Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) 2011-2012: The Most Authoritative Guide to U.S. and Canadian Medical Schools (Medical School Admission Requirements, United States and Canada)

This book is an almost comprehensive (A few US universities and a lot of Cadanian schools didn't have thier school data published) and highly useful book for pre-med students. It can usually be found in pre-med advising offices, but if it can't, it's definitely a good resource to own.

The MSAR will help you get a good idea of what sort of GPA and MCAT scores are needed to get into a university. If you are interested a multiple degree program like myself (MBA/MD), the MSAR will tell you which colleges/universities offer these combined degrees. ( Note that this book doesn't tell you what sort of GRE/GMAT scores are necessary to get into these combined degree programs. Usually with programs that offer combined degrees, GRE/MCAT/GMAT scores are usually higher than if you were to apply to each school individually).
Though this is a very good book it has some major flaws that I hope the AAMC/MSAR address, some of the problems are highlighted below.
Many of the...Read more

It does not matter when you are thinking of applying to med school: this year or in 10 years! This book is very useful. It gives you the statistics that you've wondered about (better to get it from the source than to listen to rumors). It gives some clear data about GPA and MCAT scores needed at different med-schools, etc. It is best to get it earlier than later but even if you got it a week before your interviews, it would still be helpful!

Like the title says, you really must have this book if you are applying for the current cycle. The first few chapters explain the statistics for accepted students, and was quite the informative read.

The bulk of the book gives you a two page description of each AMCAS affiliated medical school. On the first, the school's mission statement, curriculum, and geographical details. On the second, are numbers (MCAT, GPA, etc.) and deadlines specific to the school.

Owning an MSAR before (I also applied in the entering class of 2005 cycle -- that makes me a blip on the graphs in this book!), it was quite interesting to see that medians instead of averages were used for MCAT and GPA considerations. While different by definition, I sort of treated this new fangled thing the same way. When the numbers are on the way high end of the slider, stay away, and if lower, consider. Do realize that the MSAR will only help you give a rough estimate on where you should apply based...Read more