Reading my USMLE score...

[SamRoss]

Hey guys...
you out there who have taken the steps and are in the process of applying to residencies, or even if you are already in a residency program can help me out here...
I just received my USMLE step 1 score, I got 200! I was wondering how bad this is, and if a decent residency is a remote possiblity now...
Thank you very much for your help!

Sam

[link626]

isn't the national average 220?

so i dunno...... :?

[razorback831]

Dr. P said the US average ranges from 210-215, depending on the year......

[lostone]

would it be practical to try to retake the exam for a higher score? when you submit your score, do you have to submit all scores or just the one you choose to submit??

[Shah_Patel_PT]

would it be practical to try to retake the exam for a higher score? when you submit your score, do you have to submit all scores or just the one you choose to submit??

You can take the USMLE only once if you pass it.

[cristagali]

many school's minimum is a 200, so you will have plenty of interviews. Community-based, buts thats not bad. Congrats. 8)

[Chianti]

Congrats Sam!!!

200 is well within 1 SD of the mean. Hold your head up.

More importantly, 200 is the "magic number" for many residency programs. You will get PLENTY of interviews in family, internal, peds, or psych and will have no trouble matching at all. If you had gotten a 199, your options would have been severely reduced.

[2ndyear]

SamROSS, your score is fine. Many people, IMGs and USMGs, score less than 200. You should get plenty of interviews for IM, FP, Psych., Peds. Good Job.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

http://www.usmle.org/news/0704step1.asp

[jim]

a 200 will get you plenty fo interviews, including university programs. If you are not happy with it, take step 2 prior to mid september of the fall prior to match, and do better then 200. retaking it is not an option. and for specialtys, its more important that you passed first try then your score, as that is the FIRST weed-out point in the application process for fellowships.

[SamRoss]

Hey guys...
Thank you very much for all your input... I was hoping to get more specific examples from people who had similar scores and made it to decent residency programs... I still appreciate all the time and effort you have put in to help me understand my score and its prospects...
Thank you very much for your help and if you have any more info, I would be more than happy if you could share it with me...

[awdc]

Hey guys...
you out there who have taken the steps and are in the process of applying to residencies, or even if you are already in a residency program can help me out here...
I just received my USMLE step 1 score, I got 200! I was wondering how bad this is, and if a decent residency is a remote possiblity now...
Thank you very much for your help!

Sam

Maybe a bit more personal but would you mind sharing your GPA? Below 3.0? Above 3.0? How did you do on the shelf exams? 60's, 70's, 80's? Obviously, I'm trying to gauge what I can expect. Thanks in advance. Congrats on your score and for making it through Step I.

[lostone]

Hey guys...
you out there who have taken the steps and are in the process of applying to residencies, or even if you are already in a residency program can help me out here...
I just received my USMLE step 1 score, I got 200! I was wondering how bad this is, and if a decent residency is a remote possiblity now...
Thank you very much for your help!

Sam

I've heard that they score it out of 260, so 200 would put you at 76.9%.. Congrats Samross about the score.. I am wondering how helpful was Ross in preparing you for the test.. And how would you rate yourself as a student. About how much studying do you put in a week at Ross.. Also, how would you rate yourself from 1-10 among your class.. I'm trying to put together a picture to see if I have what it takes for Ross, cuz i'm still deciding if i should go or not.. I know i can't really get an accurate picture, but it may be helpful in my decision.. And i understand that it varies with the individual... What i'm hoping to hear is that, an average person who tries would be able to do ok, and that it's doable.

[jim]

they do not tell you the highest possible, but i knwo people who scored higher then 260. and suppsoedly, the highest score ever scored was only about 91%. I believe it was a 278. the actual high score changes form one test to the next, as they have "research questions" for possible future use that they include, whihc dont go towards your score, but dont hurt you either. the average to pass changes from testing period to testing period also, ranging from 50 to 55%. this would be a 182. though you can go to the USMLE webpage and look up about scoring, they always seem to keep it somewhat mysterious. all you really end up knowing is that they will never tell you your percent, or your percentile in the test takers pool. you just get a 3 digit score, a soemwhat useless 2 digit score, and a breakdown of what sections you did and compared to other test takers at the same time.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

