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[libertyyne]

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I need usmle step one score data for schools is it worth it for me to purchase us snooze or start class? Are there any other options?

While we are on the topic what else should I be looking for in a school when making comparisons to see if it will set me up for the residency of my choice?

Thank you.

 

[Lawpy]

I need usmle step one score data for schools is it worth it for me to purchase us snooze or start class? Are there any other options?

While we are on the topic what else should I be looking for in a school when making comparisons to see if it will set me up for the residency of my choice?

Thank you.

I'll let the experts answer the Step 1 question, but for picking a medical school, you should definitely assess the quality of its clinical rotations. See the following:

Med Ed's Insight into Choosing a Medical School (strength and stability of the school's clerkships/clinical rotations should be taken into account)

SouthernSurgeon's Tips into Measuring the Strength of Clinical Years (use these tips to gauge the qualities of the school when you interview)

 

[libertyyne]

I'll let the experts answer the Step 1 question, but for picking a medical school, you should definitely assess the quality of its clinical rotations. See the following:

Med Ed's Insight into Choosing a Medical School (strength and stability of the school's clerkships/clinical rotations should be taken into account)

SouthernSurgeon's Tips into Measuring the Strength of Clinical Years (use these tips to gauge the qualities of the school when you interview)

Thanks, The schools I am trying to evaluate are pretty similar in terms of quality of Clinical rotations. They have access to tertiary/level one academic medical centers.
1. Do i need to evaluate if the schools have residency programs attached to them in the speciality I am looking for. I am undecided for specialization at this point but would like to ensure I go to the school that
2.I want to find out which school gives me the best prep for USMLE . Since USMLE are directly correlated with MCAT performance i would have to adjust the different school's scores based on their median matriculant MCAT.

 

[ChrisMack390]

This seems like a pretty bad way to choose a school. Your USMLE score will depend on you and how you prepare for it.

 

[libertyyne]

This seems like a pretty bad way to choose a school. Your USMLE score will depend on you and how you prepare for it.

I see what you are saying. Here is my rational reason.

Baylor is an outlier in the chart above. Where the USMLE scores can not be explained by their median MCAT. Now, this could be a one year fluke or they teach in a specific way that improves the liklihood that their students perform better than what is predicted. On the other hand UCSF under performs on their STEP 1 score.

I would like to analyze this for the schools I have acceptances to and if all other things are equal I will choose the school with the better than predicted step I score. I am having a hard time seeing how this is a bad way to choose between schools.

 

[kb1900]

I see what you are saying. Here is my rational reason.

Baylor is an outlier in the chart above. Where the USMLE scores can not be explained by their median MCAT. Now, this could be a one year fluke or they teach in a specific way that improves the liklihood that their students perform better than what is predicted. On the other hand UCSF under performs on their STEP 1 score.

I would like to analyze this for the schools I have acceptances to and if all other things are equal I will choose the school with the better than predicted step I score. I am having a hard time seeing how this is a bad way to choose between schools.

any chance you would be willing to share the data you have (assumnig its in a table format) so I could have a little less work to do when I inevitably do the exact same plot in a few months

 

[libertyyne]

any chance you would be willing to share the data you have (assumnig its in a table format) so I could have a little less work to do when I inevitably do the exact same plot in a few months

I dont mind sharing, I just need to figure out what is a good source, short of calling each school. Here is a write up that was interesting, I want to expand this to include my schools since I am not as good looking to use the chart as is.
https://anastomosed.wordpress.com/2...chools-mcatgpa-as-predictors-of-usmle-scores/

 

[kb1900]

I dont mind sharing, I just need to figure out what is a good source, short of calling each school. Here is a write up that was interesting, I want to expand this to include my schools since I am not as good looking to use the chart as is.
https://anastomosed.wordpress.com/2...chools-mcatgpa-as-predictors-of-usmle-scores/

thank you this is super helpful.

i really do believe that different schools treat step 1 prep differently and as a result get different outcomes. For example, forcing all the students to take a NBME midway thru 2nd year to kind of give them a kick in the butt. Or having professors who even write directly for the USMLE or review books etc.

