Botched Step 2 CK, how do I move forward?

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purplecobra21

purplecobra21

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For some context, I'm applying to a EM with an average matching score in the high 240's (so not the most competitive). I'm in the middle of a research year at a "top 20" medical school with P/F preclinical and honored every rotation other than neuro. I don't think I deserved most of these grades; even though I worked really hard and got most residents, attendings, and patients to really like me, I didn't feel like I exhibited the best clinical knowledge compared to my peers, and this issue actually showed up on some of my written evals. I had a long, very stretched out (not fully dedicated) study period since I was also juggling research during it, so it took me a while to get the practice scores I wanted.
I scored a 248 on the second UWorld self assessment 10 days out and 73% on the NBME 3 days out, so I felt pretty good going into the exam, thinking like it would be similar. That was not the case, since the real test felt much harder and I got a 219, which is barely above a passing score, and also worse than my first practice test. I learned a lot from studying and feel like I have a better understanding of clinical medicine than I did going in, but from a test perspective, no program will care, and I might have done better settling for a score similar to my bad NBME practice tests in the 220s and 230s that I had taken after a month of studying.

Overall I'd say I'm a bad test taker relative to my level of knowledge. I've also choked on my MCAT, scoring 5 points below 2 of my last practice tests. I retook it and only improved my score by 1 point, but these bad underperformances pale in comparison to this.

So now my questions are:
  1. Is it worth retaking the test? I haven't heard of anyone retaking it unless they failed their first attempt, but this feels like a rare choke job that I could potentially avoid on a second attempt. On the other hand, I felt like my studying made me neglect my research and sacrifice a lot of my social life. There's also the possibility that I choke again and don't score that much higher, based on my experience with the MCAT.
  2. How broadly do I have to apply with such a low score?
  3. Other than crushing my home and away sub-I, how can I possibly bounce back from this?
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Since these are criterion referenced exams It’s not permissible to retake the exams. Their purpose to show a standard threshold acceptable for medical licensing.

Exams like MCAT are norm referenced and exist solely to stratify applicants. These typically allow multiple retakes if needed as there’s no minimum score requirement.
 
purplecobra21 said:
For some context, I'm applying to a EM with an average matching score in the high 240's (so not the most competitive). I'm in the middle of a research year at a "top 20" medical school with P/F preclinical and honored every rotation other than neuro. I don't think I deserved most of these grades; even though I worked really hard and got most residents, attendings, and patients to really like me, I didn't feel like I exhibited the best clinical knowledge compared to my peers, and this issue actually showed up on some of my written evals. I had a long, very stretched out (not fully dedicated) study period since I was also juggling research during it, so it took me a while to get the practice scores I wanted.
I scored a 248 on the second UWorld self assessment 10 days out and 73% on the NBME 3 days out, so I felt pretty good going into the exam, thinking like it would be similar. That was not the case, since the real test felt much harder and I got a 219, which is barely above a passing score, and also worse than my first practice test. I learned a lot from studying and feel like I have a better understanding of clinical medicine than I did going in, but from a test perspective, no program will care, and I might have done better settling for a score similar to my bad NBME practice tests in the 220s and 230s that I had taken after a month of studying.

Overall I'd say I'm a bad test taker relative to my level of knowledge. I've also choked on my MCAT, scoring 5 points below 2 of my last practice tests. I retook it and only improved my score by 1 point, but these bad underperformances pale in comparison to this.

So now my questions are:
  1. Is it worth retaking the test? I haven't heard of anyone retaking it unless they failed their first attempt, but this feels like a rare choke job that I could potentially avoid on a second attempt. On the other hand, I felt like my studying made me neglect my research and sacrifice a lot of my social life. There's also the possibility that I choke again and don't score that much higher, based on my experience with the MCAT.
  2. How broadly do I have to apply with such a low score?
  3. Other than crushing my home and away sub-I, how can I possibly bounce back from this?
Click to expand...
I don’t believe you are allowed to retake this test if you pass, unlike the MCAT
 
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Niwrad said:
Since these are criterion referenced exams It’s not permissible to retake the exams. Their purpose to show a standard threshold acceptable for medical licensing.

Exams like MCAT are norm referenced and exist solely to stratify applicants. These typically allow multiple retakes if needed as there’s no minimum score requirement.
Click to expand...
And yet the criterion referenced exams are still pretty much used to stratify applicants

OP, sorry this happened. Try to get as close to your home program as possible and maximize the other parts of your application. Research, SLOE etc. Good news is that EM is no longer as competitive as it used to be. 0.96 applicants per position with 98% match rate for US MDs. 34/40 people with your Step 2 range matched.
 
Dantes said:
And yet the criterion referenced exams are still pretty much used to stratify applicants

OP, sorry this happened. Try to get as close to your home program as possible and maximize the other parts of your application. Research, SLOE etc. Good news is that EM is no longer as competitive as it used to be. 0.96 applicants per position with 98% match rate for US MDs. 34/40 people with your Step 2 range matched.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Dantes. I really appreciate that. Where did you find the matching stats for my Step 2 range?
 
purplecobra21 said:
Looking at chart 4 for EM, the number of applicants who matched was 1329 and only 34 were in my score range... that's only 2.6%. Still looks bleak 😢
Click to expand...
Only 6 applicants in your score range (211-220) did not match EM.
34 matched. How does that add up to 2.6%?

As long as you are a US Senior, you can match EM.
 
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Dantes said:
34/40 people with your Step 2 range matched.
Click to expand...
I'm willing to bet 5 of the 6 who did not match were restricted by a red flag (e.g., Step 1 failure), geographic limitations, and/or a poor application strategy.

As mentioned above, the field's competitiveness has plummeted in just a few years, If you're a US senior, have a pulse, and no pending felony charges, you can find a EM program that will take you.
 
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gyngyn said:
Only 6 applicants in your score range (211-220) did not match EM.
34 matched. How does that add up to 2.6%?

As long as you are a US Senior, you can match EM.
Click to expand...
I read it wrong. Realized that as soon as. I posted it.
 
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