227 on STEP2 CK....is it over for me?

[EMBoundHopeful]

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Hi guys,

I scored a 223 on STEP1 last year and just got my score back for CK, which was a 227. My question to you is, based on these scores, will my chances at EM residency be completely demolished? I'm on my sub-i right now and I feel that I am doing very well on it but I can't help but feel so depressed by what I got.

 

[BoardingDoc]

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2020_MD-Senior_final.pdf

Of US Seniors with your step 1 score: 356 people matched. 26 didnt.
With your step 2 score: 125 matched. 33 didn't.

Even with your step 2 score, your odds are still almost 80% that you will match (all other factors being equal).

 

[EMBoundHopeful]

https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Charting-Outcomes-in-the-Match-2020_MD-Senior_final.pdf

Of US Seniors with your step 1 score: 356 people matched. 26 didnt.
With your step 2 score: 125 matched. 33 didn't.

Even with your step 2 score, your odds are still almost 80% that you will match (all other factors being equal).

Thank you for this. The only other red/yellow flag I have is a failed anatomy course during my first semester of med school which I successfully remediated. But my EM advisor has said it won't be a huge issue at all which my dean also backed up. Would that change anything in your opinion, however?

 

[EMBoundHopeful]

Issue is now that you likely are only going to have one SLOE. I'm sure most places will just revert to weighing scores higher as normal LORs are completely useless. You should still be fine but it won't be a sought after program.

I will have one EM SLOE but will also have 2 outside EM SLOEs in the format that CORD published so I am really hoping that it will carry me

 

[BoardingDoc]

Thank you for this. The only other red/yellow flag I have is a failed anatomy course during my first semester of med school which I successfully remediated. But my EM advisor has said it won't be a huge issue at all which my dean also backed up. Would that change anything in your opinion, however?

It certainly won't help, but also is unlikely to torpedo your application. Just be sure you aren't solely applying to the coasts, denver, cinci, etc. If you need to make peace with anything right now, it isn't that your application is screwed. It's that you need to apply to areas that are less desirable than others.

 

[EMBoundHopeful]

It certainly won't help, but also is unlikely to torpedo your application. Just be sure you aren't solely applying to the coasts, denver, cinci, etc. If you need to make peace with anything right now, it isn't that your application is screwed. It's that you need to apply to areas that are less desirable than others.

Okay, I will do so. Do you have any recommendations as to where those areas might be or programs you would recommend? I'm originally from Texas and so I was hoping to match into a program there or at least in one of the big cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). Am I bust for programs in those places?

 

[Groove]

Okay, I will do so. Do you have any recommendations as to where those areas might be or programs you would recommend? I'm originally from Texas and so I was hoping to match into a program there or at least in one of the big cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). Am I bust for programs in those places?

Dude, c’mon. You can work this out. If you want to match, you’ve got to put in the effort. Go to all the Caribbean school match lists and make notes of every single program that their class successfully matched in for the last 5 years. That’s your list of backup programs and you need to apply to every single one of them as well as new programs recently started in the last 1-2 years. If you apply broadly enough, you stand a pretty good chance in matching assuming that your SLORs are solid and you don’t have any egregious personality issues. Your statistical probability of success is easily extrapolated by the Charting Outcomes data as @BoardingDoc showed you above.

How bad do you want it? I was an IMG applying to EM and besides doing everything I could on STEPs and rotations, I walked into a Bank of America and took out a 10K loan as a med student to pay for all my application fees and match travel expenses. I literally applied to every single program in the country. It was definitely overkill in hindsight, but hey...failure at matching in EM wasn’t an option for me.

 

[Rekt]

Okay, I will do so. Do you have any recommendations as to where those areas might be or programs you would recommend? I'm originally from Texas and so I was hoping to match into a program there or at least in one of the big cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). Am I bust for programs in those places?

There's a new HCA program in Texas that I'm sure will take anyone with a pulse. Actually, it's probably as easy to match EM as FM now with all the new residencies.

 

[LibBum]

Okay, I will do so. Do you have any recommendations as to where those areas might be or programs you would recommend? I'm originally from Texas and so I was hoping to match into a program there or at least in one of the big cities (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio). Am I bust for programs in those places?

If you're aiming for TX, you are now more aligned with Lubbock, Corpus, or El Paso than the other programs in larger cities.

 

[pillowsnice]

There's a new HCA program in Texas that I'm sure will take anyone with a pulse. Actually, it's probably as easy to match EM as FM now with all the new residencies.

Is there a list of new programs that are as easy to match into as FM? Asking for a friend 😉