Step 2 & fellowships

Exceedingly little. Most fellowships don't even ask for your scores, they just want to know you passed. The ones that do ask for your scores are probably just making you prove you passed.

so in the same spirit, is it same to assume that no one cares about your step 3 score, just that you've passed?

From my own experience, several fellowship applications requested the score, along with paper copy of the results. One requested the official transcript from all three USMLE exams.

My training path was AP/CP followed by dermpath fellowship. I applied to about 32 programs and was fortunate to land a fellowship spot. I seem to remember that at least 70 percent of the programs required USMLE scores to be submitted.

exPCM said:

My training path was AP/CP followed by dermpath fellowship. I applied to about 32 programs and was fortunate to land a fellowship spot. I seem to remember that at least 70 percent of the programs required USMLE scores to be submitted.

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Well, that may be misleading. They require the score reports. It doesn't mean that they use the scores as a significant component of candidate evaluation, however. If anything it probably plays a minor role, with many factors far more important:

-LORs
-Research/publications/abstracts
-Conference attendance
-Residency evaluations/program director LOR
-Interview
-Career goals
-Demonstrated interest in the field
-Personal characteristics
-The color of suit you wear at your interview 😉

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Like I said, they play a minor role, with other factors being far more important. I have been through the process too.

Lots of people on these forums treat everything as an all or nothing proposition, it seems. That is, if board scores are at all important then they are vitally important. No. They are of minor importance (for fellowships). Perhaps some programs do use them to assist in their deciding who gets interviews, but I would bet it is also of minor importance there as well, perhaps depending a bit on what kind of scores we are talking about.

The level of importance they attain increases as one's score approaches the extremes. Thus - barely passing means your score will be looked at more critically, just as if you blow it out of the water it will also be looked at more critically. If you are towards the median for applicants they will basically ignore it as a consideration.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

I give up. Read my posts again. If you still think I am saying board scores are completely unimportant, then I can't help you anymore. But I also don't interpret that statement as saying they are the sole factor on which interviews are based. Board scores "assist." They do not dictate. Every part of the application is important. Higher board scores are always better than lower board scores, but do higher board scores hold more weight than more publications or big league references? I think not. Do you think this program, despite mentioning board scores on their website, would take the person with 250/250/250 scores and no demonstrated interest (publications/abstracts) and average LOR over someone with 220/220/220 + 2 publications and better LOR?

And as I said, many fellowship programs don't care at all about your scores.

I guess I have to keep saying this, but there are many factors that go into an application. When one is strong in one area but weak in others, this is usually seen as weak overall. But strong board scores often correlate with other strong factors. They are not generally mutually exclusive. Individual factors in every area become more important the more deviant from extreme levels they are.

And everything is subjective, it is important to remember. Different PDs weigh things differently. Fellowship applications/decision making are complicated, irritating, and exceedingly subjective.