USMLE Take a scored step or wait until p/f? Advice please

[topssure]

Hello,

Currently taking a leave of absence due to personal reasons. Was supposed to take step 1 by the end of Feb as an M2, but my grandmother got covid during my dedicated, was hospitalized, and I had to fly all the way to my home country where she was to prepare for the worst. She recovered, but had serious side effects, and I chose to stay with her and took a year off. Our school requires a passed step 1 score to go into clinicals. I talked with deans and faculties from my school and all told me that LOA won't be an issue to residencies since it was an extraordinary circumstance.

I prepped to take step 1 in a week. But since I will be matriculating as M2024 now, I will be competing with people with a Pass on their step 1 score. I don't know if receiving a numerical score will be my best option at this point. Will the residencies even look at my step 1 score? How will they use it to compare with all the passes?

I am scoring around 65~70% on uworld, got 235 on my UWSA1, 235 on UWSA2, 225 on NBME 28, and 76% on free 120. Mid-tier private med school. It's been a rough year though and I don't know how I will feel on the exam day. I am interested in IM/FM or anesthesiology, and maybe ophtho but I am too lazy to give ophtho a shot anymore. I realized how much life I was missing out because of medical school after all the **** that happened this year, and just want a life without all the competition now. My only worry right now is potentially receiving a very low score to even give IM a shot lol.

Should I just wait until next year when it becomes pass/fail to just forget about all the stress? Or should I just take it since the score will likely be just counted as a 'pass' when I file my residency applications?

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[CaffeineStat]

Gosh, I wish there was some input on this thread! I'm in the same boat. Have you decided anything since you posted this?

 

[Chromium Surfer]

I think posting in the main med student also thread would get a lot more traction!

 

[calivianya]

Gosh, I wish there was some input on this thread! I'm in the same boat. Have you decided anything since you posted this?

If I was in you guys’ situation, I’d schedule a test date for whatever the last day before the pass/fail switch is, and I would study like crazy until then. If my practice tests at that time were below average, I wouldn’t take it - a pass would likely be better in those circumstances. But if you were significantly above average, it still may work in your favor - sure can’t imagine it would hurt you.

I just took step 2 and I had quite a few what I’d call “step 1-focused“ questions - straight up identification questions on genetic diseases, metabolism disorders, immunodeficiency. It’s not going to hurt you to study all that stuff that‘s “harder” now because step 2 absolutely builds on step 1.

 

[CaffeineStat]

If I was in you guys’ situation, I’d schedule a test date for whatever the last day before the pass/fail switch is, and I would study like crazy until then. If my practice tests at that time were below average, I wouldn’t take it - a pass would likely be better in those circumstances. But if you were significantly above average, it still may work in your favor - sure can’t imagine it would hurt you.

I just took step 2 and I had quite a few what I’d call “step 1-focused“ questions - straight up identification questions on genetic diseases, metabolism disorders, immunodeficiency. It’s not going to hurt you to study all that stuff that‘s “harder” now because step 2 absolutely builds on step 1.

thank you for the input!! I'm taking my UW2 tomorrow to decide if I want to push it off or not.

 

[hellosnd]

If you are a DO / IMG / lower teir MD, I'd try to for a scored Step 1 to stand out from the rest. If not, take P/F.