When to take step2ck?

[acuknome]

Hey guys, when do you recommend that I take step2ck? I scored a 243 on step1. I'm asking because although this is a competitive score overall, it's about the average score for radiologyapplicants. Initially I planned on taking it early to get it out of the way, however The guidance counselor at my score recommended that I wait and take it after September 15th. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

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[UnderPar22]

Hey guys, when do you recommend that I take step2ck? I scored a 243 on step1. I'm asking because although this is a competitive score overall, it's about the average score for radiologyapplicants. Initially I planned on taking it early to get it out of the way, however The guidance counselor at my score recommended that I wait and take it after September 15th. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Take it early on. A 243, while a nice score, is about average and might not even get your app in the door at certain places. Just give yourself a few weeks and make sure you hit UWorld pretty hard. You should be able to crack 250 easy. I say there is prob a pretty low chance of you doing worse than your step 1 score, provided you prepare, so go for it.

 

[xx216xx]

I would recommend taking it just after the cutoff point that it would be automatically released; I think that comes out to late august or so. I did well on step 1 and followed the conventional wisdom of waiting and didn't take it until early november. I ended up doing well despite feeling like I'd do terrible and wish I could have had the score on my transcript while schools were still looking apps over and sending out invites. If you take it just after the cutoff point you'll be able to release it while it's still early and your app has yet to be looked at or you can always choose not to. It's kind of win-win in my mind. And of course try to knock it out of the park since it is kind of important and can only boost your app's strength if you do well.

 

[drizzt3117]

If I could do things all over again I'd have taken early. I scored a lot higher on it than step 1, but i'd mostly take it and ck early to have it out of the way.

 

[MossPoh]

I have a similar score and was told by our advisor people to take it earlier and get it out of the way. She mentioned that every year there are students that worry about doing worse and put it off, but they have always improved on their score.

 

[acuknome]

Appreciate the info. I think I'll stick to my initial plan of taking it earlier and do my best to knock it out of the park.

 

[whatabro]

Good plan. That's what I did. I bumped my already above average score up another ten points. Once that came out I got several interviews at top programs which may be coincidental but who knows?

 

[2012mdc]

I have a similar score and was told by our advisor people to take it earlier and get it out of the way. She mentioned that every year there are students that worry about doing worse and put it off, but they have always improved on their score.

I put it off to study more and I actually studied less. Ended up dropping some. Hasn't really mattered (no UCSF) as no one has asked about Step 2, not even once.

In hindsight I would have taken it in late August so I still would have had the option to hold my score.

I would only take it really early if you have a sub 240 Step 1 and you wanna use CK to prove that was a fluke

 

[MossPoh]

Yea, I have above a 240, but I feel my score was a significant drop from where I was on practice exams, so I was going to take it a little earlier....but I also just want to get it out of the way and move on.

 

[DrBowtie]

I would recommend taking it just after the cutoff point that it would be automatically released; I think that comes out to late august or so. I did well on step 1 and followed the conventional wisdom of waiting and didn't take it until early november. I ended up doing well despite feeling like I'd do terrible and wish I could have had the score on my transcript while schools were still looking apps over and sending out invites. If you take it just after the cutoff point you'll be able to release it while it's still early and your app has yet to be looked at or you can always choose not to. It's kind of win-win in my mind. And of course try to knock it out of the park since it is kind of important and can only boost your app's strength if you do well.

This. Take it no earlier than August 15th, but around that time. It comes back on the 3rd wednesday after the test usually so just map it out. This way as long as you submit Sept 1ish, you'll be in the clear.

If you don't improve, you can still just not release, if you go up, you'll be able to release still very early during the evaluation process.

 

[acuknome]

I have a 3week break before 4th year, during April and May, which is when I wanted to take it...

 

[2012mdc]

I have a 3week break before 4th year, during April and May, which is when I wanted to take it...

If you're motivated go ahead and do it. It's an easier test than Step 1. I dropped but still got above average with very minimal effort. The biggest problem I had was that I was 10 months removed from any general adult medicine so I forgot a lot. That's why I said I wish I took it in mid to late August.

 

[drizzt3117]

If you're motivated go ahead and do it. It's an easier test than Step 1. I dropped but still got above average with very minimal effort. The biggest problem I had was that I was 10 months removed from any general adult medicine so I forgot a lot. That's why I said I wish I took it in mid to late August.

I'll go on record as saying that I wish I'd taken it at the end of m3. I finished with surgery and medicine and I wouldn't have had to study that much. Of course, that's hindsight knowing what I got on it, but I can't imagine that if you're in the 240s that whatever you get will hurt you unless you blew it off. I think having my score released would have helped.