Residency Matches (Other Side)

[digitalising]

I think he was. Because..

1. You can't know your percentile unless you know how to do the calculation based on the information they give you next to your score.

2. a score of 238 is will likely give you a 99, but it is probably not in the 99th Percentile.

Fair enough. I found this while looking for more information on Step 1 scoring (i.e., while doing a wiki search): http://www.*******************/USMLECalculator.php I don't know how accurate it is though, or if it's based on the information that you referenced above.

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[digitalising]

According to that site, a 99th percentile is about a 266.

 

[howelljolly]

seems like the SDN wont let you post that link..

but....

266 being the 99th percentile sounds more like it.

 

[digitalising]

It's www dot clinicalreview dot com /USMLEcalculator.php

 

[howelljolly]

interesting website. It also indicates that a score of 99 puts you at the 85th Percentile. I had thought so... but then I thought not, because isnt that about one SD above the mean? And I read that a 230 is approximately one SD above the mean.....?

Anyway. Point is, the 2-digit score is not a percentile. That fact is plastered all over the USMLE website. But that doesnt mean that the many students who got 99s didnt do an outstanding job. It just explains why there are so many of them... 15% of the population... and from my anecdotal experience, mostly at Ross, SGU, and Saba.

 

[dragonfly99]

howell jolly is correct.
The "99" 2 digit score is not a percentile. I got 99's on a couple of the steps and I only scored in the 240's, and I know that's not 99th %ile. The way they give the score reports, they make it hard to figure out your %ile (though you can do it) because they don't want the test to be used for ranking students (supposedly)....
However, 250's is still a great step score....if not 99 %ile it's definitely in the 90's. People don't really get much higher than 260's or so.

One of my points is that most students (whether Carib or in the US) will not make 250's or 260's on the steps. In fact, a lot of students who land in the Carib land there because they aren't great test takers in the first place. If you are one of those people, I'm not sure jumping to the Caribbean is the best choice, particularly if you were a borderline candidate for a US school...might be better to try 2 or 3x for a US school, depending on your personal circumstances, because if you go to med school in the US, the schools are more invested in you passing, will give you the necessary help/mentoring, and you are less likely to get stuck without a decent residency even if you just do all right on the USMLE test. If you are someone who just screwed up in undergrad, or had a little bit lower GPA, but you did well on the MCAT, then you might be able to ace the USMLE Step 1 and it would probably be less risky to go to the Carib then if you are a marginal standardized test taker.

 

[BrainBuff]

QFT.

I don't mean to bash on SGU, actually it's looking like my best option right now, this year's list is definitely not something to write home about. It's actually pretty disappointing for me, but what are you gonna' do...

Example: Look at the internal and FM (Most common for SGU grads) residencies in CA. Any Californians looking over the list should recognize the names that predominate.

Modesto
Stockton
Bakersfield
Moreno Valley
Fontana
Oakland
Fresno.

Que 'stomach sinking'

These cities represent some of the most desolate, methed-out, crime-ridden communities Ca has to offer.

No, I'm not being overly critical/harsh/elitist. I've had to spend time in a few of these places. I wouldn't wish living in them on anyone.

I realize that many, if not most grads don't want to wind up in California. Regardless, this sample is likely indicative of the difficulty of landing a good residency, especially in a "desirable" region.

When I first read RJ's comments on how DO was a better route these days I was a tad bit incredulous, but looking over the lists for the Big 4 (3), I'm unfortunately starting to see his point.

All you have to do is check out the community residency programs in similar areas in New York, Boston and Philadelphia and you will see that many of them do not have a SINGLE US graduate. That is the harsh reality. However, caribbean students lucky enough to match into any of those US positions are willing to go thru it.

Th situation is only likely to get worse with new medical schools opening up in the US and more competition for the same residency positions. Because of all the Medicare cuts, residency programs are not getting bigger.

 

[Boges]

QFT.

I don't mean to bash on SGU, actually it's looking like my best option right now, this year's list is definitely not something to write home about. It's actually pretty disappointing for me, but what are you gonna' do...

Example: Look at the internal and FM (Most common for SGU grads) residencies in CA. Any Californians looking over the list should recognize the names that predominate.

Modesto
Stockton
Bakersfield
Moreno Valley
Fontana
Oakland
Fresno.

Que 'stomach sinking'

These cities represent some of the most desolate, methed-out, crime-ridden communities Ca has to offer.

No, I'm not being overly critical/harsh/elitist. I've had to spend time in a few of these places. I wouldn't wish living in them on anyone.

I realize that many, if not most grads don't want to wind up in California. Regardless, this sample is likely indicative of the difficulty of landing a good residency, especially in a "desirable" region.

When I first read RJ's comments on how DO was a better route these days I was a tad bit incredulous, but looking over the lists for the Big 4 (3), I'm unfortunately starting to see his point.

Would you consider Santa Barbara a desirable location? I would.

http://www.cottagehealthsystem.org/Portals/1/Skins/CottageHealth/pdf/ResidentGuide2008-09.pdf

Looks like both Ross and SGU graduates are well represented there.

I'm not sure I would be so disappointed with SGU as your only choice.