Are top med school exams harder than mid/low tier school exams?

[meddesire]

Just wonder.
Knowing that most schools use P/F grading system in pre-clinical years but what make top schools distinguished from mid/low tier schools during those years besides research?
- Is the knowledge learned from those schools the same?
- Are exams harder/easier? More/less applications?
...etc..
--> How do all of those differences contribute to the step 1 exam?

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[Astra]

Knowing that most schools use P/F grading system in pre-clinical years but what make top schools distinguished from mid/low tier schools during those years besides research?

Faculty to student ratio, affiliated clinical sites, time at which you take Step 1 ( some top schools are having preclinical years condensed to 1.5 years and having half a year of clinicals followed by Step 1.)

- Is the knowledge learned from those schools the same?

Pre clinical years, I'd say so. Just about everyone studies the same material for Step 1.

- Are exams harder/easier? More/less applications?

This is a tough question to answer because one would need access to exams from several schools of varying tiers. And harder/easier exams is subjective because what's hard for one person may seem easy to another.

--> How do all of those differences contribute to the step 1 exam?

From what I've read on here ( and believe), your Step 1 score is determined mainly by your own self study efforts. Sure the lectures are gonna help but the vast amount of studying occurs from First Aid, Pathoma, Bros deck etc.


In conclusion, where you go to med school won't have a major impact on your Step 1 score. If you are smart enough to score a 260, you'll be able to achieve that at Harvard or your local unranked state school. It all comes down to how you prep.

 

[Goro]

I have Faculty colleagues who have gone to Top MD schools (Yale/Stanford class). They tell us the stuff we teach and test on is one similar levels to what they had as students.

One colleague, an ID guy, told me that at Stanford (30 years ago) the faculty would just teach about their research, leaving the student to have to figure what to know about the really relevant stuff! I trust Stanford has cleaned up their act since then.

Just wonder.
Knowing that most schools use P/F grading system in pre-clinical years but what make top schools distinguished from mid/low tier schools during those years besides research?
- Is the knowledge learned from those schools the same?
- Are exams harder/easier? More/less applications?
...etc..
--> How do all of those differences contribute to the step 1 exam?

 

[kjamess]

no, they are most likely easier.

 

[aldol16]

Well every med school has to teach the same basic concepts because that's what they're there to do... It's not like the difference between choosing a liberal arts college and major research university. But difficulty is also in the eye of the beholder. The top med students are filled with the top med students. So what's easy for them might be harder for others.

 

[meddesire]

I have Faculty colleagues who have gone to Top MD schools (Yale/Stanford class). They tell us the stuff we teach and test on is one similar levels to what they had as students.

If the materials and difficulties of exams are the same, why do they only choose super high stats people?
Considering that the passing rate of some top med schools are just the same as the ones of some mid-tier med schools and they all have the same research opportunities, beside the reputation, what make their students different?
And is there anything like grade deflation/inflation... like in some UG schools?

no, they are most likely easier.

Well every med school has to teach the same basic concepts because that's what they're there to do... It's not like the difference between choosing a liberal arts college and major research university. But difficulty is also in the eye of the beholder. The top med students are filled with the top med students. So what's easy for them might be harder for others.

This is a tough question to answer because one would need access to exams from several schools of varying tiers. And harder/easier exams is subjective because what's hard for one person may seem easy to another.

I know it would vary between each person but let's look at the average, if everything is the same, and top med students are super smarter than mid/low med students, so the exams' averages in top med schools would be higher than the ones in mid/low tier schools. So everything would be less challenging/stressful in top med schools, correct? So do they (in general) just put less effort than the ones in low tier schools?

 

[aldol16]

If the materials and difficulties of exams are the same, why do they only choose super high stats people?

I know it would vary between each person but let's look at the average, if everything is the same, and top med students are super smarter than mid/low med students, so the exams' averages in top med schools would be higher than the ones in mid/low tier schools. So everything would be less challenging/stressful in top med schools, correct? So do they (in general) just put less effort than the ones in low tier schools?

The difficulties are not the same. Something that's easy to a top student may not be easy to a non-top student. How is an average computed? You can compute the average wealth of the top 1% of Americans and compare that to the average wealth of the bottom 1% of Americans. The averages will be different because you're looking at different populations.

 

[meddesire]

The difficulties are not the same.

Yeah, that's what I meant in the original question. I mean what if mid/low tiers med students do the exams of top med students?
What makes their exams harder/or different level of difficulties, with the same knowledge being taught?
And how will that difference contribute to the step 1?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

It's the exact same material. It's not like HMS students learn super secrets about medicine that the rest of us goons don't. The tests will test the exact same material, why would they be harder?

 

[Goro]

One of my deans once referred to Stanford students (as an example) of having more mental "firepower". I believe he meant that learning the material comes easier, and their recall abilities are faster. My Stanford-trained colleague was absolutely brilliant...he seemed to know everything. But my other colleagues who went to Top Schools are at the same level, I think, as my colleagues who went to midwestern state schools, or thier DO counterparts.

And in talking to faculty from both DO and MD schools, there is no grade deflation in med school. We don't curve either. We do massage results sometime, because if the entire class is averaging, say a 75, the problem is not int he class, it's with us faculty.

If the materials and difficulties of exams are the same, why do they only choose super high stats people?
Considering that the passing rate of some top med schools are just the same as the ones of some mid-tier med schools and they all have the same research opportunities, beside the reputation, what make their students different?
And is there anything like grade deflation/inflation... like in some UG schools?




I know it would vary between each person but let's look at the average, if everything is the same, and top med students are super smarter than mid/low med students, so the exams' averages in top med schools would be higher than the ones in mid/low tier schools. So everything would be less challenging/stressful in top med schools, correct? So do they (in general) just put less effort than the ones in low tier schools?

 

[JB50]

Logic is strong ITT.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

One of my deans once referred to Stanford students (as an example) of having more mental "firepower". I believe he meant that learning the material comes easier, and their recall abilities are faster. My Stanford-trained colleague was absolutely brilliant...he seemed to know everything.

This has been one of my biggest soapboxes for the past year. Are schools better because their curriculum and teaching is better, or is it because they recruit and attract better applicants? It's like college football. If you pull more five-star recruits, you naturally have an upper hand simply because of the high caliber of the player. And with that, the expectations of your ability are elevated.

Also, I constantly use resources from other schools to supplement my studying - the anatomy quizzes at Michigan, neuro quizzes from Temple. It's all the same stuff.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I don't think this is a question that can really be answered because it would require someone to have take multiple tests from multiple schools.

 

[mcloaf]

The difficulties are not the same.

I doubt the objective difficulty changes at all, student bodies aside. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if exams at top schools are easier since they're mostly unranked P/F and have no reason to kill their students over grading.

 

[mwsapphire]

One of my deans once referred to Stanford students (as an example) of having more mental "firepower". I believe he meant that learning the material comes easier, and their recall abilities are faster. My Stanford-trained colleague was absolutely brilliant...he seemed to know everything. But my other colleagues who went to Top Schools are at the same level, I think, as my colleagues who went to midwestern state schools, or thier DO counterparts.

And in talking to faculty from both DO and MD schools, there is no grade deflation in med school. We don't curve either. We do massage results sometime, because if the entire class is averaging, say a 75, the problem is not int he class, it's with us faculty.

Tell that to my prof whose exam average ( in a soph level molecular Bio class) was a 43 and she scaled to a 52. And also pinned it on us.