Do you share your step scores with friends?

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Only one person from Med school (my closest friend) knew my score. Many others may have been able to ballpark it based on my match results.
 
I've found it to be a touchy subject. What are your thoughts on this?
I'm in the odd position of taking Step after most of my classmates, so a surprising number have told me their score (or the ballpark, or that they had to delay until after clerkships due to poor NBMEs). I think it's great, but there are probably only a few that I would be willing to tell. People just get so...weird about it. But then, we had a classmate literally screenshot his score page and send the image to like 10+ people, so...I don't want to be That Guy™ or even remotely approximate him, but I think it's all a spectrum.
 
Honestly, if you feel like sharing then go for it. If you want to keep it private, then that’s fine too. At the end of the day, none of it matters when you are done with med school.

Just don’t be THAT humble brag guy and pressure people to share their scores.
 
I told my friends spontaneously because we're friends and pretty much everyone else who asked me what i got because I didnt see any need to be secretive
 
the average man says the same thing when talking about the size of his pecker particularly on tinder and grindr....so I am told
:owle:

This is true, which is why I just always send out a pic as my first response with matches so that they know I'm not lying about the size.

😛:mooning: ill need to confirm



best thread yet
 
Literally nothing to be gained, but people kind of can ballpark it based on what you match into in some cases. If you drop a 250 and tell people in third year, they are going to want to see you fail if they are also going for competitive specialties... best to keep your step score to yourself
 
One of my classmates knows but that's because we're really cool. We used to share test scores all throughout the first two years. If someone else were to ask, I would answer though. No shame in my game and at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter.
 
I shared with my best school friend - but I asked this person a few days ago if they were cool with exchanging scores. We both agreed to share with each other, mainly because we have been open and supportive of each other throughout some challenging MS1 and MS2 coursework.

But I can't imagine telling more people than this - maybe an MS4 as I'm looking for resources while thinking about prepping for match/MS4. But not any of my class of 2020 peers.
 
Rules to live by:
  1. Don't spend more than you make.
  2. Early is on time. On time is late.
  3. Don't tell people how much you make.
  4. Don't tell people how you vote.
  5. Don't tell people what your religion is.
  6. Don't tell people what your scores are.
  7. NEVER use "Reply All".
  8. Leave your personal stuff at home.
 
I've only told one friend, and only because we always share our exam scores with each other. Also I blurted my score out to an M4 I was working with today but that was purely from the shock of finding out so it doesn't count. I wouldn't mind sharing if someone asked but I don't think most of my friends are the type to ask.
 
I'm going to probably tell my close group of friends. There's a few people in that group who never really say any of their scores and we all respect that. At the end of the day it depends on how comfortable you are with these friends because you are right it could be a touchy subject.
 
At the time? No. Never came up. In MS4 it would come up when discussing residency apps.
 
Shared it with anyone who asked, although I never brought it up first. I think most med students overthink step, as if it's something sacred that denotes some sort of self-worth, when it really does nothing of the sort. How many of us care about MCAT scores? No one. Step scores will be the same way very, very soon. Honestly, the people who are super secretive and up-tight about sharing step scores are the ones that worry me the most... From my experience, the people who would rather die than let a classmate find out their grades/step score are usually (but not always) the ones who judge others the hardest based on their scores. It's just laughable - there's so much more to a person than grades.
 
Shared it with anyone who asked, although I never brought it up first. I think most med students overthink step, as if it's something sacred that denotes some sort of self-worth, when it really does nothing of the sort. How many of us care about MCAT scores? No one. Step scores will be the same way very, very soon. Honestly, the people who are super secretive and up-tight about sharing step scores are the ones that worry me the most... From my experience, the people who would rather die than let a classmate find out their grades/step score are usually (but not always) the ones who judge others the hardest based on their scores. It's just laughable - there's so much more to a person than grades.
I'm actually composed almost entirely of score report printouts and old tests. Grew like 3in in college; thought I'd hit another growth spurt in med school but this pesky 'no grades' policy really did a number on me.
 
