HELP-when should I take my Step 2CK?

[blaire003]

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Sorry if this question has been asked multiple times-I would like to take my Step 2 CK at the end of October (because I would like to use the first 3 months of my fourth year to do rotations and get letters) Will waiting this long delay me getting invites for interviews since my score likely wouldn't be back until early December? I am applying for IM, but I'm not shooting for anything top tier or super competitve- just hoping to land a middle tier spot at a university affiliated hospital. I scored at the national mean for step 1, so I'm assuming that I would perform at about the same level on Step 2 (although I'm defintiely shooting higher). Thanks for any advice!

 

[werewethere]

Step 2 is not mandatory for your application to be considered. So, get your application in early (early Sep if possible), and you will get many invites. If you take the exam and get the score with the desired improvement, contact programs that have not rejected you and let them know, it might help you land extra interviews so that you have options.
One more note, when applying through ERAS, do not AUTOMATICALLY release USMLE scores, that would cause your step 2 to be released whenever the scores become available. You want to control that information in case the score is subpar. Good luck.