Preclinical Grades

[gridguy]

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Hey guys,

I am a first year medical school student at a reputable (though not prestigious) US allopathic school. I am fairly interested in radiology but am concerned about my performance so far - through two blocks I am essentially in the middle of the pack. Assuming I continue on with this trend (ie just pass, no honors nor high pass) am I pretty much out of the radiology running before I even take step 1? Thoughts?

 

[113]

Hey guys,

I am a first year medical school student at a reputable (though not prestigious) US allopathic school. I am fairly interested in radiology but am concerned about my performance so far - through two blocks I am essentially in the middle of the pack. Assuming I continue on with this trend (ie just pass, no honors nor high pass) am I pretty much out of the radiology running before I even take step 1? Thoughts?

Read the NRMP PD Survey.
http://www.nrmp.org/data/programresultsbyspecialty2012.pdf

Basically, it doesn't really matter. Preclinical honors is far down the list of things PDs care about.

 

[Trastuz]

Hey guys,

I am a first year medical school student at a reputable (though not prestigious) US allopathic school. I am fairly interested in radiology but am concerned about my performance so far - through two blocks I am essentially in the middle of the pack. Assuming I continue on with this trend (ie just pass, no honors nor high pass) am I pretty much out of the radiology running before I even take step 1? Thoughts?

Also depends on how it's reported on your MSPE. My school didn't display any histograms for the first two years, just P/F/H. I didn't get a single H til 3rd year and got interviews everywhere I wanted and no one ever said a word about it. N=1 but I doubt anyone will tell you otherwise - no one cares. First two years = step 1.

 

[copes]

Preclinical grades will matter when calculating class rank. But you could probably pass everything and still match with a 230 step 1.

 

[Trastuz]

Preclinical grades will matter when calculating class rank. But you could probably pass everything and still match with a 230 step 1.

Yeah, agree with this. But how much they contribute to AOA will vary.

 

[DrMasochist]

Don't worry about preclinical grades too much. Do your best and just rock the step.

AOA doesnt matter with a mediocre Step grade.

 

[XerxesOfPersia]

Pre-clinicals don't matter. Worry about Step 1.

If they affect your class rank then they might matter a bit more but hardly much in any case.

 

[shark2000]

Hey guys,

I am a first year medical school student at a reputable (though not prestigious) US allopathic school. I am fairly interested in radiology but am concerned about my performance so far - through two blocks I am essentially in the middle of the pack. Assuming I continue on with this trend (ie just pass, no honors nor high pass) am I pretty much out of the radiology running before I even take step 1? Thoughts?

As a first year medical student, who know very little if any about medicine, how do you know that you are interested in radiology?

Did you read it somewhere or did you look at a salary survey?

 

[copes]

I agree with everyone saying that step 1 is most important. But I think you should still try your best to do well on everything. There are certainly people who pass every preclinical class but score 250 on step 1 and honor every 3rd year rotation. Not everyone can do that. If you are one of those people, then great. Otherwise, your residency app really comes down to an accumulation of your achievements during your medical school career, including grades and class rank. I don't want to stress you out because it really isn't that hard to match into radiology anymore, if you are willing to go to any program. But if come match day, you want a prestigious program next to your name, or you want to be headed to a desirable place to live, then I don't think you want to look back and think "someone on sdn gave me some bad advice and I should have tried harder". Just some perspective from a 4th year who is done with interviews.

PS- If you do decide to just pass everything, focus on learning the concepts well in every class so that you'll have a good foundation for step 1.