Got Step 2 score yesterday. Wanted feedback on what the score means in the context of my residency application

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So I got my Step 2 score back yesterday and was pretty disappointed by it, even though it’s actually alright.

I ended up with a 253. According to the score report the average score is a 244 and the standard deviation is 16 points, which roughly puts me in the 72nd percentile.

On Step 1, I got a 255, which put me at the 88th percentile for that, and I was very happy with that score and hoping to be in that range again this time around with a goal of 265 (irrelevant now).

I’m a D.O student with the goal of matching to an academic IM program in a big city. I felt like that was totally possible when I just had a 255 and was aiming for a higher CK score, but now I’m uncertain about that.

I hate the fact that I slid backwards and scored two points lower. My biggest worry is that PDs see my Step 2 score and then question if my Step 1 score may have been a fluke.

I honestly don’t know why I had so much trouble with the exam. I studied my butt off nonstop for 6 full weeks with no days off. I felt like I knew a lot and was ready, but the exam was so vague, with so many answers making sense, and testing topics that were not bread and butter things at all.

There’s no point in complaining about the test now, but could someone just tell me how they think this would be seen by PDs?

I know the DO thing hurts me which is why I felt that it was imperative to score super high again on Step 2 in order to make myself really stand out as an applicant. I don’t really even know how to interpret what the score means. Is a 253 normally a good score for academic IM?

I keep worrying that programs are drifting away from Step 1 scores which have switched the P/F and in general have become less favored in the popular opinion and are instead focusing more on Step 2, which to me makes more sense since its supposed to test clinical reasoning.

Lastly, I realize how much of a jerk I sound like right now, asking about a score that is probably fine, but it’s been really stressing me out since yesterday. I promise I’m not a gunner, I think I just demand a lot of myself. I kept on telling myself that my residency app is in good shape and that a 265 was the last piece I needed to really present PDs with an awesome app and I used that motivation to really force myself to go as hard as I could for six straight weeks, and now I just feel like a failure for losing my opportunity to do that. I keep thinking about what I could have done better, but I don’t know, I just feel inadequate. I put so much stock into this and was really hoping to prove that in every way I’m someone that programs should really want to have as a resident, but I blew it.

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Programs haven't shifted to Step 2 yet, not while Step 1 is still scored, and your step 2 score is still plenty good. When you're on the high end of the bell curve, a lot can hinge on a couple of questions and the exact content that shows up on your particular exam. If your goal is simply academic IM (ie not Harvard/Hopkins/etc) you will be absolutely fine.
 
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There's a part of me that hopes that this is a sarcasm/troll post. Because I'm sad if people think this way. But I'm pretty sure it's not.

You're seriously overthinking this. Your score is absolutely fine. You're allowed to be disappointed in your score if you want, but you'll be fine. That score isn't going to close any doors.
 
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Your Step 2 score is in the error range of your Step 1 score in an assay with a very wide confidence interval. I would think that you are somewhere within the 70th and 90th percent of applicant test takers. It doesn't tell me anything else about you or your application.
 
There's a part of me that hopes that this is a sarcasm/troll post. Because I'm sad if people think this way. But I'm pretty sure it's not.

You're seriously overthinking this. Your score is absolutely fine. You're allowed to be disappointed in your score if you want, but you'll be fine. That score isn't going to close any doors.
I’m sorry, I guess I’m just really anxious about all this
 
Thanks, I appreciate the confirmation that I’m just being overly neurotic lol

Came here to say that you're being neurotic. Glad to say that you've come to that realization as well. I'm a DO with 241/260 and am a cards fellow in a major city. Congratulations on your great scores. You'll match academic IM without a problem. I
 
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Better pray that the Caribbean starts giving residency spots with those terrible numbers :rolleyes:
 
DO attending here - I was in the same boat but with a lower step 1 (240's step 1, 250's step 2) so my percentiles were almost identical to yours.

The drop didn't matter. I got interviews at top 20 IM programs including Cleveland Clinic. Matched at my #1 (which was not a top 20 FYI).

You'll be just fine, don't worry.
 
DO attending here - I was in the same boat but with a lower step 1 (240's step 1, 250's step 2) so my percentiles were almost identical to yours.

The drop didn't matter. I got interviews at top 20 IM programs including Cleveland Clinic. Matched at my #1 (which was not a top 20 FYI).

You'll be just fine, don't worry.
Was this fairly recently or a long time ago, if you don’t mind me asking?

I think I’m extra nervous just because of how competitive things are all getting and the very unusualresidency application cycle we’re gonna have this year
 
Was this fairly recently or a long time ago, if you don’t mind me asking?

I think I’m extra nervous just because of how competitive things are all getting and the very unusualresidency application cycle we’re gonna have this year

I matched in 2015 - which feels like a lifetime ago but in terms of competitiveness I would say is about the same.

Also, having worked with recruitment for a while - you would be shocked how many attendings/PDs/aPDs don't necessarily know/think of the fact that the percentiles change drastically. In our rank meetings we talk a lot about "oh they got a 250 on both steps" and people don't reflexively think of that as a drop in percentile. Most of us are so far removed from boards ourselves (and not living on SDN) that we don't realize it.
 
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