Step 2 CK scores pre or post application for peds

[sunflower18]

Hey all,

I'm trying to decide if I should take Step 2 CK in June, which would mean studying for it and taking it right after MS3 ends, or if I should push it back to September/October where it won't show up on my application. I'm concerned about doing poorly and tanking my app, but I also don't want to be not considered for interviews if some peds programs like to see it on the application.

I took IM at the beginning of MS3 and am ending with surgery. I've done fairly well on my shelf exams, >80th percentile on all but one of them, and I got a 241 on Step 1. It seems like I should be able to do decently on Step 2 CK, but then again, standardized tests always feel kind of like a crapshoot, and IM (which makes up the bulk of the test, as I understand it) will have been almost a year prior by the time I would take Step 2 in June. FWIW, I'm applying mostly to programs in California and would like to stay in SoCal for residency.

Any advice would be helpful! I wasn't sure whether I should post this here or in the Step 2 forum, but I figured the peds-specific advice would be most helpful. Thanks

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[pedsnpuppies]

Hey all,

I'm trying to decide if I should take Step 2 CK in June, which would mean studying for it and taking it right after MS3 ends, or if I should push it back to September/October where it won't show up on my application. I'm concerned about doing poorly and tanking my app, but I also don't want to be not considered for interviews if some peds programs like to see it on the application.

I took IM at the beginning of MS3 and am ending with surgery. I've done fairly well on my shelf exams, >80th percentile on all but one of them, and I got a 241 on Step 1. It seems like I should be able to do decently on Step 2 CK, but then again, standardized tests always feel kind of like a crapshoot, and IM (which makes up the bulk of the test, as I understand it) will have been almost a year prior by the time I would take Step 2 in June. FWIW, I'm applying mostly to programs in California and would like to stay in SoCal for residency.

Any advice would be helpful! I wasn't sure whether I should post this here or in the Step 2 forum, but I figured the peds-specific advice would be most helpful. Thanks

I was like you and did well on step 1 and wondered when I should take step 2, especially since IM was one of my first rotations in third year. I ended up waiting until after interview season (January) because I had done well on shelves and thought I would be okay re-studying that material, but ultimately did very poorly on step 2. A part of me is glad I waited because I received interviews at great programs (including all the big SoCal programs), which I don't think would've happened had I applied with that score. But I also wonder if I would've done much better had I taken it closer to finishing third year, because I did feel like I was re-teaching myself everything when I was trying to study rather than just reviewing. But who knows, maybe I would've gotten that same bad score if I had taken right at the end of third year and was right choosing to take it later. Not sure this is the most helpful anecdote, I'm sure whatever you decide will work out well for you. Good luck!