Hi Everyone,
I have a question for those who have successfully matched. I want to know if it is better to match on time and study for three months and get about 230, or take 6 months and get about 245+, but miss the match.
My heart is set on surgery (I will apply to Gen. Surgery). I can't think of doing anything else. My GPA is very competitive, I just need a step of 240+ to feel like I have a 95% chance of getting the residency.
So my question is, is it better to take 6 mo. to prepare and get that 240+, or take the chance with about a 230. Has anyone done this? If so, what did you do for a year until the next match.
Thank you.
Listen up.
Studying for 6 months will not getyou a 245. Study for 6 weeks like a normal human. You have a "psychiatric" limit, just like you have a genetic limit or a physical limit. You're scores will plateau off around a certain level, at about 6 weeks, if you are studying properly. Fatigue, boredom, inefficiency, and simple forgetfulness will lower your score as much as cramming new information will raise it. You simply can not retain and apply the minutia that you crammed for the test for 6 months. Theres really not that much info to know for Step1. After you review it a couple of times, you're brain is going to become inefficient, and bored. your score WILL decrease.
I went to the Caribbean as well. Everyone I know who studied for 6-12 months FAILED. Everyone who studied for 5-7 weeks passed.
If you don't believe me, follow the advice of the Kaplan review course. They tell you how to create your own review schedule, which should last for a month or two. I asked them specifically about this issue, and they said that though they dont keep official data, they find that scores drop after 4 months of studying.
If you do somehow pass and make it to residency interviews, the faculty who is evaluating you, will want to find out if you are one of those fools from the Caribbean who "took time off to study". I had a couple of residency interviewers who asked how long I took to study for my USMLEs. One actually told me the dates of my exams from memory, and told me "where" I was based on my transcript. He said it is good that I did not take any time off to study. Another interviewer told me that it was favorable that I took my exams right on time, and took my Step2 during a clinical rotation (only taking the day of the exam off). If you even make it that far, you will have problems if you took time off to study.
Program Directors are not stupid... they know that any ***** can "do well" on the Step1 if they prepare longer, under better than normal conditions.
PDs also know that the will not give you a SINGLE DAY off to study for Step3. They may not even give you a day off to TAKE Step3. They want to know that you can do well on Step3 even if you are post-call after a 30 hour shift in the hospital.
Even if you somehow pass the Step1 after studying for 6 months, your score will be
meaningless because the exam was taken under abnormal conditions.
Believe that.
Yes, Im being harsh and dramatic. But this issue comes up time and again.... and people insist on believing that they can beat the test if they simply study for an abnormally long time. That's a rotten assumption.