 

[libertyyne]

thank you this is super helpful.

i really do believe that different schools treat step 1 prep differently and as a result get different outcomes. For example, forcing all the students to take a NBME midway thru 2nd year to kind of give them a kick in the butt. Or having professors who even write directly for the USMLE or review books etc.

I agree, structure matters. timing matters, focus matters in addition to personal effort.

 

[Psai]

Statistics are irrelevant to the individual. Every school has people scoring on all spectrums of that range. Brand name schools will attract the best applicants. That doesn't mean that attending a more prestigious school will guarantee a higher score. Even some people at DO schools score highly.

 

[DokterMom]

From everything I've read, it seems a student's pre-clinical academic performance is the best predictor of STEP 1 success, so the school where you are most likely to be the most motivated, whatever that means to you personally, is likely to get you the best result. For some students, that might be a 'big fish in a small pond' school; for others, a 'swim with the sharks' school. Letter grades, while deeply unpopular on SDN, might be an effective motivator for some.

Consider also the Lake Wobegone effect. Med Schools lie about their STEP 1 scores, and almost everyone is above average...

 

[libertyyne]

Statistics are irrelevant to the individual. Every school has people scoring on all spectrums of that range. Brand name schools will attract the best applicants. That doesn't mean that attending a more prestigious school will guarantee a higher score. Even some people at DO schools score highly.

Here is the simple hypothesis:
Schools that are outliers on the data are doing something to prep their students better than what can be predicted based on the characteristics of the matriculants. This could be because they motivate them more, the atmosphere drives them to prep more, they provide more time to prep, they teach them in a better fashion, etc, etc. I am not concerned with the particulars rather just the effect.

Here are a few things that are true:

USMLE scores are directly correlated to the MCAT.
Big Name schools attract candidates with higher MCATs.
The chart above plots the predicted score based on the correlation with MCAT.
Schools that fall within the CI are not doing anything special.
Schools that are way above or way below are obviously doing something that works or is does not work.
Individual variables can be ignored if the sample size is large enough.

From everything I've read, it seems a student's pre-clinical academic performance is the best predictor of STEP 1 success, so the school where you are most likely to be the most motivated, whatever that means to you personally, is likely to get you the best result. For some students, that might be a 'big fish in a small pond' school; for others, a 'swim with the sharks' school. Letter grades, while deeply unpopular on SDN, might be an effective motivator for some.

Consider also the Lake Wobegone effect. Med Schools lie about their STEP 1 scores, and almost everyone is above average...

This is a real threat to analysis since it is dependent on the quality of the data. Therefore my question: Where can I find reliable USMLE step I data for schools?

 

[Psai]

Here is the simple hypothesis:
Schools that are outliers on the data are doing something to prep their students better than what can be predicted based on the characteristics of the matriculants. This could be because they motivate them more, the atmosphere drives them to prep more, they provide more time to prep, they teach them in a better fashion, etc, etc. I am not concerned with the particulars rather just the effect.

Here are a few things that are true:

USMLE scores are directly correlated to the MCAT.
Big Name schools attract candidates with higher MCATs.
The chart above plots the predicted score based on the correlation with MCAT.
Schools that fall within the CI are not doing anything special.
Schools that are way above or way below are obviously doing something that works or is does not work.
Individual variables can be ignored if the sample size is large enough.



This is a real threat to analysis since it is dependent on the quality of the data. Therefore my question: Where can I find reliable USMLE step I data for schools?

You can't draw any of those conclusions from that graph. Where did you even get it from?

 

[libertyyne]

You can't draw any of those conclusions from that graph. Where did you even get it from?

