Medical School Statistics

[hlchess]

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I hear people talking about statistics for med schools like x% of graduates get into their top choice residency, and x% get into one of their top 3 choices, etc. Where do you find those stats? The usnews and the MSAR don't have them.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

I hear people talking about statistics for med schools like x% of graduates get into one of their top choice residency, and x% get into one of their top 3 choices, etc. Where do you find those stats? The usnews and the MSAR don't have them.

usually the schools only publish this data publicly if it reflects well upon them, so dig through med school websites, but don't expect to find uniform information for easy comparison or sometimes any information of this nature at all.

 

[EazyE]

usually the schools only publish this data publicly if it reflects well upon them, so dig through med school websites, but don't expect to find uniform information for easy comparison or sometimes any information of this nature at all.

i think stuff like that should be information that is required to be released to the public. that would encourage schools to assist their students even more and make medical schools compete with each other. just an idea

 

[QuantumMechanic]

i think stuff like that should be information that is required to be released to the public. that would encourage schools to assist their students even more and make medical schools compete with each other. just an idea

this is a ridiculous viewpoint, med schools don't need to compete with each other much. its not like they have a lacking of quality applicants. furthermore, this information reflects mainly on the quality of individual students rather than the medical school itself. although a Harvard med student is looked upon in a favorable light, it doesn't mean he or she will necessarily get into one of the top 3 residency choices. its based too much off of individual factors which are likely things that helped that applicant get into the higher tier medical school in the first place. There's no use in comparing this data, since we know that all the top 30 schools are pretty much equal in terms of providing the opportunity for students to get to where they want. The rest is really up to the student's gumption and ability.

 

[Guile]

Also schools that don't publish this info often tell interviewees sometime during interview days like during a Q & A session. So SDNers who heard this info compiled it into a huge thread (much like the secondary thread).

I searched and found it:

Step I results thread

This is as close as you'll come to a "published" list of step I scores.

 

[EazyE]

this is a ridiculous viewpoint, med schools don't need to compete with each other much. its not like they have a lacking of quality applicants. furthermore, this information reflects mainly on the quality of individual students rather than the medical school itself. although a Harvard med student is looked upon in a favorable light, it doesn't mean he or she will necessarily get into one of the top 3 residency choices. its based too much off of individual factors which are likely things that helped that applicant get into the higher tier medical school in the first place. There's no use in comparing this data, since we know that all the top 30 schools are pretty much equal in terms of providing the opportunity for students to get to where they want. The rest is really up to the student's gumption and ability.

right....so a medical schools with good tutoring programs and support groups couldnt help their students pass the USMLE? say if by chance a medical student actually struggles or is having emotional difficulties, family problems etc

 

[EazyE]

this is a ridiculous viewpoint, med schools don't need to compete with each other much. its not like they have a lacking of quality applicants. furthermore, this information reflects mainly on the quality of individual students rather than the medical school itself. although a Harvard med student is looked upon in a favorable light, it doesn't mean he or she will necessarily get into one of the top 3 residency choices. its based too much off of individual factors which are likely things that helped that applicant get into the higher tier medical school in the first place. There's no use in comparing this data, since we know that all the top 30 schools are pretty much equal in terms of providing the opportunity for students to get to where they want. The rest is really up to the student's gumption and ability.

good elitist attitude, typical of sdn

 

[QuantumMechanic]

good elitist attitude, typical of sdn

at least its honest, even if it appears elitist

 

[EazyE]

at least its honest, even if it appears elitist

i am not going to argue with you. you are entitled to your own opinion. the bottom line is i feel that a medical school can do some things to help their students pass the USMLE and succeed. is it up to the medical school? No, it is up to the student to ultimtely put the time and effort to pass. But it is up to the medical school to invest in their students and that i why i think it is important for applicants to know

 

[QuantumMechanic]

i am not going to argue with you. you are entitled to your own opinion. the bottom line is i feel that a medical school can do some things to help their students pass the USMLE and succeed. is it up to the medical school? No, it is up to the student to ultimtely put the time and effort to pass. But it is up to the medical school to invest in their students and that i why i think it is important for applicants to know

I've talked to many medical students from many different schools, and they all make the point that once you are matriculated, the school wants you to do well. Schools do this in a variety of ways, through unique learning modalities, providing libraries of USMLE prep books, tutoring, and at one school there was a service where they had schedule planners to help you plan out your days so that you can have an adequate amount of time studying. The point is that no medical school wants any student not to do well on the boards: that would be an ultimate failure of the mission of the institution, and it shows since the pass rate for the usmle at all us MD schools is very high. Argue with that if you want, but I've actually invested time to find out about this information from real people.

