averages dont mean sh** w/o std deviations!!!!!

[brynn7]

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okay so i was having this debate and i firmly believe that averages mean NOTHING without standard deviations! maybe it's because this past year i took both statistics and research methods for behavioral sciences, and elementary statistics (who the hell takes 7 credit hours of stats in one year?...oh me). so i am obsessed with standard deviations, interquartile ranges and all that garbage.

Soooooo schools provide us with MCAT score averages and GPA averages...but it means NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if the average MCAT is 32 and if the standard deviation is 0.5, this would mean that 95% of the students have within 2 standard deviations = 1.0 point, meaning that 95% of them have between 31 and 33.
OR...if the average MCAT is 32 and the standard deviation is 2, this would mean that approx 65% of students have scores within one standard deviation (30-34) and that 95% of students have within 2 standard deviations = 4 so that would be 28-36.

Anyway...does anyone have any info on standard deviations for various schools' average statistics?

 

[exmike]

Anyway...does anyone have any info on standard deviations for various schools' average statistics?

NO

and who really cares, just sent in yoru app and see what happens!

 

[EvoDevo]

Actually, that's a great argument, OP.

However, you're never going to get that info as an applicant, know what I mean?

 

[superdevil]

i think its safe to assume that the SD at most schools is between 2-3 (probably closer to 3). anything else would be quite odd (0.5? 95% percent within two points on the MCAT? applicants aren't made in a factory, you know).

but yeah, it would be fun to know...

 

[tgerwuds]

Interesting [rubbing my nonexistent goatee]

 

[pushkin]

You're totally right. Those averages have little meaning unless we know more about the distribution. But why obsess about it? I think you just need a vacation.

 

[SlopinMunkyDude]

Actually, standard deviations are probably even less accurate, at least in terms of understanding where most applicatns will stand with a particular MCAT score. Some schools are going to have to go way out of there way to find AA admits. For instance, a school like Wake Forest or Creighton is going to have a harder timer drawing black students than will Emory or George Washington (or at least that would be my guess). I would expect to see a greater standard deviation with them.

 

[soreed]

but averages are usually near the median. so you can say that with a score 0.1 above average you scored better than half the people they admitted the previous year. so your chances are good from numbers standpoint

 

[gildas]

okay so i was having this debate and i firmly believe that averages mean NOTHING without standard deviations! maybe it's because this past year i took both statistics and research methods for behavioral sciences, and elementary statistics (who the hell takes 7 credit hours of stats in one year?...oh me). so i am obsessed with standard deviations, interquartile ranges and all that garbage.

Soooooo schools provide us with MCAT score averages and GPA averages...but it means NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if the average MCAT is 32 and if the standard deviation is 0.5, this would mean that 95% of the students have within 2 standard deviations = 1.0 point, meaning that 95% of them have between 31 and 33.
OR...if the average MCAT is 32 and the standard deviation is 2, this would mean that approx 65% of students have scores within one standard deviation (30-34) and that 95% of students have within 2 standard deviations = 4 so that would be 28-36.

Anyway...does anyone have any info on standard deviations for various schools' average statistics?

Who give a sh$*t?

 

[velo]

WTF? Where are you pulling that mathematical statement from? I think you're confusing the properties of the standard deviation with the median, because I promise you this: There are no med schools where the standard deviation of the MCAT is 0.1. That wouldn't be possible, considering that the MCAT is one of many qualifications that are measured by ADCOMs. Please enlighten me if I have misread your post.

yeah I think you misread his post. He wasn't saying 0.1 SD, he was saying if your score is 0.1 numerical MCAT points above the median (i.e. greater than 30.3 for school X) then you scored higher than one half of the students admitted last year

 

[velo]

Who give a sh$*t?

people going through the painful waiting period of the admin process with a prediliction for stats who need something to worry/complain about.... 😴 😴

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Who give a sh$*t?

It may be important to the OP if his MCAT is a number of points below the average. If his MCAT was above average, then I doubt he would care. However, if the average MCAT for his school of choice was 32, and his score was a 28, it would make a significant difference whether the SD was .6 or 2.6. Huge difference. If the SD was the former, he could forget about admittance, but could keep hope if it were the latter.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

yeah I think you misread his post. He wasn't saying 0.1 SD, he was saying if your score is 0.1 numerical MCAT points above the median (i.e. greater than 30.3 for school X) then you scored higher than one half of the students admitted last year

Haha... I feel foolish now. I completely misread the post.

And I thought I was the **** when it came to verbal reasoning...

 

[velo]

Haha... I feel foolish now. I completely misread the post.

And I thought I was the **** when it came to verbal reasoning...

ha, ain't no thang...happens to the best of us 👍

 

[jlee9531]

but averages are usually near the median. so you can say that with a score 0.1 above average you scored better than half the people they admitted the previous year. so your chances are good from numbers standpoint

luckily admissions isn't soley based on numbers.

 

[rockstar2525]

I've mentioned this concept before too, I'm not worried about it, I just think it's interesting to talk about. People seem to look at schools that have avg MCAT of 33 and mistake that to mean that 33 is the minimum, when actually there is deviation on either side. It would be interesting to know what the STD is, although I doubt admissions publishes those stats. I guess we'll just have to go back to friend of a friend anecdotal evidence that is so popular on this forum. IE, my cousin's sister's friend got into Columbia with a 27...even though the avg is 35

 

[Can U Feel It?]

In the MSAR, UMDNJ-RWJ published its 90th, 50th & 10th percentile GPA's for the class of 2007 which were 3.91, 3.63 & 3.26 respectively. Most law schools publish their 75th & 25th GPA & LSAT percentiles. I think it helps an applicant figure where they should apply especially if one is on the low side of either the standardized test or GPA.

 

[Peterock]

luckily admissions isn't soley based on numbers.

liar

 

[jlee9531]

liar

you know its true.

 

[NYCDawg81]

.

 

[Jillianrae]

Actually, standard deviations are probably even less accurate, at least in terms of understanding where most applicatns will stand with a particular MCAT score. Some schools are going to have to go way out of there way to find AA admits. For instance, a school like Wake Forest or Creighton is going to have a harder timer drawing black students than will Emory or George Washington (or at least that would be my guess). I would expect to see a greater standard deviation with them.

I haven't seen anything to indicate that Wake has a difficult time drawing minority students. There is a very large minority population in my class, and most of them had excellent stats. You know what they say about making assumptions...

 

[medtechv79]

You can just take the average as a guideline...it doesn't mean the bare minumum...obviously when u calculate an average you have a distribution of numbers that are below or above the mode of numbers (if I'm correct). So if there avg. is 33 then obviously there will be ppl with scores below a 33!
So just b/c u don't meet an avg. requirement cutoff doesn't mean u can't try to exceed another requirement!
(like low MCAT score, HIGH GPA....try to balance it out...or HIGH MCAT score, low GPA)....