Pass/Fail or Letter Grades

[Snuffy2]

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In the same spirit as the Passing % question from before, how does your school grade?

Do they use Pass/Fail or do they assign Grade Letters?

ALSO Does your school give a Class Rank?

I'll start:

VCOM

Grade Letters
70 is Passing
<60 F
60-69 D
70-79 C
80-89 B
90-100 A

We will NOT be getting class ranked

 

[DOtobe]

LECOM is pretty much the same as VCOM, except there is no D. Anything below a 70 is an F.

And we are assigned a class rank, although when we apply for residency the dean only reports if you are in the top 10, and from then on it is reported as first quartile, second quartile, etc.

 

[Snuffy2]

Any Other Schools? I'd love to get a full list. Thanx

 

[Dr JPH]

PCOM does numbers.

A few classes are Pass/Fail, but the majority of them (the big classes) are number grades.

 

[luckystar]

Originally posted by Snuffy2
In the same spirit as the Passing % question from before, how does your school grade?

Do they use Pass/Fail or do they assign Grade Letters?

ALSO Does your school give a Class Rank?

DMU: We get percentages, w/ 70% being the minimum passing score, and we will be ranked.

 

[sophiejane]

What does this say about how much grades are looked at when applying to residency programs? how can an admissions committees possibly use GPA as a deciding factor when some applicants are from Pass/Fail schools and some are letter-graded? Or that some are ranked and others are not? How can class rank really matter if only some schools do it?

Seems to me that all schools should be one or the other (preferably pass-fail, no ranking, IMHO, which would be much to the regret of the gunners...)

I mean, I want to learn all I can, but if grades are truly not that important, why should I bust my a#$? Seems like time would be better spent preparing for boards than learning how to beat the school testing system....

Of course, i guess if you don't do so hot on boards at least you can point to a good GPA/class rank.

 

[DireWolf]

Originally posted by sophiejane
What does this say about how much grades are looked at when applying to residency programs? how can an admissions committees possibly use GPA as a deciding factor when some applicants are from Pass/Fail schools and some are letter-graded? Or that some are ranked and others are not? How can class rank really matter if only some schools do it?

Seems to me that all schools should be one or the other (preferably pass-fail, no ranking, IMHO, which would be much to the regret of the gunners...)

I mean, I want to learn all I can, but if grades are truly not that important, why should I bust my a#$? Seems like time would be better spent preparing for boards than learning how to beat the school testing system....

That's exactly why preclinical grades are a nonfactor when it comes to residency selection. AOA is the only thing that makes good grades worthwhile. And AOA is only needed for the most competitive specialties. That's why I love to make fun of gunners. They work themselves into ulcers and nervous breakdowns and get no reward. Obviously if you are lucky enough to get good grades without studying hard then more power to you. A good board score on the other hand makes all the difference in the world. It's the only objective tool PDs can use to make their selections. And yes it is possible to just pass the first two years and smoke step 1. I have three friends that are living proof.

 

[Heeed!]

At NSU, we get a letter grade and the % on our transcript. 70% to pass. No class rankings.

I mean, I want to learn all I can, but if grades are truly not that important, why should I bust my a#$? Seems like time would be better spent preparing for boards than learning how to beat the school testing system....

Doing your best is important but I think interpersonal skills play a huge role, too. A lot of "brownie points" can be scored by having a positive attitude, willingness to learn, and generally being a good person to be around. A person's scores might be off the charts, but if they're abrasive, arrogant, etc., who wants to work with them? (The premise of this comment, of course, is you have to have SOME competency [i.e. grades]. My guess is not too many neurosurgeons earned 70's all the way through school.) It doesn't hurt to know somebody, either. It's all in who you know...!

Summary: Do your best, be a good person, and schmooze the right people.😉

 

[sophiejane]

1. What is AOA?
2. Isn't Harvard pass/fail?

 

[DOtobe]

AOA is an honor society. I think it is only for allopathic students.

Osteopathic schools have Sigma Sigma Phi as an honor society.

Don't know if Harvard is pass or fail. I thought I remembered reading that on SDN somewhere, but I'm not sure.

 

[Megalofyia]

Are any of the DO schools p/f?

 

[Shinken]

OU-COM is pass/fail.

 

[Dr JPH]

As someone said...how your grades are calculates in OMS I and OMS II dont really matter as much as LORs, clinical grades, and your board scores.

Doing well doesnt hurt, but it wont be held against you because your school has a different grading scheme.

 

[bostongirl22]

UNECOM is HP/P/F, where HP is >90%, P>70%, and F is <70

 

[ScheringPlough]

NYCOM is Honors/Pass/Fail

 

[irish79]

AZCOM has letter grades with 70% being the lowest possible grade. We have class ranking--but we cannot see what it is until after second year.

 

[Dr Peanut]

WUHS-COMP is percentile grading, do not know about class rank (We might get it but I've yet to see it posted anywhere).

 

[DireWolf]

OSU-COM

Letter grades
Class rank determined by percentage grades
70% = pass

I wish OSU and the other osteopathic schools would wake up and switch to a p/f or h/p/f system. The letter grade system is pointless and way outdated.

 

[LovelyRita]

At UHS it's based on a curve (if you want to know specifics of this, PM me), but no matter what <60% is always an F. And there are no D's. And if you get >70% you'll always get at least a C.

Figuring out where you stand "gradewise" sometimes is so confusing you can get a migraine since it's also based on points.

And they do rank us.

That's all I know and care to know! It's good to hear, however, that clinical year grades matter more.

M.