Graph Source.https://anastomosed.wordpress.com/2...chools-mcatgpa-as-predictors-of-usmle-scores/

MCAT USMLE Relationship.http://www.internationalgme.org/Resources/Pubs/Donnon et al (2007) Acad Med.pdf

MCAT USMLE Relationship https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25850120

MCAT USMLE Relationship http://journals.lww.com/academicmed...rgraduate_institutional_mcat_scores_as.5.aspx

Large Sample sizes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_large_numbers

MSAR - Big Name Schools attract Candidates with Higher MCATs, or select candidates with higher mcats.

Logic-
Schools that fall within the CI are not doing anything special.
Schools that are way above or way below are obviously doing something that works or is does not work.

 

[Psai]

The first link is a freaking blog post. But he even lays out the caveats clearly.

1. These data are from one year only. There are often fluctuations from year-to-year at each school up to 2-3 points in the absence of any significant changes in curriculum. Unfortunately, longitudinal data is not available to do a more thorough/stable analysis.
2. These data are probably self-reported from the school to USNWR. Schools could lie, and there is rampant speculation on SDN that schools do manipulate their statistics when presenting them to applicants because publicly available data on Step scores from the NBME are not available. A number of schools have admitted fudging their undergraduate data. For all we know, Baylor could be pulling BS on everyone. But I trust people. =)
3. This is only the top 20 schools (because I’m lazy). Below that could be a different picture.

Conversely, Swanson4 derived a range of MCAT subtest coefficients (r 0.14 to 0.52) on the USMLE Step 1 examination based on a large sample of 11,145 students, and in a study of 27,406 students, Julian5 found that their total MCAT scores correlated moderately well across all three USMLE Step examinations (Step 1, r 0.61; Step 2, r 0.49; Step 3, r 0.49)

A random-effects model meta-analysis of weighted effects sizes (r) resulted in (1) a predictive validity coefficient for the MCAT in the preclinical years of r 0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21– 0.54) and on the USMLE Step 1 of r 0.60

All permutations of MCAT scores (first, last, highest, average) were weakly associated with GPA, Step 2 clinical knowledge scores, and Step 3 scores. MCAT scores were weakly to moderately associated with Step 1 scores.


The quotes above speak for themselves. If you want to play in the big leagues, it's not enough to just post random links. You have to actually read the things you're pretending to source (not just google the links) to make coherent arguments.

 

[libertyyne]

The first link is a freaking blog post. But he even lays out the caveats clearly.

1. These data are from one year only. There are often fluctuations from year-to-year at each school up to 2-3 points in the absence of any significant changes in curriculum. Unfortunately, longitudinal data is not available to do a more thorough/stable analysis.
2. These data are probably self-reported from the school to USNWR. Schools could lie, and there is rampant speculation on SDN that schools do manipulate their statistics when presenting them to applicants because publicly available data on Step scores from the NBME are not available. A number of schools have admitted fudging their undergraduate data. For all we know, Baylor could be pulling BS on everyone. But I trust people. =)
3. This is only the top 20 schools (because I’m lazy). Below that could be a different picture.

Conversely, Swanson4 derived a range of MCAT subtest coefficients (r 0.14 to 0.52) on the USMLE Step 1 examination based on a large sample of 11,145 students, and in a study of 27,406 students, Julian5 found that their total MCAT scores correlated moderately well across all three USMLE Step examinations (Step 1, r 0.61; Step 2, r 0.49; Step 3, r 0.49)

A random-effects model meta-analysis of weighted effects sizes (r) resulted in (1) a predictive validity coefficient for the MCAT in the preclinical years of r 0.39 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21– 0.54) and on the USMLE Step 1 of r 0.60

All permutations of MCAT scores (first, last, highest, average) were weakly associated with GPA, Step 2 clinical knowledge scores, and Step 3 scores. MCAT scores were weakly to moderately associated with Step 1 scores.


The quotes above speak for themselves. If you want to play in the big leagues, it's not enough to just post random links. You have to actually read the things you're pretending to source (not just google the links) to make coherent arguments.

I am aware of the limitations of the data. That is why the first post is me asking for a good reliable source for USMLE step scores. I am not claiming the blog post is fact- I want to do something similar for the choices I have.

