WashU...does it have 'hidden grades' in 1st year?

[erasable]

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1. I know WashU has pass/fail first semester, but do they publically/secretly keep track of how many standard deviations your are away from the mean?
2. Does your perfomance in first year classes factor into your class rank?
3. Does first, second, third, and fourth year factor into class rank?
4. How much of my first, second, third and fourth year performance is going to factor into my residency applications?

I heard that NW does keep track of standard deviations and factors it into your class rank. I know that UMich does not. But during my WashU
interview, no one talked about it.

^_^ Thanks!!!

 

[SeventhSon]

1. I know WashU has pass/fail first semester, but do they publically/secretly keep track of how many standard deviations your are away from the mean?
2. Does your perfomance in first year classes factor into your class rank?
3. Does first, second, third, and fourth year factor into class rank?
4. How much of my first, second, third and fourth year performance is going to factor into my residency applications?

I heard that NW does keep track of standard deviations and factors it into your class rank. I know that UMich does not. But during my WashU
interview, no one talked about it.

^_^ Thanks!!!

well if it was secret, none of would know, would we
i doubt they keep track. NW is prob a rare exception

 

[ucsb101]

well if it was secret, none of would know, would we
i doubt they keep track. NW is prob a rare exception

I dont go to WashU but I would assume so. Every school ranks their students. So I am pretty sure that eventhough u guys are getting a honors/pass/fail on ur transcript the school has list of all ur percentages.

 

[studentstudent]

well if it was secret, none of would know, would we
i doubt they keep track. NW is prob a rare exception

Albert Einstein SOM also keeps track. My interviewer said it's the only way to figure out what people should aim for when they apply for residencies.

 

[GenSurgChick]

I went to WashU so I think I could answer your questions. They rank students in thirds (upper third, middle third, lower third) after the completion of third year clerkships. This is the only time you are ranked and you are told which third you are in before you submit your residency application. Students are only ranked if they complete med school in the same class that they started in. Because I had a year leave of absence, I was not ranked at all.

1. They don't keep track of percentile grades as far as I can tell.
2. The first year class performance figures SLIGHTLY into your class rank. It is given a 10% weight in the rank process. They told us it only matters if you fail something. For this reason also I don't think they keep track of percentiles, because the relative weight of your scores would have such a small effect once taken in the context of that 10%.
3. Second and third years are also used to determine your rank. Second year grades are weighted at 30%. Third year grades are weighted at 60%. Fourth year grades are not considered.
4. Your performance essentially matters 3rd year>>>2nd year>1st year from the standpoint of residency apps. Any fourth year grades that you have reported by the time of your residency application are probably weighted nearly equally with 3rd year, if they are in your specialty of interest. Usually you will do a subinternship in your chosen specialty at the beginning of 4th year, and this is definitely a grade that matters.

Frankly, I think the reason nobody talks much about the ranking system at WashU is that even people in the "bottom third" match just fine. It helps to be in the top third if you're applying in dermatology or something, but class rank is a rather small component of the whole application.

Hope that answers your questions.
GSC

 

[erasable]

I went to WashU so I think I could answer your questions. They rank students in thirds (upper third, middle third, lower third) after the completion of third year clerkships. This is the only time you are ranked and you are told which third you are in before you submit your residency application. Students are only ranked if they complete med school in the same class that they started in. Because I had a year leave of absence, I was not ranked at all.

Thanks for your reply! Um...is it a good thing or a bad thing if you are not ranked at all? Should I purposely take a year off, so that I won't be ranked?
I was considering taking a year off...not really to do anything meaningful careerwise, but just for fun.

 

[GenSurgChick]

Thanks for your reply! Um...is it a good thing or a bad thing if you are not ranked at all? Should I purposely take a year off, so that I won't be ranked?
I was considering taking a year off...not really to do anything meaningful careerwise, but just for fun.

Are you already in med school?

If you are still waiting to begin med school, taking a year off before starting can be a good thing, but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about taking leave from the MD curriculum once you've already started.

If you are, you pretty much need some kind of reason to take a year off once you start, because it is not the norm and residency programs will ask what you did. Most who take more than 4 years for med school do some kind research, often as part of an MD/PhD program. Others decide they want an MPH and take some time to do that. I was recalled to active duty by the Army so I had no choice to take time off from med school. Trying to avoid being ranked or just to have fun are not going to fly with a residency program. And frankly the ranking is just not important enough to worry about, at least at WashU. You'll be far more focused on learning the material, helping each other, and taking care of yourself than on comparing yourself to your classmates. At least, that was my experience.