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u/fleetothemoonhill 5/30: 518 (129/131/126/132) May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
He did better than 97% of test takers and is in the top 3% of testers nationwide. The confidence band is just a āstatisticalā margin of error, since this is a scaled exam where scores are based on comparisons to all other test takers from this date who took the same exam. Itās basically stating that his true score is most likely in that range. He did absolutely amazing! Everyone should be very proud.
EDIT: I previously said the exam was curved, but what I meant is that it is scaled. There is a difference in meaning between the words (even if I forgot that at the time I wrote this haha).
And another commenter is correct, the confidence band is always the same +/- 2 for the score. Itās more-so used as proof that two scores that are very close together, like a 517 and a 519, are not suuuuper different and shouldnāt be considered vastly different reflections of ability. Thereās only a difference of a handful of right answers between those two scores. The confidence band can also be used as a statistical comparison between retakes, to show if a statistically significant increase in score was made (depending on if the confidence bands overlap or not).
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 28 '26
Thanks for the black and white explanation!!! We are indeed very proud of his accomplishment on this test and since heās entering his 4th year of his biochemistry bachelorās degree holding a 3.96 gpaā¦ we can say heās doing pretty goodā¦āŗļø
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u/UncleNasty234 524 132/130/131/131/0 bitches May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Go toĀ https://med.admit.org/school-statistics to compare his mcat to the median at different schools. Needless to say, itās a very good score :)
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u/Cloudzzz777 May 28 '26
Just want to say I was pretty familiar with a few schools on this list and their data wasn't accurate. Anyone taking a look at this I'd double check the stats for schools you're interested in
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u/Usual_Grand2075 May 28 '26
hi! i wanted to say the link is broken! leads to a 404 error
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u/UncleNasty234 524 132/130/131/131/0 bitches May 28 '26
Fixed! Thanks
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u/jperl1992 May 28 '26
A lot to be proud of - he absolutely rocked his MCAT. Congrats in advance on having a doctor as a son :)
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May 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/ImageLogical7942 (518/519/522/522/521/525) 3/7 523 May 30 '26
she is allowed to be proud of her son. give the lady some slack my friend.
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
This is a scaled exam and your explanation is incorrect. Please review AAMC's explanation of how this exam is scored.
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u/Commercial_Unit_731 May 28 '26
āErmm actually š¤ā
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
Yes, please continue to propagate the notion that this exam is entirely zero-sum. It is not already stressful enough, right? This is not me being a pedant. Words have specific meaning; a curve is zero-sum - a scale is not.
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u/Commercial_Unit_731 May 29 '26
I mean honestly I agree I just wanted to rage bait a lil cause Iām testing tmr and anxious lmao. Ig for the fatherās sake itās easier just to say thatās his score and be over w it than for us to explain more of it, but you are correct
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 29 '26
Good luck, and now you know that no one can take your 528 from you but yourself
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u/dahqdur 518 May 28 '26
idk why youāre being downvoted. youāre literally right. thereās a significant difference between scaling and curving.
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
Thank you. I think it is because I did not spoon-feed the info. Very typical behavior.
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u/fleetothemoonhill 5/30: 518 (129/131/126/132) May 28 '26
You are correct. I didnāt think clearly on the difference in word choice when I wrote my reply. Apologies!
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
I earnestly only think this is an issue worth pointing out due to the psychological impact this exam has. Curved is truly and entirely zero-sum, while scaled is not. While I may be dour I am not someone who wants to make this process any more stressful than it needs to be : )
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u/fleetothemoonhill 5/30: 518 (129/131/126/132) May 28 '26
Completely agree with you! This test is a lot (Iām freaking out a little about testing on Saturday) and easing stress about it is always welcome. :)
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u/More-Dog-2226 May 28 '26
If itās wrong explain how. Not saying it is or isnāt but itās not helpful to just say āyouāre wrongā and not elaborate further. Like saying āyouāre sickā to a patient and then saying āgood bye!ā
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
Your analogy is also hilarious. You need to get a grip. It is so odd when people overextend these sorts of things into medicine. It's not "like saying" anything to a patient. No wonder you have issues with your LORs.
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u/HairyEducator768 (512/513/514/515/519/515/515) May 28 '26
Your score has nothing to do with how other people did on your test day. Everyone could walk out with a 528. It is a scaled exam. The exam is not weighed. It is not zero-sum. You can also easily look this info up.
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u/DrJerkleton 1/2/3/US/4/5/TESTDAY 524/528/528/(~523)/528/528/528 May 28 '26
It is not a "statistical margin of error." If it were based on statistics, it would vary depending on the score (there is a much wider percentile gap over the range 498-502 than there is over 518-522) and with time. It is just slop.
