Just got Step 1 Score Back. Advice Needed!

[Bethanechol]

Hi everyone,

I've been a lurker on this forum for sometime now and I have enjoyed reading the posts tremendously. Everyone here seems to be so helpful in sharing information and giving advice to posters.

As you all can tell from the title, I'm in need of advice. I have been interested in Psych ever since my Psych class in MSII. I just got my Step 1 score back recently and received a shocking score. I have been consistently scoring in the 220's-230 range in my practice exams leading up to the day and walked into the exam fully expecting this result. I ended up with a score in the 190's! I've been extremely depressed about this for the past week and cannot understand how this could have happened. I tried doing a search on threads like this from the past but it seems like those that asked for advice for "low scores" at least broke 200.

Obviously, at this point the elite programs such as the Harvard affiliates, Columbia, MSSM etc are out of reach for me. Do I have any hope of matching into solid programs such as UPitt, UNC, Duke, MUSC, UColorado? (I am not geographically restricted). Anyone else who have been in this similar predicament in the past (that ended up matching well) willing to share your thoughts?

More about me: US Allopathic School, middle third in my class (no fails in any class), multiple published abstracts in nationally recognized/peer reviewed specialty journal (not psych), multiple poster board presentations at national meetings (not psych).

Any input/comments or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

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[billypilgrim37]

Do I have any hope of matching into solid programs such as UPitt, UNC, Duke, MUSC, UColorado? (I am not geographically restricted). Anyone else who have been in this similar predicament in the past (that ended up matching well) willing to share your thoughts?

Absolutely yes. Your third year grades will matter more than anything you've done now, and a solid step 2 (take it early 4th year) could mollify that disappointing step 1.

 

[Doc Samson]

Absolutely yes. Your third year grades will matter more than anything you've done now, and a solid step 2 (take it early 4th year) could mollify that disappointing step 1.

Agree - the typical triage formula used to figure out who to interview usually includes step I score and number of clerkship honors. If you can honor the majority of your 3rd year clerkships (esp. psychiatry and IM), then nothing is necessarily off the table yet.

 

[masterofmonkeys]

Take your Step 2 by the end of July. That way it's already up by the time the schools are able to FIRST pull your ERAS applications.

Invitations are usually done on a rolling basis, so they are more likely to get picky toward the end.

A strong step 2 and lots of third year honors tell them "Hey! step 1 was a fluke! I just proved it"

 

[britelite]

I agree with everyone else. Try to get honors in some of your rotations. Getting honors in Psych will definitely be beneficial in making you a more desirable candidate. It's important to not give up hope. I was in a similar predicament after my Step 1's. My Step 2 score was a major improvement and I ended up with an interview at MSSM. Don't sell yourself short when it comes time to pick programs. You'll never know the outcome if you don't apply. Hope this helps!!

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Keep in mind as well that you'll be competing for interviews with many people who have failed step 1 at least once. As an AMG with a PASSING board score, you've still got a leg up in screening.

 

[Bethanechol]

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice. I will definitely do my best to perform well in all of my rotations and get a better score for Step 2. Now I just have to somehow get over the shock of getting such a poor score after scoring well in practice exams/Qbank questions leading up to Step 1. I know that I am a much better student than what my score indicates but unfortunately I know I will be judged by this number throughout the residency application process. Anyone else want to share their story (or friend's stories) of overcoming lower board scores and getting into solid programs? Please feel free to PM me if your don't want to publicly share your scores/stats. Thanks again everyone for your input.

 

[Chianti]

Relax, you'll be fine.

A friend of mine got a 190 on Step 1, about the same on Step 2, matched to MUSC.

Another guy I know failed Step 1 three times, got kicked out of a US med school because of that, ended up tansferring to Ross in the Carribean, and graduated from Ross. He matched to a solid university program.

Assuming you are a "normal" person, you will have no trouble at all matching to a very good program.

 

[whopper]

A buddy of mine went to Ross after being kicked out of medschool in America. Why was he kicked out? An attending was verbally abusing another medical student to the point that would've crossed legal harassment. He asked that attending to lay off. That attending called up his school and got him kicked out. No I wasn't there, but that's this guy's story, and I met some of his colleagues later on in my education at other locations, and their accounts are the same as his. They didn't stick their necks for him because they were scared they'd get their head cut off too. He ended up being a great chief resident at my program. He also never was known to lie to defend himself, and was a very honest & decent person as far as I could tell.

But anyways getting to the original post, I agree with the above, great performance in the latter 2 years & a great Step II score as mentioned above can offset a 190 score if you want to get to the best programs. However also factor in that last year had an increase in the number of applicants to psychiatry. This trend may continue, and if so, I'd suspect that it'd get harder than it currently is to get into the top programs.

Do your best, and in the end that's the most important thing, and don't allow my comments make you over-worry about this.

 

[Bethanechol]

Thanks Whopper and Chianti for sharing more anecdotes of successful matches into strong programs despite low Step1 scores. Everyone's advice and input has definitely inspired me to move on from my immense disappointment and make plans to do better from here on. Thanks!

I am hoping that my particular preferences for programs may also help me when it's time to apply. My wife and I are trying to avoid cities with high costs of living (metro LA, Chicago, NYC-Manhattan) since we are thinking of starting a family soon (looks like most super competitive programs are in these cities). I am also not necessarily looking for programs purely based on their prestigious names (eg Harvard, Yale, Hopkins) but rather academic programs that are well known in Psychiatry circles for providing solid, well balanced training with decent research opportunities. We are also geographically unrestricted. What does everyone think? Thanks again for all of your advice!

 

[beezley]

Check out UW madison, they have a research track, but if you don't want to do that there are lots of opportunities for research. University of MI too....

 

[beezley]

BTW, I don't know if step 1 was harder or what this year but all of our med students on psych right now (I'm an intern) were disappointed with how they did too. I guess though they said the AVG was 221 this year which is actually up a bit, I think it was 217 when I took it. Who knows. I was lucky enough to actually do better than I had planned on step 1 (I somehow pulled a 240 out of my you know what) but honored no rotations, matched at a good university program. I think as long as you do what everyone says and study hard for step 2 you will be fine. It is just one piece of the app. The important thing is you passed. Remember the AVG for psych was something like 208, you'll be fine.