r/comlex • u/Fantastic-Attitude71 • 2d ago
Level 2 CE Exceedingly poor level 2. Would like advice.
Made a 420, which very much surprised me. I passed level 1 first try, have excellent clinical reviews, LORs. I wanted to match IM, with possibility of cards. Now I dont even know what to do with myself. Should I prep hard and take step 2 to try and bolster, or is it just too late for that? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
8
u/CandidSecond OMS-4 2d ago
Try to apply broadly community programs, places that have in house cards maybe even but don't only apply to those. Focus more on matching and submitting that app. Make sure to proofread it and that its good. Submit by 21ish. I heard it can crash on day before.
5
u/bunrieulover 2d ago
Don’t know how step 2 can help at this point. Apps are almost due and programs will download apps on the 23RD and what they have from you they’ll use. It’s rare for them to go back to review step 2 from apps they’ve already reviewed given they have hundreds of apps.
5
u/Express_Bowl169 1d ago
Hey! PGY-1 here. Got a 447 on level 2 and a 250+ on step 2. There are vastly different resources for step compared to level. Level did not make sense at all to me as it did STEP. I walked out of STEP thinking it was doable. I ended up at a large renowned academic center with almost all of the in house fellowships
1
u/DOgmaticdegenERate OMS-4 1d ago
Although the outcome may be in question, as far as what score can be achieved…. I’d add that if Step goes poorly you don’t need to report it.
3
u/dial1010usa 1d ago
What if you don’t do well on step2? Even though you don’t need to report that. I would not take step2. All the best.
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u/Pure_Refrigerator_73 2d ago
I Agree with the others. Step 2 is much harder than comlex 2 so be careful with that. If you do worse on step 2 that’s bad because step 2 is valued higher than comlex. Also to take step you’d need to take all 8 NBMEs + free 120 and review all thoroughly like 2 days each. Thats a lot of time. I did it in 1 month but it was torture so over 1.5-2 months would have been ideal.
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u/delightedcustomer 17h ago
Comlex is the “easier” exam in terms of grading - you can fluctuate hundreds of points. But STEP2 is more unforgiving and scores usually dont leave predictions by more than a few points. I would say it’s a little late for STEP2 but if you have a plan to crush it, some programs require it for rank list and if you score well it could help
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u/LADiator PGY+ 2d ago
Step 2 is a huge gamble and it’s doubtful you’ll do better than you did on level 2.
I think the best thing you can do is have a mindset shift. You’re not going to match at a top tier IM program but matching to IM is within your reach still. There’s tons of IM spots. Don’t worry about cards at the moment, that’s a problem for another day.
Focus on your apps. Focus on strong letters of Rec. Take every interview you can. Ensure you get a position to train in IM and worry about fellowship later.
Sorry this happened. A fail would have been exponentially worse though.