Step 2 CK for Rads

[mrmandrake]

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Quick question guys,

I haven't taken CK yet. I have it scheduled for Nov 15th. I haven't started studying yet. I imagine after 2 weeks of studying I could pull off around a 235 or so (I did about average on all my shelf exams). I got in the 250's on Step 1.

My question is, should I push CK back until mid January and be confident in scoring around a 250 on CK, or should I just take it now because most likely programs won't even see my score this late in the game?

Will anyone even see the 235 if I take it on 11/15 and it's released sometime in December? Will anyone even see that 250 in January?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[aspiringrads]

Quick question guys, I got in the 250's on Step 1.

Will anyone even see the 235 if I take it on 11/15 and it's released sometime in December? Will anyone even see that 250 in January?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

I'm also interested in answer to this question.

 

[TrainingMD]

Quick question guys,

I haven't taken CK yet. I have it scheduled for Nov 15th. I haven't started studying yet. I imagine after 2 weeks of studying I could pull off around a 235 or so (I did about average on all my shelf exams). I got in the 250's on Step 1.

My question is, should I push CK back until mid January and be confident in scoring around a 250 on CK, or should I just take it now because most likely programs won't even see my score this late in the game?

Will anyone even see the 235 if I take it on 11/15 and it's released sometime in December? Will anyone even see that 250 in January?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

At this point, your application is pretty set and most programs already have a sense of you as an applicant. IMOO - A mediocre step 2 score (i.e one that is remarkably below your step 1) will likely close more doors than a very good score will open. Hope that helps. Good luck with studying.

 

[secants]

Are we talking about a >10 point difference if you have an average step 1 score for rads?

 

[drizzt3117]

Only a few programs require ck prior to ranking. I took it dec 19 with score release in mid jan and that's ideal if you're trying to use it just for those programs. I scored ~20-30 pts highee than step 1 but don't think it had any impact on my app.

 

[shark2000]

It seems that radiology is not competitive anymore. I've heard from friends that the application numbers are down 5-10 %. Still matching in top programs in really difficult but matching somewhere is not really a big deal.
Even 3-4 years ago 235 for CK was good. You will be fine.

 

[mrmandrake]

Thanks for the reply guys. I decided to push it back and have some more time to study for it. I'm getting a good amount of interviews and so I'm not as worried. Just hope the score boost will make it in as icing on the cake in time for ranking.

 

[CMSdoc]

how do you find which programs require the step2 CK score to rank applicants?

 

[choweee]

Word on the street is UCSF is one of the only ones. For them it is institution-wide.

 

[NappingGuppy]

Sorry to necro this thread - if I got mid-240s on my step I, does a December 2013 CK and CS seem reasonable?

Thanks for your help!

 

[XerxesOfPersia]

Sorry to necro this thread - if I got mid-240s on my step I, does a December 2013 CK and CS seem reasonable?

Thanks for your help!

Yeah that's fine. 240+ on Step 1 means you should take Step 2 CK as late as possible in most cases, unless you're applying somewhere that requires it for ranking, e.g. UCSF. Your score will be back by mid-Jan at the latest if you take it in Dec, plenty early for ROL submission.

CS takes about 2 months for scores to get reported. Don't think anywhere requires it for ranking so it really doesn't matter when you take it. I took it in at the end of 3rd year just to get it over with. Your school might have a specific requirement for when to take it by so check with them. If you speak English, you'll pass.

 

[Doctor D]

They did a study on step 2 ck and showed that the longer you delay in 4th year the lower your score. On average people go up 10 points from step 1. I would take it early because it will help 90% of the time. Even if ou go down a few points no one will take notice. As long as you don't bomb it, which you won't with adequate study.

 

[XerxesOfPersia]

If you want to you can certainly take it early and choose whether or not to release your score. CK was just something I didn't feel like dealing with until apps and interviews were pretty much over.