GPA, USMLE SCORE, letters of rec

[supercat]

hey everyone, im a 2nd medical student in the US. I am worried about a place in residency. My grades are not the best although im trying to make a's and b's; however i end up making all c's. SO my questions is to match for residency how much to grades, USLME, matter. I am think about peds so i want to match a decent university. any suggestions?

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[Fro]

usually: clinical grades>USMLE>preclinical grades
letters of rec can trump all if you get a big name and its really good.
Peds is different though - they put more emphasis on your personal qualities, extracurrics, etc than other things

Overall Peds is still not very competitive so you'll probably get interviewed by 98% of the places you apply to.
no worries mate

 

[Winged Scapula]

Ditto to what Fro said. Just bear in mind as well, that if your ultimate goal is to be a community pediatrician a community program might better suit you - Peds at a university hospital can often have you spend more than a bit of time on "zebras". Admittedly there is outpatient rotations as well, but you will come into contact with more than your fair share of unusual entities (that you may never see in your practice).

 

[fourthyearmed]

Don't worry. 3rd year is totally different from the first two and may be your opportunity to shine and get great evaluations. It was for me.