Grades in medical school

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Not really good, not especially bad either. Also depends a lot on where that puts you in your class rank....some schools that puts you above average, some schools below.
 
Kkshake said:
I know a couple of B's the first 2 years of medical school are fine...but does it look bad to residencies if you have straight B's?
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Everything is always relative. Always ask yourself these questions, "What all do I bring to the table?," and, if looking at a specific program, "What are the "stories" of the people in that program, right now?
 
This is a BS question, are you even enrolled in a medical school? A couple of B's in the didactic years? Fake outrage!
 
mk04447 said:
This is a BS question, are you even enrolled in a medical school? A couple of B's in the didactic years? Fake outrage!
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Eh, come on. You know how cutthroat some areas are..., e.g. direct plastic?
 
mk04447 said:
Yup, while I tolerate the droves of 600+ MCATs and 300+ Step 1s, come on! What are you asking? You cannot possibly be a real med student.
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I assume you're not speaking to me with regards to "What are you asking?/student." Are you yourself, though, at least an intern? Have you ever spoken with, or recently spoken (last ~20 years) the, for instance, Otorhinolaryngology, or Plastics?, attendings at a "certified" program in the States? The ones that vote? If so, and you still think that even a couple B's, let alone straight!, B's don't matter... Well, then... (of course, successfully matching is always multifactorial, no?, so I'll give you that).

*+, would you even qualify for AOA w/ B's at some places?... That (sometimes) matters. A lot.
 
itisallrelative said:
at a "certified" program in the States?
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Is there any other kind? Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about, there isn't a single program, save one or two (maybe) single slot residencies that are that competitive. One or two B's isn't sinking anyone's aspirations of a specific specialty. Are you planning on doing right hand surgery on the mission to Mars?
 
It seems like so many people on here like to preach “grades don’t matter” to make themselves feel better; however, you need to be careful accepting that statement.

Grades do matter in determining class rank (relatively important) and demonstrating that you know the material well enough to have a good foundation for boards studying. That said, of course it depends on your school’s exams, some people with mediocre grades do very well on boards, and high grades don’t guarantee great board scores. Just don’t fall into a trap of thinking that because preclinical grades themselves aren’t weighted heavily, that you shouldn’t strive to do well in classes.
 
Preclinical grades have a pretty strong correlation with STEP 1 scores, and also with class rank and AOA membership, all of which are important in residency selection, particularly for the most competitive specialties. So while the preclinical grades themselves don't matter much, what they indicate/associate with does.
 
mk04447 said:
Is there any other kind? Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about, there isn't a single program, save one or two (maybe) single slot residencies that are that competitive. One or two B's isn't sinking anyone's aspirations of a specific specialty. Are you planning on doing right hand surgery on the mission to Mars?
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1. The first sentence you wrote makes me think you don't know much about how things really work.
2. The second sentence confirmed 1., and has resulted in me coming to the conclusion that you, Sir, are an idiot.
 
itisallrelative said:
1. The first sentence you wrote makes me think you don't know much about how things really work.
2. The second sentence confirmed 1., and has resulted in me coming to the conclusion that you, Sir, are an idiot.
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Please, I know everyone on here likes to beat their chests, but get real, we are talking about a few B's. Not a pattern of poor performance and complete failure to thrive. Be realistic and don't get pushed out an airlock for being douche.
 
mk04447 said:
Is there any other kind? Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about, there isn't a single program, save one or two (maybe) single slot residencies that are that competitive. One or two B's isn't sinking anyone's aspirations of a specific specialty. Are you planning on doing right hand surgery on the mission to Mars?
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If the grades sink you down a quartile or keep you out of AOA will certainly make you less competitive at highly competitive residencies. This would include top 10 programs at pretty much any specialty barring family med. It’d not just hand surgery on mars
 
sliceofbread136 said:
If the grades sink you down a quartile or keep you out of AOA will certainly make you less competitive at highly competitive residencies. This would include top 10 programs at pretty much any specialty barring family med. It’d not just hand surgery on mars
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This gentleman (sliceofbread) knows. Ty.
 
Dr.McNinja said:
Knock it off. Right now.
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Right, mk, I apologize for calling you an "idiot." But, consider what it takes to match into for instance an ENT spot at Mass. Eye & Ear, and similar levels of programs in other specialties.
 
itisallrelative said:
Right, mk, I apologize for calling you an "idiot." But, consider what it takes to match into for instance an ENT spot at Mass. Eye & Ear, and similar levels of programs in other specialties.
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No need to apologize (not a snowflake). You will be fine there.
 
