What are the criteria for advancing to the medical school part at UMKC?
I would visit both colleges during the admitted student day and let your child feel the college and draw a conclusion if they see themselves spending 6 ot 8 years there. Don’t discount that subjective factor.
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This is NOT a high bar.
An 80th percentile MCAT score in 2025 was 511.
That was the median MCAT score for ALL med school matriculants (MD) nationally in 2025.
Hofstra’s median MCAT for matriculants in 2025 was 518.
A 511 MCAT is in the bottom quarter of the incoming med school class.
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I apologize for the wrong information. I think I mixed it up with Seton Hall bsmd.
This is not first sitting number. Plus some take gap years to study. 80th percentile from first sitting is still a high bar in general…
Actually, yes it is. Most med school applicants do not take the MCAT multiple times. Why? Because med schools tend to average the results if applicants take the MCAT multiple times.
And applicants do not take gap years to study for the MCAT. They take a gap year for reasons (like to earn some money, improve their ECs, improve their GPA by taking additional classes, explore other careers) and study for the MCAT on the side.
Generally most students spend only 12 weeks on intense preparation for the MCAT. (BTW, that’s how long a once-a-week MCAT prep course lasts–12 weeks.)
511 is not a high bar.
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You have to be in the top 20% of the test takers while the students taking that test are far from being average. This is obviously a high bar.
No, you’re not understanding how the MCAT is designed and used.
The MCAT is scored on a bell curve with 500 being around the 50th percentile. (Actually 502 was the median in 2025) Only the right hand half of the bell curve is used for med school application purposes.
The absolute lowest score for any kind of a hope at getting into the newest, least competitive, “help, we can’t fill our class” DO school is a 500-502.
The test is designed so that if you can’t score a 500 you shouldn’t be going to med school at all because your risk of failing out is VERY high.
The 80 percentile is still on/near the flat-ish top of the bell curve. It’s inside 1 Standard distribution of the mean.
The MCAT only become a high bar when the score is outside that comfortable middle section and into the far right hand side of the curve that starts to slope downward and is greater than 1 SD from the mean. That’s what test design tells us.
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Think of it this way. Your child isn’t being asked to score better than 80%of the students taking test. Because the bottom 50% has no hope of going to med school so they don’t actually apply,
He’s being asked to score better than the lowest 30% of those who are actually applying for med school
You do understand that over half the people with a MCAT score above 500 still don’t get into med school, right? There just aren’t enough seats for everyone who wants to go.
There is MCAT-GPA Concordance Table at AMCAS. ( Table A-23)
A student applying to med school with 3.6 GPA and 80th percentile MCAT (511-ish)–which is what Hofstra requires-- has a 60% chance for a med school acceptance.
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You have a very interesting logic. “No hope of going to medical school”? They were obviously hoping to go to medical school and probably had GPA consistent with that goal, but they did not do well on MCAT. So, yes, bottom half will probably have to re-take or adjust the goal. To not get kicked out of this particular BS/MD program, you have to do better than most test-takers from the first attempt and while still taking college classes. It is an additional obstacle compared to other combined programs that have no or lower MCAT requirement.
The choices are fewer for AMCAS schools with a low score.
I have known someone since they were a small kid, who went to a DO school with a 498, completing psychiatry residency and matched to a fellowship this year.
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This is similar to investment. High gain is usually associated with high risk. Different people have different tolerance on risk.UMKC (no mcat, low gpa requirement) , Hofstra(mcat 511 and gpa) , Pitt gap is much higher to mcat 517. All depends on personal taste.
True! Personal taste AND personal strengths AND goals!
Psychiatry residency after DO is not a big surprise. I recently met cardiothoracic surgeon who was Caribbean Medical School graduate! That surprised me!
Does anyone know when FIU will release their decisions? Interviews concluded early March and decision day is almost here. 5 spots max.
You can be anything you want to be after DO I suppose but what I was pointing to is a low MCAT and not getting into an AMCAS school is not the end of the world for medical school aspirant.
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Did anyone else get into Syracuse-Upstate BSMD this cycle? Can’t find anyone else who did!
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Sorry - the thread was relatively inactive. Had been more active on Reddit but it is a mess there.
Seems like Reddit is more popular now a days
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Yes, more active.
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