Personal Statement - Explain Step 1 Failure??

[kgal1]

i know there are very few people in my shoes, but maybe someone out there has some insight into this

i failed step 1
retook and still got around 195

i think people (the school) says u should explain gaps in education and step 1 failures in your personal statement
i have really nothing to say on the matter, i didnt fail because of a death in the family or anything like that, it was a combination of a bad day and i just wasnt ready

what more is there to write?
im thinking do i really even need to bring it up in the pesronal statement
it ruins the flow of the essay
and i would if there was a good "excuse" but i dont have one

i cant even write to say i improved on step 2 cuz my score isnt back

what should i dO? im not trying to hide my score in any way, im just wondering what use it would do to mention in the statement if i dont really have an "exuse" or explanaiton for my failure

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[m1234d]

i would recommend sitting down with your student dean and maybe the program director of intended field at your school and see what they say. i'm sure you are not the first person this has happened too, and definitely your dean (and most likely the program director) have dealt with this issue before.

of course each school is different, but my student dean sits with each student to discuss potential questions/weaknesses in their application, it should be within the realm of his/her job really.

 

[Tone2002]

What are you going into?

 

[mritch]

imho, i would say, don't mention it in your statement. if you don't have a good reason for why it happened, then what is there to say? just sell yourself like you're a million bucks, stellar in every way besides that smudge of a board score, and hope for the best. i just don't think you gain anything by addressing a failed board score without a very good reason for why you failed. you answered the question yourself. why let a board score hurt you even more by ruining the flow of your personal statement? just move on and control what you can control.

 

[DCMDtobe]

How you handle this really depends on what you're going into -- somewhat competitive or not?

But the programs are going to worry that you might have trouble getting board certified. It'd be great if you could give them some reason why you did poorly, and why you should do better on future tests (learned skills to handle test day anxiety???????).

It's a tough call, but I feel you have to address the issue.