Consistanly Below Average

[citr8]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster

So I have been consistently scoring below my class average on exams, and was wondering if anyone has any tips. I know preclinical grades are not a big deal, but it would feel nice to do above average, especially since I put in serious time.

Thanks

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[kjamess]

you are doing yourself a disservice with the misspelled title.

 

[notbobtrustme]

by definition, half the class will be below average. Remember, your peers are pretty much on the same level as you which is unlike any other environment you've been in before. Being average in med school is still pretty damn good.

 

[J ROD]

you are doing yourself a disservice with the misspelled title.

 

[Smokemont]

Don't worry about it, just pass

 

[J ROD]

We all would like to be in the "top"......but we cant.

As long as you are passing, I would not worry too much. Maybe think about how you are studying and see if you can do something better. It is a new level and you have to adapt to it.

Dont worry until you are failing........

 

[DocHawk117]

just because some of your peers are great medical students does NOT mean they will be great doctors. just keep trying your hardest and focus on developing into a great doctor. with that being said, tutor groups can really make a difference.

 

[Kevin Baker]

I was scoring below average for my first semester and the first part of second. Then I started making a cheat sheet summary page of all the lectures, copying and pasting every bold, underlined, highlighted, and otherwise stressed point, and then made up some potential test questions for each lecture.

Generally, I try to get 1/2 a page to a page of notes for each lecture. I keep this in one big document and try to review it before bed every night.

Another thing that helped me was seeing stuff in multiple formats. Generally I read a short board review book for the physiology, pathology, and histology for each system, and I also flip through first aid and BRS path. I listen to the relevant pathoma section before each section to give me a big picture idea and that has done wonders for my comprehension. I haven't found a good way to address the pharm which is my weak point.

I'm not sure if this new strategy is increasing my knowledge or comprehension of the material, but I am getting a lot more of the nit picky questions asked on tests and have been above average in scores since switching to it.

I also started doing cardio most days of the week and eating healthier. That's done wonders for my studying endurance and concentration.

 

[greg1184]

Remember... P=MD*























*not necessarily for your specialty of choice.

 

[citr8]

Thanks, I guess it's easy to forget that half the class does below that average too. And yeah, the title mistake starts me off on the wrong foot

 

[VenusinFurs]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster

So I have been consistently scoring below my class average on exams, and was wondering if anyone has any tips. I know preclinical grades are not a big deal, but it would feel nice to do above average, especially since I put in serious time.

Thanks

I think it sort of depends why you have to do above average. If you just don't want to feel dumb, don't worry. You're not.

 

[Fortress]

I think it sort of depends why you have to do above average. If you just don't want to feel dumb, don't worry. You're not.

I don't think that "citr8" main concern is feeling dumb. But the truth is that we all want to be able to choose rather than settle down with someting that just "seems OK". Will you get into a residency while constantly performing in medical school way below average (still passing) and a STEP 1 score <200? Sure. But you will have to forget pretty much about anything competitive and limit your list to Family Medicine, Pediatrics, OBGYN, Psychiatry and possibly Internal Med.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster

So I have been consistently scoring below my class average on exams, and was wondering if anyone has any tips. I know preclinical grades are not a big deal, but it would feel nice to do above average, especially since I put in serious time.

Thanks

What you are feeling is the same thing everyone in medical school feels. It's why people get so jaded and also why people who do "well" (i.e. grades and Step scores) go into ROAD programs. In college you were the best. You had to be, otherwise you wouldn't be here. But you were in college. EVERYONE goes to college. So you were the top 1% of a million people (the numbers may be wrong, but go with it).

So now, being self selected into the medical field, all of a sudden EVERYONE was that 1% of a million people. Some didn't even make it in to medicine (granted, some went elsewhere by choice). When you reflect on "how poorly you're doing" also keep in mind that you are with some of the most gifted people in the country. Maybe their gift is memorization and regurgitation of facts on a Multiple Choice Exam (my own particular beef with our peer selection, but whatever). The point is now EVERYONE is awesome, amazing, got all As and a 35 on their MCAT. Everyone did a medical mission trip, was involved in athletics, did community outreach and blah blah blah. Everyone has padded their resume with "stuff" just like you did. Everyone is the same machine you thought you were.

