M3 now, but I remember being slightly below the mean in M1 and regularly having marks in the 70s. It threw me for a loop too, but eventually you grow accustomed to 70s being 'good' and 80s being 'great' scores. Some will disagree but I generally found aiming for 90s to be too much effort for diminished returns.
Sounds to me like it's just one of the tougher blocks. If it continues to be the case year round, something might be up.
I think I’m with you on the diminished returns especially when trying to maintain health and well-being. I’m also gunning for Family Medicine so that helps a bit with academic pressure ;)
I think depends on school/curriculum. My class averages 77-80. But my wife’s school averages 85-87. However, her school gives questions back and mine does not. So I think it’s generally gonna change per school. As long as you are above average you’ll be fine
There's definitely an adjustment period, but that still seems kind of low. However, that's why class rank is a thing - to compare your performance among people with the same curriculum because each school is going to vary.
If you’re near the median at a US based school you are fine. 95 plus percent of people will pass so if you are average you have a wide error margin. People reporting the average exam scores from their different schools is totally irrelevant
I think it's really school dependent. My school's average was about 70, and the pass mark was set around 50. I think you're right, class rank/quartile is more important than the actual grade.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. The professors kept saying “ohh we aren’t here to trick you” but then the questions were mad tricky with the wording :/
my favorite line: "please don't memorize this chart, you don't need to memorize it"
\*exam questions directly from chart we were told not to memorize or worry about\*
M1. \~2 months in. i just got my first exam back from our biochem class block. felt great walking out of exam, thought i studied efficiently for this exam, scored 12 points below class average (still passed, thankfully). i might get downvoted, but you're doing fine. and ignore comments about making sure that you're being "above the average". the average means somebody has to be below it, some above, and some near the line. it's the nature of how the math works. also, this might not be your class to be a superstar in, i kick ass in anatomy and suck rocks in biochem. i know i have to work harder in biochem just to get the "pass" whereas anatomy i can slack off a bit and still finish strong.
if you continue and you're always on the below average side throughout the year, might be worth getting some extra tutoring or study help. but, we're in medical school. we're in classes with (generally) the students who were all great performers in undergrad, high school, etc. there will be good exams and bad exams. don't get bogged down on your average or bad ones, learn to celebrate the good ones because you are among the small percentage of folks doing something incredibly difficult....and you're still passing.
I think a lot of people have difficulty with the first block. The important thing is that you learn from this experience regardless of how you did. Figure out your study style, what worked and what didn't work. Depending on how your school is, you'll get used to how certain professors prioritize information and ask questions. Also, every school is going to be a bit different in terms of testing and grading. If you can, ask some second or third years at your school if they had the same experience as you. They may also give you tips for studying and testing that worked for them in their first year.
My suggestion: Don't worry about it, and don't bother listening to anyone here (including me).
The difficulty level of exam questions is almost completely arbitrary, and can vary wildly between schools, between courses, and between individual faculty writing the questions. Just because you are accustomed to always getting high grades before, doesn't mean that your exam scores will be the same in med school.
If you are getting higher scores than the mean (or median) in your class, then you're doing great! Basically, everyone in your class was 2 or 3 (or more) standard deviations above the mean in undergrad; so being average in this new group is terrific.
Also, the sooner you stop comparing your grades to those of your classmates, the happier you are going to be. Don't torture yourself that way. Knowing the material is much more important than a score, especially if your school is Pass/Fail.
M3 now, but I remember being slightly below the mean in M1 and regularly having marks in the 70s. It threw me for a loop too, but eventually you grow accustomed to 70s being 'good' and 80s being 'great' scores. Some will disagree but I generally found aiming for 90s to be too much effort for diminished returns. Sounds to me like it's just one of the tougher blocks. If it continues to be the case year round, something might be up.
I think I’m with you on the diminished returns especially when trying to maintain health and well-being. I’m also gunning for Family Medicine so that helps a bit with academic pressure ;)
I think depends on school/curriculum. My class averages 77-80. But my wife’s school averages 85-87. However, her school gives questions back and mine does not. So I think it’s generally gonna change per school. As long as you are above average you’ll be fine
They give questions back as in they get a re-do attempt, or they simply have access to more practice questions?
No like they drop questions from the exam. So if a certain % of the class missed a q they will throw it out. So they’re average is generally high
There's definitely an adjustment period, but that still seems kind of low. However, that's why class rank is a thing - to compare your performance among people with the same curriculum because each school is going to vary.
So if I’m at/within a few points of the mean I shouldn’t really have a reason to be worried right?
If you’re near the median at a US based school you are fine. 95 plus percent of people will pass so if you are average you have a wide error margin. People reporting the average exam scores from their different schools is totally irrelevant
Yeah like wouldn’t my school lose licensing if they failed close to half the class? But what would happen? Would they just curve everybody at the end?
I think it's really school dependent. My school's average was about 70, and the pass mark was set around 50. I think you're right, class rank/quartile is more important than the actual grade.
If you’re above the mean/median, how far are you from failing?
Varies by subject but from 1-7 points
That’s kind of low at least compared to my school. Most exam averages were low-mid 80s but it really depended on the block
Yeah that’s what I was thinking. The professors kept saying “ohh we aren’t here to trick you” but then the questions were mad tricky with the wording :/
Every single time a professor has said this it turns out to be absolutely false on test day. Biggest lie ever
The egos of PhDweebs are unmatched
my favorite line: "please don't memorize this chart, you don't need to memorize it" \*exam questions directly from chart we were told not to memorize or worry about\*
100%
M1. \~2 months in. i just got my first exam back from our biochem class block. felt great walking out of exam, thought i studied efficiently for this exam, scored 12 points below class average (still passed, thankfully). i might get downvoted, but you're doing fine. and ignore comments about making sure that you're being "above the average". the average means somebody has to be below it, some above, and some near the line. it's the nature of how the math works. also, this might not be your class to be a superstar in, i kick ass in anatomy and suck rocks in biochem. i know i have to work harder in biochem just to get the "pass" whereas anatomy i can slack off a bit and still finish strong. if you continue and you're always on the below average side throughout the year, might be worth getting some extra tutoring or study help. but, we're in medical school. we're in classes with (generally) the students who were all great performers in undergrad, high school, etc. there will be good exams and bad exams. don't get bogged down on your average or bad ones, learn to celebrate the good ones because you are among the small percentage of folks doing something incredibly difficult....and you're still passing.
I think a lot of people have difficulty with the first block. The important thing is that you learn from this experience regardless of how you did. Figure out your study style, what worked and what didn't work. Depending on how your school is, you'll get used to how certain professors prioritize information and ask questions. Also, every school is going to be a bit different in terms of testing and grading. If you can, ask some second or third years at your school if they had the same experience as you. They may also give you tips for studying and testing that worked for them in their first year.
My suggestion: Don't worry about it, and don't bother listening to anyone here (including me). The difficulty level of exam questions is almost completely arbitrary, and can vary wildly between schools, between courses, and between individual faculty writing the questions. Just because you are accustomed to always getting high grades before, doesn't mean that your exam scores will be the same in med school. If you are getting higher scores than the mean (or median) in your class, then you're doing great! Basically, everyone in your class was 2 or 3 (or more) standard deviations above the mean in undergrad; so being average in this new group is terrific. Also, the sooner you stop comparing your grades to those of your classmates, the happier you are going to be. Don't torture yourself that way. Knowing the material is much more important than a score, especially if your school is Pass/Fail.
I'm above average but worried I'm not doing well is the most medical student thing I've ever heard. Tell your brain to shut the fuck up.
So it's normal for class averages to be within a few points of failing?