How much of a drop in Step 2 is okay?

[mybubbles627]

How much of a drop in Step 2 score is okay that it won't raise suspicion? Yes, I know the goal is to do better on step 2 but if you don't how much of a drop is okay?

Let's say Step 1 is ~250, is anything below 240 considered a small "red flag"? Thanks!

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[Dharma]

How much of a drop in Step 2 score is okay that it won't raise suspicion? Yes, I know the goal is to do better on step 2 but if you don't how much of a drop is okay?

Let's say Step 1 is ~250, is anything below 240 considered a small "red flag"? Thanks!

Do they make red flags in small?

 

[mybubbles627]

Do they make red flags in small?

No idea. That's why I was asking. I didn't even know if that would be something to be noticed.

 

[Morzh]

This question was asked at a "career day" Q&A to the anesthesiology PD at my school (so n=1 here). His response was that it's probably not a big deal in most realistic cases. However, he also said that he is more impressed with a step 1 220, step 2 250 than vice versa. He said the latter applicant will come across as "biochem smart, but not clinically smart".

 

[Phloston]

How much of a drop in Step 2 score is okay that it won't raise suspicion? Yes, I know the goal is to do better on step 2 but if you don't how much of a drop is okay?

Let's say Step 1 is ~250, is anything below 240 considered a small "red flag"? Thanks!

I dropped two points and could care less (sorry to sound negative). My input is just n=1, but I find a lot of the clinical stuff boring and instead found the Step 1 material 1000x more stimulating (yes, the opposite of most people). I actually doubt anyone compares them relatively to be honest. They're two distinct exams.

But I'd say Step 1 is a much bigger deal because it's the one everyone prepares the hardest for, so it's the best predictor of work ethic and test-taking ability. People just don't prep as hard for 2CK (even if you're competitive, you prep accordingly, but still not nearly as hard as for Step 1 unless you tanked it and are trying to make up for it). I think most people do better on 2CK because its less book-dependent.

Yeah, there are people who shoot up on 2CK. You see a lot of doctors like that floating around (i.e., those who know how to manage but can't tell you the MOA of a simple drug or what kind of organism Legionella is).

 

[Psai]

I dropped two points and could care less (sorry to sound negative). My input is just n=1, but I find a lot of the clinical stuff boring and instead found the Step 1 material 1000x more stimulating (yes, the opposite of most people). I actually doubt anyone compares them relatively to be honest. They're two distinct exams.

But I'd say Step 1 is a much bigger deal because it's the one everyone prepares the hardest for, so it's the best predictor of work ethic and test-taking ability. People just don't prep as hard for 2CK (even if you're competitive, you prep accordingly, but still not nearly as hard as for Step 1 unless you tanked it and are trying to make up for it). I think most people do better on 2CK because its less book-dependent.

Yeah, there are people who shoot up on 2CK. You see a lot of doctors like that floating around (i.e., those who know how to manage but can't tell you the MOA of a simple drug or what kind of organism Legionella is).

yeah but 262 to 260 is not really a drop...

 

[notbobtrustme]

I dunno how PDs look at Step 2, but a 10 point bump is essentially the same score (eg 230 Step 1 and 240 Step 2 are very similar in percentiles).

 

[yangsc]

i went down to 236 on step 2 from 246 on step 1. how bad does this look? i'm trying to do anesthesia

 

[Zully]

what if you went from 234-->224? big red flag?