to take, or not to take step 2 now....

[flipflopsnsnow]

---

Members don't see this ad.

that is the question that is on my mind now. 😕
I passed step 1 with a not so hot score (202) but okay for going into peds (so i hear). I decided to take the month of July to study for step 2 and try to do better, just to help my application out a little.
Now that the end of the month is approaching, I am realizing that my hope to "kick ass" on step 2 wont be happening, and its pretty likely I will get close to around the same score. I mean, why should I expect a different result if I have been doing the same things (studying like I did last summer for step 1) this time around??

Any advice? I have to decide soon or its too late to cancel with prometric (or pay hefty fees) Is it better to play it safe and not take it, risking doing poorly? 🙁

 

[manning18]

I'd recommend that you go forward with your Step 2-CK exam as scheduled. You may not achieve the "kick ass" score you were hoping for, but simply having a passing score under your belt will be a relief and will allow you to focus on strengthening the other aspects of your application. I'm no expert, but I think you can get a strong, University-based Peds Residency with your Step 1 score (I know people who have done so recently, with score within 10 points of yours, in either direction). As you mentione,d rescheduling your test would be a costly move and I see no benefit in doing so. If you feel ready (at least in terms of passing), go ahead and take Step
2-CK as scheduled and move on with the remainder of your M-4 year, which can carry weight in the matching process. Good luck!

 

[flipflopsnsnow]

well in talking to people about this (deans, other students, upperclassmen-now interns)
I have been told that if you think that you can do better on Step 2, take it early so that it can be available to residency programs. Since this could be helpful for your application. But if you think you'll do the same, or even possibly worse than your step 1 score, this could be detrimental to your application. A risk possibly not worth taking, especially since I want a peds residency in Cali.
My options are taking it in 2 weeks (and unlikely I will go from mediocre to the mean) or taking it at the end of december (is prometric open the week between xmas and new years???? anyone know?) when I have time to study then, and when the pressure will be to pass, not to kick ass.

 

[manning18]

You can make decent progress in 2 weeks, especially if your starting point in mediocre, as you mentioned. I'm in somewhat of a a similar position, btw. I don't know if Prometric is open during the time you mentioned, but I would guess that they are not. I have seen instances in which someone takes a set time period off for Step 2 and chooses not to take the test by the end of that time. In some of these cases, the situation snowballs and the student struggles to find a test date that works, in terms of timing and allowing him/her to prepare effectively. IMHO, so long as you pass Step 2 (even with a 182 flat), I don't think it would hurt your applications much. A friend of mine had a similar dilemma last year (his Step 1 score was similar to yours) and I told him to just take Step 2 early and get it out of the way. In your case, I don't think your Step 2 score will have much impact on your applications unless you fail or score 220 (maybe 230)+. If you wait until late December, you may be rushing to take the test in time for Residency programs to see it by the time they rank and may run into problems with your school's individual rules. I say take it in 2 weeks, but hopefully you'll get some additional feedback!

 

[jojo14]

You could try taking one of the NBME tests and seeing what your projected score is- that would give you an idea of where you stand. Just a suggestion.

 

[flipflopsnsnow]

yeah i did that, and didnt do so hot....but i can reason it out ---it was the first one, supposedly that is trickier some say, i havent completed my studying, etc etc. that really isnt my main concern.

i just want to know if taking it early and doing just as crappy on step 2 as i did on step 1 can hurt me in any way.... cuz that is what i heard from people at my school. because other than taking it now to get a nice, higher, helpful score, i have no reason or need to take it now.

 

[Leukocyte]

IMHO, you should take the score on the NBME practice test seriously. It is a good indication of were you stand.

Why not take the NBME practice test now (again) and see where yo stand?

Good Luck.

 

[badgergirl]

Hey flipflopsnsnow! Know who I am?....

I am having the exact same dilemma, just a couple weeks ahead of your schedule. At your advice, my dear, I took an NBME practice exam on Saturday and got a 410/194. Granted, I was an idiot and started it at about 8pm and finished around 1am, but still - since then I have been agonizing about what to do. I've done about half of Qbank and average a 65%.

Much like you, I didn't do so hot on Step 1 (196 😳 ), and I know that I need to get a better score to win some favor with the residency programs. I'm going for ob/gyn, which can be pretty competitive. I know that if I took this exam on Tuesday that I would pass it, but if the NBME practice exam is any indication (and I think it is), I'm not prepared enough to blow it out of the water like the other 99% of SDNers. It's a double-edged sword - a high score helps you out, but a low score hurts you even more than if you'd not taken it. At least that's what I know from talking to the ob/gyn chair at our medical school. You have an advantage, though - you have another 2 weeks to study. Since we now know that changes must be made within 5 business days 😉 you can take another NBME at the end of this week and see how you do.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope that you go into the exam with confidence - if you have any doubts, don't take it!! You'll only psych yourself out!!

😀

 

[omarsaleh66]

I was going to take step2 this friday but Im still not done with UW. I guess Ive got some ADD or something but I can only do like 40 q a day. I've gotten so lazy man in 4th year, i cant believe it. That damn netflix (8 movies at a time) and and Hitman for PS2 taken up all my time. Still gotta take those NBME exams, qbook and crush or First aid. But prolly gonna delay till mid-august.

later