Why lower MCAT/GPA averages for OOS accepted applicants?

[tinyhandsbob]

I am working on my med school list and noticed that for many schools (including public ones), the average MCAT/GPA for OOS accepted applicants is lower than average and for IS accepted applicants -higher than average. Can anyone comment on why this may be? I would have expected the opposite.

Thanks!

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[993444]

You can filter out OOS and IS matriculant averages on MSAR. If you track those down and then report the numbers back to us then we could help you better.

 

[Goro]

Looking to add a few more schools to my app list and need some input. Which group of schools am I more competitive for with an MCAT of 508 and why?
(Assume I'm out of state for all and that the schools are otherwise similar, except for MCAT, for argument sake)

Group 1:
Public -509 median MCAT (70% in state/30% out of state accepted)
Public - 510 (66% IS /33% OOS)

Group 2:
Private- 512 (33% IS/66% OOS)
Private- 512 (30% IS/70% OOS)
Public -512 (15% IS/85% OOS)


Thanks!

You're looking at the wrong percentages. You have to look at the percentages of applicants from in-state and out-of-state compared to interviews.

You will see that state schools heavily favored the home team.

 

[tinyhandsbob]

You can filter out OOS and IS matriculant averages on MSAR. If you track those down and then report the numbers back to us then we could help you better.

You are awesome. I did not realize there was a drop down for that data. I should be able to figure it out now. Have any idea why for many schools, IS applicants have a higher average MCAT/GPA and OOS applicants have lower MCAT/GPA than average? I would think it would be the opposite. This seems to include some public schools.

 

[Faha]

I believe that when OOS applicants have lower MCAT/GPA averages than IS applicants at state public schools it is probably due to this. The OOS applicants are 2 separate groups. One groups are applicants with no connection to the state. The other are applicants who fit into one of these categories
#1 They attended an undergraduate school in the state (especially if it is the same institution that has a medical school)
#2 Former residents. They may have lived in the state through college graduation but have been living in another state for 2 years and have established residency in the new state
#3 Legacies
#4 Veterans-some states consider veterans instate even though they may be a resident of another state or stationed overseas.
#5 URM. Some schools may recruit URM from other states because their local patient population may have large minority groups
If you are not in one of those 5 categories your chances at a state public school where you are not a resident are lower than the percentages indicated for those interviewed who are OOS.

 

[tinyhandsbob]

I believe that when OOS applicants have lower MCAT/GPA averages than IS applicants at state public schools it is probably due to this. The OOS applicants are 2 separate groups. One groups are applicants with no connection to the state. The other are applicants who fit into one of these categories
#1 They attended an undergraduate school in the state (especially if it is the same institution that has a medical school)
#2 Former residents. They may have lived in the state through college graduation but have been living in another state for 2 years and have established residency in the new state
#3 Legacies
#4 Veterans-some states consider veterans instate even though they may be a resident of another state or stationed overseas.
#5 URM. Some schools may recruit URM from other states because their local patient population may have large minority groups
If you are not in one of those 5 categories your chances at a state public school where you are not a resident are lower than the percentages indicated for those interviewed who are OOS.

This is what I was thinking too. I've reached out to the schools I'm thinking about to ask whether they give preference to OOS from bordering states; students with ties to state or if they have other types of 'preferred' OOS. Interestingly, their website does not seem to indicate any such preference (this is for U of South Carolina Greenville and U of Missouri Columbia) .

 

[Faha]

U Missouri Columbia only matriculated 17 non residents last year. I suspect the majority of those 17 are from one of those categories above.