2012-2013 msar

[altitude]

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I have heard some bad reviews in regard to the most recently released MSAR- do these pertain only to the guide book or to both the book and the online access? (Unable to obtain any of the older MSARs)

 

[music2doc]

The current MSAR is fine. It's simply annoying to have to login, etc. and only have access to it online. It's also annoying to people that you cannot purchase an used copy/sell your copy as an old/used copy. It's still an important resource to have at your disposal.

 

[Ismet]

The current MSAR is fine. It's simply annoying to have to login, etc. and only have access to it online. It's also annoying to people that you cannot purchase an used copy/sell your copy as an old/used copy. It's still an important resource to have at your disposal.

I actually think the online version is super convenient. You can access it from anywhere there's internet and you don't have to lug around a book. And it's only $15.

 

[tantacles]

i actually think the online version is super convenient. You can access it from anywhere there's internet and you don't have to lug around a book. And it's only $15.

+1

 

[Northwesterly]

I actually think the online version is super convenient. You can access it from anywhere there's internet and you don't have to lug around a book. And it's only $15.

That would be convenient if they'd actually bought enough bandwidth to avoid having a laggy mess of a website.

 

[altitude]

I found some older used MSAR guidebooks for sale online. Would this be better than the 2012-2013 online access?

If I should go for the guidebook, which of these is best:
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012

 

[Rippy087]

I found some older used MSAR guidebooks for sale online. Would this be better than the 2012-2013 online access?

If I should go for the guidebook, which of these is best:
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012

If you really want it in print, then go for the most recent one.

 

[Donald Juan]

I found some older used MSAR guidebooks for sale online. Would this be better than the 2012-2013 online access?

If I should go for the guidebook, which of these is best:
2009-2010
2010-2011
2011-2012

No, don't go for the most recent one. Get the 2010-2011, because it has all the information, every school has a two pages devoted with every bit of information you want. The most recent print, 2011-2012, took out several of the statistics about GPA and MCAT scores and put them only online.

 

[Bro Dude]

no, don't go for the most recent one. Get the 2010-2011, because it has all the information, every school has a two pages devoted with every bit of information you want. The most recent print, 2011-2012, took out several of the statistics about gpa and mcat scores and put them only online.

^this!!!

 

[altitude]

Just made a deal to buy the 2011-2012 MSAR guidebook for 15$- is it not worth it? It doesn't include any MCAT/GPA info by school????

 

[altitude]

Just made a deal to buy the 2011-2012 MSAR guidebook for 15$- is it not worth it? It doesn't include any MCAT/GPA info by school????

Do I take the deal: 15$ 2011-2012 MSAR GUIDEBOOK OR opt for: 2012-2013 MSAR ONLINE ACCESS?

 

[tantacles]

Do I take the deal: 15$ 2011-2012 MSAR GUIDEBOOK OR opt for: 2012-2013 MSAR ONLINE ACCESS?

Online is my vote, for all of the reasons mentioned above. Convenience, full information, and bookmarking ability.

 

[JRG]

I actually think the online version is super convenient. You can access it from anywhere there's internet and you don't have to lug around a book. And it's only $15.

I completely agree with you! The only thing I wish is they could make an iphone app so that it's easier to pull up on the fly.

 

[Donnie1310]

That would be convenient if they'd actually bought enough bandwidth to avoid having a laggy mess of a website.

👍

The site is consistently slow, and good god was trying to use it when it first came online and every premed and their brother were scouring it a nightmare.

Maybe I'd like it better if you only had to click once per school to get all the info. Not click for the school then have sub sub sections that have to load individually.

 

[Nymphicus]

👍

The site is consistently slow, and good god was trying to use it when it first came online and every premed and their brother were scouring it a nightmare.

Maybe I'd like it better if you only had to click once per school to get all the info. Not click for the school then have sub sub sections that have to load individually.

And the sections are organized as to blind and confuse what section actually contains what information, so that only the best are able to glean the necessary information to apply.

Weed out the weak I say!

jk jk the online version is terrible-it has all the information but horribly inconvenient to use

 

[DAPI]

No, don't go for the most recent one. Get the 2010-2011, because it has all the information, every school has a two pages devoted with every bit of information you want. The most recent print, 2011-2012, took out several of the statistics about GPA and MCAT scores and put them only online.

I think there is some confusion here. The 2012-2013 is the most recent one, and the first to put information online.

The one you want is the 2011-2012 version. It has all the information - GPA, MCAT, accepted, matriculated, interviewed, class makeup, tuition, specialty choice, required courses, and so forth in print.

 

[blizzah]

Just buy the online. You are going to be spending hundreds if not thousands on applications alone, don't cheap out now.

 

[JSU]

Do I take the deal: 15$ 2011-2012 MSAR GUIDEBOOK OR opt for: 2012-2013 MSAR ONLINE ACCESS?

The 2011-2012 has stats (at least the one I've seen did), buy it! They're going for $100+ on Amazon.

 

[Narmerguy]

I found the online version to be very unintuitive, slow, and generally a pain to deal with. They don't allow you to sort schools based on various characteristics, as would seem natural, and the interface is a pain. I don't like it.

 

[DryHopped]

The online version has worked fine for me as well. I liked being able to log in and search any time and be able to add a list of favorite schools to research while applying instead of thumbing through a book each time.

 

[DAPI]

The 2011-2012 has stats (at least the one I've seen did), buy it! They're going for $100+ on Amazon.

😱😱😱 I guess I'll be selling mine on Amazon after this cycle instead of giving it to my school

 

[ppfizenm]

The 2011-2012 has stats (at least the one I've seen did), buy it! They're going for $100+ on Amazon.

cha-ching. Guess something good has finally come out of being a re-applicant

 

[Nymphicus]

cha-ching. Guess something good has finally come out of being a re-applicant

I have both but am hanging on to them....for now.

