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[efle]

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UCLA, Davis and Irvine median MCAT lower than any of the SUNY schools... How hard is it become instate in California?

I'd look carefully at the % interviewed and the quality of your ECs before trying to make the switch ! UCLA might have lower stats now but when they only interview 6%, the rest of your app better be amazing

 

[LizzyM]

I'm not paying for it this year but I'm interested to know if any schools are skewed with a MCAT that is not beautifully symmetrical as shown in the sample.

 

[Gibbward]

UCLA, Davis and Irvine median MCAT lower than any of the SUNY schools... How hard is it become instate in California?

You gotta take into account just how massive and competitive the applicant pool is in CA. Plus you gotta take into account the regional biases some of these schools may have too.

 

[trickydick]

I'd look carefully at the % interviewed and the quality of your ECs before trying to make the switch ! UCLA might have lower stats now but when they only interview 6%, the rest of your app better be amazing

It was kind of a joke but more of an observation regarding the general consensus that it's hard to stay instate in California. Which still may be true because of the sheer number of people in that state.

 

[Groggs]

I'm not paying for it this year but I'm interested to know if any schools are skewed with a MCAT that is not beautifully symmetrical as shown in the sample.

Seen a couple like that, can't recall which off the top of my head.

 

[tbonez71]

Going to be interesting to see if they maintain like this, or if they climb a little back up into the low teens

Yea maybe they really took the whole "New MCAT, new standards" thing to heart and made a change, believing the other schools would follow suit... Wonder what they will do now that it is obvious the others didn't lol.

 

[efle]

I'm not paying for it this year but I'm interested to know if any schools are skewed with a MCAT that is not beautifully symmetrical as shown in the sample.

Many are skewed with a long left tail

example (a top 20):

 

[efle]

Yea maybe they really took the whole "New MCAT, new standards" thing to heart and made a change, believing the other schools would follow suit... Wonder what they will do now that it is obvious the others didn't lol.

Their poor US News rank is in for a beating next year huh lmao

 

[Yorick]

.

 

[trickydick]

I tried to avoid posting actual numbers because you have to pay for msar and copyright and stuff

 

[freak7]

Many are skewed with a long left tail

example (a top 20):

I mean that would make sense since the MCAT is graded on a normal distribution anyway.

 

[efle]

I mean that would make sense since the MCAT is graded on a normal distribution anyway.

So you'd think, but then peers look like this:

I'd guess the distribution of interviewees looks like a bell centered in the top couple percentile, for a place like this - 516's might be a ton more common than 524's, but the type of people a 516 is competitive on for the school are probably very rare

 

[LizzyM]

So you'd think, but then peers look like this:

I'd guess the distribution of interviewees looks like a bell centered in the top couple percentile, for a place like this - 516's might be a ton more common than 524's, but the type of people a 516 is competitive on for the school are probably very rare

dang! Does this mean that 10% of matriculants have a MCAT < 516. Beware! It looks like the median is 520 with 40% between 516 and 520 and half at 520 or higher.

 

[freak7]

So you'd think, but then peers look like this:

I'd guess the distribution of interviewees looks like a bell centered in the top couple percentile, for a place like this - 516's might be a ton more common than 524's, but the type of people a 516 is competitive on for the school are probably very rare

But at some point you run out of 520+'s. Is the peer a "bigger name" than the long-tail? If so that could explain it.

 

[Overthink]

Considering this MCAT data represents roughly ~50% of applicants/matriculants at schools, could there be a sampling bias in this data set? I.e. could there be a systematic difference in applicants based off of taking the old vs. new MCAT? Obviously we have no data to base an answer on, but I can't think of a solid reason why this would be the case.

 

[Lord Kek]

I'm not paying for it this year but I'm interested to know if any schools are skewed with a MCAT that is not beautifully symmetrical as shown in the sample.

So you'd think, but then peers look like this:

I'd guess the distribution of interviewees looks like a bell centered in the top couple percentile, for a place like this - 516's might be a ton more common than 524's, but the type of people a 516 is competitive on for the school are probably very rare

Check out this beauty (T-20)
Accepted

Matriculant

 

[enchantediris]

But at some point you run out of 520+'s. Is the peer a "bigger name" than the long-tail? If so that could explain it.

