Thalamus vs ABS SCORE
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Thalamus
This app offers a real-time system for scheduling interviews and coordinating travel for medical residency and fellowship applicants. It streamlines communication and allows applicants to self-schedule, manage confirmations, cancellations, and waitlists, giving them control over their interview dates.
- Real-time interview scheduling
- Travel coordination
- Self-scheduling for applicants
- Automated confirmations and cancellations
- Waitlist management
- Streamlined communication
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Thalamus is developed through a collaboration of trainees, administrators, coordinators, directors and GME leadership to provide comprehensive online interview scheduling and travel coordination via a real-time scheduling system – online and mobile. Thalamus streamlines communication and interview scheduling for medical residency and fellowship applicants by facilitating self-scheduling, thereby eliminating unnecessary phone calls and emails. The software manages all confirmations, cancellations, rescheduling, and wait lists, so that applicants can instantaneously confirm interview dates and take full control of their schedules. Now featured nationally at 125+ institutions and used by >75% of applicants, Thalamus is the most comprehensive and preferred interview management solution in GME.
ABS SCORE
Access a comprehensive question bank for surgical specialties. This app provides scenario-based multiple-choice questions to aid in self-study for surgical residents. Future updates will include additional educational content and mobile-first features.
- Access SCORE Portal Question Bank
- 4,000+ scenario-based questions
- Six surgical specialties covered
- Supports self-study for residents
- Future content includes TWIS curricula
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The SCORE mobile app enables users to access content hosted on the SCORE Portal. This version includes access to the SCORE Portal Question Bank of ~4,000 scenario-based multiple choice questions across six specialties in surgery: General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Complex General Surgical Oncology, Pediatric Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery. Future versions of this app will incorporate other SCORE Portal content, including "This Week in SCORE (TWIS)" curricula and will carry mobile-first features to augment both the use of the SCORE Portal and residents' self-study.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Thalamus at 3.8 against ABS SCORE's 1.6. Thalamus also leads on ratings volume (480 vs 14) and chart position (#33 vs unranked). ABS SCORE's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thalamus holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thalamus has 480 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 6% and 6% positive.
Thalamus ships an update every 3 months, ABS SCORE every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thalamus | ABS SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (480 ratings) — better | 1.6 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 6.0% of reviews | 6.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 480 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #33 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 122 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | SJ MedConnect, Inc. | American Board of Surgery, Inc |
Customer experience
Thalamus
ABS SCORE
Bugs and requests
Thalamus
Reported bugs
4 issues- App won't load or open
- Frequent logout issues
- Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
- Unreliable notification system
Requested features
4 requests- Allow access via mobile browser
- Improve login persistence
- Add more calendar and scheduling features
- Provide better visibility into interview details
ABS SCORE
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Thalamus
No in-app purchases
ABS SCORE
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Thalamus free?
Is ABS SCORE free?
Which has better reviews, Thalamus or ABS SCORE?
Do Thalamus or ABS SCORE have ads?
Which is updated more often, Thalamus or ABS SCORE?
Other comparisons
