When to take step 2CK with "weird" grades

[The Empiricist]

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Hey everyone,

I know this is probably the 10 millionth "when to take step 2" question, but I have a weird combination of grades and wasn't able to find a thread that relates well with my specific situation which is kind of rare.

Med school: Unranked US allopathic
Step 1: low 240s
Class rank: Mediocre, with mediocre 3rd year grades so far (all passes)
Research: 2 pubs, 5 abstracts
Interested in internal medicine.

I usually somehow do well on standardized exams despite bad grades, so I don't think it's that unlikely that I'll do well on Step 2. That said, I was thinking I should just play it safe and take Step 2 CK in September or October and release the score only if I do well. Or should I take it earlier because of my poor grades? Thanks for your help.

 

[stapleit]

i was in a similar position as yours - did okay on step1 but a slew of passes for clinical year. I ended up pushing back my CK date too far for it to be beneficial (took it in Jan). Hard to say but I think I wouldve gotten more interview invites if I took the exam earlier in the year. If you take it early and end up not doing well, you can always not release it. You'll probably end up doing better anyways, since it's more likely that you would retain more info closer to 3rd year and not have to deal with the hassle with it during interviews or senioritis.