Went to a ‘meet your medical school mentor’ meeting last night. Had a good visit with a M3 from my home time university. While I was there I had a chance to see some of the info on the entering class of 2011.
State university, well regarded Midwestern school. Considered upper end, but not Ivy for example. It will probably be my reach school, as well as my dream school.
148 matriculants, 3.78 mean GPA (science was higher than cum), 32 mean MCAT, P median writing score.
6 students over the age of 30, one who is 52 years old! (would have never guessed at this school!).
FWIW, just a little triva. Made me feel a bit better, thought I would share with you folks.
Have a great day!
Crepitus
I find the discrepancy between the MCAT score and the GPA interesting; I would think with such high average GPA, the MCAT would be higher. But, perhaps, the lower MCAT is due to it being generally a one-time test (most applicants take it once), whereas the GPA is a measure of how one does over many courses over many years, and is perhaps a truer measure of one’s abilities. So, it should be no surprise that GPA trumps MCAT in their weight for admittance to med school. On the negative side, stats such as these make me feel worse because my overall GPA pales in comparison to the one listed here. Which means I will have to rock the MCAT.
- datsa Said:
I find the discrepancy between the MCAT score and the GPA interesting; I would think with such high average GPA, the MCAT would be higher. But, perhaps, the lower MCAT is due to it being generally a one-time test (most applicants take it once), whereas the GPA is a measure of how one does over many courses over many years, and is perhaps a truer measure of one's abilities. So, it should be no surprise that GPA trumps MCAT in their weight for admittance to med school. On the negative side, stats such as these make me feel worse because my overall GPA pales in comparison to the one listed here. Which means I will have to rock the MCAT.
The GPA/MCAT influence seems to be a bit more complex than one trumping the other. Kaplan, not the most disinterested organization I'll grant you, has done surveys since at least 2005 of allopathic medical school admission officers. Of the 120 or so MD schools, officers from about 80 per year respond. Of those who responded in 2007, 77 percent ranked MCAT scores as one of the top two admissions factors and 75 percent included GPAs as one of their top two factors. I also recall reading (though I do not have the citation in front of me) that the percentage who considered MCAT the number one factor, as opposed to the number two factor, was steadily growing.
In the 2010 survey, it seems that low MCAT score was the weighted the highest as rejection factor. This appears to follow the perception that as medical schools grow, and the sheer number of applications grow that schools are relying more heavily on "numerics" to initially review an application. My take on this is that a low MCAT will get you rejected quickly but a high MCAT doesn't as easily get you in
The link below has a good summary of the 2007 survey as well as some informative comments from the Admissions Director at VCOM
Link 2007 Kaplan Survey w/comments from VCOM
Link 2010 Kaplan Survey Press Release
Link 2010 Kaplan Summary & Highlights
The Kaplan links were interesting, especially their focus on the MCAT aspect because that is what Kaplan does best (Kaplan does little to improve GPA).
As far as the MCAT as a rejection factor, I assume that a very low MCAT would be more likely as a rejection factor than a low-to-moderate or above. Several friends of mine managed to get into a top 5 medical school (the same school) with sub 30 MCAT scores; their GPAs were stellar. On the other hand, I know of only one person with a sub-par GPA and stellar MCAT to get into the same school. This is not the most scientific survey and it clearly has biases by measure of its sample size alone. So a low MCAT can disqualify you but a high MCAT still may limit acceptance.
Datsa,
I did double check and I had mildly overstated the GPA. . .
Mean Science GPA 3.73
Mean Nonscience GPA 3.78
Mean Total GPA 3.76
Mean Verbal Reasoning MCAT 10.2
Mean Physical Science MCAT 10.6
Median Writing Sample MCAT P
Mean Biological Science MCAT 11.1
. . .is the info from the website. I can’t really speak to the differences between the GPA and MCAT, though your last post seems to very much sum up what I know about applicants here. I imagine any med school can be choosy, this one probably has a slight edge up. It’s the only MD school in the state, it has newer facilities, good reputation and draws well from out of state when it wants to.
Total applicants 3550, 357 of which were from instate. They admitted 100 instate students and 48 out of state. Typical candidates were coming from undergrad schools like Michigan, Northwestern, etc of the people I talked to. Of the few that I were able to ask, they hadn’t applied broadly at all - just 2 or 3 schools. One applied here and to the DO school instate and then withdrew his DO app after touring the facility.
I also work with multiple docs who were in the 3.7 and 34 range and who were unable to get in to this school.
Long to short, I guess my impression is, and always has been, that most of the students here are the hardworking, don’t make silly undergrad mistakes, good GPA types, who have known since high school not just that they want to be doctors but that they are going to be doctors - on top of standing out in other EC ways. This is why I was suprised to see as many non-traditionals as they had this year. I also noted that they had 21 students over 26.
Crepitus