omfs and class rank questions

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lwergod

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Hello everyone,

I am a currently D2. I just checked my rank and I am currently ~30/~115. My didactic rank alone was in the top 15% while my pre-clinical lab is just in the bottom 35-40%.

Is my mediocre rank going to preclude me from having a chance at OMFS? I do fine in the didactic classes (especially medical sciences, probably top 5% there) but am very very mediocre in lab work. I am mediocre at setting teeth in dentures, or carving teeth out of wax blocks etc.

My rank is likely to going to go down this semester because it is consists more of labs of which I am average or slightly below average in.

Is it true the CBSE these days holds more weight than class rank for many 6 year programs?

Do PD look at transcripts in detail? or do they only look at class rank alone>

thanks!

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Look back to previous threads. There are plenty of other people who have covered a wide variety of this same topic (I am one of them).

My rank was mediocre at best (top 40%). I was at a state school, studied hard for the CBSE (scored >230), did plenty of externships, tried to have a life outside of school, took part in extracurriculars, and somehow matched. I'm not saying my formula works, but it might be a good example for people who feel they've screwed up their rank.

Hope this helps.
 
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Class rank is just one component of your application.

OMFS programs receive, on average, about 100 applications per residency position. It’s very unlikely that PDs will be reviewing applications in the type of detail you’re describing.
 
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I found this post from 2017. Again each PD is different and no body knows the answer for sure...


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This is not true. iirc he’s a GPR PD

Edit: fwiw, my ortho residency only interviewed people who were above a certain GPA cutoff. There were a lot of 3.95-4.0s. No one was under 3.9. Rank was somewhat relevant (lots of top 5), but there were some exceptions. Due to the high volume of applicants, I really doubt they look past your CV.
 
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Hello everyone,

I am a currently D2. I just checked my rank and I am currently ~30/~115. My didactic rank alone was in the top 15% while my pre-clinical lab is just in the bottom 35-40%.

Is my mediocre rank going to preclude me from having a chance at OMFS? I do fine in the didactic classes (especially medical sciences, probably top 5% there) but am very very mediocre in lab work. I am mediocre at setting teeth in dentures, or carving teeth out of wax blocks etc.

My rank is likely to going to go down this semester because it is consists more of labs of which I am average or slightly below average in.

Is it true the CBSE these days holds more weight than class rank for many 6 year programs?

Do PD look at transcripts in detail? or do they only look at class rank alone>

thanks!
Your class rank is your class rank. No is going to sit there and calculate out what your GPA would be if you didn't have labs factored in.
That being said, yes it is only one portion of your application, but it also is a significant one.

There is still lab work in omfs residency. I hated setting denture teeth too, but the attention to detail you need for that translates in your transition of becoming a great surgeon. And so on with all the other lab dental aspects. It would behoove you to spend more time improving on what you are weak at instead of chalking it up as a loss. "I just wasn't good at XYZ" is not anything a PD is going to have the time of day for. They are looking for studs who figured out how to minimize their weak areas on paper.
 
Rank is not that important for OMFS-basically, you should be in the top 30%, minimum. Anything lower than that and it starts to hurt you. I recently went through the application process and matched and I would say CBSE is 90% of what matters. Almost no programs cared about my rank. Too many schools are P/F or ungraded, and so the only objective thing PDs have is the CBSE, and for those who do have a rank, that rank is based on how well you prepped crowns, did class 2s, etc, which is not super relevant to OMFS. LORs usually are all similar, and so they also are not very useful to distinguish candidates.
 
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Rank is not that important for OMFS-basically, you should be in the top 30%, minimum. Anything lower than that and it starts to hurt you. I recently went through the application process and matched and I would say CBSE is 90% of what matters. Almost no programs cared about my rank. Too many schools are P/F or ungraded, and so the only objective thing PDs have is the CBSE, and for those who do have a rank, that rank is based on how well you prepped crowns, did class 2s, etc, which is not super relevant to OMFS. LORs usually are all similar, and so they also are not very useful to distinguish candidates.

is this an exaggeration? Is CBSE that much more important than class rank?
 
is this an exaggeration? Is CBSE that much more important than class rank?
I matched this year and I agree and think the CBSE is 90% of what makes a 6 year candidate competitive. It is less important for 4 year applicants.
 
I matched this year and I agree and think the CBSE is 90% of what makes a 6 year candidate competitive. It is less important for 4 year applicants.
Since its 90% of what makes you competitive, what score would you say (in your personal experience) makes you competitive?
 
