Bottom 2/5 quintile how screwed am I

[InnocentMedicalStudent]

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so my med school for pre clinical doesn’t use grades it uses HP P F. I’m passing but the problem is they also report quintiles too and I’m pretty sure I’m in the bottom 2/5 quintile for most courses.

I feel like this is worse than just having Cs because atleast PDs don’t know if it’s because the tests are hard or the subject was difficult if you have a C, but either way quintiles it’s more objective

I wanna match to anesthesia how cooked am I??

 

[Gern Blansten]

so my med school for pre clinical doesn’t use grades it uses HP P F. I’m passing but the problem is they also report quintiles too and I’m pretty sure I’m in the bottom 2/5 quintile for most courses.

I feel like this is worse than just having Cs because atleast PDs don’t know if it’s because the tests are hard or the subject was difficult if you have a C, but either way quintiles it’s more objective

I wanna match to anesthesia how cooked am I??

Depends on a lot of factors such as your school’s reputation and how well you choose your signals for the application process. Do t waste your gold signals on big name programs that easily fill with top candidates. Use them in programs that may be in less desirable regions.
Most programs fill in the past couple of years, so you can’t use that as a gauge anymore. But your mentors can probably identify a handful of programs not considered top notch.
Maybe use one fold signal for a program that might be a bit of a reach. Use the others for programs who typically interview candidates that are equally yoked, meaning a program that knows they probably aren’t going to be getting top tier candidates to rank them first unless there is some extenuating reason for them to be there.

 

[Gern Blansten]

There are plenty of positions nationwide such that plenty of students in your situation (or worse) will end up matched. But it will take some strategic understanding of how the system works and how to best position yourself. If you are at a name recognition school, the job is easier. If you are at a small poor reputation med school, it is more difficult. If you are an IMG, it becomes far more difficult to

 

[Burned_Out]

Sometimes it's not so much how much you know, but who you know. Start signing up for a lot of anesthesia electives at other places and get yourself known.

When I went through residency, we had a FMG dude who volunteered for research assistant duty within our pain dept. He did that for 2 years before applying for a anesthesia residency slot within our program. He got in, but was later booted because people thought he was clumsy.

Taking a year off after med school to do research is a common pathway for those who are trying to compete in derm.

 

[Guillemot]

Sometimes it's not so much how much you know, but who you know. Start signing up for a lot of anesthesia electives at other places and get yourself known.

When I went through residency, we had a FMG dude who volunteered for research assistant duty within our pain dept. He did that for 2 years before applying for a anesthesia residency slot within our program. He got in, but was later booted because people thought he was clumsy.

Taking a year off after med school to do research is a common pathway for those who are trying to compete in derm.

And to further your point about its “who you know,” it’s also often how you make the bosses feel about themselves. Thepeople with connections were generally very obsequious.

Bosses often want someone that can do at least the minimum, but performing beyond that minimum is not necessarily important.

Eg. Maybe many programs just want somebody to demonstrate that they won’t fail their boards, and passing the boards isn’t a particularly high bar.