How much does rank matter?

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When trying to match into competitive residencies, how much does class rank really matter? For example, if I'm going for radiation oncology and I score well on my boards will I be hurt by not being in the top of my class as well?

Thanks.

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this? Seemed like it but not sure 😕

 

[GreenShirt]

I believe rank is important in as much as it helps RDs put your grades in perspective (since med schools inflate GPAs). However, I've heard board scores clinical evals, and LORs come before grades/rank. On the other hand, if you're considering uber-competitive specialties, you'll be going head to head with candidates who have the whole package right down to the class rank...in which case it'll matter.

 

[bcat85]

Right... so in other words, unless you want to go into ultracompetitive specialties, it doesn't matter much.

 

[SnowTown]

it matters if you have good class rank. it doesn't matter if you don't.

 

[njbmd]

When trying to match into competitive residencies, how much does class rank really matter? For example, if I'm going for radiation oncology and I score well on my boards will I be hurt by not being in the top of my class as well?

Thanks.

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this? Seemed like it but not sure 😕

Class rank may or may not hurt you. To qualify my statement, some medical schools do not have class rankings and are strictly Pass/Fail. If you have passed everything, your board scores are competitive based on the pool of applicants to the programs that you apply to, then there is likely no problem for you. On the other hand, if your school does have rankings and your MSPE mentions these rankings, you might be ranked lower than other applicants who are in the top of their classes within the pool of people who applied to the same programs that you did.

Residency selection is not completely about board scores and grades but they are important and become more important as the competitiveness of the particular residency program increases within the context of the competitiveness of the specialty.

Rad Onc has become fairly competitive since it seems to be a lifestyle specialty. If in the particular year that you apply for Rad Onc, your fellow applicants demonstrate more competitive applications than you, then you may not match (same as with any specialty). In short, everything is important and you can't make broad generalizations about your competitiveness such as score high on boards and you will be fine.

What you can do is get good advice from your faculty adviser or the program director of Rad Onc at your particular medical school during your third year. In general, these folks can give you an opinion as to your competitiveness for Rad Onc in general and program specific. If you wind up on the less competitive end, the apply to many programs. If you apply and do not receive enough interviews to rank a minimum of 10-15 programs, then you likely need to add more programs.

 

[mikedc813]

I matched into rad onc last year so I thought I'd add to this discussion. Class rank matters a lot for the moderately to highly competitive specialties. You should aim to be in the top 3rd of your class if you are trying to get into something competitive, but you don't have to be AOA or top 10 or anything crazy like that. It sure helps, don't get me wrong, but it's not a must. I certainly wasn't AOA and matched. The key for me was that I had strong parts of my application that made up for my class rank not being #1 (I was in the top 3rd of my class) like research experience and board scores.

I think the most important thing I learned from the match last year was that there are multiple components that are taken into consideration. Being weaker in one area can definitely be made up for in others. The only caveat is that you must be at least reasonably competitive in all areas, meaning there's a difference between making up for a class rank of 30 and a class rank of 75.