I've spoken with a couple of urologists in my department and they've all seemed to imply to me that class rank is unimportant in matching in urology. They only ever ask what my Step 1 is and even if I say my class rank isn't that great they just kind of blow it off and proceed to ask about my research. This surprises me given how competitive it is to match in urology. So, as someone with a low 240s step 1, if I end up with a class rank in the middle of the class, how badly does that hurt? I have not failed any classes.
Anybody? I'm just wondering if class rank is less important for matching in urology than it is for other fields. Any input is greatly appreciated.
doesn't hurt too badly, but it's better to be at the top
Class rank really does not matter. Think about it this way. You may be at the bottom of your class, BUT if you were at another med school, you could be near the top with your scores. Class rank is only usefull in the school itself. It does not compare well to other med schools. Someone at the bottom of Harvard or Mayo medical school would probably be at the top of some other low tiered med school.The only things that are equal accross the board are Step 1 scores. Then they look at your CV for publications and other things you've done.Urology is competitive. Stop sweating the little things and apply already. Don't worry if you should apply to more lower tiers or mid tiers, or whether you should have 4 letters vs. 3 letters, or whether you should take Step 2CS prior to interviewing, and all of that crap. Believe me, after finishing residency last year, Urology is Urology, regardless of where you end up.
Thanks for the responses. I'm actually at a school that ranks outside the top 50. I don't know why, but no matter how hard I work I always end up with an ok GPA and good standardized test scores. And I'm not someone that just blew off MS2 classes to study for Step 1 all year. I didn't start studying for it until classes were over. I guess for some reason standardized tests are just easier for me than classes.But I guess the consensus is class rank is indeed fairly unimportant. Hopefully for me there's not an exception to this rule for grads from lower ranking schools.