Relax. After going through the application process this past year, it seems that most applicants worry a lot more than they have to (easier to say in hindsight, I was freaking out the week before rank lists were due). Anyone who uses this website worries even more than usual due to some of the posts ("I had a 290, was AOA at age 15, healed blind children, and didn't match ortho", etc.).
230 is a strong Step 1 score; mine was very similar and I got plenty of interviews. Yes, Step 1 scores are important, but I think letters of rec carry more weight than people may think.
Doing nothing between first and second year is NOT a mistake; I sat on my girlfriend's couch all summer and watched movies. Actually, none of my 5 or 6 friends that matched ortho this year did anything worthwhile during that summer. And no one asked about it at interviews.
Don't sweat general surgery grades TOO much...I received a "pass" in surgery, it was my only "pass" of third year and no one mentioned it at interviews. Every school has different clinical grades, but the best thing you can do is work hard and don't be a d-bag. Obviously honoring gen surg would be better than passing, but it's not necessary to match. That being said, you should try to honor your ortho surgery rotations.
Finally, research is a very good to have on your application, but you have plenty of time to get on board with something. It doesn't have to be a huge project that gets published. I did research during 4th year and didn't even get a poster or abstract out of it. But every interview asked about it, so it was good to have it on the application. And I'm sure that everyone knows people who matched without research experience.
Now don't get me wrong: there's no guarentee about matching and I'm no expert. I'm just trying to point out that you don't have to be the biggest superstar ever just to match. Work hard third year and have fun.
