I think your numbers don't look bad at all. From what I've heard, any Step I score over 230 can't hurt you, so I think that it's high enough where you don't have to kill yourself to rock Step II early in the year. However, I think if you do take Step II early and do improve your score a lot, it could only help. With the option of not reporting your Step II scores until you know how you did, you can wait and see if you do well before anybody sees them.
But the larger issue is your 4th year rotations. I would just find a couple places you'd really like to go, rotate there, and impress people while you're there. I did two aways at places that may have been a stretch on numbers alone, but I think I improved my stock by rotating there and doing well (though match day will tell whether or not I did well enough!). Doing well on away will raise your chances at that particular program and are a great way to get good letters from ortho people known well in the field.
Finally, there may still be time for research. The most important part about research in my limited interviewing experience isn't getting it published, but that you know it like the back of your hand and can show that you're an expert in one small area of orthopedics. Every single place I interviewed at asked about my research and it was a great way to have something interesting to talk about.
Hope this helps!
rwbrhp29
