Tearing my hair out (USMLE timeline)

[Coffeeandbagel]

Hi folks,

I'm at an international school (just started year 4 of a 6 year program) and the administration has given us zero insight into how we should go about scheduling our USMLE steps. Frankly, if we are not planning on staying in the country to work, they could care less what we do after we graduate. I could really use some help from people who have gotten information about the process! The question : When do I need to have my Step 1, CS and CK completed by if I want to start residency Summer/Fall of 2017?

If anyone has a suggested timeline, I really appreciate it!

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[jakeislove]

Your scores would need to be in by September 15th, 2016. This would mean booking the exam in November/December and taking Step 2 CS before May 15th.

Step exams requires some kind of endorsement from your school. Also, some schools require comp exams before certifying students to take the step. My school (for example) doesn't certify people to take Step 2 CK until completing 6 core rotations and scoring >76 on on the Comp shelf.

Your school should at lest be able to advise of the criteria necessary to certify students for Step exams. Once they advise, study and do a ton of questions. A school that offers no advice on the steps is a huge red flag about what quality of material they might be teaching for the exam.