Medical Should I Attend a School with a Pass/Fail Curriculum?

[Goro]

I'm starting med school this fall. I am currently deciding between three acceptances, each with a different grading system for the pre-clinical years. One is a true pass/fail (no ranking), one is pass/fail but ranked by quartiles, and one uses a normal letter-grade system.

There are obviously lots of factors other than pre-clinical grading (cost, prestige, location, etc.). But up until a few days ago, I was leaning heavily toward the true pass/fail, and grading was a big part of it. I didn't want the stress of competing for a 4.0 GPA or a top ranking. I planned to study hard and distinguish myself with Step 1. But now that Step 1 will be P/F, I'm not sure anymore. Is there a chance I'll be at a disadvantage if I do go to a pass/fail school, because that's just one less way to distinguish my future residency application?

I'm asking here because it's not really a "which school should I choose," but more of a"how heavily should I weigh this" question. Also, I know it's too early to say much about the new Step 1, but I still need to think about this because I need to have my school chosen in a couple of months.

Thanks.

The P/F with ranking offers the least stress with some stratifying data that will be helpful to PDs.

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[lord999]

The P/F with ranking offers the least stress with some stratifying data that will be helpful to PDs.

I think it is a school implementation issue. There is a certain allopathic medical school in the Midwest that that sets its P bar to be very high (and everyone in the region knows that it is not 70%) and does not rank its students but it comes up every year that a switch to a more objective system would be a student QoL factor as working for a P is really hard.

I honestly would not give much weight to this unless the three schools have an underlying culture about it. This is going to be a zero-sum competitive experience in any respect, the question may be whether you want more "objective" numerical data or more "subjective" evaluations. The school I sketched has a culture that has a hard floor and is not concerned about the ceiling of their candidates. The school's reputation is good enough from this fact that placement is not a problem, but it definitely is hard to be a student there.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'll also say that in medical school P/F curricula have been around quite a while. If you are worried, check out the overall outcomes when it comes to residency placements, and rest assured that your student deans and residency directors will have ongoing conversations about what to do once USMLE Step 1 P/F is enacted.