 

[ppfizenm]

I have both but am hanging on to them....for now.

I removed the shrink wrap of the 2012-2013 one in a barnes and noble (gasp) and browsed through it (planning on buying it) for this years application and got absolutely nothing new out of it so I just reused my 2011-2012

 

[Ismet]

I found the online version to be very unintuitive, slow, and generally a pain to deal with. They don't allow you to sort schools based on various characteristics, as would seem natural, and the interface is a pain. I don't like it.

I conversely find the online version very easy to use and quite fast as well. Maybe it's your computer or browser? Works perfectly on Firefox! I can see where it would be nice to have more sorting options, but you can already sort by IS or OOS tuition, MCAT, GPA, and class size. Overall it's a great deal for $15. I loved the "compare" feature, where you can pick a bunch of schools you think you're interested in and compare them side-by-side. That would just be annoying in the book version.

 

[sciencebooks]

I removed the shrink wrap of the 2012-2013 one in a barnes and noble (gasp) and browsed through it (planning on buying it) for this years application and got absolutely nothing new out of it so I just reused my 2011-2012

Sorry to bump this, but even though the new one has nothing NEW, it still has all of the helpful information, right? Like they didn't remove any of the helpful stuff you all were mentioning, did they? Thanks!

And does anyone by chance know if there's anything in the print version that isn't in the online version? I think that was something people commented on last year.

 

[Ismet]

Sorry to bump this, but even though the new one has nothing NEW, it still has all of the helpful information, right? Like they didn't remove any of the helpful stuff you all were mentioning, did they? Thanks!

And does anyone by chance know if there's anything in the print version that isn't in the online version? I think that was something people commented on last year.

Here you go: detailed comparison of the online and the book
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/181264/data/comparison_chart.pdf

Keep in mind that if you buy the book, you also get online access. Personally I would save the $10 and just get the online, it worked out for me. All the "extra information" that the book has is pretty basic/general stuff, and if you really want to read those guides you can just go to a bookstore/library for an hour and read them.

 

[Narmerguy]

I conversely find the online version very easy to use and quite fast as well. Maybe it's your computer or browser? Works perfectly on Firefox! I can see where it would be nice to have more sorting options, but you can already sort by IS or OOS tuition, MCAT, GPA, and class size. Overall it's a great deal for $15. I loved the "compare" feature, where you can pick a bunch of schools you think you're interested in and compare them side-by-side. That would just be annoying in the book version.

It's actually pretty difficult to easily view most of the school information easily without going deep into the school profile. It makes comparing schools very tedious and difficult.

Here's the #1 rated review on Amazon:

The MSAR is the official, authoritative guide to all of the allopathic medical colleges in North America; it would be unwise to apply to medical school without using it as a guide. In the past it presented an overview of each school on a two-page spread complete with admissions statistics, selection criteria, pre-requisites, and curriculum information. The best part of the MSAR was this easy-to-navigate layout with quick access to all of the information needed to make application decisions. Apparently, that was too convenient and logical.

With the new MSAR, the AAMC has published 286 of the most useless pages ever written on the topic of medical college admissions, ranking them above forest fires in the list of tragedies befallen by trees. All of the important information and data is now accessible only through the MSAR website, where you will find it (maybe) buried under a frustrating mountain menus and sub-menus that have been optimized for inefficiency. You'd be forgiven for suspecting that AAMC employs an army of watchmakers and cryptographers whose sole task is to uncover new and exciting ways to obscure two pages' worth of information. That's the only logical explanation.

Hopefully, the website will be improved next year, and they will return the printed edition to its previous form. In the mean time, I would recommend purchasing last year's edition on amazon, despite the inflated price (probably caused by the swarm of people seeking refuge from the horrors of the new format).

Disclaimer: The content of this review rests on the assumption that the AAMC intends the 2012 MSAR to be used as an aid to medical college admissions. I would feel quite silly if they were actually trying to market an exotic firewood substitute, as the MSAR performs admirably in this respect.

 

[DCSB6]

When does the 2013-2014 book come out? Is it April?

 

[Warren Peace]

Listed as early April

 

[Tots]

When does the 2013-2014 book come out? Is it April?

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/requirements/msar/faq/180182/when_msar_published.html

 

[legendarg]

Can someone confirm for me that the online MSAR only shows the 10th and 90th percentile for school MCAT and GPA and not the average? I can't find an actual median for either of these numbers anywhere. I would be rather shocked if they left this out, because only showing a huge range of numbers for each school is not very useful and does not give a realistic idea about whether your numbers are competitive. I have found that I am between the 10th and 90th percentile for almost every school, so it doesn't really give me a good idea of exactly how competitive my numbers are compared to the average matriculant to a given school.


Edit: It shows up if you click on a school and view details, then click on selection factors.

 

[DAPI]

Can someone confirm for me that the online MSAR only shows the 10th and 90th percentile for school MCAT and GPA and not the average? I can't find an actual median for either of these numbers anywhere. I would be rather shocked if they left this out, because only showing a huge range of numbers for each school is not very useful and does not give a realistic idea about whether your numbers are competitive. I have found that I am between the 10th and 90th percentile for almost every school, so it doesn't really give me a good idea of exactly how competitive my numbers are compared to the average matriculant to a given school.

The MSAR shows the median for all students accepted. The US News and World Report shows the mean (IIRC) for matriculating students.

 

[Dingo Mango]

Online. I got both last year and didn't really end up using the book at all... the actual useful info is all online, book doesn't have any unique info.