failed step 1-chances and advice for a 3rd yr student

[Bounceback]

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HI
I am a 3rd yr AMG who failed step 1 and then retook it within a month and scored 209. I have satisfactory pass in core clerkships and am planning to take step 2 in August. I wanted to ask regarding when is the best time to scheduling electives and what do Path programs look for in general? Do i still have a chance? your guidance will be invaluable to a confused and a bit down student. Thanks🙂

 

[2121115]

HI
I am a 3rd yr AMG who failed step 1 and then retook it within a month and scored 209. I have satisfactory pass in core clerkships and am planning to take step 2 in August. I wanted to ask regarding when is the best time to scheduling electives and what do Path programs look for in general? Do i still have a chance? your guidance will be invaluable to a confused and a bit down student. Thanks🙂

Although top tier programs in pathology are fairly competitive, you will still be able to match somewhere even with a failed Step 1. If you take Step 2 and do well that will help.

 

[Bounceback]

Although top tier programs in pathology are fairly competitive, you will still be able to match somewhere even with a failed Step 1. If you take Step 2 and do well that will help.

hi thank you so much for the response. What else would you recommend that I can do to strenghten my application. I was ryin to decide on how many electives i should take ad which ones..also about research. Is there a certain time perion I should get all my electives done? thanks!

 

[liliequist]

Hi, don't be down on yourself, people fail step 1 and still match within their top choices.

I think a good place to start would be to talk to the pathologist faculty at your school and let them know of your plan, so they can get to know you and help you out. I'd recommend doing a path elective as early as you can. One of the most important parts of your application is your letters of rec written by practicing pathologists, and the best way to get these is to work with the ones at your school. A good letter from a pathologist will tell the program how well-suited you are for the field and how successful they think you will be during residency. Having a rotation done and at least one letter in by September 1st is a great start. This is when programs begin downloading applications, and offers for interviews generally start soon after that. So it would be in your best interest to have a complete application (3 letters of rec) as early as you can. Which means rotating in path as soon as you can.
But start by utilizing the resources you have at your school. Don't you have an advisor for this kind of stuff? If you don't, you should - ask your dean or student liaison for guidance.

 

[BornToCut]

You probably wont have a problem as there were ~42 unmatched spots in path this year. I thought path was starting to become more competitive according to people I have talked with? I guess not so much. Hopefully it stays this way for the 2012 match!