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Nm.

sighsigh wrote:So, the ABA reports Harvard's 75th percentile GPA at 3.96 and 25th percentile GPA at 3.76. Doesn't that mean the median (i.e. the 50th percentile) should be 3.86? Yet it lists 3.89 as the median.

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I'm a statistics noob, so please explain this. Thanks.

What you calculated is the mean - or the average.

The median isn't the numeric average but the middle number. For instance, if 101 people were accepted than the median GPA would be that of the 51st person.

Hope that makes sense!

barklm wrote:

sighsigh wrote:So, the ABA reports Harvard's 75th percentile GPA at 3.96 and 25th percentile GPA at 3.76. Doesn't that mean the median (i.e. the 50th percentile) should be 3.86? Yet it lists 3.89 as the median.

--LinkRemoved--

I'm a statistics noob, so please explain this. Thanks.

What you calculated is the mean - or the average.

The median isn't the numeric average but the middle number. For instance, if 101 people were accepted than the median GPA would be that of the 51st person.

Hope that makes sense!

You can't determine the average GPA from the 25th and 75th percentiles.

Yeah, what OP calculated is the median if there is one person for every GPA between the 75th and the 25th.

So the answer is...

...that you need to wikipedia mean and median.

the answer is to this question: "Doesn't that mean the median (i.e. the 50th percentile) should be 3.86?"

is no.

as explained by above posters.

I'll try to re-explain bc Im in a good mood.

You are thinking of 50th percentile in terms of the mean. The 50th percentile in this case is simply the middle number of an order set of numbers.

i.e. In the ordered set of 1,4,8,9,10 - and 8 is the median and the 50th percentile. However, 8 is not the mean. (6.4 is the mean)

Don't think so hard and you'll get it. In fact, medians help for splitters. A 3.4 below 25th percentile won't pull down the percentile or median any differently than a 3.1 below median. It is the number of those below the percentiles that makes the difference.

You cant determine a mean with the 25th and 75ths either.

Fail posts fail.

Ok merci.

Any guess on whether Harvard's GPA median will climb or fall after this cycle? (The number of LSAT takers went down this cycle for the first time in a long time, btw).

I am ever so slightly above Harvard's median atm.

my guess would be H's median would rise as i think medians are rising across the board... then again from your information of # of test takers going down... not sure. still would gamble median will rise.

GPA isn't everything. best wishes.

Isn't a 3.8 a 3.8? If you're trying to see how your numbers compare I don't think 0.02 points (of a GPA especially) will matter much. Or would they?