When to take Step II

[Blue Frog]

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Just wondering when most people receommend taking Step II.

It seems when I look at SDN threads that everyone lists their Step II scores as if that went into their application, but I thought if you had a good enough Step I score (230ish or above) you don't need to take Step II until Winter/Spring. (Assuming you're not set on Mass Gen, but just want to be competetive at most programs)

Do people feel they "should" take Step II just because programs will want to see it, or will require it..even if they did get a 230?

I would very much apprecite if people listed their Step I score and then what month they took Step II. Also, how long did you spend studying for it?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Sweet Tea]

I took Step 2 in July, about 4 weeks after I finished my M3 rotations. I took it early b/c my spring rotations were ob/gyn, surgery, and then medicine, and I figured I was only get dumber the longer I put it off. I also just wanted to get the damn thing over with. My school also requires that we take CK and CS by a certain time in order to graduate, and I didn't want to have to worry about getting the thing done on time.

So glad I took it early.

 

[deleted109597]

Took it 31 Aug, because my Step 1 was average. Some people say that if you cross 240 you don't need it, but less than that you do. Others say don't take it unless you need to pull up a bad score.
If you think you need it, take it. Ask a PD you are friends with.

 

[BKN]

Just wondering when most people receommend taking Step II.

It seems when I look at SDN threads that everyone lists their Step II scores as if that went into their application, but I thought if you had a good enough Step I score (230ish or above) you don't need to take Step II until Winter/Spring. (Assuming you're not set on Mass Gen, but just want to be competetive at most programs)

Do people feel they "should" take Step II just because programs will want to see it, or will require it..even if they did get a 230?

I would very much apprecite if people listed their Step I score and then what month they took Step II. Also, how long did you spend studying for it?

Thanks everyone!

Well this will be complicated and somewhat program specific, but I'll try to explain at least one PD's take on this.

I first got on SDN a year ago because I had made a decision that I wasn't going to rank anyone who didn't have step 1, ck and cs finished. I thought (and still think) that objective evidence is better than the the very selected information in the MSPE. The SLORs are more useful for our business, but are you going to ask anyone who would give you less than a glowing rec to write one?

Well, apparently a couple of other programs were saying the same thing. Wonder of wonders, Derek told me that there was a panic over at this SDN (?) thing. The concern was that slots were already filled for the cs to the point that they couldn't get a slot and have the results back by mid-February. So I backed off, saying next year.

After a year's thought, I don't think it's quite as important. I think the SLOR captures both interpersonal skills and clinical acumen. The cs can only capture the former, and it only pulls out the worst. It can't document the stars. If a candidate had neither when it came time for us to rank him, it might cost him.

For the CK, most of you will be hurting yourselves by not taking it early. I've looked at the means for step 1 and ck for our applicant pool. Generally EM applicants do better on the CK. On average my applicants who give me both do 4 points better on the 2 numeral scale (75-99 passing). I suppose that makes sense since ED docs tend to be uberclinicians.😍 My DO pool shows a similar pattern on the COMLEX.

So whether a program uses a general sense of the candidate or a specific formula (like mine), having the ck or ce done will probably help.

And before I start getting panicked PMs about what I do if there is no CK or CE in the app, I'll explain that. We have a formula in which scores are used as a factor in the rank order. The actual weights vary year to year but are never more than 50% and usually less. If I don't have the CK or CE, I simply substitute the part 1 in that term. As you see, for most of you that would disadvantage you slightly.

 

[SmoothObdurator]

Just wondering when most people receommend taking Step II.

It seems when I look at SDN threads that everyone lists their Step II scores as if that went into their application, but I thought if you had a good enough Step I score (230ish or above) you don't need to take Step II until Winter/Spring. (Assuming you're not set on Mass Gen, but just want to be competetive at most programs)

Do people feel they "should" take Step II just because programs will want to see it, or will require it..even if they did get a 230?

I would very much apprecite if people listed their Step I score and then what month they took Step II. Also, how long did you spend studying for it?

Thanks everyone!

Something that i didn't know -- you cannot suppress your step 2 score on your ERAS application if you get a bad score on it BEFORE you apply, because when you send your USMLE transcript with your applications all your scores get sent. it didn't make too much of a difference for me, but in hindsight had i known this i would have considered taking the test so that my scores would come back before interviews but AFTER I submitted my applications, so that I would have a choice in sharing the score or not. You can check a box on ERAS that prevents programs from seeing any new scores you get after you apply. I would highly recommend checking that box.
That said, if a program during an interview wants to know your step 2 score they are going to just ask you anyway, and then you're going to have to tell them anyway or they might think the worst (that you failed)...so no use pleading the 5th.

 

[koontz]

Now I'm nervous. I did well enough on step 1(232), so I decided to postpone step 2 until the end of october, and cs in april. From the post by BKN this now seems like a bad idea. Did I shoot myself in the foot or is this application process making me paranoid?

 

[Dr. Will]

Now I'm nervous. I did well enough on step 1(232), so I decided to postpone step 2 until the end of october, and cs in april. From the post by BKN this now seems like a bad idea. Did I shoot myself in the foot or is this application process making me paranoid?

I have a slightly lower Step 1 and am not planning on taking CK until Nov. 2 and not taking CS until March. My advisors, and others I have talked to have said it's ok...both of us are above the national ave for Step I, and the ave. for applicants that match in EM. Also remember, there is so much more to your application than one test. It seems like these scores are more important when it comes to actually ranking the applicant pool (and our scores will be in far ahead of this) than to actually giving out interview invites. Ask yourself this...would you really want to match at a place that cared more about Step I than the total picture? Please correct me if I'm wrong in any of this BKN. 😀

 

[BKN]

I have a slightly lower Step 1 and am not planning on taking CK until Nov. 2 and not taking CS until March. My advisors, and others I have talked to have said it's ok...both of us are above the national ave for Step I, and the ave. for applicants that match in EM. Also remember, there is so much more to your application than one test. It seems like these scores are more important when it comes to actually ranking the applicant pool (and our scores will be in far ahead of this) than to actually giving out interview invites. Ask yourself this...would you really want to match at a place that cared more about Step I than the total picture? Please correct me if I'm wrong in any of this BKN. 😀

I don't think anybody expects the either of the step 2s to be available for invitations. My post was about availablility for ranking.

 

[crewmaster1]

U of Washington makes us take our CK and CS by Sept 30th or they say bad things about us in our Dean's letter which goes out Nov 1!

 

[Hercules]

If your Step 1 score is strong and your school doesn't make you take it early I would put off Step 2. If you're Step 1 is 240's or above then Step 2 can do nothing but harm you. A strong showing won't help your application much, but a bad test day could raise questions. As BKN pointed out, Step 2 scores usually climb, but I would hate to be the one person who had a terrible test day and dropped their score significantly. I put Step 2 off until after interview season and never got asked about it by any of the programs.