To Step 3 or not to Step 3

Things become clearer every day. Now that I’m done with October, November and December; I feel relatively relaxed about January. January requires a lot of planning, and probably more flights than I’ve used within the last three months.

January involves travelling to more esoteric locations such as Johnstown, PA; Youngstown, OH and Pittsfield, MA. In addition, I absolutely MUST take step 3 before Jan 15^th. This will probably involve cancelling one, maybe two interviews. Am I being too confident, overconfident perhaps? I know people that are struggling with a lack of interviews, but after doing 7 Anesth, 2 TY, 3 Int Med and 3 Gen Surg (Southfield coming up!) interviews so far I feel like it’s a waste of time (and money!) to invest in any more out-of-the-way locations.

Step 3, on the other hand, will give me the boost I need for my H1B programs: Griffin, Metrohealth, Iowa. All of these are places that I prefer over LSU. I deserve to give Step 3 a shot.

Worst case scenario:

-I fail Step 3, no one finds out, I match into whatever place and start on a J.

Slightly better but still less than ideal:

-I take Step 3, barely pass, I tell no one, match into whatever program and start on an H (Except LSU, where Step 3 doesn’t play any role because they’ll only give me a J)

OR

-I take Step 3, barely pass, I tell everyone. Then I risk being moved lower/higher on the rank list based on their philosophy. Still, potentially might give me an edge over the other international applicants. Hopefully match somewhere. If Iowa hates me (bye bye H!), hopefully LSU(only J) will still have me.

Good but not the best:

-I get a decent score (220 – 230), I tell everyone. Match wherever, except LSU. And start on H1.

Best case scenario:

-I score in the 240s. Tell everyone, EVERYONE, without being coy. Match to an H1 program.

So given that I have about a month’s worth of time in my hands, COULD I POTENTIALLY kill Step3?

Also, is it worth the cost? The cost = Cancelling the following interviews:

-         Howard Uni, DC : Int Med

-         Conemaugh Memorial Med Ctr: Int Med, H1 possible

-         Berkshire Med Ctr: Surgery, have emailed about type of visa

-         Charleston Area Medical Center: Int Med, Sana so cannot postpone, J1 only

-         WRHE/NEOMED Youngstown, OH: Int Med, have emailed and asked about type of visa

Perhaps I should check the visa details for these 4 programs and then figure it out.

I need sound advice from a resident doing Anesthesia on a J visa. I need to talk to someone candidly about this. Ask them what is terrible about a J visa.

OR

I don’t have to compare visa types at all, given that the J programs I have interviewed at don’t want me to give them a Step 3 score: And they are likely to rank me independent of Step 3. So my chances of making it into a J program DO NOT CHANGE HENCEFORTH, with or without Step 3.

ALSO: Taking step 3 is not ‘optional’ at this point. I AM GOING TO TAKE THE TEST in the next 30 days. We’ll decide what to do after I have a score. Therefore it is redundant to ‘talk to someone about the pros and cons of J’.

Getting on a J is easy once I have an H. The inverse is not true. Also, after I match, I can decide to use a J instead of an H.

Basically, taking Step 3 keeps more options open for me, when compared to not taking Step 3.

The cost is giving up on being placed on 4 program’s prelim rank lists.

Thanks for clearing my head, dragonsgate. You always help.