How useful is the Lizzy/LizzyM score..

mq123 said:

...if I am from a small but well known liberal arts college. I have a 3.93 GPA and 31R MCAT (9V, 12PS, 10BS)?

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High GPA. Great MCAT for most schools, middling for top ones. Verbal is a problem though. (You'll get more rplies if you post in the what are my chances thread, it is stickied.)

Sorry but what is the Lizzy/LizzyM score?

prmdbeach17 said:

Sorry but what is the Lizzy/LizzyM score?

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It's a formulaic approach in using the numerical stats (GPA/MCAT) to answer the "what are my chances" questions. But few if any schools actually use this exact approach and numbers are not the whole picture, so many people with high such scores will not be admitted to many places.

How do i figure out this LizzyM score thing

BrutusBuckeyeMD said:

How do i figure out this LizzyM score thing

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I think it's something like:

Magic Number = GPA*10 + MCAT

?

Law2Doc said:

It's a formulaic approach in using the numerical stats (GPA/MCAT) to answer the "what are my chances" questions. But few if any schools actually use this exact approach and numbers are not the whole picture, so many people with high such scores will not be admitted to many places.

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People with high scores may not be admitted for a few reasons:

1) They applied "late"
2) Their interview wasn't as good as it could have been
3) They don't fit the mission statement of the school.

mq123 said:

I know my verbal is lower than what is "good."

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Also a good point as to another situation where this thumbnail score won't work -- it assumes a more or less balanced MCAT. Eg a 15-15-3 may give you a decent formulaic score but you won't get into any med school.

TheRealMD said:

People with high scores may not be admitted for a few reasons:

1) They applied "late"
2) Their interview wasn't as good as it could have been
3) They don't fit the mission statement of the school.

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All true, but there are also many more situations where people with very good numerical stats have come up short. Med schools want the whole package, not just the numbers. Things like bad LORs can kill you. Uncompelling essays, perceived lack of maturity, poorly thought out reason for pursuing medicine, perceived arrogance can kill you. Crummy ECs can kill you. Academic or criminal infringement history can kill you. So it's really best to consider this kind of formula an incredibly rough guideline as to where you stand, and not get too excited if it's good.

TheRealMD said:

People with high scores may not be admitted for a few reasons:

1) They applied "late"
2) Their interview wasn't as good as it could have been
3) They don't fit the mission statement of the school.

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I'd like to add:

4) They applied to only highly competitive schools.

Tropicana100 said:

I'd like to add:

4) They applied to only highly competitive schools.

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or too few schools given one's stats.

Let me add that the Lizzy score and LizzyM score is not meant to tell you "what are my chances" but to help you select a group of schools that will maximize the probabilty that you will get interviews and offers from schools where you will be academically challenged. Schools will tell you that the "whole package" matters but if you have a gpa 0.4 below average AND an MCAT 4 below average, it is unlikely that anything else in your application is going to mitigate the below average stats, you may be offered admission there but it is a long shot.

Too often I see applicants who choose only top tier schools that have average stas far above their own. The Lizzy score can help an applicant choose some mid-tier or lower tier schools where their odds of admission will be greater than at Harvard/Hopkins/WashU, etc.

I used the lizzy score in the picking of my backup schools (i.e to decide what exactly is a near sure backup). Quite accurate, interview-wise, if not admission-wise. I had a good mix of schools and got an early acceptance to mitigate stress over the rest of the app process.

To the OP, that 9 isn't going to kill you, but it might be an obstacle. I reckon you did well in your college lit classes?

mq123 said:

Your Lizzy score is the "magic number" above. A med school's LizzyM score is Median Cummulative GPA*10 + Median MCAT -1

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curious, what's the -1 for?

Tropicana100 said:

curious, what's the -1 for?

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Random adjustment, I suppose? It's not that important.