<p>Hey, just to gauge the difficulty of the MCAT, for those who have took it, can you please post what you got on the MCAT and the SAT.</p>
<p>I know the comparison is a bit off as MCAT and SAT test very different subjects (expect some parts that are not sci). But I just want to get a sense of the difficulty.</p>
<p>For example, if someone scored 2100 (approx. top 5%) on the SAT would they score around 36 on the MCAT (which is also around top 5%).</p>
<p>One more question, I flipped through a MCAT prep book and noticed that the science stuff is mainly on an intro level. Am I correct about this? If so, does it mean it is around AP level (ex. AP Physics).</p>
<p>Usually not. The population of test takers are entirely different.</p>
<p>For comparison’s sake: the average MCAT score of med school applicants at the very best colleges (MIT, Duke, Princeton, etc.) is approximately a 32. These applicants are not just average students at these colleges. They are above average students, students who’ve survived orgo and intro bio and physics, etc. The average SAT score of entering freshmen at these colleges is around 2200 so it wouldn’t surprise me if the average SAT score the MCAT takers at these schools is even higher.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to compare SAT and MCAT scores due to the fact that:
they test different aspects of intelligence and critical reading;
they are taken several years apart;
they depend on innate intelligence, test preparation, and select memory recall. </p>
<p>From personal experience, I think it is easier to prepare for and dramatically improve scores on the MCAT. Case in point: one of my best friends from university had similar SAT scores and GPA as me but prepared for the MCAT in a drastically different way and received a significantly different score (I’m talking like 10 pts difference).</p>
<p>I have one more question, since the MCAT is mainly intro level science, when is the optimal time to take the test? Right after you take the intro classes? Like sophomore year? </p>
<p>I had a friend who took it in freshman year and he got a 40 (but that kid is a genius and he took a special program in university that covers all the sciences).</p>
<p>No correlation. There is correlation between amount and effectiveness of prep. and score in both tests. So if you worked very hard and effective to prep. for MCAT you will have higher score than if you did not work hard, no matter what was your SAT/ACT/HS GPA/college GPA.</p>
This sounds like a good idea initially (after all, everything is fresh in your mind from your classes), but I would recommend holding off on taking it until junior or senior year. This way, if you decide to delay your application by a year or two, you will have some flexibility.</p>
<p>Good numbers, I should have said a significant % of the applicants but NOT a majority. I think 1/3 (35%) sub-30 is encouraging for students that are smart but not the ‘wiz’ type.</p>
<p>Agree, no correlation. MCAT needs huge effort in preparation. Here is a strong correlation - level of preparation and MCAT score for all across of reasonable GPA range, asuming that people with low GPA will not even try, since high GPA is also reguired for admission.</p>
<p>A correlation DOES exist and IT IS significant. It’s around r=0.4-0.5 (depending on subtest). Research is a good idea when proposing that there is/is not a correlation (or anytime one comments on hard data).</p>
<p>^According to what you are saying if one got 2400 on SAT, one can take MCAT without prep and get a good score. I do not think so. Correlation exists only because people who work hard preparing for SAT will be working even much harder preparing for MCAT. If they do not, MCAT score will not be enough. So, what I am saying is that correlation is not taking into account level of preparation by certain group. That is where real correlation exists. And it is applicable to perfect GPAs. Study that you mentioned might steer someone in a wrong direction, because it is measuring the wrong correlation. Awesome SAT will not produce a decent MCAT. The measure of it is score for first practice test.</p>
<p>SAT: 2050
ACT: 32 (I think that’s a 2130 or something?)
MCAT: 36P</p>
<p>I studied very little for all 3 tests (a day or two for SAT, none for ACT, and 2 or 3 weeks of solid studying for MCATS - i did take all the practice tests though over the course of a summer). I think people tend to overestimate the MCAT because of all the things that people say about it. Usually the people who complain of how hard the MCAT is are the ones who dont do well on it, and the people who do well tend to stay silent because they have nothing to complain about. This leads to the belief that OMGMCATSOHARD, but if you truly look at the questions some of them are disgustingly easy. While it is hard to score perfect on the MCAT (or nearly impossible), that is mostly due to the few “super hard” questions that the mcat has in each section. However if you dont count those (which may constitute only around 10% of the test), then the rest of the test is stuff you should already know off the top of your head as a bio major or even a chem major as long as you’ve taken “general” bio, chem, physics, and ochem.</p>
<p>If you have the smarts, memory, drive, and common sense to get an outstanding score on the SAT, you’re sure to do well on the MCAT unless you’ve lost all that in 4 years of college partying.
Id say there is a clear correlation, but not a very strong one. If you got a 2100 on the SAT, you’re maybe in the 95th percentile of people who take the SATs (aka the whole nation). However, the people who even take the MCAT at all are PROBABLY the top 30% of the country, and so a high percentage on the MCAT is alot harder to obtain than a high percentage on the SAT</p>
<p>There are always those geniuses out there whose need for a prep course or a long home study is out of the question.
