Average USMLE Step I score by med school?

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Sorry if this is common knowledge, but is there some listing that has the average USMLE Step I score for each medical school? I would think this would be a decent method of comparing across med schools.

Originally Posted by Iamajew

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but is there some listing that has the average USMLE Step I score for each medical school? I would think this would be a decent method of comparing across med schools.

Here is one thread about it that I could find. It's not complete by any means, but it is a start. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/show...LE+Baylor+Mayo
Good luck in your search!

You're just going to have to search SDN (redrocks link is a good start). Med schools don't publish their board scores, so you're just going to have to rely on what students post about their school's scores (which may or may not be accurate).

Has anyone ever noticed that ALL the schools say their students do above average on the boards? So I don't understand who does so badly on the boards. Or which schools are bringing the average down. Sometimes i think these schools are making stuff up

Originally Posted by tinkerbelle

You're just going to have to search SDN (redrocks link is a good start). Med schools don't publish their board scores, so you're just going to have to rely on what students post about their school's scores (which may or may not be accurate).

Has anyone ever noticed that ALL the schools say their students do above average on the boards? So I don't understand who does so badly on the boards. Or which schools are bringing the average down. Sometimes i think these schools are making stuff up

You're probably right. If EVERY med school got above a 220, the average wouldn't be around 180. conspiracy.

The average for step 1 nationwide is generally in the 215-219 range, not 180. Passing for the exam is I believe in the 180s (187 if I remember correctly). And as for averages, I think there is a general correlation with school reputation and score, but if you ask the admissions office of a school, usually they have that information on hand or can get it to you. Most of the interviews provide you with a packet and that information seems to be part of it (or they verbally tell you if you ask). Hope that helps, good luck.

The latest data from the University of Florida is 230-235 avg. Step 1 with >20% of the class scoring above 250+...I guess that's what teaching to the boards does

Originally Posted by Iamajew

Sorry if this is common knowledge, but is there some listing that has the average USMLE Step I score for each medical school? I would think this would be a decent method of comparing across med schools.

It's common knowledge that an accurate version of such a list does not exist anywhere, and never will. Schools intentionally don't release USMLE scores because they don't want premeds to use it as a school selection criteria-- the reason being that if schools are forced to concern themselves with this as a major selling point, it will limit their ability to improve on medical education in a whole host of ways -- ranging from increased clinical exposure to more experimental educational formats, such as PBL. The educational system doesn't want to be tied back from this, and forced to "teach to the boards" like the caribbean schools do, so these scores won't ever get released. You see one or two schools now and then releasing their high scores onto the web, but as a group, the schools don't do this. As for "homemade" listings on SDN and elsewhere, you have to be really really skeptical, because in most cases the scores are wrong, either intentionally or due to inconsistent reporting (eg a school may omit folks who failed and retook). So don't waste your time looking for such lists -- they don't exist in a useful form anywhere. Also bear in mind that on interviews nearly every school reportedly claims it's board scores are "above average" for US schools. Not possible they all could be though. So the lack of publicity of scores works as both a sword and shield. Steer clear of caring about this.

Since schools don't want you to use this as a criteria for your med school decision, you shouldn't. It doesn't really matter anyhow because this is a mission you have to travel alone, not with your school. The school could have the top score out there, and you could still do lousy and vice versa. Basically, everyone studies from the same FirstAid, the same handful of board review books, the same qbanks/world databases. If your school gave you a broadbased medical education prior to the time you start studying (and they all do), then you won't see any benefit or detriment to your score based on your school. The only real impact I can think of might be how much time off for studying the school gives.

Originally Posted by jdovez

Most of the interviews provide you with a packet and that information seems to be part of it (or they verbally tell you if you ask). Hope that helps, good luck.

See my prior post. This info is useless due to inconsistent reporting methodologies (how they treat folks who fail and retake, drop back a year etc). Also many schools seem to outright lie about scores, virtually all of them claiming they are above average for US schools. This has been discussed ad nauseum on SDN year after year. Since no one can check, many places behave questionably with impunity.

