To Those Currently in RCSI - Ireland

[Maydie]

Heya! I've been trying to search for an answer to my questions through the RCSI website as well as through these forums but unfortunately I had no luck. I know for a fact that the marking system is done using the Fail/Pass/Honors method, but my main concern is about class ranks. Would class ranks be distributed once the final year guys are done with exams? I also know that RCSI has a relatively new system having the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Cycles, would class ranks be distributed after each cycle, or would they combine the entire grades together to get 'average class ranks' for students for the entire program?

I'm mainly concerned with this due to the fact that some competitive specializing programs would often place those with a rank 1 at the top of the list when it comes to admissions. My brother last year got screwed out of Dermatology, and was later told that had he obtained a rank 1 he would've gotten in.

Anyhow sorry for the blabbering, any response to shed some light regarding this matter is greatly appreciated! Cheers!


Christina

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[doctaroo]

RCSI is a thief...probably the most expensive school in the world, but great education !!

 

[tennisball80]

RCSI is a thief...probably the most expensive school in the world, but great education !!

lol thief ??

 

[cleverpseudonym]

In RCSI your grades are published next to your confidential student number so theoretically only you know how you did.

That said, at the end of the major cycles, the cumulative mark is given and usually 1st, 2nd and 3rd are noted on the results. Some people play around with the results to see where they stand but you're not given a class place.

Near graduation people win medals in different specialties to show their excellence and at graduation there is a valedictorian. But class rank isn't very important in RCSI, or any of the Irish schools.

 

[Sage880]

Class ranks are the only thing that are important to Irish schools.

After you graduate, you don't apply to a specific residency like you do in NA. Everyone does an intern year which is half surgery and half medicine. The top person in the class gets first pick, second person gets second pick, etc. If you know you want to apply for a specific SHO scheme (residency) after intern year, it's best to do some of your intern year rotations with a doctor from that specialty. So in that respect, a high class rank gets you first chance at getting exposure and known by the people in the specialty you want to be in. But after intern year, it's performance and interviews for getting the SHO spots and class rank wouldn't really matter then.

Class ranks are also given out to NA schools in your deans letter. It lets them know how well you did since they aren't 100% sure how good a "second honours" is from each school.

 

[dchaos]

Christina,

I've just graduated from RCSI. The class rank (and you place plotted on a bell-curve) is given in the MSPE ("Dean's Letter") that the school provide when you are applying to the Match.

Best of luck

G

Heya! I've been trying to search for an answer to my questions through the RCSI website as well as through these forums but unfortunately I had no luck. I know for a fact that the marking system is done using the Fail/Pass/Honors method, but my main concern is about class ranks. Would class ranks be distributed once the final year guys are done with exams? I also know that RCSI has a relatively new system having the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Cycles, would class ranks be distributed after each cycle, or would they combine the entire grades together to get 'average class ranks' for students for the entire program?

I'm mainly concerned with this due to the fact that some competitive specializing programs would often place those with a rank 1 at the top of the list when it comes to admissions. My brother last year got screwed out of Dermatology, and was later told that had he obtained a rank 1 he would've gotten in.

Anyhow sorry for the blabbering, any response to shed some light regarding this matter is greatly appreciated! Cheers!


Christina

 

[Arb]

Do they take into account your entire medical schooling or just your last year for ranking?

 

[jnuts]

Just the last two years.

 

[alexc]

Hi
I would love to get some feedback on your experiences at RCSI, I found another thread that had some pretty nasty reveiws and I wondered if they are true, or were they from a few strange ones?
They said students do NOT get matched like advertised and that you don't get to really touch patients until the 3rd year.

Please give any feedback!