I dont understand why you are quoting the rest. All of that says is in varying degree's MCAT scores are correlated to USMLE scores- That is the point I made, What is your point?

Also- SDN = Big leagues, ahh thats why there are all those meme threads.

 

[DokterMom]

Schools that are way above or way below are obviously doing something that works or is does not work.

...Or are simply better liars

 

[Kgizzle]

I am aware of the limitations of the data. That is why the first post is me asking for a good reliable source for USMLE step scores. I am not claiming the blog post is fact- I want to do something similar for the choices I have.

I dont understand why you are quoting the rest. All of that says is in varying degree's MCAT scores are correlated to USMLE scores- That is the point I made, What is your point?

Also- SDN = Big leagues, ahh thats why there are all those meme threads.

are you going to use this information to decide between schools?

 

[libertyyne]

are you going to use this information to decide between schools?

It will be one factor. If I am satisfied with the quality of data, Yes.

 

[Psai]

There are no reliable data out there. Even if there were, previous step 1 scores will not guarantee a good step score for you. The differences between curricula at various schools does not explain differences in standardized exam scores. A good step score will not make you a good doctor.

tl;dr you shouldn't use step scores to choose between schools.

 

[Kgizzle]

It will be one factor. If I am satisfied with the quality of data, Yes.

That's the thing, no matter how good the data is it won't really tell you why those STEP scores are higher or lower. You're cherry-picking the data to come to conclusions that it must be the school's curriculum. That's terrible science. Impossible to say WHY with that data set. Plus it's probably a mix of things that leads to that weak correlation that cannot be controlled for or accounted for. But if it's a toss up and you don't know which school to pick and end up doing this exercise and not liking the results, you can at least rest easy knowing that it was a huge waste of time.

 

[libertyyne]

1. There are no reliable data out there.2. Even if there were, previous step 1 scores will not guarantee a good step score for you. 3.The differences between curricula at various schools does not explain differences in standardized exam scores.4. A good step score will not make you a good doctor.

tl;dr you shouldn't use step scores to choose between schools.

1. This is what i wanted to know. Thanks.
2. The past performance is not guaranteed to predict future performance- I too have read Hume. This is true of all inference based evidence and science, does not mean curious minds dont want to know.
3. This assertion is without evidence.
4. I agree with this, but it is one factor in getting a good residency which does contribute to becoming a good doctor.

 

[libertyyne]

That's the thing, no matter how good the data is it won't really tell you why those STEP scores are higher or lower. You're cherry-picking the data to come to conclusions that it must be the school's curriculum. That's terrible science. Impossible to say WHY with that data set. Plus it's probably a mix of things that leads to that weak correlation that cannot be controlled for or accounted for. But if it's a toss up and you don't know which school to pick and end up doing this exercise and not liking the results, you can at least rest easy knowing that it was a huge waste of time.

I am not cherry picking data, I am using the data that is available. If the quality of data is bad, I wont use it to make that decision. I honestly dont care what it is that leads to the improved outcome, as long as there is a robust effect, for all i care it could be the water or the weather.
I do ask these questions because I am curious, most scientific studies lead to showing little or no effect, does not mean that is a waste of time.

 

[Psai]

1. This is what i wanted to know. Thanks.
2. The past performance is not guaranteed to predict future performance- I too have read Hume. This is true of all inference based evidence and science, does not mean curious minds dont want to know.
3. This assertion is without evidence.
4. I agree with this, but it is one factor in getting a good residency which does contribute to becoming a good doctor.

lmao what? How is it without evidence? Go to any medical school and you will see a wide range of scores ranging from failure to 270s. How does the curriculum explain that?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "good residency". You made this thread because you apparently don't even know what a good medical school is.

 

[libertyyne]

lmao what? How is it without evidence? Go to any medical school and you will see a wide range of scores ranging from failure to 270s. How does the curriculum explain that?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "good residency". You made this thread because you apparently don't even know what a good medical school is.

