Guest WesternMed Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Hello, I've looked at all the med school in ON and due to my academic history, Western is the only school that i could apply (i.e 2 best years). Looking at the cut-off, i do have GPA higher than 3.70 but no MCAT. However, the MCAT cut-off really worries me. How hard is it to obtain the MCAT cut-off?By the looks of it, approx. 1500 applicants yet only 400 or so get interviewed. My guess is that a lot of these people do make the GPA but not the MCAT cut-off? Would this be an accurate assumption? I have read an MCAT post where someone said that roughly 75% of the answers on the exam are in the passage itself? Is this true? I must be blind. Any advice on preparation for the test? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peachy Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 In terms of MCAT prep, you should read through the threads in the MCAT board. There are many posts that directly answer your question. In terms of making the cutoffs, it is certainly doable! Most people who make a 3.7 in school and prepare properly for the test will be able to make the cutoffs. If you're not a good multiple-choice-test taker, then it may take you more studying than others. But you should really read through the threads on the MCAT board, and then search google, read on the testprep sites, read on Ian's site, etc, to get a better sense of what the test is like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chieka101 Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 The biggest problem with the cut-offs seems to be with the verbal reasoning section. The writing sample poses difficulty for some students too. I think that applicants are rejected based both on not meeting the MCAT cut-offs and on not meeting the GPA cut-offs. As I'm sure Aneliz, TimmyMax, or any of the other UWOmeds will tell you, they are chosen specifically to narrow down the applicant pool. That's Western style. That said, I do not think that you have to be exceptionally intelligent to meet the cut-offs. Work hard and smart and you should be fine. By working smart, I mean knowing how to study for the MCAT. I agree that they key to the question (not necessarily the answer) is found in the passages given. The MCAT is a test of a certain way of thinking, not of your skills of memorization. Mastering the required way of thinking can be best done by doing a lot of practice tests so that you become very comfortable with the style of testing. What's most imporant is to relax and don't panic. The worst thing you can do is psyche yourself out. You should be able to find more info on the MCAT forum on this site. The Student doctor site (studentdoctor.net) also has an MCAT forum. Between those two sites, you should find answers to your specific questions. Take care, C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Where to start.... Well, the COMBINATION of the GPA and MCAT cuts get the applicant pool from about 1500 to 400ish...and ya, there are probably more people that meet the 3.70 then there are that meet ALL of the MCAT minimums... I know some people with 4.0 GPA's that had 7's or 8's or P's on the MCAT and therefore wouldn't have made the cuts. So, the short answer is that we don't have stats for how many in the applicant pool meet the GPA vs the MCAT cuts...just stats on how many meet the combination of cuts...so any answer I could give you on this would be pure speculation...of course I do have the anecdotal evidence of people with high GPA's being screwed by their MCAT scores...as well as people with awesome MCAT scores and a GPA that was 0.01 below the cut... Overall, don't worry about the MCAT...the Western MCAT cuts are not unattainable... When I wrote the MCAT (Summer 2001) Verbal Reasoning Mean Score = 7.9 A 9 in VR was 56.4 percentile. Physical Science Mean Score = 8.2 A 9 in PS was 58.6 percentile A "Q" was the 75th percentile for WS Biological Science Mean Score = 8.4 A 9 in BS was 46.9 percentile So, in my opinion, the cuts set by UWO are not unrealistic. Sure they may take some practice to get...but *most* people can easily get a 9 in BS and PS if you are a science major...the problem is usually with the WS and VR....(lots of 8's and P's)...the key to doing well on these sections is to practice and improve your reading and writing skills...read the newspaper, read some challenging material (philosophy, literature, etc), take an english course, take a philosophy course, write! Take an MCAT prep course if you feel that you need to. Most of all, do LOTS of practice tests...this is the best way to get comfortable with the MCAT format and questions... And yes, about 75% of the answers ARE in the passages...you just need to read them, find them and figure out what to do with them...when I say that they are in the passage, this doesn't mean that they are 'word for word directly there and just need to be scanned for and found'. What I mean is that ALL of the info that you need is in the passage (no outside info needed) but often you need to recognise that it IS an answer (or part of one) and be able to put it together logically with other in info in the passage to arrive at a suitable answer. The best way to do get good at this is to PRACTICE...lots and lots of practice is the only key to the MCAT. Do not study 'content'...they will give you content...what the MCAT really tests is time management, stress management, logic and reading comprehension. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest batman Posted February 23, 2003 Report Share Posted February 23, 2003 just to add to what aneliz just cited: ------------- quote: When I wrote the MCAT (Summer 2001) Verbal Reasoning Mean Score = 7.9 A 9 in VR was 56.4 percentile. Physical Science Mean Score = 8.2 A 9 in PS was 58.6 percentile A "Q" was the 75th percentile for WS Biological Science Mean Score = 8.4 A 9 in BS was 46.9 percentile ------------------------------- The 2002 MCAT sitting had slightly lower averages, and therefore slightly different percentile rankings of a few percent... Verbal Reasoning Mean Score = 7.8 A 9 in VR was 58.9 percentile. Physical Science Mean Score = 8.0 A 9 in PS was 60.4 percentile A "Q" was the 75th percentile for WS Biological Science Mean Score = 8.3 A 9 in BS was 49.6 percentile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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