Originally Posted by SoFlaKnight

The latest data from the University of Florida is 230-235 avg. Step 1 with >20% of the class scoring above 250+...I guess that's what teaching to the boards does

Dude -- when you bump up a 4 year old thread PLEASE acknowledge that you are doing so, so folks like me don't waste time replying to old posts. Thank you.

Georgetown University School of Medicine's class average last year was a 224. I am a student and tour guide for the school, and we are encouraged to mention the average during our tours, but I'm not sure every tour guide remembers to mention it.

Data is data, and sometimes forty year old philo/econ graduates studying medicine in Eastern Europe want to understand if there is, say, a phone number we can call to inquire about official pass rates for medical schools now that the Dept of Ed has made the pass rate hurdle mandatory for federal student loans (imagine the only profitable subsector of the federal government is making money off of unemployed students (and, yes, able to borrow at 1% and lend at 6% would be nearly a crime on Wall Street but when the Department of Ed does it to twenty-one year olds it's called risk management)), but some of us think that staying here and possibly taking a semester in Berlin or Paris before working a year in clinicals in the States might actually be possible but how dumb would that be...? I mean if YOU were from a medical "family", a US citizen, and thought all this was possible and then think you could return to America and practice legitimately, I mean, who would I be to say that something was morally, financially, or medically wrong with that. Sorry to want to aggregate more data on this, but I guess that is genuinely my fault... I might be in France waiting for your reply..

Originally Posted by Law2Doc

Dude -- when you bump up a 4 year old thread PLEASE acknowledge that you are doing so, so folks like me don't waste time replying to old posts. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Law2Doc

Dude -- when you bump up a 4 year old thread PLEASE acknowledge that you are doing so, so folks like me don't waste time replying to old posts. Thank you.

Well the thread got bumped after another 4 years.

Originally Posted by omn

Data is data, and sometimes forty year old philo/econ graduates studying medicine in Eastern Europe want to understand if there is, say, a phone number we can call to inquire about official pass rates for medical schools now that the Dept of Ed has made the pass rate hurdle mandatory for federal student loans (imagine the only profitable subsector of the federal government is making money off of unemployed students (and, yes, able to borrow at 1% and lend at 6% would be nearly a crime on Wall Street but when the Department of Ed does it to twenty-one year olds it's called risk management)), but some of us think that staying here and possibly taking a semester in Berlin or Paris before working a year in clinicals in the States might actually be possible but how dumb would that be...? I mean if YOU were from a medical "family", a US citizen, and thought all this was possible and then think you could return to America and practice legitimately, I mean, who would I be to say that something was morally, financially, or medically wrong with that. Sorry to want to aggregate more data on this, but I guess that is genuinely my fault... I might be in France waiting for your reply..

Actually, this isn't close to being a crime anywhere.

When you lend money, you take the risk of it not being paid back, so you should expect a higher interest rate. Do you think they should borrow money at 1% and loan it out at 1%? That doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by omn

Data is data, and sometimes forty year old philo/econ graduates studying medicine in Eastern Europe want to understand if there is, say, a phone number we can call to inquire about official pass rates for medical schools now that the Dept of Ed has made the pass rate hurdle mandatory for federal student loans (imagine the only profitable subsector of the federal government is making money off of unemployed students (and, yes, able to borrow at 1% and lend at 6% would be nearly a crime on Wall Street but when the Department of Ed does it to twenty-one year olds it's called risk management)), but some of us think that staying here and possibly taking a semester in Berlin or Paris before working a year in clinicals in the States might actually be possible but how dumb would that be...? I mean if YOU were from a medical "family", a US citizen, and thought all this was possible and then think you could return to America and practice legitimately, I mean, who would I be to say that something was morally, financially, or medically wrong with that. Sorry to want to aggregate more data on this, but I guess that is genuinely my fault... I might be in France waiting for your reply..

