MCAT Admissions Insights

Admissions Officers’ Survey Data Snapshot

The MCAT Admissions Insights email series will deliver evidence-based insights, resources, and tools to help you use MCAT scores in ways that align with your schools’ missions and contexts. We invite you to join the conversation and share your reactions, comments, and insights with us.

Note: A total of 116 schools responded to the survey (76% response rate). Percentages shown represent responses of “important” and “very important” to the survey questions: “How important is it for your school to select students for your 2021 entering class who are likely to contribute to the following educational mission areas?” and “Among the many factors in your holistic review, how important to your educational mission is considering applicants with the following backgrounds and lived experiences?”

Common Ground: Medical schools care about diversity, and each focuses on aspects connected to their mission and context.

Data Highlights

• Virtually all schools value contributing to a diverse physician workforce as part of their mission.
• Almost all focus on applicants who are URM, low-SES, first generation, and have lived or worked with groups that have experienced disadvantage.
• Many focus on applicants from different geographic or underserved areas/communities, as well as those who are multilingual.
• Fewer focus on applicants from an under-resourced university, non-science major, or community college.

Join the Conversation

• Which survey finding, if any, surprised you? Why?
• Why are fewer schools focused on applicants who are non-science majors or are from under-resourced universities or community colleges?
• Share your feedback or questions for further study.
• Attend the Learn Serve Lead session entitled “Admitting Diverse Classes: Strategies, Barriers, and Possibilities for Using MCAT Scores in Context” on Nov. 9 from 12:45-1:45 p.m. ET. Register here.

Additional Resources

• Explore the new URiM Applicants by Diversity Indicator Report in AMCAS for Schools (located under “Integrated Admissions Reports” in the left navigation) to gain a better understanding of how your school compares regionally and nationally when accepting and matriculating applicants from various underrepresented categories.
• Read “The Consequences of Structural Racism on MCAT Scores and Medical School Admissions: The Past is Prologue,” by Lucey and Saguil, published in Academic Medicine in March 2020, and listen to the accompanying podcast.
• Read “The Diversity and Success of Medical School Applicants with Scores in the Middle Third of the MCAT Score Scale,” by Terregino, et al., published in Academic Medicine in March 2020.