Board Scores for competitive residencies

[DZT]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey y'all,

I'm a first year student and I'm really curious about the Step 1 averages for people who place in competitive specialties like:

Neurosurgery
ENT
Ortho
Plastics
Radiology
Dermatology
Urology


Thanks a million folks; good luck to all seniors waiting on matches.

 

[nuclearrabbit77]

average ENT step1 score this year was 237 according to students who post on www.otomatch.com who participated in the early match this year and have access to SF-Match which shows the statistics of the match and is inaccessible unless you have a password.

 

[carrigallen]

<smiles>
There is much more to learn in medicine than step exam scores. It is possible your perspective on this may change with time.

 

[Stinger86]

Originally posted by carrigallen
<smiles>
There is much more to learn in medicine than step exam scores. It is possible your perspective on this may change with time.

True, but too bad it takes a high board score to even be considered for some fields, regardless of how much you love and "get" humanity.



To answer the OP's question, I've heard so many different numbers, I don't think there's any safe cut-off for a specific competitive residency. As long as you score above or well-above the national average on Step 1 and Step 2, and then have the right connections/recommendations, it shouldn't be so difficult.

 

[ecpiii]

DZT,

While I echo carrigallen in that exam scores are not the measure of a physician, I am going to call a 1st year a 1st year and say that she does not answer your question. Bless her heart though, and I hope she keeps that attitiude rolling. You deserve an answer, because in this imperfect world we are judged by objective (if somewhat unapplicable) criteria.

If you wish to strive for those specialties, you should aim for a top 15% in the country score, which by our class Step 1 was a 241. That is a reasonable and very achievable goal, and should keep any exam from standing in the way of your dreams, whatever they may be. It is important that you know this, but not crucial to your success, as many past applicants to those areas had other aspects to their application that demonstrated their grit. Always keep in mind that there is so much more to the overall package than that number, but that, I believe, is a start.

Sincere good luck to you...

 

[Lorraine]

my friend is going to loma linda, and they actually say that they only look at apps with at least a 230!

 

[Andrew_Doan]

There's more to the match than board scores; however, the board score is the single most important factor when these programs select individuals for interview.

Come see the 2004 SDN Match Poll and Statistics for ophthalmology.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100344

and poll of board scores

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=100036