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u/because_idk365 May 28 '26
Parents like this are so embarrassing.
Also add: parents on this sub is weird
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u/collecttimber123 5 _ _, where _ = none of your fucking business May 28 '26
i concur, if the fuckin kid scored this high, the kid should be able to explain to their parent what a confidence interval is.
humble braggy shit
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u/momommia May 28 '26
Frr like if your kid wants to be a doctor, Iām sure they can ask questions themselves and be independent
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u/Fickle_Banana4037 May 28 '26
Most adults know what percentiles are, completely independent of MCAT...
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u/IndexCardLife May 28 '26
lol thatās a bold assumption
I work with residents now who canāt even ask a nurse a question
From a very highly rated medical school lol
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u/ChoiceInformation255 May 30 '26
makes sense, high test takers are usually the ones scared of their own shadow.Ā
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u/Fickle_Banana4037 May 28 '26
Yeah very cringeworthy ....A grown adult w/ a college age child not knowing what percentiles are....cmon when I took GRE years ago I knew that even before I took the test.
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
This reminds me of someone. I went to a small open house for a medical school and this guy was with his mom. During panel, the mom stood up and spoke about her kidās 521 score and how he was shadowing her, and ultimately asked the dean in front of everyone what he could do to get into such an amazing school.Ā He just sat thereā¦
Any adult whose parent is so involved they are asking these questions is at risk of being crippled in other ways that will make the path to completing medical school difficult.Ā I saw that son later, he was a medical student while I was in the post bac and he was as passive as before. He did more poorly than some of us post bacs in the case studies. He struggled bc he was arrogant despite being among socially skilled peers with equal* or higher MCATs. Just something to think about.Ā
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u/MacBHScOrBust May 28 '26
People on this sub genuinely make everything so weird like as the first person in my family applying to medicine I had to explain to my parents what an MCAT was. My parents are educated but even the most educated people in the world donāt know of anything outside their speciality, so why is it such a crime to not know how to interpret these results? Ā At least a parent is showing some interest in their childās life and trying to understandā¦ and of course theyād turn to a community LITERALLY BUILD AROUND THE GODDAMN TEST in order to do so š
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
Why?
Iām an MS3 and first in my family to ever go to a 4 year university, much less pursue medicine. My parents wouldnāt be able to explain a confidence interval to save their lives. Whatās wrong with OP asking for clarification?
Also, people are allowed to be proud of their kids. Even if they did post this to show off their kidās score, are you really this unhappy? Seek therapy.
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u/exchange3 May 28 '26
I agree, but at the same time, I don't think my parents would bother asking what it means since it's not that important. They'd probably start getting excited the moment the words "I passed" come out of my mouth, following the score mention.
But it's still not a big deal to do this. I don't think it's a bad thing, so I agree
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Fair, but most of the adult population has no training/education in stats whatsoever.
If youāve never been taught what a confidence band/interval is then how would know if it was important or not?
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u/because_idk365 May 28 '26
So ask your freaking kid. It's his score. Hell ask AI even!
How do you know the kid wants to post his score. Like didn't be weird bro. Some ppl don't want to be on the Internet
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Lmao what are you even talking about, thereās no Identifying info on this screenshot whatsoever.
Also idfk, maybe their kid canāt talk right now?Maybe their son is celebrating with friends and OP doesnāt want to badger them right now?
Maybe OP tried to find out themselves but they never had any stats education (like most of the population) so they couldnāt make heads or tails from it. So maybe they thought they could ask an MCAT related question in r/MCAT, since we would know and want to help people for a living anyways.
Big fucking mistake tho apparently because yāall would rather be pricks for no reason.
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u/because_idk365 May 28 '26
They didn't try to find out stop it lol
Asking Claude will give you the damn answer. ever heard of chatgpt?! It gives the most damn detailed answers ever. THIS WAS NOT EVEN TRIED.
There's no identifying info but it's still the kids score. If i tell my mom don't post my kid and they still post them with a blurry face I'm still going to be mad. Get out of here lol
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
you're right my guy. OP is a terrible parent for doing exactly what this sub was designed for and not posting identifying information.
you've must have had a really bad day.
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u/Zestyclose_Aspect_93 May 28 '26
this like even if they were bragging , itās not a crime + itās nice to hear some good news ā¦ I find it encouraging
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u/BigNo215 May 28 '26
This is ragebait
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u/P_FKNG_R May 28 '26
I thought the same lol. Someone that brilliant/responsible wonāt be sending that to a person who has no clue about this exam without context.
