Class Rank

[ophthowannabe1]

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I am sitting at a strong 50%….how much will this low class rank hurt me while applying for ophtho residencies?

 

[DOCnAbox]

From my experience it seemed like it was an "all or nothing" type deal for class rank. Meaning, either you were AOA or you weren't. People that were AOA have a huge advantage but the majority of applicants are not AOA. As long as you are not bottom of the class you have a good shot.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

I am sitting at a strong 50%….how much will this low class rank hurt me while applying for ophtho residencies?

A lot depends on the quality and competitiveness of the medical school you attend. 50% doesn't exclude you, but your boards scores should be compensating, indicating you are stronger than an average scorer and you would be better off with some papers and good letters.

 

[DrZeke]

From my experience it seemed like it was an "all or nothing" type deal for class rank. Meaning, either you were AOA or you weren't. People that were AOA have a huge advantage but the majority of applicants are not AOA. As long as you are not bottom of the class you have a good shot.

I agree completely. Nobody asked me anything about my grades and because my school doesn't really have honors they didn't know what to make of my grades.

 

[ophthowannabe1]

Thanks for all your responses! I certainly have an uphill battle ahead of myself, but I appreciate your information and support.

Not to steal my own thread, but oftentimes people suggest that having a letter from a "big wig" will help my cause quite a bit. To be honest, I'm not sure what that term means. Does that mean someone that is famous within the ophtho world? If so, how does one determine whether the letter writer is a big wig (in general terms, of course, I realize there aren't any guidelines for this)?

Thanks

 

[DOCnAbox]

I remember not knowing what that meant when I was applying. I think it just means that they are known in the Ophtho field. While you will meet some amazing younger faculty that would write excellent letters, it may not hold much weight. I ended up just focusing on trying to get letters from program directors and chairs. I ended up getting 2 from program directors that were highly known in their field and one personal letter from a surgeon at my home school. Worked out great. I think it's a good idea to get 2 from PD or chair at institution you rotate at and one "heart-felt" personal one.

 

[Hemichordate]

I remember not knowing what that meant when I was applying. I think it just means that they are known in the Ophtho field. While you will meet some amazing younger faculty that would write excellent letters, it may not hold much weight. I ended up just focusing on trying to get letters from program directors and chairs. I ended up getting 2 from program directors that were highly known in their field and one personal letter from a surgeon at my home school. Worked out great. I think it's a good idea to get 2 from PD or chair at institution you rotate at and one "heart-felt" personal one.

Sounds like you have to put in a lot of work to get bigwig letters.

 

[Corn Dog]

I think it depends on your trend. If you show an upward trend with good grades in your 3rd year, it probably won't hurt you too much. If you show a downward trend, that would hurt you the most.

Like OrbitsurgMD pointed out, it also depends on what school you are from. If you are from a "top 10" med school, it probably wont' hurt you as long as your app is solid otherwise. If you are from a low-tier school, it will probably hurt you more.

But then again, ophtho programs wouldn't know that you are in the 50th percentile until the dean's letter comes out (that is, if your dean would reveal that at all), so as long as your app is solid otherwise, I think you should be fine.

 

[DOCnAbox]

Sounds like you have to put in a lot of work to get bigwig letters.

I was very fortunate in that one of them came from a person I had done research with for a year before medschool. The other was one I didn't know very well but I spent as much time as I could with them during my month long rotation and felt comfortable asking for a letter by the end of the rotation.

 

[ophthowannabe1]

Sorry to steal my thread again. I didn't mention that I had 1 failed exam (we have finals every 12 weeks, so we have 10 exams in the first 2 years). I passed the exam during remediation, but it will be seen on my transcript. How poorly will this hurt me?

 

[JayZBlue]

Does it say "fail" on your transcript? If so, to provide realistic advice, it's unfortunately a huge red flag. Applicants who are otherwise awesome, from great schools, have gone unmatched because of failing a preclinical class. I would make sure the rest of the application is flawless and would try to get the strongest letters possible as discussed above.

 

[ophthowannabe1]

Thanks for your input. It does indicate a fail/pass (a fail with a subsequent pass) on my transcript, however it isn't for the class. As we have a week of exams, we have several different types of exams. The one I failed was an essay based exam, not the traditional multiple choice. The essay exam is only completed at a few schools in the country. So that is what i failed. Note that there is no studying for the essay exams; they are more to assess critical thinking

 

[DrZeke]

Does it say "fail" on your transcript? If so, to provide realistic advice, it's unfortunately a huge red flag. Applicants who are otherwise awesome, from great schools, have gone unmatched because of failing a preclinical class. I would make sure the rest of the application is flawless and would try to get the strongest letters possible as discussed above.

I disagree. If the OP failed something small and he has a legit explanation and then subsequently passed then it's irrelevant. Sometimes people mess up. As long as it isn't a pattern and you have a good story behind it and you have otherwise done well then there's no reason it should be a huge red flag. A huge red flag is failing a step exam or failing a year of med school even with a legit excuse. Failing one exam builds character and you can spin it.

You will often feel like you are failing in residency even though you are busting your ass everyday. Being able to rebound from small failures without making it a pattern is a good thing. People will see you as someone who can handle a failure and get through it.

 

[Bluesclera]

I disagree. If the OP failed something small and he has a legit explanation and then subsequently passed then it's irrelevant. Sometimes people mess up. As long as it isn't a pattern and you have a good story behind it and you have otherwise done well then there's no reason it should be a huge red flag. A huge red flag is failing a step exam or failing a year of med school even with a legit excuse. Failing one exam builds character and you can spin it.

You will often feel like you are failing in residency even though you are busting your ass everyday. Being able to rebound from small failures without making it a pattern is a good thing. People will see you as someone who can handle a failure and get through it.

I completely agree. Amen to that brother!....