what if you did worse on step2??

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Greenlee

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dont panic
you're fine
doubtful any will question it and it certainly won't decrease the number of interviews you get
most have no idea what the average for step2 is as they don't follow it, only step1
 
Greenlee said:
i don't know how it happened. i felt good during the test and came out of it sure that i did better than step 1. but alas, i actually went down a few points (5 to be exact). how is this going to affect my chances when applying for internal medicine? is this the kiss of death or what? any advice (or much needed consolences)?

Whoa there. Some med students need to learn how to calm down. No program is going to make a big deal out of 5 points. In fact, the standard error of measurment on my Step 1 score was 6 points, so you basically got the same score.
 
t
 
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Greenlee said:
the problem is that i went from a 211 on step 1 (already a less than stellar score) down to a 206 on step 2. :( does this new score really weaken my application now?

TAKE A BIG DEEP BREATH...Relax. That score is totally fine for most IM programs nationwide. I applied to ortho with a similar step 1 score, you can laugh, I don't mind. Truth of the matter is, I think that specialties like IM will be happy to have YOUR interest in THEM, especially when they consider the large proportion of foreign born applicants, not that I'm knocking the qualifications of IMG's re: knowledge/training/skills. Good luck.
 
No - as CameronFrye pointed out, the scores are within each exam's SEM, therefore, they are statistically equivalent. No big deal.
 
Only a 205? Just give it up man, no residency will accept you with those scores. That's the answer you want to hear, right? Oh, and I hope you're good at flipping burgers... you'll need to do that a lot if you want to pay off med school before you're 80...
 
My step 2 score dropped a lot (246 Step I, 216 Step II). I still matched in the specialty I wanted and at the program I wanted.

If you can explain why your score was lower (I was sleep deprived on a trauma surgery rotation), then I think it won't matter that much.
 
you could always wait until you get interviews, then submit the step 2 score later, if you feel it will hurt you... but i agree with the above posters - it's statistically the same score.

good luck.

-t
 
I was under the impression that STEP2 scores often weren't submitted at the time of residency application and didn't matter that much. Not the case?
 
eklope2000 said:
I was under the impression that STEP2 scores often weren't submitted at the time of residency application and didn't matter that much. Not the case?

that depends on your application (and whether or not you've actually sat for step 2 CK at the time of application)...

from anecdotal experience, most places don't seem to care too much in terms of offering interviews; but if you tanked step 1, some programs want to see an improvement in step 2... food for thought.

-t
 
You'll be fine! Even if you dropped 15-20 points and still fall within the program's cut-off then why worry? Everyone has their bad days.
 
Hi...desperately need your advice.

Did well on step 1: 223/90, but basically bombed step 2: 201/82. Do you think this will drastically decrease my chances at top IM programs? Will I need to explain what happened? How do I release step 1 alone on Eras and Step 2 later if I already recieved my step 2 score?

HELP!!!!!!
 
Venom said:
Hi...desperately need your advice.

Did well on step 1: 223/90, but basically bombed step 2: 201/82. Do you think this will drastically decrease my chances at top IM programs? Will I need to explain what happened? How do I release step 1 alone on Eras and Step 2 later if I already recieved my step 2 score?

HELP!!!!!!
its too late...u had to ahve sent out the step 1 transcript out first..then u coulda held onto the step 2 i believe :oops: goodluck :luck:
 
mine dropped a little too. from 262 to 219 lol. i didnt study too hard for number 2. i studied like a crazed animal for number 1 though.
 
I dropped from a 267 to a 245...you think it'll hurt my chances??? Just kidding, I applied for the early match and haven't even taken step 2 yet. Ya'll need to relax. I mean, if you're applying to derm, i can understand, but I'm sure that alot of IM programs will be happy to have you as long as you pass step 1 and 2.
 
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