The importance of research vs USMLE scores for selection
By Guest on Wednesday, 28 September 2005
Posted in Match Center
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I am a medical student from England.

I have an extra academic degree in clinical research (from a UK university) in Orthopaedics. This research has led to (or potentially lead to) about 15 publications in peer-reviewed Orthopaedic Journals. Additionally, I have been working on a few additional projects (may lead to another 5 publications by the time I finish Medical School).

On the downside, I took my Step 1 exam whilst I was working on clinical rotations and hence obtained a low score (low 80s).

I will be rotating at 2 well known US Universities and hopefully obtaining good LOR from them.

I wanted to know how I would stand with regards to obtaining a residency?

How important are USMLE scores against a strong research reputation.

Look forward to contributions.
You seem like an overall excellent candidate. One problem you might run into is the use of USMLE cutoff scores. At least 1/2 of the programs I interviewed at used some sort of USMLE Step I cutoff to determine which applications to download and review. Some had 220 as a cutoff, but some were in the 235+ range (keep in mind I only interviewed at 15 programs, so I have no idea what the rest do). If you fall victim to a cutoff, it will make no difference what the rest of your application looks like. One way to get around this is to make yourself personally known to the programs you are very interested in. If you develop a relationship to the program (rotating there, talking to faculty and residents) they will often overlook cutoffs and download your app anyway. At that point, it will be your overall app that will be reviewed, not just your USMLE score.
Guest
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20 years ago
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