M1/M2 Grades

[aayz345]

I'm currently a 1st year at an MD school that uses H/P/F for preclinical grading.. I've often heard that AOA is the only thing that really matters during pre-clinical. What about if your school doesn't use AOA? Do pre-clinical grades matter much for non-competitive specialties like PM&R Psych or Anesthesia?

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[slowthai]

Then you're sitting pretty. Just don't fail any courses. To be clear, preclinical grades don't matter.

 

[Vyzzle]

In a non-AOA school, you can get perfect scores or barely pass, and it won't matter. The main argument you could make is people who do better during pre-clin do better on Step 1 -> Rotations -> Step 2 but that's certainly not always the case. I know plenty of people who barely passed (purposely) and got AOA / matched super well.

The /only/ thing is if someone was barely passing while also putting in a lot of work I'd take a step back and assess "why" as it'll make going forward easier.

 

[MDMechEngr]

What goes well will end well. Why not shoot for the H and do well on everything.

 

[aayz345]

What goes well will end well. Why not shoot for the H and do well on everything.

Because getting honors (90%+) requires a ton of time that could be used elsewhere (unlike in undergrad). I could use that time resting, doing research, exercising/hobbies, spending time with SO. I guess it might not be worth it to me if pre-clinicals aren't that important.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Because getting honors (90%+) requires a ton of time that could be used elsewhere (unlike in undergrad). I could use that time resting, doing research, exercising/hobbies, spending time with SO. I guess it might not be worth it to me if pre-clinicals aren't that important.

Amen. Use the extra time to stay sane.

 

[SurgDoc95]

DO with 22x/24x no clinical honors and last quartile pre clinical grades (no failures) sitting at 11 GS interviews so gonna go out on a limb here and say pre clinical grades are meaningless unless you’re shooting for a tip top tier residency. As an MD student you just need to pass and do decent on boards and you’ll be in a good position to match most specialties given you’re not dead set on Mass Gen or Hopkins for NSG

 

[drducky.]

DO with 22x/24x no clinical honors and last quartile pre clinical grades (no failures) sitting at 11 GS interviews so gonna go out on a limb here and say pre clinical grades are meaningless unless you’re shooting for a tip top tier residency. As an MD student you just need to pass and do decent on boards and you’ll be in a good position to match most specialties given you’re not dead set on Mass Gen or Hopkins for NSG

Nice! What’s research like?

 

[SurgDoc95]

Nice! What’s research like?

Several publications and posters so I’m sure that’s helped haha

 

[Goro]

I'm currently a 1st year at an MD school that uses H/P/F for preclinical grading.. I've often heard that AOA is the only thing that really matters during pre-clinical. What about if your school doesn't use AOA? Do pre-clinical grades matter much for non-competitive specialties like PM&R Psych or Anesthesia?

They should still be using class rank.

Stop thinking like a pre-med. PDs don't care about pre-clinical grades.

See this:

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PD-Survey.pdf

 

[MDMechEngr]

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE/Dean's Letter) seems to be high on the PD list. It is a summary letter of evaluation intended to provide residency program directors an honest and objective summary of a student's salient experiences, attributes, and academic performance. I geuss academic isn't important? all one has to do is pass and the dean will give us a stellar Dean's Letter?

 

[drducky.]

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE/Dean's Letter) seems to be high on the PD list. It is a summary letter of evaluation intended to provide residency program directors an honest and objective summary of a student's salient experiences, attributes, and academic performance. I geuss academic isn't important? all one has to do is pass and the dean will give us a stellar Dean's Letter?

Basically it’s looking for anything alarming, sorta like the category for board failure.

 

[bigindian4891]

My philosophy in med school was to enjoy life before I am too old and busy to not enjoy it. Accordingly, I learned, watched netflix, hung out with friends, drank, studied, traveled, and didn't aim for top scores in everything. Passed each class, no failures, and I'm pretty sure I'm in the bottom 10% of my class.

I have more than enough interviews for residency, in which each interviewer asked me about my hobbies and noted how easy I am to converse with, which I attribute to not being a shut-in med student for 4 years. My grades and class rank never came up. I'll probably be a doctor, the same occupation as the guy who studied extremely hard for 4 years.

Its your life, choose what is important for you. For some people, it may be gunning for that A in Biochem 1, for others, it might be traveling internationally during your vacation month. Either way, you'll be a doctor.

 

[slowthai]

The Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE/Dean's Letter) seems to be high on the PD list. It is a summary letter of evaluation intended to provide residency program directors an honest and objective summary of a student's salient experiences, attributes, and academic performance. I geuss academic isn't important? all one has to do is pass and the dean will give us a stellar Dean's Letter?

Correct. A lot of people don't even read it, because there's almost nothing meaningful to glean from it. Most of them say something like, "MDGunner, despite his gunner tendencies, was not a gunner, in fact; he was a great student."

I know some of them display class rank, but if you don't have AOA and you didn't fail anything, who cares?

 

[ExplodingUlcers]

Correct. A lot of people don't even read it, because there's almost nothing meaningful to glean from it. Most of them say something like, "MDGunner, despite his gunner tendencies, was not a gunner, in fact; he was a great student."

I know some of them display class rank, but if you don't have AOA and you didn't fail anything, who cares?

So essentially I just need my school to say that I'm not a total piece of **** and I'll be gucci right?