 

[EazyE]

I've talked to many medical students from many different schools, and they all make the point that once you are matriculated, the school wants you to do well. Schools do this in a variety of ways, through unique learning modalities, providing libraries of USMLE prep books, tutoring, and at one school there was a service where they had schedule planners to help you plan out your days so that you can have an adequate amount of time studying. The point is that no medical school wants any student not to do well on the boards: that would be an ultimate failure of the mission of the institution, and it shows since the pass rate for the usmle at all us MD schools is very high. Argue with that if you want, but I've actually invested time to find out about this information from real people.

i never said it was soley up to the medical school, read the above post. these types of things that you listed is what i am referring to. you seemed to imply earlier that it wasnt the medical schools responsibility to help. obviously now you are saying that they do help. forget it. oh and tell your real people i say hi, i guess i was talking to fake people.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

i never said it was soley up to the medical school, read the above post. these types of things that you listed is what i am referring to. you seemed to imply earlier that it wasnt the medical schools responsibility to help. obviously now you are saying that they do help. forget it. oh and tell your real people i say hi, i guess i was talking to fake people.

I was implying that it is the student's ultimate responsibility to learn the material. I also said that schools should and in fact do provide the resources to aid students who are having trouble. However since I wasn't clear, here's the point: there is nothing a school can do about a lazy, apathetic student who won't put forth enough effort. Anyone who enters medical school has the capability to get through, its just that some lack the necessary drive.

 

[EazyE]

I was implying that it is the student's ultimate responsibility to learn the material. I also said that schools should and in fact do provide the resources to aid students who are having trouble. However since I wasn't clear, here's the point: there is nothing a school can do about a lazy, apathetic student who won't put forth enough effort. Anyone who enters medical school has the capability to get through, its just that some lack the necessary drive.

i agree with that statement

 

[dbhvt]

Also schools that don't publish this info often tell interviewees sometime during interview days like during a Q & A session. So SDNers who heard this info compiled it into a huge thread (much like the secondary thread).

I searched and found it:

Step I results thread

This is as close as you'll come to a "published" list of step I scores.

This is a thread about individuals step 1 results. Not by school (much like the MCAT result threads).

Also, for the OP, anyone who tells you they have current information on what percentage of students at a particular medical school get into one of their top choice residencies is probably lying. They stopped compiling it because it gave medical schools motivation to advise students to shoot low. l2d, back me up on this one.

 

[Guile]

This is a thread about individuals step 1 results. Not by school (much like the MCAT result threads).

Also, for the OP, anyone who tells you they have current information on what percentage of students at a particular medical school get into one of their top choice residencies is probably lying. They stopped compiling it because it gave medical schools motivation to advise students to shoot low. l2d, back me up on this one.

Thanks, wrong thread. I don't think this is the latest thread to attempt to compile average scores, but it's one of them. It looks like it didn't get too far actually.

(Just skip to the last page to see the final list)

 

[Law2Doc]

This is a thread about individuals step 1 results. Not by school (much like the MCAT result threads).

Agree -- people shouldn't confuse Step 1 scores with matching, which was the OPs question.
I'm not exactly sure what knowing what percentage of people matched into their first choice tells you anyhow, and why you would want that data. It probably is only a modest gauge on the caliber of advising at that school, not the quality of students or matches. It might suggest that students are aiming low, as dbhvt suggests. Or it might tell you that students at one school are more realistic in their chances than at another. Or it may tell you that students at one school are more likely to take a stab at something a bit out of their reach. At any rate, it's somewhat of an arbitrary factor to consider in selecting a school. I mean -- If a school has 100% of its students match into their first choice, but those first choice specialties were not something you are all that interested in, how does that help you? Do you really want to go there?

 

[UVa2005]

In going back to the original question, I agree with the initial response. Most places you apply will tell you that >90% of their students match at their top 3 choices. Schools want that statistic to look good so they advise their students where to apply for residency. If you are an average student in medical school your advisor would not recommend applying to the top 3 residency programs in the country and even if you did you might not land an interview there. Therefore, you are likely only going to rank programs that you have a good chance in matching when you rank your top 3.

 

[CTtarheel]

In going back to the original question, I agree with the initial response. Most places you apply will tell you that >90% of their students match at their top 3 choices. Schools want that statistic to look good so they advise their students where to apply for residency. If you are an average student in medical school your advisor would not recommend applying to the top 3 residency programs in the country and even if you did you might not land an interview there. Therefore, you are likely only going to rank programs that you have a good chance in matching when you rank your top 3.

exactly . . . I can't say that i ever saw a school claim less than 80% matching in their top 3 and less than 90% matching overall. Keep in mind you can only rank schools that interview you in the first place, which kind of skews the data a little bit. Its not like students from any school can randomly choose 3 programs and have a 90% chance of getting one of them.