I am not talking about variation in scores. I have a class of 1000 who had the same MCAT score I assign 500 to school A and 500 to school B. do I expect them to score the exact same scoree on the USMLE? No, do I expect there to be a large difference in the ranges and medians and 90th percentiles of schools? No. If there is and it is consistent across years do I think there is some difference that is contributing to the difference in medians and distributions? Yes. Do I know what it is? No. But the effect exists.

 

[Psai]

I am not talking about variation in scores. I have a class of 1000 who had the same MCAT score I assign 500 to school A and 500 to school B. do I expect them to score the exact same scoree on the USMLE? No, do I expect there to be a large difference in the ranges and medians and 90th percentiles of schools? No. If there is and it is consistent across years do I think there is some difference that is contributing to the difference in medians and distributions? Yes. Do I know what it is? No. But the effect exists.

How do you know that scores are consistent across the years?

 

[libertyyne]

How do you know that scores are consistent across the years?

The whole thought experiment is based on the availability of DATA. I have been asking for potential sources of data, I started this thread asking for that.

 

[Doggo]

Can someone just answer @libertyyne 's initial question instead of just spreading negativity? I'm pretty curious to see what he/she finds.

After they present their final methods, data, and conclusions we can mercilessly criticize (I mean peer review) their analysis.

 

[Psai]

Can someone just answer @libertyyne 's initial question instead of just spreading negativity? I'm pretty curious to see what he/she finds.

After they present their final methods, data, and conclusions we can mercilessly criticize (I mean peer review) their analysis.

rofl read the thread dude
btw even if he gets the data he's looking for, he can't even post it here.

 

[Kgizzle]

The whole thought experiment is based on the availability of DATA. I have been asking for potential sources of data, I started this thread asking for that.

Damn this got heated quick... I don't think that there is a good source of publicly available DATA to answer your question.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Glad you are still working on this, and I would love to see the results if you ever find a good source of scores. However, for picking where you want to go, it's probably a terrible metric. Your hypothesis is that some schools prep their students better for the test, but they might also just pick them better (based on non-numerical aspects of their applications).

 

[Doggo]

Glad you are still working on this, and I would love to see the results if you ever find a good source of scores. However, for picking where you want to go, it's probably a terrible metric. Your hypothesis is that some schools prep their students better for the test, but they might also just pick them better (based on non-numerical aspects of their applications).

I agree. Regardless of the "usefulness" of the results for evaluating schools, I'm curious as heck now about average USMLE scores at different schools!

Knowledge for the sake of knowledge f*** yeah! (Although TBH I bet the reason why there's no good, easy database is that it's not profitable to track/organize such data)

 

[kb1900]

rofl read the thread dude
btw even if he gets the data he's looking for, he can't even post it here.

I feel like you're completely missing the point here. No one is choosing their school by board scores. OP is asking for data.....because:

IF (big if) there was reliable data, you could start to point to what specific features are shared by schools that have higher than predicted scores and what features may not matter ranging from:
-longer dedicated study time
-flexibility in when you have to take step 1
-practice tests throughout ms2
-professors that write for the usmle
-
-

It's unfortunate that the data isn't out there but the whole f*cking point of the thread was to see if there was lmao

Reading your statement about the big leagues gave me a good chuckle tho

 

[Psai]

I feel like you're completely missing the point here. No one is choosing their school by board scores. OP is asking for data.....because:

IF (big if) there was reliable data, you could start to point to what specific features are shared by schools that have higher than predicted scores and what features may not matter ranging from:
-longer dedicated study time
-flexibility in when you have to take step 1
-practice tests throughout ms2
-professors that write for the usmle
-
-

It's unfortunate that the data isn't out there but the whole f*cking point of the thread was to see if there was lmao

Reading your statement about the big leagues gave me a good chuckle tho

cool story premed

 

[Lawpy]

cool story premed

Come on man.

 

[libertyyne]

cool story premed

Ad homs. Glad to know that is what the big league consists of I am sure the Nobel prize committee is trying to locate you as we speak.

