MCAT Score Weighing

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LoveDocMD

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So I know the new MCAT format weighs in your competence for Behavioral sciences, but will some schools still take into consideration a stronger PS/Bio/Verbal score than Psychology and Sociology?

For example:

If I get
PS:130 CARS: 126 Bio:130 Psych/Soc: 126
to add up to a 512 (32 equivalent on old format)
or for the old format
PS: 13 CARS:9 Bio: 13 to add up for a 35.

I know some ADCOMS will see this score as definite 512/32/88 percentile, but will some other schools see this as an old 35?

Thanks!

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There's been some lengthy discussion of this on the MCAT board. It is confusing, especially during this and maybe next cycle, on how adcoms weigh the psych section. I would say going forward, it is best to be conservative. Act like your score is a 32 and plan accordingly. Hope that the high sciences are admired but just don't speculate about it or make any decisions assuming you have a 35.
 
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No. The total percentage will be standard. Presume a 32 in this scenario.
Nobody has time to make their own special calculations and AMCAS (and others) will use the total score as well as the breakdowns to compare schools to each other.
Individual evaluators may put more weight on one section over another but this is unpredictable.
 
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At my school, we look at the Bio score, and the total in Adcom meetings. That's it.


No. The total percentage will be standard. Presume a 32 in this scenario.
Nobody has time to make their own special calculations and AMCAS (and others) will use the total score as well as the breakdowns to compare schools to each other.
Individual evaluators may put more weight on one section over another but this is unpredictable.
 
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At my school, we look at the Bio score, and the total in Adcom meetings. That's it.

What's the minimal Bio score/individual sectionpercentile you "require" for admittance?
 
The larger concern after these first couple of cycles with the new test will be whether the AAMC succeeded in its stated goal with the new scale: to alleviate scrutiny and discrimination on both the part of applicants and adcoms on the basis of a few single points and shift the focus instead to competency (in the AAMCs words, 500+ = 'competent'). My skepticism is on 30000% and I predict that granular differences between scores (especially those few points which distinguish the 93rd from the 100th %-ile) will still be something that is fixated on and the admissions numbers will probably reflect this (e.g Baylor's average goes from 36 to 516 or whatever instead of dropping to represent more than just 5% of the MCAT testing pool in their 50th %-ile). Ultimately, the inclusion of percentiles undoes any presumption that the MCAT will ever be evaluated as a competence-based exam and for this reason you should assume your percentile ranking is far more important than any score you might receive. Once you create a metric you can't expect evaluators to ignore it or substitute it for a similar, outdated metric.
 
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Me personally? Bio8 or > 125 on the new exam. My Adcom has also rejected people I haven't interviewed with poor Bio scores.

To follow up Lucca's post, our Adcom is starting to look at and use percentiles, but I suspect that once we get familiarity with the new exam, we'll use the new subsection score in the same we we looked for 10/10/10 and higher as the ideal.


What's the minimal Bio score/individual section percentile you "require" for admittance?
 
For reference I got:

PS:129 CARS: 129 Bio:127 Psych/Soc: 124
adds up to 509
If anyone converted it the way you suggest it would looks like:
PS:12 CARS: 11 Bio:10 to add up to 33

I had 1 DO interview this year, while obviously a lot of factors come in to play, it suggests this score is most likely looked at as a 509/29/80th percentile than a 33.
 
Actually, Dean on the admissions committee of the state MD school I work at told me they view a 30=509 for whatever that's worth.
 
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The larger concern after these first couple of cycles with the new test will be whether the AAMC succeeded in its stated goal with the new scale: to alleviate scrutiny and discrimination on both the part of applicants and adcoms on the basis of a few single points and shift the focus instead to competency (in the AAMCs words, 500+ = 'competent'). My skepticism is on 30000% and I predict that granular differences between scores (especially those few points which distinguish the 93rd from the 100th %-ile) will still be something that is fixated on and the admissions numbers will probably reflect this (e.g Baylor's average goes from 36 to 516 or whatever instead of dropping to represent more than just 5% of the MCAT testing pool in their 50th %-ile). Ultimately, the inclusion of percentiles undoes any presumption that the MCAT will ever be evaluated as a competence-based exam and for this reason you should assume your percentile ranking is far more important than any score you might receive. Once you create a metric you can't expect evaluators to ignore it or substitute it for a similar, outdated metric.
Having gone through almost a full round of committee meetings, I can confidently say that I saw absolutely no effect toward shifting focus. We've always seen the percentiles and the confidence intervals. The change in format just made 510 the new 30 (yes I know it's 31 but it feels like 30), and 517 the new 35. On the bright side, everything over 520 is lumped together.
 
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Having gone through almost a full round of committee meetings, I can confidently say that I saw absolutely no effect toward shifting focus. We've always seen the percentiles and the confidence intervals. The change in format just made 510 the new 30 (yes I know it's 31 but it feels like 30), and 517 the new 35. On the bright side, everything over 520 is lumped together.

Your last two sentences are interesting because I feel they reveal precisely how strong the psychology of thresholds and precise, round numbers is.
 
At my school, we look at the Bio score, and the total in Adcom meetings. That's it.

Really? That is interesting. Any idea if that is a practice at other schools? I've been under the impression CARS is fairly important. I could understanding favoring bio of chem/phys.
 
My last II, I got asked why my Psych/CARS sections were so low.. Meanwhile I had a 127 in both... so interpret that how you want.
 
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