Step II & IIb Fees?

[MD2b06]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to come up with a budget for the upcoming 3rd year, and was wondering when these fees had to be paid? Is it dependent on when you take the exams or is there a certain deadline? Can they be put off until 4th year? Thanks!

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[Resident Alien]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to come up with a budget for the upcoming 3rd year, and was wondering when these fees had to be paid? Is it dependent on when you take the exams or is there a certain deadline? Can they be put off until 4th year? Thanks!

I believe for class of 06 it is 435, 975 respectively

 

[MD2b06]

I believe for class of 06 it is 435, 975 respectively

Right, but do you know if those fees have to be paid in the near future, or can we wait until after our 3rd year is over? BTW, having to spend over $1000 on fees and travel expenses for Step IIb is ridiculous. $1000 * 20,000 students (USMGs, FMGs, US IMG's) = $20 million. Hmm, I wonder what the motivation behind this exam was. 😉

 

[Resident Alien]

I re-read your question and saw my goof up. Unfortunately I dont know the answer to your question. Sorry 🙁

Agreed on the fees 😡 👎

 

[Smurfette]

I am a fourth year and just paid for my step II now (it was $1410 if anyone is curious). As far as I know, you just pay this when you register---so if I wasn't taking it until February, I could wait until Dec or Jan to register and thus, pay. I am not yet sure when I will be taking CS or CK, but it won't be soon! I just wanted to register and get it out of the way.

 

[Jaded Soul]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to come up with a budget for the upcoming 3rd year, and was wondering when these fees had to be paid? Is it dependent on when you take the exams or is there a certain deadline? Can they be put off until 4th year? Thanks!

You pay the fees for each exam when you register. Step 2-CK and Step 2-CS are separate exams for which you have to register separately. Just like Step 1, "registering" and "scheduling" are different. You can register months ahead of time (and pay the fees) but not schedule your actual test date until later.

Pretty much no one takes Step 2 during Year 3. You haven't had all your core clerkships yet and it would be foolish to take it before you complete them. The people who take Step 2-CK before residency applications are those who want to offset a poor Step 1 score. Most who do well on Step 1 wait until the second half of Year 4 to take Step 2-CK. Step 2-CS is Pass/Fail, so there's less pressure to it.

 

[MD2b06]

Aight, thanks. Just making sure I could get away w/o paying for it until 4th year. I dunno why people put it off. The last thing I plan on doing during the second half of my 4th year is studying for Step 2! Better to just take it and get it out of the way after 3rd year IMO.

 

[Smurfette]

Just to clarify, when I registered for step II, I registered for both CK and CS at the same time, and it automatically prompted me to do this without having to do it twice or have two separate forms to get stamped by the dean---one form to get signed by the dean and send into the NBME was all that was necessary to cover both CK and CS.

I was a little wary in the registration process since I didn't want to initially register for both right away, but after reading some of the info on how you can schedule your test anytime after being registered, I decided just to get the registration over with. I think you can register for them separately as well, but every one of my classmates I've talked to registered for both parts right away and then will just schedule the two tests individually when convenient.

 

[Jaded Soul]

Aight, thanks. Just making sure I could get away w/o paying for it until 4th year. I dunno why people put it off. The last thing I plan on doing during the second half of my 4th year is studying for Step 2! Better to just take it and get it out of the way after 3rd year IMO.

Here's the rationale on taking Step 2 late. The most important deciding factor for most of my classmates on when to take Step 2 is how well you did on Step 1. If you did poorly, taking it early and getting a higher score can help your residency application.

In general, you'll have less time to study for Step 2 because of your schedule, so you risk getting a lower score. According to one of the associate deans at my school, someone who goes from 240 on Step 1 to 220 Step 2, for example, early enough for it to appear on residency applications will look worse than someone who delays their Step 2 until late in the application process.

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Here's the rationale on taking Step 2 late. The most important deciding factor for most of my classmates on when to take Step 2 is how well you did on Step 1. If you did poorly, taking it early and getting a higher score can help your residency application.

In general, you'll have less time to study for Step 2 because of your schedule, so you risk getting a lower score. According to one of the associate deans at my school, someone who goes from 240 on Step 1 to 220 Step 2, for example, early enough for it to appear on residency applications will look worse than someone who delays their Step 2 until late in the application process.

Definitely take step 2 late if you did well on step 1.

Does anyone know if mid-December is late enough for residency programs not to catch wind of the score?