How important are med school grades in obtaining cards fellowship?

[G.O.A.T.]

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i am currently a second year med student, and lets just say the first two years of med school have been a struggle. lots of passes and not much else. i am still undecided about what i want to do (or what i will be able to do with my grades) but the cards module has by far been my favorite module in both years. it is one of the few things that i have really liked so far. so my question is how important are med school grades in the process? can someone with just passes in the first two years still land a cards fellowship? thanks.

 

[ProgCoordinator]

It's not the end of the world to simply Pass. It will be better if your Cards modules are High Pass or Honors. Failing anything will be much, much worse. But, Passing can be OK. To be competitive for a Cardiology fellowship at a strong institution your USMLE steps will need to be pretty high. Plus, you'll need strong (and steady) research/publications and, of course, really strong letters from your residency PD.

 

[hagart33]

I think the more important thing is to do well during your clinical rotations, and eventually get into a strong Internal Medicine residency. Yes, doing well on your Step1 and Step2 exams is important, but when it comes to applying for fellowship where you do your residency, research research research, and your letters of rec matter much more.

i am currently a second year med student, and lets just say the first two years of med school have been a struggle. lots of passes and not much else. i am still undecided about what i want to do (or what i will be able to do with my grades) but the cards module has by far been my favorite module in both years. it is one of the few things that i have really liked so far. so my question is how important are med school grades in the process? can someone with just passes in the first two years still land a cards fellowship? thanks.

 

[Doku]

It's not the end of the world to simply Pass. It will be better if your Cards modules are High Pass or Honors. Failing anything will be much, much worse. But, Passing can be OK. To be competitive for a Cardiology fellowship at a strong institution your USMLE steps will need to be pretty high. Plus, you'll need strong (and steady) research/publications and, of course, really strong letters from your residency PD.

My Step 1 is 99/260, Step 2 is 98/245, but step 3 is 83/213 - i did take it without preparation before residency because of my need of H1B visa. How would it impact my chances?

 

[Teejay]

i am currently a second year med student, and lets just say the first two years of med school have been a struggle. lots of passes and not much else. i am still undecided about what i want to do (or what i will be able to do with my grades) but the cards module has by far been my favorite module in both years. it is one of the few things that i have really liked so far. so my question is how important are med school grades in the process? can someone with just passes in the first two years still land a cards fellowship? thanks.

Most cardiology programs never request your med-school transcript before interviews and the match. So it all boils down to where you did your IM(Top tier, Middle, lower etc) Letters of Recommendation, Personal statements and Step scores.

 

[G.O.A.T.]

thanks for your responses guys.

 

[Chalazion12]

So is someone with just average board scores still competitive?