stuck with step2

[doctorlarry]

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Hello to all,
I was hoping someone might have some advice about when I should take step2. My goal is to get into a competitive academic program (mayo jacksonville). I am a caribbean MS3 with 3 neuro publications and step 1 of 225/91, and have 'connections' with mayo from yrs of research. I feel there is room for improvement, but would like to get your opinion on whether I should take step 2 early this summer (after completing cores) or at a later date. I read gopherbrain's very helpful faqs and it appears step2 doesn't really make much of a difference unless you need to improve your status from a shaky step1. Nevertheless, I am a caribbean student and Mayo is a strong program. Any suggestions? Thank you very much in advance.

 

[GopherBrain]

Hello to all,
I was hoping someone might have some advice about when I should take step2. My goal is to get into a competitive academic program (mayo jacksonville). I am a caribbean MS3 with 3 neuro publications and step 1 of 225/91, and have 'connections' with mayo from yrs of research. I feel there is room for improvement, but would like to get your opinion on whether I should take step 2 early this summer (after completing cores) or at a later date. I read gopherbrain's very helpful faqs and it appears step2 doesn't really make much of a difference unless you need to improve your status from a shaky step1. Nevertheless, I am a caribbean student and Mayo is a strong program. Any suggestions? Thank you very much in advance.

Interesting question. Are you using Mayo Jacksonville as an example, or do you specifically want to go to Mayo Jacksonville over other programs of the same caliber?

Do you think you can do a lot better on step 2 than step 1? If you really think you can kill it, go for it. A 250 will do a lot for your application. However, if you REALLY want to go to Mayo Jacksonville, your best bet is to work the personal connections. This is an example of where an away "audition" rotation may be very useful. If you impress them on the rotation, they will have confidence in your knowledge base, and the USMLE scores will be less of a factor.

 

[swedcrip]

I interviewed at Mayo Jacksonville. They say that last year they got the top 3 off their rank list and generally get 3 of the top say 5 or so.

They seem to have a preference for people that do audition rotations. That will be a must for you. One guy in the interview group did one and I'm almost sure he matched there. It seemed like a huge advantage.

But short of curing some disease through your research, I'm not sure I can give you much hope. They're a solid (and somewhat cush I think) program despite a short history. In there first class they took a DO from Michigan State who seems very smart, tons of research, and had a personal connection to the faculty (his mentor was tight with the faculty IIRC). I think they might have 1 FMG in their program. I think its a black women (from Africa I think) who they talked about having a great application. 1 guy in my interview group was a FMG (from a European school that sounded a lot like a Caribbean setup) but everyone else was from LCME med schools. I think it'll be a tough program to get into. I interviewed before taking Step 2 and never got asked about Step scores. I didn't get the impression they care much about board scores, but you probably would need a high one to get a foot in the door. They only interview about 20 for 3 spots IIRC and probably know from the away rotations who they'll probably match before the whole process starts anyways.

Overall I noticed a lot of FMGs are at certain programs. But most I met were European. Usually a few DO's in these programs. I'm not sure how common Carribean grads matching neuro is though I think it does happen at some of the other Florida programs. Your right in thinking board scores and research to get interviews. Once you get interviews you probably stand about as good a chance as anyone.

I just noticed you say you have a connection with Mayo. They'll like that but it depends on who you know and how much influence they have. I think your step 1 is fine to match into Neuro for a US med grad. I have no idea the difference they look for in non-US MD grads.

 

[doctorlarry]

Dear Gopherbrain and Swedcrip,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I am indeed working on getting a visiting 'audition' rotation with Mayo Jax. I should know if and when sometime this month.

Regardless of when I take step2, I plan on doing much better. I have already 2 outside electives scheduled for July and August in south florida. Will it be "too late" in the cycle to take step 2 at the end of september (scores in october)? Or perhaps better stated, when is it "too late" for me to take step 2 assuming a stellar score. Thank you again!

 

[GopherBrain]

Dear Gopherbrain and Swedcrip,

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I am indeed working on getting a visiting 'audition' rotation with Mayo Jax. I should know if and when sometime this month.

Regardless of when I take step2, I plan on doing much better. I have already 2 outside electives scheduled for July and August in south florida. Will it be "too late" in the cycle to take step 2 at the end of september (scores in october)? Or perhaps better stated, when is it "too late" for me to take step 2 assuming a stellar score. Thank you again!

If you do an away rotation in Jax, you will almost certainly get a "courtesy" interview. In this case, you just need them to have your scores well in advance of match day. You could probably take the test as late as the end of October.

If you do not get an away rotation set up, you would want the score back in time for the Jax people to know it when deciding if they should interview you. Early September or so ought to work.

 

[doctorlarry]

Thank you gopherbrain...that was quite helpful. To swedcrip, what is IIRC?

 

[swedcrip]

Thank you gopherbrain...that was quite helpful. To swedcrip, what is IIRC?

if I recall correctly

 

[doctorlarry]

Thank you for your reply. You told me if I secure an audition rotation, I could take step2 with results in prior to the match. However, in your FAQs, it states "You can take the USMLE Step 2 CK and CS at any time, as programs do not require that you submit your score before match day." Does this not apply to my situation? Thanks again!

 

[GopherBrain]

This depends on your motivation. Almost nobody HAS to have your Step 2s done by the match, however, there are various reasons you might want to do this.

You said "Regardless of when I take step2, I plan on doing much better." If this is the case, you can follow the guidelines we discussed.