When to take step 2?

[Eklipse113]

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I am still not completely decided on a specialty but was considering general surgery lately. I wanted advice on when to take step 2.

I got a 256 on step 1 and my pre-clinical grades were great, my clinical grades so far have been one high pass (med) and one honors (surg) and haven't gotten any more back yet.

Options are to either take step 2 right before my 4th year away rotations begin as 3rd year clerkships end, or to take it later on after ERAS submission but before 12/31.

Any advice?

 

[evilbooyaa]

250+ on Step 1? If you're not going for ultra-competitive, take Step 2 late.

If you're going for gen surg, you'll be more than OK with your 256.

 

[DeadCactus]

Just take it early and get it done with. The studying will be easier/shorter and the rest of the year will be that much more enjoyable and you'll have one more gold star on your residency application when they start dishing out invites...

 

[Trastuz]

Just take it early and get it done with. The studying will be easier/shorter and the rest of the year will be that much more enjoyable and you'll have one more gold star on your residency application when they start dishing out invites...

Lots of people say this but I disagree. It will definitely be easier if you take it right after 3rd year cause everything is fresh but if there is a 1% chance that your score will drop >10 points I say it's not worth it. A 256 is good enough to get you or at least qualify you for an invite anywhere you want. It's all about ECs and the rest of your app now. Another test score is not going to help - they know you're really smart.

 

[fahimaz7]

250+ on Step 1? If you're not going for ultra-competitive, take Step 2 late.

If you're going for gen surg, you'll be more than OK with your 256.

I was in the same boat. Sat on a 257 and debated what to do. Essentially I decided that I could do just as well on Step 2 so I took it in August after our EM rotation, which was the perfect rotation to have before step 2.

Step 2 scores, on average, are 10-15 points above where they used to be. This held true for me. If you do well during MS3 just sign up to take it when you have the free time. Do Uworld and you'll win.

Some programs won't invite you till your scores come in and other won't rank you until they come in. food for thought

 

[Trastuz]

I was in the same boat. Sat on a 257 and debated what to do. Essentially I decided that I could do just as well on Step 2 so I took it in August after our EM rotation, which was the perfect rotation to have before step 2.

Step 2 scores, on average, are 10-15 points above where they used to be. This held true for me. If you do well during MS3 just sign up to take it when you have the free time. Do Uworld and you'll win.

Some programs won't invite you till your scores come in and other won't rank you until they come in. food for thought

Yeah I do agree with this. The importance of Step II is specialty specific and I admittedly know nothing about surgery. In rads, the only program that cares about Step II is UCSF and that's just for ranking, not inviting the applicant to interview.

 

[FSU2013]

I took it and I'm glad I did. I did pretty well on step one (a little lower than you) but I thought I could kill step 2. It's much easier to take the test immediately after third year and I think it makes for a more complete app. I think it shows that you're not going to play the game and you're sure your step 1 wasn't a fluke.

Also, step 2 is gaining more importance.