Step 3 question

[radsgoal]

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Hello all, quick question here. Will be doing a surgery prelim next year and applying for anesthesia during the year....took Step 3 a little early this year as I anticipated a successfull match and didnt really try too hard. Got a 219/92 on it.

However...my first 2 steps were both 99's and were in the 240s and 250s respectively. With that said, is my dropoff on step 3 going to doom my application? Or is a passing score with a 90+ going to be alright? I mean im sure there will be an eyebrow raised by a 30 point drop but still....

And also if asked about it......how do i best explain it?

 

[shift_roro]

I'm sure most places won't really care about your Step 3 score when you had 99s on 1 and 2. Its not like you almost failed either, so I wouldn't worry.

 

[Trajan]

one reason why programs like high step 1 and 2 scores is that they probably predict passage of step 3 pretty well. No PD wants to hear that the intern he/she expects to start R1 in a few months has failed step 3 and may not start PGY-2 on time.

In that sense, a 200 step 1, 210 step 2, and 212 step 3 is in some ways a safer bet than taking someone with a 240 step 1, 230 step 2, and step 3 TBD.

Regardless, you have passed all 3 and never have to take them again. The box is permanently checked. I don't think any PD's will care about a drop (that step 3 is still respectable) or that you should lose sleep over this.

 

[radsgoal]

Just wanted to clear it up I realized maybe I didnt phrase my question clearly. I did not match this year and will be reapplying. With that said does my lower score affect my app or not really?

If the answers were geared towards my second application then thanks again! Just wanted to make sure cuz the way I phrased it the first time it sounded like I matched this year and was already going into a spot. Not the case.

 

[Trajan]

Just wanted to clear it up I realized maybe I didnt phrase my question clearly. I did not match this year and will be reapplying. With that said does my lower score affect my app or not really?

If the answers were geared towards my second application then thanks again! Just wanted to make sure cuz the way I phrased it the first time it sounded like I matched this year and was already going into a spot. Not the case.

If you did not match in anesthesiology with 99's on Step I and II, then the USMLE is not your problem, even if you dropped a bit on Step III.

Did you apply to MGH, Hopkins, and UPENN only?

Did you not rotate in anesthesiology?

Did someone hose you with a bad letter?

Do you have misconduct documented in your dean's letter?

Are you a FMG (shouldn't matter with those scores)?

Again, there is nothing wrong with your Step I, II, or III, so I would worry about other areas of your application.

 

[Green Chimneys]

Your whole premise of not matching with those Step 1/2 seemed a bit odd, as did your name "Radsgoal" so I took a look back at your old posts. I don't think you're trolling, but I'm still confused.

First, if you had a late interest in radiology and didn't match this past year in anesthesia, why aren't you pursuing your "goal" of radiology for next year?

Second, I noticed that you are a Caribbean grad, which certainly makes things tougher but you had a handful of very reasonable schools on your rank list, some of which are definitely very carribean friendly. Your USMLE score was definitely NOT the reason why you did not match this year and a 219 on step 3 will not be a factor if it happens again. Something else is at play here, maybe a bad letter, maybe you didn't do a rotation in anesthesia, maybe you had really poor interviews, maybe you failed a couple of rotations. I don't know, and maybe you don't either. I suggest you call a couple of the schools you ranked and ask them what was lacking in your application so that you can correct things. Something strange is going on for you not to have matched and if you don't fix it, it will probably happen again.