Why does MSAR MCAT differ from school specific websites?

[Engrailed]

I am looking through school websites on admissions stats and I and finding that the avg MCAT they list is a few points lower than the MSAR median.
For example:

Dartmouth website has 512 as avg MCAT but MSAR has 516.
Is that because the MSAR is going by the median vs the avg (school website)?

Just curious. Thanks!

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[907914]

I am looking through school websites on admissions stats and I and finding that the avg MCAT they list is a few points lower than the MSAR median.
For example:

Dartmouth website has 512 as avg MCAT but MSAR has 516.
Is that because the MSAR is going by the median vs the avg (school website)?

Just curious. Thanks!

1) Median is not the same as average so the schools may be reporting different numbers (outliers on the lower end can throw off the average without affecting the median)

2) Make sure you are using matriculant medians on MSAR not accepted medians

 

[Engrailed]

1) Median is not the same as average so the schools may be reporting different numbers (outliers on the lower end can throw off the average without affecting the median)

2) Make sure you are using matriculant medians on MSAR not accepted medians

Duly noted!
So in general, when gauging my admissions chances for schools, which metric is the best indicator for weighing my chances?

 

[efle]

Duly noted!
So in general, when gauging my admissions chances for schools, which metric is the best indicator for weighing my chances?

If you want to know who gets admitted, look at accepted median and IQR.

If you want to know who attends, look at matriculant median and IQR.

If you want an ambiguous number that might be a skewed average, a matriculant value misattributed to admits, and/or that is several years out of date, then look at school websites.

 

[907914]

If you want to know who gets admitted, look at accepted median and IQR.

If you want to know who attends, look at matriculant median and IQR.

If you want an ambiguous number that might be a skewed average, a matriculant value misattributed to admits, and/or that is several years out of date, then look at school websites.

Side note: If you want to know if you even have a shot, use the matriculant 10% so you know if your stats are even considered. If that doesn’t suit your needs, check their website. Ie. Penn has a 10% cGPA of 3.69, I am a 3.66. But their website told me the lowest accepted last year was 3.4, so I at least know my application will not be screened out.

 

[Engrailed]

Thanks all :')