importance of step 2

[ssj4vinh]

I've searched past threads on whether Step 2 matters and when to take it. From what I've seen, a lot of people don't even take it until after interviews and ranking programs. Is this accurate? And how much does it matter what your actual score is on Step 2 for radiology? Seems like it literally doesn't matter at all for rads.

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[wegh]

I took step 2 early because it seemed like many students were going to wait, so I thought if I took it early and did well enough it would look good. Hard to say if that is what happened but I think it's becoming more important now that step 1 scores are going up. They want to see that you can score as well or better on step 2. I would say that if you did well on your shelf exams and aren't burned out, then take it early so a) it's done b) you have that going for you over other applicants but don't rush it because a poor score can hurt you. It is definitely not as important as step 1, but it certainly still matters

 

[TCOM12]

Depends on what you made on step 1. Also, why wait to take it when a lot of the info is fresh after 3rd year. And do you want to be studying for a test when you approach the best part of med school... the second half of 4th year.

My school made us take it by September, so I didn’t have a choice. If you’re smart enough to crush step 1, doubt that you’ll drop by more than 10 points.

 

[ssj4vinh]

good points, thanks

 

[alchemist123]

I took step 2 early because it seemed like many students were going to wait, so I thought if I took it early and did well enough it would look good. Hard to say if that is what happened but I think it's becoming more important now that step 1 scores are going up. They want to see that you can score as well or better on step 2. I would say that if you did well on your shelf exams and aren't burned out, then take it early so a) it's done b) you have that going for you over other applicants but don't rush it because a poor score can hurt you. It is definitely not as important as step 1, but it certainly still matters

What would be a good step 2 score for rads?

 

[wegh]

What would be a good step 2 score for rads?

I imagine 250+ for Step 2, since Step 1 I would want a 240+. They expect you to do as well or better on Step 2. Of course, this is my opinion

 

[photonvision]

I did not have my scores back for step 2 when I interviewed. I doubt it makes much of a difference if you have a decent step 1 score.

 

[NavyDoc23]

I didn't have step ck or cs results back until after interviews were done and I got a decent amount of interviews at some bigger name programs. However, there are a few programs that require a passing cs and ck score in order to rank you, so don't wait too long.

 

[Derv]

In my case it helped since my Step 1 was in the 230s and I showed huge improvement in Step 2 to around 250, but I guess if you have a really strong step 1 it doesn't matter.

 

[Chequepues]

Not to be a downer but 230s to around 250 is not as huge an improvement as you might think. Your percentile probably went up ~10 points.

 

[808s&heartbreak]

FWIW, I had step 2 available but chose not to submit it. Got plenty of interviews and got a few love letters. Matched at top 10. I'm a proponent for not using Step 2 in decision making. It's not standardized - is a 260 score by someone who studied 3 months more impressive than a 250 by someone who studied 2 weeks? Your time can be better spent.

 

[collegestud2013]

Not too important, as radiology programs focus much more heavily on Step 1 score. Per the 2016 PD survey (http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/NRMP-2016-Program-Director-Survey.pdf), only 43% of programs considered a target Step 2 CK score. The other 57% either didn't care at all or didn't care as long as you passed it. Notice that ~75% of programs will nearly always give interviews with Step 2 score above 230 for both Step 1 and Step 2 (keep in mind that the the average national score for Step 2 is higher by about 11-12 points, so), so as long is you hit 230+ on Step 2 you should be fine. Probably only the extremes of a very high Step 2 score will help you, and the extremes of a low score will hurt you.

 

[ssj4vinh]

Right now I have step 2 scheduled for mid September. I would take it earlier but I scheduled two away rotations (and possibly three) between the end of my third year and fourth year. This would leave me with 3 weeks for dedicated study. If I take it ~ Sept 15, would my score be out in time to influence the interview invitations?