Average Step 1 Score By School (Rankings Revealed)

Do you have a specialty of interest in mind yet you’re not sure if you fit? The average Step 1 score by school somehow serves as a sorting hat to determine whether a student fits in that particular specialty in residency or not.

High Step 1 scores match with top-ranking or the most competitive areas. Average scores perhaps are accepted in well-known reputable ones. Low scores, well I’m not so sure—may be accepted in the least competitive or in which the admissions committee is not that meticulous when it comes to numbers.

In this post, I will give you the average Step 1 score by school to give you an idea of the scores that you should aim for (if you haven’t taken the exam yet) your target specialty or if you are looking for a specialty where you would most likely be accepted given your current Step 1 score.

What Is The Average Step 1 Score?

In 2018, the average Step 1 score among first takers from US/Canadian medical school is 230. You may check below the average step 1 score for the past 3 years.

Year	Mean
2016	228
2017	229
2018	230

Table 1. Average Step 1 Scores of US/Canadian Step 1 Takers From 2016-2018

As you would observe, the average Step 1 score increases per year. This data suggests that the increase in mean scores is due to the perceived competition of students in getting accepted and the perceived difficulty of the exam.

Average Step 1 Score By School

Here are the average Step 1 scores by school arranged according to the 2021 USNWR best medical school rankings. Note that the top 50 medical school’s Step 1 scores are retrieved from the 2018 data.

Rank	School	Step 1
1	Harvard University	245
2	Johns Hopkins University	235
3	University of Pennsylvania (Perelman)	244
4	New York University (Grossman)	241
4	Stanford University	243
6	Columbia University	239
6	Mayo Clinic School of Medicine	245
6	University of California—Los Angeles (Geffen)	230
6	University of California—San Francisco	233
6	Washington University in St. Louis	244
11	Cornell University (Weill)	241
12	Duke University	241
13	University of Washington	224
14	University of Pittsburgh	236
15	University of Michigan	233
15	Yale University	240
17	University of Chicago	240
18	Northwestern University	239
18	Vanderbilt University	244
20	Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	237
21	University of California—San Diego	232
22	Baylor College of Medicine	244
23	University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill	224
24	Case Western Reserve University	239
24	Emory University	232
26	University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center	236
27	University of Wisconsin—Madison	226
28	Oregon Health and Science University	226
29	Boston University	237
29	University of Virginia	234
31	University of Alabama—Birmingham	222
31	University of Colorado	228
31	University of Southern California	235
34	Ohio State University	234
34	University of Iowa (Carver)	n/a
34	University of Maryland	n/a
34	University of Rochester	232
38	Brown University (Alpert)	233
38	University of Utah	224
40	Albert Einstein College of Medicine	234
40	University of California—Davis	220
40	University of Florida	228
40	University of Minnesota	231
44	Georgetown University	228
44	University of California—Irvine	236
44	University of Cincinnati	238
47	Indiana University—Indianapolis	233
47	University of Massachusetts—Worcester	231
47	University of South Florida	226
50	Dartmouth College (Geisel)	227
50	University of Miami (Miller)	232

Table 2. Average Step 1 Score of The Top 50 Medical Schools in The U.S.

Among the top 50 ranked schools by USNWR, the University of California—Davis garnered the lowest average Step 1 score. However, despite this fact, the university has been known for its excellent reputation in the field of research.

What Is The Average Step 1 Score For Specialties?

According to AAMC, here are the average step 1 score by specialty. With this, you could have an idea of what score to aim for if you already have a particular specialty in mind. Check if yours fit your ideal specialty.

