Student excels on MCAT
John Davy scored a 40 out of 45, putting him in the 99.8 percentile in the country
Science — Davy works on an experiment in the lab where he has spent much of his college career. Photo credit: Sam Chappell
Liberty University student John Davy scored among the highest in the country on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which is the entrance exam for medical school, May 23.
Davy, a senior biochemistry major, received a score of 40 out of 45, which places him in the 99.8 percentile for nationwide test takers. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges website, the average MCAT score for 2012 was 25.2.
“I thought I did pretty well, but I was not expecting a score that good by any margin at all,” Davy said. “It really was all grace. I mean, I studied hard, but in the end, it’s all in the Lord’s hands.”
According to Davy, the journey to a medical career began in high school.
“I had a desire to go into medicine since I was pretty young,” Davy said. “I just thought it was a great opportunity to study science I loved, interact with people and build relationships. It was a unique mix of really cool stuff you could do.”
Davy credits his Liberty professors with playing a significant role in his growth as a student.
“I think that was probably the most important part of my education, the input the professors have,” Davy said. “The professors really make an effort to build relationships with the students.”
Davy also said he feels that his department as a whole has left a positive impact on his education.
“At Liberty, our science department isn’t very big so it’s kind of a close community,” Davy said. “It’s fun to be able to walk down the halls and say hi to every professor in the halls because you pretty much know everyone at this point in the senior year.”
With the MCAT test completed, Davy is now considering several options for attending medical school, including the University of Virginia, Case Western University and Vanderbilt.
“All of the schools I have applied to are great schools with awesome opportunities for research and medicine and training,” Davy said. “But (choosing schools) is also a large function of money and tuition and what sort of scholarships you can get.”
Regardless of what medical school he chooses, Davy said his goal is to pursue family practice or general medicine.
“It’s a really fascinating career because you’re not just focused on cardiology or radiology or one specific thing,” Davy said. “You have a really broad spectrum of cases and ages. And I really love working with kids and really building lasting relationships with your patients.”