Step 2 CS and Intern Year

[Redpancreas]

**Mods: Do not relocate to Step 2 subforum, not looking for Step 2 CS -specific info, thread discussion belongs here**

For reasons I don’t want to go into, I took CS in mid-February with results coming April 25th and every day waiting me is killing me. I am very happy with my match, but this test result puts all of that on the line. My school requires CS by May 1st for graduation (on June 5th), but my score comes back April 25th. If I pass I’ll praise the lord and move on, but if I have to take it again to pass, the scores would come back on June 16th which is past the graduation date, but before orientation. I don’t know what happens then. Do I get my diploma then and move on, or do schools only grant diplomas once a year and will I have to wait a whole year and forfeit my residency spot? My counselor is not really giving me information on the contingencies and is just urging me to stay positive. This is really bothering me because I’m trying to stay on top of the extensive on-boarding process at my potential residency as well as the moving process to go to a completely new area. I’m super worried that I may not be eligible to start residency if I don’t pass this dumb exam on April 25th and am wondering if it would be a good idea to let my program know now of the situation (I really want to early and transparent, but am worried they may revoke my match upon hearing this). Also, I guess I need to wait until after April 25th to consider signing a lease in a state that literally is 5 hours away by plane. To make this worse, my parents don’t understand my stress and reason for waiting until April 25th and think I should be focusing on preparing for residency (wrapping up annual appointments, leasing a new car, planning a vacation, etc.). Any support or words of wisdom from others would be recommended.

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[siliso]

In experience with residents coming into our program, as soon as they get a passing score reported they are good to go.

 

[Redpancreas]

In experience with residents coming into our program, as soon as they get a passing score reported they are good to go.

What would complicate things is the lack of a diploma potentially if my school doesn’t grant a late one contingent on passing CS. In addition, the dates above are earliest reporting periods so it’s a possibility that I would not get my second try result until orientation is underway.

 

[Smurfette]

We can't answer this; this is going to be school specific. It depends on their policy. Do they require you to *take* CS prior to graduation, or do they require you to *pass* CS to graduate? My med school only required us to take it so those with scores coming in late could still graduate.

If you fail CS and don't get a pass before the cut off, your school can put you in with fall semester graduation. If that happens, you will lose your residency spot and need to reapply next year.
If you fail CS and re-take it AND get passing score around June 16 (which is also highly dependent on actually getting a repeat test date ASAP after learning of the failure), your school could decide to grant you a late diploma, but they wouldn't be required to do so (and likely have a policy specific to this).

 

[NotAProgDirector]

... and your program has many options which are impossible to guess. No matter what you tell them now, the match is binding and they must take you. Unless you can't start training on July 1. In that case, they could waive your match. Then, they could hold your spot for you if you can start off cycle. Or they could fill the spot with someone else. Or they could not fill the spot at all. And they could match you next year again. Or not. Too many options to consider.

In any case, what to do now is clear: Nothing. Don't tell your program about this, as chances are you'll pass CS and that will be the end of that. If you fail, that's when it's time to talk to your program -- once you know what your school policies are and what your timeline will be.

 

[hamstergang]

My counselor is not really giving me information on the contingencies and is just urging me to stay positive.

This seems a little ridiculous to me. Your school should be willing to let you know the policies of your school. I would think of pushing them harder to give you clear answers.