Well, I ain’t one of those, and surely 95% of the population isn’t .
so, what you really need is a good sit-down of a few months, in which you start practicing for the MCAT. first, grab what ever the web offers for free. Evaluate your current stand by using these free practice tools, and then decide on the right way for you. Remember that most of the material covered in the MCAT is uni/college based, apart for the verbal and writing sections, which demand a serious workout independently. So, actually I would try and use the present material I have at home for the science sections, add some EK’s books and maybe AAMc’s 7-10, and use testprep-online.com’s verbal and writing guides.
We ain’t all geniuses rainbowbrite, so think about helping people with what they’ve got , not what you’ve been given by mother nature.</p>
<p>I think that all comments have been valuable. One of my twin boys has just got his SAT scores. He has prepared for the past few months. Fortunately, they are very good for our state school. Frankly, I was surprised since his practice tests have been unstable. For MCAT, I would rather believe that it (especially the verbal) is going to be very difficult since there is really only one shot. Reading The Economics and The New Yorker has been his #1 task during this summer. Can’t afford taking any chances. I have also found the following pre-med / MCAT info from our state school’ web site. I hope that he can keep those in mind when he takes the college courses next year. </p>
<p>"Start preparation for the MCAT early. In fact, think of all your coursework as helping you prepare for the MCAT. Look at sample MCAT problems in biology, chemistry, and physics while you are taking the premed coursework in these areas. Consider taking biochemistry or physiology to help you prepare further for the MCAT.</p>
<p>You should use your undergraduate education to become a skilled, critical reader. Take some challenging, advanced-level coursework in the humanities or social sciences to give you exposure to theoretical writings in different disciplines. This will help you in the verbal reasoning section of the MCAT. For the verbal reasoning section of the MCAT you need to be able to read a densely-written theoretical text in some unfamiliar field and make sense of it. The best way to prepare for this aspect of the MCAT is to be widely-read in a range of disciplines. Be a little adventuresome and take challenging courses in a wide range of subjects.</p>
<p>The MCAT exam is not just a test of your knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, and English. Rather, the MCAT is a test of your reasoning skills, and your ability to independently apply the principles you have learned through your coursework. Your preparation for the exam must go beyond review of the content of the required courses in the sciences. You must develop your reasoning skills to an advanced degree to be successful in mastering the MCAT."</p>
<p>^Well, here is my D’s comments (just took MCAT and got good results): it is a test of your knowledge in biology, Orgo, chemistry, physics…, she could not improve her Verbal, no matter what she did (the Economist…). She got very lucky to get her highest practice Verbal score on her actual test. Verbal has stayed the same all during her 5 months prep. fluctuating 2 points. Also, there is no reason prepare earlier than about 4-5 months before taking test. And some people are saying it needs to be shorter than that. Everybody is different though. It looks like if Verbal has always been the lowest, it is impossible to improve situation. So, you pray that score is reasonably even between sections, but it is more a matter of luck.</p>
<p>I believe that all posters are providing comments based upon their best assessment. I would rather believe that the SAT CR could be an indicator for MCAT VR. For example, a student with SAT CR of 780 may get a MCAT VR of 12 assuming he/she maintains a steady progress. For students entering college or HS senior year, strengthening the reading ability should be a top goal if their SAT CR score is below 750 especially for those aiming a science major for their pre-med.</p>
<p>since critical reasoning and evrbal reasoning do not demand any knowledge cabes prerequisites, but rather pure cmmon sense and logic, it’s best to start practicing them. There is so much free content online that can help in the prep journey, all you gotta do is get yourself seated and learn new thinking concepts. websites like testprep-online and kaplan offer some free practice, so it’s best starting there. after all I think the verbal sections are the easiest to study for, since they do not rely on prior knowledge and they are excellent tools to develop creative thinking concepts.</p>
<p>I just asked my three boys (Twin boys entering HS senior and one HS sophomore) to try this test on paper. My twin boys got SAT CR scores around 700 while their younger brother scores usually higher on most practice tests. He serves as the tie breaker and helps with the discussion during their SAT preparation. They might have taken a little more time than what’s allowed.</p>
<p>They got -4, -4, and -6, respectively. Their observations were:</p>
<p>1) MCAT CR does not provide line numbers in the passage - more time consuming.<br>
2) MCAT VR’s passages are not necessarily more difficult than SAT’s CR.
3) MCAT’s questions are more difficult since they contain multiple possibilities.
4) MCAT’s answers are more convincing than SAT CR’s answers.
5) There are 3 incorrect answers in the answer sheet when they compared with the explanation sheets. </p>
<p>They usually argue about SAT’s CR even after reviewing the explanations. For MCAT, they just reviewed the answers and agree with the explanations. </p>
<p>Is Practice test #10 especially easy? Do these observations make sense to you?</p>