Importance of MCAT Score in Medical School Applications

Without a doubt, the most important factor for you would be your MCAT score. Many medical schools do not even consider applicants whose MCAT scores fall well below their averages. Other important factors are letters of recommendations, personal statements, and extracurricular activities.

Schools seek the best students. In the health sciences, this means those who are more likely to complete programs and become certified to enter clinical practice. The MCAT provides clues on which students are likely to drop out, finish on time, and pass their licensing exams on the first try. if your MCAT score is too low, you might not make it to the interview stage.

The MCAT score would be most important in determining whether you get invited to an interview at a medical school. Medical schools only give interviews to applicants who they believe are highly qualified. Once invited to the interview, an applicant’s performance at the interview seems to be the most important factor that affects admissions.

The MCAT is a crucial enough exam to warrant strategizing, including investment in study aids and restructuring your schedule (e.g,. taking one fewer course in your final semester) to free up additional study time.

Here are two tips for MCAT Prep:

1. Plan to Study a Lot: View the MCAT as the mother of all finals, drawing on everything you’ve learned in all your science courses. It’s never too early to start reviewing, and hard to study too much. Most students prep between 200 and 300 hours. Inadequate preparation is cited as the main reason that forces 50 percent of students to retake the test.
2. Explore All Study Aid Options: Experts recommend using a variety of study aids. Take diagnostic tests that can give you a sense of what the MCAT is like and where you need work.

You need to start learning for the MCAT, a little bit, everyday!

Generally every student has done some kind of sport competitively. You have probably heard of the phrase ‘getting into the zone’. You have probably gotten into the zone a number of times. How did you do that? How were you able to focus for a large amount of time without distraction?

MCAT preparation is exactly like training for a race. You have to have the same kind of dedication and drive and endurance. If you don’t focus when you practice, you will not be able to focus when you race. Granted, I have heard that many people race differently than they practice, but keep in mind that is not the NORM. The norm is to perform well in practice and then to perform even better during a race.