What?

Originally Posted by NickNaylor

What?

All I saw was a wall of random text that caused a necro-bump...

Originally Posted by Agent B

All I saw was a wall of random text that caused a necro-bump...

Yeah... somehow he went from step 1 scores to some kind of political rant on student loan interest rates.

Originally Posted by omn

Data is data, and sometimes forty year old philo/econ graduates studying medicine in Eastern Europe want to understand if there is, say, a phone number we can call to inquire about official pass rates for medical schools now that the Dept of Ed has made the pass rate hurdle mandatory for federal student loans (imagine the only profitable subsector of the federal government is making money off of unemployed students (and, yes, able to borrow at 1% and lend at 6% would be nearly a crime on Wall Street but when the Department of Ed does it to twenty-one year olds it's called risk management)), but some of us think that staying here and possibly taking a semester in Berlin or Paris before working a year in clinicals in the States might actually be possible but how dumb would that be...? I mean if YOU were from a medical "family", a US citizen, and thought all this was possible and then think you could return to America and practice legitimately, I mean, who would I be to say that something was morally, financially, or medically wrong with that. Sorry to want to aggregate more data on this, but I guess that is genuinely my fault... I might be in France waiting for your reply..

Originally Posted by circulus vitios

Stealing GIF for website - this thread has served a purpose after all.

Originally Posted by omn

Data is data, and sometimes forty year old philo/econ graduates studying medicine in Eastern Europe want to understand if there is, say, a phone number we can call to inquire about official pass rates for medical schools now that the Dept of Ed has made the pass rate hurdle mandatory for federal student loans (imagine the only profitable subsector of the federal government is making money off of unemployed students (and, yes, able to borrow at 1% and lend at 6% would be nearly a crime on Wall Street but when the Department of Ed does it to twenty-one year olds it's called risk management)), but some of us think that staying here and possibly taking a semester in Berlin or Paris before working a year in clinicals in the States might actually be possible but how dumb would that be...? I mean if YOU were from a medical "family", a US citizen, and thought all this was possible and then think you could return to America and practice legitimately, I mean, who would I be to say that something was morally, financially, or medically wrong with that. Sorry to want to aggregate more data on this, but I guess that is genuinely my fault... I might be in France waiting for your reply..

I don't always necro bump...

But when I do I prefer to be totally irrelevant and entirely incomprehensible.

Originally Posted by JJMrK

Originally Posted by mcloaf

I don't always necro bump...

But when I do I prefer to be totally irrelevant and entirely incomprehensible.

I know the problem. Omn was enjoying a bottle of french vodka

To busy with Goljan to care about USMLE anymore and... to have actually done that, but there's a reason why rates are quoted in basis points (one-hundreth of a percent).. and yes, it would be a crime, a 5% return on a 1 trillion portfolio size (federal student loans) is 50 billion a year (!) above your borrowing cost.. ? Hello.. USPS lost one-tenth of that and people are talking about shutting down the postal service. Last time I checked the amount the post office lost was equal to about 100 dollars a year per person? Not terrible for an essential service (and yes it's clean too).. If you didn't get the French philosophy part, well anyway..

I'll just keep wondering what Descartes meant by "existence précède l'essence " (which translated literally is.. "existence before gasoline") no angel halo, so I'll just leave it..

Originally Posted by thesauce

Actually, this isn't close to being a crime anywhere.

When you lend money, you take the risk of it not being paid back, so you should expect a higher interest rate. Do you think they should borrow money at 1% and loan it out at 1%? That doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by omn

To busy with Goljan to care about USMLE anymore and... to have actually done that, but there's a reason why rates are quoted in basis points (one-hundreth of a percent).. and yes, it would be a crime, a 5% return on a 1 trillion portfolio size (federal student loans) is 50 billion a year (!) above your borrowing cost.. ? Hello.. USPS lost one-tenth of that and people are talking about shutting down the postal service. Last time I checked the amount the post office lost was equal to about 100 dollars a year per person? Not terrible for an essential service (and yes it's clean too).. If you didn't get the French philosophy part, well anyway..

I'll just keep wondering what Descartes meant by "existence précède l'essence " (which translated literally is.. "existence before gasoline") no angel halo, so I'll just leave it..

Right, because they LOST money. C'mon now...

The government can't afford to keep giving free handouts to everyone. Even so, any reasonable person would lend their money at a higher rate than they borrowed it. It would be foolish to do otherwise. 5% is a very reasonable markup, especially considering the very generous repayment plans that they have put in place (i.e. income-based repayment, etc).

Originally Posted by omn

To busy with Goljan to care about USMLE anymore and... to have actually done that, but there's a reason why rates are quoted in basis points (one-hundreth of a percent).. and yes, it would be a crime, a 5% return on a 1 trillion portfolio size (federal student loans) is 50 billion a year (!) above your borrowing cost.. ? Hello.. USPS lost one-tenth of that and people are talking about shutting down the postal service. Last time I checked the amount the post office lost was equal to about 100 dollars a year per person? Not terrible for an essential service (and yes it's clean too).. If you didn't get the French philosophy part, well anyway..

I'll just keep wondering what Descartes meant by "existence précède l'essence " (which translated literally is.. "existence before gasoline") no angel halo, so I'll just leave it..

Why did you bump a 4-year thread just to rant about something off-topic?

Sort of the thread museum isn't it.. but, WOW, this IS completely relevant.. about success in medical school and it's relevance to your career... It's interesting to see someone actually supporting (for some unknown reason) the reasonableness of paying the federal government 3x the inflation rate (ALOT) for a STUDENT LOAN and for all of it to mean something?

Are they using this margin to fund pensions, or social security, or infrastructure? I mean, this IS 1 trillion dollars.. And in juxtaposition, WHY WOULD ANYONE CARE ABOUT PAYING SOME SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THEIR TAXES TO THE POST OFFICE SO THAT THE GREATER GOOD CAN AFFORD A CHEAP LETTER, GEEZ . All I know, is when I was growing up, I sort of remember that the post office was NOT SUPPOSED to make money (and then the eighties came (and junk bonds, and supposedly GREAT places like Atlanta, Georgia and, oh gee, the Fiero)) .. Isn't a profitable post office sort of like paying $5 dollars a pint at your college bar? I really don't understand these young people today...

Originally Posted by Agent B

Why did you bump a 4-year thread just to rant about something off-topic?

Originally Posted by omn

.... but, WOW, this IS completely relevant.. about success in medical school and it's relevance to your career... :

Um no, that's not what this thread was about at all.

Originally Posted by law2doc

um no, that's not what this thread was about at all.

lol

Originally Posted by Agent B

Why did you bump a 4-year thread just to rant about something off-topic?

8 years old actually (bump 1 :2008, bump 2: 2012)

Originally Posted by omn

Sort of the thread museum isn't it.. but, WOW, this IS completely relevant.. about success in medical school and it's relevance to your career... It's interesting to see someone actually supporting (for some unknown reason) the reasonableness of paying the federal government 3x the inflation rate (ALOT) for a STUDENT LOAN and for all of it to mean something?

Are they using this margin to fund pensions, or social security, or infrastructure? I mean, this IS 1 trillion dollars.. And in juxtaposition, WHY WOULD ANYONE CARE ABOUT PAYING SOME SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THEIR TAXES TO THE POST OFFICE SO THAT THE GREATER GOOD CAN AFFORD A CHEAP LETTER, GEEZ . All I know, is when I was growing up, I sort of remember that the post office was NOT SUPPOSED to make money (and then the eighties came (and junk bonds, and supposedly GREAT places like Atlanta, Georgia and, oh gee, the Fiero)) .. Isn't a profitable post office sort of like paying $5 dollars a pint at your college bar? I really don't understand these young people today...

That vodka is good, isn't it?