Meaning of the MCAT 10th percentile MSAR

[Engrailed]

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Mathematically, it's obvious what the 10th percentile means but who exactly are those that get accepted to schools with high MCAT stats, especially with a cluster toward the higher end?
For example, a school with a median of 518-520, where the majority of the scores are around that range, but then would have a long tail at 512-514 etc

Are those 512-514 likely URM, athletes, legacy candidates etc?
I'm not sure how seriously I should take the 10th percentile.
Trying to see where I should def NOT apply if my MCAT score is just barely above their 10th

Thoughts?

 

[Goro]

URM
reinventors whose post-bac/SMP GPA didn't pull the cGPA all that far up
Students who meet the schools mission
Veterans
legacies
People with compelling life stories or killer ECs.

Generally, if a school is WashU/NYU or Harvard/Stanford class, the higher up the pole you have to climb, as as such, I don't recommend people who re at or below the 10th %ile to apply there. But schools like Duke, Mayp, Pitt seemt have wider 10-90th %ile spreads, and as such, are more viable for those around the 10th %ile.

As an example
Your score is 514
Harvard? No
Pitt? yes
UCLA? No
UCSF? Maybe
Emory? yes
Yale? no
Case? Yes

 

[Engrailed]

URM
reinventors whose post-bac/SMP GPA didn't pull the cGPA all that far up
Students who meet the schools mission
Veterans
legacies
People with compelling life stories or killer ECs.

Generally, if a school is WashU/NYU or Harvard/Stanford class, the higher up the pole you have to climb, as as such, I don't recommend people who re at or below the 10th %ile to apply there. But schools like Duke, Mayp, Pitt seemt have wider 10-90th %ile spreads, and as such, are more viable for those around the 10th %ile.

As an example
Your score is 514
Harvard? No
Pitt? yes
UCLA? No
UCSF? Maybe
Emory? yes
Yale? no
Case? Yes

Would low SES/First gen etc, killer research/publications count as "people with compelling life stories"?

 

[Goro]

Would low SES/First gen etc, killer research/publications count as "people with compelling life stories"?

Low SES? Yes. We like come-from-behind stories in this country. It's in our national DNSA.

First gen? These are rather common now.

Could of Cell and Nature papers? Hard to tell. The research ****** might like them, but they're also stats hhores as well.

 

[Engrailed]

Could of Cell and Nature papers? Hard to tell. The research ****** might like them, but they're also stats hhores as well.

Ah yes, the latter half of that sentence is too true. haha