step II timing

That's all really helpful, but still don't know which way to go. If I were to take it early and not release until late, does that look bad?? IF asked about it on an interview, what do I say? "Yea, I took it but didn't want you to know what I got"? How does not releasing work?? Thanks again everyone.

take it late: no explaining of why you did not release or why you did bad. you will not remember as much, but who cares? just pass; you do well, than that's a bonus.

yeah, i know people say that scores don't matter, but it is just a pain to take it late. you seriously forget everything. don't worry about not releasing your scores. your interviewers don't have to know that you took step 2. i interviewed at 14 places and not one of those places asked me about step 2. my advice, get it over with and don't release your scores. in the long run, either way, you'll be alright.

My current dilemma...230 Step 1, currently planning on 3 ortho rotations, have time for a 4th but was wondering if I should use that month to study for Step II and really try to kick butt or do another away to increase my chances there? What do you guys think? How much can doing better on Step II help me? Thanks.

Four ortho electives is probably pushing it quite a bit. Some may even consider three (some schools even put caps on the #) to be above the upper limit of normal. I've been told by peers/ortho docs that doing too many ortho rotations may make an applicant look too desperate. Most programs want people who are relatively well rounded individuals (aka take a variety of electives fourth year, as I've been told), this may be difficult to do with four months already wrapped up with ortho electives.

Schedule something else during that extra month or two, then plan on taking that as vacation towards the end of the year. I think many would agree that taking vacation time to study for step II is overkill and probably a waste of fun time, most schools offer some type of anatomy or pathology elective that should provide you with more than enough time for step II prep. Plus remember, depending on the number of interviews you pull, you may need to take some vacation time for that --which seems like a better investment than using it for step II to me. That will make the second half of fourth year even more enjoyable and give you time to wrap up logistical things like where to live for residency, drinking beer, etc...