So, even though you should try to excel, living up to your peers, keep in mind that "being average" in a medical school class is actually still pretty stellar. Its just hard to shine in a room full of stars. You don't have to shine the brightest. It's ok. Everyone will graduate. Everyone will get a residency.

That being said, if you want a ROAD residency because you are tired of working so hard and are jaded by the system and want to make a lot of money without working very hard when you're done, get your ass in gear. You need to be top quartile of your class if you want those spots. Otherwise, chill out. You'll do good in the world, even if you only do well in your classes.

Remember... P=MD*




*not necessarily for your specialty of choice.

P != Residency. The * is particularly important in this post.

 

[CaptainSSO]

by definition, half the class will be below average.

Median

 

[greg1184]

Be focused and don't get disheartened by small failures. You might be below average but you can improve even at this point. First relax and then try to figure out your weaknesses. Once you would identify your weaknesses it would be easier for you to improve your grades.

The problem with this is that in a smart medical school class, all students are doing the same exact thing. As a result, the average can follow your score. It is very frustrating. What is more frustrating is how only 2-3 points (maybe 1 or 2 questions on an exam) separates the different quartiles.

One time I had one of my best grades in a renal exam... a 92. Guess what the average was? 92.

 

[Internistt]

i was a way below average in my preclinical years to an extent that i nearly dropped out.this was partly because of my discipline and that i suck at memorizing a lot of medical terms. but in clinical years now where its more about understanding i moved from bottom to top 1/3 without increasing my study time a lot. funny part is that i remember my preclinical theories better than most.

just focus on passing and retaining most of the stuff you learn even though you are not doing as you would have liked. things might change as you go up.

 

[FunnyCurrent]

Things could be worse. For example, you could be failing... you do know some people fail and have to repeat a year

 

[Smokemont]

Things could be worse. For example, you could be failing... you do know some people fail and have to repeat a year

This. I can't think of much worse that could happen. So once again, just pass.

 

[DrSnips]

The problem with this is that in a smart medical school class, all students are doing the same exact thing. As a result, the average can follow your score. It is very frustrating. What is more frustrating is how only 2-3 points (maybe 1 or 2 questions on an exam) separates the different quartiles.

We had a test once where the standard dev. was 5 points. People with seemingly okay scores had failing grades.

 

[theshellyb]

We had a test once where the standard dev. was 5 points. People with seemingly okay scores had failing grades.

That seems... kindof nuts? Do you guys not have a baseline passing score? Our standard devs are usually between 6-8, but if you get a 70 or above you're always passing. The cutoff for "Passing" a test is lowered if 2 standard deviations below the mean is below 70, but it won't ever be raised...

 

[Mass Effect]

One time I had one of my best grades in a renal exam... a 92. Guess what the average was? 92

Were the averages usually that high? At my school, the majority of our pre-clinical exam averages hovered in the 70s.

 

[DrSnips]

That seems... kindof nuts? Do you guys not have a baseline passing score? Our standard devs are usually between 6-8, but if you get a 70 or above you're always passing. The cutoff for "Passing" a test is lowered if 2 standard deviations below the mean is below 70, but it won't ever be raised...

Theoretically a 68 is the pass threshold for preclinicals. However, our tests get curved so that the proportions of H/HP/P/F stay relatively constant from exam to exam. This makes any pass threshold meaningless because the grades will go up or down after the fact to meet the desired distribution.

During clerkships each director has their own grading scheme, which usually included strict cutoffs for shelf score. Well, except for in OB/GYN where there was a built in 5% fail rate set by the lowest performing 5% of the previous year's class. Now that is just plain madness.

 

[IlDestriero]

Second place is first loser. Get studying boy.
As noted above, some come alive and kill it on the wards, annihilating the stunned competition. I was one of those people, average to honors. However, I did well enough on step 1 to have my choice of careers. You need to be learning the material to score well on the usmle. You don't want to find yourself locked out of your dream career. Find what works for you and study more efficiently, and don't forget school/life balance. (hit the gym, chubby)😛

 

[greg1184]

Were the averages usually that high? At my school, the majority of our pre-clinical exam averages hovered in the 70s.

