When to take Step2?

[medivh101]

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I am debating when to take Step2. I heard some schools use Step2 CK to screen for interview candidates along with Step1? I know that Step2 should definitely be taken before December prior to matching. Since the summer is a busy time for IR sub-I, surgery/med sub-I, away rotations, etc., when do you recommend people take Step2? Was anyone else in a similar situation trying to juggle their schedule?

Lastly, is there a database that shows whether a particular school requires Step2 prior to ERAS submission? I looked through FRIEDA, but it seems incomplete...

Any insight is useful. Thanks!

 

[leadhead]

I am debating when to take Step2. I fortunately did well on Step1 (250+). However, I heard some schools use Step2 CK to screen for interview candidates along with Step1? I know that Step2 should definitely be taken before December prior to matching. Since the summer is a busy time for IR sub-I, surgery/med sub-I, away rotations, etc., when do you recommend people take Step2? Was anyone else in a similar situation trying to juggle their schedule?

Lastly, is there a database that shows whether a particular school requires Step2 prior to ERAS submission? I looked through FRIEDA, but it seems incomplete...

Any insight is useful. Thanks!

It's really kind of dealer's choice and might depend on your rotation schedule more than anything. I also did well on step 1 and debated whether to hold off in case my score dipped, but in the end I just wanted to get it over with and took the month of July off to study and take the exam.

One thing I'll mention is the way that NBME scores are sent to ERAS that many applicants don't understand until they have to do it. Before ERAS opens you will click a button that permits the NBME to transmit your NBME scores to ERAS and pay a one time fee (its like $70 and i think they lumped it in your total ERAS bill). The NBME transcript that is sent will contain all of your NBME testing attempts that have had official scores returned. You can request updated transcripts to be transmitted throughout the application season for no charge. What this basically means is that if you've received your step 2 CK or CS scores before the day ERAS opens, they're going to be on the NBME transcript thats uploaded no matter what. If you're still awaiting your step 2 score results when ERAS opens, a transcript with your step 1 score will be uploaded and you'll have to request a transcript update later down the road: this may be advantageous if you have a dip from step 1 to step 2. In my case, I took step 2 CK in late July and my score didn't come back until literally a day or 2 after ERAS opened, but this was good because it gave me the choice to update my score if it was good or hold off on updating if it wasn't great.

In my experience there weren't many programs out there for rads that asked for step 2 scores for interview purposes. I'm not aware of any database so you'll just have to do your own work and look at the application tab on each programs website (yeah it sucks but the rest of us had to do it too).

Sorry for the long post, hope that makes sense.

 

[OrangeJuice1111]

I am debating when to take Step2. I fortunately did well on Step1 (250+). However, I heard some schools use Step2 CK to screen for interview candidates along with Step1? I know that Step2 should definitely be taken before December prior to matching. Since the summer is a busy time for IR sub-I, surgery/med sub-I, away rotations, etc., when do you recommend people take Step2? Was anyone else in a similar situation trying to juggle their schedule?

Lastly, is there a database that shows whether a particular school requires Step2 prior to ERAS submission? I looked through FRIEDA, but it seems incomplete...

Any insight is useful. Thanks!

Above response is pretty good and thorough. I'd also suggest emailing program coordinators if you still have any doubt. I wasn't sure about a couple of programs and they responded pretty quickly.

 

[medivh101]

It's really kind of dealer's choice and might depend on your rotation schedule more than anything. I also did well on step 1 and debated whether to hold off in case my score dipped, but in the end I just wanted to get it over with and took the month of July off to study and take the exam.

One thing I'll mention is the way that NBME scores are sent to ERAS that many applicants don't understand until they have to do it. Before ERAS opens you will click a button that permits the NBME to transmit your NBME scores to ERAS and pay a one time fee (its like $70 and i think they lumped it in your total ERAS bill). The NBME transcript that is sent will contain all of your NBME testing attempts that have had official scores returned. You can request updated transcripts to be transmitted throughout the application season for no charge. What this basically means is that if you've received your step 2 CK or CS scores before the day ERAS opens, they're going to be on the NBME transcript thats uploaded no matter what. If you're still awaiting your step 2 score results when ERAS opens, a transcript with your step 1 score will be uploaded and you'll have to request a transcript update later down the road: this may be advantageous if you have a dip from step 1 to step 2. In my case, I took step 2 CK in late July and my score didn't come back until literally a day or 2 after ERAS opened, but this was good because it gave me the choice to update my score if it was good or hold off on updating if it wasn't great.

In my experience there weren't many programs out there for rads that asked for step 2 scores for interview purposes. I'm not aware of any database so you'll just have to do your own work and look at the application tab on each programs website (yeah it sucks but the rest of us had to do it too).

Sorry for the long post, hope that makes sense.

Thanks, I appreciate the info. It was very helpful.