re: #722 Obdicut

Then why not the MCAT alone? What do the others show that the MCAT does not?

Um, you do realize we’re not arguing whether they’re predictive, right? You’re claiming the equate perfectly to real-world success. It’s obviously untrue. If that were true, it’d be impossible for people to have high GPAs but low MCATs, and vice versa. Which happens all the time.

If all you’re saying is that tests offer some predictive ability, then sure, nobody would argue against that. But there can obviously be better predictors; for most med schools, GPAs are better predictors than MCATs.

I am NOT claiming that MCATS are perfect. I agree that GPA’s are predictive too. But MCATS provide a check, an audit if you will, of GPAs. Some schools hand out good grades like candy, after all. Others grade tough. The MCAT is the same for students who went to either. This, I suspect, accounts for much of the failure of MCAT scores to track GPA’s perfectly.