Step 2 drop from step 1 - How will this affect me for general surgery?

[DJIleum69]

Hi guys,

Got my score back this week, and I was pretty shocked to see a 233.

Step 1 was a 241 for reference. All my practice nbme scores were in the 240’s and I was predicted above a 250, can’t really say what went wrong. Didn’t feel great but didn’t feel terrible either.

I was hoping to apply to some competitive community general surgery programs in popular cities, but now I feel like those might be out the window. I was primarily planning on applying community. I still have away rotations at said locations so I know my only shot at those programs might be knocking it out of the park during those sub-I’s.

In my own opinion, I do believe I can match somewhere, but now I don’t have the options that I might’ve had If I scored a 240-250 on step 2. I believe I have a well rounded application with great leadership, presentations, and great letters, but I am lacking in research with only 2 projects total.

Does anyone in this thread applying general surgery or other competitive specialities (for DO’s) have any advice? Has anyone experienced a similar score drop and matched into their desired program? Have they brought it up during interviews?

Any related advice would also be much appreciated!

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[Surgeon D.O.]

If posters are telling me I’ll be ok than you’re going to be golden buddy.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Apply broadly. Expect to get more interest from Midwest community places and don’t just isolate yourself to popular cities. Community programs in those locations are, well, popular and more competitive than you might think.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

From charting outcomes DO 2020:

Ignoring everything else, those with scores 231-240 were 70/30 in matching. Apply to reasonable programs and you're in relatively good shape. The better the rest of your app is, the more success you will have. You can use the interactive charting outcomes to put your own stats in and see what you get, and use the residency navigator to try to target programs.