01-29-2009, 11:59 AM
For all those who failed in CS, Plz don™t give up hope and try harder to pass this exam. I am writing down my story which can motivate you. Those who are going to take CS for the first time also read on as it can be of help to you.
I passed CS in second attempt. I took it first time in Sept 2007 and got the failed result in October. Why I failed is in next post. Even with failed CS and no US LOR I got 9 interview calls because of good scores in step 1 (99/249) and CK (99/260). So to be eligible for match 2008, I had to take CS again before Dec 31, 2007, but the dates were not available. So I met a guy on usmleforum who was willing to give me his CS date for $250. I had no option but to pay for it. He cancelled his date and gave me his date. I took the exam in Dec 2007 and passed in middle of Feb 2008(It was late, I was expecting it on Jan 30). I was hopeful of matching, but did not, one reason could be that I got ECFMG certified in mid Feb and by then programs had their ROLs ready.
I went back to India, worked there for a few months and came back to USA in august 2008, took my step 3 and got a good score again( 99/236). I applied again in sept to 122 programs( 88 Internal Med, 21 FM and 13 Peds). Got 25 interview calls (19 IM, 1 FM and 5 Peds) and got 3 prematch offers, I accepted one in IM. (Don™t ask where, I don™t want to disclose everything on public forums). Apart from good scores I had nothing in my CV other research for 3 months without any publications. So CS attempt can be a hiccup but not a big hurdle in your residency dreams.
Reasons why I failed in CS.
I failed in Communication and interpersonal skills( CIS) and spoken English proficiency (SEP). One reason why I failed was that after my step 1 and CK results, I was overconfident and assumed that CS will be a cakewalk and didn™t prepare much for the exam.. So beware step 1 and CK are totally different. Success in one may not translate into another. I failed inspite of decent communication and spoken English skills and clinical knowledge. Like most people educated in English medium schools, I have a pretty decent English, much better than required for passing CS. But still I failed in SEP. The reason was that I spoke very fast, and I was not well prepared for challenging situations, so I stuttered in those situations and I failed in SEP.On the contrary I know many people who are very weak in English, but they pass in SEP, bcoz they just memorize the common sentences we use in exam. So the message is: don™t be disheartened if you are poor in English and don™t be overconfident if you are good in it.My CIS failure was due to a number of factors, which are hard to put down by typing.
Even though I eventually got prematched in the specialty of my choice, I lost a precious year, a lot of dollars and had to go through the painful process of applying to programs and interviewing again. This can be avoided by right approach to preparation.
It is an easy exam to pass, but if you don™t know what to do in this exam it is even easier to fail.
After I passed in second attempt, I helped some of my friends to prepare for CS and they all passed. Then I put this thread on usmleforum œhttp://www.usmleforum.com/showthread.php?tid=363754, and many people contacted me. Almost all of them had their exam in Jan and some have in feb, so all are waiting result and hopefully all of them will pass. But one of my students took this exam in Dec. she called me yesterday to tell that she passed in second attempt. She was happy and it was so satisfying for me. She is from china and like many Chinese people she was not very good in English ( no offence) and communication. When I first talked to her I was doubtful if she will be able to pass. But then we worked together for 10-15 days and with little help from me, lot of effort from her side and God™s grace she passed. This makes me believe that anyone can pass and anyone can fail in this exam, regardless of how good or bad you are. All you need is right approach.
Now I want to continue this interaction with students going to take CS, till I join residency in july. You can go through my earlier thread (http://www.usmleforum.com/showthread.php?tid=363754) and read some of the comments. If you are interested to practice just email me on cs.prep and send me your skype ID or phone number in usa where I can call. I usually do conference calls of upto 6-7 people, which starts with a lecture for few hours, then one of the candidate acts as doctor and I act a patient and wherever I think suitable, I give my suggestions so that everyone in the group can listen and benefit. Everyone can act as doctor in turn. Then for those who need, I try to do one to one practice. For all this I appreciate if you pay me something. I am a normal human being and it™s natural for me to take more interest if I am being paid. But if for financial reasons you cannot pay, I dont mind if you just join the conference and listen. Every single word I have written is truth. Teaching CS is not my long term goal as I will join residency in july, I just want to utilize my time in a productive manner. So email me on cs.prep and please include your skype ID and/or your American/Canadian phone number. If you don™t include your skype ID or phone number I will have to email you back which will result in loss of crucial time. Also include in your email your time zone and the time when you will be available or any time constrains, on weekdays and weekends and little introduction about yourself. If I don™t reply for next few days, please don™t think I have disappeared, I am busy for a few days. I will definitely contact in 3-4 days. All the best.
