No official rank but students not allowed to see where they fall on histogram?

[lakeplacid]

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My school doesn't officially rank its students. But I didn't even realize I was being compared to other applicants with a histogram until my interviewer told me he was looking at it on his computer--there was this very uncomfortable silence which probably means it was average or below that even. He grilled me about certain scores I had received on shelf exams, so I feel like he would have said something if I was particularly low on the histogram....but maybe not.

Anyway, since learning about this, I have felt very uncomfortable knowing that programs are getting to see a part of my application that I am not allowed to see (according to my dean), and unlike my LORs, I do not remember waiving my right to see this part of my application. I wouldn't mind if there WAS a numerical class rank instead of a histogram...just let me see it so I can better gauge what my application looks like to the programs!

Frustrated...

 

[Frugal Traveler]

You can probably ask to look at your file. The MSPE should be in there. It's your academic record, and by law, you are allowed to see it. It's not a Obama's birth certificate for goodness sake!

My school let us read the letter for factual errors but would not let us edit it unless there were misspelled words or something like that.

Rule # 1 for medical school and residency: Trust no one.
If you're school says they don't do something, then they do.
If your dean claims they don't have an ouija board to make policy decisions, then they really do. We all know that's the best way to make objective decisions.

Hope some humor cheered you up... but yeah... check on this so you can be comfortable during interviews!

Best wishes 🙂

 

[lakeplacid]

You can probably ask to look at your file. The MSPE should be in there. It's your academic record, and by law, you are allowed to see it. It's not a Obama's birth certificate for goodness sake!

My school let us read the letter for factual errors but would not let us edit it unless there were misspelled words or something like that.

Rule # 1 for medical school and residency: Trust no one.
If you're school says they don't do something, then they do.
If your dean claims they don't have an ouija board to make policy decisions, then they really do. We all know that's the best way to make objective decisions.

Hope some humor cheered you up... but yeah... check on this so you can be comfortable during interviews!

Best wishes 🙂

Thanks- yeah I am not going to argue or pursue this further. I realize the histogram is helpful and that programs need to be able to see where a student stands in comparison to his peers. But I'm still aggravated that when a med school claims they have no official rank system, all it really means is that they still send the histogram to programs, but that students aren't allowed to see them b/c they don't become an official part of the transcript until after graduation. I mean, isn't sending it to programs making it "official"? Who cares where I fall in my class after I graduate?
But I'm just ranting now...thx though. I'm curious if any others have encountered this at their med schools.

 

[ShyRem]

Yup. My school claims they don't rank students, yet the top 20% get into the honors society. I have seen a shadow of a histogram on my MSPE (which I did waive my rights to see) showing where I land compared to my classmates.

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

Yup. My school claims they don't rank students, yet the top 20% get into the honors society. I have seen a shadow of a histogram on my MSPE (which I did waive my rights to see) showing where I land compared to my classmates.

Yeah we saw the breakdown of all our course grades via histogram. It actually made me less excited about some of my grades, as >67% of students seemed to make H or HP in most of the rotations. Definitely skewed towards the top. Didn't have an overall class ranking histogram or anything of that nature, however.

 

[AttyHubby]

Thanks- yeah I am not going to argue or pursue this further. I realize the histogram is helpful and that programs need to be able to see where a student stands in comparison to his peers. But I'm still aggravated that when a med school claims they have no official rank system, all it really means is that they still send the histogram to programs, but that students aren't allowed to see them b/c they don't become an official part of the transcript until after graduation. I mean, isn't sending it to programs making it "official"? Who cares where I fall in my class after I graduate?
But I'm just ranting now...thx though. I'm curious if any others have encountered this at their med schools.

My wife's school is the same as yours. No official rank, the MSPE includes histograms but students aren't allowed to see it. VERY annoying, to say the least.