[prachu85_v]

those giving before residency hav to score better am i correct???? how important it is to get good score in step 3??? i heard tht its difficult to get 99??? i m planning to give one in august......

 

[lee-usmle]

Yes

Yes, if you want to do Step 3 before the match. Then you have to get a score that is synchronous with your Step 1 and CK scores. Because, otherwise they'll say what's going on why his score dipped down?

This is explained in detail in this thread here
http://www.usmle-forums.com/usmle-step-3-forum/2504-best-time-take-step-3-exam.html

Step 3 is not harder than the others, see this poll
http://www.usmle-forums.com/general-topics-forum/428-usmle-step-most-difficult.html

However, people usually get low scores and fail more often in Step 3 for a variety of reasons. Here's some of the reasons:

- They do it while they are busy during residency
- They don't care about its score because they've already matched or applied.
- Once you are in a residency you'll find it difficult to keep up with the other specialties (specially if you are not doing IM)

 

[prachu85_v]

hey

hi lee-usmle,
i hav read cardiology notes till now, can u throw some light on how to begin with step 3 prep n which books r better???? thanks

 

[lee-usmle]

It depends on the time that you have

To find the best books for USMLE Step 3 prep please read this
http://www.usmle-forums.com/best-usmle-step-3-books/197-best-usmle-step-3-review-books.html

It depends on how much time you have.

If it's a short time then I suggest you read
Master the boards (Step 3)

Then you do
Kaplan Qbank

Then you do
USMLEWorld

 

[prachu85_v]

i hav around 3 months

i will mostly giv by aug end so i m having a long time n i just gave my step 2 ck so i m finding it easy at present i will start solving qbanks in june.....thanks once again for the info

 

[prachu85_v]

hey

my scores r step 1 247/99 and step 2 258/99....will step 3 make eras application strong or its just needed for visa....i hav a green card......thanks

 

[Sabio]

You don't need Step 3

my scores r step 1 247/99 and step 2 258/99....will step 3 make eras application strong or its just needed for visa....i hav a green card......thanks

You have fantastic high scores in Step 1 and CK and you don't need Step 3 at all since you have the Green Card.

I suggest you apply next match then you get your intreviews then after the match (After March 2011) you prepare for Step 3 (From March until June is enough time for Step 3).

The reason I am recommending this so that you don't need to get a high score in Step 3 you just need to pass it by then, but if you do it right now then you have to get a 99 which needs thorough preparation.

 

[aalawi]

those giving before residency hav to score better am i correct???? how important it is to get good score in step 3??? i heard tht its difficult to get 99??? i m planning to give one in august......

Hi
I talked to few people who used to be part of the committee which interviewed the applicants for the residencies and no one emphasized on the importance of step 3 during the application process ,they said its positive effect;if the score is high;on the application is minimal, on the other hand it can affect tremendously the whole application if the score is low.Most of those people didn't advice me to do it before the residency application especially if it gonna affect my management of the ERAS.

 

[maen90]

the important part is not to get low score when you have good scores on step 1 and step 2 ck, it will look bad on your CV if you have step 3 210 and step 1 and 2 in the 240s or 250s