I don't think you necessarily have to run out of 520+'s if you don't want to (not saying that this is the best admissions method for a medical school). A 520 is 98th percentile, so you'd expect ~2% of applicants each year to score 520+. With >40,000 medical school applicants a year, that's a pool of >800 applicants with an MCAT >520. Medical school admissions truly seems like a huge numbers game. 😕

 

[cke11]

Does anyone else notice a discrepancy in the MCAT between "All Accepted Applicants - This School" and changing it to "All Matriculated Applicants - This School", UCLA, UC Davis and University of Michigan were a few that medians dropped significantly.

 

[Lord Kek]

Does anyone else notice a discrepancy in the MCAT between "All Accepted Applicants - This School" and changing it to "All Matriculated Applicants - This School", UCLA dropped from a median of 508 to 505 and UC Davis went down from a median of 509 to 506.

Accepted Applicants =/= Matriculated Applicants. Matriculants are those who choose to attend the school, acceptees are simply those who are accepted to the school. Acceptees don't always matriculate to the school they are accepted at, which is why you see the discrepancy between accepted applicants and matriculated applicants.

 

[trickydick]

Does anyone else notice a discrepancy in the MCAT between "All Accepted Applicants - This School" and changing it to "All Matriculated Applicants - This School"

Try to avoid using specific numbers from msar here

 

[cke11]

Try to avoid using specific numbers from msar here

Gotcha I'll edit my comment.

 

[DameJulie]

Wah what happened? I woke up and the MSAR seemed renovated. Someone please fill me in here.

 

[freak7]

Wah what happened? I woke up and the MSAR seemed renovated. Someone please fill me in here.

See:

MSAR is OUT!

 

[LizzyM]

Does anyone else notice a discrepancy in the MCAT between "All Accepted Applicants - This School" and changing it to "All Matriculated Applicants - This School", UCLA, UC Davis and University of Michigan were a few that medians dropped significantly.

To me, that signals that the school is losing high flyers to more prestigious schools UCLA and UC Davis may be losing to Stanford and UCSF, Michigan may be losing ot WashU, Northwestern and UChicago (with scholarships that make it more affordable than UMichigan).

 

[Overthink]

Does anyone else notice a discrepancy in the MCAT between "All Accepted Applicants - This School" and changing it to "All Matriculated Applicants - This School", UCLA, UC Davis and University of Michigan were a few that medians dropped significantly.

Each of those drops were < 2 points on the old MCAT scale. As efle pointed out earlier, this was common in the past. Nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[Marsay]

it updates for free

how and when does t update, if you already have the previous version?

 

[Jared.mock]

I'm still not to the point where I can think "Oh a 508, that's good." I still have to think "Oh a 508,...(internally: that's like a 30 on the old MCAT)...that's good.". I just can't seem to grasp the new numbers yet, I keep needing to convert them in my head.

Reminds me of the New Israeli Shekel. It's still called "new".

 

[LePepe]

Meharry Medical College
3.52/499

LMAO.

At that point why is the MCAT even a requirement? That's literally below the 50th percentile. Some schools should not exist.

 

[Lucca]

Meharry Medical College
3.52/499

LMAO.

At that point why is the MCAT even a requirement? That's literally below the 50th percentile. Some schools should not exist.

"

• Meharry Medical College was the first medical school in the South to offer four-year training.
• Meharry's first graduate, Dr. James Monroe Jamison, was the first African-American physician to formally be trained in the South.
• Meharry's first female graduate, Dr. Georgia E. L. Patton, received her medical degree on February 16, 1893.

At least 14 Black medical schools existed between 1865 and 1910, when Abraham Flexner released his critique of American medical training for the Carnegie Foundation. Known as the Flexner Report, it called for standardized and regulated practices in medical education. Meharry was one of only two African-American medical colleges to meet the academic standards of the Flexner Report. Five of the other schools closed after that."

