What Step 2 CK Score Do You Need for General Surgery?

You're mid-prep, your surgery sub-I is approaching, and somewhere between grinding UWorld blocks and stressing about your application timeline, one question keeps circling back: what Step 2 CK score do I actually need to match general surgery?

"As high as possible" isn't an answer — that's anxiety dressed up as advice. What you actually need is a realistic target backed by real data, broken down by program type, so you can prep with purpose instead of panic.

Here's what the numbers actually say.

The Number You're Looking For

For U.S. MD applicants, the average Step 2 CK score among matched general surgery residents sits around 250–253. For U.S. IMGs, that average is closer to 248, and for non-U.S. IMGs, it's approximately 246.

Those are averages — meaning half of the people who matched scored above those numbers. Your goal isn't to hit the average; it's to understand where you need to land relative to the specific programs you're targeting.

Score Ranges by Program Tier

Not all general surgery programs are built the same, and your score means something very different depending on where you're applying. Here's how the data maps to program competitiveness:

Why Step 2 CK Hits Different Now

Since Step 1 went pass/fail in January 2022, Step 2 CK became the single most important numeric data point on your application. General surgery program directors didn't gradually adjust — they pivoted fast. Your Step 2 CK score now functions as three things simultaneously:

• A screening threshold for interview offers
• A tie-breaker between equally strong applicants
• A signal of your capacity to handle rigorous surgical didactics and future board exams

It's also worth noting: the minimum passing score for Step 2 CK was raised from 214 to 218 as of July 1, 2025. That's the floor. For general surgery, the ceiling you want to be approaching is firmly in the 250s.

What Actually Separates Matched Applicants

A lot of students treat Step 2 prep like a checkbox: study enough to pass, bank a "safe" score, move on. That mindset costs people in surgical specialties. General surgery is rated medium-to-high competitiveness, and the students who match at programs they actually want aren't cruising through prep.

Your Step 2 CK score opens the door — but program directors are also weighing:

• Surgery sub-I evaluations — your clinical reputation can outweigh a few points on a score
• Letters from attending surgeons — specific, detailed letters from people who watched you operate matter enormously
• Research experience — especially for academic programs
• Program list strategy — applying realistically across your score band instead of shooting exclusively at reach programs

A 255 with weak sub-I feedback will lose to a 248 backed by a glowing evaluation from a program director's colleague at certain programs. The score gets you in the room; the rest of the application closes the deal.

Where You Stand Right Now — and What to Do About It

Here's the honest framework for wherever you are in prep:

• Scoring in the 250s on practice exams → Stay consistent, protect your score, and focus your energy on clinical reasoning and high-yield Shelf topics
• Scoring in the 240s → You're close. Don't accept that as your ceiling. Targeted, high-yield prep in your weakest systems can move you meaningfully
• Scoring in the 230s → You have work to do, and the time you put in now has a direct, measurable impact on which programs even look at your application
• Haven't taken Step 2 CK yet → You have more control over your application than almost any other applicant. This score is improvable, and improving it is worth every week you invest

Readiness beats rushing — every time. A delayed test date with a 255 will always outperform a panicked early sitting with a 242.

Build the Score That Opens the Right Doors

For general surgery, your Step 2 CK score is genuinely the most controllable variable still on the table. If you're serious about your match, you need prep material that's built around clinical reasoning — not memorization for the sake of it.

MedSchoolBro's Complete USMLE Step 2 Bundle

 is designed exactly for students in your position: high-yield, visually organized, and built to help you hit the score that gets your application in front of the right programs. It covers the clinical thinking that shows up in Shelf exams and Step 2 CK — so you're building toward both simultaneously.