Advice for taking Step 2

[doc1234]

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I am really confused and could use some help from you guys! I am currently a 3rd year at a US medical school (latter half of top 50) that is interested in applying for an Internal Medicine residency next year. My score on Step 1 was 204 and I have gotten mostly Passes for my clinical clerkships this year. My shelf exam scores have been about average.

I am considering taking Step 2 CK early in 4th year in the hopes that a better score might improve my overall application. However, I don’t know exactly when I should take it. Would it be better to take it right away in July so that the results would be available when programs decide on interviews? Or, would it be better to wait until say mid-October, when I would have completed my sub-I and the results still might be able to impact ranking decisions later on? What about not releasing scores? What programs would I have a decent shot at with my Step 1 score alone, say in the northeast and mid-Atlantic areas?

Thanks so much!

 

[phoenixsupra]

I'm taking step 2 as well. I got ok step one scores for gen surg but I'd still like to supplement them anyway. If you'd be interesed in swaping ideas for step 2 as we go through this, then send me a pm.

 

[irrka]

1234- Try to post this on the IM board, they might have some good ideas. I'm in more or less the same situation, except that i dont know my grades for most of my clerkships because my school is LAAAAZY, and I know i'd gone through some specialty boards and they had some advice on things like this.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Moving to USMLE Forum...