Failed Step 2 CK, ERAS submitted, what to say at interviews?

[catlover20]

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so this is depressing, but I found out I failed step 2 CK, but ERAS has been submitted, and I've gotten 5-6 interviews so far. I have already scheduled a retake at the end of the month and am taking time off to study for it. My question is, on the interview trail, there is no doubt that they will ask me about step 2. Should I tell them that I failed my first attempt and have retaken it, or should I just say that I have taken the exam recently (since my interviews are currently scheduled for when I will have already retaken the exam) and that they will have the scores before rank lists are due? Would it be bad to omit the first time failure during the interview? I know that once I retransmit my USMLE transcript, both the failure and the new score will be reported, so they will know about it then. But I also don't want to divulge the failure right away and have the interview automatically go down the crapper because of it. I would appreciate any input. I do not know what my chances of matching are since 5-6 interviews are not very many either, especially with the failure.

 

[deathvvv]

Need a little more info

Are you AMG? IMG?
What specialty are the interviews for?
What is your step 1?

I would wait to retransmit your transcript, and not bring up your step 2 failure. If they bring it up be honest about it and say you are retaking.

 

[evilbooyaa]

Omit the first failure, say you just took the exam at the interview.

Whether you match or not depends on all the questions asked above.

 

[catlover20]

if I omit the failure, they will see it anyway when the new score gets transmitted. Will that be looked poorly upon?
I am an AMG Allopathic, step 1 wasn't stellar (205) which is why I tried to take it early (clearly too early, without proper preparation 🙁). I am trying to match into IM.

 

[catlover20]

what are the chances with 5-6 interviews?

 

[misteracey]

Hey there, I am scouring all of these forums with the upcoming match! I was in exact same boat I had ~200 Step 1, passed CS in June, took CK July 31, applied to PM&R on September 16, got a failed CK back on the 24th (just didn't study enough before an away rotation). So I too only had my Step 1 which was low. I did not retransmit when I first got CK score back. I was only asked about if I had taken step CK on one of my 7 interviews, I was honest and said I had a failed attempt and that I was working hard to retake and pass very soon, kept it short and sweet, I don't think it ruined the interview, her response was "well, that happens sometimes". Anyway, I never could pass a practice CK and with rotations and interviews I ended up pushing my test date back like 4 times! I thought I'd never take it, finally I scheduled for January 20, got a passing for back in mid 220s on February 11. I got an ERAS and re-transmitted, and then immediately called all of the PCs where I interviewed to let them know to upload my new scores and let the PDs know and then a few days later I email confirmed with the PCs that my new scores (retake and fail) were there and that my application was "complete". It was a stressful, stressful year because of that test, it took over my life, but I still can't believe that I passed! I mean I should have based on the amount I studied, but I still never passed a practice test, eventually I just had to take it and luckily it worked out. Now, I am worried that February 11 was after they had already made/finalized their ROLs - it was close to February 25. One program responded though and said " i'm glad you were able to get this in before the rank list was finalized" so maybe all of the programs hopefully took the time to add me back in. We will see. I am an AMG allopathic, deep south school. Good luck to you. I don't know how it will look that I failed that once, but I did go up 27 points from my fail, so maybe they'll think I was just having a bad day on that first try (and I was). PM&R tends to be a more holistic specialty in its review of applicants, but scores are scores. Any thoughts? Updates from you?

 

[aveenoandros]

I am in the similar situation but I submitted my ERAS after I found out I failed. At this point I have no interview invites. Was I suppose to hold off the substitution until I passed CK? This is very stressful for me, I need some advice on how I can recover from this failure.

 

[ytc110]

Hi please share: how is it possible that one can get interviews without completing ERAS application? I mean you didn’t have your 2CK scores till February but you had interviewed a several places.... please share more info.... thanks .....

Hey there, I am scouring all of these forums with the upcoming match! I was in exact same boat I had ~200 Step 1, passed CS in June, took CK July 31, applied to PM&R on September 16, got a failed CK back on the 24th (just didn't study enough before an away rotation). So I too only had my Step 1 which was low. I did not retransmit when I first got CK score back. I was only asked about if I had taken step CK on one of my 7 interviews, I was honest and said I had a failed attempt and that I was working hard to retake and pass very soon, kept it short and sweet, I don't think it ruined the interview, her response was "well, that happens sometimes". Anyway, I never could pass a practice CK and with rotations and interviews I ended up pushing my test date back like 4 times! I thought I'd never take it, finally I scheduled for January 20, got a passing for back in mid 220s on February 11. I got an ERAS and re-transmitted, and then immediately called all of the PCs where I interviewed to let them know to upload my new scores and let the PDs know and then a few days later I email confirmed with the PCs that my new scores (retake and fail) were there and that my application was "complete". It was a stressful, stressful year because of that test, it took over my life, but I still can't believe that I passed! I mean I should have based on the amount I studied, but I still never passed a practice test, eventually I just had to take it and luckily it worked out. Now, I am worried that February 11 was after they had already made/finalized their ROLs - it was close to February 25. One program responded though and said " i'm glad you were able to get this in before the rank list was finalized" so maybe all of the programs hopefully took the time to add me back in. We will see. I am an AMG allopathic, deep south school. Good luck to you. I don't know how it will look that I failed that once, but I did go up 27 points from my fail, so maybe they'll think I was just having a bad day on that first try (and I was). PM&R tends to be a more holistic specialty in its review of applicants, but scores are scores. Any thoughts? Updates from you?

 

[Reality19]

Hi please share: how is it possible that one can get interviews without completing ERAS application? I mean you didn’t have your 2CK scores till February but you had interviewed a several places.... please share more info.... thanks .....

From my understanding, programs can, and often do, send interview invites prior to either CS or CK score submission. Although some programs require the results before extending an interview invite, many only require that they are submitted before ROL deadline. It is not uncommon for students to apply early in the cycle prior to having received the final results, with expectation to re submit transcript when the scores arrive. It looks like in this case, ( correct me if I'm wrong) they withheld resubmitting until the updated score arrived- which I think is pretty much a universal move. If circumstances lead to a late submission, it makes things more difficult for the applicant, certainly, but not necessarily impossible. Hope this person had a favorable outcome! Not sure if this addresses your question..