apply ERAS on day 1, or wait till step 2ck score??

[Dr McSteamy]

if you have a not-so hot step 1 score, should you wait till step 2ck score comes back, and then send out the ERAS apps?

or send out the ERAS first, and then have 2ck score reported to all residency programs?


what i'm worried about is if I do ERAS before my 2ck score comes back, the programs will reject my application automatically, and never get a chance to see my 2ck score.

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[Winged Scapula]

When do you expect your score back?

 

[gutonc]

If your Step 1 score is so bad that you think it will get your application filtered out at the places you want to go (and if it's less than 85 on the 2-digit scale, it might) then you should be taking Step 2 in July or the first wk of August so your score comes back before ERAS opens. I think it goes w/o saying that you should also completely rock it when you take it.

FWIW, I just looked and my Step 2 CK score (taken in 2006) came back in 23 days (so did my Step 3 score which is kind of eerie but that's neither here nor there), so as long as you take it before the 2nd wk of August you should have no problem.

Unless you totally tank the test.

 

[Dr McSteamy]

my 2ck score should come back mid september.

i figure mid sept isn't too late to send out eras apps

i'm applying to a noncompetitive specialty

 

[DarthNeurology]

I think that when you apply for ERAS you can have your Step 2 ck scores sent to all programs electronically and you get them too at the same time, so if you think you will do well then you "release" the scores, . . . I am not sure if you don't release them then the programs don't know you already have a score or not. . . but don't worry about programs not having if you take them in September, they will have them.

 

[daru1]

my 2ck score should come back mid september.

i figure mid sept isn't too late to send out eras apps

i'm applying to a noncompetitive specialty

Day 1.

I had a barely-passable step 1 and applied on day 1 to 10 programs, mid-competitive in a non-competitive specialty. By 48 hours, I had 4 interviews and ended up getting 9 out of the 10 in less than 2 weeks.

 

[Doowai]

My vote is day 1

 

[Babycatcher2B]

Does anybody know if most schools download applications on day one or wait until November 1 (the official day when dean's letters are released)?

 

[Dr McSteamy]

Does anybody know if most schools download applications on day one or wait until November 1 (the official day when dean's letters are released)?

people get interview invites in the 1st week.
so clearly, they don't wait.

i plan to apply to 300 programs just to be on the safe side.
I would hate to have 250 of those programs reject me prematurely based on my step 1 score....

 

[DarthNeurology]

I would hate to have 250 of those programs reject me prematurely based on my step 1 score....

Some medicine programs do screen based on a certain Step 1 score because they want the applicants who have it all, i.e. Step 1 > 95, honors in core rotations especially medicine, research and a bag of potato chips, . . . supposedly you should apply to some dream programs i.e big name programs, because maybe something will catch someone eyes, but I feel the big ones want it all because they can get it all, even with interviewing hundreds they can still set a high step 1 cutoff . . . this may be a blessing in disguise because if you got accepted to a high power program then you might have a noticeably large lack of fund of knowledge (assuming step 2 is the same or good, but not stellar) and therefore be at the bottom of the residency class, i.e. won't make chief (poor match because it makes you unhappy), but . . . if you go to a community program you can shine, personally I have high scores 96/99, keep up with reading which IMHO counts more in residency, and would rather be a big fish in a small pond then have too many egos to dance around.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

i plan to apply to 300 programs just to be on the safe side.

At last year's fee schedule, 300 applications will cost over $7000

First 10 apps = $60
Next 10 @ $8 = $80
Next 10 @ $15 = $150
Next 270 @ $25 = $6750

Total = $7040

 

[Dr McSteamy]

At last year's fee schedule, 300 applications will cost over $7000

First 10 apps = $60
Next 10 @ $8 = $80
Next 10 @ $15 = $150
Next 270 @ $25 = $6750

Total = $7040

i am low-risk. i don't gamble.

$7000 is still less than the $50000 salary you lose by sitting out one year.

and if I somehow get 40 interviews, that's gonna be another 40 x $300 = $12000 in plane tickets and $6000 in lodging.

 

[buckley]

seriously, you're waaaaaaay over budget. i mean, how bad can your profile be that you think you need to spend that much? do your research, make sure you meet the program's requirements, apply to some far off programs, and some "easy" ones. I think 50 is quite a number already (i applied to 26 and I thought I had to because i'm an IMG...much to my shock, some people were applying to 100!)

as you noted, you actually need to spend a whole lot more on plane fare, hotels, etc. not to mention moving for the actual residency itself

but if you're near Warren Buffett's numbers, then I suppose I ought to shut up, lest ERAS runs me down.

 

[Dr McSteamy]

seriously, you're waaaaaaay over budget. i mean, how bad can your profile be that you think you need to spend that much? do your research, make sure you meet the program's requirements, apply to some far off programs, and some "easy" ones. I think 50 is quite a number already (i applied to 26 and I thought I had to because i'm an IMG...much to my shock, some people were applying to 100!)

as you noted, you actually need to spend a whole lot more on plane fare, hotels, etc. not to mention moving for the actual residency itself.

but if you're near Warren Buffett's numbers, then I suppose I ought to shut up, lest ERAS runs me down.

