Posted by: bibhav9 December 28, 2008
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It's obviously difficult to accurately predict the impact of MCAT scores. Also depends on what you mean by "little low scores". Look at the average MCAT scores of the schools you are interested in. If you find that your score is lower than that, don't fret since 50% of the people who attend that school scored lower than the average.
improving MCAT scores, i think, is just a matter of doing a lot practice tests. After you run through all the topics that are covered, don't worry too much about memorizing every detail and just do as many practice tests as you can. Prep courses like Kaplan etc will make you think it's all about memorizing the info but it's not true (only 1 in 7 questions on MCAT rely 100% on memorization and even those questions don't test petty details). And although the real practice tests (ones you buy from the official site) are expensive, you should go for those (again, kaplan tests make you think you should go home and learn the facts some more aka take their course so go for the real tests).
if you still end up with a lower than expected score, try to compensate with other things like research.
Most schools create a score for you: your mcat score + Science GPA (multiplied by an index that depends on which school you attended: some schools will have a higher index if the admissions office thinks the same grade at that school means more than that grade at another school). They will create a cut-off and only those applicants whose scores are above the cut-off are considered. there are exceptions (if you have contacts at the school, did research there etc). After you make the cut-off, you'll get more breathing room to convince the admissions committee that you are a good candidate based on your personal statement, recommendations, activities etc. The fact remains that mcats matter a lot. not so much as lsats would matter for law schools but higher than GREs for most gradschools.
and you probably know about this site. several people there have lot more experience than i do. For pre-med stuff go to medical > Pre-medical students (under Forums) and post questions. http://www.studentdoctor.net/ Don't let this site overwhelm you though; a lot of very anxious people there who are very good at freaking everyone else out.
improving MCAT scores, i think, is just a matter of doing a lot practice tests. After you run through all the topics that are covered, don't worry too much about memorizing every detail and just do as many practice tests as you can. Prep courses like Kaplan etc will make you think it's all about memorizing the info but it's not true (only 1 in 7 questions on MCAT rely 100% on memorization and even those questions don't test petty details). And although the real practice tests (ones you buy from the official site) are expensive, you should go for those (again, kaplan tests make you think you should go home and learn the facts some more aka take their course so go for the real tests).
if you still end up with a lower than expected score, try to compensate with other things like research.
Most schools create a score for you: your mcat score + Science GPA (multiplied by an index that depends on which school you attended: some schools will have a higher index if the admissions office thinks the same grade at that school means more than that grade at another school). They will create a cut-off and only those applicants whose scores are above the cut-off are considered. there are exceptions (if you have contacts at the school, did research there etc). After you make the cut-off, you'll get more breathing room to convince the admissions committee that you are a good candidate based on your personal statement, recommendations, activities etc. The fact remains that mcats matter a lot. not so much as lsats would matter for law schools but higher than GREs for most gradschools.
and you probably know about this site. several people there have lot more experience than i do. For pre-med stuff go to medical > Pre-medical students (under Forums) and post questions. http://www.studentdoctor.net/ Don't let this site overwhelm you though; a lot of very anxious people there who are very good at freaking everyone else out.