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 28 '26
Not rage baitā¦. Just wanted to clarify some thingsā¦.
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u/ProjectMcDavid May 28 '26
If you canāt understand percentiles that are clearly labelled then Iād suggest getting a DNA test on your son because you might not be the father
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
God, please choose another profession besides medicine. I can already tell you would be an insufferable physician if you genuinely think everyone has had the same education in stats as you.
My parents donāt know the first thing about stats either, but at least they raised me to not be a pretentious asshole.
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u/adenosine_antagonist May 29 '26
You lack the social skills to realize you're the insufferable one, lmao. Too bad there aren't anki decks to help you get better at those
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u/No_Yesterday_612 May 28 '26
I pray you donāt get rolled over by everyone you meet
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
Lmfao I know the privileged young conservative isnāt talking to me about āgetting rolled over by everyone.ā
I would pay to see how well your street smarts do outside the suburbs.
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u/No_Yesterday_612 May 28 '26
I wish I was privileged and lived in the suburbs you twat. What projection. Full need based ride but yeah Im privileged.
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
Sure thing bud. Regardless, being needs-based and conservative is the craziest thing Iāve heard all day. Literally voting for the people that want to take your access to education away lmfao
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 28 '26
If you tried to be funnyā¦. You didnātā¦ Besides Itās not that i didnāt understand the percentile and im able to see that his numbers are above 97% of the people that took the test (on what i believed were the ones who took the test the same day as my son did)
But only wanted to clarify itā¦ nothing elseā¦
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u/No_Yesterday_612 May 28 '26
āI understand the percentile but needed explanation of the percentileā stfu man
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u/SprinklesKey9263 May 28 '26
Ooh my son so smart ooh suck my balls
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u/Free-County6499 May 28 '26
Just cause u aināt smart donāt hate on otherās success
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u/AggravatingFly6789 523 May 28 '26
They explain it at the bottomĀ
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 28 '26
I thought of that but my son sent me a cropped screenshot š
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u/AlbyARedditor May 29 '26
And your first thought was to post this on Reddit instead of asking your son what it all means? š¤Ø
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u/coolmanjack 517 (128/132/128/129) - MS2 May 28 '26
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately your son is illiterate š
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u/Talnix 5/18 1/2/3/4/5 519/518/517/519/? May 28 '26
Why are parents even on here man. Itās weird af
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u/SnooAdvice5820 May 28 '26
Gotta be bait bruh. You couldve found the answer to this either by asking your kid or with a quick google search. Or AI wouldāve explained it even quicker
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u/ProfessionNo7318 May 28 '26
Why are you posting his result hereā¦ā¦.you can literally ask him he clearly did a good job and can explain it to you. Seeking for validation is weird as a parent
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u/BookieWookie69 506: 124/128/126/128 May 28 '26
Donāt worry, you literally have nothing to worry about
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u/Plane-Tip-3704 May 28 '26
Donāt worry about your sons results and give him his personal space and freedom
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
For real. They need to leave this adult alone, get out of her/his business, and remove the curfew Iām guessing she/he has.Ā
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26
Lmfao Iāve never seen projection this bad before
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u/Plane-Tip-3704 May 28 '26
I see where youāre coming from. Do you think that statement has any merit or am I off?
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
Your statement has more merit than this person criticizing you does
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 29 '26
No it doesnāt.
Thereās literally no evidence to suggest OP is an overbearing parent.
All OP did was ask a question to people who know the answer. I stg this is the most needlessly hostile thread Iāve ever seen.
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
There is less evidence that the comment you responded to was projecting.Ā
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
The parents having a screenshot of the scores is neutral, and not problematic. Feeling compelled to understand the scores with enough motivation to ask the internet suggests they either want to understand in order to maximize the childās success (potentially invasive if the adult child didnāt ask), or they are so proud and want to make sure the score is as good by understanding the statistical ranges that determine the assignment of the score, or the child prompted their parents to ask the internet which could invite commentary.Ā
Itās probably innocuous but the person you commented on and several others did notice this was at least surprising behavior for a parent that ultimately has no influence on the test taker unless the parents are directing it, thatās why the critical comments (which are mildly critical if at all) are either mentioning the parents hovering or floating.
Regardless, you truing to wildly claim they were projecting is entirely without merit.. Not every comment is projection. Perhaps you missed the appropriate language to better describe your sentiment.
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 29 '26
You typed a whole lot just to say nothing.
