2 questions

[suckerfree]

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1) when applying to med school, the thinking was that if you get an interview, your academics are considered okay, e.g. MCAT scores, gpa, etc. Regarding pathology interviews, is it the same?

2) Are programs necessarily expecting that you have taken your step II CK by the time they rank in February?

 

[Gene_]

speaking for my program only:

1. Yes
2. No

 

[yaah]

I would say if you get the interview your scores are not going to hold you back. Most interviews are granted based on the scores which include your med school grades and step I. The interview, LOR, etc refines your rank order on their list. Higher board scores and better academic record are still going to be better than the alternative even once you get the interview (i.e., everyone doesn't revert to a blank slate once the interview starts) but if you get the interview, it means you are a competitive candidate for the residency.

As for Step II CK, I would check with each program individually, unfortunately. Usually they will let you know if it is important, however (like putting it in your interview letter or putting it somewhere else prominent). My advice would always be to take step II as soon as possible, because why not? Just get it over with.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

1) when applying to med school, the thinking was that if you get an interview, your academics are considered okay, e.g. MCAT scores, gpa, etc. Regarding pathology interviews, is it the same?

2) Are programs necessarily expecting that you have taken your step II CK by the time they rank in February?

1) It's very much like applying to med school except it's easier at this stage because the competition for med school is much higher than that for pathology residency.

2) The majority of programs don't. Actually, I can't recall a single program I looked at where they wanted my Step II CK score...hence, I purposefully put it off until the last moment so that I could study less for it, simply pass, and not have it hurt my chances for landing a residency.

 

[mlw03]

hypothetical question based on the above scenario: there's 2 candidates that are very similar. one has taken and passed step 2 CK, the other still hasn't taken it. would this affect which candidate gets ranked higher? let's say each candidate got around 200 on step 1. i make it on the low side so that passing CK doesn't become a given.

 

[jayman]

This may have changed, but two years ago Dartmouth needed you to have passing scores released to them for Step1, Step2 CK, and Step2 CS prior to the rank list submission deadline...unfortunately, this was a reason that the interview was scrapped...couldn't take Step2 CS until April before graduation. Other programs may have such requirements, but they should let you know about them in no uncertain terms once you've received an interview.