Scenario 1. 1st or second year student.
As you probably may have figured out there is no right and wrong regarding timelines in USMLE.
if you don’t want to drop a year or two after MBBS which I guess most of you don’t. And hopefully starting second year you have decided you want to go for this,
Your time line can look like.
Give your Step 1 in third year. apply for electives.
Take two months off in final year or go for electives between third and final year. if you really motivated give you step 2 cs (practical along with it) but you will usually require your final year training to give it adequately.
Give your step 2 ck in internship lets say be December.. and you will have enough time to search out different colleges and apply. if you are too damn focused you may think of giving it step 3 also
cause it definitely adds an edge. remember though you have to actually study a lot! like all third and final year course will be new to you. and it may not be that simple to create concepts within the given time period,
also the whole process of finding colleges to apply for electives, making your CV getting letters of recommendation, doing things like research and poster while doing your classes and enjoying college life will be hectic to say the least.
now.
lets assume you are in final year and give your step 1 in that, which you can cause the course overlap. even though step 1 is non clinical based, a lot of the questions have clinical approach which I didn’t feel developed much by my 2nd year. so knowledge of final year certainly helps.
go for electives next year in the intern year. give your step 2 ck. now step 2 ck can be give in 4-5 months. literally if you have gone through your final year because you mostly know everything and just have to develop the approach.
you may be able to give your step 2 ck within your internship apply immediately.
now. while this looks theoretically doable. It is not, searching for things take time. and keeping the momentum of giving back to back exams is not easy while attending college and doing your internship.
I have seen people give all three steps very fast within a year or year and a half. but most of them have already passed out.
lets say you decide after completing final year that you want to give than probably you will need to take a year drop. don’t stress.
It is not a big deal. don’t let people think you have to rush into things.
Give your step 1 and apply for electives immediately, it helps to have prior information in which colleges you are eligible to apply and getting your documents ready.
do electives. after finishing your internship give step 2 ck and step 3. and apply for next year. if you are taking a drop. I would highly advise you to give step 3.
remember applying also means you have to research each college separately.
Last thing, there is confusion about final year. so final year in the states is usually defined as 12 months before your graduation date. though it may differ in some colleges. check the eligibility criteria before applying for electives
hope this helps. comment your query below.