Hey everyone,I plan on taking Step2CS in October. Would there be any issues with this in terms of my residency application? My current schedule didn't have me taking psych/Ob until April-last week of June. I was hesitant to sign up early, as I had did not want to risk a potential fail. Pretty much missed all the dates open for me to sign up during this period. As such, I plan to take it in October following my home Uro/2 away rotations. (I plan on asking my advisors on this, but I didn't want to bother anyone with such a simple question.)Quick background: 250s Step1, Jr AOA, decent research/volunteer from mid-tier school. Plan on taking Step2CK the weekend after I finish Ob. Thank you so much!
Shouldn't be a problem at all. I would try to take it in the first half of October though, interviews start popping up in mid-late October before things really get rolling in November.
Nobody will care that you haven't taken CS. You should know though that some programs start interviewing as early as mid to late October though, so you may miss out an early interview date.
As long as you take it after your home sub-I and aways are done as it is strongly recommended not to take days off those rotations, as would happen for taking Step 2CS. If you plan on taking CK earlier, study hard, give yourself a good 2 weeks and you should be fine. The majority of the interview invites I would say come in the first 2 and a half weeks of October, and actual interview dates don't typically start until the beginning of November (some programs had dates at the end of October, but very few overall).
Step 2 Cs shouldn't be a problem in October, especially the first half of the month. I took mine Oct 14 and my earliest interview was 10/18 so it all worked out. You should not have to study at all to pass with flying colors (Except just learn the testing format and the rules). I would be more concerned by Step 2 CK, especially since youll be taking it early where you'll have to report your score. I initially was planning the same thing since I had rocked all my shelves 3rd year and did well so I scheduled to take it mid June, but I was strongly advised against it. With a Step 1 score in the 250s you would have to get at least a similar score for it not to look bad and maybe 10-15 points higher for it add to your application. Its a risk, that you may not have to take. Talk to your advisors.
Can anyone comment whether more Urology programs are now requiring to see Step 2 CK scores before they rank potential matches? Or is this not the case?
Thanks for the info!I've debated on the risk, and I will go ahead and study my butt off during my 3 months of Ob/Psych. I ended up taking a practice NBME (form 2) and scored a 246 with way below averages in Ob/decent in Psych. I figure with directed studying that can come up 10 points or more (hopefully). I've got those 3 months to study, and I landed a very nice psych rotation that should have the majorityof my afternoons off. I'll take NBME 6 about a week before, and if I'm not mid 260s I will probably reschedule. So my reasoning for taking it is as follows:1. I know I can do better than my Step1 (and its a 252) as I had a long term relationship end about 4 weeks prior to the test.2. Both my case report and research is pending publication, so I have stagnant time while I wait for the editting process. 3. If I take it later on during my home/away urology rotations, I think I'll score much lower as I'll have far less time to study. 4. I think this is the last part of my application that I can strengthen given the short period we have till I'll be submitting.So I'm nervous, but does that sound convincing or am I crazy in your eyes? (Just want to do all I can to match lol)
I can understand your position. I also spent my fair share on the issue. ideally if you take Step 2 after you submit ERAS (9/15), you would not have to send your Step 2 CK score to programs. How ERAS works is it will send all of your USMLE transcripts that are available when you submit. At a later time you can resend your transcripts again if they have changed (include Step 2) if it wasn't included the 1st time around. Taking step 2 ck for you, theres a huge risk of hurting you vs. little benefit. I took Step 2 CK 1 week after an Away Sub-I finished, and I didn't really study much and truly felt I forgot alot of basic stuff from 3rd year. But I still ended up getting 7 points higher than my step 1. I took it 9/30, so I didn't resend my USMLE transcripts, so programs wouldn't know, although I could have sent it. It seems that >250, you are in good shape to meet the "cut-off" at any program in the country. Youre never going to be compared otherwise among those candidates for interviews or ranking (262 vs. 252 candidate). It will come down to what sets you apart, research and activities.