<p>I know that it is too early to be thinking about this but I will be a senior in HS next year and right now I am struggling with getting a high ACT/SAT score. I've checked the AAMC websites for average MCAT scores and on average most people had scores in the upper 20s. Will my average score of an MCAT of say, 29, derail me from attending a top 20-30 med school if I have a high GPA and great application?
Again I know this is early, but I have been wondering about this for over a year now.</p>
<p>Lay it off. You first have to succeed in college. Vast majority who started as pre-meds (about 85%) never apply to Med. School.
After saying that, 29 is not enough, you are correct. I do not mean that it is not enough for the top 30 Med. Schools, I mean, it is not enough.<br>
On another hand, the fact that you struggle with ACT/SAT tells that you have taken it without prep. You got to prepare! MCAT score totally depend on your preparation efforts, which are enourmous in comparison to the ACT/SAT preparation.</p>
<p>I’ve actually prepped for over a 100 hours for this test because I am an average student, which is why I am concerned with taking the MCAT. Anyways, thanks for your helps MiamiDAP, but I am clairvoyant that scoring in the low 30s on the MCAT will be a challenge for me.</p>
<p>First, you’re going to have to accept that getting into a top 20-30 school is extremely difficult, much more than most people think. Unless you’re an underrepresented minority, you will need to have stellar scores and achievements to land even an interview, let alone an acceptance. I can’t begin to tell you how uninformed premeds at are. I heard one say, “I have a 3.4. At this point, I’m not really looking to get into a top 10 institution.” With that GPA, it is unlikely that he will even get into a medical school in the U.S. </p>
<p>If you really want to become a doctor but don’t test well, you’ve got a rough journey ahead. I’d recommend trying your luck at BS/MD programs to try to gain an acceptance, although you’ll need a lot of clinical experience, research, and of course, good test scores. You can get an idea of the types of things medical schools look for and if you don’t get into such a program, you’ll know what you need to focus on in undergrad. You can also start studying for the MCAT early if you’re very passionate about medicine. You’re going to have to get good scores though, as even after the MCAT you’ll have to score well on board exams. Don’t get discouraged, but just know what you’re getting into to avoid wasting time.</p>
<p>Thank you, yes I plan on doing a lot of courses after my first quarter or semester in college so I can adjust to the work and I’ll do a lot of my lower-division courses within that year and I will divide my hard prerequisites between sophomore and junior year and I’ll start studying for the MCAT late in sophomore year or early in junior year. Yes I am used to working harder than others to achieve the same grade and I just wanted some insight from fellow CCers to answer my concerns. I will have an upper 3.0 GPA, good extracurricular activities, and I will do special research projects of my own that I will be starting next year in HS. Thank you for your answers, I really appreciate it.</p>
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Well, considering the statistics show that 40-54% student will be accepted with a GPA like that and a 30-32 MCAT, I can understand why they would think that. ;)</p>
<p>Is it just me and my ritzy private school background or does 100 hours of SAT studying sound like not much? At my school 6 months of studying for the SAT was standard (with many people putting in closer to a year) so at that rate you’re talking about less than 20 hours/month or less than 5 hours/week.</p>
<p>It also could be because I’ve taken step 1 where I would roughly estimate that I studied ~500 hours in a 6 week window so it’s warped my memory/perspective.</p>
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<p>:confused: First, I believe your data is old(both GPA and MCAT scores are rising every year). Second, any data that shows students with a 3.4 gpa having a reasonable chance of acceptance to a US medical school needs to be understood in context. At these GPA levels applicant numbers drop off significantly. This is partially because of increased institutional “screening” that takes place. In this GPA range, many students will never get the chance to apply. The result is that the cohort that does apply in this GPA range is more likely to have other characteristics (“hooks”) that make them more competitive than they may appear. Notwithstanding these dynamics, the chances are still poor for these students. In the latest cycle, there were only about 1,400 matriculants in the 3.2-3.39 GPA range across all MCAT scores. (an acceptance rate of well under 25% :(</p>
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<p>At my public high school (perhaps almost an order of magnitude larger than yours) I don’t know of anyone who studied for the SAT. I certainly didn’t. I was much too busy :)</p>
