Why such low scores?

[JohnnyOU]

Most of us on here are used to making mostly A's and a few B's...

I have not taken the MCAT yet but have viewed some of them. For those of you who have taken it, perhaps you can shed some light on this for me.

Why aren't most premeds scoring at least a 12-13 in each section?

What is the main factor that hurt your score:
-- Ran out of time during the exam

-- Got nervous and froze/forgot stuff

-- Didn't know the material well enough

-- Cute girl distracted you

-- Other...

Thanks,
Johnny

ps...This is NOT to offend anyone who scored 8's or 9's... Most of the people on here are smarter than I am, that is why I am really wondering about all this.

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[farley is god]

I think one of the problems is the method in which the MCAT tests us.

I can only speak for myself, but I'm used to reading & memorizing from a book and then answering a series of multiple choice questions based on material that's more or less straight from the book.

The MCAT, on the other hand, expects you to completely understand and be able to project into different situations the material that you learned in your science courses. It's more of a test of understanding than straight up memorization.

 

[DrMom]

Considering that the MCAT score is basically a comparison of how you did vs. how everyone else did, you're not going to have most people making 12-13.

Also, as the previous poster mentioned, the MCAT is a test of understanding and application. It is different from most if not all tests you've taken before.

 

[JohnnyOU]

Thank you Farley...that actually makes sense and I'm glad to hear they do it that way.

Originally posted by DrMom
Considering that the MCAT score is basically a comparison of how you did vs. how everyone else did, you're not going to have most people making 12-13.

DrMom,
How can someone else's mcat score affect mine? While I can see how the essay section is somewhat subjection in its grading, the PS, BS, and VR seem like they would all be completely objective, either my answer is right or wrong.

Maybe I am misunderstanding your statement?

Johnny

 

[DrMom]

Your reported score is not your raw score. It is a scaled score based on how everyone else did on that section on your test day.

 

[ckent]

Yup. Back at my undergrad, we used to speculate on which MCAT the curve would be most favorable in. If you think about it, you probably have a bunch of repeat takers who often score lowly again in the fall. But then you also have your gunner pre-meds that are done with their pre-reqs and taking it in the fall of their junior year to get it out of the way. They would probably bump the curve up. Sigh, I miss my old curve speculating days. We never did figure out which MCAT had the more favorable curve by the way.

 

[Gbemi24]

Originally posted by DrMom
Your reported score is not your raw score. It is a scaled score based on how everyone else did on that section on your test day.

That is not the whole story. The MCAT is a standardized test like the SAT, GRE, LSAT etc. There is a base standard against which all versions of the MCAT are normalized. So theoretically, it is possible for all test takers to score 35+, although it is very unlikely. This is a subtle point that most people do not seem to appreciate when it comes to standardized tests. How well everyone does has little effect on how well you do.

This is precisely why test makers inform the public whenever they renormalize the base standard. For instance, the SAT was renormalized in 1995, so a 1400 is 1980 is not equivalent to a 1400 in 2000, but a 1400 in 1999 is equivalent to a 1400 in 2003. This is true REGARDLESS of the quality of students taking the SAT from year to year. I am sure you have heard of rising mean scores on the SAT and other standardized tests. If the tests were strictly curved, mean scores could not rise.

 

[IndyZX]

Originally posted by ckent
Yup. Back at my undergrad, we used to speculate on which MCAT the curve would be most favorable in. If you think about it, you probably have a bunch of repeat takers who often score lowly again in the fall. But then you also have your gunner pre-meds that are done with their pre-reqs and taking it in the fall of their junior year to get it out of the way. They would probably bump the curve up. Sigh, I miss my old curve speculating days. We never did figure out which MCAT had the more favorable curve by the way.

the difference between a good curve and a bad curve is probably so negligible that it doesnt matter anyway

 

[Gbemi24]

Originally posted by JohnnyOU

Why aren't most premeds scoring at least a 12-13 in each section?

Because the average premed is not a skilled critical thinker.

 

[DrMom]

Originally posted by Gbemi24
That is not the whole story. The MCAT is a standardized test like the SAT, GRE, LSAT etc. There is a base standard against which all versions of the MCAT are normalized. So theoretically, it is possible for all test takers to score 35+, although it is very unlikely. This is a subtle point that most people do not seem to appreciate when it comes to standardized tests. How well everyone does has little effect on how well you do.

Very true, otherwise it wouldn't be a worthwhile "normalizer" for med school adcoms.

There is some slight variation from test date to test date, though. The same raw score one time may very well get you a slightly different scaled score on another test day. Doesn't change much, as you said, but there is subtle variation. Even though it is standardized, they still scale (to a certain extent) based on how the whole group did.

 

[freesolo]

i cant remember what show, but they said the #1 reason they dont do well was arrogance. Doogie Howser maybe?

 

[farley is god]

Originally posted by Abraham
i cant remember what show, but they said the #1 reason they dont do well was arrogance. Doogie Howser maybe?

there's no one I'd rather punch than your typical arrogant pre-med


*unless he's Doogie Howser

 

[vegangirl]

I haven't taken the mcat yet, but so far, the reason, I seem to be having trouble is because of the way the test is compared to my pre-req classes. For example in my physics class, we were allowed to use a calculator, given the formulas and the test was not multiple choice. However, the problems were definately MUCH harder. In studying now for the mcat, I find that I must "break out" of my normal study habits for physics (ie solving the problem to completion, showing all my work etc.) However, this does not explain why people dont get 13s in biol and the verbal. I'm not sure why people dont do better there, I'll need to think about it more.

 

[bigdan]

Vegangirl-
I second that notion!
I also think that I suck at multiple choice tests...rumor has it that the SAT is a reasonable predictor of success for MCAT success...bummer...at least I did well on my OT board exam...
Good luck to all.

dc

 

[farley is god]

Originally posted by bigdan
rumor has it that the SAT is a reasonable predictor of success for MCAT success

noooooo
bad rumor

 

[Wrigleyville]

practice practice practice

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

Originally posted by DrMom
Considering that the MCAT score is basically a comparison of how you did vs. how everyone else did, you're not going to have most people making 12-13.

Also, as the previous poster mentioned, the MCAT is a test of understanding and application. It is different from most if not all tests you've taken before.

bingo
its standardized and curved, to get a 12 you have to do better by far than those who are in those illustrious "mostly A's" shoes. this is not an easy task. there it is.