(upbeat music)
- Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the channel.
If you're new, I'm Dr. Shemmassian,
and for over 15 years I've been helping students
get into schools like UCLA, Stanford, and Harvard.
Today I'm going to tell what you MCAT score
you need to get into medical school.
After achieving a high GPA, and dedicating
hundreds of hours to extracurricular activities,
you might feel like your med school chances
completely hinge on your MCAT score.
And you have good reason!
In a 2015 survey of medical school admissions officers,
MCAT total score received the highest
mean importance rating of all application
components after GPA.
So given its importance, let's discuss
how the MCAT is organized, why it's important,
and how to achieve the necessary score.
The MCAT is a grueling eight hour test
comprising four sections:
Biology, Chemistry and Physics, Psychology and Sociology,
and CARS, or Reading Comprehension.
It's graded on a 472 to 528 scale,
with a median score of 500.
Most medical school programs require an MCAT score
to be considered for admission.
There are a few reasons why admissions committees
weigh your MCAT score heavily.
First, the MCAT is a standardized test,
which enables reliable comparison of all applicants.
One of the limitations of using GPA
as a metric for comparison,
is it doesn't account for differences in major
or undergraduate institution.
For example, a 3.9 earned as an art history major,
while impressive, is not viewed in the same light
as a 3.9 earned as a physics major.
Similarly, a 3.7 earned at Princeton
will carry more weight with admissions committees
than a 3.7 from say, Penn State.
Secondly, in a recent study conducted by the AAMC,
correlations between total MCAT scores
and performance in the first year of medical school
were medium to large.
And if you're an admissions officer,
your job is to identify and admit the students
who are most likely to be successful in your program.
To answer this question, let's take a look
at data provided by the AAMC.
Here's the average MCAT score
for all medical school matriculants,
or students who are accepted to and enrolled
in an MD program over the past three years.
In 2016 to 2017, that average was a 508.7.
2017 to 2018, a 510.4.
And in 2018 to 2019, it was a 511.2.
The first thing you'll notice when looking at this data,
is that most successful MD applicants
typically achieve an MCAT score
at or above the 75th percentile.
So a 507 to 508 plus.
The second thing you'll notice is an upward trend.
The average MCAT score among matriculants is rising.
Which means med schools have higher
academic expectations than ever before.
However, keep in mind that there's significant variability
in average MCAT scores across all med schools.
For example, a 511 would be competitive for Eastern Virginia
but too low for Stanford.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you view
the average MCAT of the schools
you plan on applying to here.
Your target MCAT scores should be
within a few points of the average.
And if your score is significantly higher
than your target school's average,
you'll want to get specific about why you have chosen
to apply there in your written materials.
Some med schools may protect their yield rates,
and are careful not to admit students
who seem unlikely to attend.
Conversely, if your score is more than three points lower
than the school's average,
this school may be a reach for you.
So how can you achieve your target MCAT score?
Most students spend several months preparing for the MCAT,
but the most successful students dedicate
as much time to studying test strategy
as they do learning test content.
Earning a high MCAT score is tough,
but success on the exam can have a tremendous impact
on the competitiveness of your application.
Through dedicated preparation, you'll be maximizing
your chances of being accepted to your dream school.
If you found this video helpful, hit the Like button,
and if you haven't subscribed yet,
you can do that here so you don't miss out on new videos.
And if you'd like to learn more about med school admissions
you can also click the link in the description
to get a free copy of my book, "How to Get into Med School"
which contains all the strategies we use to help students
get into schools like UCSF, Northwestern, and Emory.
Again, thanks so much for watching.
See you next time.