I was in a similar situation with a step 1 of 221. I took step 2 in July so it would show up for ERAS. My reasoning was that I felt my step 1 score was due to some bad circumstances in my life at the time and I knew I could do better on step 2. It paid off cuz i got a 231 on step2. I don't know what difference this made in the eyes of the programs I applied to but I can say I got 8 interviews and matched in the end. Plus I went away with the satisfaction of reaching a personal goal of 230+. P.S. you might want to try an antibiotic rod before placing the steel...just a suggestion.

I'm also debating whether or not to take the Step 2 early this summer. My step 1 score is a 232... which I still feel is cause for worry given the current climate. My 3rd year grades are alright... I got honors for medicine but only a high pass for surgery which is also bothering me a bit... any advice about all this??? Would really help me out.

Orthorider, I don't think you are in bad shape. A 232 alone is enough to get quite a few interviews. Honoring medicine will only help you. If you are really worried, go ahead and take step II this summer and only post your results if they are better than your 232, but I wouldn't worry too much.

Okay, here's the deal as it was told to ME. My advisor, who also sits on the selection committee at my school advised me to take STEP 2 early for ONE SIMPLE REASON. There are a ton of candidates with good scores who will be out there interviewing. If you have 2 candidates, equally impressive recommendations, basic/clinical grades, 10min interview didn't reveal psychopathology, and 1 of the 2 took step 2 (and at least passed), while the other didn't...WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE? He told me the interview is ONLY to weed out the psycho's. EVERYONE interviewing for ortho has already passed a BASIC numbers screen, most haven't even had their personal statements and recs read. I was sold when he told me that only 1 of the 8 accepted last year hadn't taken Step 2. Needless to say I sacrificed my July and scored 11 points higher. Could I have gotten in with my Step 1 score alone? Sure as long as my evil ortho candidate twin didn't take step 2. Think about it! )

Thanks to Orthoboy for finally being an example of someone who took step II early. I have different stats at my school than Hulk however. Out of the 6 guys who matched Ortho at my school, no one took step II before December. I'm pretty sure that my step I score was the lowest of the 6 matched guys (at 228) here. We all had the same philosophy: we did "well enough" on step I so why hurt our chances by having a disaster on step II. With that said, if I had scored lower on step I, I would've taken step II in July/August to have those scores available.

Okay, if I do decide to take the step II early... which month is the best month to take it??? I have a good slot open where I would be able to take it in the beginning of October... would that be in time for applications???

I'm pretty sure that October would be early enough. Although, I'm not sure if your step II nunber would be used as a weed out criteria for interviews (who know how the h$%& they do that.) Your scores WILL be there on time for your interviews. Please don't sweat this one piece of your application too much. I was in the group with Bone Jock and not a single one of the six guys suffered because of an empty spot on the application where the step II score was supposed to be. When you do decide to take the test, make the right decision for YOU, not necessarily the decision that worked for someone else. It's your goose... you cook it. Best of luck to you.

Orthoboy, I got the same Step I score and often suffer from night sweats thinking about matching. The rest of my numbers are pretty solid. Do you mind telling me where you got interviews, where you applied, and what you're other numbers are like to better gauge my chances. I appreciate it!

bukaki, I feel your pain brother. Heavy drinking helps with the night sweats! But seriously..... I applied to about 35 programs all around the country. I tried to mix it up with regard to my perception of my viability as a candidate; a few high end programs, lots of middle of the road places, and a few sleepers. I got interviews at UC Davis, Mayo, SUNY Buffalo (rotated at these), UM-KC, UM-Columbia, UNM, Tulane, and SUNY Stony Brook. I matched at Stony Brook. A full confession of my profile is at another post on this site with the title Matched Credentials. this is the link.... http://www.orthogate.com/modules.php?op ... 292&page=1 Hang in there dude...you can do it! :smokin: