class rank question

[1800RAW]

Alright so I see this has been discussed a bit here but I didnt come across anything that specifically addressed my question.

My school gives out letter grades, A B C and F (no + or - you either get an A or B, B or C, etc). In addition, I believe we're assigned GPAs (Im like 99% sure but I have to double check) but they remain undisclosed until you apply for residency. So, obviously for a given letter grade, particularly A, theres going to be a wide range of numerical grades that translate into that letter grade.

So, my question is, in terms of class rank and specializing, is your letter grade all that matters or does your actual numerical average that defines what letter grade you get come into play? ex) The cutoff for an A is say an 80 for a given class. Student 1 gets an overall average of 85, student 2 gets an overall average of 95. As far as specializing goes, are they both "equal" in the eyes of residency directors since they both got A's or will that 10 point difference come into play at some point (even though my school doesnt do + and -).

In other words, if Vin Diesel were to say "it doesnt matter if you get an A by an inch or a mile, an A is an A," would he be correct in terms of chances at more competitive specialties?

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[mr24]

from my limited understanding, it doesnt matter what your actual grades are in terms of specializing, what matters is your class rank. that said, your good grades will get you a good rank.

 

[diasIItema]

From my understanding as well, residencies look at percentiles when it comes to class rank, not the individual rank per se. Usually individuals in the top 10 or 20% of the class are recommended to apply to residencies. UCSF and many others usually state top 20% of the class cutoff, so I imagine that would be what you should aim for, not necessarily #1. With boards going pass/fail as well, programs want more holistic applicants rather than straight gunners. At least that's what I heard.

 

[1800RAW]

yeah I know what you mean, Ive heard that myself a few times.

Im just wondering if getting an A, even by a single point, is all that matters (strictly talking about grades, not what it takes to get a residency in general) or if some distinction is made between the guy that exceeds the A cutoff by 18 points vs the guy that exceeds it by 1pt. Some classes its really impossible to gauge and you have to give it 110% just to get what you're gonna get but I know for my biochem class, since the cutoff for an A is an 80, I can kinda get a feel for whether or not Im in the A range without memorizing every tiny little detail. Those tiny details probably put you in the 95+ range but theyre the ones that take hours to learn for a few extra points when at the end of the day, that 95 is for all intents and purposes equal to an 81.

This sound accurate?

Main reasons I ask are #1 I got to a school with a really small class size and #2 our test averages are really high, like over a third of the class has gotten A's on the major ones we've had so far. Not sure if just the accumulation of course grades over the next few years will be enough to really rank us out or if theyll take into account someone consistently at the top of most of their classes vs the guy that squeaked by with an A in them.

 

[diasIItema]

If an A at your school is an 80, count your blessings and just do your best. Try having to get 95's in every class to get an A.

 

[CMistry]

Programs know that GPA fluctuates from school to school and that's why they put their emphasis on class rank. I'm sure your school is not handing out As even if an 80 is an A. Vin Diesel is right, what matters is how many As you get (unless your school ranks by exam percentages). At one of my interviews a program director said to another applicant, "Your GPA is a 3.8 but you're rank is 40/100? Your school has some BS grade inflation going on".

 

[1800RAW]

Yeah I think Ill just ask the admin director or someone exactly how it works here. only reason I didnt is because my class is really small and we're all very friendly with the faculty so I dont want people thinking Im a hardcore gunner or anything if somebody hears something through the grapevine. I gun for A's but Id never "gun someone down" for an A and I think thats an important distinction compared to the usual term which usually has some negative connotation associated with it.