Passing class to get into competitive residency

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Of course... each school has different grading schemes, even different classes have different grading rubrics. Step 1 is the great equalizer, so preclinical grades are about a tenth as important (probably even lower) as your Step 1 score. Even if you honored every preclinical class and end up with a 220, you'd be no better off than the guy who passed every class and got a 222. But it's unlikely that the guy who honored every class will get just a 220 on Step 1 (though it does happen, since Step 1 questions are more tertiary, and med school tests are more know it or don't).

Third year grades is a different story though. If you only passed your third year rotations, you'd be screwed, unless you rotate at places known for grade deflation (like UMich, but in reality you're still screwed).
 
Of course... each school has different grading schemes, even different classes have different grading rubrics. Step 1 is the great equalizer, so preclinical grades are about a tenth as important (probably even lower) as your Step 1 score. Even if you honored every preclinical class and end up with a 220, you'd be no better off than the guy who passed every class and got a 222. But it's unlikely that the guy who honored every class will get just a 220 on Step 1 (though it does happen, since Step 1 questions are more tertiary, and med school tests are more know it or don't).

Third year grades is a different story though. If you only passed your third year rotations, you'd be screwed, unless you rotate at places known for grade deflation (like UMich, but in reality you're still screwed).

That really depends on how the school awards AOA. If the school does junior AOA as well as senior AOA then the guy who honored every preclinical class has a great shot at AOA.

If you just pass preclinically, get a 250, and honor all of 3rd year and do well on sub-I's you would be fine in getting a competitive residency
 
That really depends on how the school awards AOA. If the school does junior AOA as well as senior AOA then the guy who honored every preclinical class has a great shot at AOA.

If you just pass preclinically, get a 250, and honor all of 3rd year and do well on sub-I's you would be fine in getting a competitive residency
At some schools, junior AOA is simply based on Step 1 scores.
 
Your step 1 score can thoroughly make up for any lower grades; If you barely pass your classes but end up with a 250 i'm sure it wouldn't look badly.

On the other hand you should probably work to maintain 3rd year grades. Those ARE taken into consideration by residencies much more.
 
Your step 1 score can thoroughly make up for any lower grades; If you barely pass your classes but end up with a 250 i'm sure it wouldn't look badly.

Though chances of somebody who was barely passing their classes and ended up with such a stellar score are very, very small.
 
Based on conversations with my brother and cousin, I would say preclinical grades matter very little. Apparently there is one sentence in your entire Dean's Letter that speaks about preclinical grades. They just said make sure you rock 2nd year because the content taught is most high yield for Step I.
 
Indeed, preclinical grades don't matter as much as other criteria such as step I, clerkship grades and letters of rec. But, in reality, I don't really see how anyone who barely passes every single class manages to ace the boards unless the person is an incredibly gifted crammer of course.

To the OP:
If you're a 1st year and aiming for one of the ultracompetitive specialties, try to get Honors in most of your classes at the very least. This is definitely going to take a lot of hard work and sacrifice but will be worth it in the end. Besides, doing well in your classes will only help you through the residency application process. If you plan to rock step I, why not your classes too?
 
Apparently there is one sentence in your entire Dean's Letter that speaks about preclinical grades.

I'm sure this varies from school to school but my MSPE indeed has like two sentences on my pre-clinical grades, and like three pages of my clinical grades.
 
Because 2 months of hard work sucks a hell of a lot less than 2 years of hard work.

And for a lot of schools, Step 1 is fairer than in class exams - lot less BS questions and random dumb facts.

And if your curriculum isn't great then you will waste a lot of time studying stuff that's not relevant for the boards.

If you have good curriculum it helps immensely though, I got a great head start because I did well 2nd yr
 
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