what's pass at your school?

[rhiannon777]

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I have gotten the impression the my school is a lot more strict with respect to passing than others (75% is required to pass, no retaking tests, and if you fail, you join the class below you and must repeat the entire year). I'm starting to think this the major reason behind my stress and misery. But maybe everyone else is in the same boat. What's passing at your school?

 

[osli]

70%, or better than 2 standard deviations below the mean if you are between 60% and 70%.

 

[Rhuby]

Ours in entirely competition driven, how kind of them. All based on z-scores and you must be at -1.5 or better to pass. Talk about misery when the average was an 86 and the SD was 5.8pts...

 

[Punkn]

>70% to pass, HP has varied based on professor (some were between 80 and 90, others between 82 and 92, etc), H has varied as well (>90, >92, and >94 😱)
You can fail one class in M1, repeat it over the summer, and move on to M2 as long as you get above a certain score on the NBME. I'm not sure what happens if you fail an M2 class.

 

[njbmd]

The percentage/grade for passing is very variable from school to school as are the consequences for failing a test or a course. For the medical school that I attended, the raw score for passing was set by the individual test and normalized so that the percentage always changed based on the class performance. This generally helped the people who were at the bottom and slightly penalized the people at the top unless you were well above the mean. If you failed a test, you were OK as long as you pulled up and passed the course. If you failed a course, you could remediate in the summer. If you failed more than two courses, you could be dismissed or dropped back a year depending on what the promotion committee decided.

The medical school where I did residency, set a specific percentage for passing, and that didn't change. You may have to remediate a course or remediate a test depending on what you failed. Very few people ended up repeating an entire year of medical school (perhaps 1 or 2 out of more than 150).

The interesting thing is that people who failed a course or two and re-mediated and even those who ended up dropping back a year usually rocked on boards and ended up in great residency programs (not in Derm or Optho) but solid programs in just about everything else. Of the people at my school that ended up with a rocky start, a overwhelming majority ended up doing pretty well after they figured out what they needed to do and got it done.

The thing to realize is that you have to figure out your problems; take care of them; and pass your coursework. If you are failing in a couple of courses, then you need to get some serious assistance before you fail the course. If something (illness, personal problems, financial problems etc) is preventing you from getting your work done, take a LOA and work out the problem so that you can come back and devote your full attention to your studies before you get to the point that some academic action has to be taken against you.

 

[TMP-SMX]

At Wayne I think they have a little leeway because they call it a danger zone and not a pass rate. Plus, it is based on the previous year's standard deviations. I think it runs around about 2 below the mean. If there is a skew to low scores they keep it in mind for the end because it was a poor test for comparison.

 

[flyingdutchman]

>70%, but below 75 is kind of a "warning zone". can take a failed module over the summer before M2 year, but more than that good luck...

 

[Shredder]

It's like 65 where I am. You're only allowed to do that 3 or 4 times and overall average just has to be above 70. I slacked off on a couple of tests and came close but my average is comfortable. I find it quite lenient and easy here.

 

[trevagandalf]

for each class is different, but i have to say that around 7-8% of the class usually fails

 

[Doctor Bagel]

We don't have a curve, so pass is just 70% (or actually 69.5% in most classes). If you make a D in a class, you have to pass a comprehensive exam in the subject in the summer. If you make two Ds, you're technically supposed to have to repeat the year, but apparently they will give you the option to do the comprehensive exam thing for both classes if you have a good reason. 3 Ds or more, I think you definitely have to repeat.

If you make an F in a class, you have to retake the class, which means you either have to repeat the year or go to one of the few places in the country that offer medical school classes in the summer. 2 Fs or 1 D and 1 F I'm pretty sure forces you to repeat.

 

[abooodMD]

Well, last year I was at 1st level, and no one can pass to 2nd level if he / she didn't get at least 80% percentage, it was really owful and i guess 5 students were fired from the college .
Of course I passed 😀.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I have gotten the impression the my school is a lot more strict with respect to passing than others (75% is required to pass, no retaking tests, and if you fail, you join the class below you and must repeat the entire year). I'm starting to think this the major reason behind my stress and misery. But maybe everyone else is in the same boat. What's passing at your school?

I wonder if schools with policies like this have more repeaters? How many people repeat at your school? In my class, we only had 3 people who actually completed the year repeat. We had 10 or so people who left for various reasons during the year repeat, too.

Also, are you 100% sure that they'll make you repeat if you make less than a 75% in one class? That might be the official policy, but it might play out differently. I'd suggest talking to your course advisor to make sure.

 

[booswim542]

Below 75% is "less than satisfactory" = Not really passing
Below 70% is failing.

I don't really know exactly where the line is drawn that 5% is kinda murky water.

I guess it's just best to stay abouce 75%

 

[alfonzarel]

most classes are around 68-70% to pass, but based on points. so you can fail a test and ace a test and at the end, if your points are > the set passing % then you're cool.

 

[Percival]

If you make below 70% in a course, you failed the course, but your overall average has to be 75% or better. In most of our classes they either curve the exams, or they throw out a couple of questions (not in all classes, but in most) to get the class average for each exam between 80-85.

 

[Instatewaiter]

At my school the pass cutoff is 65+1std so generally around a 68-70. Then between around 63-68 is marginal pass (not quite a fail but not a passing grade either) If you fail or marginal pass 1 class you remediate over the summer. If you fail 2 classes you repeat the year. I think we lost 5 students who had to repeat the year my M1 year.

 

[lsumedgirl]

For the first semester (gross anat, histo, and embryology), pass was 70, high pass 80, and high pass honors 90 (give or take a point, based on class averages and all that jazz).

For this semester, it's different: neuroscience is 70, biochem is 72, and physiology is 75. High passes are in the low 80s, and high pass honors are ~90.

At this point, I just want P=MD. I'm so tired of studying.

 

[lsumedgirl]

Oh, and as for repeats (I'm still procrastinating for pulmonary phys...):

If you fail one major course (everything except embryology - it's not considered "major"), you can retake it in the summer, and stay with your class. If you fail two courses, you have to repeat the year.

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

69.5 here. In our 2 second year classes, you can't fail a majority of the tests without having to repeat the course. If you fail a course, you simply repeat that the next year, not every class.

 

[kevster2001]

70%

Judging by the # of repeats in my class, maybe 10% have to do it for one reason or another. Although I would guess most are doingi t because of personal reasons

 

[Heimerfink]

60-65. depends on the class.

 

[GreenShirt]

70% cut off.
Fail one course--> repeat during summer
Fail two courses--> repeat first year

 

[Orthodoc40]

Let's see... What's pass at my school?..... Hmmm....

Usually about 1 or 2 points higher than what I manage to get! 😉

But seriously - it's a 75%. Except anatomy which is 78%.