Is the MSAR worth buying?

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Schwann

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I am debating whether to buy the MSAR from the AMCAS website? Is the book worth buying for $33 with shipping? If anyone bought the book before, please provide your input.
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I just bought the 09-10 MSAR (the old one). I think it's pretty good, very informative for someone who isn't sure where they really want to go. Just my two cents.
 
Wouldn't the 09-10 MSAR be the new one for the 09-10 application cycle?
 
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Yes, worth it. If it saves you from applying to just one school where you have no chance, it will pay for itself.

All of the info in the book is available by visiting individual med school websites, but the MSAR is extremely handy for paring down the 120+ allo schools to a more manageable number...ultimately you will want to rely on school websites for info, but the MSAR will help you get your list down to 10 to 30 schools (whatever number you need depending on your stats and residency)...
 
Schwann said:
Wouldn't the 09-10 MSAR be the new one for the 09-10 application cycle?
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A new edition will come out in May, I think, but the truth is that little of the pertinent info changes year to year, so if you need the book now to start developing your school list, go ahead and buy the current edition...
 
You can find almost all of the info that is in the MSAR on this site and strewn about the internet. However, if you don't know where you are going to apply, it is nice to be able to have all of that information in one place. Plus, I found that it is a lot easier to read a two page summary of a each of the medical schools than try to rummage through 120 school websites just to find the same info.
 
I have an excel document with all the info you need but I'm not sure how to post it, I can email it to you if you'd like.
 
Your local library has the MSAR.
 
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YES! I looked through it multiple times before I came up with my final school list. I couldn't have done it without the MSAR - it would have taken way too long and I would have lost patience comparing so many different things for the so many US MD schools. I spent a tooooon of money during the application process and the $25 I spent on this book was nothing in the grand scheme of things, yet worth it.
 
dont wannna beat a dead horse..:beat: but i think that you should buy it..lots of information that are a nuisance to find on your own...
 
mskk said:
I'd definitely recommend having your own copy, I've found it very helpful in narrowing down my list so far.
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Buy your own copy because you will want to highlight some things, really mark up the pages, etc.

Worth every penny.
 
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i think you definitely want to have access to it, but i never got around to getting my own copy- i either used the one at the career center or from the public library when i went home
 
MDIC said:
Your local library has the MSAR.
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You'd also have access to a free copy in your prehealth advising office, but the university library is more likely to have a photocopy machine..
 
Sangria said:
i think you definitely want to have access to it, but i never got around to getting my own copy- i either used the one at the career center or from the public library when i went home
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Me too. I flipped through the one at my school's advising office. Never saw any reason to buy my own copy.
 
thanks ejay@!!!
it is awesome. I already have the MSAR, but it is still very useful to have it in a spread sheet. flipping the pages gets tiring after the 200th time...:):)
 
shemarty said:
Me too. I flipped through the one at my school's advising office. Never saw any reason to buy my own copy.
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I agree with you shemarty.. the MSAR didn't contain any of the information that really matters to me (subjective location features, facilities, opportunities, general student demeanor, etc etc basically the soft stuff). As for picking schools, if you are lucky enough to be blessed with higher than average stats for most schools then it really comes down to the factors that I listed above.

I like the point made above though, if it saves you from applying to one school then it has basically paid for itself. I never thought about it that way.
 
buy a copy of usnews...gives u aceptee/matriculant ration...
 
variablistic said:
I'd download it quickly since this is illegal...
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Photocopying is illegal. Sharing the data from this book or in any other book is not illegal, no matter in what format you choose to put it in. The person who compiled that list had spent a lot of time organizing the data and it should be shared.

To upload a file, make sure you are not using "quick reply." In your reply window, scroll down to "Manage Attachments." A new window will pop up and you can browse to the file on your computer and directly upload it to SDN (click on "Upload" after selecting the file from your computer and close that window). The limit is 200KB.

I am uploading the same list you have posted, but I have tweaked it a bit to make it more user friendly. Highlighted schools are either very OOS unfriendly or non-URM unfriendly. The schools are organized by their GPA acceptances.
 

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Excelsius said:
I am uploading the same list you have posted, but I have tweaked it a bit to make it more user friendly. Highlighted schools are either very OOS unfriendly or non-URM unfriendly. The schools are organized by their GPA acceptances.
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Awesome, saved.

There's also gunnercalc from last week or so... I think it's 08 data, though.
 
is this really the 2009-2010 version?

