Step 1 score 201/83.Can a stellar Step CK obscure this?

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AgentRaiden

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Hi SDNers!

So I gave the beast and it's a dismal 201/83.Of course,I am upset about it and don't wanna give any excuses.It's sad cuz I've been doing fairly well at med school,the NBME's and all.Now,when it matters the most,I buckled.I couldn't have postponed the exam cuz I was supposed to start a research program in a week.So it was basically now -or -never situation.

How far can this score pull me down with matching for residency? I am vying for peds or IM or Family Practice and it doesn't help with the fact that I am an IMG from a carib med school.

On a plus side,I have been an active leader with several student organizations and completed few scholars programs/short fellowships to date.I've published twice with an international health magazine and a literature review for a journal is in the works.How far do these count?

I am slated to begin rotations soon and scheduling step 2 CK shortly.My goal is to obscure my poor Step 1 score with a high Step 2 CK score by working my a** off while at it,since this will be my only plausible option.

If I am successful,will this strategy of aiming for a higher Step2 to make up for Step 1 score,work?

Thanks and I wish you all good luck in your pursuits!:thumbup:

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Peds IM or Family should be OK even if you are an IMG with a poor Step 1 score. you are probably out of the running for desirable programs but you will get into A program. These three residencies tend to go unfilled every year. You just can't be picky with where you end up. Step 2 CK will be useful to boost your overall candidacy that's for sure but it won't erase your Step 1 score.
 
Agree with the above reply... you should be able to get a spot at a Peds or Fam Med program, but probably not a strong academic one. That being said, there are plenty of Peds / IM / Fam Med programs in desirable locations (NY, DC, LA, etc) that aren't big academic programs. A really strong CK score might help a bit with some mid-level academic places, but I'd also put as much effort as you can into things like resesearch, good volunteer work, etc. Not to be rude, but if you had a lot of trouble with Step 1 its possible you could take CK and still get a less than impressive score. Getting a 210 or 215 on CK isn't really going to change anything, you'd have to get a 225 or 230 to make the case that Step 1 was a fluke (since most people naturally go up on CK).
 
Hi SDNers!

So I gave the beast and it's a dismal 201/83.Of course,I am upset about it and don't wanna give any excuses.It's sad cuz I've been doing fairly well at med school,the NBME's and all.Now,when it matters the most,I buckled.I couldn't have postponed the exam cuz I was supposed to start a research program in a week.So it was basically now -or -never situation.

How far can this score pull me down with matching for residency? I am vying for peds or IM or Family Practice and it doesn't help with the fact that I am an IMG from a carib med school.

On a plus side,I have been an active leader with several student organizations and completed few scholars programs/short fellowships to date.I've published twice with an international health magazine and a literature review for a journal is in the works.How far do these count?

I am slated to begin rotations soon and scheduling step 2 CK shortly.My goal is to obscure my poor Step 1 score with a high Step 2 CK score by working my a** off while at it,since this will be my only plausible option.

If I am successful,will this strategy of aiming for a higher Step2 to make up for Step 1 score,work?

Thanks and I wish you all good luck in your pursuits!:thumbup:

I'm sure you will be fine dude (ette). What journal if you don't mind me asking?
 
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