The AAMC offers data that surveys 113 medical school admissions officers on what factors they felt was most important.<\/a> For interview invites, the top three factors were all academic: cumulative science GPA, cumulative GPA, and the MCAT. The MCAT comes in third in importance, scoring a 3.5, which can be interpreted as in between \u201cimportant\u201d and \u201cvery important.\u201d Academic performance, including the MCAT, is the single most important factor in getting an interview invite to medical schools. The MCAT is crucial in getting you an invite and deserves a lot of your time and energy.
\n <\/p>\nThe *<\/h2>\n
If you look closely at the data, you\u2019ll see that after getting an interview, the academic factors actually fall in importance. In gaining admission to medical school after the interview, the interview and recommendation letters actually are more important than GPA or MCAT. What does this mean? That means that while academics are critical to get that interview invite, to get your foot in the door, it\u2019s who you are and all that you\u2019ve accomplished that will get you into medical school. So while you need to work hard in academics, all your activities and experiences will be what makes medical schools want you to enroll at their school.
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When applying to medical school, there are so many things that go into an application: GPAs, letters of recommendation, activities, MCAT, etc. It can be hard to understand what is truly important and where to invest your time and energy. In this post, we\u2019ll try to answer the question, \u201cis the MCAT important?\u201d Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[2335],"class_list":["post-186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-mcat"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Is the MCAT Important? - Magoosh MCAT Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, "Is the MCAT important?"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is the MCAT Important?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, "Is the MCAT important?"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh MCAT Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-04-20T22:15:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Burton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Burton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Burton\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/2ef490b310d6844eca8a495b8e9d5806\"},\"headline\":\"Is the MCAT Important?\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\"},\"wordCount\":345,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"About the MCAT\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\",\"name\":\"Is the MCAT Important? - Magoosh MCAT Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, \\\"Is the MCAT important?\\\"\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is the MCAT Important?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh MCAT Blog\",\"description\":\"Get the MCAT score you want\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/2ef490b310d6844eca8a495b8e9d5806\",\"name\":\"Burton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4943d19413e0bba51aad9bc7b755d68d\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd11d52ab17c3dbcf3cbc9ebff3be7b393f1585b55c5bb30856ed4cf6c874181?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd11d52ab17c3dbcf3cbc9ebff3be7b393f1585b55c5bb30856ed4cf6c874181?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Burton\"},\"description\":\"Burton is an MCAT blogger. He was an undergraduate at Harvard, where he majored in History before switching gears to pursue a career in medicine. He did a post-baccalaureate and is currently a fourth-year medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is applying for a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Outside of things medical, he's a huge sports fan and loves football, basketball, and baseball.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"MCAT\",\"Medical School\",\"Internal Medicine\",\"Pediatrics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/author\/burton\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is the MCAT Important? - Magoosh MCAT Blog","description":"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, \"Is the MCAT important?\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is the MCAT Important?","og_description":"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, \"Is the MCAT important?\"","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh MCAT Blog","article_published_time":"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-04-20T22:15:29+00:00","author":"Burton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Burton","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/"},"author":{"name":"Burton","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/2ef490b310d6844eca8a495b8e9d5806"},"headline":"Is the MCAT Important?","datePublished":"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/"},"wordCount":345,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization"},"articleSection":["About the MCAT"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/","name":"Is the MCAT Important? - Magoosh MCAT Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-04-24T22:15:01+00:00","description":"With so many factors included in the medical school application, how do you know what's important? This post helps answer, \"Is the MCAT important?\"","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/is-the-mcat-important\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is the MCAT Important?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/","name":"Magoosh MCAT Blog","description":"Get the MCAT score you want","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#organization","name":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/files\/2019\/08\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"Magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/2ef490b310d6844eca8a495b8e9d5806","name":"Burton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/4943d19413e0bba51aad9bc7b755d68d","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd11d52ab17c3dbcf3cbc9ebff3be7b393f1585b55c5bb30856ed4cf6c874181?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd11d52ab17c3dbcf3cbc9ebff3be7b393f1585b55c5bb30856ed4cf6c874181?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Burton"},"description":"Burton is an MCAT blogger. He was an undergraduate at Harvard, where he majored in History before switching gears to pursue a career in medicine. He did a post-baccalaureate and is currently a fourth-year medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is applying for a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Outside of things medical, he's a huge sports fan and loves football, basketball, and baseball.","knowsAbout":["MCAT","Medical School","Internal Medicine","Pediatrics"],"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/author\/burton\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":2335,"user_id":143,"is_guest":0,"slug":"burton","display_name":"Burton","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fd11d52ab17c3dbcf3cbc9ebff3be7b393f1585b55c5bb30856ed4cf6c874181?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Shen","first_name":"Burton","description":"Burton is an MCAT blogger. He was an undergraduate at Harvard, where he majored in History before switching gears to pursue a career in medicine. He did a post-baccalaureate and is currently a fourth-year medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is applying for a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Outside of things medical, he's a huge sports fan and loves football, basketball, and baseball."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}