Step 1 Scores and "What's a good enough score" - MERGED thread

[dr2be111]

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Hi,

Sorry to detract from the other more important threads on here, but I'm just curious as to how Step 1 Scores are viewed.

For instance, what is a real competitive score? Anything over a 230? Is something 240+ equivalent to say 35+ on the MCAT?

Thanks.

 

[BlurpySmurf]

Hey everyone, I'm not entirely sure what field I want to go in to. Basically, I want to know what score would be considered good enough to keep my options open. I'm kind of considering ophthalmology which I hear is pretty competitive. A resident told me that as long as I get a 230, I should have no problem getting into a the state residency program. Well........as it turns out, I only got a 223. I know it's not that far from 230, but does that mean I'll have a hard time getting into a program? I know that I probably wouldn't be able to get into plastic surgery, dermatology, or radiology with my score, but does my score significantly disqualify me from anything else? Also, my grades for the first 2 years are only slightly above average compared to the rest of my class, and I haven't done any research.

I'd appreciate any feedback. I'm the first person in my family/friends to go to med school and I don't want to discuss my grades with any of my classmates. Therefore, I'm rather clueless.

 

[DOme2009]

first off, yeah, ophtho is competitive (but not impossible to get into). find out if the site you want to match at will let you rotate there. if so, try and wow their socks off so that a couple measly points won't make or break you (it helps if you rotate there closer to when they make their decision so they remember your face and can go "i remember xxxx, he/she worked their tail off and got along with the residents and blah blah blah"). also, try to rotate elsewhere in ophtho so you have a good letter of reccommendation (from ophtho, duh). i hope this helps, good luck!

 

[QuinnB]

very difficult question to generalize - basic answer is that it is very specialty specific.

A 240 may be very competitive for many programs in pmr and family, but likely will put you in the middle of the competitive field for plastics or derm.

Everything has to be taken in context.

I think a general rule is that anything that is a 2 digit 99 (so usually > 243) is considered very competitive for most and most would say that >230 is considered a great score. >250 is pretty outstanding, but you wouldn't think it with the scores thrown around sdn.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I merged these two threads - they were very similar and posted around the same time.

 

[Miami_med]

It's probably safe to say that someone with atleast a 230 shouldn't rule out any specialty based solely on board scores. The reality is that outside of ROAD, the successful match rates even at the 200 level in most specialties are very high.

 

[lumbering]

If you got one point less than me, you're an idiot/slacker. If you got one point higher than me, you're a gunner with no social life.

 

[hyperbaric]

If you got one point less than me, you're an idiot/slacker. If you got one point higher than me, you're a gunner with no social life.

Exactly.