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Started by whatwillhappentome?
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Step 2 CK is still scored, do well on that and you should be fine. What you are worrying about probably won't have no bearing on the type of residency you end up in. There are other parts in the residency application that you can focus on.
 
whatwillhappentome? said:
Hi,
I'm having a bit of remorse over turning down multiple T15 offers for a full ride at a midwest state school (top 40 USNews and top 25 for NIH funding). The advice I received when making my decision (mostly from med school professors and a few program directors) was that school name is not a significant factor in residency selection and that if i work hard I will likely end up in the same place.

My state school, however, as recently made the curriculum entirely pass fail--including clerkships. My class is the first one for which there are no internal rankings or AOA. With step 1 also being pass fail, I'm starting to worry about what I could be doing to stand out to residency programs, as the current setup seems to offer very little incentive to perform above the bare minimum. I'm undecided on specialty, but I do know that I want to match to a major academic institution in a big city on the east coast or chicago (Boston, DC, NYC, etc.) and hope to pursue academic medicine.
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What are your options? Or what do you really expect people to say here? The choice is already made, and you’re complaining about how you have to attend a (worst case) top 40 MD school with PF curriculum. Just shadow a ton, find a specialty, and be productive in research and publishing. Network with people at other institutions if you have a particular place you need to be for residency. Most importantly learn to accept your decision so you can move forward because this is pretty cringe
 
As others said, school name (unless you to go one of a very short list of med schools) and straight honors grades are not huge factors in residency. You can match into a prestigious program with neither of those. The trifecta of high step scores (now just Step 2), good research, and strong letters as the formula for a good match remains untouched.

Besides, if you want to do academic medicine in a major institution on the east coast, down the road you may end up regretting your choice of a full scholarship for med school a lot less...
 
If it helps at all, solid academic programs aren't usually that much more difficult to get into than solid community programs for a particular specialty. If you're looking at prestigious big-name programs, sure, but that's a given I think

You may end up changing your mind about academic medicine as well. It's def not for everyone
 
A bit funny considering there was an opposite thread not too long ago. I would still say you made the right decision OP.
 
Which medical school do you go to, if you're comfortable sharing? I've only ever heard of 3-5 schools being P/F clerkships, mostly in the T10 like vanderbilt, harvard, etc
 
LOL someone from my school DEFINITELY wrote this thread and I have been eyeing everyone suspiciously
 
I got a substantial scholarship to a lesser known state school that is entirely pass fail. First of all reputation does matter but may surprise you; apparently my school’s graduates are well regarded for our clinical skills. There’s more than just “name brand” talk going on. Secondly I feel like the P/F curriculum gave me a feeling of freedom to spend more time doing things like research. I had a good application and matched a top program. Actually hated the ivory tower in residency though. I’m still in academia but a smaller children’s hospital with a friendlier culture.
 
Going hard memorizing every detail during preclinicals and step 1 is a waste of time since you forget most of it by attending hood. Use the stress free studying to build up EC’s that show who you are instead. A high rank/step score just shows you can memorize and take tests well. Excellence can be shown in other, more meaningful, ways.

Plus you always have Step 2 which will be as important as step 1 come 2024 Match, and onwards, most likely.
 
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