I passed CS in second attempt. I took it first time in Sept 2007 and got the failed result in October. Why I failed is in next post. Even with failed CS and no US LOR I got 9 interview calls because of good scores in step 1 (99/249) and CK (99/260). So to be eligible for match 2008, I had to take CS again before Dec 31, 2007, but the dates were not available. So I met a guy on usmleforum who was willing to give me his CS date for $250. I had no option but to pay for it. He cancelled his date and gave me his date. I took the exam in Dec 2007 and passed in middle of Feb 2008(It was late, I was expecting it on Jan 30). I was hopeful of matching, but did not, one reason could be that I got ECFMG certified in mid Feb and by then programs had their ROLs ready.
I went back to India, worked there for a few months and came back to USA in august 2008, took my step 3 and got a good score again( 99/236). I applied again in sept to 122 programs( 88 Internal Med, 21 FM and 13 Peds). Got 25 interview calls (19 IM, 1 FM and 5 Peds) and got 3 prematch offers, I accepted one in IM. (Don™t ask where, I don™t want to disclose everything on public forums). Apart from good scores I had nothing in my CV other research for 3 months without any publications. So CS attempt can be a hiccup but not a big hurdle in your residency dreams.
Reasons why I failed in CS.
I failed in Communication and interpersonal skills( CIS) and spoken English proficiency (SEP). One reason why I failed was that after my step 1 and CK results, I was overconfident and assumed that CS will be a cakewalk and didn™t prepare much for the exam.. So beware step 1 and CK are totally different. Success in one may not translate into another. I failed inspite of decent communication and spoken English skills and clinical knowledge. Like most people educated in English medium schools, I have a pretty decent English, much better than required for passing CS. But still I failed in SEP. The reason was that I spoke very fast, and I was not well prepared for challenging situations, so I stuttered in those situations and I failed in SEP.On the contrary I know many people who are very weak in English, but they pass in SEP, bcoz they just memorize the common sentences we use in exam. So the message is: don™t be disheartened if you are poor in English and don™t be overconfident if you are good in it.My CIS failure was due to a number of factors, which are hard to put down by typing.
Even though I eventually got prematched in the specialty of my choice, I lost a precious year, a lot of dollars and had to go through the painful process of applying to programs and interviewing again. This can be avoided by right approach to preparation.
It is an easy exam to pass, but if you don™t know what to do in this exam it is even easier to fail.
After I passed in second attempt, I helped some of my friends to prepare for CS and they all passed. Then I put this thread on usmleforum œhttp://www.usmleforum.com/showthread.php?tid=363754, and many people contacted me. Almost all of them had their exam in Jan and some have in feb, so all are waiting result and hopefully all of them will pass. But one of my students took this exam in Dec. she called me yesterday to tell that she passed in second attempt. She was happy and it was so satisfying for me. She is from china and like many Chinese people she was not very good in English ( no offence) and communication. When I first talked to her I was doubtful if she will be able to pass. But then we worked together for 10-15 days and with little help from me, lot of effort from her side and God™s grace she passed. This makes me believe that anyone can pass and anyone can fail in this exam, regardless of how good or bad you are. All you need is right approach.
Now I want to continue this interaction with students going to take CS, till I join residency in july. You can go through my earlier thread (http://www.usmleforum.com/showthread.php?tid=363754) and read some of the comments. If you are interested to practice just email me on cs.prep and send me your skype ID or phone number in usa where I can call. I usually do conference calls of upto 6-7 people, which starts with a lecture for few hours, then one of the candidate acts as doctor and I act a patient and wherever I think suitable, I give my suggestions so that everyone in the group can listen and benefit. Everyone can act as doctor in turn. Then for those who need, I try to do one to one practice. For all this I appreciate if you pay me something. I am a normal human being and it™s natural for me to take more interest if I am being paid. But if for financial reasons you cannot pay, I dont mind if you just join the conference and listen. Every single word I have written is truth. Teaching CS is not my long term goal as I will join residency in july, I just want to utilize my time in a productive manner. So email me on cs.prep and please include your skype ID and/or your American/Canadian phone number. If you don™t include your skype ID or phone number I will have to email you back which will result in loss of crucial time. Also include in your email your time zone and the time when you will be available or any time constrains, on weekdays and weekends and little introduction about yourself. If I don™t reply for next few days, please don™t think I have disappeared, I am busy for a few days. I will definitely contact in 3-4 days. All the best.