I only talk Step stuff (practice scores, etc.) with a few friends and I’ll tell them my score (good or bad) when I get it next week. Some of my friends got really stressed during dedicated and would lose their mind talking about any exam stuff, so I avoided those conversations at all costs! We’re still great friends, I just know not to discuss exam stuff other than a “good luck! You can do it!” kind of text.
 
Shared it with anyone who asked, although I never brought it up first. I think most med students overthink step, as if it's something sacred that denotes some sort of self-worth, when it really does nothing of the sort. How many of us care about MCAT scores? No one. Step scores will be the same way very, very soon. Honestly, the people who are super secretive and up-tight about sharing step scores are the ones that worry me the most... From my experience, the people who would rather die than let a classmate find out their grades/step score are usually (but not always) the ones who judge others the hardest based on their scores. It's just laughable - there's so much more to a person than grades.

I think most people feel like it denotes self-worth or something because pretty much all of us try our absolute best on step-1, and since having gotten to med school required near perfect grades so we all probably already have some sort of self-esteem built on academic success. So if, despite your best efforts, your score isn't as high as you wanted it to be, I could see how it would feel uncomfortable to talk about. For now, it's just a metric people can compare each other by, so it's probably best for most people not to share because others will judge them and it really doesn't matter in the long run.

I only shared my score with maybe 2 people and others I shared a general "I'm happy with my score".
 
I think most people feel like it denotes self-worth or something because pretty much all of us try our absolute best on step-1, and since having gotten to med school required near perfect grades so we all probably already have some sort of self-esteem built on academic success. So if, despite your best efforts, your score isn't as high as you wanted it to be, I could see how it would feel uncomfortable to talk about. For now, it's just a metric people can compare each other by, so it's probably best for most people not to share because others will judge them and it really doesn't matter in the long run.

I only shared my score with maybe 2 people and others I shared a general "I'm happy with my score".
Trying your "absolute best" on step1 though means different things to different people. NO ONE sacrifices everything to do well on step 1, otherwise they'd have no friends, never talk to family, have no hobbies or way to de-stress, bad food/exercise habits, etc... We do the best we can within the confines of our own life. Everyone has different values, which affects our score by distracting us from spending every waking moment studying for step - and that's perfectly normal and OK, and definitely not something to feel ashamed about. The person who sacrifices everything for a good step1 score has major deficits in other parts of their life, and that's not something to be proud of. It's true that some people are smarter than others, but there's just no way you can infer how smart someone is based on step alone, especially since hard work (which basically = time invested) is a major confounding factor.

And you're wrong about everyone judging other people. It may be a common thing to do, but I know lots of people who don't.

On a statistical level it may be more likely that high scoring people are more intelligent than those with low scores, but since when are we OK with applying group statistics to the individual? IDK, I get the whole sentiment of not wanting to share scores... I just think people are blowing it WAYYY out of proportion and I feel like a lot of it has to do with me not being straight out of undergrad (most of the anal people in my class are traditional students). *shrug*

And finally, if I've learned anything in medical school it's that there are a LOT of really smart people out there. I feel no shame, embarrassment, or hesitation in admitting that I'm not the smartest person in the class - I really feel sorry for people who struggle with this reality.
 
Trying your "absolute best" on step1 though means different things to different people. NO ONE sacrifices everything to do well on step 1, otherwise they'd have no friends, never talk to family, have no hobbies or way to de-stress, bad food/exercise habits, etc... We do the best we can within the confines of our own life.

This is absolutely false. At least pertaining to the 1-2 months of dedicated. I absolutely sacrificed everything, and so did the majority of my classmates. Never saw a single friend or family for 6 weeks straight, never went to the gym, ate every meal pre-cooked in the library. This is what it takes nowadays to be able to get into a competitive specialty for the average med student (the genius med student doesn't need to do this and that's good for him; the average med student is way smarter than the average human, so no shame in the use of the term here). If this isn't what you're doing, and you don't score high enough to match into your preferred field, that's completely your fault.
 
