OMS1 and OMS2 average grades or GPA

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So I just finished my first semester of medical school and our final grades were posted today (I did pretty well, although I could have done a little better if I studied a bit more for the last tests, c'est la vie).

Anyways, I was wondering what the average grades or GPAs are for students during OMS1 and OMS2 respectively. I fully understand that grading scales vary drastically by school (from simple pass/fail to ABCDF and everything in between), but I was hoping somebody might know an estimation regarding averages and top quartiles of schools, etc.

I also understand that pre-clinical grades matter extremely little when applying for residency, but I am still curious. Anyways, I searched for this answer and kept getting pre-med average GPAs/grades and could not find averages while in med school.

Anyways, thanks in advance and I hope everybody is enjoying Christmas break!

In my experience, when it comes to the first two years of med school residency programs care more about your class rank not individuals grades, unless you fail something. Stay in the top 50% for the pre-clinical years and you will be golden on that front for most specialties.

It is low on the list of things programs look at, board scores, board scores, board scores, also clinic grades in third year are the most important facets of your cv for most specialties.

you know i was curious about this as well. we have one more test but i was wondering about the same. I know what my averages are and I am curious to where that compares as well as how much ECs do. Like is a top 15% of class with little ECS the same as top 50% with lots of ECs? just wanting an idea of if I am epically mediocre or I am not as bad as i think.

Originally Posted by redrumi

In my experience, when it comes to the first two years of med school residency programs care more about your class rank not individuals grades, unless you fail something. Stay in the top 50% for the pre-clinical years and you will be golden on that front for most specialties.

Well I am definitely in the top half of my class (not sure about top quartile) thus far, but I was still wondering what the average at most schools was. It might not be possible to figure out but I was just curious.

Originally Posted by FrkyBgStok

you know i was curious about this as well. we have one more test but i was wondering about the same. I know what my averages are and I am curious to where that compares as well as how much ECs do. Like is a top 15% of class with little ECS the same as top 50% with lots of ECs? just wanting an idea of if I am epically mediocre or I am not as bad as i think.

Does DMU at least tell you the class averages?

I hardly had time for extracurriculars this semester. But now that I've gotten a grip on things I am going to branch out a little more next semester. What sort of things are you doing/planning on doing for ECs? I would like to get some research going but I hope I have time for that.

I highly doubt anyone is going to know the answer to this question.

See what PDs consider important according to different fields. Pre-clinical grades (including rank) don't seem to hold much weight for the most part, unless you're failing. (Overall, looks like Step 1, clinical grades, and LOR outweigh just about anything else by far).

http://www.nrmp.org/data/programresu...cialty2012.pdf

Originally Posted by NeuroLAX

Does DMU at least tell you the class averages?

I hardly had time for extracurriculars this semester. But now that I've gotten a grip on things I am going to branch out a little more next semester. What sort of things are you doing/planning on doing for ECs? I would like to get some research going but I hope I have time for that.

yeah they do and we get a ranking at the end of the semester based on quartiles, but i talk to people and some people get a 98 one test and then a 62 the next test, or they are acing OMM and failing anatomy. but i have been involved in quite a few ECs and I am always about average for every test. I want to spend more time studying so i can possibly go into something competitive, but if i study more and end up going into something that isn't competitive, i am going to be so pissed (semi kidding).

Originally Posted by FrkyBgStok

yeah they do and we get a ranking at the end of the semester based on quartiles, but i talk to people and some people get a 98 one test and then a 62 the next test, or they are acing OMM and failing anatomy. but i have been involved in quite a few ECs and I am always about average for every test. I want to spend more time studying so i can possibly go into something competitive, but if i study more and end up going into something that isn't competitive, i am going to be so pissed (semi kidding).

Same for us, they post a grade report and it has everyone's grade (coded, of course), along with class statistics. I don't know my exact rank at the moment, but I also haven't received a final grade report yet. I just want to know where I stand. At least now that first semester is over, I know what is expected of me. Basically, I need to study more. I did very well this semester overall, but I can certainly do better. Like you heard from others, sometimes exam grades are all over the place... I want to try and fix that!

What fields are you interested in so far?

average for my class was ~87

Residency programs literally do not care about your grades in pre-clinical years. I can not stress enough how little it matters. It is not even worth a millisecond of concern. They only care if you fail classes. So dont fail!

Originally Posted by HooliganSnail

Residency programs literally do not care about your grades in pre-clinical years. I can not stress enough how little it matters. It is not even worth a millisecond of concern. They only care if you fail classes. So dont fail!

