very low step 1 score, what are my chances ?

[lispro87]

hello everyone, i am new to this forum.
i graduated last year(IMG). Just received my step 1 score : 203
i am very disheartened and feel like a complete loser right now. i had scored 222 on my last nbme form and 240/600 on uwsa.
the real test was way tougher than nbme and i knew right after, that i would not be getting a good score. but was not expecting below 210.
i was to apply for radiology next year but that has gone down the drain obviously.
i have done 1 elective in IR and 6 months research at mass general hospital, boston(published 3 papers, 1 poster presentation and a chapter in harvards imaging atlas2012). 2 LORs from MGH and 1 from the elective.
i would like to know, where do i stand with this score ? should i give up my dream of doing residency in the US ?
any advice/opinion would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

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[defcon8]

hello everyone, i am new to this forum.
i graduated last year(IMG). Just received my step 1 score : 203
i am very disheartened and feel like a complete loser right now. i had scored 222 on my last nbme form and 240/600 on uwsa.
the real test was way tougher than nbme and i knew right after, that i would not be getting a good score. but was not expecting below 210.
i was to apply for radiology next year but that has gone down the drain obviously.
i have done 1 elective in IR and 6 months research at mass general hospital, boston(published 3 papers, 1 poster presentation and a chapter in harvards imaging atlas2012). 2 LORs from MGH and 1 from the elective.
i would like to know, where do i stand with this score ? should i give up my dream of doing residency in the US ?
any advice/opinion would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

You have alot going for you other than just USMLE scores. NRMP data suggests that this is taken into account by a significant number of rad programs. 11 Non-US grads matched with scores less than 210 and 27 with scores less than 220. Your publications, US clinical experience and LORs at a prestigious institution will surely go a far way. The suboptimal step 1 score will make things a bit harder for you, but not unobtainable. If you havent already done step 2, then try and get as competitive a score as you can. You can review NRMP data to see what else you might try to achieve over the year to strengthen your application: http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2011.pdf

 

[phoenix89]

hello everyone, i am new to this forum.
i graduated last year(IMG). Just received my step 1 score : 203
i am very disheartened and feel like a complete loser right now. i had scored 222 on my last nbme form and 240/600 on uwsa.
the real test was way tougher than nbme and i knew right after, that i would not be getting a good score. but was not expecting below 210.
i was to apply for radiology next year but that has gone down the drain obviously.
i have done 1 elective in IR and 6 months research at mass general hospital, boston(published 3 papers, 1 poster presentation and a chapter in harvards imaging atlas2012). 2 LORs from MGH and 1 from the elective.
i would like to know, where do i stand with this score ? should i give up my dream of doing residency in the US ?
any advice/opinion would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

With your clinical experiece and research, the last thing you would want to do is give up. Keep your head high and think about the less competitive fields.

 

[lispro87]

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[lispro87]

With your clinical experiece and research, the last thing you would want to do is give up. Keep your head high and think about the less competitive fields.

hi pheonix89,
i do not have any USCE or LORs in IM/FM so i doubt i will have any luck in landing ivs in those fields.(esp with such a low score)
so i guess its either rads or nothing.

 

[lispro87]

You have alot going for you other than just USMLE scores. NRMP data suggests that this is taken into account by a significant number of rad programs. 11 Non-US grads matched with scores less than 210 and 27 with scores less than 220. Your publications, US clinical experience and LORs at a prestigious institution will surely go a far way. The suboptimal step 1 score will make things a bit harder for you, but not unobtainable. If you havent already done step 2, then try and get as competitive a score as you can. You can review NRMP data to see what else you might try to achieve over the year to strengthen your application: http://www.nrmp.org/data/chartingoutcomes2011.pdf

hi defcon8,thanks for the quick reply.
after receiving my step 1 score i dont know whether its worth taking ck/cs. i am not even thinking of applying to university programs. i dont think i can get an iv even from a low tier community program.
REASON: i have heard that programs filter out applications based on step 1 scores. since my score falls well below the lower limit, my application(usce and lors) wont even be looked at. pretty confused and depressed as i feel all the usce will go to waste.

 

[defcon8]

hi defcon8,thanks for the quick reply.
after receiving my step 1 score i dont know whether its worth taking ck/cs. i am not even thinking of applying to university programs. i dont think i can get an iv even from a low tier community program.
REASON: i have heard that programs filter out applications based on step 1 scores. since my score falls well below the lower limit, my application(usce and lors) wont even be looked at. pretty confused and depressed as i feel all the usce will go to waste.

rads is a very competitive field. you have a strong application outside of your usmle score irrespective of the field you are applying to, and that will be taken into consideration. each program has different requirements. several programs dont use cutoffs anymore which is clearly reflected by the number of persons being accepted into competitive fields with lower step 1 scores. those persons, however, must have a very strong application otherwise. as competitive as radiology is, a significant number of the persons who matched are non-US grads. and amongst them, some with low step 1 scores. if you pursue a less competitive field then things will be alot easier for you, but if you continue with radiology, you have a fair chance of getting in. i suggest you review the link i sent earlier and also view these match statistics for the different specialties to see where you stand as an IMG and have a more objective outlook on what your chances are:
http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html
All the best

 

[lispro87]

rads is a very competitive field. you have a strong application outside of your usmle score irrespective of the field you are applying to, and that will be taken into consideration. each program has different requirements. several programs dont use cutoffs anymore which is clearly reflected by the number of persons being accepted into competitive fields with lower step 1 scores. those persons, however, must have a very strong application otherwise. as competitive as radiology is, a significant number of the persons who matched are non-US grads. and amongst them, some with low step 1 scores. if you pursue a less competitive field then things will be alot easier for you, but if you continue with radiology, you have a fair chance of getting in. i suggest you review the link i sent earlier and also view these match statistics for the different specialties to see where you stand as an IMG and have a more objective outlook on what your chances are:
http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html
All the best

thank you. feel a bit better after seeing that

 

[the god]

I am an IMG, just curious, how did you get Research @ MGH, was it paid or unpaid ....

 

[VenusinFurs]

hi pheonix89,
i do not have any USCE or LORs in IM/FM so i doubt i will have any luck in landing ivs in those fields.(esp with such a low score)
so i guess its either rads or nothing.

Maybe if this match doesn't work out for you, you could try working for an IM doc, get a letter out of that, and participate in the match again?

 

[lispro87]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I know it is pretty late but I came across my post and never got the chance to update my situation. I applied for IM and Rads in Sept 2013 and ended up getting 5 IVs in Rads/none in IM. I matched into a Radiology Residency program in march 2014. I am currently completing an internship/prelim year in surgery. I guess my stars were aligned, that I ended up matching with below average scores. CS pass, Step 1-203, Step 2-199 (1st attempt for all). Thanks to you guys for giving me hope when I was down after my Step 1 result. Cheers