<p>100 hours of studying for the MCAT is nothing. But more importantly, it is way too soon to be worried about it. You have your major to get through and a lot of life experiences that will modify your ability to score well on that test! I understand your concerns but live your life until you are about to take the exam for real.</p>
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I guess if you think 2010-2012 is old, then you might be right.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/2012factstable25-4.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/download/321518/data/2012factstable25-4.pdf</a></p>
<p>Now if your GPA is 3.3 or below I would be concerned as that is what many people believe to be the GPA filter cut-off for application rejections.</p>
<p>^ is there any particular reason you selected that table instead of this one?</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf</a></p>
<p>And as I said earlier, the numbers are moving. If you have access, compare this 10-12 aggregate table to 12 only, and even for this aggregated data the acceptance rate for 3.4-3.59 is only 38.8% while the rate for 3.2-3.39 is a dismal 26.7%. (and that’s IF you get to apply at all)</p>
<p>you do know that kdogg was quoting numbers for an MCAT of 30-32, right? He never said it was the categories you’re talking about.</p>
<p>Using the table you linked, I see 38% for GPA 3.2-3.39 and 54% for 3.4-3.59. Obviously he rounded up from 38 to 40 but otherwise it’s the exact numbers he posted.</p>
<p>P.S. I want to know what goes on in the minds of the 43 people of who applied with a GPA/MCAT worse than 2.0/14</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses.
@i<em>wanna</em>be_Brown I studied for over 100 hours last summer and I was studying for 2-3 hours about every other weekend before AP Exams started to come up, and I have started studying for it this summer as well, I mentioned that I had studied 100+ hours to indicate that I have indeed prepared significantly for it, but I am still studying for it and I am slowly improving. </p>
<p>This thread has come out to become an interesting discussion, but surely good extracurricular activities, LORs, and other miscellaneous items should make a difference between a student with a 3.5 GPA 30-32 MCAT being admitted and not being admitted if they did not have strong ECs, LORs, and such.</p>
<p>Sorry plu, only just now saw the post about your high school. I missed that chip on your shoulder while you were away studying for the MCAT.</p>
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<p>:confused: Try again. </p>
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<p>lol, people with $$ to burn and high hopes</p>
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<p>well thank you. I was actually away because I was spending most of any free time I had in lab. Gotta publish, as I’m sure you know. I took the MCAT in Jan. after only a few weeks of taking practice tests. Life can be much simpler when you don’t have $ to waste on useless test preparation courses. :)</p>
<p>I’ll be going back to lab next week so I’ll be with this dysfunctional family for at least another weekend. 
I hope you can carry on without me.</p>
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That is why I said if your GPA was 3.3 or below it was a different story. I still stand by a 3.4 GPA is not a death sentence for attending MS, provided you get a decent (>30) MCAT and have the requisite EC’s. I also think that making a blanket statement that a 3.4 GPA will unlikely get you in ANY medical school is not necessarily true.</p>
<p>You need to try again. 38.8% and 26.7% are the regardless of MCAT score numbers while KDog was quoting the numbers of people with those GPAs and MCAT scores of 30-32. I guess it did move ever so slightly from the 2008-2010 table vs. the 2010-2012 table but i’d say 37.7 and 52.0 are not far enough away from 40 and 54 to worry about it.</p>
<p>@plumazul, you were too busy to study for the SAT during high school? Doing what exactly?</p>
<p>Anyways, from my experience, I found the MCAT easier to improve on since straight knowledge of subject matter will take you a long way (unlike SAT/ACT where it was just hours of practice that helped). Also, if you can afford it, mcat private tutors can actually be really helpful (something I found was not true for the SAT).</p>
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<p>Other than the many clubs I was active in and taking 10 AP exams in two years(graduated HS in 3 years), I am an active musician. I was constantly performing (solos, concertos, competitions, recitals, band, orchestra, jazz band, pit orch, dixieland jazz, choral acc., several rock bands. and more) and wasn’t too concerned about the SAT since I was a NMF(from a very tough state). :)</p>
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<p>I never had any siblings, but if I had, I suppose I would of been involved in many deep discussions like this. :D</p>
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<p>Never said it was a “death sentence”. There is a continuum here. Nothing magic happens between 3.3 and 3.4 . It’s all about increasing your odds, and starting with a GPA of 3.4 is not somewhere I’d want to be.</p>