What kind of grades/EC's do I need in med school?

[deleted1099686]

Hi all. I would really appreciate some advice here. I'm an incoming OMS1. I was wondering what kind of grades I would need for a less competitive speciality (I want to become a psychiatrist). Would I just need to pass my classes (>70%)? Or would I need mostly A's and B's? Also, for a less competitive speciality like psychiatry, is it absolutely necessary to have research?

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[djiboutiman]

You don’t need straight As for psychiatry if that’s what your asking. You also don’t need research. That being said, you’ll want to give school 100% because failing a class looks really bad. Research can help you standout in Psychiatry, which is getting increasingly competitive, but there are other ways to stand out. Make sure you do something that shows your passion for Psychiatry if you aren’t doing research(volunteering, advocacy, etc.).

 

[deleted1099686]

You don’t need straight As for psychiatry if that’s what your asking. You also don’t need research. That being said, you’ll want to give school 100% because failing a class looks really bad. Research can help you standout in Psychiatry, which is getting increasingly competitive, but there are other ways to stand out. Make sure you do something that shows your passion for Psychiatry if you aren’t doing research(volunteering, advocacy, etc.).

Thanks for the input! So just to clarify, say I got mostly C's. Would I still be okay? Obviously I am going to work as hard as I can, but I'm just curious as to what the lowest grades I could get with still having a solid shot at a psychiatric residency program.

 

[djiboutiman]

I think you can safely pursue psychiatry with straight Cs in your pre-clinical courses. It will probably limit you a bit In terms of which programs will consider you. But in general, the speciality cares less about preclinical grades, research, and step scores than most other specialties.

 

[Neopolymath]

Do well in school but know that for psych the number 1 things appear to be no red flags (getting C's isn't a red flag in itself) and long term commitment to psych evidenced on your application.

 

[deleted1099686]

Do well in school but know that for psych the number 1 things appear to be no red flags (getting C's isn't a red flag in itself) and long term commitment to psych evidenced on your application.

Sounds good, Thanks!