"Today, nearly 5,000 students apply for the 105 slots available for first-year medical students. While Meharry’s clinics provide $35 million in uncompensated care to patients each year, our faculty and students also actively serve the community through many programs involving mentoring, counseling, and volunteer work.

Although a historically Black medical college, Meharry Medical College reflects the diversity of our nation with student-body representation from the Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and Native-American communities. The School of Medicine is proud to support the College’s mission statement by training new generations of health care professionals and serving as a national leader in community-based health care that focuses on patient care, AIDS research, public health, and medical education. We must persist in closing the gap in health disparities."

"The School of Medicine of Meharry Medical College pledges to offer a unique, quality, health science education to students of diverse origins, especially African Americans, with emphasis on addressing underserved populations. In addition, the School of Medicine will teach and monitor excellence in the delivery of primary or holistic care, provide a foundation for life-long learning, and conduct research relevant to the health of the disadvantaged."

As far as I'm concerned, Meharry doesn't need stratospheric numbers to justify their existence.

 

[efle]

Meharry Medical College
3.52/499

LMAO.

At that point why is the MCAT even a requirement? That's literally below the 50th percentile. Some schools should not exist.

The big hurdle for US med is getting in. The stats expected of people even by lower-stats mission programs is still way above what is necessary to predict eventually succeeding. The fact that the average person needs to be top 20% with straight A (or A-) grades is really the ridiculous thing.

 

[LePepe]

The big hurdle for US med is getting in. The stats expected of people even by lower-stats mission programs is still way above what is necessary to predict eventually succeeding. The fact that the average person needs to be top 20% with straight A (or A-) grades is really the ridiculous thing.

I don't really care if these people can meet the bare minimum qualifications to be licensed as a physician. As a patient, I would want the most intelligent physicians.

 

[efle]

I don't really care if these people can meet the bare minimum qualifications to be licensed as a physician. As a patient, I would want the most intelligent physicians.

I'd probs go for the most experienced imho, after seeing a masterful advanced endoscopist trained at XYZ State come to the rescue of the recent hire trained at MGH many, many times.

Don't get me wrong an MCAT that low does predict things like needing multiple step attempts, an extra year to graduate, and probs locks you into primary care in less competitive places. But it really doesn't take a genius to manage HTN and DM and COPD and for many of the patients these schools aim to serve, there is no pedigreed alternative option.

 

[LutGholein]

Meharry Medical College
3.52/499

LMAO.

At that point why is the MCAT even a requirement? That's literally below the 50th percentile. Some schools should not exist.

Marshall University(Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine) has a 500 median and they create physicians who can address the unique healthcare needs of West Virginia and Central Appalachia.
If a medical school can fulfill its mission whether it's a HBCU or a state school then it's doing something right.

 

[Astra]

can we stay on topic of the MSAR? I can see where this thread is heading

 

[Overthink]

Somewhat off topic, but with the new MSAR out I want to look into this for my own school list. Are there certain schools that favor big numbers more than ECs? I ask because my GPA and MCAT are really high, but ECs and research are decent but nothing incredible.

This really depends on the numbers (i.e. make a WAMC). Usual culprits include WashU, Vanderbilt, U Chicago, Northwestern, NYU, Case Western (just MCAT)

 

[Goro]

I'm not paying for it this year but I'm interested to know if any schools are skewed with a MCAT that is not beautifully symmetrical as shown in the sample.

Quite a few of some Top Schools

 

[Leumas8]

I wish there was an option to look at the previous MSAR to see the applicant MCAT spread by school like it had in the 2017 version.

 

[efle]

I wish there was an option to look at the previous MSAR to see the applicant MCAT spread by school like it had in the 2017 version.

I'm not surprised they took out the applicant ranges. I think:

1) many people looked at it and completely misinterpreted their odds with a weak score - "oh look, my 505 is right about the average for applicants to [Very Competitive School with a 36 median]!"
2) they probably don't want to advertise the fact that many schools tend to draw almost all their students from the top quartile or so of applicants. Making it clear to the bottom 75% how slim their odds are doesn't benefit anyone but the applicants.