Most programs where I interviewed had cutoffs >220. Some were ~215, many were 220-235. Also, these levels generally fluctuate year to year. That being said, this is just one variable in the entire application (although an important one for securing some interviews)...

How do you know what the cutoffs at your programs were?

How do you know what the cutoffs at your programs were?

Many Coordinators/PDs shared this info...
I also asked a few bc I was curious.
When I say 'most' I mean most that I know about

Cut offs are lower if you rotate (at certain places) FYI

i think "cut-off" scores are extremely variable depending on the competitiveness of the program or how much that program emphasizes step 1 (as someone above said, it is just one aspect, but I think it is also a foot in the door and easy "screener" for the 500+ applications). My program looks at every application without a cutoff. One program I interviewed at said they use a cutoff of 240 but >400 of their applicants had >240. One program's average interviewee's score was ~250. Highly variable with the "bigger names" looking for higher scores, but I would say a range of cut-offs is 220-240. Definitely important to apply broadly to maximize interviews. Someone mentioned this, but if you are really striving for a "big name" academic place with a lowish step score, I would really try to rotate there

According to a program director at a large state university program I interviewed at, there were 1300 applicants, 600 of which had above 230, 400 of which had above 240. Most programs I interviewed at had a cutoff of one of those two scores, unless you rotated there or had a relationship with the program. It's possible to match with a lower score, but it would be a smaller community program or making a good impression on an audition rotation.

Thanks for your suggestions. Nice post..