How to Use Med School's Board Scores and Match Lists

[dujier]

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Is there any way to find out the average board scores of each of the med schools?

Also, how should you look at residency match lists (like ... what exactly are you looking for, and what kind of information can you get)?

 

[mattorama]

Board scores aren't really available in an "official" format. Schools will sometimes tell students what their class average is. Search around on SDN for this info.

One thing that I really don't understand is why anyone cares about average board scores or match lists. You can't pull ANY useful information out of them. Yes, a "higher ranked" school will have higher average board scores and will match a lot of students into highly competitive programs. Those schools also attract students with higher grades and who are highly ambitious. Fill a school up with students who have an average of 35 on the MCAT and they had better have a high average on Step 1. If someone were to use incoming GPA/MCAT to normalize step 1 scores, THEN you could compare schools (given the same caliber student how would they do on boards at one school relative to another).

As far as match lists...it all depends on what fields/programs a student wants. Students at top schools are more likely to want to go into super competitive fields at big name places. They are also more likely to have high board scores too (most likely because they are stronger/more motivated students to begin with) and take advantage of the great research opportunities afforded by top schools. It is all very self-selecting. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the students with the smarts AND desire for competitive fields (who tend to congregate at “top ranked” schools) also happen to match into them more so then those without.

Go where you will be happy and good luck…

 

[Labslave]

Board scores aren't really available in an "official" format. Schools will sometimes tell students what their class average is. Search around on SDN for this info.

One thing that I really don't understand is why anyone cares about average board scores or match lists. You can't pull ANY useful information out of them. Yes, a "higher ranked" school will have higher average board scores and will match a lot of students into highly competitive programs. Those schools also attract students with higher grades and who are highly ambitious. Fill a school up with students who have an average of 35 on the MCAT and they had better have a high average on Step 1. If someone were to use incoming GPA/MCAT to normalize step 1 scores, THEN you could compare schools (given the same caliber student how would they do on boards at one school relative to another).

As far as match lists...it all depends on what fields/programs a student wants. Students at top schools are more likely to want to go into super competitive fields at big name places. They are also more likely to have high board scores too (most likely because they are stronger/more motivated students to begin with) and take advantage of the great research opportunities afforded by top schools. It is all very self-selecting. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the students with the smarts AND desire for competitive fields (who tend to congregate at “top ranked” schools) also happen to match into them more so then those without.

Go where you will be happy and good luck…

Great post. 👍

To the OP: It's much more important that you attend a school that has a curriculum conducive to your style of learning so that you will be able to maximize the odds of you realizing your full academic potential. As mattorama touched upon at the end of his post, being happy is another very important element of your success in med school. Make sure you like the environment (social, academic, etc.) and also consider things like family/S.O. support if that's important to you, too.

 

[Penelope1]

Is there any way to find out the average board scores of each of the med schools?

Call them up and ask. Sometimes they'll tell you. Usually they tell you when you interview. Also you can use SDN as a resource, as mentioned above.

Also, how should you look at residency match lists (like ... what exactly are you looking for, and what kind of information can you get)?

I'm not an expert in this, but here's my two cents. If you know which specialties or which areas of the country you are most interested in, you can look at what percentage of graduates from each school go there. If you're undecided, you should probably look at what percentage of graduates go into competitive specialties at competitive places from each school. Another good barometer might be how many grads do residency in California, if that's anywhere near as competitive as CA med schools.

 

[jennyboo]

Is there any way to find out the average board scores of each of the med schools?

Also, how should you look at residency match lists (like ... what exactly are you looking for, and what kind of information can you get)?

I would argue that some info about board scores actually IS useful. The average score is less useful, but the PASS RATE is something you want to find out about if you can. Many schools don't publicly release their class averages but do release them internally to students (if they know where to look). It is useful to ask a few students, "What is your school's Step 1 pass rate?" If the school's pass rate is significantly below the national pass rate, something is WRONG and the school officials will not tell you.

My class had a Step 1 pass rate of only 80% which means one out of every five students flunked it -- well below the national pass rate of ~93%. 😡 😡 😡 You would also never guess we had such a ****ty pass rate because of those students who passed, the posted average score was almost a standard deviation ABOVE the mean when you didn't count the students who flunked in the average. If students don't PASS the boards at the national average, something is wrong with the school and you should know about it when considering whether to go there.

MATCH LIST - This is more difficult to evaluate. I'd look at:

1) Did any students go into competitive specialties? (dermatology, radiology, rad onc, urology, neurosurg, ENT, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery are a few examples) This is never a huge number compared to internal medicine, but if there's a handful, it's a good sign that students are able to apply successfully to non primary care fields and secure residencies.

2) Did any students go into non primary care specialties? If you see a decent number (say, more than just a couple of students), I think it's a good sign the school is able to successfully provide good mentorship and teaching in specialties other than primary care. This includes specialties that aren't considered extremely competitive but are more middle-of-the-road, such as general surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, or neurology. If you're interested in these, you want to see a few students choosing those specialties -- it indicates they had a good time and good mentors.

3) Did students stay local for residency, or did they go away? If away, were many students able to match in highly competitive residency markets (California, New York, Boston, maybe Chicago, Washington state, Oregon)?

4) Finally, look for residencies and hospitals which vaguely correlate with the medical school rankings. Prestigious medical schools sometimes have prestigious residencies -- that is a good general rule for someone who knows nothing else to judge by otherwise.

 

[dujier]

I would argue that some info about board scores actually IS useful. The average score is less useful, but the PASS RATE is something you want to find out about if you can. Many schools don't publicly release their class averages but do release them internally to students (if they know where to look). It is useful to ask a few students, "What is your school's Step 1 pass rate?" If the school's pass rate is significantly below the national pass rate, something is WRONG and the school officials will not tell you.

My class had a Step 1 pass rate of only 80% which means one out of every five students flunked it -- well below the national pass rate of ~93%. 😡 😡 😡 You would also never guess we had such a ****ty pass rate because of those students who passed, the posted average score was almost a standard deviation ABOVE the mean when you didn't count the students who flunked in the average. If students don't PASS the boards at the national average, something is wrong with the school and you should know about it when considering whether to go there.

MATCH LIST - This is more difficult to evaluate. I'd look at:

1) Did any students go into competitive specialties? (dermatology, radiology, rad onc, urology, neurosurg, ENT, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery are a few examples) This is never a huge number compared to internal medicine, but if there's a handful, it's a good sign that students are able to apply successfully to non primary care fields and secure residencies.

2) Did any students go into non primary care specialties? If you see a decent number (say, more than just a couple of students), I think it's a good sign the school is able to successfully provide good mentorship and teaching in specialties other than primary care. This includes specialties that aren't considered extremely competitive but are more middle-of-the-road, such as general surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, or neurology. If you're interested in these, you want to see a few students choosing those specialties -- it indicates they had a good time and good mentors.

3) Did students stay local for residency, or did they go away? If away, were many students able to match in highly competitive residency markets (California, New York, Boston, maybe Chicago, Washington state, Oregon)?

4) Finally, look for residencies and hospitals which vaguely correlate with the medical school rankings. Prestigious medical schools sometimes have prestigious residencies -- that is a good general rule for someone who knows nothing else to judge by otherwise.

wow.. thank you very much for your great answers, i was able to get a lot of information!