When should I take my step 2?

[TripleB]

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I am a 3rd year med school planning on applying for emergency med. My step 1 score wasn't that great (222) and I signed up for step 2 CK for sept 17th. I was wondering if this is a bit late considering my score or is this alright?

Also, I am curious how bad will the 222 affect my chances?

 

[BoardingDoc]

I would take it earlier than that if you can. A 222 isn't going to hurt you that much, but it definitely isn't going to help. A strong step 2 score before interview season starts would be a big bonus for you. ERAS opens up for residency programs on Sept 15th, which means if you stick to your Sept 17th date, you won't have your step 2 score in until almost a full month after application season has begun.

My one caveat with the advice to take it earlier is that if you think you need until Sept 17th to do well, then you should wait. Pushing it forward only to score a 225 isn't beneficial.

I suspect there are people on SDN with similar step 1 scores who can chime in on when they took step 2.

 

[link2swim06]

I would take it earlier than that if you can. A 222 isn't going to hurt you that much, but it definitely isn't going to help. A strong step 2 score before interview season starts would be a big bonus for you. ERAS opens up for residency programs on Sept 15th, which means if you stick to your Sept 17th date, you won't have your step 2 score in until almost a full month after application season has begun.

My one caveat with the advice to take it earlier is that if you think you need until Sept 17th to do well, then you should wait. Pushing it forward only to score a 225 isn't beneficial.

I suspect there are people on SDN with similar step 1 scores who can chime in on when they took step 2.

I agree. I'd even say taking step 2 prior to EM rotations is an advantage. I felt like I had a much better knowledge base and therefore performed better on the rotations. Which might mean taking it in July if possible.

 

[Greenninja13]

Take it early. I had a step one slightly lower than yours. I took step 2 July 5th and scored 45 points higher. Many PDs respected the jump in score and also the fact that I wasn't afraid to take it early.

Just study your butt off toward the end of 3rd year and the material will be fresh in your mind. Unless you really feel you need the extra time to do better than take it early and be done with it.

 

[TripleB]

Would you say it is more important to get the two letters from EM PD ready first or the Step 2 score out first?


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[red10]

Would you say it is more important to get the two letters from EM PD ready first or the Step 2 score out first?


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To be in the best possible place I'd try to have one SLOE ready and your step 2 score by the time the application opens.
I had a similar step 1 score. I did my home rotation in July, took 3 weeks off to crank out both parts of Step 2 and then my away rotation mid Aust/early september. Both my letters were in by the end of September shortly after the app opened and so was my Step 2 CK (which was 30 points higher). Pretty much immediately after that step2 score came in I started getting interviews.

 

[GreenEydGem]

I am a 3rd year med school planning on applying for emergency med. My step 1 score wasn't that great (222) and I signed up for step 2 CK for sept 17th. I was wondering if this is a bit late considering my score or is this alright?

Also, I am curious how bad will the 222 affect my chances?

I would advice taking Step 2 as early as possible. It could affect how you get interviews and will definitely affect whether a program ranks you or not. 2 SLOE's is the minimum you should have and they should be from a CD, PD or faculty that has input in the selection process for that program. Other LOR are fine, but SLOE's are what matters if you're looking to be competitive. I also recommend spell-checking your entire application in ERAS before hitting "submit". I can't tell you how many files looked great up until I found a spelling error.

For the record, 222 is average but not horrible. Good luck!

 

[TripleB]

Thanks for all the input. I moved my test to August 8th. Giving me 2 weeks of free time to study for it. I should also have 1 SLOE ready by then.
By the way, I read that if you take step 2 between mid august and mid October, you might end up getting scores much later than the usual 4 weeks, is that true?



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[red10]

Thanks for all the input. I moved my test to August 8th. Giving me 2 weeks of free time to study for it. I should also have 1 SLOE ready by then.
By the way, I read that if you take step 2 between mid august and mid October, you might end up getting scores much later than the usual 4 weeks, is that true?



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there was a block in july and august that if you took the test then, instead of the usual turn around time you had to wait until like mid/late september. It's a high volume testing time. Check with step 2 ck website and it should tell you when to expect scores

 

[HarryPlopper]

Sept 17th is late. If you want early interviews, especially with a mediocre Step 1, you need to have a good Step 2. Ideally you want to have your Step 2 score + 1 SLOE by the time ERAS opens.

I only got a couple interviews at first because my Step 2 was late. After my Step 2 score returned, I got many more invites. If I had to do it all over again, taking an earlier Step 2 would probably be the top of the list.

 

[secants]

I took it as soon as third year ended. Scores are usually higher than step 1 anyway so I feel taking it early can only help you.