Higher LizzyM vs More Balanced MCAT/GPA?

[CrazyMedScientist]

What would be a more ideal candidate? Someone with 3.7 GPA and 36/37 MCAT or 3.4 GPA and 42 MCAT? The second person has a higher LizzyM score, but I also heard GPA difference of 3.4->3.7 is large while 36/37->42 is less so?

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[LuluLovesMe]

If your GPA is greater than or equal to 3.7 and your MCAT is greater than or equal to 35, additional gains are become less important imo. So a 3.7/35 would even be stronger than a 3.4/42 .

 

[GrapesofRath]

Balance.

LizzyM scores serve as a very rough guide to where you stand. They aren't meant to be taken as literally as a number of people on this site make them out to be. And yes one of the clear limitations for LizzyM is discordant stats. So consistent success across multiple measurements(academics, standardized testing) is a more ideal situation than top notch success in only one area.

 

[Goro]

Both would get interviews. The 3.4 kid is at a disadvantage because the GPA is 0.3 point lower than the median for acceptees. However, a 42 score is nothing to sneeze at, and I'd expect both candidates would do fine.

And as a reminder, it's not a zero-sum game.

A 36 is 5 points higher than the national median.

What would be a more ideal candidate? Someone with 3.7 GPA and 36/37 MCAT or 3.4 GPA and 42 MCAT? The second person has a higher LizzyM score, but I also heard GPA difference of 3.4->3.7 is large while 36/37->42 is less so?