med class ranking

[pekq]

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For the purpose of obtaining residencies, is it better to be ranked low at a prestigious school (top20) vs being ranked around middle at a less prestigious school such as NYU or UR? What about AOA at Drexel? Any opinions?

I currently have this fear that I will get left in the dust by my peers in med school, anyone else feel this way?

 

[idq1i]

I currently have this fear that I will get left in the dust by my peers in med school, anyone else feel this way?

You already are behind. Faaaar behind

 

[exmike]

For the purpose of obtaining residencies, is it better to be ranked low at a prestigious school (top20) vs being ranked around middle at a less prestigious school such as NYU or UR? What about AOA at Drexel? Any opinions?

I currently have this fear that I will get left in the dust by my peers in med school, anyone else feel this way?

First worry about your step 1, then worry about others.

 

[CalBeE]

There's a saying that for residency app, it's good to be the BIG FISH in the pond, no matter how small the pond is. But then again, you USMLE Step 1 score and your connection to the hospital (Who knows you and hates you) play big parts.

 

[exmike]

There's a saying that for residency app, it's good to be the BIG FISH in the pond, no matter how small the pond is. But then again, you USMLE Step 1 score and your connection to the hospital (Who knows you and hates you) play big parts.

Of course, if you're the biggest fish in the big pond, its even better 😛

 

[CalBeE]

Of course, if you're the biggest fish in the big pond, its even better 😛

If you're the biggest fish at Harvard/Hopkins/Penn/Duke/UCSF...yea you're pretty much set. 😉

 

[docmemi]

so the whole P/F thing isnt that true...cause your ranking still matters??

hmm, so what if you pass all your classes, are ranked low, but do very well on step 1?

 

[CalBeE]

so the whole P/F thing isnt that true...cause your ranking still matters??

hmm, so what if you pass all your classes, are ranked low, but do very well on step 1?

Your ranking is reflected on your LOR during residency app I think (The one written by the dean on behalf of all students). For example, I heard this is how Northwestern does it: People are "good", "excellent", "outstanding" student, etc., depending on where you are relative to the class.

 

[docmemi]

Your ranking is reflected on your LOR during residency app I think (The one written by the dean on behalf of all students). For example, I heard this is how Northwestern does it: People are "good", "excellent", "outstanding" student, etc., depending on where you are relative to the class.

which dean writes the letter? how does this dean know every student personally enough to write an lor?? OR you choose a dean taht knows you? OR its not that much of a personal letter??

 

[CalBeE]

which dean writes the letter? how does this dean know every student personally enough to write an lor?? OR you choose a dean taht knows you? OR its not that much of a personal letter??

I think it's a generic letter...not really sure how it works...The comments are based on your performance in school.

 

[roja]

Class rank: like all things depends on what you want to go into. For most things, not so important. Derm? better be up there.

Dean's Letter: written by your academic dean. Takes all your evaluations from third year and puts that in it. Has your class rank. Gives your gpa for each year.


What's even more important? (dean's letter is important in that it gives your rotational evals. very important)

LETTERS OF REC!
AWAY ROTATIONS
RESEARCH

 

[pekq]

Of course, if you're the biggest fish in the big pond, its even better 😛

The biggest fish gets eaten first 😉 AOA from Drexel is really big fish in pond as well.

For some schools with p/f like NYU, your grade is still recorded for ranking purposes.

Let's say for the same board score and connections, where would I fare better? Bottom of a top20 or middle of a less prestigious med school like NYU?

 

[Benjo]

Who cares? Are you choosing a school based on your perceived ability to succeed there? That is insane. If they let you in, you can cut it, and then it's up to you. ARe you actually that insecure about your ability to perform?
Just a point of contention--isnt NYU top 30? Is the #20 school I assue ou are referring to really significantly more prestigious than NYU, because of 10 or so rank places on an almost arbitrary list anyway?

 

[roja]

This is so hard to predict. It honestly will depend on what you want to go into. Because each field has its 'top residencies' and they aren't necessarily associated with all the top school.


Just like medical scool (but even more so) residency is about your whole composite (research, step1, evals from 3rd year, away rotations fourth year, application statement and very importantly, who your advisors know.) Because so much of residency is your letter of recs, make sure you are goign to a school that you really liked, because if you end up hating your medical school, it will show and you will have a harder time succeeding.

Focus on going to a school that fits your personality, your life, and your budget and relax. Focus on learning to be a good doctor and a good person, not trying to be the most pedigreed.

 

[babinski bob]

I'm a 2nd year med student at drexel... Just remember that no matter what school you go to (even the 'lower tier' schools supposedly like drexel whatever this means... 🙄 ), the top students would be in the top 10% of any major med school like harvard, JHU, etc... For example, the top 2 students in the class ahead of me ended up with some of the top step 1 scores in the country.. Both ended up w/ 268-270...

Just remember.. step 1 is the great equalizer... In order of importance...

Step 1 > AOA, school prestige > letters of rec, deans letters > research, class grades > extracurricular activities.

 

[Cat Scratch]

I've heard that great letter of rec from well-respected people in their fields might be almost as important or more so than step 1 scores.

 

[PCOM_Rocks]

I'm a 2nd year med student at drexel... Just remember that no matter what school you go to (even the 'lower tier' schools supposedly like drexel whatever this means... 🙄 ), the top students would be in the top 10% of any major med school like harvard, JHU, etc... For example, the top 2 students in the class ahead of me ended up with some of the top step 1 scores in the country.. Both ended up w/ 268-270...

Just remember.. step 1 is the great equalizer... In order of importance...

Step 1 > AOA, school prestige > letters of rec, deans letters > research, class grades > extracurricular activities.

was there a big difference between the performances of the PIL vs. IFM people?

 

[babinski bob]

In the past year or two, the step 1 scores for IFM and PIL have been essentially identical. You end up learning the same information in both tracks, we just use different tools to accomplish the task. 🙂

 

[pekq]

I'm a 2nd year med student at drexel... Just remember that no matter what school you go to (even the 'lower tier' schools supposedly like drexel whatever this means... 🙄 ), the top students would be in the top 10% of any major med school like harvard, JHU, etc... For example, the top 2 students in the class ahead of me ended up with some of the top step 1 scores in the country.. Both ended up w/ 268-270...

Just remember.. step 1 is the great equalizer... In order of importance...

Step 1 > AOA, school prestige > letters of rec, deans letters > research, class grades > extracurricular activities.

Thx for all the opinions, as for rank in order of importance, your hierarchy seems to suggest school prestige is quite important when i've read in other threads that it's actually the least important. It also looks like class ranking is just as important as school prestige. I guess that would kinda equalize the two (middle rank at mediocre school vs bottom feeder at 1st tier).

 

[AsherAysh]

I?ve been talking to doctors and residency directors about this topic, and there is no clear answer?it seems to depend on the school and on the personal values of the residency admissions committee. Many said that it is better to be in the ?top quartile of any school than in the bottom quartile of a more ?prestigious? school.? From speaking with many them, I got the feeling that it is most important to find a school that is a good fit and to be in an environment where one has the best chance of ?doing well.? Of course, on the other hand, many doctors I talked to said the opposite and that many residency programs do favor students at more prestigious schools, even if they are towards the bottom of the class. So, it could go either way.