NrvPmp
OSRR Newbie
Posts: 3
(1/14/02 9:47:56 pm)
Reply New Step 1 cutoff for interviews?
Has anyone encountered/heard of a higher cutoff for interviews at the majority of the ortho programs? I've heard they've raised the bar to 230. Also, is this trend likely to continue the year after and so on?
Thanks
bonedoc2be
OSRR Senior
Posts: 68
(1/15/02 12:33:51 am)
Reply Different places=different ideas
some places might do that, others may not. 230 has always been a number i have heard thrown around that is good to get above to be reasonably competitive
Ortho2002
OSRR Fellow
Posts: 137
(1/15/02 10:13:32 am)
Reply no magic number
i think that ballpark 230 is about right, but after seeing who wants to interview me, i can definitely say that there is no magic number where you will definitely get an interview. talking to folks on the trail, we all had stories about applying to what we perceived as "second tier" schools and getting nothing from them while some of us got obviously "first tier" programs that wanted to interview us. so, to answer you question, i think that 230 seems to be a good guess at an initial cutoff (but not concrete). for all of you applying next year, don't even try and figure out the system of who gets interviews where! the only way to guarantee yourself a solid number of interview choices is to apply to a @$%&load of schools and see who is interested!
tbone
OSRR Senior
Posts: 54
(1/15/02 12:27:31 pm)
Reply Interview cutoffs
I agree. You would be amazed at how random the interview process can be. I think a lot of it depends not just on your board scores, but also on your letters. Good letters help you, and if the committee at a program knows one or more of your writers, then that's an additional boost. I am pretty certain that I got invited to many of my interviews based on who wrote my letters.
As for cutoff scores, I know that people from my class got interviews at many places with less than a 230. Also, if your Step I is weak, you can always take Step II early and try to do better. Our school requires us to take it early anyway, and while I complained at the time, it's nice to have it over with early in 4th year so you don't have to worry about it.
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