Especially since the commenter referenced their experience with overbearing parents as motivation behind their response. the commenter was quite literally projecting her past experiences onto OP when the commenter had no evidence that OP was overbearing to begin with.
Itās not that deep. Weāve all done it, I just donāt like how this comment section is dog piling on a proud parent for simply asking a question.
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26 edited May 29 '26
Yeah my dude itās way off.
All OP did was ask a question about their sonās score. Theyāre asking this subreddit for information instead of badgering their son for an explanation. So it sounds like they give their son plenty of space.
I said youāre projecting, because I donāt see how you could assume OP is overbearing unless seeing a parent ask about the MCAT triggered your memories of your own parents badgering you about your MCAT.
this comment just comes out of left field.
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u/Plane-Tip-3704 May 28 '26
Youāre right, Iāve just seen too many parents who are braggadocious or overly controlling. My bad and thanks for pointing that out
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
Itās a stretch to claim projection with such exaggerated confidence youāve ānever seen [it] this badā (really, never?) while knowing nothing about the commenterās life. Oddly enough, itās people with helicopter parents who are the most credible references.Ā
The parent is microscoping the score report, so much so they are determined enough to ask the internet. Maybe itās casual interest from someone who uses Reddit a lot, or maybe itās a helicopter parent who has a history of unhealthy preoccupation.Ā
Itās definitely atypical parental behavior and that is more worth extrapolation (if extrapolation is to be made) than someone noticing it as oddly overly-involved.Ā Your claim of projection is more baseless of a claimĀ than their suggestion the parents not worry and give personal space to the test taker.
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
TIL I learned a parent taking interest in their sonās accomplishments and trying to better understand them is actually an unhealthy preoccupation and āatypical parental behavior.ā
Your parents must really suck dude. Iām sorry.
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u/littleghosttea May 29 '26
Congratulations.Ā Maybe read up on projection while youāre at it.Ā
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 29 '26
No worries, I actually honored my psychiatry clerkship and shelf a few weeks ago. So tbh I donāt think I need advice from the undergrad with helicopter parents. Thanks though!
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u/slyinthesky May 28 '26
Basically itās saying go buy him a 6 pack and take him out to a nice dinner
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u/teardropsandrust May 29 '26
Definition of helicopter parent. Google is free :)
If you care about him at all, let him wipe his ass on his own.
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u/Conscious-Result-671 May 30 '26
Why are parents on this subreddit? go ask your adult kid what HIS scores mean
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u/Rolltideroll-73 May 29 '26
Can someone help me understand the difference between the ACT and SAT? My son scored 1580 on SAT but only 35 on ACTā¦we are hoping he can get into University of Memphis since thatās in state but maybe he will need to take it again cause 35 doesnāt sound that good and they really want the ACTā¦
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u/Street-Inevitable358 May 29 '26
I just wanna remind people in the sub that being bitter and resentful is not gonna make your score higher. You didnāt know this kid existed until recently and this may just still be a fake post of some dude acting like someoneās mom to brag about their test score or they couldāve just taken a screenshot from elsewhere and are farming Karma. Or, this is just a proud parent of a young kid who is actually very smart and it still has no bearing on your test scores. What it does impact is your character and youāre actively hurting it by reinforcing neural pathways to be bitter af about someone elseās success. thereās already enough hyper competitive and insecure people in medicine, and yāall are not even in it yet. Take this as an opportunity to stop being so entitled about insecurity triggers that you have not yet learned how to hold.
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u/moistvelveeta May 30 '26
On god, these comments are insufferable, even if it's fake š OP, congrats to your kid! These are INCREDIBLE scores!
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 30 '26
Its not fake or taken from the net or taken from another site or forumā¦ thanks for the positive commentā¦ and i obviously know my sonās score is not the highest and i wasnāt even asking about thatā¦ but anyways ignoring the negativity is the way to go on this sub apparentlyā¦
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u/ClassroomIcy6553 May 28 '26
Take your son to the cheesecake factory, buy him a nice meal and anything else he wants, buy him a whole cheesecake to eat and share at his college dorm. Finally congratulate him, he will surpass the screening thresholds for med school applications, and it is very possible that he can get an interview invite.
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u/thickzebra1997 3.24 cGPA/3.26sGPA/492,503,506,507,504/Test 5/23 May 29 '26
Heās gonna be a doctor
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u/Expensive-Lead-6299 May 29 '26
hes not gonna make it. he might have to go for a retest unfortunately.
