Building a Medical School Application List Using MSAR

AAMC's Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) database is the primary data resource for MD school list construction. MSAR provides, for each AAMC-member school: the 10th/25th/50th/75th/90th percentile MCAT and GPA of accepted applicants, application and acceptance statistics, curriculum information, and mission statements. The most important MSAR data points for school list construction: (1) the median (50th percentile) MCAT and GPA of accepted applicants — this is your primary competitiveness benchmark; (2) the acceptance rate (total accepts / total applicants) — ranges from under 2% (Harvard Medical) to 15-20% (some state schools for in-state applicants); (3) in-state vs. out-of-state acceptance rates — many public medical schools have dramatically higher acceptance rates for in-state applicants (sometimes 5-10× higher) and should be treated as separate tiers; (4) the proportion of accepted applicants with research experience, clinical experience, and community service — this reveals school-specific holistic priorities. Building the list: apply to 15-25 schools total for a student with a strong application (above median MCAT and GPA at most target schools). Fewer applications increase risk; more applications may indicate poor list calibration. Include 3-4 'likely' schools where you are clearly above both medians, 8-12 competitive schools where you are at or near medians, and 3-5 reach schools where you are below median but have compelling differentiating factors.