I think they should use the median. I'm pretty sure they are going to as well. If you look at some t14s on lsn you see that this is a much better number for judging your chances. For example, Duke's 25/75 is 165/169, but their median is 168. Almost all of the admits on lsn were at 168 and the a lot were above the median with fewer below (though the lsn selfselection helps explain that a bit). Cornell too, 164/168, median of 167. Most people with 166 were waitlisted and below that it gets tougher. If you are below the median you really need the boost from soft factors. I think the median is a much better way to decide which schools to apply to. You can say, well 25% of the class was below 164 so I have a chance with my 162. Yes you have a chance, but it seems to me that this is harder to say when you look at it as half the class is below/above 168. Your 162 looks a lot worse then.