STEP1 soon, aiming for CA peds what do I need?

[mopitup85]

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Hey guys,

Taking the STEP at the end of May. Any advice on what I should be aiming for to be competitive or have a shot for low-mid tier Southern California pediatric programs. I have family in San Diego and the inland empire area, but I'm attending a non-California med school.

I'm looking particularly at Loma Linda, UCI, UCSD, and low-mid tier peds programs in the LA area. I'm planning to aim for a 230. I should obviously do my best, but what is a good STEP score to be shooting for. Is 230 to low for these programs or just right. I'm not too familiar with the smaller name programs, but hopefully there are some less competitive/yet decent programs elsewhere in southern California as well.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Rutgers06]

Like you stated, higher is better, but 230 should be a solid step 1 score. Just realize that your step scores (step 1 and 2) are only one piece of your application and aren't the be-all, end-all. Doing well in your 3rd year, especially on your peds rotation, and getting great letters of recommendation are other important parts of your application.

 

[DisneyGirl123]

230s is a good goal. I am from a Non-CA med school as well and scored in the 230-240 range on step 1, and interviewed at almost every CA peds program. DM me if you have any questions about them!

 

[mopitup85]

Thank you! I will definitely PM you if I have more questions.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I would echo that 230s is probably a good goal. I wound up interviewing at a little more than half of the CA programs that I applied to with a 230s despite not coming from a CA school.

 

[Draadz]

Just curious - any ides what step 1 score is necessary for a DO applicant to be competitive at CA peds programs?

Seconding this question. Also, what programs are DO friendly/not very friendly?

 

[GoSpursGo]

Can't say from personal experience, but in general I think the best way to find out if a program is DO-friendly is to look at their list of current residents and see how many DOs are there. I would also think that 230s would still be baseline competitive--after all, it's the great equalizer and the one way that you can be directly compared against MD candidates--but because they will likely be less familiar with the quality of your clinical experience in pediatrics, I might imagine that something else in your application would need to stand out.