they do not tell you the highest possible, but i knwo people who scored higher then 260. and suppsoedly, the highest score ever scored was only about 91%. I believe it was a 278. the actual high score changes form one test to the next, as they have "research questions" for possible future use that they include, whihc dont go towards your score, but dont hurt you either. the average to pass changes from testing period to testing period also, ranging from 50 to 55%. this would be a 182. though you can go to the USMLE webpage and look up about scoring, they always seem to keep it somewhat mysterious. all you really end up knowing is that they will never tell you your percent, or your percentile in the test takers pool. you just get a 3 digit score, a soemwhat useless 2 digit score, and a breakdown of what sections you did and compared to other test takers at the same time.

I personally know 2 people who had 3-digit scores of 247 and 250 and both of them were in the 99th percentile. They were both from non-US medical schools.

[jim]

they may have had a score of 99, but that means nothing. go to the USMLE webpage and read about scoring. percentages and percentiles are NEVER reported. a 99 score only exists because some states require a score greater then 75 to be licensed. as they never said a 75 what, the USMLE continues to post a 2 digit score, which is meaningless. I knew someone who had a 245 with a 99 at the same time another friend had a 99 and a 264. which score do you think was better? there is talk of stopping offering the 2 digit score. why? because too many people are confused and think its there perecentage or percentile. i know one program director who says "you can always tell an FMG, they brag about their 2 digit score like it means something more then a number". I have never seen a US grad who even knows his 2 digit score. my program doesnt even ask for it. when I interviewed, only one program out of more then 2 dozen cared about it. all they wanted to know was my "real score", the 3 digit one. tell your friends to look at their score reports again, before soemone laughs in their face when they brag about them.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

they may have had a score of 99, but that means nothing. go to the USMLE webpage and read about scoring. percentages and percentiles are NEVER reported. a 99 score only exists because some states require a score greater then 75 to be licensed. as they never said a 75 what, the USMLE continues to post a 2 digit score, which is meaningless. I knew someone who had a 245 with a 99 at the same time another friend had a 99 and a 264. which score do you think was better? there is talk of stopping offering the 2 digit score. why? because too many people are confused and think its there perecentage or percentile. i know one program director who says "you can always tell an FMG, they brag about their 2 digit score like it means something more then a number". I have never seen a US grad who even knows his 2 digit score. my program doesnt even ask for it. when I interviewed, only one program out of more then 2 dozen cared about it. all they wanted to know was my "real score", the 3 digit one. tell your friends to look at their score reports again, before soemone laughs in their face when they brag about them.

It's not a question about bragging. I am just telling you what the USMLE exam score reports. Anyone can interpret it any way they want.

Studying basic statistics....alll that score means is that there score is in the top 1% of test takers (which is very high)..

Thats all!!

[jim]

read the score report again...closer...withyour glasses on...the score is NOT a percetile. it does NOT mean you are in teh top 1%. it just means you got a 99. physicians are supposed to be careful about details. this shows a lack of detail based knowledge. read the webpage, and the back of the score report. if a 99 is percetile, then you are insinuating that only the top 25% of test takers pass the exam, as a 75 is minimum pass. now we are in the realm of common sense.

[Shah_Patel_PT]

read the score report again...closer...withyour glasses on...the score is NOT a percetile. it does NOT mean you are in teh top 1%. it just means you got a 99. physicians are supposed to be careful about details. this shows a lack of detail based knowledge. read the webpage, and the back of the score report. if a 99 is percetile, then you are insinuating that only the top 25% of test takers pass the exam, as a 75 is minimum pass. now we are in the realm of common sense.

Well its good that i am discussing all this with you now. It will be easy for me to interpret my USMLE score once i get mine.

[Swaydaa]

My best bro scored a 208 and has 5 EM interviews. He scored 216 step 2

[MD3s]

Highest 3 digit score of the USMLE is 300 and the theoretical mean is 200, but the actual mean is closer to 215.

3 digit score is originally USMLE score format

2 digit score used to be of the old FLEX exam score format (for FMGs back in the day) and is not a percentage/percentile.

after the federation of state medical boards stopped administering the FLEX exam and allowed the IMGs to take the USMLE, they included the two scores in the score report so that program directors could compare the scores relatively.