Uh,Not Quite.

For the most part, your MSI and MSII grades determine your class rank, so it does matter, a great deal!! In fact, at many schools (MD and DO) the clinical grades are just pass/fail, and at many, the class rank is determined alot by your overall GPA in years I and II.

Originally Posted by HooliganSnail

Residency programs literally do not care about your grades in pre-clinical years. I can not stress enough how little it matters. It is not even worth a millisecond of concern. They only care if you fail classes. So dont fail!

Class rank helps.

My school dropped it's class rank system and now uses a mean GPA. The mean GPA for my class for our first year was ~80.

This sounds like information that your school should be providing you. Go talk to your student government, not us.

Originally Posted by Textbookversion

This sounds like information that your school should be providing you. Go talk to your student government, not us.

Very frustrating to get comments like this that serve to make SDN so unfriendly. I will obviously find out where my school/classmates stand when they rank us next year, but I was just curious the averages across the board (all DO schools). If the answer isn't really available then so be it.

Anyways, many of my peers and others on the site were also curious about the answer, so I know I am not the only one.

Also, regarding pre-clinical grades being "not that important", I always wondered how accurate that could be when factoring in class rank (as many have alluded to here). If grades determine class rank and class rank is somewhat important (although obviously less so then step 1 scores, LORs, and interviews) then why do people always insist that pre-clinical grades are nearly meaningless?

Second year student here.... so far class averages are between 80-85 for the important core systems classes. For OMM, maybe a tiny bit higher. For our ethical and clinical classes high 80s are class averages.

I feel like the standard deviation is small for my class.... but who knows. It usually is small when we get specific exam stats back

Originally Posted by corpsman33

Also, regarding pre-clinical grades being "not that important", I always wondered how accurate that could be when factoring in class rank (as many have alluded to here). If grades determine class rank and class rank is somewhat important (although obviously less so then step 1 scores, LORs, and interviews) then why do people always insist that pre-clinical grades are nearly meaningless?

Perhaps meaningless in the sense that you shouldn't waste energy mulling over every single point on that exam or beating yourself/other people up emotionally, but enough that you should be working hard and doing the best you can?

Our averages are usually in the 80s and OMM average was a 91.

Oms2 here, our avg for clinical classes seems to be around a 75-80. Path n pharm are more in the 80-85 range. OMM in the 75-80 range

Originally Posted by nady

Oms2 here, our avg for clinical classes seems to be around a 75-80. Path n pharm are more in the 80-85 range. OMM in the 75-80 range

75-80 for OMM? That seems rather low.

Originally Posted by HooliganSnail

Residency programs literally do not care about your grades in pre-clinical years. I can not stress enough how little it matters. It is not even worth a millisecond of concern. They only care if you fail classes. So dont fail!

I can not stress enough how un-true this is.

Originally Posted by DrRoast

I can not stress enough how un-true this is.

Disagree.

They are relatively useless for most people. They can be a red flag if you are in the bottom quartile of your class..... or work to your advantage if you can say you were in the top 10% of your class. Everything in between means nothing.

Rule: Boards / LOR >>>>> Pre-clinical grades

If you are in med school and dont know the above rule by now, well..... good luck to you

It may be true that Boards and LORs are more heavily considered by PDs but rocking your classes, especially during second year, will help you do well on boards. Path and pharm are all over the boards (both USMLE and COMLEX) and having a solid command of physiology, anatomy and histo will add to your ability to not just memorize, but understand disease and treatment mechanisms. My classmates are crazy smart so our averages are higher than those mentioned here. As far as ECs, I wouldn't take on additional responsibilities if you can't excel in your course work. If you're successful academically, go for it.

Originally Posted by 7wonders

It may be true that Boards and LORs are more heavily considered by PDs but rocking your classes, especially during second year, will help you do well on boards. Path and pharm are all over the boards (both USMLE and COMLEX) and having a solid command of physiology, anatomy and histo will add to your ability to not just memorize, but understand disease and treatment mechanisms. My classmates are crazy smart so our averages are higher than those mentioned here. As far as ECs, I wouldn't take on additional responsibilities if you can't excel in your course work. If you're successful academically, go for it.

Define "successful" because apparently grades don't matter according to this thread. So basically if you are passing a course you are "successful" in it? Or does does successful mean top 10%? It's hard to understand what the criteria are to be considered "successful" given that all you need is a passing grade (which everyone gets).