Does the MSPE really matters?

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FaddyAcids

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Whats the difference between the MSPE and the Medical School Transcript?
and is the MSPE required for a residency? if the performance is not that good, is it better to not send it at all?
 
Whats the difference between the MSPE and the Medical School Transcript?
and is the MSPE required for a residency? if the performance is not that good, is it better to not send it at all?

IIRC, the MSPE is the "Dean's Letter," which summarizes your performance during all four years of med school - it includes excerpts from your various evaluations.

Your med school transcript is just a listing of your grades.

And yes, both are required.
 
IIRC, the MSPE is the "Dean's Letter," which summarizes your performance during all four years of med school - it includes excerpts from your various evaluations.

Your med school transcript is just a listing of your grades.

And yes, both are required.

Yes, you are correct. The MSPE (Medical Student Performance Evaluation or some jazz like that) and the "Dean's Letter" are one in the same. The former is the new, politically correct name for the latter.

And yes, it is required...the Dean's Office (or ECFMG if you're from a foreign medical school) sends the MSPE on November 1 of the year you apply.
 
Some MSPEs also include your class rank/percentage, which cannot be inferred with much precision from your transcript.
 
For IMGs, does their medical school performance affect their chance of getting accepted in a particular program??

An IMG with good USMLE scores but average grades in medical school??
 
As in, with all else being equal, does a superior MSPE trump an inferior one?

Most likely.
 
For IMGs, does their medical school performance affect their chance of getting accepted in a particular program??

An IMG with good USMLE scores but average grades in medical school??

Most IMG MSPE's are not very helpful. US allopathic programs follow a standard format for MSPE's which helps describe a medical student's performance in school. Many international schools and DO schools do not do this, and their MSPE's are often useless.

But, as Blade suggests above, poor grades in any school can always hurt you.

For IMG's, USMLE performance is much, much more important than grades.
 
If they read it...

Some people are real good at looking through your entire app. Others just show up and wing the interview.
 
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