<p>it's been stated several times on this forum that medical school is insanely difficult to get in to. i don't disagree with this notion...after all less than 50% of all applicants don't get in to medical school each year. so does it really matter which schools you apply to?? what makes one med. school better than another given each low admission percentage?? and also, is it common to get acceptances from more than 1-2 schools or do people generally have to settle for the few that they have been accepted to??</p>
<p>also, i'm trying to get a feel for how difficult the MCAT really is...if one is familiar with biology, chemistry, physics, and verbal reasoning, how difficult can the test really be?? why is it so hard to get a 35+ and why don't more people do so?? maybe i'm out of my mind, but it seems a little overhyped if you're proficient in the basic sciences.</p>
<p>The MCAT is scaled so that the median is always around a 24. It's not about getting a certain number of questions correct. It's about getting more questions correct than everyone else. What makes you think your competition who's also taking the MCAT isn't "proficient" in the basic sciences?</p>
<p>what makes me think this way? the fact that you said the median is a 24. will that even get you in to med. school? do other tests, such as the SAT, work this way (scaled)? there are routinely people getting 1500+ on that, so why isn't the trend the same for the MCAT? and by proficient, i mean "good" at science, if that makes it any more clear...</p>
<p>That only goes back to your initial point about how difficult med school is to get into. The average person will not get into med school. Most of the people who do end up in med school only get 1-3 acceptances. The competition on the MCAT and the SAT's are completely different. Everyone and their grandmother takes the SAT's, often with very little preparation. The only people who take the MCAT are those who survived their school's weeding out process. Most people take some sort of prep course for the MCAT and spend hundreds of hours studying for it. Sure a 1500 and a 38 may be the same percentile wise (both are roughly 98th percentile) but you have to look at the quality of students who are taking the test.</p>
<p>The median is a 24 because the median WILL ALWAYS BE A 24. It is scaled, meaning it doesn't matter how many question YOU get right, it matters what percentile you're in. So if you are in an especially dumb applicant pool, the median will still be a 24, and a smart person will get an excellent score. If you are in a very smart applicant pool, however, the median WILL STILL BE A 24, so you may get a terrible score.</p>
<p>You are implying that people who get a 24 are stupid and not "good" at the basic sciences, but that doesn't mean that at all - a 24 means they're average among all pre-med students taking the exam. That's not dumb by any stretch of the imagination.</p>
<p>i guess i just don't see how it's possible to get a 24/45 on a test that covers everything they've learned in basic college science courses...but that's a personal issue.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> They are not getting a 24 because they don't understand basic science - they are getting a 24 because THE MEDIAN IS SET TO BE A 24. The test-takers do not "get" a 24, their score is assigned to be a 24 based on how many questions they got right.</p>
<p>I'm sorry if the concept of a set median is too confusing for you. But 24 is average, not dumb. If you are an average test-taker, you will get a 24, not because you did poorly on the test, but because 50% of students did better.</p>
<p>It's called a curve. As VO explained, no matter how smart the test takers are or how knowledgeable, the average is still curved so that it is a 24. I'm guessing you're not in college yet or else you would understand this concept. </p>
<p>As for what distinguishes med schools, it's the usual: location (med schools in sought-after areas like NYC, Boston, California get more applicants), prestige (Harvard/Johns Hopkins more prestigous than Suny Upstate), residency (most public med schools and even some private ones are easier to get into if you have residency in that state), etc. Generally, everyone agrees that the quality of every accredited med school is very high so it is quite an accomplishment if you get into any med school.</p>
<p>Why is the number 24 floating around? I took the test in April 2006, and the mean score was a 25.6, with a standard deviation of 6.4. Sorry if I'm missing the point. :/</p>
<p>p reepa, f you look at the breakdown for the April 2006 scores, they basically fall along a bellcurve. I believe that scoring goes something like this: the mean raw score (however many questions you got right) is pegged at a certain final score - say 26. Then, based on the number of standard deviations below or above the mean, all other raw scores are converted into a final score.</p>
<p>What makes the MCAT difficult are three things:</p>
<p>1) Length. Taking a 5-8 hour test is not normal for most people. Endurance and mental focus become big issues for many people.</p>
<p>2) Breadth. Many people simply cannot remember all the pertinent material they learned over 2-3 years. That's why people are practically rabid about reviewing - they've forgotten stuff like the renal system or acid-base titration.</p>
<p>3) Technique. The MCAT arguably tests in a fashion different from most other exams. The way that questions are asked and phrased can throw people off.</p>
<p>In short, the MCAT is NOT impossible to "beat" - with studying and practice, you can score quite well. However, you'd be naive to think that somehow, you'll be the exception to the rule and expect to do well without any work at all.</p>
<p>you guys are touchy, eh? i didn't realize what VO said about the test being a set median SO I APOLOGIZE for any misunderstandings. i do understand the concept of the curve now thanks to you VO. bless your soul.</p>
<p>exactly what i tripped up on shades...it's not that i'm not familiar with the fancy-schmancy curve that you need a B.S. degree to understand. it's that there is conflicting information on whether the median remains consistent from year to year. thanks for the informative and very reasonable answer.</p>
<p>I don't think "we" are touchy - just a little frightened for aspiring pre-meds with unrealistic expectations. It's good to see that you've got your head screwed on straight early in the game. :)</p>
<p>hah i meant to post that before your comment, shades. i am an undergrad pre-med and i just want to know the basics of how everything works and what to expect.</p>
<p>There may be some hair-splitting occurring around the question of median vs. mean. It would not surprise me if the median on the test was set to be a 24 (I don't know; I'm speculating now) but the mean turned out to be a 25.6.</p>
<p>The other thing about the MCAT is that it is not simply a test of whether you know the concepts, but rather, can you use what you know about them, use what is presented in the passage and apply the information in new ways to get the right answer. The MCAT is not regurgitation (the DAT is), but thinking. Not surprisingly, that makes it much more difficult, especially if you go into the exam thinking it's only regurgitation.</p>
<p>Shades hit on a couple of other key points, but I'd like to underscore the fact that most people take gen chem freshman year, organic sophomore year, and then the MCAT in spring of their junior year - you forget a lot of stuff, especially if it is nuanced like much of chemistry is, after several years. Even reviewing the material doesn't mean you have all the details firmly grasped.</p>
<p>The other thing is the format, most people are not used to the passage based format of the test which takes getting used to. Almost every question is essentially like a word problem in math class (something I know a lot of people hate). Like I said before - critical thinking is being tested - and so not only do you have to understand the concept, but you have to use the right information, and know which information is relevant, and the use it correctly.</p>
<p>If you're really not believing what we've said at this point (and you have two current med students who both scored extremely well on the test) pick up a book at the bookstore or on amazon, the ones geared to the old test should be fairly cheap as they are now outdated, and try a few practice tests. You should be able do fine on the Verbal Reasoning sections because they require no outside knowledge.</p>
<p>VR was hard for me because sometimes, I just couldn't tell what the question was asking. Even if I didn't know what I was doing in the science sections, I could at least figure out what I was being asked and what knowledge I should draw on to answer the question. With the VR... sometimes, I just drew blanks.</p>