<p>so in high school i performed quite poorly on the SATs. I do have a strong conviction to get a great score on the MCAT. Is there a correlation between the two tests? If I did poorly on the SAT does that imply that I will do poorly on the MCAT?</p>
<p>Suggests that the most likely outcome is a poor one, but this is not by any means a foolproof prediction.</p>
<p>SDN did a little informal study where people posted their SAT and MCAT scores. General trend was obviously the better you did on the SAT, better you did on the MCAT. However, like BDM said, it’s not any sort of law. There was at least one instance of significant improvement (as well as instances of a significant dropoff).</p>
<p>wow that really sucks…would you suggest that I improve my scores on the SATs? I know that it won’t matter for med school but since the MCAT does, would you suggest I retake the SATs to boost my performance on the MCAT?</p>
<p>What? No!</p>
<p>tompi90, I think you need to work on your critical thinking skills big time. I have no idea how you have arrived to your last conclusion from the comments that have been posted so far.</p>
<p>wow yea sorry about that…that post didnt really make any sense…just ignore it. I guess I was just freaking out. I really want to do well on the MCAT but am just really worried now since I bombed the SATs…</p>
<p>Dont worry…SATs dont measure anything…IMO, it measures how much you study for them, as any test would. I scored a measly 1870 my first time, but by studying all summer I got a 2280. I imagine it would be the same as the MCAT…even though getting top scores is much more difficult since I believe a 40 is 99.5 percentile. Just prep like crazy for them. That’s what I am gonna do when I get to college. :)</p>
<p>^ Very true. It’s just a measure of how much you study for them. First time round 2020. Then i was like hmm, maybe i should study a little more – then retook it the next time it was offered a few months after, and got a 2250. If you’re really worried about your SAT score for college-purposes than i would suggest you study more and retake it, but if you think the score is fine the colleges you would to attend, then do not retake it.</p>
<p>It’s not JUST a measure of how hard you study, although of course that comes into play.</p>
<p>It seems to me that many high school students do not study much (e.g., less than 20 hours) and still get relatively good SAT scores, but most premeds study extensively for MCAT yet still a lot of them score poorly.</p>
<p>A single data point here: A 2350 SAT scorer is currently working hard to improve his MCAT score from 29. It is how hard MCAT is! It is rumored that many students may study 4 hours a day for a couple of months before taking MCAT. I doubt there is anybody here who studies SAT with such an intensity.</p>
<p>How about someone who did not do so well on SAT, but did much better on ACT? There are a lot of kids like that.</p>
<p>There have been dozens of SAT-ACT vs MCAT studies done on SDN. They all basically come to the general conclusions that there is a lot of deviation. Plenty of 33-36 ACT kids rocking the MCAT, plenty getting below at 32. I agree that discipline in your studying has a big effect on your score, though ability is also another big factor. </p>
<p>The thing that people need to realize is that a lot changes since you take the SAT or ACT, but also that these tests are not very similar to the MCAT. For one, the priority of basic math and english is more in application rather than straight up testing like in high school exams. I believe the ACT has a science section, but I do not recall one in the SAT I. This is another big difference. Also, almost all of the MCAT is passage based. It is too early to start worrying about the MCAT, and using high school exams to predict is not worth it. Work hard, do a major that you enjoy. Getting a good GPA should be your priority now, not the MCAT.</p>
<p>In addition to what’s been said, I just want to say one thing.
Agree with BDM here. I think that a relatively smart person can do extremely well on the SAT just by “studying” for it in the traditional sense (doing lots of problems in a prep book).</p>
<p>This will only get you so far on the MCAT. You cannot “study” your way to a great score on the MCAT. Yes, you need to study for it, or you probably won’t do well (it is necessary but not sufficient). But the MCAT is also (I would go so far as to say mostly) a test of verbal comprehension, critical thinking, and reasoning skills. You cannot study for these things. You have to improve them over time by reading a lot, challenging yourself and improving your verbal and logical reasoning abilities. Without these skills, all the studying in the world won’t give you a good MCAT score.</p>
<p>My personal feeling is that if you did not do well on the SAT’s (I’m talking about sub 1800 scores), you are probably not going to do well on the MCAT. If you did well on the SAT’s, you may or may not do well on the MCAT.</p>
<p>^^^^ Its true…</p>
<p>Even if you do well on the Sats, it doesn’t mean you will do well on the mcats…The tests are too different, and a lot of people’s study habits change in 4 years…</p>
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<p>Of course its not JUST a measure of how hard you study. Natural intelligence obviously comes into play, i just thought i didn’t need to state that. You’re obviously not gonna be able to study your way to a 1450+ score if you’re a special ed student, or not the typical AP-class taker. But for the people who are naturally smarter than average students that would generally score above 1300+ without any studying, it is a measure of how hard you study.</p>
<p>Very old study, but research has shown a significant positive correlation between the SAT and MCAT:</p>
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<p>Basically all this shows is that SAT and MCAT measure similar things. Most likely, a large portion of the overlap can be attributed to both tests having a strong verbal component that crosses the subtests (that is, even the quant section on the SAT and BS & PS sections of the MCAT require verbal reasoning and comprehension skills). Additionally, the MCAT’s PS section is quite heavy on problem-solving, which is also present in the quant section. This does not mean improving your SAT score will help you. It simply indicates that you can get a reasonable prediction of the range of MCAT scores in which you are likely to score by looking at your SAT score. It would be reasonable to assume MCAT scores may correlate even more closely with the SAT’s “big brother” (the GRE), which of course, correlates very closely with the SAT. I would also guess the ACT may have a more direct correlation with the MCAT as the ACT was designed to test knowledge gained in HS along w/ potential, whereas the SAT is only meant to gauge your “academic potential.” Furthermore, the ACT’s use of a science section could have some correlation with the MCAT’s PS & BS sections; however, I have not seen any data to support (or refute) this.</p>
<p>^^^well then glad to know im pretty much screwed. Is it even worth taking?</p>
<p>Dude. You’re not making any sense. Just because you do poorly on the SAT does not mean that you will do poorly on the MCAT. You’re acting like this is something you have no control over. Even though there is a correlation, correlation does not indicate causation. You can probably still do well on the MCAT, you may just need to work a little harder at it. Just because you made X score on your SAT does not, in any way, mean that you absolutely WILL score Y on your MCAT.</p>