Which would you rather have (i.e. think is better)

[pharmer]

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Which do you think would open more doors or be more appealing to residency directors? Someone w/ a great board score like say >240 and a good GPA but not outstanding like say 3.4-3.5. Or someone w/ a 4.0 GPA and an okay (better than average but not stellar) board score like say 225-230. Lets assume these are the only criteria being looked at (ie no ECs, LOR, personality flaws, research). I guess one would have to allow the school the student went to to come into consideration though. I personally think the 4.0 would be more appealing than a great board score b/c that means the person worked hard the whole time and not just for a spot in time to do well. Anyone else care to comment?


PS>By no way is this thread to reflect its poster or anyone personally.

 

[kenmc3]

Interesting scenario for which there is probably not a clear answer. Both cases are defiantly good enough to get into most residencies. However competitive residencies are another story. From what I have seen, board scores are used as somewhat of a threshold (i.e. you need to reach a certain score to be considered by the program). I would think that an above average board score with a 4.0 GPA would probably yield a greater advantage. Because obviously if you have a 4.0 you are at the top of your class and that is going to say a lot more than your performance on the boards.

 

[automaton]

if you include 3rd year grades as part of the GPA then the higher GPA is probably preferable. if only talking about the first two years, then the higher board score is probably better.

 

[Xandie]

If we're talking about pre-clinical grades (like the above poster mentioned), I think board score is a better determinant, especially depending on your school. Remember, board scores are a way for residency directors to compare applicants across schools (much like the MCAT). Besides, if GPA was far more important than board scores, people at pass/fail schools would never get residency.

 

[pharmer]

if you include 3rd year grades as part of the GPA then the higher GPA is probably preferable. if only talking about the first two years, then the higher board score is probably better.

I'm talking about the whole 4 years not just pre-clinical.

 

[SocialistMD]

To elaborate on what Xandie said, something you are all overlooking is that an "A" or "H" at school 1 is probably not the same as an "A" or "H" at school 2. That is why programs often stress the Step 1 score more than the GPA. You could come from a program with a very easy grading system where half of the class has above a 3.5 and it would mean much less than a person with a 3.5 from a school where only 15% have that same GPA. Step 1 is an equalizer (albeit not a flawless one) for these scenarios. However, most program directors know which schools grade-inflate and which don't. Assuming both students are coming from the same school, the student with the higher grades and above average Step 1 may be a "better" candidate based on only these two criteria because of the history of success vs. that of one day. Then again, doing extremely well on Step 1 could mean you retained more info than the person with the high GPA who is only good at cramming for one exam but then dumps all that knowledge.

Kind of makes you glad they look at more than these two aspects, doesn't it...

 

[pharmer]

Kind of makes you glad they look at more than these two aspects, doesn't it...

Amen to that 👍