grades vs. boards

[DrDarwin]

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This has probably been asked many times before, but what does everyone think about USMLE scores vs. pre-clinical grades? There is obviously no clear-cut answer, but I am wondering what people think. As far as I know, third year grades and board scores are most important, first and second year grades much less so. Of course, there is the argument that people who do very well the first two years will do very well on the USMLE and during the clinical years, but several people have told me this is not necessarily the case, especially when a school's curriculum is not geared towards the boards. Ideally, one would do exceptionally well in classes and on the boards. Would it therefore be a horrible idea to sacrifice one's grades to some extent (i.e., be average at top 10 school) to start preparing for the USMLE during the first year (i.e., spending lots of time studying for classes and a fair amount of time studying for the USMLE instead of spending all of the time studying for classes)? It would seem so, considering that many, many programs have USMLE cut-offs, but very few--at least as far as I know--have pre-clinical grade cut-offs. (The caveat here is that pre-clinical grades are part of one's overall academic performance, which is judged to be very important.) Furthermore, considering that many residency programs use 'school reputation' as a modifier in evaluating academic performance, it would seem that doing well on the USMLE is paramount, since it is the one common yardstick in the process. I am interested in peoples' thoughts regarding this difficult and contentious topic.

 

[Zweihander]

Seriously, the best way to study for Step I is to learn your basic science cold, especially pathology. You don't need more than a month to prepare for boards, and your retention for board-specific material will likely be very low anyways (I was already slipping by the end of the third week of studying).

Focus on your classes and knock them out of the park, and even if you can't make sure you learn the basics *well.* That's your job first two years. Worry about the boards later.


cheers

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
With USMLE being fairly integrated, you really cannot do much studying for the boards until you are done with your coursework. As the poster above stated, your coursework is the best preparation for your boards. You STUDY for your classes and REVIEW for your boards. You cannot review what you have not learned in the first place.
njbmd 🙂

 

[cdql]

I thought there was research out there that showed an almost direct correlation between performance in classes and performance on the board exam.

Either way, NJBMD has it right! Your goal is to learn everything well the first time so that when it comes time to review for the boards, you'll be able to relearn or review the material quicker. Having to learn material for the first time while studying for the boards adds to the already enormous workload!!

 

[azzarah]

I am bottom-third of my class during basic sciences. My Step 1 was waaaay above national avg.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I am bottom-third of my class during basic sciences. My Step 1 was waaaay above national avg.

Hah! But your class is probably waaay above average in a lot of ways. I'd take bottom third at JH.

 

[azzarah]

Hah! But your class is probably waaay above average in a lot of ways. I'd take bottom third at JH.

That's true...once I busted my a$$ and got a 92 on a neuro quiz...It was tough as he!!. I was so proud of myself until I checked the board and saw that I had scored more than 2SDs below avg!!!! I'm glad those days are OVER!!!!

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

To echo what has already been said, you should study to learn the material as best you can. Moreover, as a first year, you have no idea how much you'll need to study to be "average." Everyone thinks they'll be in the top 10% of the class coming into med school, when in reality, half the class will be below the median.