WAMC with very low step 1 (199)...any advice would mean a lot!

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tictac123

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Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this! Im an M3 at an average US MD school with no major red flags but I do have a 199 on step 1. We had to pick our initial specialty recently and I thought I was pretty sure about primary care but then I started neuro...Im currently in the middle of the rotation and have really enjoyed it and basically want to learn more about the competitiveness (due to my very low step 1 score). I did a pretty decent search on here, reddit, and even looked through the Charting Outcomes in the Match 2018 to get a better idea and still was a bit unclear to me. It seems like there are significantly fewer applicants and programs for neuro compared to FM or IM (the specialties I was initially thinking about) which is a bit daunting ... but Charting Outcomes showed 16/22 USMDs matched with a score of 191-200 in 2018, which seems solid?

My third year grades so far have been decent but nothing spectacular and I know a lot of this will depend on my step 2 score coming up this summer...but if you could humor a neurotic med student trying to find their passion, I would really appreciate that! Just want to see if I show a solid improvement on step 2, will I have a good chance for neuro? What is a good score to aim for to feel confident to make up for my low step 1? How much more competitive is it (if at all) than IM/FM? Truly any replies would be awesome and again, I'm sorry if this is in the wrong spot!
 
You'll have a good chance but will want to apply broadly to programs and include some that aren't very well known.
 
You really want to focus on having as good a Step 2 CK as you can, and to take it early so it's ready for application time. That will help with competitiveness a lot because you can "explain" the poor Step 1. Also do well on rotations and get good LORs. You want to make that Step 1 look like a fluke.
 
Do your home institution have a neuron program? If so, get to know the faculty and collaborate with them on research.
 
One of my classmates matched into a university program in the Northeast with a score a little bit higher than yours; step 2 was not too impressive either. I would say your chances are good if you apply broadly (75+ programs)...
 
The unfortunate truth is that A LOT of academic programs have score cut offs for interview invite it seems....
 
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