Deans Letter

[Hop Toad]

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Does everyone get to read their dean's letters? I just got mine today for "proofing". Contained all my shelf exam scores. Lots of comments that each rotation wrote.

How important?

 

[vitaminj]

From what I have been told at my school this is VERY important. They have changed the name to the Medical Student Performance Evaluation. It is pretty much the school's summary of you. I as well got to read over mine...I don't think this is something you have to waive your right to see like a letter of recomendation.
I ahve been told that many programs wait to see your Dean's letter (MPSE) before giving out interviews...not to say though that this is across the board.
Hope that helps.
J

 

[sanfilippo]

Here students are allowed to review the dean's letter some time in October (hasn't happened yet as you can see). It basically contains all your comments from rotations as well as how you did compared to your classmates (here they do so on a bar graph). It also has a narrative portion to try to describe you more personally--here we have to fill out a form to help them do this.

All that is kept clandestine is the final paragraph which statifies students into quartiles, which corresponds to a qualifier in the Dean's recommendation for residency (excellent/great/very strong/strong or something like that). We can see this final parapgraph only if we sign a statement saying we saw it...doesn't look good on your part.

I don't know how this system compares to those from other schools, but I thought I'd share my school's version.
-S.

 

[Hop Toad]

Did you guys know going in to your 3rd year what would be included in your Dean's letter? I had no clue. I'm not really chatty with the rest of the med students, but it was a shocker to me that the shelf exam percentiles were all included. Each rotation was broken down by comments, shelf exam, and then final grade.


Also, at my program we even get to see the final paragraph. I am very happy with my letter, but I would be really bummed right now if I did not like my numbers. Did not always prepare for the shelf as if it were going to be published to future residency programs.