Step1 score for general surgery

[Hilara]

Does anyone know what's the minimum step 1 score you'll need for general surgery? Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a surgeon. I got 201/82 on step 1 and I'm very scared. Do you think that with this score I still may have a chance?

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[surg]

As with any specialty there is no "minimum" score that you need. As others will undoubtedly tell you, general surgery is in a down-swing in the number of applicants, so assuming that the rest of your application is in good shape, a 201 is definitely not going to prevent you from going into general surgery. What it does mean is that you should strive to ensure that your clinical grades give the committee a reason to look past your score (especially your surgery clerkship grade) and concentrate on getting to know some people who can write powerful letters for you.

Don't despair about your score, people get into excellent programs every year with mediocre scores. It is a stumble, but not a fatal fall.

Good luck

 

[Pilot Doc]

Hilara,

There are ~1000 categorical general surgery slots per year. For the past two years, over 50 of these have not filled. Of the filled spots, a substantial number were IMG's. If you have a US MD and a pulse, you can get a surgery spot somewhere.

(On top of that, hundreds of preliminary slots went unfilled. You can always scramble into these and then take the 2nd year spot of some categorical intern who drops out.)