Specialty	2017-2018	2018-2019
Anesthesiology	230.6	230.6
Child Neurology	227.3	228.6
Emergency Medicine	232.5	231.1
Family Medicine	216.7	215.9
Internal Medicine (Preliminary)	236.2	235.4
Internal Medicine (Categorical)	231.8	230.4
Internal Medicine/Pediatrics	231.4	234
Neurological Surgery	243.3	243.7
Neurology	229.6	230
Obstetrics and Gynecology	227.9	228.4
Orthopedic Surgery	245.5	246.2
Otolaryngology	246.8	246.7
Pathology: Anatomic and Clinical	227.3	227.5
Pediatrics	227.2	226
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	223.8	224.9
Plastic Surgery Integrated	246.1	246.5
Psychiatry	220.5	221.4
Surgery (General)	232	233
Thoracic Surgery: Integrated	242.3	244.1
Vascular Surgery: Integrated	235.2	237.6

Table 3. Average Step 1 Scores By Specialty

Here’s also a link to my previous post on the average Step 1 score.

Learn more about how to achieve your target Step 1 score by watching this video: USMLE Step 1 Tips and Advice [How To Get 250+]

If you have found it substantial and insightful, how about hitting that subscribe button on our channel? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt!

FAQs About The Average Step 1 Scores

What Is Considered A Good USMLE Step 1 Score?

Scores ranging from 230 to 245 is considered good. If you are going to check the average score per specialty and school, you will notice that scores fall on this particular range. Thus, students who managed to get scores from 230 to 245 are most likely to be accepted in any specialty that they prefer especially if they couple it up with consistent good grades in Step 2 and in the clinicals.

What Is The Highest USMLE Step 1 Score Ever?

In theory, 300 is the highest or perfect score in the USMLE Step 1. But to date, I haven’t known anyone in history who had zero mistakes in Step 1. So far, the highest score I’ve heard was 282.

What Percentile Is 250 On Step 1?

The percentile of 250 on Step 1 is 84. Here is a norm table from USMLE that shows the percentile rank of medical students from US/Canadian medical schools who took the exam from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018 and scored lower than a given USMLE score.

For example, if you scored 235, that means you are at the 56^th percentile. It denotes that 56% of Step 1 first-takers from the US/Canadian medical school in the three-year cohort scored lower than 235.

USMLE Score	Step 1 Percentile Rank
300	100
295	100
290	100
285	100
280	100
275	100
270	100
265	99
260	96
255	91
250	84
245	76
240	66
235	56
230	47
225	37
220	29
215	22
210	16
205	11
200	8
195	5
190	4
185	2
180	2
175	1
170	1
165	0
160	0
155 and below	0

Table 4. Equivalent Step 1 Score and Percentile Rank

Is Step 1 Harder Than MCAT?

This is a debate over the internet. Some say it’s Step 1, but there are verdicts saying that MCAT is harder. However, the two exams are incomparable since they test different skillsets.

MCAT’s coverage is much wider. It covers even pre-med related sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, etc.  The topics are so broad that you might not be able to review some. Nonetheless, you could still answer the section narrating and analysis of passages.

As for Step 1, some find it harder due to the enormous information that you need to digest. But what’s good is that you’re already familiar with the material. It’s a matter of application of medical concepts you learned in the classroom and some outside resources. Of course, if you were able to study well, you will find the exam much easier.

Your Step 1 score matters in your upcoming residency matching. I hope that by knowing the average step 1 score by school and specialty, it will give you the motivation to work harder to achieve your target Step 1 score.

Are you about to take Step 1? Don’t forget to check my blog post on Step 1 Test Day Tips You Need To Know About!

At this point, if you are looking for tips on how to achieve your ideal Step 1 score, you may check my previous articles on tips and tricks and other study recommendations.

• How Long Should I Study For Step 1?
• NBME Practice Exams For Step 1: Ultimate Guide
• UWorld For Step 1: Ultimate Guide to Get 250+ on Step 1
• 10 Best USMLE Step 1 Books You Don’t Want To Miss
• What Does USMLE Step 1 Cover – Full Insight
• Top 10 Best Microbiology Books For Medical Students
• Keys To Studying With Anki [Med School Tips]
• NBME Free 120 [Ultimate Guide]
• Average USMLE Step 1 Scores By Residency Program

Again, thanks for stopping by!

Until next time my friend…