==paki==

Getting a 45 is too overrated. I mean heck, it's a test, and if there are tens of people out there who go in cold and score a perfect 2400 or a perfect 36, i'm sure there a few who can or do score a 45 on the MCAT, with studying or lack thereof. Think about it.

bluedevilmike

Scoring 2400 on the SAT is much easier than a 36 on the MCAT, much less a 45. Ask anybody who's ever taken one.

beefs

Seriously not doubting your credibility or knowledge, but I'm pretty sure a much higher percentage of test takers score a 36 on the MCAT than a 2400 on the SATs

bluedevilmike

Very different pools of students. Try it.

norcalguy

A 36 is 96th percentile. A 2400 is 99+th percentile. So, 4% more people score a 36.

It's hard to go by percentiles when the two test taking populations aren't similar and prepare differently. Something like 70% of the MCAT test taking population has taken a prep course. I personally studied around 8 weeks on an almost full-time basis for the MCAT. For the SAT, I took 4-5 practice tests with no studying. That was the extent of my preparation. I still scored lower on MCAT percentile wise.

Bigredmed

I scored a 34 on the ACT which was 99th percentile without a second of studying. Hell the previous time I took it I stayed out until about 11:30, then argued with my mom for an hour and a half about how I should have been home earlier and still scored a 33.

Meanwhile I studied for almost 10 weeks for the MCAT, took 5 full length practice tests and barely scored well enough to become an instructor for Kaplan.

beefs

whatd you get

ginnyvere

Yeah, the percentile for my MCAT score (which is, by all accounts, pretty respectable) is points lower than my percentile for SAT. You've got to remember that a fair amount of the people who scored in the top 10% on the SAT are going to go on to take the MCAT whereas not as many people who scored in the 30th% on the SAT will go on to take the MCAT.

bluedevilmike

Which is to say, "barely" ended up with a spectacular percentile.

john1096

i too was searching for this.. and reach there...!
For MCat Percentiles and about syllabus

mom2collegekids

I'm reading this whole thread....

[MCAT is] based on how many questions you get right (no penalty for guessing). Simple as that. How the # correct translates into a scaled score out of 15 for each section, as I said before, depends on everyone else's performance. If it was an easy test and everyone's getting a large number of questions correct, then the curve will be harsher.


So, is that why no gets a perfect MCAT? Is it because if there are some people who get all questions right, the curve won't let them get a 44/45? (or maybe I'm misunderstanding).

Each section has its own curve, right?


The most important thing is balance. If you must have an imbalance, it's probably better to have a high verbal score.


Is that because it will suggest strong ability to communicate.

I get the need for "balance"....but if you have imbalance, but all scores are good, is imbalance such a huge deal? I mean, if you have a 11, 11, 14 .....is that "imbalance"? or if you have a 10, 10, 14? (BTW...no particular order for these scores)

MiamiDAP

As far as I can see, if list of Med. schools is carefully prepared with realistic expectations, any score 30+ (balanced, unbalanced) will result in at least one or more acceptances (without other hooks, like URM status or saving humanity from AIDS, just average applicant with regular EC's and GPA=3.5+ ). I believe that the key is list of schools that matches applicant well and great advisory from pre-med advisor/ pre-med committee.

bluedevilmike

No, all questions right would lead to a 45. Nobody gets 45s because that's basically impossible.

The main reason is that it's broken up into three relatively independent subsections. In each section, a very small number of people get 15s. The number of people who get 15s in all three sections is... well, usually it's zero.

bluedevilmike

In general, it's slightly better to get a 12, 12, 12 than an 11, 11, 14. But that's not a big deal.

The major problem would be something like a 15, 15, 6. That looks like an awesome score (a 36), but actually I think that kid would probably get rejected everywhere.

shades_children

I would think a 10/10/14 would be acceptable. The real issue is making sure to score a 10 or higher on each section. Once you drop below a 10, and certainly below a 9, in any section of the test, you're in real trouble, now matter what your overall score.