than shooting for that score

Hey man, shoot for it. More power to you if you can get it 🙂

 

[da8s0859q]

This thread makes me want to punch someone.

Please let it be me

The ****?

Think Q covered it best (and nicely done on that score, btw...).

 

[secants]

Hmm not sure about 45 but on the last page of my examcrackers book, they have an interview with someone who scored 43 solely using examcrackers;

 

[MattD]

Hmm not sure about 45 but on the last page of my examcrackers book, they have an interview with someone who scored 43 solely using examcrackers;

i'm sure he went on and on about how it was only possible because he used EC....


I'll believe it only if the guy says he didn't take any of the prereq classes, only studied EC for the 3-4 months most people study for the MCAT, and made a 43. Otherwise it wasn't "only" with ec, and they're shortchanging, oh I dunno, 8 semesters of classroom prep....