Medical How Your Academic Statistics Influence Your Medical School Choices

The most reliable source of information about allopathic medical schools is the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) website, offered by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges). The statistics in this database can be extremely valuable in helping you decide where to apply. Most applicants look immediately at the data on MCAT scores and GPAs, but there is other information that can also be useful in creating your school list. Be aware that to have access to the data available through MSAR, you must first start an application.

Five steps for evaluating your med school stats​

Don’t be discouraged if you have low test scores. You need to focus on maximizing your other strengths, and most importantly, you should apply to programs where you will have a better chance of getting in.

Follow these steps:

Step #1: Calculate your stats and be kind to yourself.​

Without judgment or berating yourself, calculate your cumulative and science GPAs.

Step #2: Address a decreasing trend in your GPA.​

Look at the trends in your GPA, term by term. If you graduated with a significant decreasing trend, do not apply to med school this cycle. If you have a strong decreasing trend and your GPA is below 3.5, consider completing postbac coursework or a postbac program.

Step #3: Understand your MCAT score and its effect on your candidacy.​

If you maintained a competitive GPA or have a strong increasing trend, review your MCAT scores. If you earned a 125 or higher on each section of the exam – and have a total score of approximately 510 or higher – consider moving ahead with your application. If you scored less than 125 on any section, your application might go through an additional hurdle (known as the “academic committee” on some campuses), and some applicants with low GPAs or lower MCAT scores don’t make the cut. The members of these committees debate whether each applicant in question has other significant qualities that could justify keeping their application under consideration.

Step #4: Decide whether you need to retake the MCAT or complete additional coursework.​

If you have a lower GPA, you should work to achieve a higher MCAT score to compensate, and vice versa. If your numbers are too low in any area, consider retaking the MCAT or completing additional coursework.

Step #5: Begin researching schools.​

Once you have objectively collected and reviewed your numbers in detail, you are ready to begin researching medical schools.

Again, it is important that you not get discouraged by your numbers, but you must review them objectively. The more honest and accurately you can assess your stats in relation to the schools’, the more realistic and successful your application decisions will be. Our focus in this process is on outcomes. By using a strategic approach, we can bring about a positive outcome for your application.

How to choose a medical school based on your stats​

After you have completed the steps we just outlined to analyze your scores, it is time to use these scores to guide your medical school decision-making process. Separate yourself as much as you can from your numbers; take some time to process any strong emotions you’re feeling about them before you begin selecting schools, to ensure that you are ready to make wise decisions.

When you are ready, use your scores as a tool to help you get from Point A (being a premed applicant) to Point B (getting accepted to medical school).

1. Review the medical schools in your state.​

Statistically, you are more likely to be accepted to a school in a state where you are a resident. Some medical schools have special programs geared toward serving communities that are medically underserved. For example, the UC Davis School of Medicine hosts a Rural PRIME Program for students from rural areas who want to return to their communities as doctors.

The strongest predictors of whether you will meet the criteria for these types of special programs include (1) your personal connection to the community and (2) how much volunteer and clinical experience you have serving this particular group of people. Take these factors into account when deciding whether to apply to any programs that might represent your target community.

2. Identify which out-of-state medical schools accept a higher percentage of out-of-state students.​

Many public medical schools are funded by state taxpayers and therefore seek to enroll primarily state residents. Some medical schools, such as the one at the University of Mississippi, do not accept applicants from out of state. Others accept out-of-state applicants (and their application fees), but an examination of their MSAR data shows that they interview only a very small percentage of these candidates – and matriculate even fewer. This kind of information will prevent you from selecting schools where your chances of acceptance are especially low, simply because you are an out-of-state applicant. This tactic should narrow your list considerably.

3. Using your modified list of schools, begin comparing your scores.​

As you begin exploring the school data, it’s important to know that the MSAR reports matriculant scores from the 10th to the 90th percentiles, as well as the mean scores. When checking these score ranges, you might be pleasantly surprised to learn how low the scores for some accepted students actually are. If you have a lower GPA but a higher MCAT score, as well as years of exceptional service and activities, you might be just the kind of candidate a school is looking for, but you’ll never know if you don’t apply to the right schools.

As long as your application is strong in all other sections, you can choose schools at which you meet or exceed either the mean MCAT score or GPA, if not both. For example, if your GPA is higher than a school’s average, but your MCAT score is just below the school’s average yet still within the range of scores that it has accepted, you can include it on your list.

4. Taking your list of schools, begin evaluating each program with respect to your personal interests.​

Are you an older student (generally someone over the age of 24)? The 2024 MSAR shows that in the past four years, UC Davis has had 60 older students, while the University of Chicago has had three. Are you seeking a program that will look kindly on your postbaccalaureate studies? Of the 2023 entering class at Columbia University’s medical school, 26% had some postbac coursework.

Your personal interests could also include your ethnicity, need for financial aid, previous graduate degrees, and desired research opportunities. The MSAR reports, in broad strokes, the race and ethnicity of the members of each program’s most recent incoming class. More details about class makeup can usually be found on the individual schools’ websites. Compare the number of students of your ethnicity that each program accepted. If the total at a school is relatively low, you might have a better chance of being accepted to that school, because you would enhance the diversity of the class.

The availability of financial aid is always an important consideration. Some schools have an abundance of private funding and scholarships available, while others offer more basic packages. Looking at a school in terms of its specialties and how it can support your career goals is also important in the long term.

5. Double-check that you meet all the prerequisites for each school to further refine your list.​

Unfortunately, many applicants forget to complete this step. If you are missing even a single class, you could be disqualified from serious consideration. Cross all your Ts and dot all your Is. It’s an expensive mistake to apply to a school for which you simply don’t meet the basic requirements. (Note that most schools will allow you to complete your requirements before matriculation.)

The importance of considering your stats and your personal interests in choosing medical schools to apply to​

So yes, your numbers are an important criterion in the medical school application process, though they are not the only element you should consider when choosing which programs to apply to. Still, using your stats to objectively select the schools where you have the best chance of acceptance will set you up for success.

This article was originally posted on blog.accepted.com.

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