How much higher than the average GPA and MCAT should you be?

[gyngyn]

In the yield protection business, specifically for those schools (VCU, Miami, etc) that come to an overt ranking, how do they compute high stats folks unlikely to matriculate? Are high stats at some schools actually used to downgrade on a scale of 1 to 5. Will high stats from OOS actually make someone a "2" at VCU?

If I were them, I would do a yield calculation based on historical norms for the school.
The pool of such applicants could then be stratified based on especially desirable attributes to interview the number that the school could afford.

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[Nietzschelover]

If I were them, I would do a yield calculation based on historical norms for the school.
The pool of such applicants could then be stratified to interview the number that the school could afford to interview based especially desirable attributes.

But how would you do that? If say VCU generally gets 5% of class to matriculate who are 36/3.8+ from OOS, how would you decide which apps to upgrade based on those high stats and which to downgrade based on those high stats?

 

[gyngyn]

But how would you do that? If say VCU generally gets 5% of class to matriculate who are 36/3.8+ from OOS, how would you decide which apps to upgrade based on those high stats and which to downgrade based on those high stats?

Take all the high stats aps, stratify by (human) screening score, count down to the number you are willing to interview based on how many excess interviews you are willing to do to get the desired number from this group. It's like any research problem. If they are willing to do a hundred interviews to get 5, pick the favorite hundred and go for it!

 

[WedgeDawg]

High stats in state made me (and friends with better stats than me) a 2 (assuming 1 is best) at VCU.

 

[Goldslugs]

Actually, UCD matriculates a higher percentage of their own undergrads than any other UC (27%) except for UCR (they have a policy reserving spots for undergrads due to their regional mandate for service). It might be the highest percentage of any other CA school (MSAR has some missing data points and not all CA medical schools have an undergrad...).

I'm surprised bc I'm a Davis grad and all the Davis grads I know didn't get any love from there.

 

[gyngyn]

I'm surprised bc I'm a Davis grad and all the Davis grads I know didn't get any love from there.

UCD had 421 applicants last year. With a class size of only 110, even 27% must have missed your friends, I'm sorry.

 

[Nietzschelover]

High stats in state made me (and friends with better stats than me) a 2 (assuming 1 is best) at VCU.

I think 5 is best and 2s and 1s at VCU have no shot. Some folks with 3s either have gotten interviews or think they have a chance to get one.

 

[raiderette]

Take a gap year or two and work in Texas or Ohio or Michigan.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I think 5 is best and 2s and 1s at VCU have no shot. Some folks with 3s either have gotten interviews or think they have a chance to get one.

Well they don't actually give you a number. They just give you a paragraph about your chances and people created a scale where they ranked the paragraphs 1-5, so it doesn't matter whether 1 or 5 is the best. My point was even with stats well above VCU's average and being in-state, me and some friends (who had stats similar to or better than me) were given the second best paragraph.

 

[Goldslugs]

Take a gap year or two and work in Texas or Ohio or Michigan.

Or apply super broadly aka throwing a million darts at a dart board, and accept the idea of potentially going DO. That's what I did after my first cycle was a failure. Ironically, I ended up applying to way less MD schools than the first time and got into multiple MDs. I was really ****ing lucky though.

 

[Pusheen]

gawd, this is why I need to stay off these threads, it's so damn depressing for anyone from CA

 

[cyang55]

GPA and MCAT will only get you to the interview, if you don't sell yourself in person, that will also hinder your chances. I know this person who had a 3.9 gpa and 38 MCAT, and he was wait-listed for the in-state school. (He did eventually get in a week before school started). Also, you need other things such as clinical experience, shadowing, etc etc along with your scores to get you that interview. Having particular scores won't "guarantee" an acceptance anywhere.

 

[ieatshrimp24]

GPA and MCAT will only get you to the interview, if you don't sell yourself in person, that will also hinder your chances. I know this person who had a 3.9 gpa and 38 MCAT, and he was wait-listed for the in-state school. (He did eventually get in a week before school started). Also, you need other things such as clinical experience, shadowing, etc etc along with your scores to get you that interview. Having particular scores won't "guarantee" an acceptance anywhere.

I am very much aware of clinical experience, shadowing, interview day. I'm just using GPA and MCAT medians right now to determine a list of medical schools.