Did you find the msar useful? i bought it and im not sure what to make of it

[mrh125]

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i looked up schools i want to apply to like uc irvine and the range for gpa is (10-90th percentile) is 3.48-3.96 and the mcat range is 30-38. These ranges are absolutely huge and it seems to be the case for other schools as well (which basically seems to say that I should just apply everywhere I want including ucsf which has a giant gaping range), how can this information be used to find out if i'm competitive for any given med school given how huge these ranges are? I really prefer the LizzyM score over this and that's probably what im going to use.

 

[Oso]

Well you have to look at the median too


And the MSAR gives you a lot of other good info too, besides GPA/MCAT (% of students who did research, # interviewed, etc.). Spend some time looking around.

 

[cookiemonsters]

The magnitude of the stat range in the MSAR is pretty accurate. Keep in mind that the MSAR gives stats for ACCEPTED students as opposed to matriculating students, so the provided MCAT & GPA average are usually 1 & .1 points respectively higher than the actual class profile. If you want actual matriculant averages, you need to buy a USNews profile.

Besides stats, MSAR is also useful for other stuff... it gives the mission, financial info, curriculum features, etc.

 

[Stoptheclot]

The magnitude of the stat range in the MSAR is pretty accurate. Keep in mind that the MSAR gives stats for ACCEPTED students as opposed to matriculating students, so the provided MCAT & GPA average are usually 1 & .1 points respectively higher than the actual class profile. If you want actual matriculant averages, you need to buy a USNews profile.

Besides stats, MSAR is also useful for other stuff... it gives the mission, financial info, curriculum features, etc.

MSAR is a beautiful summary of every single MD school in the US. I thought this was a huge benefit that allowed me to hunt down and apply at schools not only where I had competitive metrics but also find schools that matched MY mission/vision, interests, ECs. Of course, I'm a non-trad who has multiple MCATs, both of which some schools play a huge role in their decision processes. I thought of it as spending $25 on the book instead of, no joke, thousands of fruitless dollars that could have been used on interviews, resources, taking a lovely vacation to Hawaii etc.

GOOD LUCK! 🙂

 

[ninjaman22]

It is absolutely critical if you are applying to OOS public schools in addition to many other things. They have information on how many people apply, how many get interviews, and how many matriculate for both OOS and IS. For example, I did not know Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University only took NC residents until I saw it in MSAR.

 

[Nymphicus]

I found it very useful.

 

[Asklepios89]

There is also a difference between the book and the website. I didn't find the book that helpful, but the website actually has a lot more information, which was really helpful!

 

[Gene Parmesan]

The MSAR helped prevent me from applying to schools where I had no shot because they accept hardly any OOS people. I felt like I had a smart list of schools I applied to based on stat ranges and IS/OOS breakdowns and # of interviews given. Of course it didn't help that much since I got only one OOS interview, but at least it was at a "reach" school. This process is pretty random. Unless you're a stud applicant or have some connection to a school (I was born in GA, I think that's how I got an Emory interview) you won't get many OOS interviews, so don't obsess too much over the MSAR data.

 

[LuciusVorenus]

Outside of the stats breakdown (you can even see what percentile each section of your MCAT is for students accepted to the school) the summaries for each school were ridiculously useful. Useful in selecting schools, in writing secondary essays, and even for a quick review before interviews (if you're going to multiple interviews back to back some of the curricula start blending together). It also lets you know what emphasis the school places on research, community service, etc.

In other words, it's a very well written summary of every school's website. If you're looking for just stats, I honestly believe US News is a better purchase. It has more detailed stats especially when it comes to things like acceptance rates post-interview.

 

[3838]

Outside of the stats breakdown (you can even see what percentile each section of your MCAT is for students accepted to the school) the summaries for each school were ridiculously useful. Useful in selecting schools, in writing secondary essays, and even for a quick review before interviews (if you're going to multiple interviews back to back some of the curricula start blending together). It also lets you know what emphasis the school places on research, community service, etc.

In other words, it's a very well written summary of every school's website. If you're looking for just stats, I honestly believe US News is a better purchase. It has more detailed stats especially when it comes to things like acceptance rates post-interview.

I think this is very much what people usually use it for - a summary for secondaries so that you can get the overview. This makes it easier to navigate the website and understand what the school is really about. You can tailor secondaries to how you fit the school's mission.

 

[plumhill]

The magnitude of the stat range in the MSAR is pretty accurate. Keep in mind that the MSAR gives stats for ACCEPTED students as opposed to matriculating students, so the provided MCAT & GPA average are usually 1 & .1 points respectively higher than the actual class profile. If you want actual matriculant averages, you need to buy a USNews profile.

Besides stats, MSAR is also useful for other stuff... it gives the mission, financial info, curriculum features, etc.

So to clarify, the data doesn't include stats of waitlisted people who later matriculate?

 

[SN12357]

I was irritated about how much money I had to spend on just about every part of this process (MCAT fee, primary fee, secondary fee...) but not the MSAR. Only thing the AAMC gave me that I thought was worth the money. It's a great summary of the schools.

 

[Dr.Forssmann]

what are the matriculant stats for UCI?

 

[gyngyn]

The MSAR was better than any advisor I ever had. It unceremoniously guided me to the schools where I was a good candidate and saved me a boatload of cash and a world of hurt. It gave me the data I needed to be a successful first time applicant despite being quite nontraditional.
Now that I contribute to it, I do so with reverence.

 

[Lord Osis]

MSAR makes an extremely fun reading material especially during #2.
No, seriously.