I haven't seen a new member this unanimously hated and ripped apart this quickly in some time.
 
The school I am at is pass/fail as are most programs (and more are adopting this approach). Preclinical grades especially do not matter for anything so long as you pass. As for their correlation to STEP 1, this is debatable. STEP 1 is just another standardized test and as such, your preparation for the exam may not have much to do with what your school asks you on exams.
 
Kisangani said:
The school I am at is pass/fail as are most programs (and more are adopting this approach). Preclinical grades especially do not matter for anything so long as you pass. As for their correlation to STEP 1, this is debatable. STEP 1 is just another standardized test and as such, your preparation for the exam may not have much to do with what your school asks you on exams.
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My school is pass/fail too, but I was told last year, starting last year, they are required to report ranking to residency program. How will they report it? Quartile? Specific ranking? I do not know...but obviously if one ranks bottom 25% or last will not look good. Just a FYI from what I was told from my school. Never really took the time to research if it was true
 
Goro said:
One reaps what one sows.
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I learned "you made your bed, now lay in it" from a post you made in a thread a while back and have used it IRL. Love that phrase.
 
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frenchyn said:
My school is pass/fail too, but I was told last year, starting last year, they are required to report ranking to residency program. How will they report it? Quartile? Specific ranking? I do not know...but obviously if one ranks bottom 25% or last will not look good. Just a FYI from what I was told from my school. Never really took the time to research if it was true
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This 100%, so many schools say they are pass/fail but then follow your grades for quartile and for AOA... not really pass fail at all. If your institution really does have pass fail then feel to not care about your grades
 
sliceofbread136 said:
This 100%, so many schools say they are pass/fail but then follow your grades for quartile and for AOA... not really pass fail at all. If your institution really does have pass fail then feel to not care about your grades
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Are there pass/fail schools that do not actually track performance to report class rank? I thought all schools had a class rank regardless of grading system.
 
parslea said:
Are there pass/fail schools that do not actually track performance to report class rank? I thought all schools had a class rank regardless of grading system.
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At my school class rank is based solely on 3rd and 4th year grades.
 
Gurby said:
At my school class rank is based solely on 3rd and 4th year grades.
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Is your school also complete/near complete with pre-clinical grades by that time such that your class rank is determined mostly by clinical rotation performance/testing?
 
parslea said:
Is your school also complete/near complete with pre-clinical grades by that time such that your class rank is determined mostly by clinical rotation performance/testing?
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I think that's the idea!
 
Answer me this -

How do program directors view students with the following grades:

Straight C's but a 250 Step I
Straight A's but a 220
A's and C's with a 230 (my likely scenario)
Straight B's with a 260 but a DO



 
Riles said:
Answer me this -

How do program directors view students with the following grades:

Straight C's but a 250 Step I
Straight A's but a 220
A's and C's with a 230 (my likely scenario)
Straight B's with a 260 but a DO


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Honestly depends on the specialty as well as the step 2 score.
 
Riles said:
Answer me this -

How do program directors view students with the following grades:

Straight C's but a 250 Step I
Straight A's but a 220
A's and C's with a 230 (my likely scenario)
Straight B's with a 260 but a DO
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Mostly likely the straight C's person but a 250 Step I.

In my opinion, it would depend on the person's Step II though. If that person scores again above 1 STD on the Step II, the ones that care about preclinical grades still won't give a damn. That person that falls under that Straight C's but a 250 Step I will belong to one of these two categories:

1) A straight slacker who's very intelligent
2) A hard worker who realizes the game during preclinical years and plays their cards right

Step II basically tests everything during your clinical year, so a person who obviously studies hard for Step II will likely have a higher clinical acumen, have great LORs, and do well on Step II.

These debates exist because more and more people are realizing the flaws of the preclinical education for the majority of med students.
 
Gurby said:
At my school class rank is based solely on 3rd and 4th year grades.
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Yeah, same...not only are our preclinical exams pass/fail, but they don't even receive a number grade, period, and are explicitly (as per the student handbook) not even entered into our permanent academic record.

AOA isn't even decided until after the MSPEs are already submitted, so unless you can update ERAS with that info, I don't believe it's a factor for our students.
 
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