I consider my profile 'not competitive'. My CV is absolutely empty. I did no extracurricular activities during med school, and don't plan to start any either. The only quality I have is that I'm a nice guy. But you can't see that on paper.

i know people who applied to 26 like you..... and they got no Match in the end.
of course, i'm gonna apply to crappy safety programs.

I've lost too many years already. ideally I should've been finishing my PGY2 year at this time. But I'm only finishing my MS3.
so I'm going overboard to be safe. im not wasting another year just because i was cheap on ERAS fees.

I'll apply to 150 initially, and then see how my 2ck score turns out before i apply to the other 150.


and another thing:
Let's say I rank 30 programs. worst case scenario is that I match at my #30, right?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Let's say I rank 30 programs. worst case scenario is that I match at my #30, right?

Correct.

And it's only money. You know what you're doing. I agree that you should apply to a lower number of programs first -- see what happens with interviews, etc.

I just wanted to make sure that anyone reading this thread realized the financial cost of applying so broadly.

For the record: Programs get NONE of the fees paid to ERAS.

 

[buckley]

I consider my profile 'not competitive'. My CV is absolutely empty. I did no extracurricular activities during med school, and don't plan to start any either.


of course, i'm gonna apply to crappy safety programs.


so I'm going overboard to be safe. im not wasting another year just because i was cheap on ERAS fees.

Let's say I rank 30 programs. worst case scenario is that I match at my #30, right?

Worst case scenario, I'm sorry to say, is you still don't match (which is unlikely).

I like your attitude about not being cheap on eras (I wish I could have been the same), but that same fighter strategy would be even better coupled with a desire to actually improve your CV. If you're serious about fishing, casting a wide net is just one strategy. You still have a couple of months to go, you can work as a research assistant or at least do good on your rotations so you can get that great LOR. Being a great guy can be seen on paper through recommendation letters. And you might be surprised that it's not so much abvout board scores, honors, etc than it is about knowing the right people. Ouch. Took me a long time to swallow that one.

As for "wasting" years, maybe when you are more in tune with yourself you will realize that maybe those years were not wasted at all. I think we all need some down time, especially people in medicine. It's just so loooong and you're hopping one level to the next to the next...That's just what I think. (For those who did not match, it's not the end of the world. Go to the beach, travel, do research, play with your kids, talk to your grandparents, work in your highschool...)
Sure apply to crappy safety programs, but for the fun of it (and the inspiration), apply to at least three top notch I-will-sing-the-sound-of-music-if-I-match-there places. What's three in 150, right? And should you end up in one of those, ehem, ehem, a simple youtube of you singing julie andrews would suffice!

Good luck!

 

[DrDre311]

For the majority of applicants, I recommend submitting ERAS as soon as you can, and then subsequently releasing Step II if it's as good or better. I have never understood why programs place more emphasis on Step I for interview cutoffs since Step II is more clinically oriented, but for whatever reason that's the way it is.

 

[Top Gun]

For the majority of applicants, I recommend submitting ERAS as soon as you can, and then subsequently releasing Step II if it's as good or better. I have never understood why programs place more emphasis on Step I for interview cutoffs since Step II is more clinically oriented, but for whatever reason that's the way it is.

Because not everyone has Step II yet. Many students choose to take Step II later.

 

[DrDre311]

Because not everyone has Step II yet. Many students choose to take Step II later.

Not really my point. I understand what you mean, but I would think that PD's would be more interested in Step II (because it reflects clinical decision-making better than Step I--with more "what is the next best step in management" questions on Step II) and would thus request that score and lend it more credence if available. So I guess I don't understand why there's not a national push by PD's for applicants to have Step II earlier.

 

[Top Gun]

Not really my point. I understand what you mean, but I would think that PD's would be more interested in Step II (because it reflects clinical decision-making better than Step I--with more "what is the next best step in management" questions on Step II) and would thus request that score and lend it more credence if available. So I guess I don't understand why there's not a national push by PD's for applicants to have Step II earlier.

I see your point. It would make more sense to put more emphasis on Step II CK because that actually reflects your knowledge of diagnosis and management better than Step I. Step I is really more of a measure of your mastery of the basic sciences. So yeah, it would make sense to have Step II CK done earlier so that residency programs can actually see your score. Personally, I would love it if more emphasis was placed on Step II because I did better on that exam than Step I.

 

[SippiGirl08]

almost everyone does better on step II. maybe that's why they use step I.

 

[DrDre311]

almost everyone does better on step II. maybe that's why they use step I.

If everyone does better, then all you'd have to do is adjust your scale a little bit and it would be just as valid.

 

[minstral]

what is your step 1? you may be overly concerned. what are you applying into?
what were your clinical grades?
I got interviews where I had a step 1 below their posted minimum but i fit their " will consider apps with exceptional qualifications"-- in my case research and experience

 

[Miami_med]

There is no specialty with 300 programs to apply to in which a few of those programs aren't going to be relatively easy matches for a US graduate with no glaring deficiencies.