I bought my MSAR last April or so and that one had JUST came out. I'm pretty sure that was NOT the 2009-2010. when did this 2009-2010 one come out?

you guys said you got it off SDN...I do recall an SDN excel format from my version I bought. is this excel format even newer?
 
DrChuck24 said:
dont wannna beat a dead horse..:beat: but i think that you should buy it..lots of information that are a nuisance to find on your own...
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What info does MSAR specifically contain, other than that in the spreadsheet?
 
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The current MSAR is ORANGE and is dated 2009-2010. It assumes you will be starting classes in Fall 2009.

The next edition is going to come out this April, for those who are applying and hoping to start school in Fall 2010.

I read it at the library whenever I get bored - but I will buy my own when I am starting my cycle. It also contains a cropped goofy picture of one of the med schools buildings on the upper left corner, which I think is funny.

It contains no quotes or student life things like the Princeton Review's "Best 136 Medical Schools" which is also pretty good. I would go with the MSAR for more accurate raw data, and PR for their more in depth school-specific information about what life is like at that school.
 
Excelsius said:
Photocopying is illegal. Sharing the data from this book or in any other book is not illegal, no matter in what format you choose to put it in. The person who compiled that list had spent a lot of time organizing the data and it should be shared.
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First,

Amount of time spent doing something doesn't make it right. If the person had spent a lot of time scanning every page into a massive pdf and then sharing it, you wouldn't be making the same argument.

Second,

This has come up on SDN before:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=403341&highlight=MSAR

And I don't remember the exact details, but the thread was locked because someone was sharing all the info out of the msar.

Whatever, though. I'll shut up and let the mods deal with it.
 
I have the MSAR and the US News report. I like the US news better. You should get one of them. What's an actually useful 20-30 dollars (as opposed to $100+ secondary fees to schools you'll never hear back from) when you will soon be throwing away untold thousands?
 
rama kandra said:
The current MSAR is ORANGE and is dated 2009-2010. It assumes you will be starting classes in Fall 2009.

The next edition is going to come out this April, for those who are applying and hoping to start school in Fall 2010.

I read it at the library whenever I get bored - but I will buy my own when I am starting my cycle. It also contains a cropped goofy picture of one of the med schools buildings on the upper left corner, which I think is funny.

It contains no quotes or student life things like the Princeton Review's "Best 136 Medical Schools" which is also pretty good. I would go with the MSAR for more accurate raw data, and PR for their more in depth school-specific information about what life is like at that school.
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How could the edition for 2009-2010 cycle possibly be published when the cycle hasn't finished yet. The info in the spreadsheet (number of matriculants and separate number of internationals, etc.) could possibly change depending on things like who gets out of waitlist. Schools haven't even interviewed all the applicants for this cycle yet, right? I just don't get it.
 
Fakesmile said:
How could the edition for 2009-2010 cycle possibly be published when the cycle hasn't finished yet. The info in the spreadsheet (number of matriculants and separate number of internationals, etc.) could possibly change depending on things like who gets out of waitlist. All the interviews aren't all done for this cycle yet, right?
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I saw the orange one. It had the same stats from 2005 as my 2006 edition. They don't update that every year...go with US News. (but don't buy too much into their rankings)
 
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/msar.htm

I too, don't understand the year thing, but I assume it means you are applying in 2008, for a seat in 2009/2010's year. Bogus but inside each schools listing it says 'starting date' and it says 'September X, 2009' so I figure I would wait for the next printing to purchase my own, in case the stats do change.


Also, you wouldnt expect every school to update its stats. There is a service that sends out requests to schools for this data. Some dont respond and hence the data stays the same. On the other hand, a bunch of schools prob do send in the same stats from the prior edition - I am banking on SOME having updated stats and so thats why I will just wait to see it in the library before buying.
 
Schwann said:
I am debating whether to buy the MSAR from the AMCAS website? Is the book worth buying for $33 with shipping? If anyone bought the book before, please provide your input.
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Yes, you should get it. Don't be cheap on the important things at the expense of not being well-informed about the application process. You're about to spend several thousand dollars on applying to medical school and attending interviews, and you're seriously worried about spending $33 for the best book that will guide you through the process? If you really are that cheap and hard up, then go look at it in your school library. But definitely use it.
 
$33 isn't that much, considering the amount you'll be paying on everything else for med school
It definitley is worth it!
 
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