They were usually in the mid to high 80s. Makes for very little room for quartiles.

 

[TAWS]

There are some people in my class who get upset if they don't do at least one std dev above the mean. The only reason to be concerned about how you do versus the class average is that it can be a good omen for how you do on step 1. I went from a solid B student (slightly above mean) in first year to an A student (1 stdev above mean) in 2nd year. Part of it was due to no more anatomy practicals but you can definitely change your performance by studying smarter.

 

[danielpreciad]

Don't worry about it, just pass

 

[amine2086]

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster

So I have been consistently scoring below my class average on exams, and was wondering if anyone has any tips. I know preclinical grades are not a big deal, but it would feel nice to do above average, especially since I put in serious time.

Thanks

During preclinical years, my medical school class average was consistently mid-high 80s. There been times when I scored in the very high range (95-98) but still was not in the top 10% of the class. This just goes to show the quality of students you are competing against.

If you are barely passing, I would say it maybe it's time to think about changing your strategies. But if you are below average by few points (within is 1/2SD of the average), keep doing what you are doing. Focus on learning the materials and preparing for step 1. The preclinical grades matter very little when it comes to residency application.

 

[Alby]

This is why I go to a P/F school... there really is no average (we usually aren't even told the average on the exams). Currently we are all passing, therefore we are all equal. The best part is that we actually help each other learn.

 

[DrWily]

This is why I go to a P/F school... there really is no average (we usually aren't even told the average on the exams). Currently we are all passing, therefore we are all equal. The best part is that we actually help each other learn.

So how is class rank determined?

Granted we've only taken three tests so far (MS1), but they have all been 86-90 range for mean score. I have a feeling I'm in one of those classes.

 

[Serotonergic]

Sleep less, study more, study more efficiently, get better grades. Not trolling.

 

[ijn]

Sleep less, study more, study more efficiently, get better grades. Not trolling.

That's ******ed. Sleeping less will make you do worse.

 

[hiyaman]

Don't worry about it, just pass

Yeah what's the big deal? If you're passing then you should be good right?
I heard preclinical grades aren't that big of a deal...or maybe things have changed? lol

 

[ijn]

Yeah what's the big deal? If you're passing then you should be good right?
I heard preclinical grades aren't that big of a deal...or maybe things have changed? lol

Preclinical grades aren't that big of a deal, but you're not likely to do well on STEP 1 if you're barely passing. You don't have to honor everything to do well, but it's a lot easier to get the STEP 1 score you want if you develop solid study habits early on rather than a few months before your test date.

 

[notbobtrustme]

That's ******ed. Sleeping less will make you do worse.

what if you sleep 12 hours a day 😛

 

[hiyaman]

Preclinical grades aren't that big of a deal, but you're not likely to do well on STEP 1 if you're barely passing. You don't have to honor everything to do well, but it's a lot easier to get the STEP 1 score you want if you develop solid study habits early on rather than a few months before your test date.

That's reassuring. I don't think I'll be able to honor anything because I always forget those really small details. hope HP is just fine lol.
I'm actually a little worried about when we get to anatomy because of that lol.

 

[Asp]

You gotta assess why you are below average. If it's personality try to change it. If it's intelligence you're basically stuck. Start liking primary care or anesthesia.

 

[citr8]

Yeah I definitely am doing things differently now. I probably should just mention that my class seems to do very well on exams, averages in the high 80's, with std devs within about 5-6 pts. I suppose that this makes everyone work hard and do better long term, but it's a crappy way to do things

 

[evilbooyaa]

That seems... kindof nuts? Do you guys not have a baseline passing score? Our standard devs are usually between 6-8, but if you get a 70 or above you're always passing. The cutoff for "Passing" a test is lowered if 2 standard deviations below the mean is below 70, but it won't ever be raised...

Man that would be awesome.

We had Averages in the mid 80s, but the standard deviation would be 8-12 or something nuts. It would've been nice to just have to not be 2 standard deviations below the mean instead of mandatory 70.