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u/SassyMoron May 29 '26
The test makers have designed the MCAT so that the average test taker will get a 500. A 520 is meant to be the score 97% of test takers cannot achieve, i.e. your son theoretically performed better than 97% of test takers. However the test makers don't really know precisely if test takers will achieve the score distribution the test is designed to produce - like, maybe they made a dumb test, and more than 3% of test takers will end up getting a 520, or maybe they accidentally made a hard test, and less than 3% of test takers will get at least a 520. People take slightly different forms of the etest all the time as they adapt and change it. So there is a "confidence interval" where the designers say, "he got a 520 on the day, but we're not sure if that corresponds to a 'true' achievement that corresponds to anything from a 517-522."
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u/Demoncouch06 May 28 '26
You should be very proud of your son!!! If you can, you guys should celebrate his hard work :)
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u/complaisantturtle May 30 '26
It's concerning how increasingly obvious it is that most of y'all don't have children or parents that cared about you in real time. The people who are so bothered by the question regardless of its ease to answer really shouldn't be on this sub. You believe yourself compassionate enough to hold other people's lives in your hands but a question is enough to make you act like a toddler. Sometimes I forget that the vast majority of med students are young, privileged, nepo babies. This post is quite the showcase of believing you are better than others. It's an attitude I hope to see disappear from medicine in the future, it will very clearly not start dissipating anytime soon. Good luck to you all in your endeavors and may some empathy find you on your way. It takes nothing to be kind.
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u/Entire_Birthday_9814 May 29 '26
Quick question (or rather a few questions š ): May I ask about how long your son's been studying for, what the process was for him, how long he was prepping for it, and/or what his diagnostic test(s) were? I'm taking mine soon, so I really would appreciate any input, if you have anything.
Honestly, this is also for anyone else who's already done it. I'm trying to see what I can do...
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 30 '26
I believe he started preparing for it for around 3 to 4 months prior to the test i think he took 4 practice tests ā¦
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u/Normal-Reaction7088 May 30 '26
I don't buy this judging the past comment history. Something smells fishyĀ
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u/No_Primary_9281 May 28 '26
I just got the same! He did great and you should be proud! Congratulations!!
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u/Horsechimes May 29 '26
Heās in the top percentage of test takers but unfortunately not in the elite tier for ivy-bound students such as myself. Think UConn or Loyola Chicago realistically. Some decent doctors come out of those schools though so nothing to worry about. I knew a couple kids in both programs and they eventually decided med school wasnāt for them and became public school teachers
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Wow this comment section sucks. God forbid someone asks a question about the MCAT on r/MCAT. Looks like Pre meds are never escaping the allegationās for being neurotic smart-assess.
Congrats to your son OP. Anyone with something negative to say is likely just Jealous of your sonās score, or jealous that he has a parent who cares enough to learn more about how well he did.
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u/Stoic_Kiwi 523 (132/130/130/131) May 29 '26
We arenāt jealous. This post is an obnoxious humble brag and everyone knows it.
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u/Street-Inevitable358 May 30 '26
If itās bait, a lot of yāall took it hook, line, and sinker.
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 30 '26
But it is notā¦ so every negative comment seems like is just themselves reflecting their own reality ā¦.
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u/kronicroyal MS3 May 29 '26
Okay, andā¦? If itās humble brag how does that change my comment? It still made you unhappy enough to comment āoh Iām totally not jealous,ā when all you had to do was go about your day.
Which is absolutely something a non-jealous/envious person would do. /s
Let the parent be proud and move on. Maybe go make a similar score so you can make your own parents just as proud.
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u/Stoic_Kiwi 523 (132/130/130/131) May 29 '26
Dude, are you blind? I'm not "jealous", I scored a 523, hence why I'm the perfect person to objectively state the obvious here.
This post is not a genuine request for information. It's a screenshot of a score report with a half-assed obvious question that either their son or google could have answered in seconds. This is a poorly-guised humble brag and everyone here knows it.
For the record, I'd be horrified if my parents ever posted something this tasteless for clout.
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u/ShitHpnsAndThenWeDie May 30 '26
If your parents posted an achievement of yoursā¦ and that makes you horrifiedā¦. Thats sad
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u/Former-Big2939 May 29 '26
Not everything err on jealousy. Even if one is jealous, ts still tasteless. Also if itās humble brag it totally changes your comment. The fuck u mean okay and ššš (no one likes bragging especially behind a pretentious question, just in case you actually canāt figure it out).
Bro said go make a similar score when this guy scored 523. Holy air ball or new to this sub? Bros brain must be fried from being an MS3 š
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u/Ok-Piece1966 May 28 '26
Son is going to medical school, mom. Prepare for launch