This is absolutely false. At least pertaining to the 1-2 months of dedicated. I absolutely sacrificed everything, and so did the majority of my classmates. Never saw a single friend or family for 6 weeks straight, never went to the gym, ate every meal pre-cooked in the library. This is what it takes nowadays to be able to get into a competitive specialty for the average med student (the genius med student doesn't need to do this and that's good for him; the average med student is way smarter than the average human, so no shame in the use of the term here). If this isn't what you're doing, and you don't score high enough to match into your preferred field, that's completely your fault.

Yeah too bad step studying is a lot more than 1-2 months of dedicated...
 
I told people in my study group and a group that took the test with me. I also talked about it with people going I to my desired specialty to get a good idea of schools for application. I tend not to tell people who are struggling, or who have a lower score because it truthfully could have gone the other way.
 
This is absolutely false. At least pertaining to the 1-2 months of dedicated. I absolutely sacrificed everything, and so did the majority of my classmates. Never saw a single friend or family for 6 weeks straight, never went to the gym, ate every meal pre-cooked in the library. This is what it takes nowadays to be able to get into a competitive specialty for the average med student (the genius med student doesn't need to do this and that's good for him; the average med student is way smarter than the average human, so no shame in the use of the term here). If this isn't what you're doing, and you don't score high enough to match into your preferred field, that's completely your fault.

People are doing step 1 studying wrong.

I scored above the average for every specialty when I took step 1 ~3 years ago. During dedicated I frequently would make dinner with my girlfriend and did more exploring of the city I lived in at the time than any other time in medical school. I often looked back fondly at that study period because I had absolute control over my schedule.

Don't get me wrong, I worked hard every day I studied—which was a pretty regimented 6 days/wk—but I took a full day off every week during which I did no studying and did not think about the exam. The great thing was that it could be whatever day I wanted which made it easy to coordinate with my girlfriend's time. We went on boat tours, went to historical areas, went hiking, etc.
 
People are doing step 1 studying wrong.

I scored above the average for every specialty when I took step 1 ~3 years ago. During dedicated I frequently would make dinner with my girlfriend and did more exploring of the city I lived in at the time than any other time in medical school. I often looked back fondly at that study period because I had absolute control over my schedule.

Don't get me wrong, I worked hard every day I studied—which was a pretty regimented 6 days/wk—but I took a full day off every week during which I did no studying and did not think about the exam. The great thing was that it could be whatever day I wanted which made it easy to coordinate with my girlfriend's time. We went on boat tours, went to historical areas, went hiking, etc.

Lol yeah man, everyone did step wrong and you did it right...
 
People are doing step 1 studying wrong.

I scored above the average for every specialty when I took step 1 ~3 years ago. During dedicated I frequently would make dinner with my girlfriend and did more exploring of the city I lived in at the time than any other time in medical school. I often looked back fondly at that study period because I had absolute control over my schedule.

Don't get me wrong, I worked hard every day I studied—which was a pretty regimented 6 days/wk—but I took a full day off every week during which I did no studying and did not think about the exam. The great thing was that it could be whatever day I wanted which made it easy to coordinate with my girlfriend's time. We went on boat tours, went to historical areas, went hiking, etc.

I did essentially the same, I need days off or I go insane. Work hard when working but take real breaks was definitely the way to go for me also.
 
People are doing step 1 studying wrong.

I scored above the average for every specialty when I took step 1 ~3 years ago. During dedicated I frequently would make dinner with my girlfriend and did more exploring of the city I lived in at the time than any other time in medical school. I often looked back fondly at that study period because I had absolute control over my schedule.

Don't get me wrong, I worked hard every day I studied—which was a pretty regimented 6 days/wk—but I took a full day off every week during which I did no studying and did not think about the exam. The great thing was that it could be whatever day I wanted which made it easy to coordinate with my girlfriend's time. We went on boat tours, went to historical areas, went hiking, etc.

Rule 1: Be really smart
Rule 2: dont be really dumb

Just follow these rules and youll get a 250+ on STEP
 
Rule 1: Be really smart
Rule 2: dont be really dumb

Just follow these rules and youll get a 250+ on STEP

All I can think of is:
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