 

[kb1900]

cool story premed

we can play that game too

hows ur slave job while i cant even figure out what to do with 40hrs/week of free time til i start school next year

 

[Psai]

Come on man.

No thanks.

 

[cke11]

I really don't think you should utilize data for each schools Step 1 to be such a factor in making a decision. I've talked with too many people to count that have said that regardless of the n=1 research article published that said your MCAT score "weakly to moderately associates" directly to your Step score, it just isn't the case. The biggest factor in how well you do on Step 1 is you and you alone. You learn ALOT in your first two years and to correlate how well you did as a premed on the MCAT to how well you do on Step 1 is a little bit of a stretch. This is just my experience, you seem like a numbers kind of person, but I thought I'd share what I've heard. Also if I could point you in the direction of the data your looking for I'd love to see what comes out of it, but can't be of too much help.

 

[redsox93]

cool story premed

You realize you're posting in a premed forum, correct? Don't you have patients to see or something?

 

[Doggo]

I really don't think you should utilize data for each schools Step 1 to be such a factor in making a decision. I've talked with too many people to count that have said that regardless of the n=1 research article published that said your MCAT score "weakly to moderately associates" directly to your Step score, it just isn't the case. The biggest factor in how well you do on Step 1 is you and you alone. You learn ALOT in your first two years and to correlate how well you did as a premed on the MCAT to how well you do on Step 1 is a little bit of a stretch. This is just my experience, you seem like a numbers kind of person, but I thought I'd share what I've heard. Also if I could point you in the direction of the data your looking for I'd love to see what comes out of it, but can't be of too much help.

Yeah I think everyone's at least a little curious to see what @libertyyne might find even if they don't think it would necessarily be extremely useful in choosing schools.

 

[libertyyne]

I really don't think you should utilize data for each schools Step 1 to be such a factor in making a decision. I've talked with too many people to count that have said that regardless of the n=1 research article published that said your MCAT score "weakly to moderately associates" directly to your Step score, it just isn't the case. The biggest factor in how well you do on Step 1 is you and you alone. You learn ALOT in your first two years and to correlate how well you did as a premed on the MCAT to how well you do on Step 1 is a little bit of a stretch. This is just my experience, you seem like a numbers kind of person, but I thought I'd share what I've heard. Also if I could point you in the direction of the data your looking for I'd love to see what comes out of it, but can't be of too much help.

Ok, I am an unsure where you are in your journey so far, but I think you either did not read the articles i linked or have some knowledge deficits.

1. n=/=1 if there are multiple studies attached and they have large data sets that they are basing their conclusions on. In Fact one article attached is a meta-analysis. Here is a snapshot of the data .

So the N = 7419 and there are 6 studies included in the data set. They didnt just ask people they followed people from MCAT to USMLE infact over 7000 of them and found them to have a statistically significant correlation between the two ranging from .21-.54. The scale is from -1 to +1 where +1 is a perfect correlation.
Here is a synopsis if you would like to read more about metaanlysis . https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutorials/studydesign101/metaanalyses.html
Although your personal experience may be meaningful to you, it may suffer from a number of biases I can go into detail if you would like but that is different topic.

2. I dont think it is much of a stretch to think that people who do well on a multiple choice high stakes exam(mcat) will do well on another multiple choice high stakes exam(usmle), and the studies actually bear this out. I dont think it would be far fetched to believe the reason schools rely upon this so heavily for admissions is this relationship.

Good luck and let me know if you need any more clarification.

 

[Psai]

Hey kids. If someone with experience comes down to give you some advice, say thank you. I can't even imagine how terrible this place would be if you premeds just kept advising each other. "Go DO it's just the same!" "Ask about step 1 scores, it's really good!" "You need to fill up all 15 spots for extracurricular activities on amcas!"

It's no wonder you guys can't stand each other.

BTW "don't you have patients to see" is not really an insult. It's what you're trying to do, isn't it? No idea how any of you got into medical school.

