Step I vs Step II for residency

[Doc07]

Hi all, I have been hearing that boards scores are crucial b/c many programs have cut-offs for their applications. How hard and fast are these cut-offs? I have been anticipating using Step 2 to make my application better b/c my Step 1 score was sub-230. Any thoughts?

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[neilc]

i had crap step 1 (78) and a decent step 2 (94). i did also see many cut-offs for the programs, usually a step 1 above 200 (which i did not have). i got interviews at about half of the programs with this stated cut-off, rejected from two, and still waiting to hear from a bunch. in my experience, the cut-offs are soft, with the possible exception of the upper tier programs.

keep in mind that it will likely be specialty dependent, program dependent, etc...but, some places certainly will look at the entire application before deciding on interview invites.