How Important is Preclinical "Distinction"/Honors, really?

[MiddleEMed]

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Hi everyone,

M1 here just wondering how much I should be stressing over the idea of preclinical "distinction". I go to a school where it is P/F, but there's pre-clinical designation of "Distinction" if you get >= 93% across all your preclinical grades on your MSPE. It also has a small "multiplier" effect for AOA consideration, but I think M3/M4 performance is the most important here.

I'm not looking to go into a field that's super competitive – likely Neuro or Pathology – but tbh I'd like to try and get into a top academic program. Should I be trying my best for that distinction? I'm already feeling the pressure of being at an 89-90% range where the average is closer to 90 for most exams.

Thank you!!

 

[operaman]

Aim for it but not worth a massive amount of stress. It’s less about the stripe in your mspe and more about how well you learn the material. So much of that stuff will come back in various forms throughout step exams and shelf exams. The better you learn it now, the better you will do later. So go for it as best you can, but don’t feel defeated if you miss it. It just means you’ve learned it as best as you can and you’re as prepared as possible for the next step.

 

[Goro]

PDs don't care.

 

[MDMechEngr]

It will likely be difficult to match to a top accademic program if you are an average student at a lower tier school. AOA is not necessary, but will help you signigicantly if you get it. Put in 100%, try to be better than average and don't stress if you are not at the top of your class. At the end of the day, you want to match to a program that is a good fit for you and provides excellent training. GL.

 

[MiddleEMed]

It will likely be difficult to match to a top accademic program if you are an average student at a lower tier school. AOA is not necessary, but will help you signigicantly if you get it. Put in 100%, try to be better than average and don't stress if you are not at the top of your class. At the end of the day, you want to match to a program that is a good fit for you and provides excellent training. GL.

Thank you! Mid-tier MD here. Hopefully not a huge disadvantage for top academic programs in Neurology. But I guess I do need to stand out.

 

[Lifeblood_20]

If your goal is to match into a TOP Academic Neurology program (like Harvard/UCSF/Hopkins) your academic grades (pre-clinical and clinical) are very important, alongside your research output. But we are talking like 10 programs in the entire nation. So if that's your goal, you definitely need to stress over grades.

 

[Circ Arrest]

I’m going to put this in some practical terms because when it is currently your biggest obstacle, you can’t really look at this rationally.


Situation 1:
“Hm, you must’ve spent a lot of time studying to get these grades… get this nerd off of this rank list!”

Probably won’t ever happen.


Situation 2:
“Hm, it’s a really competitive year, we have a lot of great candidates, how are we going to rank everyone? We like both of these guys, step scores are good, good recs, good clinical grades but we have to rank one ahead of the other, I guess person A had better preclinical grades”

Happens all the time

In a vacuum they’re not really important and no one truly cares. Too bad life doesn’t exist in a vacuum. So just do the best so that you don’t leave yourself wondering down the road.