PDs and Class Rank/GPA

[Ioannes Paulus]

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How much do program directors care about grades/class rank? Does this differ by specialty or region? Are second year grades looked upon more scrupulously than first year grades? Does a good score on the Boards overshadow mediocre/average academic grades/rank?

 

[sovereign0]

I'm pretty sure this question is addressed on a daily basis, if not more frequently. You should find more answers than you can read with a search.

 

[Rekt]

How much do program directors care about grades/class rank? They care about class rank, but more so for AOA. Not grades.
Does this differ by specialty or region? Probably by specialty.
Are second year grades looked upon more scrupulously than first year grades? No since schools aren't standardized.
Does a good score on the Boards overshadow mediocre/average academic grades/rank? Yes, but they usually correlate.

 

[sliceofbread136]

In my personal experience quartile makes quite a difference with top tier residencies liking to see 1st quartile. Figure out how you school calculates final gpa and how your quartile is reported

 

[AlteredScale]

In my personal experience quartile makes quite a difference with top tier residencies liking to see 1st quartile. Figure out how you school calculates final gpa and how your quartile is reported

Do PD's seem to talk about that?

 

[W19]

My school has had a perfect way to deal with this ranking issue so far... They just put in 'above average' (for above average students) and 'average' for below average students in the MSPE. Hoping they won't change it this year since we will have a meeting with the dean about changes they will make in the MSPE.

 

[Psai]

My school has had a perfect way to deal with this ranking issue so far... They just put in 'above average' (for above average students) and 'average' for below average students in the MSPE. Hoping they won't change it this year since we will have a meeting with the dean about changes they will make in the MSPE.

? Why would you name people average if they're below average?

No wonder programs started sending me invites before getting the mspe, what a worthless waste of time.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

? Why would you name people average if they're below average?

No wonder programs started sending me invites before getting the mspe, what a worthless waste of time.

As long as there's a sheet explaining the language choice it seems fine. From talking to the other side of the curtain it seems like some places let residencies know how many people got x, y, z grade in each clinical course.

 

[W19]

@Psai

I don't know why they do that, but there might be somewhat a 'disclaimer' like the above poster said...

Another thing I was told that my school does is that class remedial does not appear in your transcript... I was told that by a classmate who had to remediate a class. She told me she asked the dean and the dean said it will not show in her transcript. But I heard other schools do the same thing as well.

I guess they try to help students...

 

[Jabbed]

? Why would you name people average if they're below average?

No wonder programs started sending me invites before getting the mspe, what a worthless waste of time.

You can use the descriptor "super rainbow unicorn" for all anyone cares as long it's clearly indicated that "super rainbow unicorn" = top 25% while "ninja falconzord" = 25%-50%.

With that said, I agree that the 'flexible' use of adjectives in the MSPE is ridiculous.

 

[Ioannes Paulus]

That's absolutely ridiculous. If you failed and re-mediated a course, it should definitely be listed on your transcript.

 

[W19]

That's absolutely ridiculous. If you failed and re-mediated a course, it should definitely be listed on your transcript.

If you fail and retake the class, yes it will be listed in your transcript as I was told. But remedial at my school is basically they give you 5-7 days to study and then give you a shelf exam, and you get a C if you pass regardless of your score. However, I heard most people fail the shelf exam.

 

[Azete]

That's absolutely ridiculous. If you failed and re-mediated a course, it should definitely be listed on your transcript.

Schools have a reputation to maintain; if half their students have a remediation on their transcript, their match list is going to reflect that. If their students aren't matching well, funding and interest in their program will go down. This means less raises/bonuses for faculty.

Schools can't and shouldn't hide everything, but some programs like to maintain exam averages in the 70s -- which means a large percentage of their class is "failing." Compare that to a school with averages in the 90s where even their worst students are passing everything.