Step I chances for Neurosurg

[mountaindew2006]

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Here's my situation-

Last year, I nearly failed out of medical school (failed 2 classes first year). However, this year I've done an almost 180 and have honored almost every unit.

The more I learn about CNS and when the Neurosurgeon comes in to do his lectures, the more interested I am in the field. Just wondering, would it be possible to score a Neurosurgery residency given my track record? I'm assuming a lot will now be based on my board scores?

Alrighty..
thanks for the info.

 

[Kalel]

I think that neurosurgery could still be in your future. Most residency programs put little weight on preclinical grades, they rely on your step I score which is standardized to prove that you understand the material. Clinical grades, research and LOR from prominent neurosurgical faculty all count for much more then preclincal grades, particularly first year grades. If you don't make the step I cut off though, your app won't even be evaluated at most programs. I've heard that the cut-off for most neurosurgery programs is 225+.

 

[doc05]

while preclinical classes aren't all that important, failures won't look so great, especially when applying in a competitive field like neurosurgery. even so, a high step-1 score will only help.

your best bet is to talk to the PD at your school to learn more about the field and figure out what you can do to help your case. best of luck.

 

[Skrubz]

depends on how your school handles failing a class. my school's policy is that if you fail a class, you have a chance to take a make-up final in the summer. if you pass the make-up, you get a Pass for the class that replaces the Fail and no one is the wiser, unless you go around shooting your mouth off.

having to repeat a year, however, is not so easy to cover up.

if it's already in your permanent medical school record that you failed two classes, then i recommend following doc05 and kalel's advice.

 

[mountaindew2006]

yah..i've heard that at most schools you can take a test and then reploce the U with an S. However, at my school we must still take the exam and we get the S as well as the U on our record 🙁

it sucks!