minimum step score requirements

[playingfrombehind]

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Hey people so in FREIDA, programs post their minimum step scores - for example school A's minimum step score requirement is 205.

Is this a stiff rule i.e. if I still apply (but step score is < 205) could they still entertain my application?

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

Some programs may apply a filter that will automatically sort you out if you don't meet their requirements, is my understanding. Others may not. I don't think there's any way to tell how serious any given program is about their score requirements.

 

[DrPerrla]

You have to take FREIDA with a grain of salt. It also lists how many hours per week residents work on average (which is kinda lowball in my opinion, but I haven't started yet so who knows). In any case, I agree with TraumaLlama. I asked my advisor this same question last year and was told that most of the time these "minimums" are soft minimums and won't necessarily screen you out. I had a <220 step 1 score and still got interviews at a handful of schools whose "minimum" was 220. I also scored 20 pts higher on Step 2 so, pretty sure that helped.

 

[gutonc]

I wonder if this has ever been discussed here before? Or if there's a search type thing one could use to discover if it had.

Bottom line, very few programs have, or will publish, hard Step cutoffs. And even if they do, an application is at most what, $30? If you really think that you want to go to a program, that's a relatively small gamble.

 

[Wolf02]

There was a website that showed all cutoffs for the five most popular specialties. I think the website was inforesidency or something like that

 

[organdonor]

I applied to numerous places that had a step 1 minimum according to FREIDA that I did not meet and interviewed at most of them.

 

[TraumaLlamaMD]

Sometimes programs will post minimums on their own websites but again, I've known people to be offered interviews at some despite being below that number.

 

[Wolf02]

Highly doubt that is even remotely accurate

Nope, I used to subscribe to it to find residency vacancies because I didn't match last year.
When I applied this year I used it to check cutoffs. I manually checked on all the program websites to verify it was accurate...and for the most part it was. Id say 85% it was... the most helpful part for me actually it was it had the websites of all the programs which I have found to be hard-to-find sometimes on their own . If you still don't believe me check it out.

 

[Wolf02]

Many programs don't use cutoffs in any strict sense of the word - cutoffs are fluid things if you understand how programs use ERAS filters. So they are either making up numbers, or they are regurgitating publicly available information. I have no interest in "checking it out" for $20.

Oh my goodness, relax dude!

All I'm saying is that there is some poor soul who went to all the program sites for five different specialties and compiled the information....which sounds like what the OP was asking for.

Of course I understand how filters work, and I know that for most programs, they're not absolute. I was just trying to lend credibility to this site because I have actually verified all the FM ones (except for military programs) and they're pretty in line with the websites. I was just trying to help the guy asking for it.