Hey guys, I know you have all heard this question before but I assure you I have searched far and wide and it is almost impossible to find reliable and current advice about this, specifically with regards to ortho.
Classic scenario, sitting on a solid Step 1 (253), good preclinical and clinical grades (like half honors), done pretty well on shelf exams, some research, a couple pubs, the usual. When in the world do I take Step 2???? Basically my 2 options are as follows: 1) Take it in between 3rd and 4th year (end of June) and have only like 8 days to dedicate to studying. I can try and mix in some studying during clerkships but I'm finishing with surgery so that's tough. 2) Wait until December when I have a vacation block for interviews.
Pros of taking it early: Getting it out of the way, info is more fresh in my mind, less stuff to "relearn" down the line for the test.
Cons of taking it early: Not a lot of time to dedicate to studying, and obviously I feel like I can only hurt my application if I don't do as well (especially since it would automatically be released via ERAS).
I know that there is tons of debate about how to best approach this exact scenario. I do believe that I am capable of doing well if I take it in June and I definitely understand the stance that taking it early shows confidence and all. However, I also believe that anyone is capable of having a bad test day for whatever reason. With something as important as my career and in a specialty as competitive as ortho, there's really no point in taking that chance right? Assuming I took it in December, programs would have my results back long after interviews but before submitting rank lists. At that point would my score would pretty much not matter as long as I passed?
Would love some advice from anyone who has already gone through this process or any docs who actually make decisions about applicants. How are applicants without Step 2 scores viewed and what would be the consequence if someone with otherwise good stats whom they liked as an interviewee then turned in a sub-par step 2 score before ranking was finalized? I know that the general advice in the past has been to wait but has that changed recently?
Classic scenario, sitting on a solid Step 1 (253), good preclinical and clinical grades (like half honors), done pretty well on shelf exams, some research, a couple pubs, the usual. When in the world do I take Step 2???? Basically my 2 options are as follows: 1) Take it in between 3rd and 4th year (end of June) and have only like 8 days to dedicate to studying. I can try and mix in some studying during clerkships but I'm finishing with surgery so that's tough. 2) Wait until December when I have a vacation block for interviews.
Pros of taking it early: Getting it out of the way, info is more fresh in my mind, less stuff to "relearn" down the line for the test.
Cons of taking it early: Not a lot of time to dedicate to studying, and obviously I feel like I can only hurt my application if I don't do as well (especially since it would automatically be released via ERAS).
I know that there is tons of debate about how to best approach this exact scenario. I do believe that I am capable of doing well if I take it in June and I definitely understand the stance that taking it early shows confidence and all. However, I also believe that anyone is capable of having a bad test day for whatever reason. With something as important as my career and in a specialty as competitive as ortho, there's really no point in taking that chance right? Assuming I took it in December, programs would have my results back long after interviews but before submitting rank lists. At that point would my score would pretty much not matter as long as I passed?
Would love some advice from anyone who has already gone through this process or any docs who actually make decisions about applicants. How are applicants without Step 2 scores viewed and what would be the consequence if someone with otherwise good stats whom they liked as an interviewee then turned in a sub-par step 2 score before ranking was finalized? I know that the general advice in the past has been to wait but has that changed recently?
