Almost all residency programs will not publish the average board scores of their applicants or enrollees for a variety of reasons. A very small minority of highly selective programs may inform applicants that they need certain board scores for their applications to be competitive. Most programs are not looking for a specific board score, but rather a complete applicant. For a listing of selectivity by residency try the Iserson book or other such references. Certainly residency programs weigh several factors in selecting applicants besides board scores. Different programs will choose to rank these factors in varying orders of importance. Since the information you are curious about is unavailable, I would suggest that you take the following steps to determine the residency programs to which you should apply if you based your decisions SOLELY upon board scores:
1. How selective is your specialty of choice?
--Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, ENT, Dermatology, Urology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Ophthalmology (to name a few) are highly selective and applicants probably need to be well above the mean. Although, the most competitive applicants will usually be in the top 10%.
--Emergency Medicine (some put this specialty with the group just above it), OBGYN, Combined Med/Peds, Radiology and General Surgery (to name a few) are selective and applicants probably need to be above the mean. Although, the most competitive applicants will usually be in the top 25%.
--Internal Medicine and Pediatrics are somewhat selective and the most competitive applicants will usually be above the mean.
--Anesthesiology, Neurology, Psychiatry and Family Practice (to name a few) are somewhat less selective and applicants probably need to be in the 25 percentile or better. The more competitive applicants will be above the mean.
2. Where is the residency program?
--Large Academic Medical Centers with a national/international reputation in your specialty of choice will probably be highly selective of applicants and regardless of the specialty will be looking for higher board scores. Although not a perfectly accurate measure, the US News and World Report 2001 Ranking of Hospital's by Specialty will provide you with an approximate listing of the top programs in your specialty of interest.
--In general, osteopathic training programs are somehwat less reliant on board scores and more interested in familiarity - that is are you known to them. If unknown to them, your board scores may be of greater importance. As an exception, the AOA/ACGME dually approved internship programs at Bi-County/Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan use an applicant evaluation system where your board score percentile makes up 50% of a maximum possible 200 total points. There may be other programs which I am not aware of which use a similar system.
--Rural programs tend to place much less emphasis on board scores.
3. What do my board scores say about me?
--If your board scores are top 10%, is this consistent with the rest of your application. If you have top grades, top recommendations and excellent publications this will only confirm what the residency commitee already knows about you; you are an exceptional overall applicant. If your board scores are top 10%, but other aspects of your application are less stellar then some of the top programs, unfairly or not, may not select you for interview. Or if you are selected for an interview, be prepared to answer questions in an open and honest way why you feel that your board scores are more of a reflection of your potential than your less stellar stats.
Whatever your actual board scores may be, apply the logic above to accentuate the positives of your application. Top board scores can't possible hurt your chances of getting a highly selective residency program. However, you need to take a look at your whole package (boards, grades, recommendations, publications, personal statement, work experience, extracurricular activities, etc.) and accentuate the positives and be prepared for interview questions about BOTH the positive and negatives.
Good Luck. I hope this info helps.
[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 02-03-2001).]
[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 02-03-2001).]