And 0.21-0.54 is a really crappy correlation

 

[redsox93]

Hey kids. If someone with experience comes down to give you some advice, say thank you. I can't even imagine how terrible this place would be if you premeds just kept advising each other. "Go DO it's just the same!" "Ask about step 1 scores, it's really good!" "You need to fill up all 15 spots for extracurricular activities on amcas!"

It's no wonder you guys can't stand each other.

BTW "don't you have patients to see" is not really an insult. It's what you're trying to do, isn't it? No idea how any of you got into medical school.

I'm implying "don't you have better things to do thank make fun of someone for being premed". As far as advice, I'm thankful when it's informative. But when you make posts like "ok premed" in a premed forum I don't really see the value that adds

 

[kb1900]

I'm implying "don't you have better things to do thank make fun of someone for being premed". As far as advice, I'm thankful when it's informative. But when you make posts like "ok premed" in a premed forum I don't really see the value that adds

i guess this is where i change my status thing to accepted

 

[aldol16]

I think most schools within the same "tier" (if you will) will train you similarly in terms of clinical and research exposure. Each medical center will have its own unique selling point (only major hospital in the state, the hospital in Manhattan, etc.) and each school will similarly have excellent research. Each school will also prepare you adequately for the Step 1 and you have to take yourself the rest of the way there. It's not as though going to HMS guarantees you a +240 score on the Step 1. What you should be looking for in a medical school, in my opinion, is whether you fit in with the culture/rest of the students there and whether you think you would be happy spending 4 years there, considering all aspects of the school itself as well as the city it is located in. There should only be 2 or 3 schools, in the end, in which you would be happy at considering all of those things, unless you really don't give a **** at all. In which case you can go off of USMLE score averages.

 

[cke11]

Ok, I am an unsure where you are in your journey so far, but I think you either did not read the articles i linked or have some knowledge deficits.

1. n=/=1 if there are multiple studies attached and they have large data sets that they are basing their conclusions on. In Fact one article attached is a meta-analysis. Here is a snapshot of the data .
View attachment 210499
So the N = 7419 and there are 6 studies included in the data set. They didnt just ask people they followed people from MCAT to USMLE infact over 7000 of them and found them to have a statistically significant correlation between the two ranging from .21-.54. The scale is from -1 to +1 where +1 is a perfect correlation.
Here is a synopsis if you would like to read more about metaanlysis . https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutorials/studydesign101/metaanalyses.html
Although your personal experience may be meaningful to you, it may suffer from a number of biases I can go into detail if you would like but that is different topic.

2. I dont think it is much of a stretch to think that people who do well on a multiple choice high stakes exam(mcat) will do well on another multiple choice high stakes exam(usmle), and the studies actually bear this out. I dont think it would be far fetched to believe the reason schools rely upon this so heavily for admissions is this relationship.

Good luck and let me know if you need any more clarification.

I honestly only looked at the pub med article that came out last year where it stated that the MCAT showed a "weak to moderate" correlation to Step 1 scores. Once I saw the article with the graph you posted, I didn't bother mentioning it because of how old the data was and there isn't any info out there about the comparison to the new MCAT. As someone who's been in research at a medical school for quite a few years the correlation you're pointing out isn't really that significant, but I see where your coming from.

 

[libertyyne]

I honestly only looked at the pub med article that came out last year where it stated that the MCAT showed a "weak to moderate" correlation to Step 1 scores. Once I saw the article with the graph you posted, I didn't bother mentioning it because of how old the data was and there isn't any info out there about the comparison to the new MCAT. As someone who's been in research at a medical school for quite a few years the correlation you're pointing out isn't really that significant, but I see where your coming from.

You do realize it is the strongest predictor there is available for step performance in applicants? I am sure medical schools will stop using the MCAT for admission purposes considering that it "isnt really that significant"

And the hypothesis isnt even dependent on there being a correlation. If the data shows that Step Medians are all over the place it may even call into question the predictive power of the MCAT.

 

[libertyyne]

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[libertyyne]

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