MS3 with subpar step1..chances?

[turboE36]

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[lackli]

Let me direct you to the nrmp charting outcomes pdf. It should answer some of your questions.

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Charting-Outcomes-2014-Final.pdf

Is your score going to mean plastic surgery is out of the question? Not really. 16/25 people matched last year with a score of 230-240. It doesn't get a whole lot better for the 240-250 range so I wouldn't beat yourself up about your score.

Some programs have absolute cutoffs and a lot of them will list their cutoffs on the Freida website. I think for a lot of programs however the cutoff is more than in the 220 range. It might have changed since when I applied.

Also looking at the NRMP pdf, ENT is relatively comparable in competitiveness. I wouldn't change your career goals just based on a step score. Especially if you have geared yourself more to plastics.

Would a higher step score have helped you? Sure, probably. However it's not all of your application. Performance on your subi rotations, letters, research all factor in. Personally I think if you are able to do well on your away rotations or home subi and come off as a hardworking, intelligent, cool person to be around then that will have a much bigger influence on your matching or not.

 

[tennesseejed]

Just basing this on board scores is not a good reason to switch to ENT. As previous poster mentioned its pretty close in terms of competitiveness.

 

[rodmichael82]

Hi guys,

First time poster...I apologize if this topic has been discussed before, but I'm looking for a concrete answer regarding interview screening.

Profile:
Step 1: 233
School: top 50
Class rank: no rank, but top 25%
Clinical rotations: no grades yet, but I'm fairly certain AOA is out of the question due to my step
Research so far: 4 abstracts, 3 pending papers, multiple collaborations; note these are a mix of ENT and plastics projects

I studied very hard for step, but I guess I'm just not a amazing test taker. What are your opinions on my score? Do most PRS programs have a absolute cutoff for step?

Not really sure what do at this point. I've been in love with Plastics since my first week of med school, but also did ENT research as backup. Would a research year help me? Should I give up on a integrated PRS match? Please be brutal and honest.

Also bonus question: If anyone has an opinion on Plastics vs. ENT please weigh in. I know there is *some* overlap between the two fields, but there are still very different. At this point I'm wondering if I should just jump ship to ENT because it's slightly less competitive.

Dude you must be clueless to be using ENT as a backup for Plastic surgery. Both are equally competitive. This year in 2014 outcomes ENT (248) had a higher step 1 average than Plastic surgery (245) and I only mention that since you're obsessing over step 1 scores.

 

[SouthernSurgeon]

Also bonus question: If anyone has an opinion on Plastics vs. ENT please weigh in. I know there is *some* overlap between the two fields, but there are still very different. At this point I'm wondering if I should just jump ship to ENT because it's slightly less competitive.

As the others have said, the difference in competitiveness is marginal.

I'd plan on going with whichever field interests you more, with a liberal back up plan of general surgery programs.