Preclinical Grades

[Diesel Mind]

I understand this is a touchy subject but....
Do Honors in some classes carry more weight than others or is everything counted as the same?

For example:
Student 1: Honors in a year long clinical exposure class and 6 week neuroscience
Student 2: 12 week physiology and 12 week biochemistry

Would these students be considered equal (in eyes of residency directors) because each honored 2 classes?

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[richse]

I understand this is a touchy subject but....
Do Honors in some classes carry more weight than others or is everything counted as the same?

For example:
Student 1: Honors in a year long clinical exposure class and 6 week neuroscience
Student 2: 12 week physiology and 12 week biochemistry

Would these students be considered equal (in eyes of residency directors) because each honored 2 classes?

Since directors don't care very much for preclinical grades I would guess they are even for the somewhat insignificant weight that they carry.

My school has a very similar schedule and I would personally weigh the physio and biochem heavier. Our year long clinical class (ICM) and the 6 week neuro class are the easiest classes in the first year.

 

[Tapepsi]

Are preclinical grades really that important to residency directors?

 

[shaggy alfresco]

Are preclinical grades really that important to residency directors?

According to PDs, they are low on the list.

However, I've heard honoring anatomy helps for surgery for example. I don't know how much or if it's even true.

 

[causalinference]

Those students would be considered equal. Different pre-clinical grades carry the same weight, which isn't very much.

 

[causalinference]

Are preclinical grades really that important to residency directors?

Nope.

 

[MossPoh]

The idea is that Step 1 is better to compare people from different schools, so if you do well on that then you obviously know the material and perhaps you didn't do as much extra-credit as someone else to get an A in a course. Yes, we actually had extra credit for some courses. I also missed out on an A in two classes last semester by ONE question after I missed 2 because I was used to the uworld software and not our own.

 

[vicinihil]

If all else equal, admission decisions come down to preclinical grades and your shoe size.

 

[DrBowtie]

It probably depends on the grading distribution. My school sends the amount of H/P/F for each class so the PD can see if everyone gets honors, then it doesn't mean as much, but if you are 1 of 10 who got honors it means more.

But as said above, it is still very low on the importance list.

 

[Lil Mick]

My school only has P/F, but I'd guess they would care about honoring the courses most relevent to you specialty (honor neuroscience if you're hoping to do neurology, anatomy for surgery, renal for nephrology or urology...). There really isn't much emphasis on pre-clinical grades, though. Just do well on Step I.

 

[turkeyjerky]

I understand this is a touchy subject but....
Do Honors in some classes carry more weight than others or is everything counted as the same?

For example:
Student 1: Honors in a year long clinical exposure class and 6 week neuroscience
Student 2: 12 week physiology and 12 week biochemistry

Would these students be considered equal (in eyes of residency directors) because each honored 2 classes?

Why do you say this is a touchy subject? IMHO, this issue is pretty much settled w/ the thought being preclinical grades have next to no impact on ranking decisions. The only way they affect you at all is via their effect on your class rank, which I could see some PDs incorporating into interviewing/ranking algorithms.

 

[DrBowtie]

Why do you say this is a touchy subject? IMHO, this issue is pretty much settled w/ the thought being preclinical grades have next to no impact on ranking decisions. The only way they affect you at all is via their effect on your class rank, which I could see some PDs incorporating into interviewing/ranking algorithms.

Class rank and therefore AOA as well.