Rank is not that important for OMFS-basically, you should be in the top 30%, minimum. Anything lower than that and it starts to hurt you. I recently went through the application process and matched and I would say CBSE is 90% of what matters. Almost no programs cared about my rank. Too many schools are P/F or ungraded, and so the only objective thing PDs have is the CBSE, and for those who do have a rank, that rank is based on how well you prepped crowns, did class 2s, etc, which is not super relevant to OMFS. LORs usually are all similar, and so they also are not very useful to distinguish candidates.
Is this true for four year programs?
 
Is this true for four year programs?
I matched to a 4 year program. I would say CBSE is 90% of what matters for all OMFS programs-4 year or 6 year. Its just the only objective way to compare candidates. Plus, you will need to take yearly in service exams, written boards etc. Standardized tests do not stop after the CBSE and PDs want residents who will do well on standardized tests.
 
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I understand scores have been going up but I have a hard time believing 80 is the threshold of being competitive
Can you match with less than an 80? Sure, but its going to be tougher to get interviews. If you want to guarantee a match SOMEWHERE, then get an 80 plus. Otherwise, you may find yourself doing an intern year. Just try your best to get as high a score as possible. That is all you can do-try your best.
 
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Can you match with less than an 80? Sure, but its going to be tougher to get interviews. If you want to guarantee a match SOMEWHERE, then get an 80 plus. Otherwise, you may find yourself doing an intern year. Just try your best to get as high a score as possible. That is all you can do-try your best.
I know several people with an 80+ who did not match. There are no guarantees in OMFS match. I am not disagreeing that the higher your score the better your chances. I have definitely seen the correlation with increased interviews with increased score.

The score is the work you do on the front end to get the interview. The score doesn't match you. Your personality, your lack of arrogance, your genuine interest in both OMFS and the specific program is what matches you.
 
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Don’t worry about class rank, just do your absolute best in class and let it fall wherever it lands. Put all your mental energy into the cbse.

Almost nothing will make up for a bad cbse score, and a great cbse score will make up for most things.

Once you’ve secured an excellent cbse score (as close to 80 as possible) then put all your effort I to being an excellent interviewer. The interview holds a ton of weight at our program and I imagine it is similar in other places. You’ve got to do well, be personable, humble, normal, etc. You should practice all of these things. Though you may be an excellent person, it can be extremely challenging for some people to communicate that in an interview without preparation.

CBSE will get you in the door, your interview will get you into the program. There are no secrets to matching OMFS.
 
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Since its 90% of what makes you competitive, what score would you say (in your personal experience) makes you competitive?
I met 2 people who matched with sub-220 scores but their applications were unbelievably compelling and unique. I would say 220+ is competitive for most programs but not all.
 
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I met 2 people who matched with sub-220 scores but their applications were unbelievably compelling and unique. I would say 220+ is competitive for most programs but not all.
This is a stretch
 
A big difference is D4 vs. Non-cat. As more and more people apply, and more and more people re-apply, the applicant pool is growing every year. For a D4 coming straight from school, the “safe score” these days has grown significantly it seems. Non-cats tend to match with much lower scores than the scores mentioned above. Most of the people on this site are D4s applying, hence the higher scores mentioned here.

Either way, the CBSE is way more important than class rank. Unless the applicant is top 1-2% or bottom 25%, I don’t think it will factor much into the decision to grant an interview or not.
 
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A big difference is D4 vs. Non-cat. As more and more people apply, and more and more people re-apply, the applicant pool is growing every year. For a D4 coming straight from school, the “safe score” these days has grown significantly it seems. Non-cats tend to match with much lower scores than the scores mentioned above. Most of the people on this site are D4s applying, hence the higher scores mentioned here.

Either way, the CBSE is way more important than class rank. Unless the applicant is top 1-2% or bottom 25%, I don’t think it will factor much into the decision to grant an interview or not.
In your opinion how much better does an intern year look than a GPR to a PD?
 
In your opinion how much better does an intern year look than a GPR to a PD?
Intern year 10000x over.

Obviously, people get in from GPRs but most people I know who did GPR had to do an intern year before matching. If you know you want to do OMFS and don't match Plan A, B, C, D and E should all be intern year. You are essentially proving to program directors that you know what you're getting yourself into and are willing to make sacrifices to get there. On top of that you are networking and making connections with OMFS attendings who, at a good program, will advocate for you amongst their other academic OMFS friends.

GPRs are far less demanding- generally easier call, easier hours, etc. Plus you're not immersed in OMFS all day every day. Should be a no brainer.
 
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